Week 29- Using social online networks for professional development

Used Jay and Johnson’s reflective model:

The most inspiring teachers are those who are passionate about learning. To be the best teacher you can be, you need a diverse and innovative network.

Description

Anderson (2009) defines the term social networking as “the networked tools that allow people to meet, interact and share ideas, artefacts and interests with each other”.

Although I have accounts in social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Skype and LinkedIn, but I have only been using Facebook and Pinterest more actively. I have used the Facebook for a long time personally to stay connected with my family and friends but never used it for professional use until I found the NZ primary teacher’s Facebook page.

I believe that being active on NZ teachers (primary) Facebook page has helped me to grow my knowledge, keep updated with the events happening and helped me to improve my practice in many ways. Not only I use it to get access to the resources, but also through reading other people views, suggestions and ideas on a post has helped me in my teaching profession. I have always been reluctant to participate in online discussions. Couple of times, I posted my queries and  I was surprised to see that within minutes, dozens of thoughtful and helpful responses and ideas poured in.  Some educators have uploaded useful resources related to different subjects and curriculum areas that are very handy and easy to download. Another social media I am currently using is Pinterest for accessing classroom resources and to get creative ideas.

Comparison

Social media creates environment for people to connect, share, inquire and support one another in their quest for high quality education. Unlike traditional methods, social media gives opportunities to the teacher to have the professional development wherever and whenever the need is. It’s more teacher directed. On the other hand, there are also some limitations associated with the use of social media. According to Greenhow (2011), social networking sites are also criticised because of the issues related to privacy, identity, message control and management of information overflow. Just because one is sharing information in a social networking sites does not mean that comments one provide are theory driven or particularly formative in ways that impact on practice (McLoughlin & Lee, 2010).

Reviewing the ‘peer response’, Twitter will be another social media that I intend to use for my future professional development. Most educators suggests that Twitter  helps you to connect with like minded people for personalised and ongoing professional development. By connecting to Twitter, not only will I have access to surplus of resources but also sharing my learning with others by contributing my ideas, suggestions can have a greater impact on others professional growth too.

Critical reflection

Technology is growing and sweeping our life at a very fast pace. Teaching is becoming very difficult and challenging. With the coming of social platforms like Twitter, Instagram, facebook, Pinterest, linkedIn and many more, has brought an information overflow. With the business of our life, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the changes in technology and also with the new knowledge being created everyday. But the fact is that we need to spare some time and embrace the changes brought by digital technology .

I need to invest some time and create my professional learning network outside my organisation using the social media forums to adapt to the changes and grow my skills. I also need to be a contributor by sharing my expertise with others rather than just being a consumer who use resources and ideas of other’s.

References:

·       ANDERSON, T (2009) Social Networking. In MISHRA S (Ed) Stride Handbook 8 – E-Learning. IGNOU, pp 96-101 [Online] Available from http://webserver.ignou.ac.in/institute/STRIDE_Hb8_webCD/STRIDE_Hb8_index.htmlAccessed 18/12/2010

·     Greenhow, C. (2011). Online social networks and learning. On the Horizon, 19(1), 4–12. doi:10.1108/10748121111107663

·      McLoughlin, C., & Lee, M. J. W. (2010). Developing an online community to promote engagement and professional learning for pre-service teachers using social software tools. Journal of Cases on Information Technology, 12(1), 17–30. doi:10.4018/jcit.2010010102

Week 28- Activity 4 (Influence of law and practice)

In this blog, I am going to use the Rolfe et al.’s (2001) reflective model to reflect on the ethical dilemma that might occur in the future as a result of the private/improper use of school computer/email.

STEP 1- WHAT

Ethical dilemma- Improper use of school computer/email

It’s always recommended to use the school computer/email for the purpose of communicating internally with the staff or parents or school related communication.

Through Mind lab, I got an awareness about the ICT ethics. Before that I was unaware that using school computer/email for downloading free school resources from internet can cause harm.

Improper use of school emails can create problems.  I had been using the school email for signing up with websites  that provides free classroom resources. Some unsecured websites sends junk emails and some time virus. Unaware of the fact that when these viruses open on school computer/network, they might spread on other school computers/school server which can lead to serious consequences like:

·      hacking of school data

·      deletion of school data

·      pop-ups of un appropriate websites in the browser

·      hardware damage/remote access

STEP 2- SO WHAT

Using the Ehrich (2011)  ethical decision-making framework, I will critique and analyse the issues arising from the ethical dilemma identified in step 1.

Professional ethics;

Using the school computer/emails for private use can create a doubt on teachers professionalism as the school may not want the teachers to use the school computers/emails  for personal use.

The code of professional responsibility for teachers reminds me that as a teacher I have the responsibility towards my school and should demonstrate high standards of professional behaviour in everything I do.

Legal issues or policies;

Teachers are contractually accountable officers who are required to implement policies handed down from the employing body (Ehrich, 2000).

At our school, we sign a Net safe staff responsible agreement before we are given the digital devices where it is clearly mentioned that we are responsible for all the activities that is associated with our accounts.

If in future, I am involved in breaching the agreement around the technology that lead to the harming of school data, it may result in the finding of serious misconduct on my part.

In order to protect the confidential data from breaches and safeguard school reputation and technological property, it is important that school create policies specifically regarding the use of school emails and outlines exactly what is allowed and what’s prohibited.

Organisational culture;

The value whakamana, teach us that empowering all the learners to reach to their high potential through high quality teaching.I care for my students and I want to provide the best to them. I want to give them with variety of learning resources. Therefore , sometimes due to work load, I find it easier to download free resources from various websites.

STEP 3- NOW WHAT

Email attachment is a medium of hacker attacks, confidentiality breaches, viruses and other malware. School emails should be used primarily for work-related purposes.

Code of ethics for registered teachers reminds teachers to exert every effort to maintain and raise professional standards and advance the interest of the teaching profession through responsible ethical practice. In future, I should download resources only from reputed and reliable website. Also all the attachments need to be scanned before it’s opened on school computers.

References:

Catherine Ehrich, Lisa. (2000). Principals as Morally Accountable Leaders. International Journal of Educational Reform.

Education Council. (2017). Our Code Our Standards.Retrieved from: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf

Ehrich, L. C. , Kimber M., Millwater, J. & Cranston, N. (2011). Ethical dilemmas: a model to understand teacher practice, Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 17:2, 173-185, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2011.539794

Ministry of Education. (2015).DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY Safe and responsible use in schools. Wellington: New Zealand: Author. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/School/Managing-and-supporting-students/DigitalTechnologySafeAndResponsibleUseInSchs.pdf

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.