Professional Online Social Networks

Using social online networks in teaching and/or professional development

This week’s reading has been food for thought – I have a slightly uneasy relationship with social media! Admittedly, I have been a ‘consumer’ of social media in my personal life for 7-8 years (i.e. facebook) but have limited my social space to those I ‘actually’ know and I very rarely post (‘create’). I have tried to maintain a boundary between my personal and professional life by not ‘friending’ people I work with (unless we establish a ‘personal’ connection). Of course, this is getting harder to keep separate. A year ago, on the advice of a course facilitator, I set up a Twitter account to establish a ‘professional’ presence on social media. To date, this hasn’t been very successful as I rarely have time to check my feeds, and I certainly haven’t managed to be a ‘creator’ of anything interesting to share!

The requirement of this course to interact online has been a real challenge for me too. I’ve definitely had to step out of my comfort zone to be commenting on, and inviting comment on, ideas and questions from people I don’t know.

We know that social media is ubiquitous, and its use is only going to grow. Therefore, it is pragmatic to consider how best to use it as a tool both in terms of preparing students for 21^st century learning and providing access to rich learning resources and materials. It is also essential that we teach students about digital citizenship and the potential impact of their online activities (John Parsons, http://www.simulate2educate.co.nz/education-protecting-and-valuing-identity-primary). Personally, it is an area that I still need to develop confidence in.

What are some key features of social media that are beneficial for teaching and learning? Why?

The vision of our New Zealand Curriculum is that our students will be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners. ‘Connected’ means more that relating to others and being a member of our local community, it is also all of the ‘online’ social connections that we will make along the way.

One of the key benefits includes the anytime, anywhere access to information that social media provides. The opportunity to ‘learn in the moment’ surely increases motivation and engagement and also enables personalised learning as people can follow their own questions / interests. Although mostly a viewer, the NZ Primary Teachers facebook page has been a great resource of ideas and resources – especially late at night, when my own ideas can be slow to form!

I can see a role for social media in connecting diverse classrooms and even areas and people outside schools with students to provide more authentic learning experiences. An example we had this year was when we were able to skype a bach owner near Awaroa Beach to talk about the campaign and sale of this slice of New Zealand’s coastline. This opportunity gave the students a great chance to learn about and connect with a significant current event. Also, if students are connecting with classrooms in other cultures, they will be building cultural awareness and empathy, as well as accessing authentic contexts.

With respect to my own professional development, social media has provided access to information, readings and ideas that I may otherwise not have come across. Facebook introduced me to Jo Boaler (youcubed.org), her amazing work in maths pedagogy, and her online MOOC that I’m enrolled in, and it also introduced me to MindLab!

What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities? Why?

Of course, I also think I’m right to be nervous, as we know that having a social media presence can open us up to dangers online. As teachers, we have a responsibility to work alongside parents to support students to develop their digital citizenship. As well as cyber-safety programmes, this also includes modelling how social media can be used effectively and safely. Managing feeds, appropriate posts and content, advertising etc. are all challenges that need to be overseen within the busy classroom when you're using social media - it's almost enough to put it in the 'too hard basket'! We also need to consider and teach the students about privacy and consult parents’ views on this.

A key question for me is also around purpose – is the use of social media adding value or meaning to the learning experience, does it have a purpose in this instance? Personally, finding the purposeful integration of social media in particular learning areas is still a challenge. However, social media has also introduced me to the power of ‘yet’ (Carol Dweck) so I’ll rephrase that … and you never know, maybe you’ll find my class and me on the next online forum for ‘Chapter Chat’ in reading time…

References

John Parsons - http://www.simulate2educate.co.nz/education-protecting-and-valuing-identity-primary

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum: for English-medium teaching

and learning in years 1-13. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.

Legal and ethical contexts in my digital practice

Personal Ethics

My personal ethics are strongly aligned with my professional ethics. I am a ‘personality type’ that puts a lot of store in rules and guidelines, and my decisions are heavily influenced by what ‘the rules’ and guidelines advise. I understand that, as teachers, we are expected to model the highest standards of conduct, in both professional and personal capacities, in order to be entrusted with the well-being of young people. As I work and live in the same community, and my children will be interacting with families of students I teach, I know that my conduct is very visible. Although I have been careful to separate my professional social media presence (Twitter) and my personal one (Facebook), I have ‘friends’ who are in both circles, so I’m very aware that I can’t control this completely – I try to be very careful that my shared posts are suitable for all audiences and reflect a high standard of behaviour.

Professional Ethics

At my school, we have a Code of Conduct which is part of our contract of employment. This sits underneath the Education Council’s Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers. Together, the expectations for our behaviour as teachers are made explicit.

The Education Council’s Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers is based on four fundamental principles – Justice, Autonomy, Truth, Responsible Care.

 

The Code of Ethics describes four commitments that certificated teachers are expected to uphold - 

• Commitment to Learners (primary obligation to our students)
• Commitment to Parents/Whānau (working with and encouraging engagement in their child’s education)
• Commitment to Society (preparing students for society)
• Commitment to the Profession (maintaining and raising professional standards)

I see these aligning with my own values as a teacher.

Ethical Dilemmas

To date, I haven’t yet had to deal with a significant dilemma based on an online practice or activity at school.

I have taught ‘Digital Safety and Citizenship’ to both year 4 and year 5 students as we were introducing them to having an online presence (within the safety of a school ‘intranet’) and using devices responsibly. On a side note, in one class, I did such a ‘good’ job of highlighting all the risks of being online, that when I asked the students to complete a + / - chart, they couldn’t come up with any positives! (I had to revisit that lesson!).

With reference to this Teacher Ethics video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGQbLSEPN5w), I see a number of issues in this scenario. The content / topics of her twitter and facebook feeds (and the suggestion of drug/alcohol use) indicates that her conduct away from school may not “inspire the quality of behaviour that reflects the honour and dignity of the profession” (Education Council). As she is ‘friends’ with colleagues, parents and students on her social media, she has blurred the professional boundaries, as well as not maintaining a standard of behaviour expected from someone in a position of trust / a role model. Using Hall’s (2001, p5.) questions as a frame for making ethical decisions, a possible approach could be –

Which stakeholder should be given priority? Why?

·      With reference to our code of ethics, the students need to be the primary obligation. Providing pastoral care (conferencing, counselling etc.) to discuss and work through the effect of these posts on the students (how they may be handling the disappointment of this person not meeting their expectations, do they still feel safe etc.).

·      The teacher’s welfare also needs to be considered regarding ‘Responsible Care’ – it may be that she needs help to address some personal issues regarding her lifestyle choices

What restrictions are there to your actions?

·      Conferencing with students will need to happen with parental consent and most likely their attendance

·      Confidentiality around the teacher’s issues will have to be maintained

·      Confidentiality of students and parents impacted needs to be maintained as well

·      School disciplinary policies will need to be followed

Which courses of action are possible?

·      A complaint to, followed by an investigation by the Principal and BOT

·      Formal interview of the teacher

·      Formal warnings and if necessary a report of serious misconduct to the Education Council (depending on level of ‘drug use’ uncovered)

How should the course of action be implemented?

      ·       With reference to school policy

·      Posts to be removed from social media and ‘un-friending’ of parents, students and colleagues

In this example, it's important that the school takes care of its relationship with the parents and whānau, as well as maintaining a safe environment for the students. The school may also need to address professional learning in ethics to make expectations for teachers explicit. This teacher needs to take responsibility for her actions and take steps to remedy the situation.

Dealing with ethical issues is so challenging, as there can be so many 'degrees' of 'serious' and of course, personal perspectives to take into account. In any case requiring ethical decisions to be made, I think that there would need to be time for professional conversations and reflection to ensure a balanced and fair approach.

References

Education Council. (nd). Code of Ethics for Certificated Teachers  https://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/ethical-decisions#overlay-context=content/code-ethics-registered-teachers-1

Hall, A. (2001). What ought I to do, all things considered? An approach to the exploration of ethical problems by teachers. Paper presented at the IIPE Conference, Brisbane. Retrieved from http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Culture/Developing-leaders/What-Ought-I-to-Do-All-Things-Considered-An-Approach-to-the-Exploration-of-Ethical-Problems-by-Teachers