Social Networks and Teacher Education Martin Compton equipped with a lot of the questions and some of the answers

Yes, no, maybe/unsure Are you comfortable?

Did you come from outside Newcastle?

Are you involved in teacher education?

Do you use technology to communicate with your students?

Do your students use technology to communicate with each other?

Have you heard of ?

Could you define ‘social network’?

Have you got a social network account (e.g. Facebook) ?

Have you been on the CETT North ‘Ning’?

What? ( NING sample) Facebook e.g. (members only) (members only) Also look at Twitter, Myspace, Bebo,TwitterMyspaceBebo List of useful links on social networks in educationList of useful links

How…or to what extent? As a limited social network As a supplement to VLE for less ‘serious’ stuff As alternative to VLE: To post notices, upload docs, discuss content, share work, collaborate For fun, innovation and experimentation To develop functional skills

Pros?

Why? Young people = digital natives Teacher Educators = models (of good practice) Familiar tools (to “them” and “us”) Forums, chat, e mail, video, pics, upload docs Facilitates blended approach- helps keep PT students connected Backed up by research. E.g.Hamann and Wilson (2002) Research showed web supported outperform trad students

More why… (arguably) much easier to use and more intuitive than VLEs Naturally occuring communities of practice Supports ‘affective’ side of learning

Cons?

Why not? Privacy and data protection Distraction- from work Social networking ‘theirs’ not ‘ours’ Training- them and us Time- set up, management Policing and cyber bulling issues

options Go here: - look, join (you will need to confirm e mail), update own page or… Create your own (you will need access to your e mail address if you haven’t yet created an account) Or… look at some of the other social network options and discuss how you could use them…or why you won’t!

Formal definition Social network site: “web-based services that allow individuals to 1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, 2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and 3) view and traverse their list of connections” (Boyd and Ellison 2008, p.211)