Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?

“Your professional learning community is your support system.”

“Brad Baker EDCI 338.” Www.youtube.com, 10 JuNE 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z8iHxW2n4. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

Brad Baker highlights how important it is to surround ourselves with those that help us grow in our pursuit and maintenance of a healthy vision and positive initiatives, whether they be in our professional lives or our personal ones. There is a theme of being true to one’s convictions in all aspects of one’s life — which expands upon an idea brought up by a previous week’s speaker, Markiel Simpson. A consistent message circulated within a social network (digital or physical) helps grow awareness and momentum for that message and keep it true to its purpose.

This concept holds true in education. In my humble experience (as an educator that has been lucky to have travelled and worked with a variety of colleagues of diverse backgrounds), it is impossible to be both a “good” teacher and a “bad” person. One’s personal vision or philosophy that encompasses aspects of abstract concepts like truth, justice, equality, love, hope shines through in the work. In this line of work, you can be ground down by the system and become a cog in a machine that is simply working for a pay check, so-to-speak. I love my work but can see this happening to those around me, and there are days when I feel that way myself. It can be easy for conversations around the water cooler to focus on negative energy and complaints, without any solutions or positivity offered.

Finding ways to rejuvenate one’s passion for and commitment to the profession is vital to the integrity of the work. A carefully crafted PLN that can be navigated to access support when needed makes the endeavour sustainable. It is important to know where and how one can draw strength from colleagues and professional learning, to reflect on one’s practice and grow.

Being willing to challenge one’s one practice is a challenge, but key to beneficial discourse. As an educator, it can be easy to feel like an island, unable to engage in any dialogue with other teachers or those we might learn from. Actively pursuing these exchanges is tricky to manage given our busy schedules and the expectations of the job, but must take place for the sake of the work.

How do educators create discourse?

“We support each other, but we also challenge each other …”

“BRAD BAKER EDCI 338.” WWW.YOUTUBE.COM, 10 JUNE 2021, WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=C5Z8IHXW2N4. ACCESSED 11 NOV. 2021.

I love staff meetings and teacher conferences. I don’t hold back and remain engaged throughout — but not all staff meetings or conferences are created equal. Those that are organized, respectful of teacher’s busy schedules, and also relevant to our practical, day-to-day work offer moments of rejuvenation. The trick is having a leader or keynote speaker that is capable of building enough rapport with staff or learners to engage as many of the group as possible in as brief a time as possible. There is nuance to this.

What I value most about these meetings is the exchange of ideas and the genuine building of passion and excitement for the work. Hope is rekindled and new practical ideas are added to toolkits. Connections are established and relationships made sustainable through social media and email. Throughout the meeting or day we are able to sit next to teaching partners or those we look up to as mentors — if we so choose. This could be viewed as a microcosm of a PLN; who do you sit with and how do you engage with the intention of the meeting?

What is the role of social media in education?

Social media (as the digital extension/expression of one’s personal learning network) is increasingly becoming a larger component to one’s personal learning environment. Following fellow educators on Instagram, Edmodo, Facebook, Twitter, etc. is means to an end — to grow and enhance our practice in some measurable capacity.

“[P]ersonal learning networks are the sum of all social capital and connections that result in the development and facilitation of a personal learning environment.”

Couros, A. (2010). Emerging Technologies in Distance Education (Issues in Distance Education) (G. Veletsianos, Ed.; Illustrated ed., Vols. 1919–4390). Athabasca University Press. https://www.aupress.ca/app/uploads/120177_99Z_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf

What are some problems with social media communications in education settings?

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is meant to protect citizens by setting rules and laws around the sharing of information. The Act is very relevant to the field of education, as educators and administrators are consistently communicating information regarding students and learning via modern collaborative technology. Educators must adhere to these rules (of which they may not be fully aware), while also embracing technology to support learning. This can be tricky and there are a number of examples where an educator has made poor choices while using social media and have lost their jobs.

Which social media platforms are beneficial in education?

It is a good question, and I’m not sure I have an answer that would include specific names of software. In my mind, it’s not so much the platform that is necessarily beneficial, but the intention of the user and their willingness to explore a new form of communication that benefits the endeavour. Again, I go back to a previous post where I had said something about a tool only being as effective as the one who wields it. This question led me to creating a list of my own questions to find those “beneficial” platforms:

  • How can the platform be used to grow a community?
  • What kinds/types of communities/industries currently use the platform and how?
  • What are the demographics of users commonly accessing/using the platform?
  • How can the platform be used to create consistent messaging and a standard vision/expectations for the community and sharing?
  • At the same time, how does the platform account for its own growth and evolution of ideas and structures over time?