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Nina Glassen and Virginia Reischl
If you have a page on Facebook or if you keep a blog on Tumblr, you are already participating in social media recreationally. What if you could harness the same technologies to stay up to date on the latest news in your field, or ask questions of educators with a few more years of experience? That is called a professional learning network (PLN) and it is the heart of using social media for professional learning.
This chapter explores the use of social media tools and strategies that effectively support the teachers’ online professional learning through using interactive, engaging, and collaborative learning methods. After the review, this chapter shares the experiences of a practicing teacher who benefits professionally from using social media.
A Commitment to Growth
The California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) encompasses six interdependent spheres of practice designed to guide teachers as they develop and extend their praxes. Using social media for professional learning is particularly relevant to the sixth standard, “developing as a professional educator” (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2009). Successful teachers are committed to the growth of their knowledge, skills, and performance throughout their professional careers. Opportunities for professional networking present themselves continuously when online platforms are utilized on a regular basis. Teachers benefit from the immediate access, flexibility and ease of communication when they participate in a professional learning network.
Per the CSTP Standards (2009), teachers should be:
…collaborating with colleagues and the broader professional community to support teacher and student learning (Standard 6.3), working with families to support student learning (6.4), and engaging local communities in support of the instructional program (6.5) can all be sustained by an environment of collegial support provided through social media” (Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2009, p. 16).
These standards encompass the idea teachers must collaborate and join a professional community of educators to develop and grow professionally. Therefore, educators are encouraged to engage in active participation with a professional social network of educators because there are conversations and opportunities to extend and expand learning around digital tools and integrating technology into daily practices and classrooms (Lightle, 2010). Educators have the ability to receive ongoing, relevant professional learning that meets their immediate needs when they participate in a social media network. Professional learning needs are targeted and meaningful when educators have the ability to chose when and where they would like to receive the latest tools and resources related to a specific topic.
How Social Media Supports and Enhances Learning
Using social media for professional learning is essential for developing and maintaining effective teaching. In the past, edu