Educational Technology Social Networking

Hello #EdTechSN. It is good to see you. I have been away from the MET program for a year and it feels good to be getting back into the swing of things. Focusing on social networking with Dr. Gerstein is an excellent way to do it.

I have been using my Twitter account for professional growth since 2011. I have had a Facebook account since before that, but only recently started using it for professional purposes. Diigo and blogger are tools I have used on and off for about five years.

The connections I have made on Twitter have added value to my career from the beginning. I once heard that 4% of the traffic on Twitter is education related. It has provided insight and context to problems that I initially understood little about. I have often described it feeling like cheating when describing the experience to other educators. I felt informed as I read along with people I admired. Over time, I have even gotten to know some of those folks well enough to call them friends.

Facebook troubles me. I am frequently weighing the pros and cons of staying connected to the platform. Its greatest value has been that I have re-connected with so many people that I once thought were lost. More recently I have made professional connections and that adds more value. I believe professional connections are happening more now simply because people are just assuming you have a presences there. On the other hand, it is an advertising company. Facebook is regularly pushing the limits of what I consider privacy invasion. I do not trust them. I am still unwilling to install their app on my phone.

Blogging and Diigo are easy and accessible tools that many more educators could use more effectively. I have worked with some who needed a nudge to start. Once they do, though, feedback is usually positive. It is not as scary as even the worst technophobe imagines. These are really great tools for sharing information and getting people to work together.

Social networking tools have been difficult to integrate in the school setting of the districts I have worked with. Despite working to update policy, there is a lack of clarity with regard to what is permissible. Our community sees social networking (and technology generally) as a distraction, as entertainment, rather than a tool for sharing and connection. Social networks blur the lines between personal and academic pursuits. Many educators choose to avoid the topic entirely with this much gray area. I hope through our work we can find strategies for that can enable us to develop the courage needed to accept this ambiguity because I do not believe it is going away. Although we often talk a good game about "college and career ready," I do not think we give enough thought to what that means today.