The Connected Educator
Technology has grown exponentially, and students within our
school systems have evolved along with these technologies. About Social Media
(2012) this generation of students has gone through their entire teen years
with social networking sites at their fingertips and today’s web technologies
connect young people in ways never before possible. According to Nussbaum-Beach
(2012) students of today learn from others outside the classroom through
smartphones; they engage in social networking sites such as blogs, Twitter,
YouTube, Facebook, Google +, and Flickr.
Their technical skills continually grow as the world’s technologies
frequently evolve. A study conducted by Social Media, Social Life (2012),
reports that 90% of all American teens used social media, three out of four
have a social networking site, and nearly one in three make connections to
their social networking profile several times a day or more. With the advent of social media,
Nussbaum-Beach (2012) proposes learning occurs anytime, anywhere, and students
regularly pursue knowledge by networked in collaborative ways. The challenges
of the 21st century are to transform the school community to become connected
learners as a means of enhancing teaching skills and abilities, therefore,
making meaningful connections with children of the technical age within their
classrooms.
To succeed as a connected educator and to transform into
that of connected educator teachers must view themselves as a learner first,
lead learner to students, and develop into teacher leader. As learners, Nussbaum-Beach (2012) points out
that through the use of technology teachers can plan and develop their
learning, can select personal mentors, organize their conferences, and attend
online workshops. About Trust (2012), successfully connected educators make
connections to thousands of individuals with an assortment of expertise by
joining online communities and subscribes to educational blogs, podcasts,
professional videos, and news feeds.
Nussbaum-Beach (2012) indicates that successfully connected educators
use blogs, wikis, microblogging, social bookmarking, and social networking or
the technologies used by many of today’s youth as a means to transform to lead
learner. To become a lead learner, Trust
(2012) contends that teachers must learn to model connectedness and enable students
to develop personal learning networks, made up of people and resources from
both their physical and virtual worlds.
By learning from, and expanding on, connecting learning experiences,
effective teachers gain a reputation as connective leaders. Through virtual
world connections, connective leaders may gain followers from establishing
positive reputations.
The strategies of cooperative learning along with
collaborative learning are vital components of connected learning. Both involve
small-group collaborative participation over lecture-based teaching, and where
both support a discovery-based approach to learning. Panitz (1996)
distinguishes cooperative learning as a methodology chosen by teachers for
students to build foundational knowledge which is based around teacher-led
outcomes typically closed-ended or having specific answers. In contrast, the teacher of collaborative
learning hands over his or her authority and empowers the small groups who are
often given more open-ended, complex tasks. Collaboration now has broadened to
include connecting in digital space and provides an open format for teachers to
expand their professional development practices. Nussbaum-Beach (2012) states
collaborative learning is connected to the social constructionist's view that
knowledge is a social construct and we first have to invest in personal
knowledge development through collaboration before we will have the knowledge
to share with others.
The initial step in organizing a connected learning
community revolves around the school principal. The most effective school
principals are those who view transformation as a process. The transformational
principal is a visionary of change in which children’s wellbeing is the major
focus for change. Through their personal
learning network experience, they learn as they lead. They formulate a vision
and produce a clear mission for school transformation resulting in a connected
learning community. According to Nussbaum-Beach (2012) transformational
leaders, are collaborative decision-makers who empower stakeholders to share a
vision of change and then actively participate in learning and leading.
Transformational leaders, encourage collaboration through distributed
leadership. They encourage teachers to
practice distributed leadership when appropriate by staying abreast of what
teacher’s abilities and potentials are.
Distributed leadership consists of team leaders, community organizers,
connected coaches, or expert voices.
Connected educators seek out social connections via online
networks to collaborate with dependable sources. According to Nussbaum-Beach
(2012), a personal learning network is made up of people a teacher chooses to
interact within an attempt to gain knowledge with the intent that some type of
learning will take place, thus contributing to their professional
development. Within local school
communities, teachers bring their expanded knowledge forth from their learning
networks, thus leading to school transformation. The successfully connected learner is
dedicated to improving ongoing professional behaviors in an attempt to make
connections to students learning. Trust
(2012) points out that highly effective teachers model the process of
information analysis and knowledge acquisition by continually learning through
collaboration, professional development, and studying pedagogical techniques
and practices through online networking.
This commitment includes deep reflection and a willingness to experiment
with new professional strategies brought forth by members of their professional
learning networks. Effective networking
skills and strategies include good listening skills, the ability to ask open-ended
questions which promote expanded thought and dialogue. Succeeding as a connected learner involves
becoming a co-learner, co-creator and for some co-leader by gaining followers.
Members of a connected community, learn to become great team
members mainly by staying focused on the learner. They seek evidence of
students learning as well as keeping others informed of students’ strengths and
weaknesses. Trust (2012) explains that
teachers post links to resources for members of their Personal Learning Network
(PLN) to view and they ask other members for help finding specific
resources. They connect with others
seeking collaboration on class projects, pair their students with pen pals, or
just to design lessons. In relation, Nussbaum-Beach
(2012) adds when teachers share their practices collaboratively, they become
aware of colleagues and are more receptive to adopting effective practices that
lead to school improvement practices.
Teacher leadership occurs when a teacher shares with other teachers what
works (or hasn't worked) in her or his classroom to improve performance for all
the students in the school. According to the National Research Council (2000),
“teachers are key to enhancing learning in schools. To teach in a manner
consistent with new theories of learning, extensive learning opportunities for
teachers are required” (p. 203)
There are two types of PLNs in which teachers make
connections, information aggregation and social media connections. For social aggregation, Trust (2012)
identifies three popular web sites identified as tools in which teachers
join: Edmodo, Classroom 2.0, and
Twitter. Social media connections are
social media sites that teachers use to connect with people from around the
world. Some social media connections include real-time interaction, involving
instant messaging like chat-rooms or even Skype. They include sites like Facebook, Twitter,
Ning, and Wikispaces. According to Trust (2012) typically teachers choose both
types of PLNs tools. To begin as a
connected learner a suggestion would include, Edmodo, Facebook, and
Wikispaces. According to Trust more than
6.5 million teachers and students are using Edmodo. Edmodo has 12 subject
communities that provide a space for teachers to make connections with many
educators in the same subject field. A second selection would be Facebook since
most people, teachers, and students, are already using this social networking
tool. At Facebook teachers can post significant events, content videos for
students or teachers to view and they can post comments. Since it is interactive, Instamatic
statements from participants are possible.
Wikispaces is another social networking site for both teachers and
students. A Wikispace is a place to create pages related to school content for
students or provide a place for students to display their learning. This can be open for others to view or set
just for specific viewers for their feedback.
To plan for the future we need to realize that technology
will continue to change exponentially and student’s connections to these
changes will continue to grow as a result. The purpose of education is to
produce autonomous learners who will contribute and function within society. With this in mind, teachers must realize
their role is to assist students to learn to navigate and to effectively
evaluate the expanding networks filled with expanded information now and in the
future. “Highly effective teachers model this process of information analysis
and knowledge acquisition by continually learning through collaboration,
professional development, and studying pedagogical techniques and best
practices” (Trust, 20012, p. 1). Like Trust, Nussbaum-Beach (2012) concludes
that teachers need to embrace the status of being a learner first. With the knowledge gained as a learner, they
assist students in learning by becoming lead learners in their classrooms. With the experience, they have gained as
learners, and lead learners, effectively connected educators can gain the
reputation of becoming a teacher leader within our school systems and a
connective network environment.
References
Common Sense Media. (2012). Social media, social life: How
teens view their digital lives. Retrieved from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/socialmed
iasociallife-final-061812.pdf
Nussbaum-Beach S. (2012). The connected educator learning
and leading in a digital age. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press. Print
Panitz T. (1996). A Definition of Collaborative vs
Cooperative Learning. Deliberations, Retrieved from
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/deliberations/collaborative-learning/panitz-paper.cfm
Trust T. (2012). Professional learning networks designed for
teacher learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 1-5. Retrieved from http//:acce.edu.au/sites/acce.
edu.au/files/pj/journal/27_1ProfLearning_Networks_p34-38.pdf
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