Social Networking for Professional Development

Social Networking for Professional Development

Marian Thacher

How has the Web changed our professional relationships?• Easy to create a variety of Web sites

• Anyone can have an online presence, post content, have conversations

• “Watch” what other people are doing, thinking, reading, talking about

• Your network now includes “strangers”! (and strangers are not so strange)

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What is a Social Networking Site?

• A Web site that allows users to connect, communicate and/or share information with each other

By Moonjazz, http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonjazz/651498439/

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Examples of Social Networking

• Email Lists

• Blogs

• Social Bookmarking

• Facebook, LinkedIn

• Ning, Wiggio

From premiardeigo, http://www.flickr.com/photos/9119028@N05/591163479/

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Your Personal Learning Network

• How do you learn new things?

– ?

– ?

• How did you learn new things 10 yrs ago?

– ?

– ?

• Any differences?

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Your Personal Learning Network

• 2.5 billion searches per day on Google, in 40 languages

• 75% of the time people go to information directly from their search results, NOT from the home page of a site

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Your Personal Learning Network• Example of Stephen Downes

www.downes.ca

– Saw references several years ago

– Followed him on Twitter and Facebook

– Received interesting links and references

– Went to his blog and signed up for his newsletter

– Posted on my blog about him and he responded

– Now he is in my PLN, and he notes that he actually came up with the concept!

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Your Personal Learning Network

“Information has always been a conversation, it’s just that most of us weren’t part of it, until the Internet.”

--Steve Hargadon

www.stevehargadon.com

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David Warlick’s PLN

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/9

My PLN 10 Years ago

TeacherCoordinator

PresenterMom

Lesson Plans

Reports

Work-shops

Articles

Class Activities

Parenting

StudentsSupervisors

FriendsColleagues

Prof. Groups

JournalsBooksWeb Pages

ConferencesClassesSite Workshops

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My PLN Now

Web site

ReportsWork-shops

ArticlesBlogs Grand-

parenting

Supervisors

Friends

ColleaguesProf. Groups

JournalsBooksWeb PagesConferencesClassesSite Workshops

AdministratorPresenterBlogger

Grandma

BlogsSocial NetworksListservsPodcastsAggregatorsTwitter

Online Network

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Viral Professional Development

• We learn on our own with support from each other

• Build a network!

• Share everything – tape it, blog it, tag it, post it

• Celebrate and get the word out up and down the food chain

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Menu

• Email Lists

• Blogs

• Wikis

• Social Networking

• Social Bookmarking

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EMAIL LISTS

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Email Lists, or Listservs

PROs

• Easy to access

• Comes to you (push)

• Access to a wider community

• Get answers to your questions

CONs

• Too much email

• Not all of interest

• Public in ways you might not realize

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Email Lists, or Listservs

• LINCS lists (ESL, Math, Tech, Assessment, etc.)

• Adult Numeracy Network

• National Literacy Advocacy

• CA Tech Mentor Network

• CA Distance Learning

• Start your own!

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Email Lists, or Listservs

• When to create your own list

– Large group, geographically dispersed

– Need to share information and/or keep in touch

– Can be one-way or discussion

– To moderate, or not to moderate

• When NOT to create your own list

– No one to be responsible for keeping it going

– Can communicate a different way (shared doc, wiki)17

BLOGS

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Blogs• What is a blog?

• Go to the Wiki

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Blogs

• How are you using blogs?

• What do you want to learn?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of blogging?

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Blogs

PROs

• Easy to create, fast

• Easy to add links, photos, video

• Can be used to create community (followers, commenters, shared editing)

CONs

• Generally one author

• Used for personal opinions and reflection

• Some constraints on organization

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Blogging for Prof. Dev.

• Provide information to staff

– Jefferson Adult School

• Create an online community

– TIMAC Blog

– Newport Mesa Blog

• Reflect on practice

– Jan, Marian

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WIKIS

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Wikis

• What is a wiki?

• Go to the wiki

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/19490596/

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Wikis

• How are you using wikis?

• What do you want to learn?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of wikis?

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Wikis

PROs

• Easy to create, fast

• Good for frequent updating

• Many can contribute

• Can be public or private

• Basic service is free

CONs

• Sometimes a clunky interface

• Have to pay to get rid of ads

• Hard to make it graphically pleasing

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Examples

• Adult Literacy Education Wiki

• California Budget Cuts

• mLearning wiki

• Lots more examples

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SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

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Ning

• Tool for creating online communities

• No longer free, but affordable for education

• Many features – groups, blogs, discussions…

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Ning Examples

• California ABE Initiative

• CALPRO Multilevel ESL e-PLC

• Educator’s PLN

• Classroom 2.0

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Wiggio

• Similar to Ning, but free

• Easy to set up group

• Use to create an email list

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FACEBOOK

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Facebook

PROs

• Everybody is already here!

• Variety of page types – group, business page, personal

• Wide access for discussions and sharing

CONs

• Privacy issues

• Confusing re types of pages

• Need to have a separate professional account

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Facebook Examples

• CA Adult Schools on Facebook

– Torrance

– Downey

– Milpitas

• OTAN on Facebook

From mattkeefe - http://www.flickr.com/photos/fil/3151423/34

SOCIAL BOOKMARKING

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Bookmarking and Tagging

• How you save sites now

• Bookmarking

• Tagging

• Tag clouds

• Go to the wiki

(my Delicious account) (my diigo account)36

Education: the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty.  --Mark Twain

GO FORTH AND CONNECT!