using social media for Professional Development

Michael Payton-Greene

Wales High School

Digital Futures in Education

http://whsteachingandlearning.wordpress.com

Some context . . . • MA APSE at the University of Sheffield, exploring

digital literacy • Dissertation accepted that social networking and

the collaborative phase of the internet (Web 2.0) could change the way we think, learn and behave.

• The study aimed to explore if social networking could be used to help the way students learn, enabling them to make learning easier and help them make better progress.

• The study worked on the assumption that the way we are literate is increasingly important; in particular, the need to be digitally literate is increasingly important for the current market place and to be socially active as a digital citizen.

The Dissertation • Teachers at WHS participated in a pilot

focussed on sharing and reflecting on good practice.

• VI form Economics and English Literature students were set and submitted homework on Facebook, contributed to online dialogues with their peers/teachers, shared their own content and read articles/watched clips that contributed to further discussion in lessons.

• The study found that Web 2.0 platforms had the powerful potential to:

- enhance communication- increase engagement- use cognitive processes that were

enabled by being ‘digitally literate’ in a digital space.

Designing a case study

- Digital Literacy

- OERs

- What about a teacher focussed case study?

WALES HIGH SCHOOL

• Outstanding 2006 – no OFSTED inspection since • Senior Management Team - Chief Executive 20yrs,

Head teacher 42yrs, Deputy Heads – at least 12years service, 50% of staff 20 years + service at WHS.

• Key Measure – 5A*-C (inc. English and Maths) = 58% 2012 – compared with 80% with neighbouring schools with similar cohorts.

CONTEXT • Departments work independently• No mechanisms for sharing good practice across

the school • Outstanding and Good practice in areas of the

school, but not seen by those outside the department.

• SCHOOL PRIORITY – Improving Teaching and Learning

What DfT wanted: - Digital Literacy - OERs

What WHS wanted:- Improved teaching

and learning - Professional

Dialogues and sharing good practice

- Foundations for a system of collaboration

THE SPACE

THE SPACE

THE SPACE ‘The class seemed to enjoy experimenting with different equations and it made a dry topic a little bit more fun’

THE SPACE

QR CODE GENERATORS • Write information about your

area of school • On a laptop create a QR code • Test it using an ipods • Print it • Try them out!

Group 1: PE / Group 2: Reception / Group 3: Library / Group 4: Dinner Hall / Group 5: HOY / PSA Group 6: Learning Support Group 7: Digital Day / Group 8: Digital Day

Student tasks :

HOW WILL WE BE

SUCCESSFUL?

TODAY YOU WILL

CREATE AN

ESSAY

• Easy to use – similar to a normal website or Open Educational Resource already used by staff.

• Professional Dialogues take place which enable and encourage the sharing of good practice – the collaborative element enhances cognitive approaches to pedagogy and practice.

• Easy to access resources using the drop down menu. The ability to ‘categorise’ and ‘tag’ resources is key – resources are easy to use and find.

• The benefit of comments attached to resources is valuable; it enhances the resources with guidance about how it may be used, and, enables different perspectives that make the outcome of the resource clear.

• Enables teachers to explore the benefits of digital literacy themselves.

• Provides possibility for wider access – i.e. primary schools, learning community partners, Universities etc

• Difficult to initially get signed up to. An external website, separate to the main VLE and website.

• Not placed in a prominent place to enable more traffic to the space. The majority of users will be those directed or encouraged to go to the site.

• Any resources or videos etc need to be on a separate share filing website – i.e. slideshare. This is problematic in terms of being re-directed if items need to be printed etc. There are also issues related to aspects of safeguarding.

• Student work, videos and pictures are not currently on the space, but it would make the sharing of good practice much more fruitful.

TO BE DEVELOPED FURTHER AT WALES . . .

• to widen participation so that every department has a representative to contribute towards the blog;

• to have half-termly ideas/strategies/policies posted on to the space and used/reviewed by departmental areas;

• to work with NQT/ITT students to help their professional practice via the online space;

• to enable the blog to be used as a performance management / coaching tool, as required;

• to share student work and lessons using photos/videos; • to focus content on school priorities and important moments i.e.

literacy, T&L policies, creative approaches during Arts Week, drama approaches during school performance period, lesson observation week resources, 6th form teaching strategies etc.

• to create a termly magazine in paper and electronic format highlighting good practice to share with staff, highlighting best practice.

• to explore ways to improve the digital literacy skills of students and staff through workshops and INSET exploring digital learning tools and applications.