How Has Social Media Influenced Your Professional Practice?

I saw this question floating around Twitter today and I thought I’d have a go at answering it.

Social Media has become a HUGE part of our world. In schools, we have spent a lot of time focussing on the perceived negatives surrounding it and quietly keeping our fingers crossed that it will go away. It’s become pretty obvious that this is not going to happen. We could spend a lot of time discussing the possibilities and methods of incorporating social media into our classrooms.

For me, social media has had (and continues to have) a substantial effect on my teaching. This happens in several ways.

Professional learning
Through Twitter, social media has connected me to many educators from around the world. All of these people have become part of my professional learning network. Through their blogs and through 140 character conversations, I learn from these people everyday. This community provides me with an ear for my questions and a multitude of links to interesting information and practical ideas that eventually make their way to my classroom.

Making connections
Making connections with educators around the globe has become an integral element of my classroom practice. As a classroom creating student blogs these connections help to provide my students with an international audience for their learning.

Reflection
Blogging and social media provide me with a platform and an opportunity to reflect on my practice. The difference between using social media and using a traditional book diary is having an audience. No matter how small, knowing that someone might see my ramblings forces me to think deeper and reflect in a much clearer way. It also allows for conversation based on my reflections. A traditional diary wouldn’t encourage any interaction at all.

Twitter has been the biggest social media contributor to my professional practice and the next step for me is to better harness the power of Facebook for my learning. Until now, Facebook land has been purely social. Maybe it’s time to blur the lines and explore this further.