Teachers ‘liking’ their work? Exploring the realities of teacher Facebook groups

Social media are now an important aspect of the professional lives of school teachers. This paper explores the growing use of mass ‘teacher groups’ and ‘teacher communities’ on social media platforms such as Facebook. While these online communities are often welcomed as a means of professional learning and support, the paper considers the extent to which Facebook groups also expose teachers to some of the less beneficial aspects of social media, such as various forms of ‘digital labour’, commercialisation of exchanges and predominance of individualised reputation‐driven behaviours. Drawing on a detailed examination of a Swedish teacher Facebook group of over 13,000 members, the paper first addresses aspects of the online community that could be seen as professionally beneficial and/or valuable—particularly in terms of information exchange and social support. Yet while perceived by participants as a relatively beneficial and uncontroversial aspect of their working lives, the research also points to characteristics of the Facebook group that constituted disadvantaging, exploitative and/or disempowering forms of technological engagement. In these terms, the paper highlights tensions between what appears to ‘work’ for individual teachers in the short term and likely longer‐term implications that these practices might have for diminished professionalism and expertise of teachers.     

Information Policy and Social Media: Accept or Decline

In this article I examine how intersections between information policy and social media affect professional ethics and instructional decision making as considered through the lens of professional development and continuing education. The discussion uses techniques from autoethnography such as personal narrative, figurative language and scenarios. Data are extracted from my field notes, observations and writings. My experiences as an instructor of information policy and as an academic with a Ph.D. in Educational Communication and Technology who teaches online courses to graduate professional learners are included. My conclusions are: (1) The formal information policies of social media platforms create an environment requiring instructors to apply professional ethics considerations when deciding how students will use social media platforms. (2) The informal information policies which students hold affect their responses to the information policies of social media platforms used for educational purposes. (3) Instructors can examine the intersections of information policies, professional ethics and student preferences to aid their instructional decision making regarding the integration of social media platforms into professional development and continuing education.     

Social media and the university decision. Do prospective students really care?

In the world of social media marketing, colleges and universities can benefit from enhanced understanding of how prospective students use social media. Due to the ever-evolving nature of social media use, there are gaps in the current research regarding how students use social media to aid in their matriculation decision-making. Using survey data from current university students across the U.S. (n?=?364) and one-on-one interviews (n?=?12) with students at a small liberal arts college, the authors address conflicting information where students report both using and not using social media to narrow their search and make their matriculation decision. The findings suggest that while students may not report visiting social media sites or may report that social media does not impact their matriculation decision when asked in a survey, in interview settings the vast majority of students reported using social media platforms to learn more about higher education schools under consideration. By exploring which platforms students use and the selection of platforms for specific use cases, the authors provide suggestions and guidelines for social media managers looking to maximize the effectiveness of their social media recruiting strategies and campaigns.     

“I don’t see myself as a 40-year-old on Facebook”: medical students’ dilemmas in developing professionalism with social media

Students’ development of professionalism is vital within medical education, while social media communications can blur professional and personal boundaries. In the UK advice for medical practitioners and students has been developed, advocating care in the projection of a professional identity online as offline. This study takes an academic literacies approach to a small-scale investigation of attitudes and practices of second-year medical students in a British university through a focus group and paired interview, recognising that issues of identity and power are multi-layered and complex. Use of social media focuses primarily on Facebook, where they had already begun to adapt their self-presentation. Depictions of alcohol use are a particular area of concern. The students’ reflections demonstrate professionalism in respect of care for patient confidentiality and privacy. Yet they express an ambivalent sense of a future trajectory in which continuing social media use may appear simultaneously undesirable and yet vital. A finding of considerable concern is a reluctance to challenge inappropriate online behaviour despite policy guidelines. New generations growing up with social media raise challenges and opportunities for medical education that require greater attention and the development of participatory approaches to research, increasing understanding that in turn may be beneficial for policy-makers.     

公共话语中的幼儿园教师形象——基于网络媒体新闻的内容分析与话语分析

本研究综合运用内容分析和话语分析的方法,以微信、微博和新闻网站三大媒体平台报道的相关新闻为研究对象,探究公共话语中的幼儿园教师形象。内容分析结果显示,幼儿园教师的公众形象比较负面,并呈现出职业道德低、工作内容技术含量低、个人品质差的"二低一差"特点;社会形象呈现出职业待遇低、学历低、社会地位低的"三低"特点。与中小学教师相比,网络媒介中幼儿园教师形象特征的描述更为负面、具体、多维且充满情绪化。幼儿园教师公众形象的道德特征突出,专业特征则模糊脆弱。话语分析结果显示,网络媒体通过话语的标题主题结构、内容主题结构、措辞和隐含词义以及语境等的运用来构建公众形象,工于幼儿园教师负面形象的塑造而不是正面形象的构建。新闻报道和评论的对比分析表明,网络媒体新闻报道的倾向性和公众评论基本一致,可见媒体对公众认知具有很强的导向作用。网络媒体对幼儿园教师形象进行负面塑造主要源于网络媒体框架定位的负面单一;报道的"短快式"操作;标签化和捆绑式报道。为有效改善公共话语中的幼儿园教师形象,应增强新闻媒体的专业精神和社会责任,着力加强对幼儿园教师专业形象的正面塑造;应积极促进幼儿园教师专业化,利用专业组织的力量主动塑造和维护幼儿园教师的正面形象;应提高公众的媒介素养水平,使其能够理性地看待负面新闻报道,坚持对幼儿园教师群体的正面认识。     

WhatsApp use among African international distance education (IDE) students: transferring,translating and transforming educational experiences

ABSTRACT

Much of the research on how social media is embedded into the educational practices of higher education students has a Western orientation. In concentrating on a case study of the varied ways in which African International Distance Education (IDE) students actively use social media to shape their learning experiences, we discuss an under-researched group. The paper draws on analysis of 1295 online questionnaires and 165 in-depth interviews with IDE students at UNISA, South Africa, one of the largest providers of IDE globally. WhatsApp emerges as ‘the’ key social media tool that opens up opportunities for IDE students to transfer, translate and transform their educational journey when studying ‘at a distance’. Although WhatsApp does provide a ‘space of opportunity’ for some students, this is framed through socio-technical marginalisation, itself a reflection of demographic legacies of inequality. Exploring social media practices though the case of African IDE students places these students centre stage and adds to the awareness of the multiple centres from which international education is practiced.     

Online Digital Media: The Uptake of YouTube-based Digital Clinical Education (DCE)

There has been considerable growth in the uptake of digital clinical education (DCE) over the last few years. This growth has coincided with similar growth in social media platforms available to both educators and learners. In this article, we describe a novel, innovative video-based medical education project using YouTube for teaching, training, and learning. We created a series of short ‘System based’ clinical scenario videos and uploaded it to YouTube. Using the analytics function provided by Google and YouTube, end-user data including viewer engagement, uptake, and comments were then analyzed. To date, the channel has garnered more than 5.5 million views over five years between July 2012-July 2017.

With the increase in the use of video-based learning and the popularity of social media platforms, the uptake of DCE is set to increase. YouTube offers a novel approach to streaming medical education for training purposes. A quality assessed, structured and sustainable educational online platform is likely to meet the future requirements of a new generation of learners.     

在线评论对在线学习平台用户使用意愿的影响

在线评论是潜在学习者评估平台的重要依据,有关在线评论与用户使用意愿关系的研究对促进平台的普及和推广有着重要的现实意义。本研究首先基于双重加工理论构建在线评论对在线学习平台用户使用意愿影响的概念模型,然后通过调查发现,双面评论、评论来源可信度、评论来源专业性、受欢迎程度以及第三方推荐正向显著影响在线评论有用性。在线评论有用性正向显著影响学习者的在线学习平台使用意愿,并在一定程度上调节评论来源专业性、受欢迎程度与使用意愿之间的关系。因此,保证在线评论的真实性、秉持在线评论应“有用”的理念、管理和完善在线评论内容、提升和优化服务水平,有助于提高潜在学习者的使用意愿。     

The use of Facebook to build a community for distance learning students: a case study from the Open University

Social media platforms such as Facebook are commonplace throughout society. However, within higher education institutions such networking environments are still in the developmental stage. This paper describes and discusses case study data from the Open University’s Faculty of Social Science Facebook page. It starts by giving an overview of the literature surrounding social media in higher education before examining how the Social Sciences Faculty at the Open University has used Facebook to help build an academic community. Data includes numerical information on number of likes, demographic data on students who use the page, analysis on the type and nature of comments and more qualitative extracts from postings related to academic questions. It also discusses challenges and difficulties with using such social media tools in a university environment and suggests fruitful areas for future research.     

Developing and Supporting Faculty Training for Online Social Work Education: The Columbia University School of Social Work Online Pedagogy Institute

ABSTRACT

With the growth of online and distance education in social work, faculty training and support need to be provided to ensure high-quality online social work education. A model for training social work educators in online teaching is outlined that focuses on pedagogy, technology, and social work values. Columbia University School of Social Work’s Online Campus provides a five-week Institute on Pedagogy and Technology for Online Courses for prospective social work instructors. The Institute provides a faculty training model that can be adopted in other social work programs, and seeks to model best practices in online education.     

The role of online communities and the impact of educational social media on Saudi female college students in the United States

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of online communities and the impact of educational social media on 14 Saudi female college students who were studying in the United States. The findings revealed that social media was important to the participants for maintaining relationships and seeking out information from others. Social media was also an important way for participants to remain close to their communities and keep in contact with Saudi friends and family; however, the use of social media to interact with their communities was often shaped by Saudi cultural expectations. Most of the participants enjoyed online education and interacting with others in an online educational setting because it promotes collaborative learning and cultural interaction. Overall, social media used for educational purposes was mostly seen by the participants as a positive and beneficial part of their educational experiences.     

Local Social Media Policies Governing Teachers’ Professionally Oriented Participation Online: a Content Analysis

In light of recent scholarship about teachers leveraging social media to support their continuing professional development, this article documents an investigation of school board policies governing teachers’ use of social media. Focusing on 30 traditional public school systems within a 10-county region in the Midwestern United States, the author collected social media policies and conducted an ethnographic content analysis to build an understanding of the policies that stand to guide teachers’ professionally oriented participation online. Of the 30 public school districts included in the study, 19 districts published policies specific to teachers’ use of social media. Reporting the study’s findings, the author addresses the districts’ efforts to craft policies that define social media, reiterate relevant pre-existing policies and support educational uses of social media. Implications for teachers, teacher educators and policymakers are included.     

A review of Education and Social Media using conflict and functionalist theories

Education and Social Media: Toward a Digital Future (2016), edited by Christine Greenhow, Julia Sonnevend, and Colin Agur, is a compilation of essays by leading contributors to the digital and social media movement in education. The chapters within this volume provide a granular look at the current landscape of how digital media is utilized across educational levels, fields of study, and geographic areas. The book is divided into three sections discussing the emerging use of social media in education, challenges in its implementation, and potential directions as tech-based education continues to evolve. In this review, we situate the ideas presented in Education and Social Media in the functionalist and conflict theories of educational perspective to further illuminate the potential of digital learning in supporting increased access to education for marginalized student populations. We discuss how these competing views are both given voice in Education and Social Media, prompting the reader to critically reflect on advantages and dangers presented by increased use of technological platforms in educational settings. Topics discussed include online universities, peer-developed curriculum, and differential use of technology based on school socioeconomic demographics. We also suggest areas that have emerged in need of further discussion since the book’s publication.     

How social media discourses organize communication online: a multi-level discursive analysis of tensions and contradictions in teens’ online experiences

Media reports frequently frame youth as foolish but also uniquely vulnerable when it comes to social media. However, adult framings of teen online activities and teens’ reported experiences regularly differ due to the privileging of adult concerns. In this paper, we take a youth-centered approach to teen online activities exploring the constitutive processes of social media and the micro-, meso-, and macro-level discourses associated with youth social media use. Through in-depth interviews with 55 culturally and socio-economically diverse young people, we examine the contradictions and tensions that organize teens’ experiences online, as well as the discursive resources they draw on to navigate online life. Our research showcases a multi-level discursive analysis that enables scholars to see how discourses intertwine to organize communication online, foregrounding theoretical implications about how young people resist and reify certain discourses about social media, as well as how identity and imagined audiences are maintained online.     

Ethical dilemmas on social media: Swedish secondary teachers’ boundary management on Facebook

With the aim of contributing to the research about the educational use of social media, the paper explores teachers’ experiences of ethical dilemmas on Facebook. The paper draws upon focus group interviews with Swedish secondary teachers. Two main categories of ethical dilemmas, related to the border between private and professional, are detected. The dilemmas concern (1) teachers’ moral responsibility for pupils’ actions and (2) how teachers appear on social media. Different boundary work practices created and used by teachers are identified. The main conclusion is that, by having contact with pupils in a virtual social arena originally intended for private use, teachers’ use of social media brings to fore and intensifies deep-rooted ethical questions about what the teacher role is and should be. Teachers’ participation on social media such as Facebook compels them to reflect upon and position their preferred teacher role in these new social arenas.     

Taking place: the social construction of place,time and space,and the (re)making of distances in distance education

This paper endeavours to link the notions of distance and place to distance education, using social scientific theories of distance. A selection of the work of geographers, historians and sociologists concerning theories of distance and place are related critically to the administration, management and practices of distance education. Distance and place are presented as a concept which individuals construct for themselves in relation to the broader social contexts of their lives. The relationships between students and their distance education institutions represent encounters between a variety of distance relations which are rarely considered by distance educationists.

It is argued that distance education institutions play a part in ‘choreographing’ the existences of their students. In effect, a series of movements in time‐space are choreographed in order for people to be ‘distance students’. Such a choreography is founded on unstated assumptions about place and distance and is constructed through the bureaucracies and processes of distance education, particularly through the use of non‐dialogic forms of communications.     

Potential of the social media as instruments of higher education marketing: a segmentation study

The importance of social media as platforms of social interaction, communication and marketing is growing. Increasing numbers of businesses in various industries have already integrated or plan to integrate social media applications into their marketing programs. Higher education institutions show increased interest in the potential of social media as a marketing tool. Particularly important is the potential of these tools to reach and attract future students. An important issue for research is to understand how potential students use social media and what their role is in the decision making process of choosing a program of study, a University, or College. This paper identifies market segments among future students based on the use of the social media and examines the impact of the social media on the choice of a higher education program and institution.

The study is based on data collected by means of a national survey among future university students in the Netherlands. Future students are pupils from the last two years of secondary education. Market segmentation was carried out based on the use of social media, by means of a cluster analysis and a factor analysis; the latter proved to be the best choice since it produced more differentiated market segments.

The findings indicate the existence of three distinct segments in the population of future students in the Netherlands on the basis of social media use. Another major finding of the study is that future students are mostly interested in social interaction and information seeking when using social media, while the content contributed by this group is limited to photo and video sharing. Compared to traditional communication channels social media still play a secondary role in the students' choice.

While penetration of social media is extremely high among future students, the impact of these in the choice of study and institution is relatively low compared to more traditional forms of university marketing. This paper provides university marketers with a useful insight into the developments in the market and discusses various options and opportunities for engaging social media as effective marketing tools.     

Behavior,perceptions and learning experience of undergraduates using social technologies during internship

Social technologies such as social networking sites, Wikis and blogs have gained popularity not only in social communication but also in other areas, such as in enhancing learning experience among students in tertiary education. This study investigated how blogs and Facebook scaffolded students’ learning during their internships in tertiary education. A mix-method approach was employed to examine students’ perceptions of blogs and Facebook in improving their internship learning experience. The results showed that blogs and Facebook encouraged students and facilitated their engagement in problem solving, information sharing and knowledge construction during their internships. In particular, Facebook showed more promising results, assisting students in reflecting on their experiences. Moreover, students acknowledged that Facebook was a better platform for online interaction and collaborative learning than blogs. This study provides empirical evidence for the use of social media tools in pedagogical scaffolding and collaborative learning during internships.

     

Conceptualising online knowledge sharing: what teachers’ perceptions can tell us

This study questions the current dependence on theories of social learning and communities of practice in research on teachers’ online learning and online knowledge-sharing behaviour. It employs the interpretative approach to examine how teachers conceptualise their engagement with two USA-based online knowledge-sharing platforms within the context of their broader teaching practice. The findings suggest that the platforms, together with teachers’ engagement with them, are intimately connected with, and must be understood in reference to, both the online and offline contexts in which they operate, with each setting providing unique affordances that shape engagement and outcomes. Teachers’ engagement was largely motivated by their individual knowledge requirements and practice-based needs, resulting in learning primarily being individually rather than socially mediated and constructed.