scholarly journals Leading in a digital age : digital leaders' impact on the professional development culture in a secondary school setting

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kayla R. England
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Kansas City ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Leadership Programs ◽  
Service Leadership ◽  
Presence Data ◽  
Principal Interviews

The greater demand for administrators and teachers to stay current in the ever-changing world of technology and education (Cho, 2016; Merriam and Bierema, 2014), justifies the need for more effective, personalized approaches to professional development (Dill, 2015). The data analysis procedure in this study was multi-step and addressed the five research questions. A convergent-mixed design approach was used to capture both quantitative and qualitative data through the theoretical lens of Adult Learning Theory. This research was conducted on the campuses of four rural high schools within 90 minutes of Kansas City where two principals had a presence on social media, and two principals did not have a presence. Data were collected through four principal interviews and 106 teacher surveys. Lastly, the researcher collected survey data from 30 higher education pre-service professors who are actively teaching within their institution's pre-service leadership programs. Qualitative analysis found three recurring themes: Professional learning in the digital age, social media in schools, and lack of preparation and training at the preservice leadership level. Additionally, quantitative data showed there is a difference in teacher's perceptions of professional development if their principal is active on social media or not active on social media. Research from this study shows that principal's commitment to personalized professional development, using Twitter, promotes a culture of collaboration and self-directed learning. Knowing this, the data provides the necessary research for universities to include the use of social media as a professional tool for principals within the curriculum of their leadership programs and provide professors the necessary professional development and resources to achieve this goal.

Social Media and Professional Learning Networks

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-199
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
International Society ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Media Platforms

This chapter examines social media as a form of professional development. It sheds light on social media platforms that support collaboration and reflection among educators. The International Society for Teachers in Education (ISTE) continues to stress the importance of teachers possessing skills and behaviors of digital age professionals. This is necessary as educators become co-learners with their students and colleagues around the world. Social networks, such as Twitter and Google+ communities, provide opportunities to move up the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, or offer a method of seeing how computer technology might impact teaching and learning, as well as professional learning for teachers.

A Decade of Research on K–12 Teaching and Teacher Learning with Social Media: Insights on the State of the Field

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-72
Author(s):  
Christine Greenhow ◽  
Sarah M. Galvin ◽  
Diana L. Brandon ◽  
Emilia Askari
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
The State ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
K 12

Background and Context The increasingly widespread use of social media to expand one's social connections is a relatively new but important phenomenon that has implications for teaching, learning, and teachers’ professional knowledge and development in the 21st century. Educational research in this area is expanding, but further investigation is necessary to better determine how to best support teachers in their professional development, collaboration, and classroom teaching. Prior literature reviews have focused extensively on higher education settings or particular platforms or platform types (e.g., Facebook, microblogging). This article provides needed insights into K–12 settings and encompasses work from a variety of social media types. We describe a systematic review of more than a decade of educational research from various countries to present the state of the field in K–12 teachers’ use of social media for teaching and professional learning across various platforms. Research Questions To define social media's potentially beneficial roles in teaching and learning, we must first take an in-depth look at teachers’ current social media practices. Toward this end, we approached our review with the following research question: How are social media perceived and used by K–12 teachers for their teaching or professional learning, and with what impacts on teachers’ practices? Research Design Guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) established standards for rigor and quality in systematic literature reviews, this article reviews empirical research to examine how social media are perceived and used by K–12 teachers with what impacts on teachers’ practices. Findings We find that social media features offer several benefits for helping teachers fulfill their goals for classroom teaching, including enhancing student engagement, community connections, and teacher–student interactions, but these affordances come with challenges that must be navigated. The literature also suggests that social media features provide benefits for teachers’ professional learning within both formal professional development programs and informal learning networks. Conclusions Implications of this literature review for future research and the design of educational practices are discussed in the final section. Among our conclusions are calls for more data triangulation between teachers’ and students’ learning and experiences on social media, more attention to teachers’ observational behaviors on social media, and further exploration of how social media facilitates interplay between teachers’ formal and informal learning.

scholarly journals Professional Learning in a Digital Age / L’apprentissage professionnel à l’ère numérique

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charmaine Brooks ◽  
Susan Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Teaching Profession ◽  
Formation Professionnelle ◽  
De Re ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Online Teacher

While professional development (PD) has always been central to the teaching profession, increasingly traditional models of PD are out of step with contemporary ways of learning. Commiserate with the literature, we see the field moving along a continuum which reflects changes in what, how and when teachers learn. Following a brief sketch of the online teacher professional development (oTPD) field, we identify important considerations of emerging models of technology-mediated professional learning (TMPL). We posit the catalyst for the transformation of education, as envisioned by countless educational leaders, may lie in reimaging professional development as professional learning in a networked age. Alors que le perfectionnement professionnel (« PP ») a toujours été au cœur de la profession d’enseignant, les modèles traditionnels de PP sont de plus en plus décalés par rapport aux méthodes contemporaines d’apprentissage. Nous voyons ce domaine progresser dans un continuum qui reflète les changements dans ce que les enseignants apprennent, dans la façon et le moment où ils l’apprennent, et cette progression correspond à la littérature. Après un survol du domaine du perfectionnement professionnel en ligne pour les enseignants, nous cernons des considérations importantes sur les modèles émergents de la formation professionnelle assistée par ordinateur. Nous postulons que le catalyseur de la transformation de l’éducation, comme conçue par d’innombrables chefs de file de la pédagogie, pourrait être de ré-imaginer le perfectionnement professionnel comme une formation professionnelle à l’ère des réseaux.

scholarly journals Librarians’ Use of Social Media for Professional Development in Nigeria

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 136-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uloma Doris Onuoha
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Online Forum ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Learning Development

This paper examined the use of social media for professional development by librarians in Nigeria. The study was carried out using the survey research method. The study population was made up of 1294 registered members of Nigerian Library Association Online Forum. Random sampling technique was used in selecting 297 respondents for the study. Data was collected by means of questionnaire. Findings from the study revealed that online discussion forums such as NLA online forum, online social networks such as Facebook and Wikis were mostly used for professional development, while others such as podcast and book marking tools were used minimally. Librarians were also found to learn mostly by reading through the conversations of others and joining discussion groups. Based on the findings, the study concluded that librarians in Nigeria actively seek means of professional development using social media and recommends among others, that the use of social media applications such as podcast and bookmarking tools be explored as they could also contribute to professional learning/development.

Future Research and Directions for Professional Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 163-181
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Practice ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Continuous Learning ◽  
Future Learning

This chapter provides direction for future learning endeavors that inform teacher practice. It provides leaders with suggestions for professional development including the understanding of layers present in collaboration, such as the development of trust and respect that leads to a collective responsibility. Teachers valued this cycle of learning resulting in time for continuous learning. This cycle, referred to as the Cycle of Continuous Improvement, will be elaborated on as it pertains to professional development. Additionally, social media as a form of professional learning is examined. Suggestions for self-directed investigation and application are provided.

Using Twitter to Form Professional Learning Communities

2022 ◽  
pp. 510-525
Author(s):  
Mete Akcaoglu ◽  
Charles B. Hodges ◽  
Lucas John Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
State Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Synchronous Chat ◽  
The Social ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Teacher Professional

Social media has become an important tool for informal teacher professional development. Although there is a growing body of research investigating issues across the US, there is a lack of research on teacher professional development taking place on Twitter in Georgia, USA. In this research, the authors applied digital methods to analyze 5,425 entries from educators participating in a state-level, weekly, synchronous chat about educational technology (#TECHTalkGA) on the social media platform Twitter. Findings include that participants utilized the chat for organization, planning, and classroom technologies, with a predilection toward specific hardware and software topics. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Using Social Media as a Platform for a Virtual Professional Learning Community

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Bedford
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Faculty Professional Development ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Media Platform

The Professional Learning Community (PLC) has been used in higher education to provide a platform for faculty members to discuss challenges and build professional skills. While the virtual PLC (VPLC) is becoming a more acceptable delivery mechanism for faculty professional development, successful practices for designing these learning environments has received little attention in the research literature.   Social media has been found to provide an environment in which professional learning can occur.  However, social media use for professional development has primarily focused on informal learning in unstructured formats.  The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study was to provide insight into how a purposefully structured social media platform might be used to support a VPLC.  Twenty-two doctoral mentoring faculty members from an online university agreed to participate in a VPLC using a social media platform and facilitated by expert colleagues.  Upon completion of the ten-week experience, data was collected using a self-reflective interview strategy. This study confirmed previous research into the benefits of the PLC for professional development in academia and of using social media for professional learning.  It extended the research to describe the structured, VPLC using a social medial platform to engage faculty, build relationships and foster shared learning. 

Integrating Mobile Devices in the Mathematics Curriculum

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
Maria Meletiou-Mavrotheris ◽  
Efi Paparistodemou ◽  
Christiana M. Christou
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Program Implementation ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Device Use

The case study took place in a primary school in Cyprus (student ages 6-12), which implemented a two-year multifaceted professional development program aimed at the effective integration of tablet technologies within the mathematics curriculum. The program adopted a systemic, school-based and collaborative model of professional development that focused on the broad preparation and ongoing engagement of all key stakeholders. This article focuses on research conducted during the first year of the program implementation. It portrays the initial state of mobile device use in the case study school ecosystem, describes the process of tablet integration within the school setting, and interrogates the self-reported reflections of a core team of six (n=6) teachers in the school regarding their professional learning experiences as a result of participating in the program. Findings suggest that the model of professional development adopted by the program effectively contributed to the integration of mobile devices into the school setting and to teacher professional learning.

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