Reflective Statement
On reflection, my growth as a social networker during the course of
studying INF506 has been a very steep learning curve. I identified
in my initial definition of social networking as the “sharing of information and ideas, by personally
‘connecting’ to the world regardless of distance” (Stephan’s Reflective
Journal. (a). 2015).
At that phase, I had made minimal reference to the interactive technologies that were manipulated to allow this connection
to take place. On reflection I now consider that my greatest progression
over the past months of this subject has been in the expansion of my use of
these technologies in developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) of social
and professional contacts.
Learning
within this subject has been a fragmented development, with the modules giving
me a great deal to think about, demonstrating the real world usefulness of the
new (to me), social networking tools I was exploring, while I try to relate them
into my known models of education and libraries and then apply them to my
professional relevance in helping teachers and students harness these online
resources.
The very
fact that I am not currently employed in the either the education or library
fields increases the significance of this subject to my studies; the isolation
of distance education has been compounded by not having the work contacts to
bounce ideas off. I only wish that I had enrolled in Social Networking at the
beginning of my studies rather than almost at the end.
My Blogging use has grown throughout the reflective statement
made to record my learning across the subjects in my Masters. Facebook is an
additional social networking tool that has been enriched through my participation
in this subject. While I have used Facebook for many years on a personal and
social level, the educational purposes demonstrated in this course has helped
me develop ideas to exploit its potential for connecting linking others as part
of each persons PLN. As demonstrated in my first assignment the personal and
educational developmental benefits of collaboration using Facebook go beyond social
connections to networking on a global scale.
I envision any page I create being used by teachers and students
as well as motorcyclists as a reference to their own knowledge while discussing
and sharing viewpoints that come from this collaboration.
I do have difficulty in relating the information experienced
within this course to my preceding experience of educational libraries. My
previous library, and workplace, was mired in a Web 1.0 culture where static
information was presented online with no attempt at developing interaction between
students, teachers and the library. The reasoning behind this policy was to
minimize the potential for abuse or misuse of social networks, as well as with
teachers and library heads reluctance to use social networking as a educational
tool (Johnson, 2010).
However, I believe that with the amount of online education that
is potentially at our fingertips, being unwilling to embrace the concept of
social networking is not the remedy. A proactive policy, coupled with instruction
and codes of conduct can support and encourage cybersafe behaviors for students while encouraging staff to work with student’s use
of technology by allowing them to see how it can be used to better their
teaching (Cybersmart 2015).
My engagement within social networking that has been presented
in this course has impressed upon me the fact that, when used positively, this communal two-way interaction need not be the ‘poisoned chalice’
(Stephan’s
Reflective Journal, 2015), but have the
potential to create collaborative environments with
the potential to bring likeminded members of these communities together for
their long term benefit.
We’re living
in a new learning environment, where social networking has the
capacity to change the way students can learn, if educational institutions can
change the way they view information.
What has
become evident over the course of this subject is the impact I
can make on a learning community in its shift toward becoming a digital
networked school, by increasing my capacity to effect change in the
learning environments of those around me.
To make the
most of these opportunities, it will require my embracing new technologies that
will allow me to educate students to be responsible digital citizens by facilitating
change to a social networked school where students do not learn within an
information void (Hay, 2010; Marcinek, 2010).
No comments:
Post a Comment