Listen to my latest phonecast, a reading of ‘If’ – Rudyard Kipling as requested by David Mitchell in a tweet.
I am pleased to say he liked it.
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In my first response to Robyn Evans (Head of Marketing and Stakeholder Relations) request for opinion on Twitter and Social Media I focused on the use of these tools for teachers, teaching and learning. Since then introduced by Yr 10 and 11 English classes to Tweetories in English and enjoyed a brief email exchange with Prof Dylan Williams on the topic of feedback in the classroom. Twitter, or in this case Analogue providing a feedback back channel.
The second sub title proposed by Robyn Evans focused on Twitter and Social Media for school management and parental engagement. At the end of August I met with hyper-connected Assistant Headteacher @Stuartridout. During the informal meeting he used the term ‘socially enabled’ to describe his school website – covering its use of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Is this Parental Engagement? IMHO, sharing information and publicising the the inner working of the school / classroom is great exploitation of the social media, published to the world rather than ‘the corridor,’ but its only one aspect of engagement.Social media permits the sharing of information and content however tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube have yet to be re-purposed for convey the information ‘we think’ parents want about their childs education, attendance, behaviour and academic progress.
To this end, technology has already made progress, there are a number of school exploiting ’gateways,’ ‘sharepoints,’ and ‘portals’ to access data. Yet, I am still not sure that this alone constitutes engagement. What I am looking for, aspiring to, is an academic conversation about and including the learner.
The evidence for Twitter and Social Media for Professional Development is overwhelming? In fact the online conversation has CPD from continuous professional development to constant professional development. Communities #edchat, #engchat, #lrnchat, blogs, Nings, iTunes University, NCSL, Teacherstv, Teacher forums - if anything, any new ideas will find themselves in the shade of the innovators. Classroom 2.0 for example has over 47,000 members, Facebook literally hundreds of connected teacher conversations, school fan pages, hundreds of shared, collaborative resource focused wikis, Microsoft Learning Partners and Google Certified Teacher programme and we have not touched upon Youtube, Last.fm, Mind maps, RSS, blogs and photo sharing sites. Should teachers tweet? Should teacher use social media? If we set aside the inertia of getting started (and that is a debate in its own right) if you are not modelling learning yourself are you being an effective practitioner?
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The SSATs opening question (above) was then expanded to include a review of the use of social media technologies
We were advised to write ‘a number of concise paragraphs, perhaps one on each use of social media mentioned above??’ Which, in writing this article, I now realised was an error. Those ‘mentioned above’ are in fact settings and not examples, of social media?? But we know what the SSAT are looking for, plus ‘one or more (paragraphs) outlining how you overcame any resistance or barriers to the use of social media.’ Well the barriers to social media certainly exist and I haven’t managed to get around them yet! In summary, a very attractive opportunity and a good reason to bring my thinking together on this thorny issue.
So, here is my formal response…
IMHO there is sufficient educational richness in Twitter alone, to write an article under each setting, without even touching upon the even broader headline of social media. Social being the key word. For the record and what part of the WWW is not social (out of school beyond the filters?) Almost every web resource and website enables comments, a feedback box, RSS or ‘contacts us’ form, including the vast majority of school websites.
So, refocus. Twitter not in my the classroom.
Arrrhh the hallowed grounds of the ‘classroom.’ Almost all known social media / networking sites are blocked County wide, that is IMing or chatrooms to those of us older than Google (12). Bit of an official dead end for students (unless using their phones or deviant tactics). Teachers can often access social tools (that’s fair) and can therefore share its influence and many teachers do but that’s like demonstrating a painting technique in Art but withholding the student’s brushes.
How versatile is Twitter? or 140 characters. You would think that this limitation would hold you back? It does. It makes you think and write more efficiently (note, I didn’t say correctly). The teaching opportunities of Twitter are only limited by your creativity / efficiency. Crowd sourcing ideas / opinions from your network, potentially anyone on the planet. Not bad for starters. MFL, send a Twitter in Spanish to which the students respond in English? Or translate? Lesson feedback, #likes and #dislikes (Yes, I do realise you could just ask the students but does everyone get a chance to reply? No.) Paragraph reviews, chapter reviews, book reviews?! Now there is a precise challenge. Instead, write a book, ok a story maybe, collaboratively, twittories adding 140 characters to the story at any given time. Chinese twhispers. Follow a famous Tweeter, are they who they say they are? Ask a famous Tweeter? Tweet as if you were… Controversially, as a conversation / home study tool? Or a little grandeur, Romeo and Juliet tweet-a-thon (hyperlinked if online) (link if offline http://www.suchtweetsorrow.com/).
Twitter is being used from ‘kindergarten’ to the Lecture hall and if that not enough breadth, here are 100 ways to teach with twitter. (There may be some duplication, but come on, I think I did quite well with 15 or so and we have not touch any 3rd party tools (extras or add-ons). I can’t resist, just one idea. Every Easter my father in-law hides Easter eggs. He then created blurred or very close-up photos of the hiding places. The children have to find the treasure, using just the visual clues. What about posting Twitpics – easy from any smart phone. ‘Where am I?’ to engage students in preparation for visits or whilst out at an educational visit? Or for those back at the ranch?
As for social media in the classroom – lets start with the myriad of VLE tools, forums, chats, wikis and blog, plus questionnaires, surveys and all things embeddable. Moving onto Mind-mapping, data-mapping, Micro Mobbing, Wallwish(er)ing, Instant Messaging (IM-ing), real-time quizzing, Google Docs, Google Apps, Microsoft Web Apps and there lies a book chapter. Take a breath. Social book-marking, Music streaming, video sharing, photo sharing, online gaming, Gaming? Isn’t the Wii social? Geo-caching, VOIP, forums, voting, e-pals…. and of course social networking site such as NING and Gr.oups, ELGG, Facebook (or not to Facebook) and the soon to be Diaspora . What is worrying, is I know that I have only included those social tools I have tried and tested or tools that I am waiting for an opportunity to experiment with, with the help of students.
Why should teachers investigate and use these tools? In my early years of teaching, my mentor suggested I listened to the charts once in a while, ‘to help me get to know my students.’ Oasis and Blur battled it out in the charts, and I got a little insight into my students ‘out of education’ interests. I occasionally let students set up class-sourced play lists and they got to know a little about one another. Working with social media is not just about ‘using’ tools, but engaging with students. I have witnessed all male PE groups, chart monstrous mind maps in webare tool Bubbl.us, boys who hardly write a stitch and only when if they brought writing equipment to class. I observed lessons where real-time or IM (fast to respond) quizzing grabbed the students focus, a potent mixture of something new, technology, competition and instant feedback. Back in 2007, I experimented with wiki’s and the discussion boards behind the pages. A single Sports class contributing 100+ posts, some 1000+ views, debating the personality of elite athletes, well footballers mainly. Students posting, evaluating, challenging and defending their opinions and the opinions of class peers. I admit it, the spelling could be improved but thinking was sharp.
IMHO, social media tools are not an essential ingredient for an outstanding learning experience but they can enhance / diversify / transform / expand / focus / extend / motivate / ripen the learning experience, heighten the emotional connect with the learning and therefore magnify the learning influence of the lesson.
That is where we are now, where are we going? Social mobile tools are on the horizon. Geo-location activities are already social and already mainstream, Foursquare and so on. How will they be re-designed for educational use I don’t know? Google backed SCVNGR has great potential? Will Augmented Reality, RFID or QR codes have both a social and education influence? Shall we at least get Twitter unblocked first.
(For the record, I understand that child safety is extremely important to parents, schools and LEAs, and some filtering is necessary, however I also believe that educating our students is as important as protecting them.)
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Last week @SSAT put out a call for opinions, contributions to ‘Should teachers tweet? Social media and education.’
With the help of Maureen Bowes (of People Intelligence) I had already started to organise my thoughts about Twitter in a post title ’5th Gear – Twitter for School Leaders.’ With Maureen’s input it documents the process of introducing a colleague to Twitter, taking into account not only the process but the emotions on the learner. (Its not yet finished but accessible via a SkyDrive). In a two week trial, Maureen engaged with Twitter – considering the implications for coaching ‘leaders’ through this journey. One might suggestion that Twitter is an article in its own right. Twitter media exposure often puts it in the limelight, but there is so much more.
I had already invested time in this training / sharing experience, in the process, documenting my Tweets, @pplintelligence replies and DMs and felt that the scope of the @SSAT title was in fact very broad. Twitter alone offers a mini series.
Twitter – converting the unsure
Twitter etiquette – follow, followers, @replies, DMs, # hasttags
Mobile Twitter – Smart phones vs desktop clients
Twitter – avoiding overload
Twither 5th Gear – twtapps and more.
I shared my thoughts Robyn Evans (Head of Marketing and Stakeholder Relations) and enjoyed a very open and positive conversation. @SSAT Twitter may have started the conversation, but the phone call certainly added depth to the conversation. I applaud the @SSAT for publishing this request, to crowd sourcing opinion (even if it may not reach the un-connected teachers this way) and I am confident that this approach, the finished article, will in itself answer the original question, ‘Should teachers tweet? Social media and education.’ Part b of this post, will of course be my response.
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I am a fan of the TV hit series ‘Lie to Me’ and this led me to the research of Dr Paul Ekman. I read his book, albeit little heavy going, and clearly see the relevance between deception detection and the demands placed on teachers. Deception detection is a skill developed by almost all teachers, in almost every school, with some teachers and school staff considered unofficial deception detection experts. Commonly, it would appear that pastoral staff possess refined deception detection and resolution skills as well as a high degree of Emotional Intelligence (I would assume). Yet, despite having to call upon our deception detection skills nearly every lesson and even in between lessons, every day, I don’t think that I have once seen a training event or CPD session assigned to help teachers and school staff refine these skills?
In fact, I don’t think that these skills were highlighted in the recent, very useful, crowd sourced #PGCE Survival Guide? (I will ask).
@tomhenzley were there any tips on how to deal with students not telling the truth??
@KristianStill. Eh? In the book? Not really I don’t think. Why?
Why… as I think many teachers, especially teachers in training would benefit from some guidance on deception detection.
How do teachers detect an untruth? What strategies do experienced teachers employ?
Here are a few ‘magpied’ strategies from colleagues that have influenced my career.
Online colleagues offered their perspective as well
@KristianStill difficult one. Gather evidence, ask appropriate questions, link evidence, talk on their own, with fiends in front of parents
A three part tweet outlined a key point.
@KristianStill Talk to EVERYONE and be sparing with what you know yourself. "I need you to be honest and I want to understand…" Give them time to think. Smile and empathise (but don’t undermine seriousness) And, of course, a big pile of written statements from others can help too #ukedchat
A very different strategy (depending on the situation) was offered,
#ukedchat @KristianStill dpds on situ. but i talk to others privately first pretend i know more then i do. want their side of things.
@KristianStill let them know if done something wrong, fine, we can work on that. they lie = loss of trust = less opportunities #ukedchat
@KristianStill clicking on their name on the register, bring up their behaviour record and see they have previous for the thing they deny
I would have to conclude that as I have developed my deception detection strategies, the more time I give my students to be honest. Reduce to punishment for telling the truth (be consistent) and raise the punitive measures for prolonged lies.
Our aim is not merely to discover the truth but to understand why they lied,’ Dr Cal Lightman.
Thanks @ajking1, @janekilpatrick, @onmejack and @paulhaigh for your contributions.
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