Blog post 8
- How does a PLN give power to messaging for an individual or community?
PLN’s give power to messaging both individually and as a community through interactions. When I think about this question, I think about a web, and that we are all connected both on individual basis and sometimes on a larger community basis.
- Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?
PLN’s help the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse because it allows stories to continue. As mentioned in Brad Bakers interview, in traditional textbook style learning we only hear the story from one point of view, which is usually the side of the honored not the side of the oppressed. Therefore, having a diverse PLN is beneficial as it allows us to hear more than one story, and chances are that someone in your PLN has felt like the honored in a situation, and one likely has felt like the oppressed. As a teacher, I often think if what I am doing it beneficial to students, especially when it comes to teaching aboriginal education. I struggle with teaching aboriginal education (which is a large part of Social Studies 9 curriculum) because I feel like I do not know what it was like to be in a residential school; however, I feel as though if I recognize that and show my compassion then my students do not view me as unjustified. There are certain aspects of aboriginal education that I will bring members of the Ktunaxa community in to help me as it is their traditions, and feel as though I would ruin it by trying to educate my students on those certain topics.
This questions makes me think of a TED Talk video called “The danger of a single story” https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
- How does the use of PLN raise awareness opportunities in education?
PLN raises awareness in education through many channels and ways of communicating, for example my school that I currently work at has a Facebook page where information is shared, as well as a group email system; therefore, information that needs to go out right away is present in those locations. One example, we had a serious lock down in our school last year, where the building was surround with armed police officers. In minutes, we had phone calls to the school from parents and guardians wondering what was going on. After we got the all clear and could get the information out, we used our school Facebook group and reached out as fast as we could to let everyone know we were all safe and accounted for.
- What is the role of social media in education?
Social media plays a large role in education now, from instructional how-to videos to simply connecting with peers. As an educator I have witnessed social media have both positive and negative effects on students. The positive effects I have witnessed is the ability that students have to connect with the world, whether that is friends, family, or influencers. Students also have the ability to look up or research anything at the touch of a finger, if they know how to navigate properly. However, the largest negative effect I have witnessed in my classroom through social media is bullying online. Students can hide behind their screen and be very malicious to others on social media, as majorities of social media sites have the messaging ability and quite often with social media sites, the conversations can be untraceable.
- What are some problems with social media communications in education settings?
Problems that can occur with social media communications are often unintentional; however, they can last a lifetime. One problem with social media in education is the ability to misinterpret what an individual has wrote on social media because there is no tone in the context of what they are writing. Another issue that can occur on social media in education settings is the inability to retrieve something once you have sent or posted something that may potentially be controversial.
Social Media influences for Brad Baker:
@leonaprince
@conniewalker
@learnforward
Works Cited:
Adichie, C. (n.d.). The danger of a single story. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
Miller, Jesse. “EDCI 338 – BRAD BAKER.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 04 Mar. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy63SmEpvCw
Michelle, I sympathize with some of the issues you have in your profession and I thought your blog was very insightful. I want you to know that I think you are being too hard on yourself about “if you don’t show compassion towards First Nations education than your students will view you as unjustified”. I have a teammate that is First Nations and it is difficult to try and understand the daily struggles that she goes through because I have not seen them first hand. I do have a lot of compassion for her but it can be hard to express without having fear of saying something wrong. In high school, we had an Elder come in to speak with us about some of the difficulties First Nations students face and the advice he gave us was to” just be honest and to be ourselves”. From what I read in your blog, that is what you are doing and not every teacher would be as concerned as you. Your students are lucky to have a teacher that cares so much.
Thank you @callim10 I appreciate your post. I do think as long as we are open and honest, and acknowledge that we are trying our best.