TwitterandProfessionalDevelopmentforTeachers

PaulDoyleGraduateSymposiumUniversityofManitoba

March6,2015

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•  “WiththegrowingavailabilityofWeb2.0toolstoconnectlearnersandscholarsallovertheworld—onlinecollaborativeworkspaces,socialnetworkingtools,mobile,andmore—teachingandscholarshiparetranscendingtraditionalbordersmoreandmoreallthetime,”(HorizonReport,2009).

•  ThePartnershipfor21stCenturySkillsdevelopedaframeworkforthefoundationsandskillsasneededbythenewdigitallearner,(www.p21.org,2013).

Today’sLearningShift

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Transitionintothe21stCenturyModel

“Honeycomb”DigitalLearner

Synchronous;Researchbased;Web;Mobile;Video;Audio;Multitasking;Groupandprojectbased;Non-Linear;

Buildingrelationships;Criticalthinking;Problemsolving;Greaterhorizontalanddynamiclearning.

MentorFacilitator&Collaboration

StudentRelevance

StudentRigour

StudentCommuni-cation

StudentCriticalThinking

StudentCreativity

StudentRelationships

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Theadvancementofexpertiseandskillsforsuccessinaparticularprofession.Thisusuallytakesplacethroughsomeformaleducationalprocessandcontinuum.Toenhanceteacherprofessionaldevelopment,itisimportanttostudythecharacteristics,patterns,andtheactivitiesoftheteachersthatareengagedinforPD.

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ProfessionalDevelopment

•  Thenewtechnologicalandpedagogicalparadigms(mobile,global,immediate,andubiquitousinformation)donotequatetoteachersautomaticallylearningthisnew21stcenturyeducationalandPDreality,(Lieberman&Mace,2008).

•  Thisoftenresultsinadisconnectbetweentoday’sPDandtheeducator(groupedbygradelevel,timeallocation).

•  PDisconstrainedtodayascontinuoustrainingisneededtomeetthenewdemandsofthestudentandadministration,(Hooker,2008).

•  Thisnewlearningparadigmshouldbereflectedinhoweducatorslearnwhileworkingintheircareers.

BackgroundofResearchProblem

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•  Twittercanbeanexcellentvehicleforfacilitatingprofessionallearningnetworks.

•  Twitterprovidesavastpoolofeasilyaccessibleresourcesandtalentssothatteacherscanexpandtheirownprofessionaldevelopmentanytimeandanywhere.

•  Twitterallowsthedirectfollowingofexpertsinanyprofessionorareaofinterestaroundtheworld.

•  Twitterisfree,veryfluid,mobile,andcollaborative.

WhyUseTwitteroverothertools?

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TofindtheanswerofhowTwittercanenhancePDforeducators,Iexamined:1.  Whoaretheteachersandwhatarethe

characteristicsofthoseeducatorsthatparticipateinTwitterforprofessionaldevelopment?

2.  WhatdrawsK-12teachersandothereducatorstoparticipateinprofessionaldevelopmentusing21stcenturylearningWeb2.0tools,andspecificallyTwitter?

3.  HowdoK-12teachersandothereducatorsparticipateinprofessionaldevelopmentusingTwitter?

MyResearchQuestions

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•  Thereisalackofempiricalevidencelinkinggreateruseofdigitaltechnologiesandincreasedlearning,(Ritchell,2011).

•  ThereisalackofdirectionforteacherstotakeadvantageofWeb2.0toolsforlearningandprofessionaldevelopment,(Greenhow&Gleason,2012).

•  TwitterisseenasausefultoolforenhancingPD,(Deyamport,2013).

•  Tu,Blocher,andNtoruru,(2008)foundthatWeb2.0toolsenhancedcreativity,sharing,andcollaborationamongusersinlearningcommunities.

•  ManyteachersfinditdifficulttoinfuseeffectiveWeb2.0pedagogicalandskillrelatedresourcesandpracticesintheirteaching,(Pan&Franklin,2011).

2.LiteratureSupport

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•  Anonlinecross-sectionalsurveyexaminedthedemographics,themotivations,andthepracticesofTwitterusersineducationinrelationtoprofessionaldevelopment.

•  AGoogleFormsonlinesurveyconsistedofclosed-endedandopen-endedquestions.

•  Atweetwassentcontainingalinktothesurveyform.•  Thesurveytookapproximatelyfiveminutestocomplete.•  Over18yearsofageandanonymous.

3.ResearchMethodology

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4.Results#1.Whoaretheteachersandwhatarethe

characteristicsofthoseeducatorsthatparticipateinTwitterforprofessionaldevelopment?

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ParticipantsbyCountryofOrigin(153inTotal)

Number

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SubjectAreasTaught

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SubjectAreasofParticipants(238ChosenOptions)

Number

WhoisusingTwitter?•  57%arefemaleand42%aremale.•  50%are41to55yearsofage.•  42%taught16to30yearsintheschoolsystem.•  39%haveatleastaMastersdegree.•  61%oftheparticipantsareclassroomteachers.•  26%areinadministration.•  41%have100to500followersandfollowing.

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SummarizedResults

Percentageofparticipantsthateitherstronglyagreedoragreedtothefollowingstatements:•  80%:Twitterhelpswithcollaborationwithmycolleagues.•  89%:Twittersavestimeinsharinginformation.•  98%:Twitterkeepsmecurrentwitheducationalmaterial.•  95%:Twitterhelpsmefindneweducationalleaders.•  98%:TwitterconnectsmewithpeoplethatIwouldhave

nevermetotherwise.

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#2.WhatdrawsK-12teachersandothereducatorstoparticipateinprofessionaldevelopmentusing21stcentury

learningWeb2.0tools,andspecificallyTwitter?

Continued:

•  75%:Igetencouragementfromothers.•  87%:Ifeelmoreconnectedasateacher.•  82%:TwitterenhancesmyuseofWeb2.0tools.•  76%:Twitterincreasesmyclassroomsubjectknowledge.

•  92%:TwitterenhancesmyPD.•  58%:IpreferTwitterforPDovertraditionalPDmethods(29%neutral).

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WhatDrawsEducatorstoTwitter?

•  Beingconnectedatanytimeandanyplace.•  Connectingwithcolleagues,educators,subjectexperts,andprofessionals.

•  Encouragement,positivefeedback.•  Reducesisolationforteachers,especiallyinremoteareasandenvironments.

•  Communityinvolvement(localandglobal).•  Facilitatesconferencing,PLNsandcollaboration.•  Immediatesharingandcommunicating.•  Usingfree,currentresourcesandcreativematerial.•  IncontroloftheirownPD,personalized,non-hierarchalmodel.

•  CuriosityandTwitterisasocialmeetingplace.15

ReasonsforUsingTwitterforPD(open-endedquestion)

ThedistributionofthefollowingtypesofTwitteractivitiesusedbytheparticipantsinthisstudy:•  Websitelinks/audio/video/blogs(26%)•  Onlinedocuments(PDFs,Docs,etc.)(19%)•  Twitterchats(17%)•  Personallinks(personalthoughts)(15%)•  Classroominformation(12%)•  Emaillinks(11%)Applicationsincluded:Instagram,Tweetdeck,Twitterlists,Scoop.it,Paper.li,Vine

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#3.HowdoK-12teachersandothereducatorsparticipateinprofessionaldevelopmentusingTwitter?

•  100%readatleastonetweetperweek.•  95%retweetatleastonceaweek.•  93%tweetatleastonceaweek(88%atleastonceaday).

•  89%replytoatweetatleastonceaweek.•  84%mentionanotheruseratleastonceaweek.

•  7%lurkorreadtweets--butdonottweet.

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Reading,Tweeting,Retweeting,Replying,andMentions

Chatsandhashtagsofferfilteringandtargetingofmaterial.•  89%usehashtagsatleastonceaweek.•  Goodforfiltering,organizing,chats,andlocalizingtweets.•  FacilitatesPLNsandback-channelingatconferences(i.e.

#edcamp–the“unconference”).

•  57%participateinchats,32%donot.•  Goodforbeingconnectedforlivediscussions.•  Offersglobalandreal-timeconversationsthatwouldnot

happenotherwise.•  Needagoodmoderator.

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ChatsandHashtags

•  37%feelTwitterprovidesabetterwaytodeliverPD.•  9%sayitdoesnot.•  51%areundecided,(3%didnotanswer).

1.  Networking,collaborating,connectingwithexperts.2.  Easyaccesstoinformationandpeople,peer-to-peer,

reducesisolation.3.  Personalized,global,immediate.4.  Educationalleadershipandsharingbestpractices.

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DoesTwitterProvideaBetterWaytoDeliverPD?

•  Itislimitedandsuperficial.•  140charactermaximumforatweetisabarrier.•  ItonlyfillsaspecificnicheforPD.•  Itisdifficulttocontrolcontent.•  Lackofface-to-facecontactandpersonalinteraction.•  Thereistoomuchinformation,oftenneedtofilter.•  Itisself-serving.•  Thereisnotenoughtimeandverytime-structuredtoparticipateinlivechats.

•  Conflictingstatementsfromemployersresocialmedia.20

ReservationsAboutTwitterforPD

CertainthemesregardingusingTwitterforPDcameoutinthefollowingways:1.  Excellentforbeingconnectedwithcolleagues,

educationalleaders,andprofessionals.Buildingsocialcapital.Thiswasthemostcommontheme.

2.  Gettingencouragementfromothers.3.  CommunityandPLNs,sharing,collaborating,and

communicating–locallyandglobally.4.  Thereisalargeamountofimmediate,free,current,

andrelevantresources(ofquality).5.  Curiosityandthesocialaspectarepartsofthe

attraction,teachersaremoreengagedandreceivepositivefeedback.

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5.Conclusions

6.  Educatorsshareresourcesandcreativeideas.Theylikethefluidity,immediacy,personalization,andtheubiquitousnature.

7.  Twitterdecreasestheisolationfeltbysometeachers.

8.  Twitterofferseducationalleadershipandworkswellforlife-longlearningandPD.

9.  Educatorsareusingthetoolsavailablesuchashashtagsandchats.Web2.0toolsarealsoused.

10.  Educatorsaretweeting/retweetingonaregularbasisandallsubjectareasarebeingrepresented.

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Conclusions

•  ManyeducatorsarenotusingTwitterforPD,includingyoungerteachers.Lackofknowledge,time,andunderstandingaresomeofthereasons.

•  TrainingandtimeallocationareneededtoincreasetheuseofTwitterandPD.

•  Administration,schools,andschooldivisionsshouldencouragethisusage.Twittershouldnotbeblockedatschools.

•  GreaterflexibilityandopportunitiesareneededforteacherstoengageinthisseamlesspracticeofPD.

•  Twitterfitstheneedsofanewlearningparadigmoflife-longlearningandflexibleandself-servicePD.

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Recommendations

“Itismorepersonalized.Itismoredifferentiated.Itprovidesmanymoreresourcesandconnections.Itprovidesbetterindividualfeedback.Itismoreflexibleandcanbedoneatdifferenttimes.Itisunlimited.”

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FinalThoughtFromaTypicalTwitterUserforProfessionalDevelopment

Deyamport,W.H.III.(2013).AnimplementationofaTwitter-supportedpersonallearningnetworktoindividualizeteacherprofessionaldevelopment.(OrderNo.3559871,CapellaUniversity).ProQuestDissertationsandTheses,137.Retrievedfrom http://

search.proquest.com/docview/1355174325?accountid=14569

Greenhow,C.,&Gleason,B.(2012).Twitteracy:Tweetingasanewliteracypractice.EducationalForum,76(4),464-478.Retrievedfrom http://search.proquest.com/

docview/1140145129?accountid=14569

Heppell,S.(2005).Episode1:Learninginthethirdmillennium.(AsquotedbyGregWhitby,pedagogiesforthe21stcentury,ACELconference2007.)[video].Retrievedfrom http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l72UFXqa8ZUHooker,M.(2008).Modelsandbestpracticesinteacherprofessionaldevelopment.

Retrievedfromhttp://www.gesci.org/old/files/docman/Teacher_Professional_Development_Models.pdf

Lieberman,A.&Mace,D.(2008).Teacherlearning:Thekeytoeducationalreform.JournalofTeacherEducation,59(3),226-234.Retrievedfromhttp://jte.sagepub.com.proxy2.lib.umanitoba.ca/content/59/3/226.full.pdf+html

McLuhan,M.(1986).McLuhanisms.Retrievedfromhttp://marshallmcluhan.com/mcluhanisms

Meyer,D.,&Avery,L.(2009).Excelasaqualitativedataanalysistool.FieldMethods,SAGE.Retrievedfromhttp://fmx.sagepub.com/content/21/1/91.full.pdf

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References

NewMediaConsortium.(2009).Thehorizonreport.Retrievedfrom http://wp.nmc.org/horizon2009Orcher,L.(2007).Conductingasurvey.PyrczakPublishing;1editionPan,S.,&Franklin,T.(2011).In-serviceteachersself-efficacy,professionaldevelopment,

andWeb2.0toolsforintegration.Retrievedfrom http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ955543.pdfPartnershipfor21stCenturySkills.(2014).Retrievedfromhttp://www.p21.org/our-

work/p21-frameworkRitchell,M.(2011).Technologyinschoolsfacesquestionsonvalue.TheNewYorkTimes.

Retrievedfromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html

Tu,C.,Blocher,M.,&Ntoruru,J.(2008).IntegrateWeb2.0technologytofacilitateonlineprofessionalcommunity:EMIspecialeditingexperiences.Retrievedfrom http://

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523980802588634#.UytH2l5OU5s

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References

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Thankyou