Professionalism in the online world

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What challenges/opportunities you may be faced with when marrying the personal vs the professional presence on social media?

Having social media sites that are used for both personal and professional use may have some advantages. It may allow pupils to see your interests and to realise there is more to you than the teacher they see in an educational environment. I do, however, believe that having shared social media should only be of access to pupils who are of an appropriate age to use social media (as a Primary school teacher, I wouldn’t let the pupils follow me on Twitter or be friends on Facebook.) I think shared social media may help in lessons. For example, if you had travelled to Australia and the lesson had some connection to Australia, the pictures you had posted on social media of your time there might help the pupils to understand what Australia is like and give them a realistic view of it.

On the other hand, social media used for both professional and personal use may not be appropriate. There may be photos taken from a night out or family function that some may deem unprofessional and inappropriate. This may start to raise questions of whether you are suited in such a role. It might not be appropriate for pupils to see some aspects of your private life as we are seen to be role models for them. Also, a comment you post on social media may be taken in a negative way and may put you in a difficult situation. This once again may cause people to question whether you are fit to teach.

I personally believe that, as a Primary teacher, there should be separate accounts for personal use and another one for professional use. I believe that we are all human beings and are allowed to have a life away from the professional setting in an educational environment. I do, however, believe that when “letting our hair down” that there is still a manner of professionalism that we should remember and that we shouldn’t post things on social media that we wouldn’t be happy for our parents to see.

How are the challenges/opportunities afforded by social media framed? How will you frame things – positive or deficit viewpoint?

I think the media has a large part to play in how social media is framed. I think it frames social media in a negative way as there are always horror stories of social media in the news. Whether it be stories of cyberbullying, stories about images of an explicit nature being sent or even a story about teachers on a night out supposedly “pole dancing”. I think that the media gives society a one sided view of social media, thus making a large section of society see it in a very negative way. Even though we have seen positive aspects of social media – like people finding missing relatives or the use of social media to help fundraise for a cause – I don’t think this is reported as much in the media. I do strongly believe that those real villains of the online world should be shown for what they are when it is right to do so.  The public perception becomes one that believes social media shouldn’t be used in the classroom because of all the negative things it has been seen to be used for, despite there being many positive uses of it.

Personally, I would like to frame social media in a positive way. By using it in the classroom and in lessons as an extension to the traditional textbook and jotter and also instead of the traditional methods of teaching. As time goes on, technology is being developed further and I believe we should “move with the times” so that the pupils have a current education rather than one that is outdated. We should be preparing the pupils for a life outside of school and their working career, so if they have a good and positive understanding of technology and social media, it can be further developed as they grow and help open up numerous possibilities for them in the future. I also believe that people should be aware of the negatives of social media. I think that pupils should be educated about the dangers of social media so that they know it isn’t this “perfect” world and so that they don’t get themselves caught up in the negative side of social media, or if they do, know how to rectify it or how to get help to rectify it.

Remembering, Forgetting and Getting Confused

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Never has a title of a lecture been so relevant to me!

Philosophy is a subject that I had only slightly touched on at high school – having studied Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies I had a very, very basic understanding of Philosophy. So going into our philosophy lectures was like starting with a blank canvas, which didn’t really bother me. However, I don’t think my mind was made for such deep thinking. I really liked John’s lecture styles and the laughs he gave us, but I have never been so confused! The big questions of philosophy literally blew my mind and I struggled to comprehend the meaning of it all. So, when John emailed us the TDT I may have panicked slightly – how can I commentate on something that I don’t understand? I decided the best thing to do was to look over the slides of the lecture I found most interesting and re-read the notes I had taken during that lecture. Still confused, I watched a video ( thanks to Emma!!!)  that explained it again in a slightly different way and I think I have grasped it now. So bare with me whilst I (attempt) to commentate on Plato’s Theory of the Forms:

I found the lecture Remembering, Forgetting and Getting Confused very interesting. I had never thought about the reason how I know a chair was a chair or an apple was an apple – it seemed like a natural thing that I have always known. It was Plato and his Theory of the Forms that made me think. Firstly, Plato believed that there are two worlds: the material world ( the world we live in) and the real world. The material world is constantly changing and we rely on our senses to understand what is going on, whereas in the real world (which is outside the one we live in) is unchanging, eternal and is a world of ideas. In the real world there are perfect forms of the things that we know on earth – on earth they are just a poor imitation.

So if we take apples, for example (John used chairs but for some reason I found apples – used in the video- easier to understand). All apples share an underlying apple-ness – for Plato this would be regarded as the true form of the apple. There is one true form of apples and that one form, forms the many. The form of an apple is unchanging and eternal but apples themselves are simply appearances of true form, that’s why they change and become imperfect (I.e. they rot.) In the material world there is no such thing as a perfect apple just imperfect reflections of the form of apples. Us human beings can recognise the form of apples as we are born with a dim recollection of them from prior existence in the real world. We can recognise apples because we recognise the apple-ness ( the eternal, unchanging form). This is the same for chairs.

Plato also believed that there is an inner part of us – known as the soul – that doesn’t change and is eternal. Before it was “tied” down with a body it was connected with the real world of the forms. This is the reason we understand forms because we have been in contact with them through our soul in the world of the forms. This is why when we see objects we know what they are in the physical world.

I though this was very interesting as it explains why we, in a sense, automatically know what objects are. I think this might be part of the reason we often have moments where we recognise something but don’t know where from – possibly because we have seen the true form of it in the real world. I think this is a difficult topic because it opens up lots of different questions, such as: Is there such thing as a soul? Are actions like coughing and sneezing “remembered” and undertaken automatically due to our genetic composition? Do we only know what an apple is or what a chair is because of people around us – being taught from our parents what things are from an early age and following the actions of other people (for example seeing people sit on chairs so we do that too because it seems as if it is the “normal” thing to do)? Are we influenced to do things and think things from those around us?

Philosophy isn’t really any less confusing for me but I just don’t think my mind can handle the big, open questions it presents.

Benefits of active learning and co-operative working

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The Benefits:

Working cooperatively allows people to learn from one another. For example, if you are struggling with something working in a group might help you to understand it more as everyone has different ways of explaining things. Cooperative learning can also help to make people feel more comfortable with others on their course or studying the same module – it is familiar faces that you are spending a fair amount of time with so can help build friendships. I think cooperative learning also helps to broaden knowledge. As there will be a wide range of people in the group, their experiences and background will help to further develop concepts discussed in a group task. For example – if someone has studied an undergraduate degree in Biology and is then doing their postgraduate in teaching – if the task is to do with an aspect of Biology then that person will be able to pass their knowledge onto the rest of the group. Cooperative learning also develops skills that are needed throughout life and helps increase employment opportunities.

The Challenges:

Some people may take too much of a leadership role in the group and boss people about. This won’t encourage people to work as a group. I also think that some members of the group might not do a lot of the work and not input very much information to the task. People may become distracted and not stay focused on the task at hand. This means that coming to the deadline for the work the group may be rushing around trying to finish as not everyone as put the same amount of effort in. Also, some people may not take it seriously and therefore weakening the work that is put into the task.

Gender: Did it affect me?

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I spent my time at Primary school switching from being a ‘girly’ girl to being heavily involved in sports – back and forth. In Primary 3 I started to play football with the boys. They were happy for me to play and didn’t care about my ability – it didn’t seem as if this was obscure to them and I was really happy to play. I would often play football with them right up until I left Primary school. I remember one lunch time in Primary 3, a playground assistant came up to me and said “Get away from the boys playing football; you’re getting in the way!” I told her that I was involved in this game and she was very shocked, however she let me play with them. Maybe this was one time when my gender affected me?

As I grew older, I started to play with the girls more – nothing unsurprising. We would play games where we would pretend we had babies or create fictional worlds that we would live out at break and lunchtime. Every now and again though, the boys and girls in my class would come together and play games such as Granny (with a tennis ball and a wall) or jungle’s on fire. I personally had the most fun at these times because we all got along and it was like one huge friends group.

Looking back now, I realise there may have been some slight ways in which my gender was taken into account. Like on sports day – they would split the boys and girls up in each class when it was time to do the races. Or even at the start of the day, when the bell would ring we would line up in two separate lines according to our gender. Or what about when the girls got to pack up 5 minutes early because we had been the best behaved that day – had we really been the best behaved? I never realised this when I was at Primary school, it just seemed like the ‘normal’ thing to do.

I honestly do not think that the way in which my gender was taken into account at Primary school affected me nor do I think it has affected the person I have become today. Having a niece and nephew of Primary school age, it was really lovely to hear my nephew say his best friend was a girl in his class and when I attended my niece’s sports day earlier this year it was wonderful to see the class was mixed together at the races, for example the egg and spoon race and one legged race – the boys and girls often paired up in races they needed to be in pairs for. This was a far cry to the sports days I had experienced when I was in Primary school – even if I only left 7 years ago.

Managing My Learning

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Activity 1

Complete the table below to identify and reflect on those factors and plan actions for each.

Recognition/ Reflection Action
What helps my learning? How can I utilise this?
Example: “Discussing the topic with others” ·         Set up a study group of like-minded peers·         Engage with the online community
 Prioritising tasks
  •  Make a to-do list in order of importance/when the work is due
 Making my own notes
  •  After lectures, I should look over lecture notes to ensure I have understood everything and not missed anything out
  • Do further reading to expand on points made in lectures so that my notes are in depth
 Colour
  •  Create mind maps/ diagrams/notes in lots of colour
  • Use highlighters and different coloured pens
Working in a quiet space
  •  Make use of the library’s silent section
  • Stay clear of music and television whilst completing work
 Being tidy
  •  Have a pile of work that is still to be done and work that is completed
  • Have one place to keep all my books so I can access them when I need to
  • Keep notes in separate folders for each module

 

 

Recognition/Reflection Action
What hinders my learning? How can I address this factor?
Example: “I’m easily distracted” ·         Study in a place where distractions are minimal·         Read lecture notes before the lecture and then take notes lectures to keep me focused
 Phone
  •  Turn off my phone when I’m trying to do work
  • Only check phone when I am having a break
 I lose focus if I have to read lots
  •  Read a small section at a time
  • Take time to understand what I am reading
  • Don’t read late at night
 Putting off doing work
  •  Give myself a treat for completing work e.g. allow myself to watch Eastenders if I complete however many pieces of work
  • Make time every day and night to do work and outwith that time I can do things that I want to do 
 Getting myself stressed out
  • Believe in myself
  • Give myself plenty of time to do tasks
  • Take breaks when I feel like I’m becoming stressed

Why did I choose teaching?

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Teaching is a profession I have considered since a very young age. I remember creating a year book in Primary 4 and I had stated that my “dream job” was to be a Primary teacher. Throughout the rest of my school education – both Primary and Secondary – teaching has been a profession that has always been at the back of my mind, even when I was more interested in other professions.

 

So why teaching?

Like I have previously stated, I have been interested in teaching for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of wanting to become a teacher is when I would pretend to be a teacher to an imaginary class either in my bedroom or in the garden. I would be lost in my own little teaching world for hours as I taught the imaginary children – often repeating the fun lessons I had experienced in school that day. Sometimes, after completing my homework, I would double check my work to ensure it was correct and I would take that opportunity to pretend I was marking one of my pupil’s work.

Primary teaching became more of my ideal job due to my Primary 7 teacher. He interacted with the class so well and made the lessons fun – essentially he was on the children’s level. He took interest in our lives and the things we wanted to tell him. He was very approachable and everyone felt comfortable asking for help or needing advice about problems. There was no awkwardness and I also looked forward to going into school the following day. His lessons were very fun and somewhat different to ways we had learned before. One lesson that stands out to me was the time he gave us all a picture and asked us to write a story using the characters or the setting in that picture. It let my imagination run wild as there was no limits – I could write about whatever I wanted as long as I used that picture as a basis for the story. I also remember his enthusiasm for every aspect of education and the way he wanted the best for his pupils. He even introduced a head boy and head girl into my Primary school (I was proudly elected head girl.) So seeing the way he taught and his enthusiasm for all his pupils to be the best they possibly can be, inspired me to become a teacher.

Before I could be accepted onto this course, I spent some time in a Primary school in order to gain some experience in a teaching environment. It made me feel very humble seeing how excited the children would get when I would walk into the class and how much they would appreciate my help. There was nothing better than seeing their faces light up when they finally understood what they were being taught or how excited they were to tell you about the marks they got on their spelling test. That was when I finally knew I had picked the right profession for me.

 

Now I am studying to be a teacher, I’d like to become a teacher who is fun and very interactive with her pupils. Someone who takes the time and compassion for every single member of her class. I want to be the type of teacher that keeps the pupils interested and makes them hungry to discover more about a certain topic. I want my pupils to look forward to coming to school every day and for them to know that no matter the size of the problem I will always be there to help them. I would like to be a teacher that’s only ever strict at the appropriate times. I want my lessons to be fun and exciting so nobody becomes bored when at school and make them enthusiastic to complete their work in school and their homework. I aspire to be the best teacher I possibly can be to help my pupils become the best they possibly can be.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llSocQj6r5k

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=llSocQj6r5kframeborder%3D0allowfullscreen

Welcome to your WordPress eportfolio

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Welcome to your eportfolio. This is where you will document and share your professional thoughts and experiences over the course of your study at the University of Dundee and beyond that when you begin teaching. You have the control over what you want to make public and what you would rather keep on a password protected page.

The eportfolio in the form of this WordPress blog allows you to pull in material from other digital sources:

You can pull in a YouTube video:

You can pull in a Soundcloud audio track:

You can pull in a Flickr page

Teacher, Lorraine Lapthorne conducts her class in the Grade Two room at the Drouin State School, Drouin, Victoria

You can just about pull in anything that you think will add substance and depth to your writing.