Twitter vs. Facebook ~ An "Output #3" ~ PME 810 My e-Journal Entry #16

I was so excited to see the my online PLC has a space on Twitter!

Based on my current experience with Twitter and the limited engagement on the Facebook space, I thought that Twitter was going to have a more active group that I could really leverage for the module 5 assignment. 

In that effort, I posted a few questions, both of our synthesis PowToon's and our instructional decision making cycle graphic. In doing so, my hope was to get more activity and open up more opportunities for dialogue with the Higher Ed Learning Collective online PLC. 

Below are snapshots of my Twitter posts:

I quickly realized that there has not been any activity on this Twitter space since April 1, 2020! This was discouraging so I went back to the Facebook group to see if I could get more interaction in that space. I decided to post each of our Powtoons and the visual noted above to the Higher Ed Learning Collective Facebook group. I also included the hashtags #discussion #pedagogy #inclusivelearning to see if that might inspire more activity on my post. I was pleased to see that I received two likes and a comment on the instructional decision making visual.

I received a response from a member of the group and she commented on how she liked it and wondered if students would be involved in the pre assessment stage of the cycle. This comment is evidence of a member that is focused on learner centered designs and self-actualization conceptions. The brief discussion is captured in the snapshot below:

I believe that one of the main challenges with the idea of online PLC communities is rooted in one of its noted advantages, that is it's flexibility. As noted by Blitz, "the literature suggests that the built-in flexibility of the online environment is its greatest advantage in facilitating teachers’ learning of subject and pedagogical content" (Blitz, C., 2013, p.5). l can see how PLC members can become disconnected as a result of too much flexibility in this learning platform. The online PLC platform allows for a significant amount of freedom where people can come and go, check in, not check in, respond and engage on their own time and in their own way.

The literature supports the notion that advantages commonly asserted about the online PLC refers to the "the potential of online technology to promote effective professional development for teachers, not on direct, unequivocal evidence" (Blitz, C., 2013, p.8).

Through this experience I see that this is not the place to access deep learning and ongoing dialogue opportunities with others. It is the perfect place to gather materials, resources and ideas, and to support personal professional growth with ideas and suggestions. I am not convinced that it creates the space to be a reflective practitioner where your thoughts and assumptions may be challenged and where you are put in a position to think differently and to grow in your beliefs and values. 

I made an honest effort to engage with others, to share my learning and ideas but the reciprocity was absent. This further supports the idea that relationships, trust, and knowing the members of your PLC are so critical to its success and sustainability.  In my personal experience, the most effective PLC's have been in my schools, with like minded people, serving the same students focused on the same purpose. I find that in these collaborative instances, keeping the students at the center helps to "ground" the group in a common purpose and direction.

References:

Blitz, C. L. (2013). Can Online Learning Communities Achieve the Goals of Traditional Professional Learning Communities? What the Literature Says. REL 2013-003. Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic.