1.3 Making contacts
Social networking can remove many of the barriers to engaging in dialogue with the leading people in a field. A couple of decades ago it was difficult to interact with a particular expert unless you were attending the same event. Now social and professional networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn and ResearchGate can be used to ask an expert a question. Social networking has made the education world much more accessible to its members than it has ever been before (Davis, 2011).
Activity 2 Identifying your existing roles in networks
Complete the following table. Which of the following networks do you already participate in? In each case, consider the type of participation you have with each network. (Participation described as ‘informal’ can take place as needed, on any topic, sometimes unrelated to your own practice; participation described as ‘formal’ would be focused on improving your practice or sharing resources.)
Type of participation > Type of network |
Observer (reading other people’s input but not contributing directly) |
Responder (answering questions or commenting on discussions) |
Text contributor (posting questions or starting discussions) |
Information contributor (providing factual information that is not your own material) |
Sharer (contributing your own material for discussion or reuse) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlighted Informal online contact with people in your organisation who you interact with mostly face to face. |
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Informal online contact with people in your organisation who you interact with mostly online. |
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Informal online contact with people in other organisations who you have met face to face at some time. |
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Informal online contact with people who have come together informally via social media. |
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Formal online contact with people of the same subject discipline or age group. |
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Formal online contact with people of many backgrounds focused on particular teaching topics (e.g. flipped classrooms, online teaching etc.) |
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Formal online contact with other members of educational or related organisations (e.g. members of professional bodies, unions etc.) |
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Formal or informal online contact with other members of this course |
Comment
When planning for online education it is important to consider not only your learning materials, but also your own practice as a member of the wider education community. This activity should help you to identify where you could make the most of your existing connections and how you might make new ones online.