The Nature of Selected English Teachers' Online Participation

Abstract

Participating online is not just for students. This article presents research investigating the nature of selected English teachers' online participation in exploration of teaching, learning, and literacy.

Exploring the relationship between online discourse and commitment in Twitter professional learning communities

“…Educators' growing interest in participating in Twitter-based online communities for professional development and learning has prompted researchers to study such communities. The findings of this research suggest that Twitter plays an important role in engaging educators in informal, just-in-time professional learning (Britt & Paulus, 2016;Carpenter & Krutka, 2014, 2015Donelan, 2016) and that teachers can enrich their educations by participating in online professional learning communities (Holmes, Preston, Shaw, & Buchanan, 2013).…”

“…Social media platforms, such as Twitter, offer educators new ways to conceptualize learning and collaboration. Teachers, school administrators, university professors, and many others in the education world use Twitter to share news and resources, to converse online, to participate in education conferences, and to establish professional connections (Britt & Paulus, 2016;Carpenter & Krutka, 2014, 2015Donelan, 2016). Educators' growing interest in participating in Twitter-based online communities for professional development and learning has prompted researchers to study such communities.…”

Teaching With a Technological Twist: Exit Tickets via Twitter in Literacy Classrooms

“…Using Twitter to reinvent a nondigital best practice ultimately gave a more careful understanding of student learning as it was happening, provided a model of effective teaching practice, and helped ensure that students’ voices were heard even in large classes (Kilinc et al., ). Our analyses showed that the most important benefit connected directly to using Twitter, as the medium of delivery was an immediacy to classroom interactions (Booth, ; Kist et al., ; Rodesiler, ). In the following sections, we detail examples of the interactions and the value in the immediacy, which allowed the instructor to capitalize on teachable moments and cocreate curriculum with students, among other things.…”

“…For those of us working with students, regardless of the level being taught, using social media also lets us help our students develop attitudes and competencies that are valued in the 21st‐century classrooms where they will be working (Jenkins, ; Thibaut, ), as well as fit into the current culture of social media–connected educators (Booth, ; Kist, Tollafield, & Dagistan, ; Rodesiler, ). In other educational contexts, social media engages students, provides opportunities to collaborate and connect with peers, and offers opportunities for what students may see as informal learning (Kilinc, Evans, & Korkmaz, ).…”

Blending Formal and Informal Learning Networks for Online Learning

“…Evans (2015) suggests that instructors are progressively likely to be self-driven in PD, making the correct choice in which network to use to bolster identity within a profession all the more significant. Given sufficient participation in these networks, relationships akin to mentor and mentee may even develop (Rodesiler, 2015).…”