All young children should have access to a quality education. The
greatest responsibility of communicating the importance of this issue lies with
the early childhood education profession. Policymakers, whether they are
legislators in Washington or directors of preschools, need to understand the
importance of early childhood at the core of the curriculum. Nonetheless, it is
up to the educators to provide our policymakers with compelling research,
materials, and support to make strong early childhood programs happen.
("National Association of Education for Young Children," 2015). One
of the ways in which educators can communicate these issues is through the use
of social media. According to
researchers, “Social media is a new paradigm for communications that is making
surprising changes to the political and social landscape of the world.” (Park, Choi, & Park, 2011, p. 125).
Focusing on professional development for educators in the area of
instructional technology, which social media tools could prove beneficial in
communicating the importance of this issue in early childhood education? Playback is a video clip social media site
which would prove beneficial in communicating the need for professional
development opportunities for educators.
Video clips can include educators discussing their anxiety and lack of
knowledge and training toward implementing the technological tools that are
being placed within their classrooms. These clips would be readily available for parents,
administrators, and board of education employees to view. Links to research-based information depicting
the importance of professional development, as well as how it positively
affects student achievement will allow the audience to work toward aiding in
providing teachers with the training needed to assure that students are
receiving the best education possible.
Frontporch is a social media site in which educators can
communicate the reasoning for the need of professional development in the area
of instructional technology. Educators
can utilize this site in order to post threads that act as discussions. Posts can include anything from the
apprehensiveness of utilizing technology in the classroom, to how trainings
have aided in allowing teachers to successfully implement these tools in the
classroom. This site could act as a
petition for administrators and board of education members to see and hear the
voices of the employees who need further learning opportunities in order to
teach within this digital age. When
these individuals have access to these threads, the goal of achieving further
educational opportunities in this area will be put into motion.
A benefit in utilizing social media in the area of communicating a
policy issue is that, “…with social media, it is easier than ever to share
breaking news, broach a social issue, and exchange opinions in real time to a
massive audience.” (Park et al.,
2011, p. 126). Social media has
opened many doors to those who are working toward positive social change in the
area of early childhood education. The
needs can be easily depicted and spread throughout the country, giving the
topics and issues the opportunity to be viewed by audiences who can aid in
making this positive difference.
The challenges faced when utilizing social media to communicate
political issues include the factor that, “social media is personal rather than
institutional media, and allows messages to be distributed without screening,
editing, or other forms of institutional control.” (Park et al., 2011, p. 129). Within social media, people are able to take
screenshots, save videos for other uses, and comment on pages in different
ways. Information can be misconstrued
and it can take away from the personalization that one would receive in a more
personal means of communication. No
matter what communication method is utilized, the importance is getting the
message out there and working toward creating positive social change. Although there are disadvantages, the
advantages can reign higher in advancing te opportunities of change and working
toward a brighter tomorrow.
References
Dear Kerri,
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are some disadvantages to social media with policy issues; however, many public policy agencies are very successful in using social media to get the word out. I think that you have to be cautious, but you must utilize all the tools available to get the word out. If you can get a hashtag to trend then you are going to make some good headway. Your blog posts are always so great to read. Very informative.
Thanks,
Jill
Jill,
DeleteIn our line of work, many people discourage the use of things such as facebook and what not due to friending students, etc. However, when used correctly and staying within certain parameters, it can prove to be very beneficial in spreading an important message! Thank you for our response!
Kerri
Jill & Kerri,
DeleteI think the key to using these social media is to be mindfull of the things we publish. We, as educators, need to teach our students how to use these social media sites to their advantages. They are wonderful media to use to cover a wide range of audiences. It makes it easier for us to see how people within different audiences respond to our policy issues.
Normalyn
Great post Kerri
ReplyDeleteI hadn't considered the use of video socisl media. Now that I think about it, video socisl media would be perfect to showcase political issues. I can see a person interviewing a leader or showing continued progress via recordings of legislative meetings. This is a great way to communicate. Great idea!
Shayla,
DeleteThank you for the response! I, too, believe that it makes the message a little more personal when a video or interview. per say, is incorporated. When you see the person and hear their tone of voice, etc. It is much more understandable and valued, than simpl reading an essay of some sort, in my opinion. That is why I feel strongly about that aspect of social media and the benefits that it can provide.
Hi Kerri. Your posts are always so well thought-out and informative. Playback and Frontporch were social media sites that I was not aware of ... but I will definitely investigate them. I loved the thought that you expressed about Frontporch being a potential intermediary tool between educators, Board members and other administrators to voice their concerns and use Frontporch as a type of ballot or petition. Very interesting!!!
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, your blog page is incredibly colorful, teacher-friendly and attractive. I was immediately drawn to the candy and kid-colors. Best wishes on your Course Project.