aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network
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0:00 - 0:05Welcome to the video series explaining some of the basic concepts and tools
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0:05 - 0:07of the aPlaNet project.
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0:07 - 0:09One of the main goals of the project
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0:09 - 0:13is to show teachers how to keep up with
that professional development -
0:13 - 0:16through the use of social networks.
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0:16 - 0:22Social networking as a tool for learning
is relatively new but today -
0:22 - 0:25hundreds of thousands of educators are connected
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0:25 - 0:28through various social networking sites
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0:28 - 0:31and hundreds are joining everyday.
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0:32 - 0:34What is a social network?
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0:34 - 0:39It's a website which allows you to connect with other
users -
0:39 - 0:48and share information, activities, interests, news, phtographs, and ideas or viewpoints.
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0:48 - 0:51Chances are, you already belong to one.
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0:51 - 0:56According to wikipedia, at the time of creating this video,
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0:56 - 1:0446% of the world population belonged to some social network or other.
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1:04 - 1:09But why should we use social networks for professional development?
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1:10 - 1:14How do social networks respond to the way we learn
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1:14 - 1:19and the way we hope to develop as foreign language educators?
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1:19 - 1:24Perhaps the answer lies in social groups theory which tells us
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1:24 - 1:27that people learn best in social groups,
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1:27 - 1:32beginning with the family as the first social unit or group we belong to;
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1:32 - 1:37school later, university, teachers' assosciations.
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1:37 - 1:42This is an idea that was carried forward into the digital age
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1:42 - 1:48and expressed by George Siemens in his theory of connectivism.
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1:48 - 1:52All this points to networked learning
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1:52 - 1:56as a great way to keep up with our
professional development -
1:56 - 1:59in a free and autonomous way.
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1:59 - 2:02And this is where social networks can help you.
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2:02 - 2:08Language teachers, always amongst the first to embrace innovative ideas,
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2:08 - 2:11have started using these social networks
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2:11 - 2:14to communicate with colleagues all over
the world -
2:14 - 2:21creating their own personal learning networks, PLNs for short,
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2:21 - 2:29exchanging ideas and resources as well as discussing issues of interest to educators,
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2:29 - 2:33putting connectivist theory into their daily lives.
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2:34 - 2:38Let us begin with Facebook, which is perhaps
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2:38 - 2:44the most popular social networking site amongst teachers.
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2:44 - 2:49Many have started using it already to connect with friends and family.
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2:49 - 2:55It's very easy to join and use, and perhaps that's why it's so popular.
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2:55 - 3:02Once you get started, it's very easy to share links, photographs, videos,
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3:02 - 3:06and even documents with your friends.
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3:06 - 3:13You can also join facebook groups created by other teachers, by educational institutions
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3:13 - 3:17or any other group you share a common
interest with. -
3:17 - 3:21And of course you can create your own pages and groups
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3:21 - 3:26for your own students or for sharing ideas with your colleagues.
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3:27 - 3:33On Facebook, teachers can join open as well as closed or even secret groups:
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3:33 - 3:39something which is very popular amongst educators who use it with their students.
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3:40 - 3:43One suggestion we would make is that
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3:43 - 3:48if you plan to use Facebook as a teacher for your professional development,
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3:48 - 3:54it is a very good idea to create a separate teacher account
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3:54 - 3:58and keep your personal account only for family and friends
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3:58 - 4:02private and separate from your teacher account.
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4:03 - 4:07Nings are also very popular amongst educators
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4:08 - 4:11especially because they are standalone networks,
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4:11 - 4:17with a very sharp focus on a common goal within each online community.
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4:17 - 4:21Nings are also highly user-friendly.
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4:21 - 4:27They are professional-looking platforms that allow sharing resources
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4:27 - 4:31and organizing online content and events.
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4:31 - 4:37Each Ning is separate and it can be made public or private,
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4:37 - 4:43allowing anyone or just invited individuals access to its content.
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4:43 - 4:47Once you are a member you get your own personal page
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4:47 - 4:53where you can upload documents, photographs and videos, write blog posts,
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4:53 - 4:56organize or participate in events,
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4:56 - 4:58take part in forum discussions
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4:58 - 5:01and easily invite your contacts.
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5:01 - 5:05You can even create special interest groups within the Ning,
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5:05 - 5:09or join existing ones created by colleagues
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5:09 - 5:13and share ideas and content or specific interests with them.
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5:14 - 5:22Last but not least: twitter, a major tool for continuous professional development
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5:22 - 5:27Twitter is excellent for the immediate sharing of
ideas and opinions -
5:27 - 5:31as well as links to interesting resources.
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5:31 - 5:39Since it's only allows you 140 characters per tweet, as status updates are called,
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5:39 - 5:43what you write has to be brief and to the point.
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5:43 - 5:47This is what makes it ideal for the busy professional.
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5:47 - 5:54You can ask your colleagues a brief question and get a dozen answers within minutes.
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5:54 - 5:57Many users follow twitter in their browser
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5:57 - 6:01and you can also follow it on your
mobile phone -
6:01 - 6:04but by using an application like tweetdeck
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6:04 - 6:08you can easily monitor different threads of discussion
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6:08 - 6:10usually beginning with the hashtag.
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6:10 - 6:13You can check your direct messages
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6:13 - 6:19and even share photographs, videos and documents with just a couple of clicks.
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6:19 - 6:23All you have to do is find teachers to follow -
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6:23 - 6:30something which will be an important focus of the mentoring process of the aPlaNet project.
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6:30 - 6:36Through participating in one or more of these social networks,
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6:36 - 6:43you will be able to learn when and where free online events are happening,
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6:43 - 6:50access useful links on language teaching, find great resources for your lessons
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6:50 - 6:52which are tweeted around the clock,
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6:52 - 6:57follow blog posts written by teachers for teachers
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6:57 - 7:03connect with inspiring and passionate educators who are keen on sharing,
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7:04 - 7:07find out about the latest web tools,
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7:08 - 7:11make your lessons more motivating,
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7:11 - 7:15connect your classes with students from around the world,
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7:16 - 7:20manage your professional development in an autonomous way.
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7:21 - 7:24To be in charge of your and professional
development -
7:24 - 7:31is the major goal of aPlaNet, an EU-funded project whose ambition
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7:31 - 7:39is to give you the tools and knowledge to participate in all these exciting and informative conversations,
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7:40 - 7:43in order to become a connected teacher
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7:43 - 7:50It is up to each individual teacher to decide whether to use 1, 2
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7:50 - 7:53or all these social networking tools,
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7:54 - 7:59exercising choice and autonomy in their own development.
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7:59 - 8:07You can find more information about all three social networks in our teacher guide
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8:07 - 8:13as well as through joining our Ning and connecting with a mentor
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8:13 - 8:18who will help and guide you on hpw to use each tool.
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8:18 - 8:21both for your own professional development
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8:21 - 8:27as well as a teaching tool with your own foreign language students.
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8:28 - 8:36Thank you very much for listening and we
look forward to meeting you in the aPlaNet Ning.
- Title:
- aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network
- Description:
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Video Guide #1 Using a Social Network created by the aPLaNet team. aPLaNet (Autonomous 'Personal Learning Networks' for Language Teachers) is a European Union funded project. For more information, please go to http://aplanet-project.eu.
Disclaimer: The project Autonomous "Personal Learning Networks" for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 08:40
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for aPLaNet Video Guide #1: Using a Social Network |