4.3 Social Media and Professional Networks

Although it is painful to admit, I am a latecomer to the whole "social media" landscape. Do not misunderstand, I love technology, and understood its power waayyyy back in the 1970's. I just have a difficult time understanding how anyone can be interested -- much less has the time -- to post inane information such as how many eggs they cooked for breakfast, or that they were now "headed to the office." Though as time passed and technology kept getting more portable, and the growth of the social media sphere grew ever wider, I finally understood it. And actually, that really isn't a fair statement. I can see the value and apply it to different aspects of my life, but it is not all consuming. Whether Tweeting, tagging, pinning, chatting, Facebooking or whatever, the *value* of these social media tools lie fully in the user.

I have found the most useful social media sites for my professional use to be Twitter and LinkedIn. I have found both to be valuable for my own professional development and in developing personal networks of people with the same interests. In addition, I use Twitter to help keep my colleagues informed of events such as conferences, special events and professional development opportunities. My most recent use of Twitter was during our National Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) conference held in New Orleans. And yes, there was tweets about Beignets and Cafe du Monde, but the real power, and the real connections made with like minded people (and especially technology minded!) was invaluable.

Using Twitter as a learning tool came a bit by accident. I was in desperate need of information for a project I was working on, and could not find sufficient information through my usual search efforts. I turned to Twitter and was amazed at the speed and depth of the responses. Had I sent my query to Twitter FIRST, I would have completed my project in record time!

The challenge still lies with the distraction factor - you simply cannot (in my opinion) go to your social media site and just read the news feed, or watch a single thread of information. No matter how hard to try to stay focused and on task there is the inevitable "Squirrel!!" moment! Something catches your eye and off you go.... merrily down a bunny trail!

With adult learners, it is more of a challenge to overcome their concerns and fears about using social media. A concern and fear I believe is warranted. They have concerns about privacy, social awkwardness, fears of embarrassment and/or harassment. Most adult I've worked with find themselves being forced into the social network sphere because of their children. Either for connecting with them, or for tracking them! Although I have never tried this with students, but I could imagine a 'social media' lesson where they used a tool like Twitter to teach themselves about a specific skill or to acquire direct knowledge about a topic they were interested in. So far, I have found the "Twitterverse" and "Tweeples" to be extraordinarily responsive, helpful and sincere.