Using Social Media as a Platform for a Virtual Professional Learning Community

Autor/in	Bedford, Laurie
Titel	Using Social Media as a Platform for a Virtual Professional Learning Community
Quelle	In: Online Learning, 23 (2019) 3, S.120-136 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2472-5749
Schlagwörter	Communities of Practice; Social Media; College Faculty; Faculty Development; Teacher Attitudes; Interaction; Social Networks; Mentors; Doctoral Students; Virtual Universities; Computer Mediated Communication; Peer Relationship; Design; Teacher Participation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Community; Soziale Medien; Fakultät; Lehrerverhalten; Interaktion; Social network; Soziales Netzwerk; Doctoral studies; Doctorate studies; Student; Students; Doctoral candidate; Doktorandenprogramm; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Doktorand; Doktorandin; Computerkonferenz; Peer-Beziehungen
Abstract	The Professional Learning Community (PLC) has been used in higher education to provide a platform for faculty members to discuss challenges and build professional skills. While the virtual PLC (VPLC) is becoming a more acceptable delivery mechanism for faculty professional development, successful practices for designing these learning environments have received little attention in the research literature. Social media has been found to provide an environment in which professional learning can occur. It can be a platform which transcends the perceptions and structure of traditional online faculty development courses. However, social media use for professional development has primarily focused on informal learning in unstructured formats. The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study was to provide insight into online faculty members' perceptions and experiences interacting in a VPLC, within a social media environment purposefully designed for networking and learning. Twenty-two doctoral-mentoring faculty members from an online university agreed to participate in a VPLC using a social media platform, facilitated by expert colleagues. Upon completion of the 10-week experience, data was collected using a self-reflective interview strategy. This study confirmed previous research into the benefits of the PLC for professional development in academia and of using social media for professional learning. It extended the research to describe the structured VPLC using a social media platform to engage faculty, build relationships, and foster shared learning. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Online Learning Consortium, Inc. P.O. Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Tel: 888-898-6209; Fax: 888-898-6209; e-mail: olj@onlinelearning-c.org; Web site: https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01