Título: Social Media for Networking and Participatory Professional Learning
Autor: McLoughlin, Catherine
Resumen: [EN] There is widespread acceptance of the need for professional learning
opportunities and support for teachers and for academics transitioning into
the higher education workforce. In Australia and globally, social networking
sites (SNS) provide teachers with formal and informal networking
opportunities. While higher education institutions are responding to an everchanging
digital environment, scholarly work aimed at understanding
optimal use of, and interaction with new Web 2.0 capabilities is a pressing
area of concern among academics. Limited studies are available on how and
why teachers in higher education employ social networking tools to create
learning networks, share professional ideas and build creative collegiality.
This scoping review article investigates motivations for the adoption of SNS
in higher education and the benefits and opportunities presented by social
networking tools such as blogs and Twitter in teacher professional learning
and practice. Results show that academics are interested in connecting with
peers, sharing knowledge and networking in open participatory forums as
means of building community and accessing resources. The findings indicate
that the affordances of microblogging and SNS are valued by academics and
that they appreciate the immediacy, relational aspects and interactions that
expand their professional networks.