Wk7 Tech Reflection: Creating a Online Presence from Scratch

Advocacy is an all too familiar word in the world of teaching and with it comes great responsibility. Especially in the arts, where programs are constantly facing budget cuts and furloughs; it is so vital to broadcast the success of our departments. One way to expand your "advocacy arsenal" is to create a PLN or Personal Learning Network. A PLN is tool that uses social media and technology to connect, collaborate, and collect with colleagues and/or students. After completing the reading assignment for this week, I have decided to reflect on various methods for a music educator to create a PLN while advocating for their music program at the same time. After creating my own PLN, I have discovered the benefits of having an online presence. According to the text, having an online presence can gives teachers easy access to new information at any time or place (Bauer, 2014). Technology in today's modern world allows teachers to communicate and share on a regular basis. By using these tools available to us, music teachers can share with their community all of their achievements and upcoming events.

#1 Social Media
When creating a PLN, an easy place to start is social media. There are multiple social networking platforms that can be beneficial additions to a teacher's personal learning network (Bauer, 2014). Most social networks can be accessed easily from your phone, tablet and computer. Google+, Facebook and Twitter are all excellent social networks to broadcast your program and its' achievements. Most people have access to some sort of social media. Because of this, people such as administrators and/or parents can easily see your hard work when you post about events, such as a successful concert or sining the national anthem at a baseball game. If you maintain a good relationship with your students' parents, and they are made aware of all the hard work you do, they will fight hard for you when the time comes.
When using services such as Facebook and Twitter, it is a smart idea to make a professional account that is separate from your personal account in order to maintain privacy (Bauer, 2014). In my welcome packet for chorus,  I make sure to include a Photo/Video Release agreement for their parents to sign. This is a another helpful tip because there are some parents who do not wish for photos or videos of their child to be on the Internet.

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#2 Social Bookmarking
Social Bookmarking is the process of finding, saving, and organizing links to online resources in order for groups of people to share and work together (Bauer, 2014).  In this section of the reflection, I will be focusing mainly on a particular free form of social bookmarking that I personally use on regular basis. Pinterest is a social bookmarking website that has a huge educational presence. When putting together lessons, activities or decorating my classroom, Pinterest is always my first stop in the search. Not only can I research these topics, but I can save or "pin" them onto "boards" that can be organized into categories such as "Music Room Centers" or "Assessment."  Not only can you save pins, but you can upload your own as well. This is an instance where music advocacy can also be demonstrated. From YouTube recordings to concert and fundraiser flyers, you can upload anything in order to promote yourself and your program. Posts from Pinterest are all stored online so that they can be easily accessed by anyone who can connect to the Internet around the world. Music teachers are always "pinning" about music education advocacy and what methods they take in order to promote their programs. Check out this Pinterest Board on advocacy for music education. (if you do not have an account, you easily sign up with your Facebook or Google+ account).

With the aid of modern technology, music educators are able to have an online presence that can promote and justify our programs through the means of various tools. When you establish a PLN, you are creating a visual representation of yourself as a teacher for others to experience.  Social media is transforming the way we communicate and therefore strengthening the means of advocacy and protection for our programs. With a one click, teachers can share their's and their students' hard work and efforts in cultivating a successful music program. By using social bookmarking, teachers are able to upload, save and organize links that they find useful or represent their teaching beliefs. There are so many ways to establish and cultivate an online presence, but for now, this is a good place to start. 

References

Bauer, W. I. (2014). A conceptual framework for technology - Assisted music learning. In Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 16-17). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.