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Using Social Networks to Enhance Pre-service Teachers’ Understanding of Professional Identity
PROCEEDINGS

, , Brock University, Canada

Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, in San Diego, CA, USA ISBN 978-1-880094-78-5 Publisher: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Waynesville, NC USA

Abstract

A Drupal 6.0 toolkit was used to create an online social network for the Faculty of Education at Brock University in order to facilitate interaction and communication between the faculty, staff, and students. In addition to fostering intra-institutional relationships, the network was designed to foster inter-institutional connections by strengthening the faculty’s rapport with the surrounding teacher community that supports the institution’s mission. Data sources for the study described in this paper included statistical data in the form of frequency of visits, number of unique visitors, and length of time on the site to describe ‘stickiness’ of the site, as well as content analysis of student and faculty posts and comments. Findings indicated that the use of the social network promoted professional dialog, the reduction of isolation through a supportive learning community, professional reflection, and the dissemination of ideas and resources, due to ‘stickiness’ of the social networking environment.

Citation

Figg, C. & Rutherford, C. (2010). Using Social Networks to Enhance Pre-service Teachers’ Understanding of Professional Identity. In D. Gibson & B. Dodge (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2010--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 482-489). San Diego, CA, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved March 28, 2024 from .

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