CASE STUDY II
SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR TEACHERS
We have noted that, in face to face situations, teachers interact
in team teaching situations,
in staffrooms
in a range of meetings, conferences and CPD sessions.
The Teaching Music website aims to replicate the functions of these scenarios in a virtual environment. This website is funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools [TDA] and managed by the National Association of Music Educators [(NAME].
In this case study, you will learn how to:
- register on the site and design a home page
- set up a blog
- research current music education issues
- send messages to other teachers
- add comments to a discussion forum
- design and publish your own digital resource
Register on the site and design a home page
First of all, log on to Teaching Music and follow the registration instructions. When you are registered, go to your home page and work through these four activities
Add a picture
For this you will need a head and shoulders photograph of yourself somewhere on your computer hard drive. If you do not have one, comb your hair and ring the school's ICT technician! Then add the picture by clicking on 'add picture' and follow the instructions.
Add a profile to your page
 Click on the Edit box and add some text. You may want to look at some existing teachers profiles to give you some ideas
Add a blog entry
 Your blog can be in words, a video or audio comment or any combination of these; you can also add pictures. Explore some of the other blogs on the site to get you started. Here are some tips for writing a good blog:
Content is King. It's what brings people back. If you share important information, experience, and wisdom, you'll build a readership.
Lists, Tests, and Bullet Points .. a text-heavy blog is a turn off. People like to absorb information in bite-size pieces.
Stay focused .. tick to one topic per entry.
Ask questions ... a blog isn't a monologue. The best blogs provoke feedback by asking questions.
Be friendly, welcoming and accommodating. Answer questions politely!
Be controversial .. arguing and disagreeing is healthy because it encourages debate ... providing everyone remains civil!
Improve your layout
Move the panels around [click and drag] on the page to customize your home page layout so that it looks the way you want it, like Mark Smith's page on the left.
 Research current issues
This website uses tag clouds A tag cloud is a visual depiction of user-generated tags. The importance of a tag is shown with font size.
Tags are hyperlinks that lead to a collection of items that are associated with a tag. we can see that Transition was a popular issue when this screenshot was taken.
Communicate with others
 Find out who else is on the site. Click on the 'members' tab and try out the various search facilities.
Find someone you know or someone who shares a common interest and message them to let them know you are here.
Reflect on the pedagogy
 Find a resource on the site that interests you and
consider some of the reflection points.
Then leave comment on the resource. This can be done using text or you can leave a video or audio comment.
Join discussion groups
Click on the 'forums' tab.
Find a discussion area that interests you. Read the comments made by other users and add one yourself.
Create a digital resource
Making a digital version of one of your own teaching resources is good fun and immensely satisfying. Your students will often engage more readily with materials presented in this way and if they are web based they can be accessed at any time if they are uploaded on to your school's Virtual Learning Environment [VLE]. You can also put them on to this website as a way of promoting the work that you do and as a means of raising your profile in the music teaching community. The other significant benefit is that you are likely to receive constructive feedback from your peers.
First of all, search through the resources on the site and add some to your library. This will give you some ideas for assembling and presenting your work. Use the briefing sheet to help organise your ideas. Also look at the example briefing sheet.
When you have assembled your digital content go to on your home page. Now enter your content into the appropriate boxes.
When you save your work, the formatting will happen automatically:
Note – no one else will be able to see your work until you press the 'Go Live' button. You can revise or delete your work at any stage – even when published.
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