Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Social Media's Influence
This blog post deals with social media and its use in promoting policy issues. “Social media are electronic communication platforms that convey content generated and exchanged by network of users” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010) (as cited in Auer, 2011, p. 710). My knowledge of social media networks is limited. I am not a part of the Facebook, twitter, or LinkedIn networks. I have only recently become a member of Pinterest and to be honest, I have to look up my password each time I use the site due to non-frequent use. However, I do see the value of social media as fast and low-cost means of disseminating information, communicating, and gathering feedback (June, Hong, & Sung-Min, 2011). Two social media networks I might use to communicate my policy on the Multi-tiered System of Support for Voluntary Prekindergarten are Pinterest and Edmodo.
Pinterest is a social media network with the focus on personal interest. Members can search a wide range of topics that are of their interest and then “pin” that information for future use. The audience addressed through Pinterest would be early childhood educators. Educators could search the site through key words such as prekindergarten, RTI, or behavior. One value is the ability to share pins with other educators. A challenge is searching through the multitude of information that is available on the site, some valuable and some not as valuable.
Edmodo is a second social media network for educators. This network is supported by the school district and information can be shared directly to administrators or teachers. Administrators and teachers alike would be able to view the new multi-tiered system of support for voluntary prekindergarten policy and provide feedback in the form of comments or suggestions to improve the policy to meet the needs of all stakeholders. One drawback to the use of Edmodo is knowing whether or not the administrators or teachers are active network users.
When social media is used for the purpose of advocacy and policy issues, “digital post spawn commentary, sway view, and spur action” according to Auer (2011, p. 711). Social media provides the means for individuals to be heard thus broadening the range of opinions and issues that are addressed through educational organizations or the government. Some of the challenges to using social medium include matching the literacy and preferences of the audience, designing software, and matching task appropriateness (Lampe, LaRose, Steinfield, & DeMaagd, 2011). What is your view on social media for disseminating information and development of policy issues? Are there more benefits or barriers? What social media networks are more beneficial for early childhood educators? I would be interested in learning more about social networks through your comments.
References:
Auer, M. R. (2011). The policy sciences of social media. Policy Studies Journal, 39(4), 709-736. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
June, P., Hong, C., & Sung-Min, P. (2011). Social media’s impact on policy making. SERI Quarterly, 4(4), 125-129. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Lampe, C., LaRose, R., Steinfield, C., & DeMaagd, K. (2011). Inherent barriers to the use of social media for public policy informatics. Innovation Journal, 16(1), 1-17. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
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Sharon,
ReplyDeleteYou have mentioned Pinterest and Edmodo in your blog and these are the two media sources that I know the least about. As an administrator I think Edmodo sounds like I good resource to use for your policy issue. It would provide an array of information for those interested in supporting voluntary pre-kindergarten. As for Pinterest, I am not certain how effective it would be in promoting a policy issue. However, my uncertainty could stem from my lack of understanding how Pinterest works. I know that it is about a persons interests, but how would you specifically promote your policy issue? I obviously need some education on how Pinterest works.
You asked if social media is beneficial for disseminating information and development of a policy issue. One of the points that Pillow-Price (2009) strongly states is that you have to know your audience. We live in a time when social media is the most influencial outlet for communication. We need to determine very specifically who our audience is and tailor our communication to the media source that most beneficially speaks to them. For example, I have an educator friend who has a Facebook page but never checks it or communicates to anyone through her page. However, she has a Twitter account and most often communicates to everyone via Twitter. If I was trying to get her support for my policy issue, I would reach out to her through Twitter. The various forms of social media offer us an assortment of communication tools to convey our policy issues to the public.
Pillow-Price, K. L. (2009). Influencing legislation – Advocacy basics. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 37(3), 18-23. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Hi Darla,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I agree that Edmodo is a better source for disseminating information on a policy issue as compared to Pinterest. Pinterest would be beneficial for learning the details of the policy and support pages but not for disseminating the policy issue to the public.
Sharon Lloyd
Sharon,
ReplyDeleteAfter I posted here to your blog I went and looked at Pinterest. It is an interesting forum and I am amazed at the array of interests one can display on their own account. I can see where Pinterest could be beneficial for learning the details of your policy.
Darla
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI have some of the same questions you have and am finding this particular exercise quite enlightening. I think the comments, ideas, questions, and suggestions that have surfaced on everyone's blogs are creating critical thinking about the topic of social media.
DR. Callahan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I must admit my critical thinking is leading the way of developing a web page or blog for my class next year to keep parents informed. My first step will be to inquire how many of the parents have access to be able to view a web page or blog. The second concern would be translating as my school has a high population of Hispanic and I'm sure that won't change next year.
Sharon Lloyd
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ReplyDeleteHello Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using Pinterest as a way to share with other educators as this is a very popular site. Perhaps you could pin pictures of what happens in voluntary prekindergarten (e.g. the children doing various activities, work samples, what the classroom environment looks like). You could use Pinterest to advertise the benefits of prekindergarten as way to get more families involved. I hadn't thought of Pinterest in this way before but I would consider using it for the same purposes.
Thank you,
Jessica C.