Teachers online discusses how teachers balance their personal and professional lives online. The article was published in the December 2011 issue of the PPTA News, the newsletter of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA)
Where do we separate the personal from the professional?
Unlike the gap between the rich and poor in New Zealand, the divide between a teacher's personal and professional life is closing in as social networking sites have meant a head-on collision between the two worlds.
It's this lack of a gap that has left teachers looking closely at how they conduct themselves online in a personal capacity, while balancing how they can engage technologically savvy youth in the classroom.
As the personal and professional have merged debate has widened.
Social media a powerful learning opportunity
Trainee teacher and blogger Stephanie Thompson asks in a post "Is fear extinguishing innovation?" as we witness increased scaremongering around teachers using social media. "Social media in and of itself isn't bad," she said.
"In fact when used effectively it is one of the most powerful forms of learning out there. Yet we spend so much time worrying about all the potential threats that we lose sight of all the awesome learning opportunities out there."
Link to Teaching the teacher blog
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