Building social learning communities
Building a social learning community: Tips and tools for surviving a PhD and professional learning during a pandemic and beyond. A summary of our fireside chat at #SocMedHE21 Sue Beckingham, Deb Baff, Suzanne Faulkner, Dawne Irving-Bell, Sarah Hallam and Rachelle O’Brien @suebecks @debbaff @SFaulknerPandO @belld17 @Sarah_Hallam @rachelleeobrien Undertaking independent professional learning or further study such as a PhD or EdD can be an isolating experience. You may be juggling full-time work and studying part-time; have caring responsibilities; studying in person or as a distance learner. Irrespective of study mode, the experience of being a PhD or EdD student is very different to a taught undergraduate or postgraduate degree where a cohort of students study together and follow the same curriculum for the main part of their degree. The PhD experience whilst an individual learning experience, can still open up opportunities for serendipitous conversations. These may occur on campus in the corridor, seminars, guest lectures, in the workplace, during social activities or through attending conferences. However, during the pandemic opportunities for such interactions were curtailed and all contact was shifted online through remote learning. The session will be facilitated through a ‘fireside chat’ where we will share the spaces (tools), places (groups), and resources that have helped us through the pandemic; considering those we will take forward to support our continued journey, those that we will try to incorporate, and those that we are glad to leave behind. This session will provide input to a co-created toolkit which will be shared openly for use and adaptation by others. The toolkit could also be used by individuals undertaking other types of professional development. This might include scholarship, research or study, for example an Academic Professional Higher Degree Apprenticeships, Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice or applying for a Senior/Principal Fellowship, SEDA Fellowship, CMALT (Certified Membership of ALT) or other professional recognition scheme.
Building social learning communities
- 1. Tips and tools for independant professional learning Social Learning Communities Undertaking further study such as a PhD or EdD or independent professional learning e.g. CMALT, SFHEA, FSEDA can be an isolating experience. You may be juggling full-time work and studying part-time; have caring responsibilities; studying in person or as a distance learner. However there are a variety of ways you can develop a social learning community. We share some of the things that have worked for us as students. SPACES PLACES Spaces can be described as the physical or virtual location where you may choose to be. Places are what give spaces meaning and where meaningful social connections can be made. These can take place in person or virtually. On campus in the corridor, during seminars and guest lectures, or coffee breaks and over lunch. In person meetings External conferences, seminars and workshops provide opportunities to meet new people beyond your own university. Exchange emails and reach out to connect on your chosen professional social networks e.g. LinkedIn and Twitter. This is a great way to extend your personal learning network. 2 WhatsApp has become a popular space to create private groups where peers can engage in those 'coffee break' type conversations, missed when unable to meet in person. Chat apps 1 When sharing links to resources it can be easier to use the web version! https://web.whatsapp.com/ Tip 3Online meetings The next best thing to in person meetings is the ability to see each other online. Spaces like Zoom, MS Teams, Skype and Blackboard Collaborate can provide a place to meet and interact. Tip Find out 'what's on' and try to attend a variety of different events. Other examples include Snapchat groups, Twitter group DMs, Telgraph and Discord. All accessible via apps to use on your phone. It’s recommended that we eat at least five portions of different types of fruit and vegetable a day. 4 Twitter Begin by following others with shared interests. Ask friends for suggestions. @ThomsonPat @thesiswhisperer @researchwhisperer @PhDStudents @PhDForum @thoughtsofaphd @GetThePhTea @ithinkwellHugh @WriteThatPhD @firstphdchat Take part in tweet chats and discussions e.g. #PhDchat #LTHEchat #CMALT #advanceHE_chat #SFHEA #PFHEA Tip If you follow someone interesting check out who they follow as way to extend your network. 5Blogs There are a growing collection of blogs sharing experiences about everything from wellbeing, study and writing tips to detailed information about undertaking research and professional accreditation. Here are some useful ones to start with: https://thesiswhisperer.com/ https://patthomson.net/ https://drkriukow.com/ https://www.phdstudent.com/ https://www.thephdforum.com/ https://www.alt.ac.uk/category/topic/cmalt https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/fellowship https://aldinhe.ac.uk/aldinhe-professional- accreditation/ https://www.seda.ac.uk/professional- development-opportunities/fellowships- scheme/fellowship/ 6Video tutorials Tips on 'isms' and 'ologogies' and more! Some examples: https://www.youtube.com/c/HelenKaraWriter https://www.youtube.com/c/QualitativeResearche r/videos Tip Create your own playlist of videos by clicking on the + SAVE icon. Then 'create a new playlist' and give it a name. 7 Visual aids To unpack new information have a go at creating a sketchnote. @ Further examples: https://padlet.com/Debbaff/sketchnotes Created by: Sue Beckingham @suebecks Deb Baff @debbaff Suzanne Faulkner @SFaulknerPandO Dawne Irving-Bell @belld17 Sarah Hallam @Sarah__Hallam Rachelle O'Brien @rachelleeobrien Presented at the Social Media for Learning in Higher Education Conference 2021 #SocMedHE21