A Digital Constellation of Selves: Building a Professional Teaching Identity on Social Media

• In Event: 25.038 - Technology as a Mechanism for Supporting Learning, Motivation, Identity, and Social Interaction

Abstract

Social media has made knowledge more accessible; it has increased opportunities for teachers to interact publicly as scholars and learners. This study investigated preservice teachers’ responses to the use of Twitter in a teacher education course, including for presentation of a professional identity. Data consisted of an electronic survey; the public tweets of a purposive sample of 12 survey respondents; and interviews and case study portraits of four participants. Findings showed that 17% of the respondents felt that they had created a professional identity on Twitter. Case participants described expectations of the format, capabilities of various forms of social media, and awareness of audiences as relevant to their online interactions.

Author

• Janine Schank Davis, University of Mary Washington