Home

Bluesky · LinkedIn

Tag: networking

  • Smartphone and Social Media use for CPD in Wessex

    I have finally written up a brief survey I did last year looking at how a selected group of Wessex GPs were using the Internet, Web 2.0 tools and smartphones for their CPD. The link to the document is here.

    I had the privilege of presenting a poster of the key findings at the Wessex Educational Fellows 2017 conference. I also learnt a number of things. Firstly, printing on linen is far easier than heavy duty paper. Secondly there’s a fair amount we can share educationally between primary and secondary care. Lastly, there are some very bright & dedicated educationalists around in medicine. The two Keynote speeches were very powerful.

    Anyway, back to the paper. You can read it in all its glory but I just wanted to comment on what I feel are a couple of important points.

    The population surveyed was only small but I suspect can be generalised to the wider GP population. As GPs, we have a suspicion of Social Media for education. It is not without its flaws but I fear we are missing out on the benefits. In order to increase the uptake, there needs to be training for GPs in how to actually use Social Media, Blogs and Podcasts. Once GPs are using it, we need to grow a Professional Network so we can share best practice, ideas, guidelines etc. For this to happen, GPs need to be convinced of the reliability & educational rigour of the material being disseminated as well as be confident in the security of any on-line discussions.

    I would like to extend my huge thanks to those who partook in the survey. I hope to do some further work in the future to explore some of the issues, day job permitting…

  • Online people tagging: SNS and work-based learning

    Online people tagging: SNS and work-based learning

    Cook, John, and Norbert Pachler. “Online people tagging: Social (mobile) network (ing) services and work‐based learning.” British Journal of Educational Technology 43.5 (2012): 711-725.

    After a break for a holiday, I am down to the last few articles I want to review before I submit my assignment. I am not going to get through them all but wanted to review this one first. This is another review article which looks at SNS in the context of informal learning in work place based assessment.

    Again this starts with a critical overview of the literature. The first part is spent linking workplace based assessment with informal learning. Often a GP registrar will learn a considerable amount from working in teams, from other healthcare professionals, being supervised, from significant events and complaints. The author cites another author, Michael Eraut, who has done quite a lot of research on workplace based learning. A synopsis of one of his studies is available here which is easy reading and from which I have taken the following table from.

    A typology of Early Career Learning (Source: Eraut, 2008)

    The table is also present in the article. The point being made is that a lot of learning at work is one to one, but this can be from peers, from the teacher, from colleagues and from patients.

    The article then discusses Social Network(ing). Eraut identifies the key enablers for confidence, learning and retention of information in workplace learning were support and feedback. This in turn leads to self-efficacy, the adult learner/reflective thinker. Whilst there is a dearth of research on SNS and how they can facilitate this, the author cites several papers which explore self-efficacy and the use of scaffolding to achieve this. Scaffolding is what we do as educators in GP training, by providing face to face feedback (e.g. Problem Case Analysis) and the ePortfolio as a SpR builds up a portfolio of experience. I do not foresee a major role for SNS in this but GP training is a one to one learning environment. Computer supported scaffolding is then explored briefly. The author mentioned some papers demonstrating promise in this area. I suppose with the ePortfolio we are already doing this.

    People Tagging

    The author describes people tagging next, using examples of social sites such as Linkedin. Two types of tagging are described – ontology’s and folksonomies. I had never heard of these terms. The former is a system classification (no examples are given but I would imagine rather like rank in the military), the latter is a user driven collective system. I would imagine this would be like Facebook likes, interests and hobbies. The two are linked but a folksonomy is disordered requiring ontological clarity. In a nutshell, sites such as Linkedin try to provide this. My own experience of Linkedin is that I keep on getting recommended for various skills by colleagues. If I agree, I get tagged for that skill eg medical education. The relevance of this is not clear. The author goes into some detail presents a typology of factors in social networking and work-based learning (it is probably worthwhile looking at this) and then describes a case study of a project called the MATURE project. This used a tagging system done by employees and/or superiors referring to expertise or interests. This can then complement self-assessment as well as competency assessment. The article is quite technical but in summary it is suggesting that this type of tagging (either ontological or folksonomy) can assist in work-place assessment.

    Summary

    I found this article quite hard going as it is very technical but there were some useful features. This review is my interpretation. I am not convinced of the value of SNS in work-place assessment. People tagging may be useful for networking and, in the case of Linkedin, potential employment, but not assessment. The work-place assessment we do for the MRCGP has prefined competencies as per the curriculum. It already has the ePortfolio which provides the ontological rigidity required for assuring competence. The authors conclude there is potential for social media in informal, professional, work-placed learning. I would argue whilst there is a role in informal learning, it is not thorough or discriminative enough for a formal work-place assessment delivered against set criteria.

  • USING FACEBOOK FOR PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING: A MODERN DAY ESSENTIAL

    Bodell, Sarah, and Angela Hook. “Using Facebook for professional networking: a modern-day essential.” The British Journal of Occupational Therapy 74.12 (2011): 588-590.

    Abstract here

    This is another opinion piece by Sarah Bodell & Angela Hook on the merits of Facebook use for CPD and professional networking. The above link only links to an abstract which to be honest is not of much use. However I have asked permission from the author to publish a particularly useful table which I will add to this if the answer is in the affirmative. (Edit – see fig 1 at the end)

    This article again relates to how using SNS can promote professional networks and improve CPD. However there are two other important areas which the author comments on.

    Political Change in the NHS

    I am pretty protected from the massive changes in the NHS currently taking place. I work for the MOD which has its own particular pressures. However in any publicly funded service which is under pressure to save money in these times of ‘austerity’, justification of one’s job, role and work is not only vital but may well help preserve that job. A private provider can come in & produce a business plan which superficially states a like for like replacement at reduced costs but I think we all know in healthcare, the job is never like that. Indeed, private companies often underestimate the complexity of providing healthcare (an example). What is inevitable though is that public, private & volunteers will end up working together to provide the service. SNS and professional networking used as a low density and diverse network can play a vital role. The authors describe a low density network as being geographically dispersed and diversity as having a greater range eg OTs from several countries.

    The other important role of SNS in this theme is commissioning. Most healthcare professionals will have ‘to articulate the value and purpose of their role against nationally defined outcomes in order to ensure their services are commissioned’. Achieving this may well be helped by joining a professional network. This comes onto the second area the authors raise.

    Access to SNS

    I am particularly troubled by this. I live in rural Wiltshire where broadband speeds are slow, often at old dial up speeds. What makes things worse is poor 3G coverage. I went up to London for a gig recently and whilst sitting outside a pub enjoying a pint of remarkably good ale, could not believe the speed of 3G on my tablet. It was faster than our home broadband. I cannot access Twitter or Facebook at work. The desktop is not much better. Firewalls and security limitations restrict access to SNS sites in the NHS and in my organisation the MOD. I am not sure why this is. Individual accounts can be monitored so staff could be disciplined for overusing sites (although how anyone ever gets the time to…). Its use as a networking tool for academics has been proven. Unfortunately due to the prevalent belief that risks outweigh the benefits, employers will restrict access and employees will be forced to utilise SNS outside of their own workplace. This is likely to reduce uptake, one of the things I am finding with my blog.

    Another area of concern raised by the author is the reluctance of professionals to ‘advertise’ aspects of their professional working in a public domain. It is recognised however that healthcare professionals are very aware of confidentiality and are conservative in the nature of their posting. This is something I have been made acutely conscious of when thinking about what to write on my blog. I stick to generalisations and often will use a patient contact in the context of starting debate about a certain subject.

    All of this can be mitigated by an understanding of how to use social media. I have left my blog in the public domain but a Facebook group can be closed as can a Google group. It is disseminating this understanding alongside appropriate guidelines which will be the key enabler of low density, diverse professional networks.

    Fig 1

  • Social Networking and Learning

    This editorial is worth reading if only to whet the appetite for what is happening in SNS (Social Networking Services).  It is from the British Journal of Educational Technology (Vol 43, Issue 5; Sept 2012).  Unfortunately it is not free access. However one of the papers in the journal is available here. In it, Pachler and Cook discuss the relative merits of SNS in both the informal and work based learning environments.