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Social networking is hardly a new phenomenon, but teachers have come a long way in their use of sites like Facebook and Twitter. These forms of communication and collaboration have become so common, it’s easy to forget that even a social networking heavyweight like Twitter only gained popularity in the last three or four years.

Results of a survey conducted by MMS Education show that between 2009 — when the survey was last conducted — and 2012, teachers have significantly increased their use of social networking for both personal and professional use. According to a Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking, Online Communities, and Web 2.0 Tools 2012,  the percentage of educators who replied that they were part of at least one social networking site went up from 61 percent in 2009 to 82 percent in 2012 — a significant 34 percent gain.

It’s not too surprising that Facebook is still the most popular site, with 85 percent of respondents saying they are members, but educators also favor Google+, Twitter and Pinterest, a surprise write-in. Even more impressively, participation on education-focused sites, some of which didn’t exist during the 2009 survey, has increased dramatically. The most popular is Edmodo with 27 percent, but more established sites like edWeb saw significant increases in participation as well.

While teachers understand how important social networking sites are to students’ lives, most indicated that they haven’t been able to capitalize on that energy for the purposes of learning. Access to sites is still a huge problem; 47 percent of educators said they felt the rules were too restrictive for their students and even for themselves when at school.

“When educators do find value in an education-based site, they visit frequently,” said Susan Meell, CEO of MMS Education in a webinar explaining the survey results. Many educators reported getting a lot of use out of their interactions on social media sites, especially from free professional development and sharing ideas.

“Teachers often tell us that they feel isolated in the classroom because they find it difficult during a busy day to connect with colleagues and get feedback,” explained Meell. Social networking is an easy and quick way to do both. It’s also a great way for teachers to broaden their ideas about teaching and to share new digital tools.

“It is so very important that we as teachers begin to use technology, as students are already ‘equipped’ with the mindset for technology,” wrote one teacher on the survey. Others noted that teachers need to be teaching digital citizenship and using web 2.0 tools to transform teaching and learning. And in a striking parallel to how online learning can bring out shy learners, many teachers noted how much they gain from interacting with other educators through participation on social networking sites.

General social networking sites, as well as education-focused sites, have emerged as powerful tools for teachers in the last several years. They combat the isolation of the classroom and can provide forward-thinking teachers with a community that shares their views. But challenges still remain with access to useful sites and in the lack of security teachers feel around trying out new strategies.

Flickr: Editor B

Professional development and networking are vital in any field, and that’s especially true for educators.

Whether it’s coming up with fresh ideas for lesson plans and classroom activities, seeking mentorship and support from veteran educators, or cultivating resources for technology integration or for meeting state standards, teachers need one another’s expertise.

That’s why working with other educators in personal learning networks (PLNs) has become as important in an educator’s day as the time he or she spends teaching in class.

Below is a short list of PLNs that already exist, followed by some resources to help teachers build their own

1. The Educator’s PLN is a Ning site (or online platform for creating your own social network) that facilitates connections between educators. It features a slew of resources such as downloadable podcasts with education leaders as guest speakers, discussion groups with specific purposes like exploring the iPad’s use in the classroom, and links to relevant blogs, videos, resource lists, and events.
2. Powerful Learning Practice is a professional development program for progressive-minded educators. Its year-long curriculum provides cohorts of teachers with new ideas and hands-on practice in order to bolster their tech knowledge and aptitudes, rethink classroom activities to make them relevant for today’s students, find other teachers with similar goals, and build their own tech-rich learning tools. It isn’t free ($1,500 per person for a year of professional development in a school or district team or $1,000 as an individual), but teachers can usually earn education credits for their participation.
3. Classroom 2.0 is designed for those interested in sharing ideas and resources about using Web 2.0 and new media in education. This means connecting with colleagues, finding out about events, joining different groups, attending Webinars every Saturday, or simply discussing everything from online projects to financial literacy to smart phone apps.
4. EdChat began as a Twitter conversation for educators and has now expanded to a PBworks wiki that encourages the ideas spawned on Twitter that translate to practical advice. To get involved in EdChat on Twitter, search for the hashtag #edchat and join in the conversation. EdChat participants can also visit the success stories page, participate in two live conversations every Tuesday, and join the EdChat group at the Educator’s PLN.
5. edWeb.net is a free online social network that lets educators connect with colleagues, collaborate on goals and projects, form their own professional learning communities, mentor one another, and practice using a slew of new technologies. Specific initiatives within the network include a game-based learning forum that will bring teachers together with game developers to explore best practices and further the discussion — and the field.
6. Resources for Building or Finding Your Own

• These Edublog and WeConnect posts, both compiled by teacher and blogger Shelly Terrell, present a pretty exhaustive, multimedia-rich list that allows teachers to explore what a PLN is, why they should care, the research behind it, and step-by-step instructions on how to build one.
• For an even bigger list of online teacher networks, visit EducationalNetworking.com’s master list.

Educators, which learning networks do you belong to? What value have you found from collaborating with your peers?