Teachers’ Informal Learning via Social Networking Technology

Authors

  • Radzuwan Ab Rashid Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • Mohd Firdaus Yahaya Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • Mohd Fazry A Rahman Bangunan UMNO Shah Alam, Aras 10, Menara UBSA,, Pusat Dagangan UMNO Shah Alam, Seksyen 11, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Kamariah Yunus Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v11i10.5908

Keywords:

Teacher professional development, English language teaching, Malaysia, Facebook Timelines, teacher knowledge

Abstract


Discussion on teacher learning is often limited to a focus on formal professional development programmes. What and how teachers learn informally through their daily experiences is rarely explored. This research attempts to investigate how teachers engage in informal learning for their professional development when using Social Networking Site (SNS) technology. Data were generated using ethnographic approach whereby Facebook Timelines belonged to 22 English language teachers were observed for a period of six months. The analysis shows that the teachers frequently exchanged teaching related knowledge in their Timeline conversations and they received rich responses from both teaching and non-teaching Friends. This paper thus argues that social networking site, such as Facebook is a potential platform to engage teachers in informal learning for their professional development.

Author Biographies

Radzuwan Ab Rashid, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

A senior lecturer in the faculty of languages and communication, UniSZA, Malaysia.

Mohd Firdaus Yahaya, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

A lecturer in the faculty of languages and communication, UniSZA, Malaysia

Mohd Fazry A Rahman, Bangunan UMNO Shah Alam, Aras 10, Menara UBSA,, Pusat Dagangan UMNO Shah Alam, Seksyen 11, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Lecturer and officer of research an innovation at Shah Alam Community College, Malaysia.

Kamariah Yunus, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Lecturer and Deputy Dean of Research and Postgraduates, Faculty of Languages and Communication, UniSZA, Malaysia.

Downloads

Published

2016-10-27

How to Cite

Ab Rashid, R., Yahaya, M. F., A Rahman, M. F., & Yunus, K. (2016). Teachers’ Informal Learning via Social Networking Technology. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 11(10), pp. 76–79. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v11i10.5908

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 10 (2016)

Section

Short Papers

License

The submitting author warrants that the submission is original and that she/he is the author of the submission together with the named co-authors; to the extend the submission incorporates text passages, figures, data or other material from the work of others, the submitting author has obtained any necessary permission.
Articles in this journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY What does this mean?). This is to get more legal certainty about what readers can do with published articles, and thus a wider dissemination and archiving, which in turn makes publishing with this journal more valuable for you, the authors.
By submitting an article the author grants to this journal the non-exclusive right to publish it. The author retains the copyright and the publishing rights for his article without any restrictions.