Some thoughts on Leon Benjamin's 'Building brand me?'

How do I build brand me? from Winning by Sharing

Leon Benjamin, a blogger at Winning by Sharing has posted an excellent presentation, How do I build brand me?, on Slideshare. It contains some very useful and (for me) timely advice on social media networking and prompted me to add the following (now, slightly edited) comment:

Thanks Leon, seeing your blog and Slideshare has been timely for me. I spend a lot of time sharing links, writing posts and creating resources for my students and to build my reputation as a counsellor who is passionate, committed and knowledgeable about the profession of counselling. I have evidence from students, clients and colleagues that this is successful, but your blog and presentation has helped me to be patient, focus on the process rather than the outcome and to remember that influence cannot always be measured by immediate reactions and change. In fact these principles apply as much to client work in counselling as they do to my involvement with social media. And the fact that I am now thinking, 'This could make a good blog post' shows how much I have begun to think in terms of creation, curation and sharing. Best wishes, @MarsdenTherapy

So, here I am creating the very post I mentioned in my comment. I think this is an example of why I like social media and its networking potential. I'll make a list:

• I have Tweeted the link to Leon's blog on my Twitter feed to alert my followers to something interesting I've found on the Web. I'm particularly thinking of those followers who are also colleagues at the University Centre, Blackburn College and interested in developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) and using social media to engage learners.
• I have followed Leon on Twitter, 'liked' his Facebook page, added his blog to my feed, added his blog to my newsletter on Scoop.it and subscribed to his Slideshares. So I'm now 'connected' and have expanded my network. He may or may not subscribe to any of my social media sites but either way I'm going to be notified whenever he uploads content.
• Finally here I am embedding Leon's content in my own site and adding my own reactions. For me this is fun but it's also learning.

So, I shall continue giving time and attention to my social media accounts. It's fun to create and curate; it enables me to connect with colleagues from across the world; I'm able to engage with different opinions and experiences, new ideas and research; it develops my writing and critical thinking skills; and builds my reputation as a counsellor, supervisor and teacher who is working at being authentic and is certainly passionate about his work ... 

Now ... I need to add this to my blog and post a link on Twitter ...

Teaching in the 21st Century

I have just finished a thirty minute Webinar with students on my Working with Abuse course at the University Centre, Blackburn College and now I’m writing a blog about it. I have emailed a link to a recording of the Webinar to all my students so those who could not attend have an opportunity to see what they missed. In my Webinar I referred to a BBC radio programme, which I have now uploaded to Moodle, the University Centre’s virtual learning environment. I am creeping into the 21^st Century.

As far as my willingness to use technology goes I’ve come a long way in just a few years: from a sceptic who refused to use PowerPoint to an enthusiast who advocates the use of technology enhanced learning (TEL).

My dislike of PowerPoint presentations grew out of the numerous probation service staff training days I attended. It was a struggle to keep awake during 150 slides on the Criminal Justice Act (2003) or some other bone dry topic. Each slide featured probation service corporate colours and fifteen bullet points - there was little relief from this monotony.

I now use PowerPoint as a backdrop to my lectures - pictures, videos and music punctuate the lesson and change the state of learners. My PowerPoint presentations are uploaded to Moodle for students to print if they wish. I’m currently experimenting with slideshare.net but my next real challenge is to begin adding a commentary so students can hear me expand on the bullet points I have listed and then the presentations will make much more sense.

The Webinar is another experiment and with mixed results. My students can see and hear me and they can write questions in response to what I am saying, but there is little interaction as yet. My job is to work my way through the PowerPoint students can see when I’m sharing my desktop. Unfortunately anymeeting.com has had a redesign since last week and I couldn’t get the desktop sharing function to work. This prevented me from sharing important diagrams and pictures. My experience of the Webinar is therefore pretty mixed. Interaction is limited and when the technology doesn’t work I am left with a strong sense of “just talking to myself”. Maybe a better way of transmitting knowledge is the tried and tested YouTube video – so popular that I’m about to go back into production!

The transmission of knowledge over the Web does allow more time for experiential learning in the classroom: discussion, exploration and interaction. I am using technology to enhance this too. I take pictures of students as they work in pairs and triads - capturing examples of rapport building that I upload to Moodle. I photograph work we have done on the whiteboard and on flipchart paper. Sometimes students let me take movies of their presentations and counselling sessions, which I also upload to Moodle. Finally the assessment of learning has incorporated technologies, including the audio and video recording of counselling sessions and presentations. The key question then – is this enhancing the learning experience of students? There is much more that I can do to make use of TEL and I shall keep you posted!