New Facebook group

[Natalie Doyle Bradley]

Hi all, 

I set up a Facebook group a few weeks ago aimed at those involved in Tech in Irish schools. I have a similar group for Special Education Teachers that has been very successful over the past 4 yrs. We find it a handy way to support each other, accessing support quickly and easily. 

Here’s the details in case anyone would like to join us:

This is a private, teacher-led, group aimed at supporting teachers in Ireland (Primary and Secondary) who are using technology to support teaching and learning.  The group is also open to businesses. Affiliation with a business must always be clearly declared. The aim is to provide inspiration and answer questions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/745034679914848/?ref=share

Thanks 

Natalie

Sent from my iPhone

[John Heffernan]

Just curious, why you think there is a need for another location for tech for teachers? What is the unique selling point?

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[Natalie Doyle Bradley]

Hi John, 

Facebook is a different format that many people are familiar with.

It’s less formal than an email list- a comment/ thread is far less lengthy to read than an email thread with extra ‘bits’ to it.  For example I’ve had to stop and start this email a few times already! 

Email needs to be ‘right’, considered and structured well- especially on a list such as this. FB is good for short comments. 

Facebook is like the informal chat instead of the presentation- you don’t always need the long spiel. 

The format has worked very well for the Special Education Teachers Ireland  group. 

Members sometimes comment to me privately that they watch the SET group Learning all the time but are uncomfortable posting or commenting. 

Anonymous posting is a great addition to the group. Members can ask a question without fear of being ‘outed’ as not knowing everything- no shame in that as we are all

learners- but many people do feel that way. Sometimes they don’t want colleagues to know they are asking.

It’s visual- I love the multi modal format- the audio visual aspect. Very accessible on FaceBook. 

An easy to access space to share files relevant to the group.  

 Only accessible to members who have answered the join questions. I’m pretty strict about declining those who haven’t answered joining questions and so far that has kept out spam etc. 

Those are just some of the reasons!

I thought that the format I have used over the past 4 years with SET would be useful for ICT and teachers too. If there are members here of the SET group please feel free to add to the conversation? 

My intention is not to be in competition with CESI list but to facilitate a community of practice- very happy to have CESI members onboard with admin if they’d be willing?   

Kind regards

Natalie

Sent from my iPhone

On 13 Sep 2022, at 14:33, John Heffernan <jheff...@cesi.ie> wrote:



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[Stephen Murphy]

I think it’s a great idea :) 

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[Aoife Daly]

I also think it's a great idea 🙌

Get Outlook for Android

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From: cesi...@googlegroups.com <cesi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Stephen Murphy <stephen....@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2022 5:50:56 PM
To: cesi...@googlegroups.com <cesi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [CESI List] New Facebook group

 

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[Chris Reina]

Hi Natalie,

It is most certainly a wonderful idea! Any forum that is comfortable for anyone to access information and get help can only be a bonus for everyone!

Of course - this in no way takes away from CESI - in fact - it adds to it.

Those who gain confidence and start asking more questions will seek information from any source and get help!

Kudos to you and I'd love to join!

Also - I'd love to join the SET page as well - my partner is an SEN teacher for severe/profound students and has a huge amount of insight into helping a wide range of students with extra needs.

Many thanks!

Chris

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[Imogen Bertin]

I've been involved in various forms of discussion groups and moderation online since the 1990s/Compuserve. While facebook groups have recently improved a lot as a space for technical discussions, unfortunately the latest update a few days ago has changed the groups feed so that you cannot read all the comments on a thread unless you specifically go to that one group - otherwise attempts to read previous or later comments fail in all browsers. 

This is part of facebook's planned move to become a "discovery" engine, I think you'll find. No money to be made from discussion groups and no control - your discussion belongs to facebook. Several facebook groups I contribute to are experiencing recent problems with moderation time burden and keeping discussions "sustainable" while having a life. Suspect you may be about to discover this, Nathalie. You are not the first person who's tried to move CESI to facebook or Google or wherever. Don't think any of those has worked.

CESI is one of the best lists I've ever been on because it is so well moderated. My only complaint is I'd like to be able to nick the +1/like moves and use them on the list whenever a good solution is proposed.

Good luck with your facebook group - here's hoping no-one posts anything the algorithms don't like and you don't get "banned". Follow the Mari Smith Social Scoop list for many recent blameless examples of this.

Best wishes

Imogen

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https://www.techability.ie 

[Julie Lyons Murphy]

I think it’s a fantastic idea too. I’ve been looking for something similar on Facebook for Irish teachers and I’m delighted that it now exists! Thanks Natalie for setting it up. 

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From: cesi...@googlegroups.com <cesi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Imogen Bertin <imo...@ctc.ie>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2022 6:44:22 PM

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[John Hegarty]

+1

I reckon anything that works, endures and deserves to.

Much in favour of folk giving things a go as a way to find out what does work for them and their tribe.

jh

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[Natalie Doyle Bradley]

Thanks Chris, and all the others who’ve responded. 

The format has proved successful for the SET page. I know some people are hesitant about using Facebook. I’ve been using it for a long time and in 4 years have not had any hassles re moderating it. 

I’ve completed Facebook community manager certification and also been recognised as a ‘Power Admin’ by Facebook- the algorithms have identified the group as engaging and positive above the majority of Facebook groups. Luckily that comes with access to Group support as well for any of the groups I admin. 

It’s certainly brought me some amazing learning opportunities as well over the couple of years. 

Anyway ye are more than welcome over to the Special Education Teachers Ireland Supporting Each Other Group. Please be aware that I have it set up that if the joining questions aren’t fully answered I don’t even see the join request. Answers aren’t shared with members- only with Admin. 

Kind regards 

Natalie

Sent from my iPhone

On 13 Sep 2022, at 20:40, John Hegarty <jheg...@cesi.ie> wrote:



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[Hassan Dabbagh]

Good luck with the group I think it’s a great idea, it’s all about supporting each other, i thought about this before but since FB isn’t allowed pass the school firewall I didn’t take it further. 

I’d love to be part of it, I’d like to do more how to bits for the CESI podcast . 

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[John Heffernan]

Hi all 

I have just started to get involved in a number of ed tech projects (US based) where we have gone for Slack in two instances and Discord in the other over using Facebook. Some of the points Imogen came through in the discussion on  FB groups/page but school district policies on data security has been the biggest decision breaker.  

I do really think Facebook Groups are on the way out. I am a member in numerous FB groups and I forgot to check them more often than. I find FB group/pages are horrendous to search and have a lot of folks abusing it with non relevant stuff. FB really decides what you see. What might be active for you might not for others.  

It is hard work to get a community off the ground and I just don't want to see your hard work wasted on a platform and a difficult topic to build a community around. 

As producer for the CESI Staffroom podcast, I have trawled through the mailing list for the past seven years to identify trends to explore on the podcast. The CESI list is basically a tech support list and although I would love to see more wider discussions raised on the more general topics that we could use to inform the Irish ed tech community, CESI list is basically a place to go if you have a problem. Some members prove far more value to the list as a result of this focus compared to others and we should be looking at ways to even out the weight that some members carry. 

My 2c

John

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[Denis Dennehy]

John, Your 2c holds a higher than face value for me... I value your contributions on this and many other points

Best

Denis

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[Chris Reina]

Hi John,

I agree with you on Facebook not being the perfect forum.

However... with the greatest of respect - This is not the US (thank goodness!) and my experience from being in lots of schools nationwide daily - Facebook rules. (For the moment)

Is there a huge amount of disinformation on Facebook? Yes.

Do I think it's on the way out?... no. Is it the most widely used forum amongst teachers? - Yes - even more than Twitter. Do I like it? No - I bloody hate it.

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This of course leads to the [unanswerable] question... Well, what is the best forum?

My thoughts - there isn't a "best" forum. The best one is where the user is most comfortable.

I think personal responsibility, time and knowing there are different levels to all knowledge is a good lens to view the issue through.

Any question or issue a person is seeking more information on or an answer to - should be researched thoroughly.

• It is the person with the problems responsibility to give as much information and context as possible regarding the question or problem.
• It is the person answering the question/problem's responsibility to give as much detailed information (hopefully disseminated in a clear, concise answer) from experience.

All information is good... but we should all remember there is often an "agenda" - sometimes hidden, sometimes obvious.

Independence is key - Is the answer coming from someone selling something? Is the answer coming from someone who has "heard/read" about a solution? Is the answer coming from someone who has implemented the solution directly with experience?

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I liken all this to know the right question to ask... eg:

Q: "Google... what is the best movie of all time?"

A: "The Godfather"

versus

Q: "Google - what were the top 10 romantic movies in Ireland in 2020?"

A: "Lovebirds, I Still Believe, Valley Girl..."

Very different questions and answers. One more quantifiable than the other.

In essence - seek information! Look in many places! CESI, Facebook, speak to humans, Twitter, Slack, Discord, Telegram, What's App, Signal, Viber, Skype, Messenger, Nimbuzz, Line, etc., etc. (OK, I'll stop)

Get someone you know and trust to help, but research - don't always take their answer.

Engage, Explore, Enjoy.

My 12.784c

Chris!

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[Imogen Bertin]

Just want to agree that facebook groups have actually become very good for many tech subjects (the search function does work at the moment...)

And that Chris is right about comfort being the best indicator of a "good" resource. Facebook's very comfortable, just not terribly sustainable.

That's because, in my opinion, facebook groups require extra moderation versus email lists because the users are lazier in general about attempting to answer their own question, and the "experts" get too tired of answering when the group proves successful, as the "reward" goes to facebook, and not back to the admins or experts. Check out the PV, heat pump, building renovation groups to see this in action.

[The facebook "Community Manager" and "power admin" resources are also not very good uses of scarce time.]

I used to wonder years ago why the venerable Peter Flynn (UCC) was always so conservative about new forums, website technologies and change. 

The issues above turned out to be why, and of course, as always, he generally turned out to be right.

All the best

Imogen

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[G P Ashe]

Facebook is fine up to a point but you can easily miss something and then end up asking the same question (cf Solar PV in Ireland group)

With CESI you can be away for a while and yet it is very easy to scan topics/threads and drill in on the ones of interest.

Horses for courses...

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[Stephen Murphy]

I think it’s a great idea to supplement other groups’ work. The longest journey starts with the first step… who knows, the Facebook group could be the go-to place for IT questions. Let it grow and see what happens :) 

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[Blaithin Mc Mahon]

Hi all, 

I rarely weigh in to these conversations (mainly because my tech knowledge is minimal compared to some of you!!), however I just wanted to say I doubt Natalie meant to start a massive discussion here on the pros or cons of Facebook. I personally think there is a place for all to co-exist. There are pros and cons of both email and FB groups. I have already learned something new from that FB group, so for me it is already worthwhile. I am a long time member of Natalie’s SET group and it is the sole reason I haven’t left FB! It is an amazing place for collaboration (as is this CESI group) and by in far the best run FB group I have been a member of. I personally look forward learning more (and letting what’s over my head, go over my head) from both this CESI group and the FB group. 

Bláithín 

Seolta ó mo iPhone

On 11 Sep 2022, at 19:28, Natalie Doyle Bradley <natali...@hotmail.com> wrote:

 Hi all, 

--

[Careers News]

Hello

I think an extra channel of communication is not a good idea.

It will split the audience and force users to watch both channels in case they might miss something important.

 

The cesi list is simple and very effective.

 

Thanks

 

Tom Farrell.

 

 

From: cesi...@googlegroups.com <cesi...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Blaithin Mc Mahon
Sent: Monday 19 September 2022 20:07
To: cesi...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [CESI List] New Facebook group

 

Hi all, 

 

I rarely weigh in to these conversations (mainly because my tech knowledge is minimal compared to some of you!!), however I just wanted to say I doubt Natalie meant to start a massive discussion here on the pros or cons of Facebook. I personally think there is a place for all to co-exist. There are pros and cons of both email and FB groups. I have already learned something new from that FB group, so for me it is already worthwhile. I am a long time member of Natalie’s SET group and it is the sole reason I haven’t left FB! It is an amazing place for collaboration (as is this CESI group) and by in far the best run FB group I have been a member of. I personally look forward learning more (and letting what’s over my head, go over my head) from both this CESI group and the FB group. 

 

Bláithín 

Seolta ó mo iPhone

On 11 Sep 2022, at 19:28, Natalie Doyle Bradley <natali...@hotmail.com> wrote:

 Hi all, 

 

I set up a Facebook group a few weeks ago aimed at those involved in Tech in Irish schools. I have a similar group for Special Education Teachers that has been very successful over the past 4 yrs. We find it a handy way to support each other, accessing support quickly and easily. 

 

Here’s the details in case anyone would like to join us:

 

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cesi-list/7FE8026A-D4B5-4493-AE30-0750EEB96ADA%40gmail.com.

[Stephen Murphy]

Hi, 

I don’t think it forces anyone to do anything. If people feel they are missing out, they simply choose which one they want to follow. Not everyone has a Facebook page and not everyone wants info in the form of emails so it appeals to people outside of the overlap between the two  

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