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Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Establishing Professional Connections on Instagram

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Technological Innovations in Education

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Abstract

Social media is one way educators can connect professionally. In initial teacher education (ITE), social media integrated into learning and teaching, enables pre-service teachers (PSTs) to extend ways to reflect, access resources, and connect with others while developing a professional profile. Integration is an emerging field within ITE, with most reporting on the use of Twitter and Facebook, however little has been reported on the use of Instagram with PSTs. The aim of this chapter is to present PSTs’ perceptions of Instagram use within their ITE studies. The study shared is underpinned by a constructivist online learning framework where 76 PSTs enrolled at an Australian university reflect upon their use of Instagram after a semester of integration into professional experience subjects. Revealed from post-semester written reflections, is how Instagram integrated into ITE offers an opportunity for PSTs to feel more connected and experience a different form of online learning that enables them to make their reflective practice visible, while enhancing professional development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Narelle Lemon, Siobhan O’Brien & Katrina van Vuuren

Authors
  1. Narelle Lemon
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  2. Siobhan O’Brien
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  3. Katrina van Vuuren
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Correspondence to Narelle Lemon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University, Mt. Gravatt, QLD, Australia

    Susanne Garvis

  2. School of Education, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Therese Keane

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Lemon, N., O’Brien, S., van Vuuren, K. (2023). Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of Establishing Professional Connections on Instagram. In: Garvis, S., Keane, T. (eds) Technological Innovations in Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2785-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2785-2_3

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-2785-2

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