Hello! My name is Rob Blackston. I have been in education for about 5 years and still feel like a novice everyday. I am very comfortable in the classroom, but the admin side has surprises around every corner. This Learning Log will not only help me get where I'm going, but it will help me see where I've been. I think that it will be a great tool to help me organize my portfolio, as well as be  "toolbox" for my teaching.

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Social Networking for Teaching and Learning

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I focused my research on the utilization of social media for healthcare and healthcare education. Throughout my research I have learned that the use of social media in healthcare and healthcare education provided some very noticeable similarities, both good and potentially problematic. Most of the videos, articles and studies that I read or watched, outlined similar advantages to utilizing social media platforms. Some of the advantages are that they provide an opportunity for patients and students to gain access to medical professionals. This is important to providing a service to the community but also a chance for physicians to “get the word out” about new technologies, treatments and preventative education. Sharing information was also a very big theme for using social media.

The negatives really boiled down to potential privacy issues. Because social media is there for everyone and may not have the security measures in place to protect patient’s privacy, could be a problem.

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Social Media Policy for Surgical Technology

In an allied health program, managing the use of social media and students can be a bit of a chore. There are many things to consider when providing an environment of teamwork and collaboration but also professionalism. Students in my program get very excited about their education and feel empowered by the role they play. This excitement is hard to keep in and not share. In todays society, sharing on social media is the norm, however, with patient privacy this has to be closely monitored. A social media policy can help guide students in the right direction. 

The following is my example of a social media policy for my surgical technology program. The college has its own social media policy and my policy will support it but adds a more specific take for my program. This policy will be included in my program handbook.


 Social Media Policy
Purpose
To communicate potential problems and liabilities associated with the use of social media while attending the NIC Surgical Technology Program.
Defi…
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School Evaluation Summary

At first, I thought that my findings might "WOW" me or give me a different perspective of what I thought the institution that I work for, provided for students. I can honestly say that there were no great misunderstandings or behind the scene's issues that I didn't know about. My suspicions were correct, the administration is very innovative and has great vision for where we can go as a school but lacks the follow through when making it a reality.

I think that it is important to step back and look at your school and conduct an assessment of it, just like this assignment. That way we can use it as a first step to bridging the gap of that perceived digital divide. I can now take this back to my Dean and show my findings as an observer and interviewer and hopefully turn the sporadic "Islands" paradigm into a consistency.

I enjoyed this assignment and am grateful for the opportunity to probe deeper into the root of our technological shortcomings and hopefully b…
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