Week 2 Reflection & My Initial Thoughts

Hello readers!

I somewhat jumped the gun last week with my first post and I didn’t even get to introduce myself to my audience.  My name is Mike Kagafas and I am twenty-six years old.  I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.  My major was public relations/communication and I have a minor in psychology.  I have been an athlete all my life and just recently I made the transition from playing to coaching.  I truly found my passion once I began coaching.  Teaching and coaching, in my opinion, go hand in hand.  No matter the subject the goal of both “channels” is to advance knowledge and ability and that is why I have begun the path to become an educator. 

Social media has taken the world by storm in the past decade and sure enough it has made its way into education.  Personally, I only use two types of social media Facebook and Snapchat.  Facebook is a great tool for me because I have travelled and lived many places since I graduated high school and Facebook allows me to connect with everyone that I have met along my journey.  I use Snapchat for social connection for the “now” or present.  I like to see what my peers are up to in a daily perspective and Snapchat allows me to do that. 

I read an article called My Favorite Teachers Use Social Media: A Student Perspective and although it was written in 2015 and I graduated high school in 2010, much of what was written was very similar to my experience.  The author spoke about a specific piece of tech called the Smart Board and explained how many teachers never really used them.  It was the same for me when I was in high school.  I definitely agree that teachers must be willing to adapt to the changing world of technology and even their profession and adapt doesn’t just mean use it once.  To reach the full potential of using technology, teachers must know the technology inside and out.  They should know the pros and cons and when to apply the technology.  For example, Smart Boards for math classes I think are a fantastic piece of tech, for a history class, not so much. 

If I had to give a name or a tag of how I represent myself on social media I would say, up until now, I represented myself as an athlete.  Now looking at a different perspective of how I represent myself, I would describe myself as a “vacuum”.  I am a listener and observer.  I listen to understand not to respond.  Now that doesn’t mean I don’t share, but I share when I truly think it is beneficial.  After reading some articles I think social media does have a place in education but only to an extent.  Social media is social and there isn’t always a point to it, in education there is.  Education always has a purpose and there are major goals to be met along the way.  Education should be fun and exciting, but it isn’t a party or hanging out with friends type of fun.  That’s why I believe social media should be used but used sparingly.  Thanks for reading! #staytuned