I have had multiple experiences within the last year or so involving my colleagues and their excitement over social media. First, it was my department and the effort to post content to Facebook. Then, it was my friends from AERA and their discovery of Twitter. The excitement is difficult to explain. Many posts with pictures and few words. I know these folks have more to say than can be captured in a few Twitter words.
My wife, in her morning survey of her sources, sent me this. BTW – the reality that I live with someone who reaches for her ipad before asking for coffee kind of explains my amusement with the scholars I know. Anyway, she forwarded this link to a post by a Stanford education prof making a similar point.
I would argue that educ researchers have a duty to share their work with the public and engage anyone willing to listen. Education is a field only partly driven by science. Politics and business interests play a significant role. As a scholar in this field you are making a trivial contribution if all you can manage is to send off your papers to journals read by a hand full of peers. Another publication or two makes no genuine contribution and is pretty much a selfish act benefiting your salary and your recognition within the small circle of acquaintances you think are important. Profs perpetuate the stereotype of being clueless when unable to communicate with the public in the ways that the public communicates. Keep up!
BTW – I have nearly the same reaction to those who move about the country making a living as paid presenters. I am not that impressed by your past history as a teacher or administrator. What you did a dozen or so years ago is hardly relevant to a rapidly moving field such as educational technology.
Balance is the key – be a researcher and allocate time to explaining why what you do matters. Be a teacher and explain the realities you experience.