Category: edci338 (Page 1 of 2)

What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?

Currently, with the development of network technology, a variety of digital platforms are using widely in our daily lives, work, and study, in order to develop our professional network, such as LinkedIn, Zoom, and Twitter. LinkedIn is an invaluable site for career development and professional networking. It not only allows users to manage and showcase their professional identity, but also allows them to engage with their professional network and online communities. Also, since the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom has become one of the most popular social media tools for students not only in their online learning, but also to develop their professional network. This digital tool allows users to make professional connections remotely and communicate with people in the world synchronously; therefore, it will be better and more effective for them to build and develop their professional network. Additionally, Twitter can be a useful digital tool for students to develop their professional network as well. There are a variety of professional accounts on Twitter. Students can easily connect with professionals by following their accounts in order to get latest news, read their tweets, and develop their professional network. Also, it will be very easy and useful for students to find their interested online communities by using hashtags on Twitter. 

What could the student consider in expanding their professional learning network?

In my opinion, as the student, one of the things that we should consider about is to keep our posts active in our digital tools in order to expand our professional learning network. We could add to our profile or posts as often as we can with our personal experience, reflections, and ideas if we want to stand out and keep active. Also, in order to develop our professional learning network, following some professional accounts on digital tools and building connection and interaction with them will be another useful and effective way as well. For example, we can explore our interested online communities and find like-minded professionals to connect. In my opinion, it will be quite important and valuable for us to expand and develop our professional learning network. 

How does data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?

In my point of view, the data privacy and security may limit a PLN. The personal information and data trails that we leave on our digital tools might be great interest to other third-party applications for marketing and/or other purposes. Also, when we create accounts on most digital tools, such as Google, YouTube, and Twitter, we also give them access to our personal information, including our names, address, and phone numbers. Therefore, in order to minimize the risks of personal information and data privacy leakage, some people choose to close their accounts. For example, for myself, when using my social media tools, I care more about protecting my personal information, so most of my accounts are set up as private accounts and only my friends or family members can view what I post on my social media. However, the private accounts on social media tools may limit the development of a PLN because our connection and interaction within the world are restricted as well. 

In your network, how can you create a digital identity/ reputation?

In our network, there are several ways that we can use to create our digital identity and/or reputation. Firstly, we should be clear about our goals. “Our goal may be connect with like-minded individuals” (2019). A clear goal will be quite useful and effective for us to create and develop our digital identity. Second, we should decide where to leave our footprint. In order to have a strong digital presence, we do not need to be everywhere. Instead, by being targeted with our choices, we may have the better opportunity to build online community (2019). In addition, we can distinguish our professional and personal digital identity in order to create a more effective digital identity and/or reputation. As I mentioned in my first blog post, “professional identity on social media focuses on showcasing our professional presences or portfolios” while “personal approach to digital identity focuses more about showing our personal lives and our personalities”. Therefore, separating professional and personal accounts on social media will help us better showcase our digital identity and make our digital presence more focused and effective. 

Consider how an employer would respond if you applied for a job with them and they assessed your social media presence via your digital identity.

For me, I always pay attention to what I posted on my social media tools and care about my privacy setting; therefore, most of my accounts are not shown publicly. If I applied for a job with employers, I don’t think they would find too much content about my personal lives from my digital tools. Personally, I do not like to showcase my personal lives and experience with other people in public as well. However, I know that some employers like to judge their potential employees by using social media, so I may showcase my professional identity and values on some professional digital tools, such as LinkedIn, in the future. 

References 

How to Create a Digital Identity (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.idealist.org/en/careers/create-digital-identity-branding

PLN and Digital Identity (2022). Blog Post 1. Retrieved from: https://chencheny.opened.ca/post-1-pln-and-digital-identity/

Original Blog Post 2

Post 2: Personal Digital Identity vs Professional Digital Identity

Reply to AbdulAziz AlChammat’s Blog Post 6

I think AbdulAziz’s ideas on blog post 6 are very clear and informative. Also, AbdulAziz provided detailed examples to describe how to create an engaging PLN and what the role of PLN in our personal and professional lives is. I definitely agree that “each PLN is unique. As such we can personalize our own networks and shape our own learning community based on our interests and needs”. In my opinion, by using our own PLNs, we will not only engage in professional online communities, but also will develop our professional identity successfully. Moreover, the steps of creating and maintaining a PLN in AbdulAziz’s blog post can help me better understand and learn how to use PLNs to personalize the personal learning network effectively. I think the post is very clear and persuasive. 

Reply to Gekai Zhao’s Blog Post 6

I think Gekai’s post is very clear, organized, and useful. I really liked the way that Gekai used clear and specific examples to explain his ideas. I agree that “PLN can be relied on to open professional opportunities in that I will be able to connect to people in the fields that I am interested in”. As I mentioned in my post, in my opinion, I can use my PLNs to not only showcase my professional expertise and develop my professional identity, but also can connect with and interact with professionals. For example, I can follow their professional accounts and build interaction with them directly. Also, I agree with the opinion about that “the world will focus more networks between countries and between organizations”. I also think that this will not only provide more opportunities to develop our professional identity, but also will further our own career in this connected world as well. I think this post is very clear, effective, and persuasive. 

Reply to Hamzah Shihadeh’s Blog Post 5

I really like the way that Hamzah provided clear evidence to show how popular and useful YouTube is for online learning and communication. Personally, I definitely agree that “YouTube is useful because it caters to a wide range of impairments and learning modifications”. In my opinion, YouTube allows for more e-learning opportunities and it’s free, accessible, and open for people who are from different places to learn and communicate online asynchronously. Also, in Hamzah’s post, an interesting idea attracts my attention as well, which is about “how well online courses will do depending on the learner and their environment”. In my opinion, if social media is used in a safe and appropriate way in our education, it will benefit learners and help to fill in the gaps in learning successfully. Moreover, in my opinion, Hamzah’s ideas and examples in the post are very clear, effective, and useful. 

Reply to AbdulAziz AlChammat’s Blog Post 5

Personally, I think AbdulAziz’s post is very clear and well-structured. Also, AbdulAziz provides some new and different ideas about using social media in education, which I had never thought before. For example, as AbdulAziz mentioned in the post, some social media tools, such as Chegg, Quizlet, and Khan Academy, “are banned by institutions across the world, as they have been used in ways that may result in cheating or plagiarism”. For myself, I had used Khan Academy to participate in online learning before, but I had never thought about its risks. AbdulAziz’s ideas provide me more new perspectives about using social social in our learning. Additionally, I agree with the opinion about that “enhancing strict rules and regulations with consequences will create a formal and professional setting where people are interacting appropriately”. In my opinion, while enhancing strict rules and regulations, we should also keep our posts and other interactions focused on productive conversations and behave in a respectful manner. 

Questions

How does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?

In my opinion, a PLN can either help or hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse. When a PLN is diverse, we can not only build a direct connection and interaction with other thinkers, but also can learn from their ideas, communicate with them, and gain new perspectives from them. However, social media may determine what the content that we will see on the platforms; therefore, it may cause bias and hinder the development of our thoughts as well. In my opinion, having an inclusive PLN and accepting hearing from different voices will be much more useful and effective for us to learn from different perspective and reduce bias from media. 

How do educators create discourse?

One of the functions of discourse in education is to allow instructors to communicate academic subject materials to their students. Educators can explain and discuss the ideas and concepts that they are to get across to their students by using social media tools. For example, they can use social media tools, such as Zoom, to create synchronous online meeting, in order to talk to their students, listen to them, and answer their questions. By using social media, educators and instructors can create discourse effectively. 

What is the role of social media in education?

In my opinion, the role of social media in education is to help both students and teachers to get more useful information, connect with and interact with other educational systems, and make education more effective and convenient. The use of social media will not only provide more learning opportunities to learners, but also will improve learning and/or teaching methods effectively. 

What are some problems with social media communications in educational settings?

However, in my opinion, there are also some problems with social media communications in educational settings. For example, First, if students are encouraged to participate in-class discussion and communication through social media, it may impact their ability to interact in face-to-face situations. Also, it’s difficult to monitor how students use social media communications in their learning process. Students will easily be distracted when using social media communication in online class. 

Reply to AbdulAziz AlChammat’s Blog Post 4

I think AbdulAziz’s opinions in blog post 4 are clear, informative, and detailed. Also, I think the examples that AbdulAziz provided are clear and useful as well. I agree with the opinion about that “everyone uses social media for a different type of reason” and “having a well-constructed PLN which as reliable sources is very valuable”. In my opinion, it’s very important and necessary for public people to ensure how their posts are reliable, real, and credible in a well-constructed and reliable PLN. Also, AbdulAziz’s personal experience on Instagram attracts my interest as well because I have a quite similar experience of using this social media tool. In my opinion, setting up my accounts to be private will be a useful way for me to protect my personal information in social media. Moreover, I agree with the opinion about that “media can influence us in many different ways that we have never thought of”. In my opinion, there are many obvious benefits of using social media in our daily lives, such as connecting with people globally and expanding our own perspectives; however, we should also care about the risks of using it.  

Reply to Hamzah Shihadeh’s Blog Post 4

In my opinion, Hamzah provided detailed and clear evidence to explain the benefits and risks of having a public eye in a media space. For the benefits, I agree that it helps to “influence people about certain issues around the world and bring up many situations that tend to be forgotten”. In my point of view, engaging with public audience in a media space will allow us to learn different ideas, getting new perspectives and reflections, and connecting with people globally. However, for its risks, I also agree that “anything you post can be used against you” in social media. Therefore, I think that media literacy is quite important and valuable because it allows us to question the intent of media and protect ourselves from any negative impacts of media. Additionally, I think Hamzah’s post is very clear, persuasive, and useful. 

Questions 

What is media literacy?

As I described in my blog post 4, media literacy can be considered as a kind of ability to critically analyze and evaluate the messages conveyed through media. It’s important because it allows us to question the intent of media and protect ourselves from any negative impacts or replies of media. 

How do notable individuals use social media?

From the professionals that I have followed on social media, I found that most notable individuals use social media to share professional information, knowledge, and ideas. For example, some economists prefer to share their own ideas by re-tweeting latest news on Twitter. Also, some notable individuals use their influence to promote services and business as well. 

What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?

In my opinion, there are some benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN. For example, first, it will help you connect with and interact with the world. Second, it will help you learn from different people globally in order to gain new perspectives and thoughts. Third, it will help us to promote our personal development. 

Building community with online tools provided by the employer can be limiting, what are the perceived restrictions and benefits?

Perceived restrictions:

1. Limiting users to build connections and interactions with public people who are outside their workplaces. 
2. Your connection and interaction in the online community may be lost if you leave your work. 

Benefit:

1. Easy and useful to develop your professional identity in your workplace
2. Making working become much more effective and efficient

Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources, how do build a PLN to rely on? How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize the risk of sharing misinformation?

Reliable PLNs in delivering information in a connected society requires people to ensure that the information and news that they post on social media is real, reliable, and credible. Sharing your personal experience and own reflections instead of sharing something you do not know very well on your social media will be a good way to build a reliable PLN. This will also minimize the risk of sharing misinformation as well. 

Reply to Hamzah Shihadeh’s Blog Post 3

Personally, I think Hamzah’s opinions in blog post 3 are clear. I definitely agree that “social media gives an easy form of communication to the masses to speak about global and local news”. In my opinion, as a powerful communication medium, social media has changed the way we communicate and connect with each other. Also, I agree with Hamzah’s opinion about that “social media also leads to much more misinformation and ignorant opinions”. In my post, as I described, both the post of fake information and news with controversial topics on social media will challenge communications. I think that fake information or news may easily and quickly relayed and broadcasted by social media, which will bring negative and serious interaction to the public. Therefore, when using social media, we should care more about what we post on it. 

Reply to AbdulAziz AlChammat’s Blog Post 3

I really like the way that AbdulAziz shared personal experience in the blog post in order to explain how inclusion brings forth diverse and great interaction among heterogeneous students. I definitely agree that “the most known benefit of having a diverse and inclusive PLN is that you get to see other points of view you wouldn’t have thought about normally, and as a result, give you a better overall perspective and insight”. In my opinion, a diverse and inclusive PLN in social media sharing can not only help us build a direct connection between other people and us, but also can help us increase our engagement in online communication so that we can get more new perspectives. I think AbdulAziz’s ideas are clear, useful, and informative. 

Questions

• How diverse is your PLN? 
• Are you learning from a variety of diverse voices and are you expanding your understanding of the views of others?
• What is the learning outcomes of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

My PLN is diverse. It ranges from professional purposes to personal purposes. In my opinion, a diverse PLN by using a variety of social media tools can help me to get in touch with different professionals from different subject areas. I am always learning from a variety of diverse voices and am expanding my understanding of the views of others. Learning from different people’s ideas and experiences will help me broaden my own horizons, expand my own knowledge, and get new perspectives. The learning outcome of my PLN is to learn from all perspectives and reflections from other people so that I can become a more inclusive person. I am ensuring my exposure to diversity and inclusions from reading other people’s posts and replies, communicate with them, and connect with them. 

Reply to Gekai Zhao’s Blog Post 2

I think Gekai’s ideas are useful and clear. In my opinion, Gekai provides a totally different opinion for me about how to promote a PLN. As I described in my blog post, I think data privacy and security may limit a PLN because our personal information and data trails that we leave on social media might be of great interest to other third-party applications for other purposes. However, in Gekai’s opinion, this cannot really limit a PLN because there are still many options a person can do, such as using a pseudonym in case we want to hide our identities. In my opinion, Gekai’s idea expand my perspectives and give me more new ideas clearly. 

Reply to AbdulAziz AlChammat’s Blog Post 2

I think AbdulAziz provides a very clear and effective V&R map in the blog post. I definitely agree that both LinkedIn and Uvic webmail are two useful social media tools for people to develop their professional network. In my opinion, LinkedIn is one of the most effective and useful social media tools for people to connect to their workspace and industry and showcase their professional identity. Also, Uvic webmail is useful and formal for professional communication and connection between students and their instructors. Moreover, as AbdulAziz mentioned in the post, recently, people prefer to connect to people who have similar educational backgrounds and interests. In my post, I also have similar ideas. As I described, our goal may be connect with like-minded individuals. In my opinion, it will be more useful for us to create and develop our digital identity. 

Reply to Gekai Zhao’s Blog Post 1

I think Gekai’s ideas are clear and informative. I definitely agree that it’s very hard for us to really control our digital identity. In my opinion, it’s very necessary and important for people to know how to manage their online privacy and personal information in order to protect their digital identity. Also, as Gekai mentioned, “it’s important for instructors to use platforms that protect privacy, and to give instructions to students on where things will be seen”. I also think this point is very useful and important because there are some concerns about user privacy and data losses with most social media platforms.  

Reply to Hamzah Shihadeh’s Blog Post 1

I think Hamzah’s ideas on blog post 1 are clear and persuasive. I agree that separating work emails from personal emails will be a great idea for separating personal and professional approaches to digital identity. For myself, I have two separated emails as well. I link my work email to my business and professional profiles and personal email account to my personal profile. Also, I agree that “it’s important to be careful with what you post on the internet”. As I mentioned in my post, our potential employers may look at our social media profiles in order to get more insights into what the kind of person we are in our daily lives. Therefore, I think that paying more attention to what we post on our social media platforms is quite important. 

Digital Identity Exercise Questions

What does it mean to network using social media?

In my opinion, to network using social media means using the web-based online platforms to build connections among people in order to develop our personal and professional skills. Rajagopol’s article shows three main tasks that form the basis of all further activities within the network, including building connections, maintaining connections, and activating connections. I think most social media tools have the features that can help individuals to perform those three tasks. So, it can be considered as using social media tools to connect a group a group of people to help them communicate and interact with each other.

How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

As Rajagopol mentioned in the article, online community will be motivated to participate in networked publics. I think online community will allow us who have similar interests or experience to connect with each other in social networking. For myself, I am very interested in football, so I have joined some online communities relevant to football and have known people who like playing football as well. I think joining in online community will help and motivate me to participate in networked publics.

What are the risks & rewards of public communications?

The rewards of public communications: getting more information from the world, expanding our professional network, helping us find our online communities. The risk of public communications: the problems of networked privacy

Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?

In my opinion, our PLNs can be used effectively and successfully to develop our career. According to the article, “Growing Your Library Career with Social Media”, Smith clearly describes that “an online personal learning network can help professionals to both discover and create new professional development opportunities” (Smith, 2018). By using our PLNs, we can not only engage in professional online communities effectively, but also can develop our professional identity successfully. From my learning experience in this course, I found that each network has different features. For example, LinkedIn focuses on professional networking and includes tools to help like-minded career professionals to connect. Twitter is famous for its nearly instantaneous delivery of the news. In my opinion, my PLNs can be used to help professional development post-course because they not only provide me an opportunity to share resources, information, and ideas with professionals, but also can help me share my experience, opinions, and knowledge with others and gain new perspectives on my practice. For example, I have followed some professionals in relation to my major in my PLNs. By reading their posts, I can not only learn more knowledge and ideas about my major, but also can expand my personal perspectives. 

Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?

In my point of view, my PLN can be replied on to open professional opportunities. For example, I can use my PLNs to showcase my professional expertise and develop my professional identity. It will be beneficial and important for seeking the job in relation to my major in the future as well. However, from the course material, Course and Hildebrandt also clearly state that “the effects of the use of digital technologies in our society are not linear, but many other factors combined with them ‘create conditions of possibility that suggest possible futures rather than determine them’” (Course & Hildebrandt, 2013). Therefore, in my opinion, my PLN only provides a platform for me to open and develop my professional opportunity, but it still requires me to connect with and interact with professionals by myself in order to develop my professional identity. 

References

Course, A. & Hildebrandt, K., (2013). Social Media and Emerging Economies: Technological, Cultural and Economic Implications. Chapter 5. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-319-02490-%205_5.pdf

Smith, D., (2018). Growing Your Library Career with Social Media. Science Direct. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780081024119/growing-your-library-career-with-social-media

Which social media platforms are beneficial in education? 

Social media has changed the way that we communicate and share information in our personal and professional lives. It also has become an indispensable part of our lives. Social media can benefit the educational field and each social media platform can offer many different ways to be used in the classroom as well. 

For example, some social media platforms, such as YouTube, Coursera, edX, and Khan Academy, allow for more e-learning opportunities. It’s free, accessible, and open for people who are from different places to learn online together. As remote jobs and online classes are becoming more popular, this kind of social media tools can help to train students to work or study from a distance. Also, some micro-blogging online platforms, such as Twitter, have become increasingly popular as the tool for professional development and resource sharing amongst learners and educators. In my opinion, this kind of online platforms will also be beneficial in our today’s education as well. From our course material, as the authors state, “Twitter becomes a vehicle for establishing open conversations with a global audience, thus allowing for a high degree of pedagogical serendipity” (Alec & Katia). The social media platform like Twitter can provide a more direct communicate and connection between learners and instructors. For example, it can be great and effective as a discussion board for a class. The instructor can create asynchronous discussions or online chatting surrounding a specific hashtag that they create on Twitter. In my opinion, social media in education can benefit learners and can help to fill in the gaps in learning if it is used in a safe and appropriate way. 

When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations?

When working with the vulnerable sector, I think that we still need to behave in a respectful manner in all of our social media encounters. We should keep our posts, comments, and other interactions focused on productive conversations. Also, we should put ourselves in a great position to benefit professionally from social media and make our social media fit into professionalism and regulations. 

Reference

Alec, C. & Katia, H. Designing for Open and Social Learning. Retrieved from: https://vut.oer4pacific.org/id/eprint/12/1/Emergence_and_Innovation_in_Digital_Learning.pdf#page=159

Recently, social media tends to be more popular in our daily lives, work, and study. In my opinion, there are some obvious benefits of engaging with public audience in a media space. For example, firstly, it provides us an opportunity to connect with and interact with other people globally. We are encouraged to keep in touch with different people who have different backgrounds. Second, it allows me to learn different ideas and expand my own thinking or perspectives from others by engaging with a public audience. However, for a public figure or person in a position of trust, it also has some risks. For example, they need to ensure the truth of the information or statements that the posted on their social media. Fake news or misunderstanding information may mislead people seriously. I’ve been misled by so-called authority statements by an official account before. Also, from our course material, as Martin states, “the spread of ‘fake news’ online is a symptoms of ‘the commercialization and private control of the public sphere’” (Martin, H., 2018). Therefore, in my opinion, it will be very necessary and important for public people to ensure how their posts are reliable, real, and credible. 

Media literacy can be considered as a kind of ability to critically analyze and evaluate the messages conveyed through media. It’s important because it allows us to question the intent of media and protect ourselves from any negative impacts or replies of media. When we receive negative replies or critiques reflective of our personal values, I think that we need to adjust our attitude and understand that all different perspectives or thinkings need to be accepted and respected. In my opinion, one of the best ways for me to address negative replies and reviews is to communicate with people and try to understand their ideas. Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information may create conflict. The reasons why this kind of conflict may happened is that when people use social media, they sometimes ignore media literacy.

Also, in my opinion, there are many obvious benefits of having a PLN that values media literacy. As Sophie described in the video, it can help her continue to learn from wider intellectual world so that she can expand her horizons, thinking, and perspectives. In my opinion, having a PLN that values media literacy will not only help me better promote my personal development, but also will help me keep in touch with other people and get more opportunities to learn from the public.

References

Martin, H. (2018). Navigating Social Journalism: A Handbook for Media Literacy and Citizen. Chapter 4. pp.78. Retrieved from: https://login.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/login?qurl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.taylorfrancis.com%2fbooks%2f9781315401263

Miller, J.(2022, June 6). Sophie Lui – EDCI 338 [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0