Rianne's 338 Blog

Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity – how does a PLN give power to messaging for an individual or community?

My PLN gives me power to message individuals or a community. After school hours, if I am struggling with an assignment I can message a classmate to get further clarification on the problem. If neither of us understand, I have the ability to search on Facebook for a community of classmates taking the same class. Then, I am able to seek help instead of waiting for class. I also have the power to message my professor via email for further guidance. I would not be able to do this this without social media.

Education occurs in so many environments beyond the classroom, how does social media help expand education and associated needed communications?

As a future educator, I want to use social media in the best way possible to expand education.  Social media will allow me to create a website that my future students can have full time access to. Within the website, I will provide instructions for homework, a calendar and course information to help students from home. This will expand their education by being able to seek guidance with little help from the website. Moreover, media expands education by gaining knowledge on diverse experience from other people. It allows individual to view the world using a sociological imagination rather than just school institution knowledge. Media allows information to spread world wide that helps people stay relevant with world issues. Furthermore, social media expands my education by being able to communicate with classmates outside of school hours. (elaborated in the question above).

Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?

Brad Baker elaborates on how he uses social media to expand his community across Canada. He wants to include people from all over to gain experienced knowledge and consider other points of view. Community communication allows members to support ideas and challenge ideas in a empathic way. An example of this is the interview between Miller and Baker. They are both part of an education through social media community, that allowed them to connect and discuss each others views.  Miller and Baker can then support ideas as well as challenge them over the interview call. This will expand both of their knowledge, creating the best community communication for their students. Without community communications, Miller and Baker would have not been able to engage in conversation nor expand the community. Moreover, the community of communications defeats any proximity problems, allowing worldwide opinions and ideas.

 How does the use of PLN raise awareness opportunities in education? What is the role of social media in education?

Baker uses his PLN to raise awareness for the truth and reconciliation about indigenous communities for social media to see. Since Baker grew his PLN as a principle, his reputation is trustworthy and people are inspired by him. He uses his trusted PLN to spread knowledge amongst teachers and students. Most media is left or right wing and only share information to their benefit, whereas Baker acts a authentic source. In order to expand one’s knowledge, it important to hear the true story. Baker uses his PLN to voice indigenous peoples and their struggles using first hand experiences. Information looses its meaning after going through different resources. Thus, the importance of gaining a PLN that reflects a good reputation and trustworthy.

Baker uses his role in media and education to campaign anti-racism across North Vancouver teachers and students. He takes full advantage of being the first indigenous teacher in North Vancouver, and advocates for the truth behind indigenous struggles.

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

Besides all the benefits social media communication brings, it also has many issues within school settings. To begin, media allows for open opinions for individuals to share. Since every individual has different views, it can cause arguments and contrast over opinions. This can come across as negative, rude, and mean in the views of other people. Thus, creates individuals to feel uncomfortable to share information. Also, social media communication allows people to remain anonymous that allows people to hid behind their screen. Being anonymous allows a person to become more confident because their true identity will not be ruined.

Moreover, this can create cyberbullying amongst students. Peoples hidden identity allows for positive and negative opinions. There is numerous amounts of problems social media communication may bring like catfishes, hackers, and protecting one’s identity.

References

Miller, J. (2021). EDCI 338-Brad Baker. YouTube.

 What are the benefits of a diverse and inclusive PLN in social media sharing that understands where you are coming from with messaging that impacts the community?

There are many benefits of a diverse and inclusive social media. I am in a Facebook group for UVic students graduating in 2022. Within the chat, people ask about classes, community and advice. People ask about easy electives that can guide other students pick classes. This allows more experienced students to help newer students in the community. Also, the group allows people to find others in the same classes that can lead to study groups and further friendships. This can help out people in the community as well as make potential friends.

How does social media engage communications?

Social media engages communication based off shared interests. On Facebook, there are public group pages that anyone can join. People join based off shared interest towards the topic. This allows people to engage in conversation and ideas when the group all has the same interest. For example, my friend is into cars. He joined a car group on Facebook where they can share their car, look at others cars and arrange meet ups. At the car meet up, people can engage with others and build relationships. At first I thought the group was more to see others cars, but my friend made real friends through the process of Facebook groups. They call their group “Delta Car Community.”

 How does social media challenge communications?

Social media engages people to communicate but also creates challenges. Social media can challenge communication because of the wide range of opinions from a diverse culture. For example, since Facebook groups can be public, anyone can join. This means people who support and are interested in the topic as well as people who dislike the topic and want to share their side. Conflict of interest creates debates that anyone can join because it is public. Also, people feel more comfortable sharing their opinions behind a screen where nobody can see them. This aspect can cause cyberbullying, hate, and other negative comments while being anonymous.

Is it inclusive?

Facebook groups are inclusive if public, but exclusive if private. Some groups are private but expect anyone who requests to join like the “Victoria Aritzia sell and trade.” This group chat is private to ensure the people in the group chat are wanting to buy or sell Aritzia clothing. Most interest based groups are open for the public to see and comment on, allowing for inclusion and diversity. However, people use facebook groups as a way to communicate with a certain group. For example, my sports team used facebook to communicate. This group was exclusive and only had the members of our team (cover photo).

Does your PLN amplify the views of others?

My PLN considers others views at all times but does not amplify them. I would never post anything that may offend or make people uncomfortable. Personally, my Instagram consists of my friends and I to avoid conflict of opinions. I would not follow certain people like Trump, has he has many negative aspects in his opinion. Others can see who an individual follows, likes, and comments on. Thus, I am aware on who to follow and what to like. However, Mattermost has improved my PLN where I am able to share my opinions. I try and use the group chat as much as possible to help out my classmates and respond to them. Lately, my blog posts have been based off my personal experiences to allow the best understanding for the viewers. Moreover, this blog post and readings showed me the importance of amplify the views of others. Moving forward, I will aim to enlarge the views of others within my social media. This will help raise attention to Capital power from having more voices towards a subject. Overall, my PLN always considers other people and I value the views of others.

 How to better use social media to Build PLN – Influencers & Commentators

If I became an influencer, I would use TikTok as my main way to spread the word. TikTok is popular in adolescent years as well as adulthood. I would take advantage of the large target population and create videos for whatever I am advertising. TikToks can be shared, liked, commented, and duetting. This means the video has the ability for a large audience. Coordination is important to stay reliable. By providing tools like TikTok, engages people in participation. It is also important to have a committed staff to make the media dependable and familiar.

References

Miller, Jessie. (2021). 02-22 Markiel Simpson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCSpm1Lx8-A&feature=youtu.be

Jansen, S., Et al. (2011) Media and Social Justice. Chapter 4. 978-0-230-10863-9

How would you create a PLN prior to engaging a social media campaign on a topic of your choice.

Personally, I would engage a social media campaign by advertising ads through Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and TikTok. These social media apps are the most popular social media apps that people are currently using. Thus, advertising though the media can target a large audience. From there, I would create an online group chat where others can engage in conversation and share opinions. This can lead to strong ideas, answers, resolutions, and healthy relationships with one another.

Building a reputation and trust in a connected culture can be difficult, how are you building a network of individuals who are dynamic, reliable, & participatory.

Since my PLN hides my true identity with a screen, trust becomes harder when anyone can easily lie about their PLN.  Thus, my PLN must reach a standard reputation to ensure others my accounts are not fake, and I am a real person. For example, I try a maintain a standard reputation in Mattermost. To gains everyone’s trust, my PLN must stay active and communicate with others. This ensures my group members I can be reliable and my identity is true. If I did not stay active, my classmates would be unsure if I was reliable or even a real student. Overall, being active on social media and voicing opinions allows others to gain trust on one’s PLN. While campaigning through social media, I will be active to show supports I am serious about the topic.

 Are you leveraging healthy relationships from your PLN for growth?

From Mattermost, I am slowly gaining healthy school relationships. From keeping my reputation by staying active, allowed me to engage in conversations with my classmates. I can also read their blogs to learn more about them. This also ensures their reputation and I can build trust with them. Being active leads to healthy relationships in ones PLN growth. When campaigning a topic, I will use online group chats and engage in conversation to grow peoples trust and listen to others opinions and values.

How diverse is your existing PLN?

My PLN is often diverse, I am able to connect with different people all around the world. Not only, I am able to gain knowledge about issues, events, movements that are happening around the world from social media. My diverse PLN has allowed me to see the good and bad in different countries, and I can share my opinions about certain matters. Without a diverse PLN, I would not know what is going on outside of my bubble. For example, the current farmers protest in India. I would have never known about it without social media. However, social media allowed the protest to gain a bigger audience and support from other people sharing post, spreading the word, and informing everyone who sees the post.

In your PLN, are you learning from a variety of voices or are you the loudest in the room?

My PLN reflects off of opinions and values. I have strong opinions on certain subjects like the global warning crisis. However, I am not the person to be the loudest in the room. I am not one to start an argument as I try to see everyone’s view point. That being said, I try not to share my opinion on social media where it could offend or make someone uncomfortable. I do have values and opinions but I keep the to myself and educate myself on the topic instead of sharing it to social media. Moreover, in a classroom setting (Either in class or Zoom), I share my opinion, and can take the lead but I let others take control if other students would prefer.

 Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide-range of interests)?

My PLN does not participate in silo information sharing. On my social media, I often see people posting valuable information about social movements, issues within the city, and strong opinions. I do support what most people share, however I do not use my PLN to discuss important issues. For example, during the peek of the BML movement, people started posting a black screen to show their support. I never did this but instead, I researched about it and gained more knowledge to keep my self informed and educated. People do not need to know my opinion and values as I find it more personal. In addition, some people posted the black screen to join the bandwagon, and may not even know what is happening about it.

How can you use a diverse PLN to broaden your views of inclusion?

I am currently expanding my diverse inclusion from this class. Mattermost has connected me with other students from different places. We can now share opinions and ideas which, helps individuals gain more experiences and knowledge. Our blogs lets our classmates see different views and use different examples. We all have different experiences and a diverse PLN can expand to even more experiences.

In your professional setting of choice, do you think inclusion is actively embraced?

Zoom gives inclusion to everyone in the class. In my zoom classes, we often go into breakout rooms where students can bounce ideas and opinions with one another. All of the students are from different places in the world and at different parts of their lives. For example, I am in a group with people that are different ages than me and do not live in v]Victoria.  We meet once a week to discuss and plan our work out. Without zoom, we would not be able to be inclusive.

What is the learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

I have now learned how important inclusion can be, especially in a classroom setting. Inclusion in the classroom can be very beneficial to all sides. It can help an individuals grade by others inspiring them or helping the individual understand the material. Inclusion can lead to friendships from bonding over the same interests.  Furthermore, I realized from this blog post that without diversity, would not be able to connect with my old friends who are living all around the word now (picture is my friends and I re connecting after we all left for university).

How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved after reviewing the videos and readings?

This weeks blog post and readings has emphasized the importance of diversity and inclusion. I will move forward by becoming more welcoming to new people and continue to research to gain information on important world issues to stay diverse. Moreover, I normally join groups with my friends in the class, but I will expand from my bubble and include other people. This will allow me to interact with new people and gain knowledge and values from them.

References:

Moore, S. (2017). One without the other : Stories of unity through diversity and inclusion. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca

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

Currently, I am mainly using email, zoom, and online banking to further develop my professional network. I use email as my formal way of communication. For example, when I need to contact my landlord, I use email rather than text. Email allows a proper subject line so the receiver can see what the email is about before reading it. However, when I connect with my friends and family, I would use snapchat or imessage as it is more convenient. 

Moreover, ever since Covid-19, zoom has been a major part of my professional learning network. Zoom allows a more professional face to face connection than facetime. Facetime tends to be more personal as one would need the other person’s phone number or apple ID. Zoom allows work and school to host meetings on a professional level. One person can create a Zoom link for a group of people and send the link to everyone’s emails. Also, Zoom is a new modern way of having face-to-face interviews with further employers while reducing interactions from Covid-19. 

In addition, my RBC online banking has been a part of my professional learning network since my first job in grade ten. Online banking has allowed my pay checks to go directly into my bank account. This helps my employers by not having to write a pay check every two weeks. Moreover, I use online banking to pay my tuition, pay rent and use apple pay with my daily interactions. Online banking has become easy to track money and pay from my phone. 

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

There are still many platforms to further expand my professional learning network. For instance, this blog. My blog posts are more professional than personal because I know who my viewers are. If my blog viewers were close friends only, I would use more personal stories and names to deepen my blog posts. However, my blog would be unprofessional to my viewers if I started using names assuming everyone knows my friends and family. 

Another way in expanding my professional learning network would be to create social media accounts if creating or launching a new business or idea. Right now, my instagram account is personal. I have pictures with my friends and I and updates of my life. If I were to start a new business, I would open a new page. The page would be simple and easy to find hours, prices, and guidelines. By following this procedure, my page would become  professional to viewers. I would still use my personal account for my lifestyle as well as promoting my business page. I can share stories or posts that tag my professional account to allow my friends and family to see and support the page. However, I would not use my professional page to promote my personal page. It would seem unprofessional to my business only viewers. 

How does data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?
In your network how can you create a digital identity/ reputation? Find out what a local employer would do if you applied for a job with them? 

After completing  the “Privacy, Ethics & Security in Digital Spaces Developing Awareness of Privacy” survey, I realized how unsafe the internet can be. I did not realize that using public wi-fi can be a risk factor in privacy. When using public wi-fi, it is important not to log into personal banking to keep information away from whoever has access to the public wi-fi. Before the quiz, I was unaware of the consequence and I will be more aware about everything I do on public wi-fi. The internet allows access to almost anything, thus an individual’s digital identity is important to maintain for one’s reputation. A further employer would google search the name of the applicant before or after the interview. It gives them a sense of who they are and what they do in their spare time. This is why I have all my personal pages private. This means only my approved followers can see my posts and stories. I do not like the idea of random people looking at my pictures and a private page blocks that.  However, my professional digital identity would not have to be hidden. A good professional identity would not have much personal traits. 

What is a digital identity?

Digital identity refers to ones online personality from posting pictures, liking pages, and everything that one publicly posts (Jawed, Et al, 2019). However, ones digital identity may not match the individuals life personality. People are able to hide their true identity behind their digital identity. Behind the screen, people post certain pictures and posts to choose how they want other viewers to see them. For example, I often share pictures on my Instagram of my roommates and I walking around beach. This shows my followers that I am active and doing fun things. In reality, I spend the majority of my time indoors.

Moreover, a persons digital identity becomes their online footprint. This means that ones digital identity can be traceable and accessible anyone. One’s footprint can affect job opportunity and school acceptance based on what others can see. For example, my friend posts pictures of herself heavily drinking on her social media. She has her account open meaning anyone who searchers her name can see all of her drinking photos. The footprint may leave a negative impression on whoever is looking.

How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

Many companies advertise through social media. The social media page tends to be more professional, themed, and categorized. The goal of the social media page is to look professional and share information about the business to encourage people to learn more. Whereas a personal digital identity shares personal events and emotions.

To elaborate, my friend recently started her own eye lash company. She created an Instagram account to share her business. On her account, it is easily to find prices for different styles, hours of operation, and treatment facts. In addition, she posts pictures of lashes she has already done to show her work. The account looks professional with no personal information. Whereas her personal account shows more about her life. She posts selfies, pictures with friends and her opinion on social movement issues. If she combined both accounts, her page would not be professional which could affect her business.

How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

Unfortunately, ones digital identity can be traceable from ones footprint. Based off a persons digital identity, other people can have a bias judgement on the person before meeting. Thus, ones digital identity is important to not share to much personal information. Specially employers looking before hiring someone. Ones digital identity becomes their first impression before a real interaction.