Month: November 2021

Social vs. Professional PLN

Throughout my undergrad my PLN has probably doubled in size. I have found that university facilitates meeting a wide variety of people in all different contexts. Even if I just met someone at a party two years ago and we followed each other on Instagram, that connection still exists now even if we haven’t spoken since, and if I needed to, I have a way to contact that person and reconnect. However, this course has helped me to realize that my connections on social media exist primarily in social contexts, as opposed to professional. I think this is at least partly due to the platforms I use, namely Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Using Professional Platforms

While I have been aware of LinkedIn for a long time, I have never felt the need to create an account since I have always felt so far from my professional life. In this course, I am continuing to be more and more surprised by the mention of Twitter with the guest interviews. Almost every guest has mentioned Twitter, and more than one (Mo Amir included) have attributed much of their professional success to connections made on Twitter. Amir specifically went into detail, talking about how beneficial it has been for meeting people, since it is, as he states, “a real social network”. I also liked that he mentioned that using Twitter requires a lot of personal boundaries and restraint, but that with that there can exist a confrontational back and forth that Amir really appreciates. This week’s article talks about how social media platforms are not just tools, but are now whole environments. They say that these platforms are so engrained as a part of our culture that it has become a culture in itself (Guidice, Manlio, et al).

Personal Reflection

I think that this course is making me realise two things: one, that I can start using my PLN to help professional development even though my career as a teacher hasn’t started yet; and two, that in order to utilize social media I need to start utilizing platforms that cater to developing a network of professionals.

Works Cited

“EDCI PODCAST – 2021–10-24 Mo Amir.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 24 Oct. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgoDet6pwaI.

Giudice, Del Manlio, et al. “Chapter 5 – From Information Society to Network Society: The Challenge.” Social Media and Emerging Economies Technological, Cultural and Economic Implications, 2014th ed., Springer, 2013, pp. 71–88.

What is Media Literacy

Media literacy is using media resources in a learning context, and allows students to both learn from and create with these resources (Trilling and Fadel). It is important for students to not just be exposed to the internet, but to learn how to navigate the firehose of information available to them. Also, through learning about media literacy students often will start to develop their own PLN, which allows them to broaden their network wider than just their family, friends, and school. As Julie Smith mentions in her interview, through her PLN she is able to feel connected to people she has never met in person.

Using Media Literacy Effectively

I think that using media in schools can be difficult for some people, specifically those of an older generation, to understand. I really like what Smith said about current society being more visual than literate. This is true, and I think another aspect that the newspaper generation has a hard time understanding. As previously stated, there is so much information available online – and a lot of it is crazy, inappropriate, and incorrect- so sometimes it can be easy to dismiss all media based on the loudest and most outrageous parts of it. But therefore, media literacy is even more important. If we can teach young people how to use an educated lens when engaging with media, then they will be able to use it as a tool to create dialogue on important subjects and connect with people of varied viewpoints.

Early in the interview, Smith mentions that one of the great things about your PLN is that you can curate who you are interacting with, in the context of weeding out people who are always negative or mean. But she is also very specific to say later on that that tool should not be (although often is) used to create an echochamber of affirmation (Smith). She shares that “sometimes we tend to be more interested in what we believe than what is true”, but we need to keep our PLN varied (Smith). The more perspectives we are able to see, the more we will be in a position to make an educated decision on what we choose to believe.  

Works Cited

“EDCI 338 – MEDIA LITERACY with JULIE SMITH.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 6 June 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0.

Trilling, Bernie, and Charles Fadel. 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times. 1st ed., John Wiley And Sons Inc, 2012.

Equality of Information

If everyone has access to the same platform, then everyone has access to the same information. Obviously how people interact with and use this information is completely up to them – or even what information they choose to look for – but it at least creates a level playing field.

Having access to the same platforms not only means everyone has equal access to information, but that everyone has equal opportunity to share their own stories and opinions. Once again, what individuals choose to do with this opportunity is completely up to them. Baker talks about how social platforms have allowed indigenous voices to be put out there. Because of social media, now Canadians have a source to hear about indigenous issues other than a textbook (probably) written by a white man. As Baker says, hearing a story second or third hand often results in a good portion of it being lost or misinterpreted. Now, real stories are being told by authentic sources.

Baker on PLNs

I really liked what Brad Baker said about the importance of a healthy community. He talked about how an ideal PLN can both support each other and challenge each other, and how this comes from healthy and respectful dialogue. I really appreciated this comment, because I think right now people on social media are so afraid to challenge anything or say anything that could be taken the wrong way. But I think when you have a “healthy” community, as Baker puts it, you’re PLN becomes a safe space to explore conversations in a respectful and honest way.

Social platforms in education

As Couros states, educators need to “acknowledge the complexities of learning in the digital age” (115). There are so many different social platforms, and different platforms are beneficial for different reasons. For example, Twitter works really well to spread a short message, and allows people to interact quickly with their PLN- and often expand it. A completely different example is Pinterest, which is a great way to find artistic inspiration in all sorts of areas, but offers little to no space for interaction and dialogue. Despite their differences, both of these tools could be really beneficial in a classroom setting, depending on the class and project in question.

Educators also need to be aware of which platforms will allow their students to connect with the material. I had some teachers in grade school that thought they were being really “cool” when they would create a project that got us to use technology, but it was a platform we had never heard of and would never use again after the project.

Works Cited

“Brad Baker EDCI 338.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 10 June 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z8iHxW2n4&feature=youtu.be.

Veletsianos, George. “Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning.” Emerging Technologies in Distance Education (Issues in Distance Education), Illustrated, Athabasca University Press, 2010, pp. 106–28.