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Reflect on your experience in the course, your development of PLN, your use of social media platforms and networked publics, share any changes in your perspective of social media in professional settings, and personal use. 

Do you continue with your created content and your network, how do you use your skills in professional practice?

The EDCI 338 course gave me a new understanding of various social media platforms. I originally thought that the biggest role of social media platforms is to socialize. It was not until I got on EDCI 338 that I realized that building PLN through these social media platforms is the most meaningful way. I not only learned how to create my own PLN, but I also learned how to develop my PLN to attract more audiences, how to create, manage, and develop my digital identity. Most importantly, I know what kind of PLN is a successful PLN. PLN should be full of inclusiveness, diversity, fairness, and discussion. I learned how to better protect my privacy and the security of media platforms in the online world. I admit that at first I knew almost nothing about PLN. But the weekly courses, articles, and video conversations with guests made me very interested in PLN. They helped me solve a lot of problems and gave me a lot of new insights. I understand how to speak better in an online world full of different skin colors, backgrounds, cultures, and education. We can learn together, discuss together, and make progress together. After the course is over, I will continue to develop my PLN. These are valuable experiences for me. I will definitely use them in my future work. I believe they can provide great help for my future development. Thanks to the course of EDCI 338, my two team members, and Jessie, they have given me a lot of help and knowledge. Thank you  everyone, cheers! 🍺🍺🍺

• If your PLN can be used to help professional development post-course?
• Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities and on which platform does your emerging expertise get good exposure?
• Can you leverage your PLN in future endeavours?
• With consideration to the reading and video interview, how do you ensure that you expand your PLN via social media platforms into spaces that may be outside of your comfort zone?

I think PLN is a tool that is very in line with the development of modern technology. We can meet many people in the same field or the same hobby in PLN. Everyone can exchange ideas and learn from each other. We can build our own digital image in PLN. PLN can completely help professional development after the course. As long as we continue to use PLN and maintain a certain frequency, we can always keep in touch with other users and carry out more in-depth communication and development.

Yes, PLN can help us open up professional opportunities in many places. Different platforms are suitable for different types of PLN. Like YouTube can help us get good exposure in the field of video shooting and production. LinkedIn can be used as a platform for many job seekers to show their professional knowledge and work experience. And Twitter is like a platform for people who like to share life details and have social needs.

I can use PLN in my future work. I think PLN is a good tool that can help us keep sharing and learning. We can look for people with the same field or work nature as ours in future work. PLN is the best tool for us to communicate with each other. Many work problems, professional field problems, and work experience can be well communicated and used. Professionals of different cultures, nationalities, and backgrounds can be connected by PLN. We should establish a good personal digital image in PLN to attract more “similars”.

After establishing a personal PLN, there will definitely be many different voices. If there are people who like us, there will be people who hate us. The expansion of PLN beyond the comfort zone through social media platforms faces many unknowns. For example, we don’t know whether we will be attacked by others’ words. What is our purpose? And what is the meaning of doing so, etc. It is this kind of unknown that makes us scared. But as Glauser mentioned, we don’t know how others will think of us. But in any case, PLN is helpful to us. Maybe we should learn to cover our ears at some point. Amber is right. We must insist on doing something right, even if it is “imperious” in the eyes of others (2020).

Resources:

A Global PLN – Supporting One Another – Course YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/RiWaXNfnHAg
Social Media and Emerging Economies Technological, Cultural and Economic Implications – Chapter 5 – From Information Society to Network Society:  The Challenge https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-02490-5_5

• Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares, how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in public discourse – especially when addressing our differences?
• How can a PLN be curated to minimize bias and expand knowledge of the lives of others?
• How does the identity of who you are, fit into your PLN?
• Do you include professional and personal boundaries?

Just like Harrison Mooney’s example, his first blog was about hockey. As a very white sport, people want to hear the voice of a black hockey fan. But he is not liked by others. There are even many whites who argue with him based on their skin color  (Mooney 2020). Connecting personal identities to social media platforms will trigger communication and collisions between different backgrounds and cultures. But PLN is indeed promoting the development of ideas and concepts in public discourse. More and more people with different cultures and backgrounds are beginning to communicate and learn from each other. When differences arise, there will be different voices arguing with each other. Only by maintaining an inclusive and unbiased attitude can differences be resolved properly.

First of all, the way PLN minimizes prejudice lies in its tolerance. To learn more about people from different cultures and backgrounds, try to listen to their ideas and insights to learn and develop (Meikle 2016).  Don’t worry too much about unnecessary disputes. As long as a person speaks his thoughts and understanding about something, there will be different voices. What we need to do at this time is to think about divergent opinions. Through the understanding of the lives of others, to interpret and understand those different voices.

My identity is more like a listener in PLN. I will collect and think about the opinions of others, and after summing up, I will gradually form a complete view of a matter. But many times, I will also put forward my opinions. I tend to discuss my professional issues with others, such as economics. If I know very little about certain aspects, I think I will be a good listener. My own identity can help me find people in the same field in PLN. We can share each other’s thoughts and insights to gain new knowledge.

I will definitely distinguish between my personal and professional boundaries. Because many personal information and data appearing on social media platforms is threatening. I will try to use two accounts, one as a personal account and the other as a professional account. In this way, there will be a good separation between daily life and professional content.

Resources：

Reporting in a Connected Culture with Harrison Mooney – Course YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/elKNQpz0RrI

Social Media: Communication, Sharing and Visibility Meikle, G – Chapter 4https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315884172/chapters/10.4324/9781315884172-10

1. What is media literacy?
2. Why is it important?
3. Why is it dismissed?
4. Why should you aim for varied views but factual consensus in your PLN?

Media literacy refers to “the medium of delivering messages (print, graphics, animation, audio, video, Web sites, and so on), the crafting of the message for a particular medium—the graphic ‘look and feel’ of a Web site, for example, and the impacts the media message has on audiences” (Charles and Trilling, 2009).

Media literacy is important because, “In the 21st century, everyone’s level of information literacy and fluency will need to rise. Whether at work, in school, at home, or in the community, there will be increasing demands on our ability to access information efficiently and effectively, evaluate information critically and competently, and use information accurately and creatively” (Charles and Trilling, 2009).

Media literacy is important because, As humans, we like to be affirmed and to be told that you are right. So we will choose the news media that can meet our needs. We rarely listen to news that we disagree with (Smith, 2020). We need to enable people to listen to different perspectives and understand very complex (and in many ways incredible) information patterns. We cannot simply assume that information intermediaries can solve problems for us, whether they are traditional news media or social media.

Because in PLN, different perspectives can trigger some new ideas and ideas. If we have richer and more diverse views in our PLN, our audience will be greatly improved. And when we have accepted some new viewpoints and reached a consensus, we will be recognized by the audience. This means that we can have more learning opportunities in different fields and perspectives, and we can also cooperate. Society is full of people with different backgrounds and different viewpoints, and the consensus that everyone has on different viewpoints can attract each other, thus having more audiences.

• Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict, why does this happen?
• What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

Public dialogue between media literacy and factual information can create conflicts. Because many people have not received media literacy education, they may not understand its importance in our daily lives. They always want to be affirmed and considered to be correct. They only choose news media that can meet their needs and refuse to listen to news they disagree with (Smith, 2020).

The advantages of having a PLN that values media literacy are:

• It taught me how to verify the information and identify other points of view.
• It encourages critical thinking.
• It encourages me to share other media sources in a responsible way.
• It tells readers how the media affects our culture.
• It taught me how to create my own content.
• It encourages me to actively participate in public affairs as a citizen.

Resources：

21st Century Skills – Learning for Life In Our Times Trilling, B & Fadel, C – Digital Literacy Skills – Media Literacy pp.66 https://learning-oreilly-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/library/view/21st+Century+Skills:+Learning+for+Life+in+Our+times/9780470475386/fade_9780470475386_oeb_c04_r1.html#h2

Media Literacy – Course YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/Z_T9RghwJlI

A public figure or person in a position of trust engaging with a public audience in a media space has many benefits and threats. First of all, these people have a certain influence on society. In other words, what they say and do have an impact on the public. These people will undoubtedly convey a lot of useful information when interacting with the public in the media space, which may be positive or negative. When more positive information is conveyed by them, it will definitely be the best for the public and themselves. These positive messages can have a positive impact on the audience and even change their lives. The audience will also be more interested and pay more attention to podcasts because of this positive information. This will bring more audience and attention to podcasts. This is a good result. But at the same time, if some bad information comes out from the media space of public figures, they may be subject to serious cyber violence and threats. Even many extreme audiences will do impulsive things. This is undesirable for both podcasters and audiences. Therefore, when public figures interact with audiences in the media space, they must grasp the communication of information. This affects everyone.

When using social media, certified people should be cautious. Especially for a lot of information that has not been officially announced, or information that is being interviewed but not yet released, in many cases it may not be a good thing to release it in advance. From the perspective of dissemination, exclusive and advance information will always get a lot of attention, and publishers are also easy to get attention and gain fame. However, in reality, many people may go too extreme on this road and there are already lessons to be learned. Being popular with the public and owning a PLN is obviously a good thing for many people. It can effectively bring more attention and audience so that its content can be recognized and feedback by more people. But the direct correlation between social media and employment may not be a good thing. Because sharing the same account for life and work may bring a lot of unnecessary trouble. The best solution is to separate personal accounts from professional accounts. To build a PLN that one can always rely on, all resources must have a clear source. In other words, all resources must be real and effective and allow the audience to follow. Those experienced storytellers are trying their best to minimize the risk of sharing misinformation. The specific method is probably absolute caution in words and deeds. They must review all shared information to ensure that each piece of information has an accurate source and credibility. At the same time, they should avoid publishing unconfirmed information in advance.

Resources：

Navigating Social Journalism: A Handbook for Media Literacy and Citizen Journalism by Martin Hirst Chapter 4. The Political Economy of Fake News – pp.78 http://ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/login?url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315401263

– Community engagement is public communications – 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?

In social media sharing, the advantage of a diverse and inclusive PLN is that it can expand the audience. Attracting a wide audience is a common goal of PLN, which is why successful projects use a combination of online and offline community participation methods. The community can participate anytime and anywhere via the Internet. Many people may not have time to participate in activities. But the online participation platform allows them to access at any time, which greatly improves the problem. Another benefit is to increase participation and trust in the community. The online method of participation brings many opportunities for both organizations and community participants. It allows for deeper participation and a better participant experience. PLN creates an online interactive venue to lay the foundation for continuous participation. When people understand how to participate, where to find information, and how to access the final results of the project, people will generally trust. The popularity of social media has a major impact on the degree of interaction between residents and the government. Residents and community members can submit comments and responses to city operations and decisions in real-time. Moreover, since the most popular social media platforms are free, they are a low-cost to free way of direct interaction between the government and residents. The use of social media platforms in community participation varies with factors such as age, gender, and education level, but what is certain is that the existence of social media will be used as a powerful tool for public participation.
Although social media can be an extremely useful tool for remote community participation and collaboration, it is important that we are aware of and consider the risks associated with these platforms. A common problem on social media is that misinformation and inaccurate content spread quickly online. For example, during this COVID-19 period, misleading and inaccurate medical information may threaten the lives of communities and residents. Secondly, social media may spread prejudice and inappropriate comments in the community. Hate speech and speech threaten skin color, women, children, and other marginalized groups are not accepted. The establishment and release of community PLN should take into account different cultural sensitivities. At the same time, PLN must spread fair remarks.

Resources：

https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/chapter/10.1057/9780230119796_5

https://youtu.be/vH_UiTWYYwU MIKE RUSSELL

Explore how you would create a PLN prior to building a podcast on a topic of your choice. Please include an exploration of how would you emulate success stories in this space (podcasts that you’ve listened to or seen become noteworthy), and how would you use your PLN with the intent to expand your audience?

Additionally, explore some of the privacy/security concerns to consider when developing an audience on any social media platform? What are the concerns for individuals who become influential in a social space?

I will choose the right social media tools for the topics I am interested in. For example, create a Twitter account and follow influencers in my field. Social media sites are a great way to learn about the latest education-related news and breakthrough innovations. At the same time, social networking sites are also a good place for continuous learning and communication. Creating my own content in PLN, sharing my thoughts and hot topics, and writing blog posts are all necessary to form a network. I will regularly pay attention to how people innovate, then interact with them and ask questions. Respond to their ideas, provide my own original ideas, and do everything possible to increase the value of PLN. There are some very successful cases recently. They all seized the latest information and opportunities. Their ability to share quickly and communicate well is worth learning. There are three important points in using PLN to expand your audience: follow colleagues and meet new friends, create and share content, and use and follow hashtags. As I become more active on Twitter, more users will begin to follow me, and I can add them to my PLN through my points of interest. By far, the best way to develop a personal learning network is to participate. Using hashtags is a useful tool to make my tweets easy to find. I will keep the hashtags relevant to help me connect to PLN online.

While attracting audiences, the privacy and security of social media platforms are very important. When personal information falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be devastating. Therefore, we should try to avoid revealing too much personal information on social media platforms. We need to be alert to hacker attacks, which may lead to information theft and forced sharing of followers. As users of PLN, we have to be responsible for ourselves and those audiences, and being vigilant is the best way. For individuals with influence in the social space, they are most worried about the security of their accounts. When criminals steal their account information and spread some false or false statements, the impact on them is incalculable. Their painstaking efforts may vanish in a short time.

Resources：https://sopa.tulane.edu/blog/key-social-media-privacy-issues-2020

• How diverse is your existing PLN?
• In your PLN, are you learning from a variety of voices or are you the loudest in the room?
• Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide-range of interests)?
• How can you use a diverse PLN to broaden your views of inclusion?
• What is the learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

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

My current PLN contains a diverse composition. People of different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds are speaking out for the discussion. Different cultures and regions make everyone’s speech and opinions more interesting. The same interest allows everyone to collaborate and build stronger relationships. Everyone’s interaction and participation as learners are reflected in PLN.

In my PLN, I will choose to learn from various voices. I will express my opinion after listening to other people’s voices. This helps me think and learn more comprehensively. The opinions of other people also allow me to learn more. Rather than being a leader, I think it’s a good choice to integrate into the crowd and accumulate experience. When I understand more and become more confident, I might become the loudest in the room.

Yes, I participate in a silo of information sharing. I am more interested in sharing information with a wide range of interests. Compared with a single similar topic, more interests can be shared by more people. This also means more things to discuss and learn. Information sharing in different fields allows everyone to understand more things and create new interests.

A diverse PLN is the best way to expand inclusiveness. Try to cover more topics and fields in PLN, and provide more discussion opportunities for a diverse group of people. People of different ages, genders, beliefs, and regions can contribute to better inclusiveness. Everyone has the same goals and strives to make the individual meaningful. Different discussions and sharing can let everyone know their roles and responsibilities, and build meaningful connections with each other.

The result of my PLN learning is to honestly express all my views and make them public in the process. Listen carefully, learn, and discuss different perspectives from others. I will think about the same problem from more angles, not just confined to what I think, but integrating the excellent ideas of other people. Respect the ideas of others and broaden my thinking, this is the best manifestation of inclusion and diversity.

After reviewing the videos and readings, the biggest change in my view of inclusion and PLN is that inclusion is not only at the physical level, but more at the ideological level. Different things and interests can make people express different opinions. How to understand and accept different viewpoints is the most important thing. Now I am more interested in different opinions and voices. It’s a great thing to be able to listen to and respect everyone’s opinions. This means more opportunities for learning and improvement.

Resources：

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/reader.action?docID=4832579&ppg=6

https://youtu.be/PQgXBhPh5Zo

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

●  What can you (as a student) consider to expand your professional learning network?

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

●  Consider what a local employer would do if you applied for a job with them – can they search the content, is it of benefit to the career path, does it hinder the opportunity of employment?

Students are currently using Facebook, Twitter, Meetup, Quora, Slack, and other digital platforms to develop their professional network.

The learning network is based on connectionist theory or learning from various social networks. Connectionism means learning to rely on communicating ideas with others. PLN promotes learning through meaningful interaction. Today, the advantages of PLN are twofold. To some extent, they can improve classroom teaching and help develop new projects. On the other hand, they are a kind of public information that changes social concepts.
1. Keep the spirit of collaboration as your motivation. Cooperation creates a common ground and allows others to see your interest. True interest will build a solid and authentic network.
2. Join the online community. In a community environment, it is more effective to share ideas and contact people for direct feedback. You can create your own virtual space to share pictures, documents, calendars, or projects.
3. Actively participate. Brainpower is the main asset of PLN. Take some time to determine the specific reason and communicate on your profile. Allowing you to understand specific reasons helps you increase PLN. Keep it relevant. Try to publish at least once a week.

There are a number of ingredients in the recipe for digital identities, such as reputation, viewers ratings, knowledge of what you do, type of language used, etc. Social media is a great place to show your digital identity. More and more potential learning opportunities have been discovered through social networks. Although they were only a distraction method at first, over time they have become very potential places for new opportunities. The main thing is that before creating a digital identity, you know what you are going to publish and who you want to see it.

Of course, they can search for the content. Our identity is not what we say is our true identity but what we do online. It is very important for companies to understand how to face the image of virtual communities and their future customers. How do they achieve this goal? Know who they are and who they want to be. What employers should care about is what I post on the Internet? Can I conduct direct and smooth transactions with customers online? Do I make sure that my clients are aware of important news? We should know who we are in the digital world and know how to find, threats, and opportunities. I think this is good for the career path and will not hinder employment opportunities. An employee can help the employer to try to build a brand image because he has experience in this area. This is a plus point for job seekers.

More information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visitor_and_Resident

V&R mapping

V&R mapping at Educause

http://experimental.worldcat.org/vandrmapping/signIn

https://books.openedition.org/oep/1379

https://blog.signaturit.com/en/beyond-your-online-reputation-what-defines-your-digital-identity-and-what-legal-rights-are-associated-with-it

•  What is a digital identity?
•  How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?
•  How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

Digital identity is what I present on the Internet. It includes all the content and sharing that I publish on the Internet. It is a manifestation of how I participate in the online community and treat others. Digital identity is also how I use digital tools to serve the benefit of myself and others. Digital identity is my footprint on the Internet, my works, blogs, and tweets that can be searched. Everything I do on the Internet represents my digital identity.

Being active on social media benefits both personal and professional purposes, provided that we create an image of a good work attitude in personal social situations. Many employers consider not only professional skills, but also hobbies and passions of prospective employees outside of work. Due to the widespread use of social media nowadays, people’s lives have become more transparent because the boundaries between work and career have become blurred. Many companies have realized the value of carefully understanding the personal life and hobbies of candidates before hiring employees. As long as we are careful not to post inappropriate or offensive content on our personal social media accounts and let your personality and interests shine, we can help employers understand your unique identity and determine how you fit into the company culture.
Personal accounts and professional accounts are not isolated. If we have two social accounts, one for work and one for private use for different purposes, we should use and speak with caution. Because if we only use professional accounts to establish contact with leaders and colleagues, they will still be able to find and view our private accounts. Even our private accounts may be pushed to them by social media. So, even if we have two accounts, we still have to be cautious.
Employers usually appreciate dedicated employees, and it’s no harm to like or share personal photos, such as family photos, insights, and news related to your favorite entertainment or other personal interests. However, we must avoid using extremist views or inappropriate descriptions of certain things. We should try not to post any content on personal or professional social media that is not suitable for bosses, colleagues, or corporate customers.
We used to be able to distinguish professional and personal lives more easily, but today these two areas of life are more and more integrated because of social media. Therefore, we need to weigh the pros and cons before merging professional and personal social media accounts. Both personal and professional digital identities have an impact on the use of social media.

The integration of digital identities in networked publics mainly relies on users’ personal social groups and business purposes. What kind of community activities users participate in and the use of digital identities will have different effects.

The benefits of digital identity are:
1. Greatly protect the privacy of users. The user can choose who has access to it.
2. Users can establish strong relationships with many people (such as bosses, colleagues, and customers).
3. Break down barriers in communication to improve user experience.
4. Participation in the online community is greatly improved.
5. Can strengthen teamwork and communication skills within the company.
6. Bring benefits to yourself and others.
7. Meet a lot of like-minded people.

The effects of digital identity are:
1. To a certain extent, the balance between life and work has been changed, and the two have merged.
2. No longer able to express their opinions completely freely, and will consider more.
3. Face the risk of fraud and identity theft.
4. The company’s investigation of social media may violate privacy rights.

More resources:

http://www.educationforhealth.net/article.asp?issn=1357-6283;year=2019;volume=32;issue=1;spage=33;epage=35;aulast=Jawed

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137405876_6

Digital Identities: Six Key Selves of Networked Publics