Month: August 2023

ENGAGING YOUR PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORK

This is my last blog post for this course. I have really appreciated how this course has made me reflect on this information in so many ways. It has also increased my literacy in media and understand the importance of sharing it with the children growing up with tech today. I already work in the career of my dreams so I do not need to use social media to look for careers at this point but I do know how it is a wonderful source for careers. In my Facebook teacher group page there are many unbiased opinions on great places to work and the opposite.

As a buisness approach social media and my PLN for buisness gives me an expansive network for learning and sharing, this can allow me to collaborate and learn from experts in my field. I can’t wait to utilize more places like Twitter in a business’ way allowing me to expand my skills and knowledge.

In regards to relationships my PLN relationships are wonderful. Facebook and Instagram give me photos that I can see whenever I would like and also if I please I can share this with my family and friends and we can talk about it if I please. In “Chapter 5 From Information Society to Network Society: The Challenge by Manlio Del Giudice”, it talks about how people in developing countries mostly are using media to connect with family and look for education. Family is so important and when families are separated they feel the need to reconnect and share with one another. It is interesting that that is a priority mainly because I never imagined that is something they would go to public places for. It is just not something that I ever have to think about when I have access to technology at every minute of everyday. It does make sense though now that I reflect on it. Specifically when adding the second article this week called “Tell Everyone Why We Share & Why It Matters, by Hermida, Alfred” it talks about human need to connect and share. It is amazing that it has changed from one-on-one interactions and has expanded to sharing with more than just ones close friends. They now share with strangers and collaborate and reflect on their opinions.

Information and Communications Technology also known as ICT explains how online sharing can really support humans and their needs. We already talked about how humans have a need to share and connect. Expanding on that I discovered in the first article “Chapter 5 From Information Society to Network Society: The Challenge by Manlio Del Giudice”, how people in China and India use microblogging because they need to share but they don’t want to have to filter what they say. It is wild to think that people can’t share their real opinions and become restricted. The article also discussed how ICT can really support developing and developed countries in different ways. it talks about how based on the needs it can help move people forward around their economical factors, education, and expanding their futures.

When people are connecting and sharing they can all learn from one another. They can use technology as a way to share, collaborate and reflect. When this happens hopefully it can allow people to make changes where needed to protect others from dangerous impacts. It make me think of the recent wildfires in Maui. I feel like people need to really think about what went wrong and led to over 80 peoples deaths. People can think about why the sirens didn’t go off to prevent future peoples from going through this again. It can support people and protect them from life situations like Maui and other things that are little too like the best way to study in education. If you can think of it you can probably find something about it online to learn about.

My PLN can definitely help me professionally. I now know that I have an unlimited group of supports from so many people. It is a great way to get support, connect and talk about things a person may be nervous to ask in person. Humans need to connect and share ideas to reach their potential and PLN’s provide a safe space (if you avoid the trolls), to support one another endlessly. Knowing how to use it properly and appropriately is beyond important to utilize it best.

Moving forward I plan on using it more to share ideas on so many different platforms because teachers need to support each other. I feel like there is always something new to learn and always new ideas to try.

At this time in my life with two kids and in the first ten years of my career I feel like I am still figuring everything out. I don’t have a lot of time to spend searching through all of the information online to utilize it to its full potential but I plan to. I feel like once my kids move out I will be looking for more connection and have more time to build online relationships that can continue to change my perspective ideas and lifelong goals.

Media literacy is so important and I feel like third world countries aren’t at the same stage. If I was to think about the idea of not having a PLN in my life would I be better off? Probably not but would I have more time and ambition to explore the world around me, maybe? I wish I wasn’t listened to on my smart phone and my alexa at home. I wish I wasn’t targeted for advertising, but do I enjoy the results of a PLN where I can learn so much new information and have access to information to make my own decisions. I feel like this is priceless and to not allow others to have that opportunity sucks but at the same time isn’t the innocence kind of nice too. I feel like their are pros, but the benefits are endless. Support, sharing ideas to make peoples lives easier, knowledge about how some countries support their people and others don’t this can support change. Exposure and knowledge is priceless. I guess its only because I have it and I have thought about these things that I wish I had less of it and could limit myself more from it. I enjoy escaping the information too to try and live more free at the same time. I also media like the exposure has to come slowly to understand how to use it slowly and properly. I grew up in the 90’s and have had technology grow with me slowly but my daughter has seen it from birth at a stronger rate. I feel like with developing countries we can support them into a healthy, safe style, as long as it isn’t too controlled by their politicians which is scary too. Back in the day it was so new that control wasn’t really possible now everything is being watched and judged and restricted. However, there is still endless amounts of information that can be shared and collaborated on. One just needs to be careful when using these tools. Hopefully the open channels are accessible for all in a safe free space.

PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORKS AND EDUCATION

• How does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?
  • How does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas? A PLN enables people to connect with people they never would have met in their lives. By doing that they can have more exposure to real life connections by a diverse group of people. A PLN also provides exposure to relevant and updated information, it can change every minute. When more than one person thinks together collaboration has the ability to create some wonderful discussions and new ideas. Some things that could hinder some thought development are things such as Fake News, platforms or hashtags with limited exposure, and information overload. Fake News can give people the wrong idea and this could lead to them going down the rabbit hole of misinformation. Like minded people may be looking at the same topics which can limit the type of people looking at and responding to the information, I think it really depends though on the topic. Thirdly, information overload can turn people away from reading some really great stuff, a person may not know what is real or what is important.
• How do educators create discourse?
  • There are a variety of big ideas educators need to focus on which were heavily discussed in Chapter 9 of the readings this week. (Designing for Open and Social Learning by Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt) One is open communication, “Open courses thrive on evolving structures and principles, embracing change and innovation while fostering connections and enhanced learning experiences.” (Designing for Open and Social Learning by Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt). Open communication allows for an environment where people can learn together through asking questions and sharing ideas. I feel like teaching is a wonderful career example that this can be very successful in. When teachers work together wonderful ideas and ways of thinking are shared and usually result in a stronger knowledge backpack. Using collaborative platforms and a variety of different style of lessons is really important too to reach all types of learners. Online communications provide a good place for learners to connect and share ideas too. They can also take their own paths based on interest.

• What is the role of social media in education? Pros and Cons
  • Social media provides many benefits and challenges in education. For one, students get excited about using technology at school. They do a lot of pen to paper at school but working online provides a different method for learning. It can support the kids with challenges (text to voice, voice to text) and it can also support the gifted students, providing them with endless information and guidance to explore based on their exact interests. Social Media can connect students around the world, sharing experiences and widening students perception of people around the world. You don’t have to just read about them in books you could video or voice call or share videos. Educators can also connect and share learning ideas. Something that is challenging is privacy and security. More and more often people are being scammed and tracked. It can be limiting having to use certain sites, but overall it can be safer to have the employer watching out for students security so the teacher doesn’t have to worry if you follow the schools plan. Social media provides more ways to show learning. I think it helps reach all types of learners. Another thing that is always a problem is when students are not following the group plan and become distracted and may waste their time or go onto inappropriate sites. Bad sites are too easily accessible for anyone, even with restrictions. Social media can be an extremely valuable tool if digital literacy is taught.
• Reflect on the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity.
  • Professionals can explore so many themes professionally. The great thing is the themes provide learning tools based on interests and goals. First of all, focusing on STEM education there are so many conversations and resources available to teachers. It is something that provides an engaging and extremely educational approach to students. Inclusion and diversity is the second theme that can be explored. This theme creates inclusive classrooms, addresses diverse learning needs, and promotes equity in education.

• Which social media platforms are beneficial in education?
  • Personally, Pinterest and Facebook are social media platforms that I use to support my teaching. I am planning on exploring Twitter more because of this course and the podcasts where people continuously mention the 24/7 support online. YouTube of course is another one that can be used as an educational tool. It has videos on almost every educational topic. Connecting last week to this topic, I now make sure I watch every video before I use it in my classroom because I have wasted time on videos that were not engaging, meant for the wrong age group or irrelevant. Check your sources! Finally, Google Classrooms is my favourite to use with my students to share their work and allow feedback.
• When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations?
  • Ultimately, social media is a valuable tool for inclusion, and connecting people. However, its extremely important to follow school district rules to protect your job, students and families from unsafe information online. Besides from children, seniors are also vulnerable users online. Seniors have less embedded experience and therefore are more susceptible to scammers online on platforms.

Media Literacy

• What is media literacy?
  • The dictionary defines Media Literacy as the ability to critically analyze stories presented the mass media to determine the accuracy or creditability. In “Digital literacy skills 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our times, By Bernie Trilling, Charles Fadel” I think the best definition is given as to what Media Literacy is. The article states how “kids today need to know more than just read and write about information. They also need to know how to access information efficiently and effectively, evaluate information critically and competently and to use information accurately and creatively. I think this really highlights all of the important pieces behind media literacy and how complex it really is. Growing up in the 90’s I feel like the media was mostly magazines, the tabloid and television. Nowadays online has so many different platforms to create media that the options are endless. With the endless road there is also so much information that people need to learn to critically think for themselves.

• How do notable individuals use social media?
  • Social Media is used by many people on Earth. Within that large group of people it is used for different reasons. Social Media has become a job for many people even celebrities use it to advertise themselves whether its to commercially sell a product, promote their work or even to have people pay them to say happy birthday to them through a video. Social Media is something that is used to create your image or brand or social media. The more someone uses a platform like Twitter or Instagram the more their image relates to that. Sophie Lui’s podcast talked about how on Twitter she shows her intellectual side and how on Instagram its more light hearted and fun. So depending on which platform they use the use may be different. Social media can also be used as a way for people to connect with their fans or groups of people. Last week Shelley Moore talked about how she engaged with her reading group weekly and how it really created powerful relationships with those people. Sophie Lui also mentioned that staying online platforms like twitter allow her to remain relevant and do her job in the best way that she can. I feel like social media is used by notable individuals mostly in a professional way. Some of it may be personal but when I look at the influential people I follow its usually for a personal gain for them other than for something extremely personal. But I do feel like it is all part of their image (PLN).
• What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?
  • Looking at this question I feel like it really connects to my last answer. When I look at the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN I feel like most people think about how they present themselves. With this ability they can create an image based what they want people to see them as or the way they get seen. Being in the public eye is also a valuable way to connect through your PLN. On Twitter, Julie Smith shared on the podcast how she was able to connect with others based on their posts and collaborate. Through this collaboration she could get supported with anything. She described it as a 24 hour Pro-D event. By putting yourself out there you have the ability to connect with people opening doors to endless opportunities and information.
• Building a community with online tools provided by the employer can be limiting, what are the perceived restrictions and benefits?
  • When options are limited by the employer I feel like it could be good. I feel like it sets perimeters for employees to know what is appropriate and what tools are acceptable. When this is set I feel like an employee can only go so far in one direction and is less likely to get in trouble. On the other side of things, I feel like if employees are using a limited supply of tools they may be limited to what the tools capabilities are. Secondly, when something is controlled by the employer a person may only navigate it in a work-mode style. This may limit their true voice and close doors to opportunities that could have shown through a persons true voice. I feel like it really depends on how up to date and relevant the program is and what its limitations are.
• Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources, how do build a PLN to rely on?
  • With the amount of information available online it is extremally trickly to know the validity of the information viewed online. I feel like the most important thing to do when navigating the internet information a person must follow their instincts and critically think about everything they are reading. There is so much “Fake News” online but there is so much wonderful information online too. People are able to learn anything and has endless access to information. Digital literacy skills 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our times opens with a story about this. The King is beyond excited about the opportunities while the Queen is very worried about the results. In the story the King realizes their civilization is not ready for it yet but we are actually there right now. And it came extremely fast and is new. It is a scary but exciting place to be. People to be careful and protect their children from the dangers online, but allow them to navigate knowingly. Julie Smith talks about how many parents approach her hoping to keep their students off technology when really we should be supporting them to being safe online and knowledgeable on what is safe and what is not. The Political Economy of Fake News by Martin Hirst talks about how “Fake News” should be governed because it has been known to cause so much trouble. The article focuses a lot of Donald Trump and election rigging. It also talks about the idea that “Fake News” is killing journalism. Donald Trump is talked about how he claims Fake News in his favor to object factual information. At this point I agree with the article on the fact that no one knows what to believe anymore. I feel like I am very hesitant regarding the information online too. There is a wonderful website online about the Pacific Tree Octopus and it is a wonderful way to educate students and adults to realize that even if something looks legitimate they still need to think about things very carefully. Many people have ventured down dangerous Fake News roads and made some dangerous and scary mistakes. For example, Alex Jones made up fake news which he later admitted about school shootings being Fake News. Because of this families of dead children were harassed by people who believed him with all of their being. This is an unacceptable and heartbreaking result. Moving forward knowing places online that are accurate and fact checked sources are so important. There are places with verified information. This information is an important skill people should learn to be safe online.
• How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize the risk of sharing misinformation?
  • To clarify for myself and readers, when talking about Veteran Storytellers I am talking about people who are extremely influential and who have been sharing information online, someone like Sophie Lui would be a good example. How do these storytellers minimize the risk of sharing misinformation? People like Sophie Lui would use fact checkers. They would hopefully have a team of people making sure the information is accurate. Someone who shares “Factual Information” could do their own research and think critically about what they are reading or hearing about. They also need to make sure they stick to facts apposed to drawing their own ideas as conclusions. Peoples ideas are important but for someone who spreads information I feel like sticking to the facts is extremely important. As a teacher I need to do the same and keep my opinions out of certain issues. For things like taking care of the Earth’s resources I definitely let my emotions join in the learning because its a fact but on something like religion or political ideas I need to remain neutral and just present facts. I feel like people having their own opinions is important but if you are presenting things as facts its important to not be one sided. Julie Smith spoke about how she reads a conservative and liberal newspaper. I feel like this is a good way to stay informed. Online we see adds based on demographic or interest I feel like these facts may be one sided and we need to critically think about everything we see online just like storytellers need to be careful about what they see. And humans make mistakes so if the storytellers make one admitting it is just as important too.

What are the risks engaging with a public audience? How to address negative concerns?

Engaging with a public audience allows a person to be criticized. They need to be careful about what they say, how they say it to and if they are being offensive in any way. They need to know when to listen to criticism and when to not. Sophie Lui talked about how some of the information she is given by people in a negative way changes how she does things and some she tries to ignore. A public figure has the risk of no privacy and the world misinterpreting their life. I don’t envy that it makes me think about Justin Bieber and how his life gets looked at through a microscope. Because of this if he does something that gets misinterpreted it could affect his images and the feedback fans give him. I feel like its can be good online and bad at the same time. Julie and Sophie talked about how its okay to ignore or mute people that have a bad energy and post negative things. In that way you can make sure the people you are looking at are more positive. It is also hard knowing that the negative information is still out there.

How can open Dialogues about Media Literacy create conflict?

The thing is anything is debatable. Open conversations are accessibly to so many different people. Online its easier for people to speak their mind in more unkind ways then in person. Because of this, you open yourself to heathy informative debates and also harassment. People across the globe that have access may misinterpret something online or may just have a different opinion. The world is diverse and each family and person may have different views politically, religiously or just independently. Conflict is inevitable so it is important to only take what you want away from the debates and maybe learn something new in the process.

The benefits of having a PLN that values media literacy.

The benefits of having a PLN that values media literacy is very important. One main thing is influence. If you are someone who understands it and you can model it you may support someone else. Sophie Lui talks about being relevant. I think that the more relevant you are on PLN the less likely you are to take Fake News to heart. You are more safe online and capable of knowing where to look how to look and how to interpret online information.

Hello there! I’m a mom by day, an elementary school teacher by day, and a wife by night-when there is time :). I live in Colwood BC, I have two cats named Kitty Witty and Molly, and I love waterfalls. I love teaching and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I want to learn about how social media can be used in upper elementary.

-any moment is a good time to tell people you love them