Month: November 2020

This semester is really fast for me, I learn how to generate and maintain a health PLN from edci338, which means a lot. In the past few years, I only consider social media as convenient online chatting software and where you see memes. However, after a few months of deep learning about PLN, I start to realize PLN is more than that. properly use and maintain PLN is able to quickly establish a connection with people who has the same interest or in the same fields, quickly increase your reputation online and provides you with more opportunities. Just like I use social media to get a Co-op job for the next term online, it’s hard to imagine what if we still meet at the human resource market physically in this pandemic. PLN could be a high-quality stepping stone towards career success.

However, social media is a double-edged sword, it might hurt you if you can’t use it in the right way. Users on social media platforms join with various backgrounds, genders, skin colours, cultures, or ages. These diversities might cause conflict between users. As healthy PLN users, we need always make sure we don’t write or comment on sensitive content like skin colours, religious issues or gender discrimination. If you face some negative comments, don’t get made or fretful, let’s make sure we focus on most of the positive feedback and ratings and continue to play to our strengths.[1]

EDCI338 not only benefits my professional PLN but also my personal perspective. I understood how the engage in others’ communication and share my personal idea. I have a great time playing around with those platforms I discovered during the course. This course is informative and worth taking.

Resource:

[1] Simple Keys to Success & Influence Ch. 16 Qualman, Erik – Empower Others https://learning-oreilly-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/library/view/digital-leader-5/9780071792424/ch16.html

PLN is an excellent tool to share and develop your interest and career-related knowledge. Build a PLN is more likely planting trees for a  forest. The process can’t achieve all at once. It takes our special care and maintenance. This course offers us the way to grow trees, in the future I know the right part the build a healthy PLN and progress together with users on the network. I am going to keep update my blogs and website, introducing it to my friends or peers. Let them join my PLN and start to build their own. Continue to expand the range of my PLN and connect with users with diversity.

Professional perspective PLN could opportunities related to career, prestige, public influences. In my experience, PLN actually helps me find my first Co-op job.Before I submit my resume and CV to a human resource market, I took an online course that teaches you how to build a proper Linkin profile, I benefit a lot from it. I apply through various platforms such as UVic Learning in motion, Linkin, indeed, etc. The suggestion algorithm on those platforms really offers me good exposure to the software development position. After I submit around 40 resumes, I received 2 interviews. The outcome is great. Can’t imagine back in the 90th people went to the human resource market to submit their business card and resume physically. Social media platforms really reduce the distance between us. I really appreciate the convenience they bring to society.

The more exposure you have on social media, the more opportunities you will get. PLN preserve all the thoughts you have, those posts and comments save you ideas from the past. If you are struggling with one tough question, you can review your PLN looking for a similar solving strategy, learning from the past is also a great way to progress. There isn’t any way for individuals to know everything about the world. Sometimes we must step outside of our comfort zone and embracing others’ critical. Always know what is my weakness and have the ability to distinguish what is right and wrong, because others’ comments not always help you improve. Don’t be afraid of mistakes, as long as you understand the concept, you can learn from it.

Resource:

Edci 338. (2020). EDCI 338 A01 – GLAUSER, Amber.

Del Giudice, M. (2013). From information society to network society: The challenge.    Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-02490-5

Do you include professional and personal boundaries?

Social media has the benefit of everyone has a chance to share his/her feeling, it increases the speed at we receive and share information. However, this characteristic might also cause divergence because of viewers’ background, culture, countries, age, even gender. We are all unique individuals, the uniqueness made us have different points of view and attitude towards the same problem. Just like Harrison Mooney in the interview, he has to keep in mind every time that he is a black person, no matter how good he is, people will deny his talent because of skin colour, the racism also happens online. A positive PLN must get rid of similar problems, it should be free for all participators to feel free to discuss and express opinions, especially when addressing differences between us. Just like the protest happens earlier about “Black matters”. Everyone should have equal rights to express their ideas and they all should be respected. PLN isn’t a place to vent your anger and discrimination.

In order to curate a health PLN, all the users in the network have the responsibility to be true about what they want to express. They need to have the ability to distinguish what is right and what could be a Bias before commenting and sharing. Also, we should diversify our networks, bring more people to the table. If the PLN has people all over the world and has a vast diversity in user groups, it wouldn’t be an issue to discover Bias opinions.

Since we are all unique individuals, who we are and what role we play in the PLN is important. If you have a specific identity, other users have a better to locate you and build contact with you. For example, if you are a math teacher, your personal learning environment should include information like how you solve difficult problems or blogs related to math. If other users in the PLN need help with math, they can easily find you and build connections, narrowing yourself down to a specific area. Other users who are good at math might also want to build connections with you and share high-quality opinions.

While we work with various social media platforms, we need to consider the boundaries of entertainment use or professional use. For example, you should provide specific details about yourself and your careers on the Linkin platform, because those details let the viewer of your profile know your working abilities and career experiences, some of them could be your future employer. However, you wouldn’t want to provide lots of details about yourself on Reddit, because the platform doesn’t provide too much professional usage. Users need to understand each platform’s features. Loading information to those platforms which can bring you positive influence.

Reference

Mooney, H. (2020) Reporting in a Connected Culture, EDCI 338 – 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

What is media literacy?

Media literacy is the ability to access, evaluate and use information, it allows us access, critically evaluate and create or manipulate media.[1] it is closely related to your daily communication. With a new communication mechanism, social media has an impact on the information dissemination pattern and has an increasing effect on real society. Dual to the characteristic of social media, it put forward new requirements for the media literacy of the public, media industry and government agencies and officials.

Why is it important?

Social media progress with technologies, today is the 21st century, no matter where we go or what we do, we can’t run away from social media. I haven’t made a real phone call for a long time, social media could help us to gain a large amount of useful and un-useful information. It becomes extremely important for us to distinguish what is right and wrong. Rumours can be separated very fast, it’s our duty to keep a positive communication environment. People should not believe what they think is right, they have the right to know the truth and distinguish what is misleading.

From the interview with Smith Julie, she remainders me that most of the media only show what you want to see, they actually didn’t tell the truth to the public. The cause of this phenomenon is us, the audiences. Our self-esteem causes us to only care about the truth that is good for us. We choose to protect ourselves when cruel truth comes, everyone has his own comfort zone. however, in order to achieve varied views but factual consensus in our PLN. We must step out of the comfort zone, facing those truths that may hurt your feeling, then provide rational analysis and logical comments.

A positive and informative PLN can receive more attention from the public, which is very helpful for our careers. The better your PLN is, the more attraction you have. From audiences of your PLN, some strangers might be your future employer. If you PLN have attracted lots of users, their engagement is a good way to help you progress, they might provide feedback or suggestions, their perspective might inspire you. In order to build a PLN that can be consistently relied on, the key is making sure what you say can be trusted with evidence. Nobody wants to hear and spread rumours, unreliable information not only toxic your PLN but also the others thought. Building a PLN can’t be done in one day, so make sure to always upgrade and engage in others’ discussions. If you want to deliver content haven been verified, making notes to the contents and asking feedback from the public. Always check what you want to share whether are sensitive content, are biased, or are negative. Standing at others perspective look at the whole story one more time, this can help you distinguish misinformation.

Resource:

1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T4jOdKd12I&feature=youtu.be

2. Hirst, M. (2019). Navigating Social Journalism. New York: Routledge, https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.4324/9781315401263