EDCI 338 Final Project Homepage

Transcript

*PLEASE NOTE: parts may not be spoken by the corresponding writer – for more information on this matter, or more specific information regarding any topics mentioned, please review the written blog posts under “Final Project – Blogs” heading*

Kiera: Hi everyone! My name is Kiera Ropchan and today I am here with Nataly, Kirsten, Kathy, & Sarah and we’re here to discuss what we have learned about in EDCI 338 at the University of Victoria in the Fall 2022 Semester. 

*music*

Kiera: Before we get into course topics, let’s all introduce ourselves. To start off my name is Kiera and I use she/her pronouns. I am fourth-year standing psychology student minoring in education.

Nataly: Hi! My name is Nataly Romero, and my pronouns are she/her. I am a fourth year psychology student. 

Kathy: Hello! My name is Kathy Luu. I use she/ her pronouns. I am a fourth year combined biology and psychology major with a concentration in Neurobiology. 

Kirsten: Hello! My name is Kirsten Suesser, and my pronouns are she/her. I’m a fourth year student studying combined biology and psychology and completing my honours in biology this year!

Sarah: Hi everyone! I’m Sarah Hiscox and I also use she/her pronouns. I am in my 3rd year of the Education program. A good question to start out with is what is a PLN and what things should we consider when starting to build a PLN. For that, I will pass it to you Kathy.

Kathy: Yeah of course! A Personal Learning Network or PLN for short is a general term that refers to a group of people that you intentionally engage with such as friends, family, co-workers, etc. Through this interaction, both parties can communicate, collaborate, and learn from one another and share resources that can help expand one another’s understanding while shaping their digital identity. 

Kathy: In building a Personal Learning Network, PLN, we can consider the Personal Learning Network Model. This model consists of 3 layers: attitude/intention, activity and skill. So we start off by transforming your attitude into intentional practice. Begin pursuing, researching potential contact. Next is activity meaning we get in contact with these people, reach out through social media platforms, messaging, emailing, and phone calls. Finally, there’s the skill component, we consider certain factors like commonality, we tend to form connections with people who are like minded or share similar interests. We are also interested in whether these people meet our learning needs. Are they an expert on a topic that we are trying to learn more about? Will they expand our understanding or challenge our beliefs? “Does the contact meet our professional needs?” 

Kathy: Features of the contact, consider aspects such as the contacts reputation, networking circle, or the organization they may be a part of. Potential for Collaboration, their similar interests allow the learner to create conversation and network with the contact? Is there potential for collaboration and learning with this contact? Work environment, a learner may choose to connect with someone based on their own work environment. Will forming new relationships with others help them in their workplace?

Nataly: Right as Kathy mentioned, there are a variety of social platforms that can be used to create and maintain a PLN, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Nataly: A Twitter account can be valuable for developing a strong PLN because users can follow accounts that share the same interests, and through this, you can start building your PLN. It also helps maintain a PLN by staying engaged and contributing on Twitter by interacting with others’ posts. For example, Julie Smith, an educator at Webster University mentioned she uses Twitter to connect with her PLN to learn new ideas, receive objective feedback, and develop strong connections (MILLER, 2021). 

Sarah: An Instagram account can also bring value to your PLN because it can be used to showcase your personal life and stay more connected with the personal side of your PLN. For example, Sophie Lui at Global News uses Instagram as her personal account to show her daily life to her followers (MILLER, 2021). Instagram is also helpful for teachers to develop a PLN. Many teachers use Instagram to look for classroom and lesson inspiration or share their work (Fecich, 2019).

Nataly: LinkedIn can be used for professional networking that can function as an online directory to stay in touch with current professional networks and communities in your PLN. The connection recommendation feature can help those who want to grow a PLN. 

Nataly: To learn more information on the negatives and benefits of social media use and how each platform is different and similar refer to our website – https://edci338finalprojectfall2022.opened.ca/

Kirsten: ​These platforms and e-technology provide a multitude of opportunities to efficiently build an effective PLN. A well-formed PLN will draw from a variety of sources and platforms – a positive and welcomed approach to broadening perspectives, exchanging information, and growing learning objectives.

Kirsten: Connectivity provides for Network Building, Professional and Personal Development, PLN expansion, and contributions to the community. However, this great resource does not come without risks related to breaches of privacy and security. Inspired for reasons including the gathering of or pushing information on individuals for political, corporate, and personal advantage, or financial gain or influence, such risks are becoming evermore commonplace, and potentially dangerous. Various prominent risk categories include: purely criminal intent (phishing attempts, computer viruses injects, and ransomware), data breaches, tracking, and lack of control – so users must be wary when using these technologies and social platforms. [for much more in-depth information, click here to go to our post]

Kiera: What goes along with all these social media platforms is digital identity. What is a digital identity you may ask? Well, in simple terms, digital identity is whatever you do online; it is your “footprint on the web” (University of Derby, 2016). The previously mentioned technology can enhance and develop digital identity because it can show others what you are interested in/what you want to share with others. Anders (2018) shares with us that creating professional social media profiles is an excellent way to promote a solid reputation with colleagues. The website LinkedIn can be used to further develop a professional digital identity, which could positively benefit someone’s future aspirations. 

Kirsten: To mitigate risks associated with digital identity, one should first educate oneself as to the current digital risks mentioned earlier. Be wary of providing information to sites or prompts that seem suspicious; any personal or financial information should be safeguarded that could be used or abused by others. Be cautious of how you connect to the web, and on what devices – VPN technologies are great for this! More risk prevention tips can be found on our website. [for much more in-depth information, click here to go to our post]

Nataly: Individuals should be digitally aware and read and pay attention to all of the disclaimers, policies, and agreements – including those terms of use agreements many of us always just scroll down to accept! Release, provide, and accept only what is required to promote the digital likeness you desire and the research you wish to undertake; anything you put up onto the internet will likely be forever retained, and web crawlers, AI and modelling are actively used on the internet to profile users. 

Kirsten: Personal profiling is used by search engines, some governments, and large retailers, such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. With issues related to digital security and privacy on the web often becoming front page news, such as in the case of the sale, misuse and abuse of personal data by Facebook and Cambridge Analytica for various uses including steering of the BREXIT vote, many websites have now produced or updated their privacy and acceptable use policies with respect to the treatment of personal information. If you want to learn more about this topic, I would recommend watching “The Great Hack” on Netflix or check out our blog!

Sarah: Great points, in addition to risks –  we also want to be mindful of certain social considerations. PLN’s can change the relationships that individuals have with their society. While curating and engaging our PLN’s we aim to value each other’s unique characteristics while also creating safe and productive learning networks – that can adapt and evolve over time. As we represent ourselves online we must take into account certain social considerations such as: diversity, inclusion, and discrimination. First off, when building a diverse and inclusive PLN, we should consider: whose voices are in our networks and whose are not? By striving to engage with numerous different individuals, groups and communities with varying POVs, genders, abilities, cultures, religions, and socio-economic status’ it will help us to develop empathy, an informed understanding and an enhanced global perspective.

Nataly: We also want to be purposeful. We should consider, what is our focus and what are we hoping to gain from our PLN and the connections we are making? Will our learning networks provide ongoing support and learning? What does this support look like to each of us? 

Kathy: Another social consideration that must be acknowledged in our PLN’s is discrimination – whether it is direct or indirect. I think it’s fair to say that many of us feel our PLN’s are not sources of discrimination, but it is important to recognize that we may not notice all potential sources of discrimination depending on our own lived experiences. Seeking out resources, practicing self-awareness, and continuously checking for learned biases can help us all to become more aware and knowledgeable of our actions and the experiences of others. 

Sarah: This also makes me think back to the second week of our class, when we watched a press conference on ‘The Value of Digital Identity for the Global Economy and Society’ (Davos, 2019). One of the speakers addressed the fact that, “online communities are not accessible to all – as nearly 50% of the world’s population still does not have internet access”. This fact furthers the issues of discrimination and inclusion as not all citizens are able to participate digitally in an equal manner. Again, whose voices are there, and whose are not? 

Kiera: Kirsten, in your blog on inclusion you phrase it perfectly. You state that you have, “shifted [your] thinking from not only what can people can offer me, but what can I offer them in a ‘symbiotic way.” This statement is powerful because bringing that thoughtfulness of symbiotic relationships into our PLN’s will provide numerous opportunities to not only diversify our connections but also to examine our perceptions, ideas, and opinions while also developing awareness and empathy of others.

Kirsten: Thank you so much! To finish us off, throughout the EDCI 338 course we were introduced to a handful of prominent leaders in their respective fields and how they actively use a variety of social media platforms to engage not only in public discourse but also to contribute to their communities. Let’s review how these professionals support their learning goals in a meaningful way, via their PLN’s.  [for much more in-depth information, click here to go to our post]

Sarah: One notable individual is Markiel Simpson, a local community activist who is involved with the BC Community Alliance which is a not for profit dedicated to dismantling systemic racism. Markiel is also a lower mainland rep for the NDP indigenous, black and people of color committee, and a creator of the Canadian black history curriculum throughout BC. Markiel uses his Twitter @MarkielSimpson and Instagram (in which he uses the #StrongerTogether) to spread his messaging and advance human rights.

Kiera: Another speaker was Dr. Brad Baker – a member of the Squamish Nation who has been actively involved in education for over 20 years. Baker is prominent in the field of Education as the associate Superintendent of Indigenous Education for the BC Ministry of Education, District Principal of North Vancouver School District, and Professor at UBC within the Faculty of Education. Dr. Baker uses his PLN as a platform to humanize his professional role as he shares his, and others, stories to advocate for Indigenous Education and anti-racism in BC. Through his Twitter handle @bradleyrbaker, he connects with his community and builds relationships as he supports and acknowledges others points of view through healthy and respectful dialogue. Dr. Baker also uses his PLN to stay current on best practices, local/global issues and strategies to better his community. 

Kirsten: Some other great interviews hosted by Jesse Miller are with Shelley Moore, Sophie Lui, and Julie Smith – they are linked on our blog and we would recommend checking them out as well! 

Sarah: One more professional we did not discuss in class, but deserves mention as a local individual who uses their PLN to actively participate in their community is Jeff Hopkins – founder and principal of one of our local alternative high schools – The Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry (PSII). He is very active through social media platforms, particularly Twitter, and uses his PLN to engage in discourse regarding policies in education, local events and opportunities for students and educators, and unique perspectives on education. He is awesome to follow, and I encourage anyone in education to take a look at his social media @hopkinsjeff. He is intelligent, thoughtful and very funny as he explores education and learning communities. 

Kiera: Great thoughts everyone! I am sure we all can see there are lots of components to consider with creating a successful PLN. I want to thank you all so much for listening and to learn more about any of these topics please visit our group’s blog.

*music*

Everyone: BYE!!

*PLEASE NOTE: parts may not be spoken by the corresponding writer – for more information on this matter, or more specific information regarding any topics mentioned, please review the written blog posts under “Final Project – Blogs” heading*

Website created and designed by Kirsten Suesser with blog graphic design assistance from Nataly Romero & Kathy Luu