EDCI Classes - Darcy Smith.

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Comment 9

2022-11-16 / / 966 Comments
Blog 9

Hi there!

We mention similar points in our blogs, but I liked this one point you made:

“[Social media platforms] will ensure that they provide you with the information you want to see. They will spoon feed you information that will benefit themselves as a company.”. I think this is a great insight inti the algorithmic harm that can come from use of certain social media platforms. It’s a true thought-spiral if you start engaging with misinformation pages.

Great work šŸ™‚

Blog Post 9: Why Media Literacy matters in your PLN

2022-11-11 / / 258 Comments
  • Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?
    • Nowadays news is ā€œpulledā€ instead of ā€œpushedā€ as was seen historically. What this means is thereā€™s an option to choose to agree with what you already agree with, and humans love to be affirmed, so we choose to represent a source that we already agree with. This tars up communication of facts, as every fact can be proven or disproven depending where you pull your sources from, as there are so many options with differing agendas and perspectives.
  • What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?
    • Good media literacy in a PLN will often help catch the improper use of facts, or what would be pushed as misinformation. By having a well-constructed PLN engage with a misrepresented truth, the transfer of incorrect knowledge can be avoided. As well, hopefully the poster can be engaged with by those with differing viewpoint, and a constructive exchange of knowledge can occur.

Core Multimedia Skills Project

2022-11-08 / / 5,566 Comments

For this project I chose to look at an old infographic I made in high school, as at the time I was interested in barefoot shoes, and their health benefits. As Iā€™ll come to share, I find this style of footwear profoundly interesting, as it is a decisively positive, yet poorly advertised preventative measure for foot, and body injury. I stumbled into the topic while looking for preventative measures for achilles tendonitis, as my family is plagued by these tendons in particular being weak. As a project for a science class, I created the following infographic as an informative poster on the subject.

I was pleased with the writing, but I remember wishing I opted for a physical medium for the poster, as I wanted drawn elements to represent what was being described, but at the time I wasnā€™t proficient with online art programs. I believe this qualitative portrayal in the drawings would help the design transfer ideas to the observer.

Because of this, I chose this poster to upgrade using the new techniques of graphic design covered in week 5 of class.

The main improvements I wanted to make were in the field of:

  • A better use of hierarchy to help focus the design 
  • Diagrams/visuals used on the poster
  • More leverage of contrast
  • Optimize colour to support my design
    • This is using contrast to move the audience around the information on the poster.
  • More consideration to proximity and balance
  • More online accessibility
An auditory readout for the above new poster.

With this poster, I created my own graphics in illustrator to visually portray how the aspects of barefoot shoes brings benefits to the user. This was through a ā€œconventionalā€ vs ā€barefootā€ visual side-by-side comparison, and by utilizing red and green symbols to portray positive and negative strain/alignment. I also looked to have a concise colour palette, simple yet descriptive imagery, and a consistent style. As well, I incorporated quantitative data through small charts/ā€percent bubblesā€. I think this is a major improvement thatā€™s noted from the old design, and infinitely helps engage, and educate the viewer.

Finally, for added accessibility to the visually impaired, I added a auditory readout of the poster.

Comment 8

2022-11-07 / / 4,289 Comments
#Blog8 Balancing PLN & Public Discourse

Hi there!

I can definitely understand where Sophie is coming from when she says that she “presents herself differently on twitter and Instagram”, as in their nature they can be quite different platforms.

Sophie herself mentions that she actually showcases her fiancĆ©e on Instagram, as it’s a more intimate feeling platform, whereas Twitter she uses more to showcase news highlights, and political reactions.

Great work šŸ™‚ keep it up!

Blog Post 8: Balancing PLN & Public Discourse

2022-11-04 / / 986 Comments
  • Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes and questions above, reflecting on how you would curate your social media with a critical public audience.
  • Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space ā€“ what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?
    • From Sophieā€™s discussion it was evident that sheā€™s been extremely reflective, and intelligent with how she utilizes her online presence. I found her speaking about a need for more control over her tweets interesting, as it makes sense. When your persona becomes larger and larger, your network increases, and in most cases with this being the case, more and more people are more likely to find disagreement switch what you have to say. She said sheā€™s found that sheā€™s even lessened the amount of tweets sheā€™s sent simple because she exercises a tighter seal on what she sends out, as the blowback has ballooned the larger her network has gotten.
    • She  mentioned she seeks out the positives and negative aspects of a given topic nowadays, as itā€™s what helps her mindset grow.
  • How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employerā€™s social media policy?
    • Omission is often the best step here. Itā€™s not worth your time of day to spend typing back a response to a person who may not budge from a viewpoint regardless of what you have to say, and as your influence grows, youā€™ll have more and more people saying a larger multitude of things – good or bad.
    • A time to stand up though is when a true legal boundary is crossed, or when a key member of your PLN has something to say about your beliefs.

Comment 7

2022-11-02 / / 9,608 Comments
Blog 7

Hi there!

You mention that Facebook, Instagram and Youtube are great outlets to use to “create topics and subjects that can be reached by all audiences” in the context of a community that hears you out and understands you.

I’m not sure I 100% agree, as I believe that some of these communities have negativity prevalent throughout them – Youtube being the notable one. I think that no matter what’s posted by a user, if their viewerbase is big enough there will always be online trolls and bullies, as much as I’d like to believe otherwise. Let me know what you think.

Cheers!

Blog Post 7: Community Engagement & Your PLN

2022-10-28 / / 5,596 Comments
  • 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?
    • There are numerous benefits of having a PLN in social media that positively interfaces with hearing out your viewpoints, beliefs, and developing understandings. Part of the human experience is to be social creatures, and to be social is to have fruitful conversations and communication. Part of the issue with online communication is that without the human presence in front of you, the life that comes with face-to-face communication is lost – and this can lead to a lack of ā€œhearing one outā€ on their viewpoint, and demonizing them in a sense. Itā€™s the hope that online communities can hold each other accountable to be heard, and if negative interactions arise, to speak through them, and not outright slander, and omit another human.
    • Allowing voices to be heard in this manner allows for a community to become closer with one another, and reduce their ā€œbarriersā€ which we all instinctively adopt when dropped into new social situations.
    • Itā€™s for the betterment of oneself, and the community to speak openly, and critique honestly.

Comment 6

2022-10-23 / / 510 Comments
Blog 6

Hi Kevin,

I found one point of contention of our approach to engaging a PLN, you mention that you’d “make sure that [your] PLN is specific [to yourself] and that someone elseā€™s successful PLN wouldnā€™t necessarily be successful for [you].”. I think this is not always the case. If a topic is similar, say graphic design, then I believe there will definitely be key figureheads that would/should be in your PLN.

However, I agree that personal PLN connections differ from this.

Cheers!

Blog Post 6: Engaging your PLN

2022-10-21 / / 5,489 Comments
  • How would you create a PLN prior to engaging in a social media campaign on a topic of your choice?
    • In this theoretical example, I would begin this program by interfacing with people, or organizations I know are prevalent in the campaignā€™s relevant area, and I personally think  that the best way to do this in most cases would be by turning to Twitter, as the hashtag system is quite useful for this.
    • Past this, I would seek to employ my current network to expand into this new topic area, and if no mutual ties exist, it would come down to ā€œcold callingā€ in a sense – just knocking on theoretical doors until a lead turns into a hopeful connection. However the important note here is that quality is more important than quantity: itā€™s about sorting through the sand for a gem.
    • After this step it comes down to engaging with this aspect of your new PLN, and exchanging information with the newly formed connections. Itā€™s time to mine the diamond thatā€™s been created through the hard networking work, and taking in as much information as needed for the campaign.

Comment 5

2022-10-16 / / 6,255 Comments
#Blog5 PLN in Education

Hi there!

I found your tangent here really meaningful: “the relationship of [student-educator] trust is a necessary condition for the dissemination of thoughts and ideas in educational discourse”. Very well written and described!

I do agree with your points on Social Media’s accessibility, but as a counter argument I’d point to my experiences of being overwhelmed, or lost when using social media as a educational source. Just food for thought/my opinion šŸ™‚

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