Author: darcysmith (Page 3 of 4)

• Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity.
  • A professional should always be learning, and exposing themselves to new viewpoints, and ways to experience the world. The worst thing that can happen to a professional is to stagnate in their views. Experiencing an “authentic voice” as Brad said, should be promoted as much as possible in one’s own learning. 

• Consider which social media platforms are beneficial in education, and ask yourself how you would add social media teaching to an industry you’re interested in – expand your thoughts in your blog.
  • I believe that some of the most beneficial social media platforms for education are YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. YouTube allows for long form media with visual and auditory Input, and personally I find channels like Mark Rober (an engineer) extremely engaging, as they make learning, “fun”, so to speak. I’ve attached one of Mark’s video’s below for your interest.

• As well, Instagram and Tik-Tok are similar as they allow for it easily digestible tidbits on a subject. For me, I found that videos geared towards music producers were extremely helpful in my learning of Digital Audio Workspaces, this short-form media portrayed it extremely well.

• When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations? 
  • Social media when working with the vulnerable sector is definitely something that should be used with caution. Speaking from my own experience in healthcare, where I worked in criminal health for the province of BC: ongoing internal affairs,  and especially inmate health data, had to be treated with the utmost sensitivity for ethical and legal reasons.

• I have used text to speech tools before – majorly in language translation applications. This is because I was, (and still am!), a beginner in learning Mandarin, which is a very “tonal” language. I found that learning through hearing is very helpful to my learning: this catalyzed in the form of Duolingo – a popular language learning application on iOS and Android. I found “Duo” very helpful, as the app links text to the language spoken out loud, and because of this way of teaching I found I made great strides in learning.

(Blanco, 2020)

Unfortunately, Duolingo only supported default voices in this text to speech – from my recollection, this was 2 male voices and 1 female voice. In my opinion, I found one of the male voices the easiest to understand, as it often had a slower cadence which increased my tracking of vocabulary used.

Of course, with this language program the UDL guidelines wouldn’t be the best applied, as for example: “[using] visual analogues to represent emphasis and prosody (e.g., emoticons, symbols, or images)” (CAST, 2018) may not be the best applied, as it would take away some of the challenge that comes from learning a new language in an auditory way. Creators of the app would need to be careful to balance the vagueness of emoticons for example, to not give too much away about the question visually to the listener.

Works Cited

Blanco, Cindy. (2020). “Covering all the bases: Duolingo’s approach to listening skills”. Duolingo. Retrieved from https://blog.duolingo.com/covering-all-the-bases-duolingos-approach-to-listening-skills/

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org

• How diverse is your PLN/Are you learning from a variety of diverse voices and are you expanding your understanding of the views of others?
  • Throughout my post-secondary experience, I found myself to be quite an extroverted individual. Due to this, I’ve found that I’ve exchanged many different viewpoints, with many different individuals from differing backgrounds, and I’m always seeking to improve this. Because of this, I would personally find that my PLN is diverse, as I pull my beliefs and understandings from encounters with many different people with differing backgrounds.
  •  I also interface with new people and bring my beliefs and understandings to those conversations. I believe in healthy communication, and love to hear the thoughts of those close to me, and the thoughts of those new to me.

• What is a learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?
  • I believe in self-reflection, and seeking out those who may have differing opinions, or beliefs of how to do things. However, truly your exposure to diversity and inclusion takes a constant introverted attention coming from within.

• What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?
  • The major platform currently used by students to develop a professional identity, as far as I’m aware, is LinkedIn: I actually recall the first time I heard LinkedIn mentioned in University – it was described to me as “ professional Facebook”, and as silly as this may sound, I believe it does get the message across in a brief manner. On LinkedIn, users are prompted to post not only about their professional successes, but also their beliefs in activism, and (of course) appropriate interests. 

• What should a student consider when expanding their professional learning network?
  • A student could consider reaching out to those who they see as a teacher or mentor, and listening to their recommendations on where to seek knowledge.

• How do data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?
  • I believe that privacy and security are important in an online landscape, but there are drawbacks: often enough big data and data analytics seem to encroach on privacy, can actually help improve suggestions for learning and interest’s sake to the user.

• In your network how can you create a digital identity/ reputation?
  • Creating a digital identity, or reputation in your network comes down to not only your given post’s impact, but frequency also plays a role. People are busy, and so it’s often difficult to feel impacted by something if you’re not always around it, or if the media has little weight – a poster should be aware of this when seeking to expand/create a digital identity, or reputation.

• How did pivots to work-from-home during the COVID-19 pandemic change how we should consider our social media connectivity and professional balance?
  • Covid-19 definitely allowed people much more flexibility when it came to their work-life balance. Many found procrastination much easier, due to the lack of separation between “time on the clock”, and “free time”. I personally believe that it can be healthy to work from home, but of course it fully relies on an individual’s self-regulation, work ethic, and work-life balance, as this is needed to avoid burnout.

• Additionally, consider in your blog submission how an employer would respond if you applied for a job with them and assessed your social media presence via your digital identity.
  • Personally, if an employer were to assess me through my social media presence, I think it would be a positive encounter, (assuming this is mostly just Instagram and LinkedIn). This is because on my Instagram I showcase my volunteering, my hobbies, and a healthy involvement with UVic clubs. As well, I’ve spent  numerous hours improving my LinkedIn account to make me the most hireable, as I use this website quite often during the hiring process for my co-ops.

• What is a digital identity?
  • A digital identity is information associated to any online figure, a person, organization, or even a system! A digital identity builds up as a user shares, and interacts online.
• How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?
  • In my opinion, I’ve found that personal identities look to exemplify an ideal persona for a person, their friends, their political beliefs, their religion, and their hobbies. Think of an Instagram post at the beach – the person is showing off a trip they had fun at. 
  • Whereas a professional persona will more than likely need to uphold a preconceived idealistic person. One who is very hirable, has no downsides, and an impressive resume. 
  • With this in mind, a personal digital identity may tweet a controversial opinion, but an average professional person absolutely would not think of it as it could cast a bad light on them.
• How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?
  • Digital identities hold different upbringings, subject matter knowledge, and emotional control, for this reason there can be negativity often present in forums, and other online public places where networks intertwine. On the flipside, people different from each other can exchange understandings if communication is kept respectful, and the individuals present are accepting of new ideas – this can bring emotional growth like empathy, and grow understandings/knowledge on the subject matter discussed.
  • LinkedIn themselves state that “Participating in conversations can allow [a user] to share [their] perspective on relevant issues and topics with others. [A user] can create or join LinkedIn Groups to connect and grow with members who share your interests, experiences, or aspirations.” (LinkedIn, 2022).

An example of a professional digital identity:

 My LinkedIn account:

• In this example, it’s evident that I’m trying to portray a professional identity – the language I use is the same I’d likely use on a resume. I speak of myself like a robot with different kinds of software/hardware, and often not as much my hobbies, pets, political views, family, etc. 
• I try my best to present myself in a very hirable way, and leave no “red flags” for hiring managers. I utilize the same kind of approach that would be used in a job interview.
• Since my LinkedIn activity is stored, and publicly viewable, it would likely be extremely unwise to comment controversial opinions, show unwarranted negativity to others on LinkedIn, and even share “off-topic” posts that would be acceptable for a personal digital identity – say my favorite brownie recipe! (Note:  there are professional identities that can definitely pull these kinds of posts off, but I’m generalizing!).

References

LinkedIn. (2022). “What is LinkedIn and How Can I Use It?”. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a548441/what-is-linkedin-and-how-can-i-use-it-?lang=en

•  What does it mean to network using social media?
  • To network is to connect: we live and learn in a networked society. We can seek out, store, and consistently access information, and learn together through social networks. This comes along with another topic I’ve learned about in Health Informatics – the internet of things (IoT). This refers to the rise of an enormous number of networked devices able to connect to the internet, and collect/send data: this is a major assistive technology with big data computing, and I found it funny how we as humans are so heavily networked, and we even build technologies that assist us with this. I’ve attached an interesting video I found on the subject below:

•  How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?
  • It’s through our networks that we’re able to learn, and interact with others: humans are an innately social species. Even through our brains we’re hard-wired to connect with others through positive reinforcement neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and even stress hormones like cortisol. These are seriously impacted by social interactions, and I haven’t even scratched the surface on an nearly non-exhaustive list! (Yirka, 2018).

•  What are the risks & rewards of public communications?
  • Major rewards for public communications are the exchange of information to learn about a myriad of things, however a risk could be an invasion to an individual’s privacy if online forums are improperly used, or managed (Danah, 2012). As well, it should be mentioned that online social connections can cause feelings of isolation, or stress in many scenarios. As with any tool, it should be used properly, and with respect.

References

Bob Yirka. (2018). “Brain chemical differences suggest possible reason for humans having social edge over other primates”. Phys.org. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2018-01-brain-chemical-differences-humans-social.html

Boyd, Danah. (2012). Networked Privacy. Microsoft Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v10i3/4.4529

Simplilearn. (2020). “What is IoT?| IoT – Internet of Things | IoT Explained in 6 Minutes | How IoT Works? | Simplilearn”. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mBO2vqLv38