Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?
I definitely hope to further engage my PLN post-course. I feel like once I’ve aimed where I’d like to take my career in the coming months, I’ll have an actionable group of peers that can help me achieve my goals
Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?
@30:03 the example of this peer’s step into a happy and flourishing career thanks to online communities and conferences is definitely a great example of this. I think that any community that is positive in nature, and nourished learning and development will lead to good things when engaged with. I personally have crafted healthy working relationships at past co-ops and still engage with past managers on LinkedIn. I feel strongly that if I were to ask for help, or a stepping stone back into areas surrounding Public Health, or Data Analytics, I would have a group of individuals behind my back supporting me all the way.
Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?
Nowadays news is “pulled” instead of “pushed” as was seen historically. What this means is there’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.
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 – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?
From Sophie’s discussion it was evident that she’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 she’s found that she’s even lessened the amount of tweets she’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 it’s what helps her mindset grow.
How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer’s social media policy?
Omission is often the best step here. It’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, you’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.
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 “hearing one out” on their viewpoint, and demonizing them in a sense. It’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 “barriers” which we all instinctively adopt when dropped into new social situations.
It’s for the betterment of oneself, and the community to speak openly, and critique honestly.
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 campaign’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 “cold calling” 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: it’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. It’s time to mine the diamond that’s been created through the hard networking work, and taking in as much information as needed for the campaign.
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.
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.
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!).
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:
(Simplilearn, 2020)
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).
Sombrio Beach – my own photo
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.
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
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