Month: October 2022

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?

In social media sharing, diversity means finding people who have different perspectives and come from other places and backgrounds. Various forms of communication have made it easier than ever for people from different backgrounds to connect. It transcends traditional differences like gender, race, or ethnicity. Diversity and inclusion initiatives support the recognition that everyone is different. Social media reinforces this fact, showing that we are more connected and have more in the joint when we use other platforms to communicate. We can find common ground, share experiences, and solve problems in new ways. Online participation offers many opportunities for participants to communicate in different places at different times.

PLN creates an online interactive learning space with specific topics for people in the same field to share information. Social media has become the number one means of communication. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have their ways of spreading the word. For example, Facebook has public homepages on specific topics; Twitter has hashtags, and we can search for topics we are interested in and see the most popular news. These topic tags allow people from different backgrounds to find each other and communicate differently. The most popular on Instagram is the story, whose short videos enable people to browse through their favorite things quickly. Compared to TikTok, Instagram is more of an Internet celebrity. These are the best tools for delivering information promptly.

Hi Qiaoyang,

Thanks for sharing! I couldn’t agree more. First, asking questions and listening are the most important ways of communication between people. We can get ideas from others and improve ourselves. I prefer to share my thoughts on social media rather than face-to-face because I have plenty of time to think, and I won’t be interrupted. In addition, some tools are very convenient to help us. Twitter, as your example, is a great tool. However, compared with Twitter, I prefer to use Facebook group, which enables me to find like-minded people more quickly. Twitter also has advantages. I think it spreads timely information more quickly. Great blog!

Jingjing

How would you create a PLN prior to engaging in a social media campaign on a topic of your choice?

I will choose the right social media tools for the topics I am interested in. For example, creating a Facebook account and followed influencers in my field, and joining a group to meet like-minded people. When creating my own PLN, I will focus on these three main points:

First of all, be more inclined to establish contact with strangers. Expanding my PLN to meet more people in the same field will help me a lot. Interaction patterns in digital platforms are a way to learn new information, meet more people and get more information from them. Whether I’m studying or working, expanding our PLN is a better way to learn about professional content. For example, in the course of edci338, we share our blog every week to make it easier for other group members to read, which is also a way to build PLN connections.

Secondly, increase interaction with people. Over half a semester, I found that by sharing my blog and reading the blogs of others, I was learning more from the group members’ blogs. This also proves that the most important thing to extend our PLN is communication. So far, my use of Matternmost has gradually increased, and I’ve been able to communicate with more people from other platforms.

Finally, pay attention to the privacy and security of social media platforms. When creating a PLN, I will be careful not to register my real information too much on the platform. For example, if I register my school as UVIC, then I should not use my real name as the name of my username. In addition, my address and credit card should be canceled immediately after use. We need to be vigilant against hacking attacks, which may lead to information theft and the potential loss of my property. As PLN users, we have to be responsible for ourselves and those who are in the audience, and vigilance is the best approach.

Hi Sten,

I agree with you that social media is very important for education. We will inevitably use all kinds of materials from social media in our studies. Especially in these two years, because of covid-19, we have been in the stage of the online classroom, where we use various platforms to enrich our information and communicate with classmates and professors. Communication between students can effectively improve the student’s communication ability and leadership abilities. Students can help their teachers and classmates when they have problems. Social media is always risky, some people use social media platforms to carry out cyber attacks on others, operating systems should take appropriate cyber security measures to help protect knowledge and research.

Jingjing

Community communications go beyond blogs and social media shares; how does a PLN help and hinder the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse?

Community communication is sometimes more effective than blogs and social media, but it doesn’t spread as fast as social media. PLN helps us build our ideas in the network, customize variety and choose appropriate learning tools. The benefit of PLN for educators is that they can control the part of the discourse they like to engage in, and it’s up to us to get the message to the right community. Each community has its theme, and the professional level has become a considerable resource in the continuous updating of uploaded materials. Compared to social media, for example, if a post about celebrity gossip is posted in the education community, the message will travel slowly because people in the community will not be interested in celebrity gossip. Again, if the right message is delivered to an active community, it will spread quickly.

How do educators create discourse?

As an educator, I believe in creating a free, equal, open space for every learner. All communication needs to take place in a specific area. Everyone can express his opinion and be respected by others.

What is the role of social media in education?

Social media has been great for education, as it has always been the most immediate way to disseminate information compared to blogs and community communication. On social media, students can communicate with each other in time, and this kind of timely communication is essential in the learning process. In group tasks, everyone’s work can get timely feedback, and the communication between students can effectively improve the student’s communication ability and leadership abilities. At the same time, it is also essential to communicate with teachers through social media so that students can ask questions in time and get answers. I hope to get your reply very much. Over time, my thirst for knowledge may decrease because I have five courses in a semester, and I can’t devote all my energy to one study. Many teaching resources can be retrieved on social media, and these teaching resources can timely answer our questions. Therefore, I think social media plays an essential role in education.

What are some problems with social media communications in education settings?

While there are many good aspects to social media communication in an educational setting, there are also many risks. First of all, in terms of security, our personal information will be made public to others, which causes our privacy security problems. Secondly, we may have different opinions with others on the Internet, which may cause quarrels. There are always people on the Internet who will stop at nothing to generate traffic and make our social media experience worse.

Thanks for sharing your process of learning PLN and showing your ideas step by step. PLNS are diverse and infinite. Shelley Moore also mentioned in the video that learning is infinite and our mindset is also very important. I really appreciate your comments! You already know a lot about the topic, and at the end of your blog, you present your thoughts and give a good conclusion. Well done!

How diverse is your PLN?

My current PLN has multiple components. There are people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds. Most of us have the same interests, and we got to know each other because of the same interests. But on the contrary, we are in different cultures and regions, which leads to the fact that everyone has a different point of view on one thing. We can work together to build a stronger relationship, and I can get a sense of what others are thinking. The interaction and participation of each individual as a learner are embodied in the PLN.

Are you learning from a variety of diverse voices and are you expanding your understanding of the views of others?

Choosing to learn from different voices in PLN is a good way to learn. I usually express my opinions after listening to others’ voices, which helps me to think and learn more comprehensively. I also learn a lot from other people’s opinions. I believe that no matter what kind of status I am, teacher, leader, group leader or group member, everyone should not listen to others’ views because of their status. Respecting the opinions of others, I think, is an important step to blending in with the crowd. When we communicate with others, we can accumulate experiences that we may not experience in our lifetime. As we learn more, we become more confident in expressing our opinions to others.

What is a learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

My learning outcome in PLN is to listen to others to learn what others understand, express all my opinions honestly, and make progress in mutual communication. When I learn some theoretical knowledge, I am like an interviewer, just absorbing their knowledge, not applying it to practical experience. For example, if I major in economics, all I can do is finish my homework and exams, but if I really work in a bank, I think I may not be able to finish the job, this knowledge is just an empty shell for me. Therefore, I often ask my mother about her knowledge in the bank, she is a clerk in the bank, she is a correct teacher, and she will tell me what she is going through. I like to hear her point of view, which is something my teacher can’t teach me in class. I will also think from more angles and broaden my thinking, which is the best embodiment of inclusiveness and diversity.

Hi Yuanwei,

Thank you for sharing! I think your post covers most of the points. PLN can improve learning in many ways. Being active on social media and engaging students in collaborative tasks is a viable idea, and I totally agree with it. You also mentioned that there are some cloned accounts for scams or traffic, which are very dangerous. All we can do is learn to judge these fake accounts. Regular publishing is necessary when creating a digital identity. Plus, VR Map!! 🙂

Hi Zeng,

Thanks for sharing! You have a good summary of digital identity, but I think you can write more about the advantages and disadvantages of digital identity in the web. We are putting our personal information at risk when setting up PLN or social media accounts. It’s not just about false identities and information security. As we rely on the Internet, some social platforms require us to complete our personal information to get rewards, but such improved information is very dangerous. These apps will read our address book to introduce some people we may know, which involves our social relationship information. Some apps can also read our online behavior information. There are many aspects of network security, and you can describe more to improve your blog. That’s my suggestion. Great work!