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1.Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?

Of course, although there is still a lot of room for improvement in my PLN and the range of information I receive needs to be expanded, I think my current PLN will be really helpful for my future professional development. The content and videos I post on Twitter and linkedin let me find many like-minded people as well as the heads of enterprises. During the conversation with them, I have gained a lot of experience and lessons, which will give me more opportunities to improve myself.

I really like the idea that Amy mentioned in the video her understanding of PLN’s career development. She believes that when you selectively communicate with interested people online or offline, these people will have a huge impact on you(wakelet, 2022). These are not just like-minded people, but also people who push and expand your thinking, who compete with you, who encourage and support you. With their help, you will improve greatly and become a better person(wakelet, 2022).

Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?

As I said above, my PLN has helped me get in touch with many corporate leaders and technical staff, and I will also get in touch with more and more people in the future. This helped me get job opportunities and get involved in technology development more easily.

Reference

wakelet. (2022, August 11). The benefits of Growing Your Network & PLN! | #thewakeletpodcast. YouTube. Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEa8JgAE_qM

1.Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?

The media tend to give their audience the information they want to know because people often believe what they want to believe, and the truth and integrity of these things is often not that important. Even the same thing can be presented to different people in different ways. For example, parents who hate their children playing video games are more likely to receive information in the media about the dangers of video games to minors. On the other hand, minors who like to play video games will receive recommendations and videos of different games on the media.

2.What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

Media is a very efficient way to get information, but because there’s so much information coming from all over the world, it’s very important to extract it effectively. JULIE SMITH makes an interesting point in this video, she thinks that 10 minutes of information a day is better than 24 hours of information(MILLER, 2021). I think this is an example of how media literacy can be effectively achieved through PLN.

Reference

MILLER. (2021, June 6). EDCI 338 – MEDIA LITERACY with JULIE SMITH. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57r3-aEnci0

1.Managing Social Media

Sophie louis mentioned in the video that she presents herself differently on twitter and Instagram (Sophie, 2022). She is more inclined to show her ideas and events that she focused on twitter (Sophie, 2022). In Instagram, she mostly shares her life, such as daily diet, friends she meets and so on (Sophie, 2022). I think it’s a great way to manage social media and have your life and career represented on different social media platforms (Sophie, 2022).

2.Risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space

When public figures show themselves to the public, their remarks are more likely to be spread and recognized, thus showing social influence. However, at the same time, they are always confronted with doubts and verbal violence. Sophie louis once encountered sexism, even if the cause was just her avant-garde short hair (Sophie, 2022). She also said that if other female public figures were subjected to similar discrimination and attacks, she would be willing to stand behind her and be a part of the resistance (Sophie, 2022). Sophie louis said the idea is not only to help others, but also to get more support when she is being discriminated against and attacked (Sophie, 2022).

3.Negative replies and critiques

Sophie louis always receives a lot of letters on twitter, some of which have good communication and suggestions, but there are also criticisms and malicious verbal violence (Sophie, 2022). Her mood is often affected by these unfriendly letters, and even the frequency of her comments on twitter is decreasing (Sophie, 2022). However, she does not choose to block these letters (Sophie, 2022). She felt that this would satisfy the unfriendly people (Sophie, 2022). Sometimes she would reflect on some of her practices from the letters and make some changes (Sophie, 2022).

Reference

MILLER. (2022, June 6). Sophie Lui – Edci 338. YouTube. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfcXgKLzOVM

How does social media engage communications?

Social media provides a platform for communication, which provides a variety of communication methods and learning channels, such as text communication, video conferencing, and so on. Facebook is an example. By Posting your own words, you can find like-minded people in the same or different parts of the world and debate with people with different views.

How does social media challenge communications?

Social media communication has changed the traditional way of face-to-face communication, people on social media are showing digitally, geographical limitations are no longer a barrier to communication, people can easily communicate with people in different regions of different cultures, the expansion of the social circle is the inevitable trend. Compared to real life communication, the amount of information on social media convergence far more than real life communication.

Is it inclusive?

Social media is an inclusive platform, I believe that it is still some space of development, but it does not replace all the way of communication, the real face to face communication is still necessary. Eye contact in reality, body language, micro expression are the unique features of the each person, all of which are not able to perform on social media communication.

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

When I participate in social media campaign, I will think about how to create a good PLN, which can help me get the knowledge and information I want more efficiently. However, each topic is different, so a systematic approach is necessary. I think strategies by Woods (2013) is a good choice.

The strategies by Woods (2013) includes five parts:

1.Know that all PLNs are different

There is no PLN suitable for everyone, and the best PLN for everyone is different. PLN can reflect the needs and interests of a person, and only by creating the most suitable PLN can we achieve the highest effect(Woods, 2013).

2.Ask and listen

In the process of communication can often be a surprise, communication brings information sharing can sometimes solve your current problems(Woods, 2013).

3. Leverage technology Technology

Technology has expanded people’s social circle. People can keep in touch on social media regardless of the limitations of distance in reality. Expanding the range of information exchange can strengthen PLN(Woods, 2013).

4. Try out Twitter

Twitter is a great tool to build a PLN. Sharing ideas and engaging in conversations to gain insight into interested aspect, as well as by following industry experts to reflect on his comments and actions(Woods, 2013).

5. Look outside of L&D

There is also commonality between industries, and looking for inspiration from similar industries can help us see our work from different perspectives(Woods, 2013).

References

Woods, B. (2013). Building Your Own PLN: Seeking new insights and ideas? Expand your personal learning network. American Society for Training and Development. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITBC&u=uvictoria&id=GALE|A348998538&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon

1.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?

The teacher-student relationship between students and educators is a special relationship connection, in which educators are mainly on the “guiding” side, while students are on the “guided” side. The foundation of the teacher-student relationship is trust and authentic information sources, and the relationship of trust is a necessary condition for the dissemination of thoughts and ideas in educational discourse. The relationship between teachers and students is not fixed but fluctuated. In the process of teaching, students can also be in the “guiding” side, and the new ideas and concepts put forward by students based on their own personal learning networks can also promote the self-reflection of educators. In addition, communication between educators and educators is also part of the dissemination of educational discourse. Sharing and discussing credible sources of knowledge can help spread thoughts and ideas more effectively. Of course, the personal learning network also has some aspects that hinder the spread of ideas. The personal learning network itself is inert, and once formed, it is not easy to change, which will lead to the limited dissemination and receiving range of information, and it is not easy to accept the information outside the personal learning network.

2.How do educators create discourse?

Educators use authoritative teaching materials and books to teach, conduct in-depth analysis and explanation of the essence in lectures, and organize students to have group discussion and cooperation, so that each member of the group can express their own thoughts and concepts, and fully absorb what educators want to convey.

3.What is the role of social media in education?

Social media provides a platform for students and educators to communicate and share. Compared with the traditional communication methods between students and educators, social media has the advantages of long-distance teaching and timely response. Educators can update the changes of educational progress more flexibly and spread thoughts and ideas more widely

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

In social media communication, one of the biggest problems occurring in the process of digital education is “sense of distance”, the “sense of distance” will affect the quality of teaching, compared to the reality of face-to-face communication, digital education will let each other come out with a sense of unreality. The sense of unreality will make educators and students feel defensive between each other, and then affect the quality of receiving and spreading knowledge.

1. How diverse is your PLN?

My Personal learning network is develop through Online Reading Seminar, google, YouTube, bilibili, Blog.

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

Absolutely yes, when I was ten years old, I started reading and I was introduced to an Online Reading Seminar, I still remember the first time I attended an Online Reading Seminar. I was great impressed by many comments of view. They taught me to understand the formation of an event from different angles, for example, to understand the occurrence, formation and result of an event or a story from the contradiction between each person’s identity, social form and class. I was surprised to find that many things are destined once they happen, and many things in history are similar, and keep happening in a cycle. What does not change is that human beings never learn from history. Mistakes just happen over and over again. After I read more and more books, I gradually developed my own thinking system and my own ideas. I began to take the initiative to speak and share my ideas with others. When I actively participated in the discussion and made my own contribution, I also gained appreciation from others. It gave me a sense of identity.

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

Through the personal learning network, I have built my own thinking system, including enriching my knowledge, learning to listen to suggestions from others, and being brave enough to express my ideas with others, and I also gaining friends and recognition. To ensure that I am exposed to diversity and inclusion, I took the initiative to communicate with new participants and participated in several Online Reading seminars on different social media

1. What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?

I saw a lot of students in Canada using Facebook and Twitter to develop professional networks, and some of student also using blogs and emails. But students in China are mainly use WeChat, Educate Credits Website, Small Red Book and Bilibili as their development tools of professional network.

2. What could the student consider in expanding their professional learning network?

While developing a professional learning network, students can focus on areas of interest, areas of expertise, expectations and plans for the future, current state, and build their own unique ideas and understandings.

3. How do data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?

In my opinion, the security of data privacy is a big issue of personal learning network. For example, It is undeniable that the unconventional file sharing and downloading of pirated media is a huge obstacle to personal learning network, which undermines the enthusiasm of data producers and extremely deteriorates the network community environment. And there is not a really good way to solve this problem.

4. In your network how can you create a digital identity/ reputation?

First, I will establish a personal digital account on my favorite social media, watch the works of other creators in the field I am interested in, and communicate with other visitors and creators by thinking and commenting actively. Choosing a direction of interest for in-depth research exploration and collection of data, sorting out a unique system. Conducting tests when everything is ready, collect experimental data, and iterate reasoning to make sure I get the right result. Publishing my own paper or other form of media document when everything is finished. After publishing, I will communicate with visitors, collect comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the work, and selectively optimize future works.

5. How did pivots to work-from-home during the COVID-19 pandemic change how we should consider our social media connectivity and professional balance?

During the pandemic, professional learning networks on social media became one of the mainstreams, more valuable data and materials were shared online, and a new trend was born. This means that social media connections and career balance will be more closely linked, which is a more efficient way to access data and profiles. Tweaking your personal learning network is a good idea.

1. What is a digital identity?

Digital identity is the identity tag that a person uses when surfing the Internet. Digital identity can be a trace of browsing the web, commenting, liking, or voting online, often these traces can be searched through search engines. 

If I want to get to know someone better, I can search through their digital identity, such as reading their comments on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, and follow the content to get a preliminary understanding of the person.

 2.How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

When people log into online media communities as digital identities, it’s easier to find their groups of interest, participate in online community activities, and learn more about specific events. In reality, people sometimes divide groups by region and culture, and the communication within these groups can move from offline to online, and the communication within groups can be closer and more timely than offline. The participation of different groups on the Internet has become an important part of social media, and even social media itself will become a group to communicate with other types of social media group.

3.How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

Digital identities can be integrated into online groups, and online publics arise from the communication between online groups. Interestingly, when these groups interact with each other, they “label” themselves and each other as belonging to their own group. Region and culture are not the only criteria that divide groups in online media. There are various criteria to divide groups, including occupation, interest, political orientation, gender, family identity and so on. Generally speaking, the number of people in a group is not fixed but fluid, and can be fluid between groups. Close communication within and between groups online creates a lot of cultural identity and mutual respect, which is good. However, it is undeniable that the gathering and communication of extremist groups has become more frequent, and this kind of close communication will also intensify the offline gathering activities of extremist groups, which is not conducive to peaceful communication.

1.  What does it mean to network using social media?

Social media is a channel for people in modern society to communicate and share information. It is characterized by information interaction across different time and space through the network, which promotes the formation of information explosion. The multicultural exchanges and integration have enabled more people to understand and set up mutual tolerance, eliminating discrimination and isolation.

2. How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

Lowering the price of electronic devices and building more network base stations could make social media accessible to more people. Social volunteers could go to nursing homes to help seniors who have trouble using social media and teach them to join network community. Schools could carry out courses about social media to educate more students who are interested in it.  Students can conduct social media themed activities at school to engage students who are not familiar with social media. In addition, multiple channels can be used for large-scale publicity. It is a very good way to let more people know about social media through the original mainstream media channels, such as newspapers and radio.

3.  What are the risks & rewards of public communications?

There are many benefits to public communication, and it is obvious that useful information can be extracted easily and efficiently.

However, not all information is trustworthy. There are a lot of false information on online social media, and there are a lot of information from unknown sources. In this case, you can watch some information provided by mainstream media platforms certified by professional organizations. This can significantly reduce the risk of obtaining false information.