In this post, I will highlight how I have sufficiently met each of the course learning outcomes for EDCI 338.
Examine the application of social media to support learning
There are many ways in which various social medias help to support learning and expand one’s Personal Learning Network (PLN). In my “Wow and Wonder #1” post, I mention how PLNs are made up of many meaningful connections with the intention of learning from/with others. Social media platforms can be used for a variety of different purposes (personal, educational, professional, etc.) and to help form these connections. They also make learning much more accessible, engaging, and relevant for learners as they are now growing up in the digital age. For example, I enrolled in a drawing course where I was required to periodically show evidence of my learning throughout the semester. I chose to document my drawing progress through the use of YouTube videos so that I could share them with my peers, my professor, and others who were also interested in learning how to draw. I chose to upload my Sketchbook Video as unlisted because I value my privacy and I wanted to control who would be able to view my video. However, there is a downside that comes with the territory of having an increase in accessibility to different sources of information. Internet users are given much more power over the type of content that can be found on the Web through the use of social media and other online platforms. In my “Wow and Wonder #5” post, I address the idea of ampliganda, the shaping of perception through amplification, and the potential to believe and/or to be swept up in the false narratives that circulate online. This is why it is critical for internet users to be cautious when interacting with online content.
Explain personalized learning and its relation to learning theory
After reading the article, “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age,” I discovered the relation between personalized learning and learning theory – the process of expanding one’s learning, knowledge, and understanding through a personal network is the essence of connectivism. In Mary’s blog, “Post #2 (Week 3),” she describes connectivism as an intricate and flexible theory that places a greater importance on “individuals communicating their gained experiences across online communities and platforms.” In my “Wow and Wonder #2” post, I discuss how this theory is quite different from behaviourism, constructivism, and cognitivism as these theories believe that the learning process involves internalizing external knowledge. Connectivism has evolved past the other learning theories because it does not acquire knowledge in a linear manner and it utilizes technology tools to help with information storage and retrieval. This allows for an increased focus on personalized learning where more time can be spent on finding hidden meanings within the chaos as well as developing and maintaining connections to facilitate lifelong learning. Additionally, reading Mia’s blog, “Wow and Wonder Week 8,” opened my eyes to the difference between adult and child learning as she clearly and concisely summarizes the principles of adult learning theory. As an new elementary and middle school teacher, I now have a better understanding of how to personalize learning content for adults as well as children.
Recognize that the Internet is not a neutral or equal space for everyone
People use the internet at various degrees and for a plethora of different purposes. In the article, “Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement,” I learned about how the Visitor/Resident continuum should replace Prensky’s Digital Natives/Digital Immigrants typology in regards to online engagement as it focuses more on types of behaviour rather than types of people. When it comes to technology use, what may be second-nature to some, may be quite challenging for others. Therefore, the internet is not a neutral or equal space for everyone. However, even though older generations may not have the same ease when using technology tools as younger generations, it does not mean that they are incapable of learning how to effectively use the tools that are suitable to their daily technology needs (which are likely to look quite different than the needs of a person who was surrounded by technology from a young age). In my “Wow and Wonder #3” post, I created my own Visitor/Resident map to document my internet use and to show where I fall on the spectrum. Each internet user’s map would look completely unique as we all have our own personal interests, reasons, and needs in regards to how we engage with the Web.
Apply social media to develop a personal learning network in support of your personal and/or professional development
Over the course of this semester, I have utilized WordPress in order to expand my own PLN by sharing my own opinions, interacting with and learning from my peer’s posts, and engaging with course content. I often refer to my classmate’s blogs to develop my own ways of thinking when completing assignments and publishing my own posts. Additionally, my learning pod and I have made use of Github to connect with our other classmates as well as to communicate with one anther as we collaboratively worked on our major project for the course where we created Chapter 3 in the course book. Our chapter focuses solely on YouTube and provides detailed accounts of the platform’s demographics, privacy and surveillance, educational uses, concerns, public discourse, digital identity, accessibility, and media literacy. Through the course book, each learning pod is able to learn from and with the other 9 pods that each chose a different social media platform to research, collect information, and share their findings.
Identify privacy issues and practice online behaviours that are legal, safe, consensual, and ethical
I try to keep public information about myself to a minimum when engaging with the internet. After reading Jim Luke’s blog post, “That’s No Plagiarism Checker,” I am now more aware of the unfortunate fact that many online tools and platforms steal their users’ intellectual property under false pretenses and/or distraction tactics. For example, in my “Wow and Wonder #6” blog, I mention how TurnItIn, a tool designed for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in students’ work, is able to unethically coerce their users’ copyrights away from them. Furthermore, in Kayla’s blog, “Wow and Wonder Post #6,” she considers the likely possibility that most (if not all) social media platforms have surveillance systems in place to monitor our activity and record our data. Although there will probably always be some degree of data collecting and surveillance that occurs when we use social media platforms, I will try my best to keep this to a minimum and to be more mindful of keeping my data as private as possible when using different platforms. I will also try to spend more time reading the terms and conditions of the various websites and applications that I access in the future.
Recognize data ownership and licensing (Creative Commons, Copyright, Fair Dealing, and Public Domain) as a core practice when creating, sharing, or using resources online
Prior to taking this course, my knowledge of data ownership and licensing was quite limited. However, reading Leo’s blog, “Showcase Post 1,” helped to deepen my understanding of these topics. In his post, he provides clear descriptions of the two major privacy and security legislations in BC: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Leo also details their collaborative efforts to protect people’s personal information and to make sure that their information is used in a legal manner. In Mia’s blog, “Showcase Post #1,” she also touches on copyright concerns in regards to TikTok – a new and popular social media platform. My key takeaway from Mia’s post is that original content should be used whenever possible as this is the best way to ensure that you are not infringing on anyone else’s copyrights and to avoid getting your videos deleted and/or being faced with legal action.
Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about social media and personalized learning
I have learned that open literacies play a major role in developing one’s PLN. In my “Wow and Wonder #7” post, I consider how “the open movement” has positively impacted the PLNs of many people (since the advancement of the Web) due to the fact that we now have access to a large number of open and online information sources that extend our reach like never before. Now that people are able to connect with each other and exchange information online, the wealth of accessible knowledge at our fingertips is endless. Concurrently, Ruth’s blog, “Week 9: Wow and Wonder,” also highlights the importance of expanding one’s PLN by forming connections and engaging with various types of social media. She goes on to state that the major project for this course is a perfect example of how we practiced digital, networked, and open literacies to support our learning of social media and the development of our PLNs as we have been given ample opportunities to engage with various social media platforms as well as to connect and learn from and with each other.
Sam Shares 