Beyond this course, I plan to further my digital identity by making an effort to work on the ‘Interactivity and connectivity’ piece of building a PLN. With regard to this stage, it is said that “to obtain knowledge produced from the activity performed in the network” (Morgado & Oliveira, 2014, pp.473) “dialogue and interaction [must occur] between members of the network” (Morgado & Oliveira, 2014, pp.473). Therefore, I think that it is important for me, moving forward in my career, to try to engage more with others on social media. In addition, in order to ensure that this dialogue can be two-way, I think that I will have to make it a priority to create some content of my own. Having a digital identity in my chosen field of Health Informatics is crucial to ensuring continual professional development and learning, and often comes with opportunities such as the chance to collaborate on projects, job offers, invitations to events, and invitations to speak at events. In any tech-oriented industry, it is important that the community is well connected and is making an effort to learn continuously as technology tends to change and adapt at a rapid pace. These connections in addition, ensure that good ideas in our space spread and can be adopted far from where ideas originated.

Throughout my time in post secondary, I have been connecting with peers, professors and professionals in the community in an attempt to build a mix of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ ties in my PLN. I have met most of my connections through school, but have connected with some at extracurricular events, and through volunteering. I do think that as I progress through steps of my career that I will be able to rely on my PLN for professional opportunities. Many graduates of my program stay connected with one another and collaborate on projects, or come back to guest lecture for certain classes. I have also heard stories from others in my cohort of receiving offers to interview through LinkedIn. It should be noted, however that these students tend to have professional headshots on their profiles, and extensive co-op experience. So while connections are important, you also must have the knowledge, credentials and online presence to warrant people wanting to reach out to you.

References
Zaphiris, P., & Ioannou, A. (2014). Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Technology-Rich Environments for Learning and Collaboration First International Conference, LCT 2014, Held as Part of HCI International 2014, Heraklion, Crete, Greece, June 22-27, 2014, Proceedings, Part II. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

PLNs can help give power to messaging by increasing the reach of messages. Examples of this effect include ideas ‘trending’ on platforms like Twitter, and concepts going viral on the Internet in general. When content attracts attention and gains traction in this way it can benefit individuals, causes, and communities. The type of benefit to be gained is sometimes financial but can also include increased awareness and knowledge of topics, or incitement of a desire to support change in certain capacities.
For example, by offering to guest lecture for EDCI 338, Brad Baker increases Indigenous representation and brings attention to the importance of continued representation of Indigenous stories within the classroom.

Some of the most important lessons there are to be learned often do take place in environments beyond the classroom. Traditionally this has included places such as our homes as well as the places we work, volunteer, and socialize. Most recently with the advent of personal computers, mobile phones, and social media, a lot of learning has been taking place online. A good example of some of the places that online learning can occur can be found in my third blog post, where the V&R map, I have created can be found. I think that because information can be spread so rapidly through social platforms, what is most pertinent to learners can change very quickly, and education needs to be responsive to the needs, values, and interests of students.

Using online tools students are able to further knowledge learned from inside of the classroom through discussion with peers or further research, find new ways of contextualizing information, as well as ways to connect existing knowledge to new topics. As well, thanks to technology, this type of research and discourse can occur at any time of day. The increased accessibility of such resources that a PLN provides can also act to promote an attitude of lifelong learning even long after one’s post-secondary education or career-related training has been completed.

I think that the potential for collaboration that PLNs offer helps the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse tremendously. With the utilization of PLNs in education, many of the principles of collectivism can be met. Some of the principles of collectivism include beliefs such as learning knowledge rest[ing] in diversity, fostering and maintaining connections critical to knowledge generation,
understanding the meaning of information through a lens of shifting reality (Veletsianos, 2010), etc. PLNs are also necessary to being able to produce ‘open teachers’ and facilitate ‘open teaching’ (Veletsianos, 2010).

An example of a hindrance to the development of thoughts in education discourse would be the social norms associated with different learning environments or resources that come to be prevalent and dictate what is acceptable to be discussed.

Some challenges that come with utilizing social media communications in education settings are professional boundaries, professional conduct, and confidentiality/privacy. A good example of a professional boundary could look like a doctor on YouTube knowing that he or she is not able to provide medical advice to people in the comments due to issues relating to liability in providing advice to people who are not patients of theirs. An example of a violation of professional conduct for example could look like a person deciding to post a picture of themselves attending a party during a pandemic, for example, and losing professional credibility (which would have a strong impact on a person’s PLN). It is also important to maintain confidentiality if say a certain piece of information is one that you have not been permitted to share publicly with others.

References
Miller, Jesse. “EDCI 338 – BRAD BAKER.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 04 Mar. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy63SmEpvCw.

Emerging Technologies in Distance Education, by George Veletsianos, AU Press, 2010, pp. 128–138.

Notable individuals, such as Jody Vance who are already well-established in a field tend to use social media to explore new opportunities, create new connections, maintain old connections, and to produce or consume information across various platforms. Staying open to new opportunities and keeping up to date in a field are very important in today’s gig economy’ (Hirst, 2018), in which it is more important than ever to build and maintain connections and market one’s own brand, in a time where many have difficulties, obtaining and retaining employment within a chosen field. One of the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN that stood out most to me as mentioned by Jody was the ability to rely on members of your PLN for new opportunities in times of hardship, such as following layoffs at a job. Despite management at Jody’s Citytv job perhaps considering her role there with them redundant, because Jody was in the public eye, and had a strong PLN, others could clearly see her value, and she was able to get back on her feet again in a very short period of time. I think it’s important to remember that for every critic or competitor there is that may be out there, that there is also likely someone else who will want to support you on a professional level. A great example of this is the way that Scott Moore supported Jody Vance when she was closer to the beginning of her career.

Some of the risks of engaging with a public audience in a media space, particularly as a public figure or person in a position of trust, are that while such ‘exposure’ can be hugely beneficial for one’s career, there are also a lot of repercussions for missteps. As Jody mentioned, it can take many years or even a lifetime to build one’s reputation in the public eye and to build trust with an audience, however, reputation and trust can be easily destroyed in seconds (Vance, 2021) when for example a notable figure becomes surrounded by scandal. There are many recent and highly publicized examples of this happening in the world, especially since the advent of ‘cancel culture’. An example of a scandal an individual could be involved with could do with the provision of misinformation, for example. To mitigate a risk such as this, it is important to thoroughly research a topic before posting about it and to make sure that you gather information from reputable sources. To help gauge whether a specific individual is a trustworthy source of information, you can look to their educational background as well as whether they have any relevant peer-reviewed publications within the field you are interested in writing about. For other types of risks, it is important to consistently stick to a predetermined code of ethics that guide one’s online conduct.

I think one of the best ways to respond to negative replies and critiques is to learn from them and to take responsibility for whatever action that triggered the criticism if such criticism is valid. If it is not, as Jody mentioned we can ‘delete the jerks’ (Vance, 2021) from our direct messages, or provide some sort of rebuttal, as she described in the scenario with Don Cherry. When criticism is valid, it can be tremendously useful in one’s professional development.

Finally, with respect to building a community with online tools provided by an employer, there often are many restrictions on the content that employees are allowed to post, as well as many rules that dictate the way that employees are to conduct themselves in an online setting. I have, in fact, even heard cases of management monitoring private conversations that happen between employees through platforms such as Slack. Regardless of these restrictions, I think that the professional relationships that you can build with others in this setting are the most valuable asset that come of being a part of such a community. These professional relationships often endure and can prove useful even after you or others in your professional network decide to move onto new opportunities.

References

Hirst, Martin. Navigating Social Journalism. New York: Routledge, 2018. Print.

Vance, Jody. Balancing PLN & Public Discourse Jesse Miller. 28 February 2021. Web.