PLN Spaces Through Social Media:
There are many beneficial platforms that can help support your personal learning network growth. I place a strong focus on growing my personal and professional connections on separate accounts and platforms. This is due to the fact that I believe you have different audiences and each audience is looking for you to appeal to them in separate ways. For example, I keep most of my personal life on Instagram and my professional life on LinkedIn. Instagram users are looking for content creators to post exciting and entertaining photos or reels. Followers usually consist of friends and family who take interest in your hobbies and experiences. I have spent much time travelling since graduating high school. From these experiences I have made friends from all over the world. Using Instagram has made it easy to stay in contact and hold up relationships made anywhere.
Whereas, LinkedIn is mostly used on the basis of employers looking for employees, which means they’re looking for academic and professional successes. This includes posting job experience, schooling, volunteering, degrees and diplomas you may hold. From using LinkedIn I have been able to build various connections with students and professors from the University of Victoria. As well as employers in the Victoria community. Which is vital in creating a strong professional future. Social media platforms differ in the kinds of personal learning networks they target. They all have different features and tools that are beneficial towards a particular segment of the PLN.
Privacy, Ethics, and Security in Digital Spaces:
When using social media I’m sure to keep in mind that anything I post is available to the public. I also recognize that my posting may be construed in different ways by people whether that’s in a positive or negative light. I reflect this reasoning in my social media by avoiding controversial posting such as political, inappropriate language or anything hateful. Posting on social media should be viewed as a fun way to express yourself and should not involve anything too serious.
While I believe social media should not be taken seriously, I also recognize that you should prioritize having strong privacy and security behind your accounts. For me, that involves having my account settings private, only allowing friends, family and those I trust to follow me, and lastly only posting content I’m comfortable with. Even with a private account, there is risk to people sharing what you post in other settings. In conclusion, there is no way to 100% guarantee perfect security and privacy while using social media. Following safe media practices and techniques while using the different platforms is the best way to have some level of certainty.
Inclusivity and UDL in PLNs:
Creating a diverse PLN means connecting with users of all different backgrounds and perspectives. Being open minded and aware of others thoughts and ideas can help your personalized learning network become rounder. New opportunities and experiences may open up to you if you are able to incorporate a better level of acceptance and respect for people who think differently to you. A personal example I will include is my LinkedIn account. Not all the users I am connected with reflect my values and ideas, but I will frequently spend time putting myself in their position to see if I can grasp a better understanding of why they think so differently opposed to me. This has helped me see the digital world in a more positive light and has allowed me to dwell less on how someone else’s actions and thoughts.
There are many ways to begin connecting with people through digital platforms, those being, through messaging systems, in comment sections or tagging other users. This will help you begin to understand others’ thought processes and how they come about. Oftentimes users won’t agree with each other but by obtaining a level of understanding behind the background of someone else’s thoughts it can help you gain a more diverse PLN. Having a strong PLN will help support you in your personal and professional life. As it will teach you how to create stronger connections with people of all different backgrounds.
Challenges and Importance of Diversity in Digital Learning:
Inclusivity and diversity are vital components of digital learning spaces. Students may come from a multitude of different backgrounds whether that’s from different, lack of, or strong foundations of knowledge. Having an assortment of learning pathways that benefit all students is important to ensure everyone has the opportunity to properly learn from a digital space. Incorporating these pathways into your platform can consist of taking feedback, speaking one on one, or testing students to see what works best for them. Students may have suggestions or previous experiences they have enjoyed that they are open to sharing. An example of how you could benefit someone from a different language background, would be to make your digital learning platform available in different languages. There are many tools that allow for languages to be easily converted in this day and age. Small tweaks and changes can make all the difference for those who learn in the ‘typical’ way. Although this may take more effort from the leader providing the digital learning space it ensures everyone is at the same fair playing field.