Month: February 2021

Jessica Clark and Patricia Aufderheide(2013) suggest that until the internet came along, TV and newspapers were essential for information to be shared with the public. When the internet was created, social media became a way of life and even though  it may look different,  its purpose is to still educate and inform. Technological innovations have changed the way we learn about everything and communicate with everyone. Now, we not only use social media to connect with those we may be physically separated from, but we also use it to discover and connect with new people, thus creating more connections and our own online communities. In the last decade, social media has given individual users the ability to move from “being an anonymous part of a mass to being the center of the media picture”(Clark & Aufderheide, 2013).  Numerous diverse and inclusive communities have formed online because of social media. When a person becomes part of a community, they feel a sense of belonging. The wide range of social media platforms available allow individuals to connect in different ways, for different purposes, and with different people. For example, social media can now be used to engage in advocacy communications. This approach is used to influence specific audiences and use specific messages in order to deliver changes in policy or practice(Coulby, 2010).  Advocacy is all about influencing and persuading individuals and institutions to change and this will not happen unless you are able to communicate your ideas and proposals effectively. A perfect example of how social media can be used as a powerful tool to enable advocacy communications by spreading ideas ,facts, is the message from education activist, Markiel Simpson. Simpson, a member of the BC Community Alliance, stated that social media has helped him expand his PLN, and without it, he would not have made important connections with people who have helped him spread his message. Simpson uses a number of different social media platforms and online communities to fight the structural inequities created by anti-black racism in British Columbia. His tweets are largely focused on improving education and supporting other activists in the community. He shares lots of actionable stuff and he encourages everyone to join the movement to have Canadian Black history as part of the curriculum in BC. The use of social media has been valuable to his advocacy communications because it offers an opportunity to reach large numbers of people without spending large sums of money. Social media is a powerful force and can influence public opinion.  Policy makers and groups involved in political processes pay close attention to the press. By using social media, Simpson was able to gain the attention of Rob Fleming,  Minister of Education. Although media coverage can have an considerable benefits, it is important to remember that the use of the media also carries certain risks. If the media reports unfavorably on your issue or your organization, or if their reporting is inaccurate, the impact may be negative rather than positive.

I found the interview with Simpson and Miller helpful in order for me to gain a better understanding of how to use a variety of social media tools in order to promote and advocate for social change. These tools can enhance supporters’ advocacy engagement and can help sustain efforts in the midst of inevitable challenges. What is most impressive about Simpson is that he thinks a PLN should be an honest reflection of who you are as an individual and most importantly, the public should be able to trust you. This has given me incentive to expand my PLN and get involved in my community because a group of people no matter what their experiences, are more powerful than one voice. It is obvious to me that my PLN needs to expand in order for me to meet, learn, exchange information, and discuss solutions. Although I believe I am welcoming to those of differing backgrounds than me, I could do more to connect with my community. By challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone, I will have the opportunity to be part of something much larger. By sharing my personal beliefs, I could possibly change the beliefs of others, or I could engage in conversations within my learning network that could make me see things from a different perspective.

My personal learning network does amplify the views of others. I am always using social media to spread the word about initiatives and causes. For example, my basketball team uses our team Instagram and Twitter for “ Bell Let’s Talk Day”. We get behind this initiative to encourage Canadians and people around the world joined in to help create positive change for people living with mental health issues. The athletic department expects each varsity team to do their part in promoting these initiatives. In some cases, USport(governing body of university athletics)expects each University to fundraise for a specific cause. An example of this is “Shoot For The Cure”. In this specific case, each varsity basketball team in the country was required to participate. This affected each member of our team as we were asked to participate in little one minute video clips to spread awareness. The department then put these videos all together to make a stronger, more impactful message. It was also a way for the department to share information on how much money they raised for the cause. We have participated in this fundraiser each year that I have been on the team and I have seen a huge difference in how social media is being used to spread awareness. The hashtags and tweets etc. are important but I think the message spread more when influencers got on board. I think this goes without saying, but if you want the world to see things, you need people who are influential and have lots of followers. There can be negatives associated with using social media and influencers and commentators to help advertise. For example, if you are selling or promoting a product and someone who has a ton of followers comments something negatively, it can hurt you financially. Society tends to trust influential people and that’s why marketers use famous people to endorse their products. However, we don’t always recognize that these people are getting paid a lot of money to say what the company wants them to say. 

References

Clark, J., & Aufderheide, P. (2013). A New Vision for Public Media – Open, Dynamic, and Participatory. In J. Pooley, L. Taub-Pervizpour, & S. C. Jansen (Authors), Media and social justice (pp. 55-67). New York: Palgrave.

Coulby, H. (2010). Advocacy Communications-A Handbook for ANew Members. WaterAid, Communications Toolkit, Chapter 4 -Getting the Message Across.  http://www.freshwateraction.net/ANEW_advocacy_communications_handbook_draft.pdf

Simpson, Markiel. “EDCI 338 – 2021 – 02 – 22 MARKIEL SIMPSON.”  22 Feb. 2021. doi: https://youtu.be/yCSpm1Lx8-A

If I wanted to engage in a social media campaign about a topic of my choice, it would be about building mental toughness in athletes. In order to use a PLN to help facilitate this, I would want to incorporate as many social media tools that I could so I had as much current information as possible. I would use social media to explore and join in as many different communities in relation to building mental toughness skills in athletes. I think the easiest way for me to engage in the short term would be to use hashtags, and follow Twitter accounts of sports psychologists, professional and amateur athletes, and life coaches. As Woods describes, “Twitter has become a key hub in the past few years for the learning and development community world-wide” and there are many ways of using Twitter to build a PLN effectively(Woods, 2013). I personally think there a number of social media sites that are a great way to learn about the latest news and breakthrough innovations. At the same time, social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram can be good places for me to ask questions to followers about their own experiences. If I could be creative and start blogging some my own content like we have done in EDCI 338, then I could start sharing my thoughts on things that I have read and some of the strategies that athletes have had success with. This could generate discussions and build connections to people who have the same interests as me. By following professional leaders in sport psychology, I could potentially meet new friends where thoughts and ideas could be shared and I could expand my audience by using and following hashtags. Using hashtags is a useful tool to make tweets easy to find. I am not sure others on social media would ever consider me a leader in mental toughness, but I could provide insight in a blog format for other USport athletes who are looking to gain valuable mental toughness skills and improve their individual performances. To help raise my profile in this particular situation, tagging Vikes athletics and individual programs at the University, would be a great start. 

References

Woods, Bianca. “Building your own PLN: seeking new insights and ideas? Expand your personal learning network.” T+D, vol. 67, no. 11, Nov. 2013, p. 70+. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A348998538/ITBC?u=uvictoria&sid=ITBC&xid=1010abdf. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

How diverse is your existing PLN and are you learning from a variety of voices? 

I would consider my existing PLN to be diverse because of the different kinds of social media tools I use and from my athletic and educational experiences. Growing up playing basketball in the community and then becoming a varsity athlete has exposed me to many different coaches, teachers, trainers, managers, parents, teammates, administration, and fans of the sport. I have also met a lot of people in my 5 years at UVIc from various programs with very diverse backgrounds in terms of their ethnicities, field of study, age, gender and wide varieties of life experiences.  Using social media to connect with such a diverse group of individuals has provided me with opportunities to learn, share resources, and collaborate with peers who I may not have had the chance to connect with. Through diversity,  I have learned the importance of listening to people’s experiences and I have applied those learning experiences to my own life. I value the importance of listening much more than I  did when I first came to UVic. I have learned to share ideas and thoughts and even though it can sometimes be uncomfortable, I know it is important for others to learn as well. I am also a big believer in having a growth mindset. I have worked hard to move from a fixed mindset where I was afraid to make mistakes or fail and moved toward a mindset where making mistakes is a way to learn. I am the first one to acknowledge that knowing how to balance listening and sharing can be difficult. As far as being the loudest in the room, I am far from it. I like to observe, listen, and learn from a variety of perspectives before I feel comfortable to jump in. This is why I like the format of our EDCI class. I feel much more inclined to share ideas and experiences with a small group of people rather than an entire class. I am fortunate to be part of a group that is diverse with a wide range of interests, experiences, and stages of our lives. 

 Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide-range of interests)?

After reading the article “The Social Media Silo Situation”, I had a better understanding of what a silo of information sharing meant.  I agree with the author that as humans, “We want life to be easy and simple and straightforward black and white”(Colunga, 2017) . It is much easier to share things that don’t make us uncomfortable and affect us in our everyday life. It is stressful when called upon to do so, the uncertainty can prevent us from wanting to be vulnerable. We won’t agree with everyone’s perspective, but when we can refrain from judgement, we demonstrate mutual respect and make social media a tool to foster community. 

How can you use a diverse PLN to broaden your views of inclusion?

 If we have diversity in our PLN’s, then we are fostering inclusion because we have more opportunities for discussion from a diverse group of people. To ensure my views on inclusion continue to grow, it is important that I recognize unconscious bias. It is inevitable that we will come across people who will have differing views and opinions than you on topics or issues. Their perspective may be so strong that they do not allow themselves to approach the situation from another perspective. To make sure that I am continually learning and growing from others, it is important that I acknowledge differing perspectives and try to understand where they are coming from.  As described by Moore and Schnellert, inclusion is not just a place and time (2017). This applies to me because with COVID, we are not sharing a physical space or talking in real time with each other.

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

The learning outcome of my PLN  is to have a growth mindset like I try to do in all my other classes. Discussing ideas and opinions with my classmates allows me to learn different perspectives. By actively listening and avoiding bias, I am ensuring diversity and inclusion in my PLN. 

How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved after reviewing the videos and readings?

Finally, after reviewing the videos and readings about inclusion and PLN’s, I have a better understanding that  inclusion doesn’t have to refer to just a physical aspect, it can refer to a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group.  Different things and interests can make people express different opinions. How to understand and accept different viewpoints is the most important thing.  The readings and videos clarified the importance behind incorporating diversity into my PLN and made me think about looking at situations through a different lens. To move forward and evolve inclusion into the future, we need to look and learn from the past as well as challenging our present assumptions and bias.

References:

Colunga, K. (2017). The Social Media Silo Situation. Viewpoint. https://viewpoint.pointloma.edu/the-social-media-silo-situation/

Moore, S. & Schnellert, L. (2017). One Without the Other : Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion, Portage & Main Press. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=4832579.

Moore S. (2018). The Evolution of Inclusion: The past and future of education. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgXBhPh5Zo&feature=youtu.be

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

Students have become dependent on using digital platforms such as LinkedIn, blogs, forum chats, and webpages to develop their professional networks. PLNs can exist on any social media platform, but I think Instagram and Twitter are the most commonly used tools for students who are trying to expand their PLNs. These platforms are popular among students to keep up to date on news and information from people, businesses, and organizations that they follow. As a Co-op student, the Cooperative Education department at UVic encourages all the students in the program to use LinkedIn for your professional presence, Facebook for personal use and a blended personal/professional Twitter. The department does not suggest using Instagram for networking purposes but I am not really sure what their reasoning is. I personally think younger students are using Instagram much more than Facebook to connect personally.  

 What can you (as a student) consider to expand your professional learning network?

As a student, starting my professional career is something that is in the near future. To expand my professional learning network, it would be beneficial for me to build and improve my LinkedIn account as it is my only professional account. I made my account last year and I have been able to connect with people who I know and start building my own community. I could start changing my personal twitter account and making it more professionally focussed. I am not sure how easy this may be but I would need to go through my tweets and retweets and determine if it would be appropriate for an employer to view. After looking at Twitter from a professional viewpoint, I quickly realized that it was much more professional based than I thought. For example, a specific hashtag for a presentation can be tweeted to others to see who else is attending. You can also connect with other professionals around the world on a daily basis by following trending hashtags and topics within your industry. I could also expand my PLN by creating or building a personal brand. This would involve identifying two or three of my strengths or passions and focus my public online presence on these themes. This could be done with a personal website, or portfolio. I don’t use Facebook very much as you can see on my VR map. It doesn’t seem as professionally driven as LinkedIn, and many of my peers don’t use it to communicate to each other. I have always considered Facebook to be more of a social network to connect with friends so you can follow them but may be not to communicate regularly with.  I know there are a few applications on Facebook that can be beneficial. I have recently started searching on Facebook Groups to find relevant groups that potentially could help me connect with professionals in a variety of industries to share helpful links, news, and material.

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

I have been using social media for many years now and as I reflect on my digital identity/reputation, I can’t help but see how I have changed/grown as a person. I also wasn’t aware of my digital footprint until I started university. When I was younger,  I shared information and pictures freely online and I wasn’t concerned with them being permanent. In fact, I was happy that information could be easily and quickly shared by others. Personal information like texts, video, photos, my name, address, phone number, sites I visited, comments and ratings on blogs and other sites, and what others post about me were not a concern. Now, I am constantly reminding myself to only post things that I would want an employer to see. As a member of the varsity basketball team, everything I post is also a reflection of our program. I am also aware that the Athletic department uses a number of digital platforms to advertise and if photos are used of myself, my personal accounts are usually tagged. This is another reason why it is  important to keep a close eye on your social media accounts to make sure that your account hasn’t been hacked and your reputation could be jeopardized. Additionally, I have also learned that you need to be who you are. There is no advantage to exaggerating the truth so having a profile picture that looks like you, and a bio that is honest, accurate, and presents you in a positive way is important so it doesn’t come back to bite you. After looking at my VR map, it is apparent that I am a digital resident. There are positives and negatives to this but I have come to realize that my digital identity is always evolving.  After taking a look at how I use platforms, it has become pretty clear that I should try and have two separate digital identities, professional and personal. I think if I try to combine the two, it would be difficult to prevent employers from seeing who I was 5-10 years ago. Having said that, if my personal and professional accounts were separate, I would have to know everything I could on privacy settings so my digital identity doesn’t blow up in my face!

Consider what a local employer would do if you applied for a job with them – can they search the content, is it of benefit to the career path, does it hinder the opportunity of employment?

If I applied for a job and an employer was interested in finding out more about me, it would be easy for them to find my social media accounts but more difficult to view. The digital platform that would be at the forefront would be my Instagram and Facebook accounts but both are private. However, my Instagram profile has a link to my UVic basketball bio.  If an employer were to search images, they would be able to view close to 100 photos of me playing basketball at various stages of my life. When I started looking through all these images, I noticed there were two profile pictures that came up from when I was in high school. These profile pics were used for an app that was trending at the time called askfm. If an employer were to view the two photos, it would not affect their decision to hire me but I will try to have them removed in the meantime. My twitter account is not an issue because I don’t really tweet my thoughts very often. I do retweet but never anything that could be considered offensive. It would be safe to assume that the jobs I will be applying for will have something to do in the field of recreation and health. An employer would see that I am physically active, educated, social, and I give back to the community.  These are all things that make me who I am and for this reason, I would hope they would not hesitate to consider me for future job opportunities.

References:

“V&R Mapping.” David White, 13 Jan. 2020, daveowhite.com/vandr/vr-mapping/.

Wikipedia contributors. “Digital Visitor and Resident.” Wikipedia, 31 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visitor_and_Resident