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
Hi Calli,
What an insightful and well written post. I love how you speak to having a growth mindset in your PLN. What a great way of putting it. I also love how you write “actively listening” because it is not simply enough to listen is it? You need to actually take into account what someone is saying and digest then reconfigure your understandings of their words and what those words have done to your previous thinking. You need to question their thoughts to reconfirm or reconfigure your own. Finally, it interested me when you spoke to how you believe your PLN is diverse because of “the different kinds of social media tools I use and from my athletic and educational experiences.” This furthered my thinking since it had me think about the diversity in the set of platforms which I use. I didn’t take this much into account until after reading your post. I think this is a wonderful addition to my thinking, so I thank you.