Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?
I think PLN can help professional development after the course. As a student, most of my PLN is composed of classmates and mentors. PLN allows me to express ideas or ask questions quickly and easily, and get a response. In addition, we all have similar courses or come from the same major here, so our future career plans are mostly similar. We can also share and discuss through PLN in future work.
Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?
In my opinion, PLN can provide open career opportunities. First of all, PLN is an open network platform. Many people will share and publish content here. Maybe my future work or my boss will also be in it. Besides, I will pay close attention to job information related to my major, which will help me find and select suitable jobs. At the same time, when people publish content and discuss content, they will constantly update their understanding and ideas. Maybe at first, people are confused about their future work direction, but through constant understanding, they finally find the job they want.
Media literacy is a very important skill in today’s society. Generally speaking, media literacy refers to the ability to access, understand and create media information. Its goal is to train the whole people to interpret media information objectively and fairly. First, we need to understand the characteristics and operation methods of social media. Second, we need to choose a platform that suits us to build our own PLN, publish our own content, and communicate effectively with people.
What is Media Literacy?
Why is it important?
I think the main reason why media literacy is important is that social media is widely spread. Almost everyone needs to use social media, but the information transmitted on social media may be false and one-sided. People need to obtain information and absorb knowledge. At the same time, learn to correctly distinguish true and reliable content and protect your privacy.
Why is it dismissed?
On the one hand, new media is in a stage of rapid development, but under the education system, media literacy accounts for a relatively small proportion, resulting in a lack of overall national literacy. On the other hand, people in today’s society pay more attention to material life, so there is a state of extreme lack of spiritual life, and the values of various social media have appeared to certain deviations. In addition, in this open Internet era, everyone can freely publish content, and people are easily affected by some speech, thus losing their own judgment and lacking rationality.
Why should you aim for varied views but the factual consensus in your PLN?
People may have different views on some issues, which is a normal thing. We cannot guarantee that our views are completely correct, so it is particularly important to understand the views of others and interact with others. Not only can we learn more knowledge, but we can also look at things more objectively. Reaching a consensus in PLN can help us attract more people, so that we can more easily obtain information from many aspects. This is a virtuous circle.
Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?
The media tend to give the masses the information they want to know, because people tend to believe only what they want to believe and are not interested in the truth or integrity of these things. The same things can be presented in different ways depending on what each person thinks. They don’t care if the information affects society or other people, and they don’t look for someone to verify whether the information is right or wrong, even though it may be false news that is being spread.
Media Literacy- The Power of Information |Lisa Cutter| TEDxCherryCreekWomen
What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?
Having a PLN that values media literacy is a way for people to think effectively when confronted with the various messages in the media, to understand the message correctly and to distinguish between true and false information.
I think notable individuals use social media for the same reasons as ordinary people – to connect with others and to get information or news from social media. The one difference is that celebrities use social media as a marketing tool to attract the attention of the general public and enhance their reputation. National governments, on the other hand, use social media to communicate social systems or to answer controversial political topics of the day. Sophie points out in the video that she expresses herself differently on the two social media platforms, Twitter and Instagram. She tweets her own opinions, while on Instagram she prefers to post about her daily life.
Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes and questions above, reflecting on how you would curate your social media with a critical public audience.
In this week’s interview with Professor Jesse Miller and Sophie Liu, Sophie Liu discusses how she conducted her work before she used social media. Sophie’s first radio news job was at CKIQ, where she was using letters and the phone book to reach out to others at work. In addition， Sophie mentions in the video that depending on the social media platform chosen, her posts and the digital identity she has acquired vary greatly. Sophie sees social media as a platform to represent herself and and pursue continuous learning. When Sophie confronts audiences who post insulting comments, she mutes them rather than trying to block them and thus give them the satisfaction.
Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space- what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?
There are many risks and benefits when engaging the public in one’s media space. The risk of engaging with a public audience in a public figure’s media space is creating fake news. Fake news is misleading information that is close to the real story and yet false, generated to mislead the masses. Fake news travels fast and can often be very damaging to people. Because people are often biased, we usually only read news that interests us and the system recommends only what it thinks we are interested in, which results in media users being subject to selection bias. In addition, the second risk is privacy. In 2019, it was reported in the media that internal employees of the social media platform Snap had access to user data, including geolocation, mobile phone numbers, email addresses and other personal information, through specific tools, and that multiple employees abused this power to spy on users without permission. It is therefore even more important for public figures to be careful about the information they share online, as these risks of social media can have serious implications for their lives and careers. Another point that is specific to some people is that some public figures are subject to gender discrimination because she is female or of the same sex. And the benefit of engaging with a public audience is that it keeps the public figure relevant. The masses can get updates on the state of society through posts shared by public figures.
How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employers social media policy?
Sophie Liu shared in an interview that when she receives negative replies and comments, she solves the problem by muting them rather than trying to block them, as this may give the user who sent the negative comment the satisfaction. In my opinion, when I receive comments that I disagree with or don’t like my opinion, I will read them, but I won’t change my opinion because of them.
One of the important features of spreading information through social media is its simplicity and speed. The time it takes for social media to engage in the production of information and to publish it is very short. People post their views and opinions on the latest topical social issues, current affairs and politics on social media right after the facts, and as soon as news emerges, it is quickly summarised in a short text and posted on the web. Once this is posted on the web, the post attracts people interested in the news to click on the link to the site to view it and, possibly within minutes or hours, the news is spread around the world. As an example, a mass stampede occurred in Seoul, South Korea, on Halloween this year. Because of a Halloween party, nearly 100,000 people gathered on a small stretch of road to participate in the party, resulting in up to 150 people dying from being trampled. The news hit the Chinese news charts just a few hours after the incident.
Is it inclusive?
The internet world is more inclusive than real life, as what cannot be complained about in the real world can be poured out online, and what cannot be understood in the real world can easily be found online. People who use the internet to interact with each other choose their online social partners through common interests. This criterion increases the level of trust between the two parties, which greatly stimulates people’s initiative to interact. Let’s use JitterbugTikTok as an example. On the Chinese version of TikTok, many people meet each other through short videos/live streaming and then meet and party offline when they get acquainted.
How to better use social media to build PLN- Influencers & Commentators
In my opinion, A good PLN depends on its content. A useful content often makes whole PLN attractive. Moreover, giving your own thought is very important as well.
What are the benefits of a diverse and inclusive PLN in social media sharing that understands where you are coming from with messaging that impacts the community?
For people sharing on social media, a diverse and inclusive PLN has many benefits. First of all, having a diversified PLN means that creators will have a wider space for dissemination, which can help people convey their opinions and information more effectively. Secondly, inclusive PLN can attract people from different fields, and at the same time increase the number of its own followers. With the increase in the number of visits, the influence of the content will gradually expand.
How would you create a PLN prior to engaging in a social media campaign on a topic of your choice?
Social media is a great resource for connecting with people around the world and it can also be a great resource for learning about your city or community. Before participating in a social media campaign, I would choose a topic that interests me or is a popular topic for recent social media campaigns, such as food and entertainment. I will take photos of the surroundings and dishes as I explore a new restaurant to try their dishes and will post my food sharing posts on my social media accounts. But before I do so, I will look at how other bloggers on social media networks edit the text of their food blogs to get an idea of how to write a good post. In addition, I would add my own personal style to my posts to attract people to read my blog and get interested of it, which also makes the readers to remember my style of content.
Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity.
Explore the video provided and reflect on the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity. In the video, Brad Baker participated in many activities related to Aboriginal people and anti-racism, and established a health professional network through social media. PLN allows people to pass on their opinions and voices, so that everyone can share and communicate together, making PLN more diversified and inclusive. In addition, PLN has brought benefits to indigenous people and allowed them to reconcile with the public. PLN not only allows everyone to share their lives, but also lets everyone know more facts.
Consider which social medial platforms are beneficial in education.
Social media has been an important social tool not only in people’s everyday lives, but also as an important learning platform in education. As technology continues to develop, various social media platforms are emerging such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and through this variety of social platforms, teachers can work with students to integrate social media into their everyday teaching and learning, making lessons more interesting and engaging and thus increasing student engagement. Social networking sites can be a great tool when interacting with students as this is what they are most familiar with.
With the influence of covid-19, all schools have switched from an offline face-to-face format to an online format using social media platforms, so more social media software is being used for education, such as zoom, Microsoft Teams etc. Compared to the traditional monolithic approach to education, online education is the new wave of the times and is also more diverse, enhancing active learning and providing convenience for students, as well as reducing the cost of teaching and learning.
When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations? Consider education, healthcare, and messaging to minor children via social media/gaming.
Social media, the internet platform that people use to share their opinions, experiences and insights, is now a part of many people’s lives. However, social media has also greatly affected the lives of people (especially young people) and the reasons why I feel that social media has had a huge impact are.
online violence. In the current age of the internet, social media has become the cradle of online violence. And because bullying is much easier to do online than in reality, it has led to online violence becoming more and more widespread. There have been many incidents of online violence like this, for example, back in 2015, a Chinese actor Qiao Renliang was diagnosed with depression after a chain of intense work pressure and online violence, and his depression began to seriously affect his work and life, he was subjected to frequent complaints, replaced to his original role, and he was even banned from the acting industry for a time. After a year-long period of online violence, at only 29 years old, Kimi died by suicide due to depression.
revealing too much personal information. While some people know how to hold onto their privacy, the same can’t be said for those teenagers. There are some people who have bad intentions to get information from photos, such as home addresses, school addresses, personal names, etc.
The Impact of Online Bullying| Anoushka Cowan| TEDx KingAlfredSchool
I hope that everyone has the ability to think independently and be a person who is able to take a stand without easily setting a position and using online violence to hurt others. It is also hoped that social media companies will strengthen their platform management and supervision.
My current PLN is not particularly diverse. Most of my PLN are my classmates and friends, as well as some friends on the Internet. Most of these friends have the same hobbies as me, so maybe the topics we interact most frequently cannot be separated from those we are interested in, such as music, movies, and so on. Sometimes I think it is good that PLN is not diverse, which will make my social life easier and more enjoyable. But at the same time, I will get more friends when I am in UVIC campus, and that might be change my PLN. In addition, through social media contacts, I also can know how happened in other countries on the Internet right now.
Are you learning from a variety of diverse voices voices and are you expanding your understanding of the views of others?
In my PLN I am a relatively quiet person, especially in a not very familiar environment, such as in some discussions in class. I rarely take the initiative to express my own opinions and suggestions, and more often than not I act as a listener to what others have to say. On the contrary, when faced with someone or something I am familiar with, I will actively express my opinion and discuss it with my friends, which can also enhance our friendship.
I think this course provides me with a good way to broaden my understanding of inclusiveness. By expanding our PLN and participating in more discussions, we can gain a lot of new perspectives and different understandings. If we just keep discussing in an environment with the same ideas, we may not make much progress. In fact, visiting the blogs of many classmates through this course allowed me to see a lot of different ideas, which make me think more.
What is a learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?
Through this week’s videos and reading materials, my understanding of inclusion and diversity in learning has improved a lot. I used to think that inclusiveness is just accepting all the suggestions and opinions from others, but in fact it is more than that . Inclusions to recognize and accept that every student is unique, and to create more possibilities through these diversity.
The learning outcome of my PLN is that I need to work more hard to expand my PLN diverisity. Relatively speaking, my PLN is very monotonous, which means that some of the content in my PLN doesn’t work. I am just learning on my own and rarely engaged in some discussions. Fortunately, some courses require me to join different groups on Reddit or Discord. I have access to inclusive and diverse content. In the future, I hope I can be more active in class discussions.
What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?
In my opinion, students mostly use LinkedIn and Google Drive to develop professional networks. LinkedIn is a workplace social platform where students register their digital identities, find and learn about future employers, or make some connections. Google Drive is an online cloud storage service that is often used by students when working on group discussions or projects. It allows multiple people to work on documents at the same time, which is very convenient. However, in the last two years, the video conferencing software Zoom has also gained popularity as many students attend online courses, allowing users to communicate and exchange ideas via a variety of mobile devices.
What could the student consider in expanding their professional learning network?
When students build and expand their professional learning network, on the one hand, they should show themselves, so as to make others interested in themselves. On the other hand, students should pay attention to learn to protect their privacy, including personal information, home address, etc., because the leakage of personal privacy may endanger their property and personal safety. In addition, sometimes we need to make some comments on other people’s text. At this time, we need to pay attention to our own language, which should be positive.
How do data privacy and security limit and/or promote a PLN?
In order to ensure the privacy and security of data, many people tend to publish some virtual content or set access permissions, which will make it difficult for them to expand PLN. Because this restricts others’ understanding of them, some opportunities may be missed, such as the choice of future employers.
In your network how can you create a digital identity/reputation?
I tend to share my personal information, educational background, professional field, work experience and my strengths and hobbies. At the same time, I will pay attention to my personal privacy and try not to post content about my real life.
How did pivots to work-from-home during the COVID-19 pandemic change how we should consider our social media connectivity and professional balance?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people work form home and spend more time on social media. Professional learning network on social media become one off the mainstreams. The teaching method has been changed from face-to-face teaching to an online class format. Employees and students can benefit from non-commuting and comfortable clothing without having to get up early to catch the morning bus to clock in to work or arrive on time to class. But working from home has its drawbacks, as the comfort of home can make it challenging to draw the line between work and life for a while.
A personal learning network (PLN) is a network set up by an individual specifically in the context of its professional activities through online platforms to support its professional non-formal learning needs.
What is the effect of PLN?
From a personal perspective, it supports professional career development and growth.Â
From an organizational perspective, the network is important for innovation, and when dealing with business priorities, it is essential for connecting new trusted partners.
Video of What is a PLN?
Key characteristics of social media platforms
Twitter, WordPress, YouTube and Tiktok
These four social media platforms can represent four platforms. Twitter is a popular social networking platform where users can tag, comment, private message and discuss posts with simple actions, users can post their latest news and thoughts as mobile phone messages and can easily communicate and connect with others.
WordPress is a blogging platform for recording, reflecting, storing and presenting. WordPress supports direct HTML editing for post editing, so users who do not know HTML can easily get started with editing. WordPress is also unique in its compatibility, as it allows edited documents or links to videos from other websites to be published directly on, which makes blogging very easy. WordPress also supports fully customisable templates, which allow users to add their own ideas to the blog; in addition to this, there are a large number of WordPress theme templates available on the site so that users can use them for free.
YouTube is a platform that puts videos on top of text messages, allowing users to upload, watch, share and comment on them, Youtube can generate subtitles by recognising the language of the video and can translate them into their own language. TikTok is a completely different platform, using mainly short videos to present various forms of thoughts and ideas. It has the functionality of YouTube but minimises the space for text and puts more focus on video and audio. TikTok provides a passive viewing experience for its viewers, while YouTube provides an active viewing experience for its viewers. TikTok videos do not require a lot of equipment, just a smartphone camera. YouTube videos, however, require a number of specialist setups, including cameras, microphones, lighting and good editing skills.
Features of existing media technologies effective for individual learning
Through a variety of different social platforms, teachers can work with students to integrate social media into their daily teaching, making lessons more interesting and engaging and increasing student engagement. The open forum of social media, and the rapid development of information sharing it facilitates, means that students can somehow accelerate their development of creative, critical thinking and communication processes when using it.
Social media promotes self-directed learning and prepares students to find answers and make independent decisions. When reinforced in the classroom, these social media skills can be coached and refined to produce better learning outcomes and critical awareness.
Social media is more meaningful than traditional learning, whether it is through shared posts with commenting capabilities, surveys related to course material, or questions posed to the community that are ways to motivate students and thus shape and present information.
In addition, sharing posts and information with other students, rather than simply turning in assignments to the teacher, can promote deeper engagement and better performance (University of Arizona Global Campus, 2021).
Enhance/develop your digital identity/reputation by technology
Traditional learning is usually one way. The instruction teaches students by instilling and providing knowledge, concepts, and information related to the course to students. It is the most common form of learning that the learning relationship is between the instructions. If the instructor asks a question during the lecture, a single student or multiple students would answer the question in turn. The traditional form of learning does not only apply to face-to-face learning but also to many online learning programs. The dynamics do not change as the learning relationship, and most interactions are between the instructor and the student. In this case, students are forever taking the student role. There is no minimum digital identity establishment, as it does not matter. However, the situation is different in a flipped type of classroom. Students are more engaged with learning through a higher level of interaction among themselves (Gouia and Gun, 2016).
However, big data and social media technologies enable people to be more engaged with their online presence. They can leave their digital footprints by liking other people’s posts, blogs, twitters, and sharing, sharing their moments, and posting their own pictures and stories. It is transitioning their physical self to their digital self (University of Derby, 2016). Digital identity and reputation are greatly enhanced. It helps with a flipped form of learning style that students interact with other students in learning. With the help of big data and social media platforms, students establish their digital identities and use them to interact with each other in the flipped-style learning process.
Through some of the technologies we have discussed above, there are various social considerations that should be accounted for. The first social consideration is accessibility. To promote equality in learning opportunities, the first thing to be guaranteed is accessibility. Although online learning can help eliminate many restraints, including physical barriers, and reduce costs by eliminating commute and travel needed to attend lectures, the digital divide can cause underprivileged students from participation in learning. Even for the wealthy and developed regions like the State of California, broadband internet connection is not available to all. “Broadband access was lower among low-income (57%), Black (61%), Latino (67%) K–12 households and those headed by non–college graduates (67%)” (Gao and Haynes, 2021).
Another social consideration is addiction to social media. Social media technology often uses addictive design, and users spend more and more time on social media platforms. Their physical life, in comparison, becomes plain and dull. Students may become addicted and spend more and more time online using social media platforms. A study (2017) demonstrates that social media usage can induce anxiety among emerging adults (Vannucci et al., 2017, p.163). Students who spend a long time on social media platforms are likely to express anxiety symptoms. Instead of facilitating learning, the technology can deliver adverse effects on the learning process.
Benefits Technology Tracks bring to PLN
Technology Tracks — Big Data
Big Data is a collection of data that is huge in volume, yet growing exponentially with time. It is data with such large size and complexity that none of traditional data management tools can store it or process it efficiently. Big data is also data but with huge size. (David, 2022)
A Short Video on Understanding Digital Tracking
This video includes information on:
Why websites track browsing activity
How cookies work
Avoiding cookie tracking
Every time we use the Internet, our behaviors are all recorded by big data. Some businesses and Internet companies save data or cookies to our browsers to track our behavior. In addition to cookies, many websites use our user accounts to track browsing activity. When we use apps or browse websites, we will find that the content we browse is what we are interested in. For example, video websites/apps like YouTube and Tiktok track our account preferences and push more videos we might like; Search engines like Google and Baidu keep track of your cookies. Then you will see relevant ads on various websites. That’s the power of big data.
Behavioral technology tracks a user’s behavior on the Web, including sites visited, length of visits, content read, and searches made. The main benefits are three:
Push relevant learning content to help personalized learning
When learning, we will search for many words related to the learning content on the search engine. Because of browser tracking, search engines log our browsing history and push more relevant content to us. This saves us a lot of searching time. Besides, we can also see the speech of relevant people on some social media, which can not be learned in the classroom. At the same time, technology tracks can help us develop personalized learning. Each learner has different abilities, languages, cultures, genders and ages. Technology tracks do a great job of addressing issues of inclusion and diversity. For example, when a deaf person searches for a video, more videos with gestures or subtitles are displayed. Youtube has an automatic translation into different languages so that people in every country can learn the video content, regardless of the language differences. When using search engines, cookies will allow us to search for more learning content related to our culture.
2. Take classes from professionals for free
PLN is not limited to a single website, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, and Youtube can all become our PLN. Nowadays, we can find our field of interest on many websites. In the past, learning usually required high tuition fees. Still, some free courses have gradually appeared on the Internet in recent years, and some famous scholars and universities set up these websites. It will help higher education institutions save costs, provide a better learning environment for learners, and assess the quality of learning. And most of the classes are free.
Open stax college
It was founded by Bill and Melinda Gates, is an organization dedicated to helping students gain better access to learning resources. On this website, we can find textbooks from different countries and download them for free.
edX was founded in 2012 by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a MOOC course provider and online learning platform. Partnering with more than 130 well-known institutions, it offers more than 2,000 online courses.
We can search for what we want to learn directly on these websites; these online courses are not just video teaching. It will have weekly schedules and quizzes, and you can email questions to the teacher at any time. At the same time, you can discuss with other learners in small groups to build your PLN. You will be asked to submit assignments and exams at the end of the course to assess your learning.
3. Meet professionals and make friends with like-minded people
When we use social media, we often search for topics using hashtags. These hashtags can lead us to join a discussion group in which people will be interested and post their works and opinions. We can meet people who have the same interests as us and discuss with them on social platforms. At the same time, in these topics, the website will recommend influencers in relevant fields or people who are also interested in this field. We can also get to know more professionals or leaders in this field through this method and timely get the latest information.
The Pros and Cons of privacy, security and acceptable use policies for social media platforms
The current era is an information age and an age of data. Much information is exchanged and organized to form an extensive database. When we browse the Web or use specific software, cookies and privacy rules appear.
More than 120 countries have enacted some form of international privacy law for data protection to ensure that citizens and their data are more tightly protected and controlled. These data protection laws will evolve in response to advances in the Internet age.Data protection ultimately focuses on protecting data and information from both internal and external threats. It mitigates the risks of fraud, compromise and corruption, and protects the individual. (Thales, 2021)
The weakness is that these security systems still have holes in them. Some computer-savvy hackers write and manipulate computer code to gain access or install unwanted software on your computer or mobile phone for financial purposes. They will sell personal information to some companies. Your personal information may be sold for $0.10! Unfortunately, if your personal information is sold to a scam company, you may receive a stolen credit card because of an email; They may fake your identity to defraud family and friends of their money, so you are in a very awkward position. Your reputation and money will suffer.
In addition, we need to pay attention to what is said on public platforms because everyone will see your speech unless you make it visible only to yourself. For example, someone lost their job because of something they posted on Facebook. What he said might have been his own opinion or aimed at someone, but it accidentally went viral and was subjected to online violence.
Therefore, when using the Internet, although there are international privacy laws to protect your privacy, you should also have an awareness of protecting your privacy. Don’t click on odd websites and emails, don’t give out your personal information and location, delete your credit card information promptly and watch what you say on social media.
PLN Leaders in Economics
John Burn-Murdoch
John is a data reporter, and he uses numbers to tell stories. He is a senior data visualization correspondent for the Financial Times and a lecturer at City University, London. His Twitter account is constantly updated with his latest posts of exciting links and professional data about the economy.
Geoff Riley has taught economics for over thirty years and is a writer and speaker at CPD conferences in the UK and overseas. He posts a large number of his articles on tutor2u for PLN learners. Many of the best resources and activities are free.
John uses Twitter and posts links or data that appear to be quick pieces of news frequently. These kinds of news pieces are convenient for people to subscribe and follow, which can be great resources for people in economic fields. John builds his presence in the topic of economy by using his position and access to the newest and heated points, and sharing them in short pieces of posts on Twitter that match the reading habits of people. The algorithm that recommends popular Tweets to the users of interest also help John’s building of his reputation on this platform by detecting the “interesting-ness” of the Tweets he sends and what he send would interest a considerable group of people because of his timely information of the newest topics and ideas of this field.
Geoff, being quite different from John, builds his reputation and presence on Tutor2u with resources that are more in depth, thoughtful and educational. While John shares the newest and heated topics, Geoff provides systematic knowledge in his field. He uses his profession as an advantage and transfers it into readable, systematic and useful learning resources to attract the attention of people who are interested in the field. The algorithm used here is probably the automatic search engine that detects the keywords in the learning resources of Geoff’s which would be sent to people who search for information that are taught in these resources.Â
Building a Successful PLN
One simple way to judge whether one’s PLN is a success is to see whether it is popular and gets attention from people who are interested in the same field. Another way to judge it, which is more subjective, is to see whether the creator of the PLN could actually gain from the PLN. It could be the efficiency in getting information they need for research, people that may be helpful for their research or study, or constant updates of new information and development of the fields that the creator is interested in.
Ultimately, the success of a PLN can be very subjective and personal because the most suitable person to judge a PLN is the creator of this very PLN. A PLN is a tool for one to benefit from in study, research or work, and only its creator can judge whether they could benefit from it. However, the aspects of a PLN that we have learned from the course EDCI338 could be standards that one can use to evaluate his/her PLN. Always think of one’s field of interests, purposes and goals for using the PLN and remember that it is an ongoing process rather than a tool with a universal standard.Â
With the development and popularity of new media such as telephones, computers, mobile phones and the internet, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs are becoming increasingly popular places to interact with the public. This new form of communication has expanded the scope of interpersonal communication, made it easier to connect with people, enriched the ways and channels of interpersonal communication and subtly catered to the fast pace of life and work in today’s information age. Social media has no time or place restrictions, we can exchange information about our work or life online in real time.
How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?
For those of us in the 21st century, Internet socialising seems to have long since become an important, if not indispensable, part of life. In the old days, when we travelled, we would take a few souvenir photos at places of interest and then go to a photo studio to have the film developed; nowadays, when we travel, we can simply use our mobile phones to take photos and share them on Facebook or ins, or share dynamic videos anytime, anywhere, and also attach a location to our address. In addition, during covid-19, we have implemented another new form of education, online education, where students and teachers can communicate with each other through online zoom meetings.
What are the risks & rewards of public communications?
The rewards of public communication is that it brings a lot of convenience to users of various social media platforms. People can easily search and share the information material they need and are able to connect with anyone around the world on the web, making new friends and maintaining social relationships. But with the benefits come risks, namely the potential for personal information to be leaked to others on social media, and for people to use online news stories or news personalities to make unkind comments or cyberbullying against individuals.
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