This post is mainly to summarize my learning outcomes in EDCI338.
Examine the application of social media to support learning
- People today can’t live without social media. People can chat, entertain and learn through social networking. Of course, the learning content can be many kinds, not necessarily some university subject knowledge, the content can be anything like cooking, or photography. Different social media have different functions to support learning.
- I personally use YouTube a lot to learn about cooking and driving. This semester I found it very easy to set up a PLN learning social media through the completion of the Major Project, which is LinkedIn. You can meet a more professional crowd on LinkedIn than on other social media sites, and it offers paid courses. LinkedIn is a social networking app for the workplace that makes it easy to find and learn career-related skills. LinkedIn is best for job seekers. If you’re learning to cook, LinkedIn may not be the right fit.
Explain personalized learning and its relation to learning theory
- Personalized learning means that people learn the knowledge they need most through the method that best suits them. Such learning methods and objectives are difficult to achieve in traditional classrooms, but in the age of Internet learning, it becomes much easier.
- In EDCI338 I learned Connectivism by studying Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. I also mentioned in the showcase that Connectivism is different from the other three kinds of traditional pedagogy. Connectivism emphasizes learning by learning the experience of others. Connectivism allows learners to personalize their learning. For example, on LinkedIn, you can use your spare time to learn employment-related skills, rather than looking for a training class. The advantages of Connectivism over the other three theories are the free control of time, the independent search for course content, and the learning of knowledge by learning about other people’s experiences.
Recognize that the Internet is not a neutral or equal space for everyone
- The Internet has never been an equal space for everyone. Through reading Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement, I found a concept proposed by the author called “digital resident”. As a generation that grew up using technology, we are already residents of the digital age, but those of the older generation who don’t understand technology, become tourists. They can hardly enjoy the convenience brought by the digital age. In her videos, I also realized that inclusive education is trying to create an equal learning environment. For example, hearing-impaired students can only study online with subtitles, but most videos are without subtitles or inaccurate, so there is no fair environment for everyone.
- In my exploration of LinkedIn in EDCI338, I also found that it has a “Diversity, equity, and inclusion resource hub” plan for recruitment. However, the reason to perfect this system means that there are still unfair phenomena in the recruitment system. For example, a disabled person is less likely to get a job than a healthy person.
Apply social media to develop a personal learning network in support of your personal and/or professional development
- In EDCI338, I build my personal learning network through Github and World press. I lost my learning pod team members due to an accident, but that didn’t stop me from getting information and changing information. I have learned from other students’ articles on Learning Pod about the experience of others releasing learning content to professors, which is very helpful for me to understand the course materials. By reading other students’ posts from another learning pod, I learned their opinions on the content published by professors, which was very helpful for me to understand the course materials. My major project also helped other students get to know LinkedIn.
- Some of the channels I subscribe to on YouTube have also helped me increase my knowledge, for example, I will exchange opinions with people in the comments section related to rap music. Watching and commenting on videos is of great help to improve my knowledge.
Identify privacy issues and practice online behaviours that are legal, safe, consensual, and ethical
- In today’s Internet age, everyone acquiesces that their privacy must be insecure. Through this short film #tresdancing, I discovered that social media will always invade your privacy just like the high-tech glasses in the film. Nowadays, people are inseparable from social media, but all behaviours on social media can be easily recorded, so people have to make compromises on privacy issues and life experiences.
- Instagram has a habit of recording user information. When I did a Google search for kindle(e-books) information, I kept seeing a lot of Kindle ads on Instagram, which made me feel uncomfortable because I felt like my privacy was being snooped on.
- At the same time, I found it important to avoid invading others’ privacy when conducting major projects. We should not release others’ personal information or others’ photos.
Recognize data ownership and licensing (Creative Commons, Copyright, Fair Dealing, and Public Domain) as a core practice when creating, sharing, or using resources online
- Copyright has always been a hot topic on the Internet. Copyright issues can cause a lot of trouble. Today there are many platforms on the web where you can create your own videos, and many people can make money from these videos. When one’s own things are used by others without permission to create profits, which is not what every originator wants to see. In Mia’s showcase post #1, she mentioned that copyright issue videos on Tik Tok could be removed and there could be legal disputes. Copyright protection is also very important to every platform.
- If the copyright issue is not taken seriously, then the interests of the original will be harmed, which will discourage the enthusiasm of the original, thus reducing the creation, which will create a vicious circle. Copyright issues must be taken seriously.
Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about social media and personalized learning
- It’s important to make your posts public so that you get feedback and attention, which improves your PLN. Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning needs to be mentioned here because ED&I 381 is an open course, which increased the number of learners from 20 to the final 200. This is very beneficial for PLN learning because there are more people, and there are more communication opportunities.
- In EDCI338, I strengthened my personalized learning ability by learning and applying Github. Github is very difficult to use at first, because there is a lot to learn, so it is very slow to use. Once I understood the functionality, I was able to write major projects with ease.
Finally, I would like to thank Colin for his guidance in EDCI338. EDCI338 is different from other courses in that it mainly learns how to create a personal learning network(PLN). Through this semester’s study, I have a clearer understanding of the Internet learning mode and Internet learning methods. I also learned how to use Github. I think this lesson is very valuable.
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