Celebration of Learning

As the semester nears its end it remains a good practice to reflect on the course outcomes and pinpoint areas of personal learning growth. This course allowed me to be emersed in activities, readings, videos and group work that challenged me to progress in my critical thinking and analysis skills. This in-depth analysis will provide insight into how I met each outcome listed in the course book. 

Examine the application of social media to support learning

With growing parental concern for children’s overconsumption of screen time, it seemed fitting to evaluate my personal use spent on social media. Spending countless hours sharing, liking and commenting on TikTok, I found great interest in learning about the relationship between TikTok’s app and the promotion of ongoing learning. My learning pod and I’s familiarity in the platform allowed for an enjoyable experience in the research, formation and posting of videos. Going forward, the course page I collaborated on includes a valuable manual e-book that could be utilized by educators alike. As cited in the subheading “Educators on Tiktok” Educators have adapted their lesson plans to reach younger demographics. By employing the video features on TikTok, the creation and distribution of instructional videos, worksheets and activities give students a lesson to refer back to. Teachers worldwide may also utilize the resources posted to progress students learning through practice and instructional breakdown learning videos. The diverse learning needs of students push teachers to discover and provide additional resources that cater to a larger number of students. Despite the attempted efforts made by educators, it is not possible for a teacher to meet the direct needs of every student. For this reason, social network remains a viable alternative to seeking information. The growth of TikTok has allowed it to become a virtual team to distribute and swap ideas. The app can be a great tool for a teacher to expand their personal learning networks and gain insight into useful methods employed by teachers alike. In my week 6 post, I chose to base my wow and wonder on the article “It’s Not Misinformation. It’s Amplified Propaganda.” The artifact made me aware of the power social media has to shape others’ learning, misinformation or not. Going forward, I vowed to be more cautious in what information I decide to consume. Tiktok, the social media platform I studied, works very hard to dilute the existence of misinformation on its app. In doing so, they have employed third-party apps to provide “fact checks” of the content that has been created on their platform. A user that goes by @futurebombs is one of many TikTok creators that spoke out about the misinformation posted on @queencitydom’s account. The user is an anti-vaxxer, who indeed did not get the vaccine but however, was urged to share a fake video staging the side effects of the COVID 19 vaccine. She used her platform in a negative way to promote her political views and scare neighbouring followers into fearing the vaccine. Claiming that she required treatment and was laid off from work, she launched her own go fund me page requiring the financial assistance of $50,000. This prime example reminds me to be a conscientious user of the internet, and not digest all information displayed as facts to be true. 

Explain personalized learning and its relation to learning theory

Personal learning network’s provide a welcoming space for the formation of global communities. They are fixed on the personal interests, pace and strengths of the users and not the group. Worldwide users are able to tap into the broad wealth of knowledge while taking a special interest in their personal area of focus. In recent years, personal learning networks have closed the gap in keeping users up to date with global news, updated ideas and trends. Prior to this course, I knew very little about the definition of personalized and learning theories. In the article “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age” I was able to pinpoint the variety of ways that personal learning can exist. In addition, I learned that formalized learning no longer composes the majority of our learning, but rather it is through learning networks and communities that we continually learn. My fellow classmate Sam, notes the practicality of providing students will the resources to become lifelong learners.

Recognize that the Internet is not a neutral or equal space for everyone

As a political science major, my emersion in the riches of power and politics that exist among governments and special interest groups has allowed me to see the inequality that prevails in the political realm. With hopes to do continual studies in law, I see value in learning about the inequality that still exists on the web in order to join special interests groups in the global search for viable solutions. In my showcase post reflecting on “Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement,” I was quickly made aware of the far from acceptable language used in Marc Prensky’s digital ‘natives’ and ‘immigrants’.  Mia, one of my fellow classmates who is educated in the realm of sociology points out Prenky’s rather ageist attitudes, referring to older learners as handicapped. Rightfully so, this typology no longer exists, having received much criticism.  The assigned reading allowed me to demonstrate my mastery of the course material and recognition of the unequal space on the web, despite the efforts of prominent figures. My showcase post gives proof of my ability to interpret, investigate, summarize and implement my acquired information from an article analysis. 

Apply social media to develop a personal learning network in support of your personal and/or professional development

Amidst a global pandemic, schools were shut down to protect the public safety and limit the spread of COVID 19. These drastic measures demanded the shift to online learning, with 1.8 billion students withdrawn from in-person learning worldwide. My first year of University took place online and it made it extremely difficult to foster relationships with fellow classmates. The human desire for social connectedness no longer was readily available and it forced me to search for solutions. Re-downloading TikTok, at the start of the major project reminded me of the value of nurturing connections online. As someone who always is striving to learn, I take great pride in learning from my peers. On TikTok, I use my personal account to follow users that share the same interest to pursue law as a future career. Staying in contact with these users has allowed for the sharing of practice questions and tips to be shared in a quick and easy fashion. Github, a program used to help store, track and manage sites was quite frightening to me as a technologically challenged student. My unfamiliarity required me to be proactive and arrange weekly meetings with my learning pod to be able to make use of the softwares features. For this reason, I would consider it to be my main contributor to my PLN, as I was of three members that actively contributed to the course e-book. 

Identify privacy issues and practice online behaviours that are legal, safe, consensual, and ethical

Privacy remains a primary concern for parents, governments, students and special interest groups when indulging in online engagement. In creating the privacy and surveillance section outlined in the e-book collaborated by myself and fellow group members, I was able to understand the concerns made by TikTok’s users. The Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policy (PP) serve as a legally binding contract between TikTok and its users. Confined within this document is advanced terminology that the average person would find difficult to comprehend. Under the section ‘User Content and Behavioural Information’ TikTok explains that by giving informed consent, the app may collect users’ information present in their content including their background, face, location and bodily attributes. They also disclose information that may be obtained regarding your interests, gender, and age as means to “personalize” content and “[promote] your content to other users and explore whether your profile presents further opportunities for collaboration.” While I am a user of TikTok, this information was news to me. However, it explains the scare I receive when an in-feed ad is related to my recent search history. My thorough analysis has allowed me to ensure I continually practice legal, safe, consensual and ethical behaviours online.        

Recognize data ownership and licensing (Creative Commons, Copyright, Fair Dealing, and Public Domain) as a core practice when creating, sharing, or using resources online.

Digital ownership and licensing is something I was made aware of prior to the start of this course. My experience creating a video on TikTok, was quickly made unenjoyable after my hard work spent creating it was later deleted. It wasn’t until now, that I realized the copyright issues I faced by using background music that I did not own the rights to. Mia, one of my learning pod members speaks on this issue and explains that “if a gets flagged for infringing on someone else’s copyrights, the video can be deleted and educators could be faced with legal action.” Her insight, allowed me to remember to only use music that comes directly from TikTok’s app to avoid being faced with legal action. In reviewing the copyright laws, I strongly believe education in this field should be adopted within the school system. Social media users must be aware of these regulations before they create, share, or use resources online. 

Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about social media and personalized learning

My recent introduction to the courses available in EDCI has made me aware of the practice of digital, networked and open literacies. I’m a strong believer in accessible education, free of social, economical or political barriers. My decision to make my blog site public is to allow anyone with access to engage and learn from the material I have looked into.

Going forward, my perceived mastery in each of the seven learning outcomes will equip me with the popper tools to be an informed, engaged and mindful learner. I would highly recommend this course to my peers, and I feel motivated to continue in my journey to building a successful PLN.