EDCI 338 - Thomas Nguyen

Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?

I believe my PLN can be used to help professional development post-course. With the nature of my courses, there are a lot of group work and opportunities to grow a PLN. Through working with others in a PLN, people are able to gain insight into how their PLN operates, whether it be their work habits or competencies such as time management or organization. Group work is a good way to get a sense of how someone will work professionally. Therefore, I think that PLNs can serve as connections for professional development because individuals are aware of how each other works and can make recommendations to their companies if they are looking for a candidate to hire, thereby opening up more opportunities for employment. In addition, a PLN in a similar field can provide tips about what to do during an interview at a company they have previously worked for, increasing the chances of being hired.

Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?

It is definitely possible to open up professional opportunities through PLNs. In the same way people make professional connections, PLNs can also be used to connect and network with individuals who have a mutual connection to you. I used my PLN to connect with someone working at the BC Ministry of Health in one of my past work experiences. Through that new connection, I was able to connect with even more people. This kind of networking is similar to a branch leading to a variety of smaller branches. I believe that your PLN can be the catalyst to open up more professional opportunities to connect with others.

Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?

Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can result in conflict due to several reasons. One example would be the misrepresentation of information for the sake of promoting an idea or product which can lead to conflict in the user or customer feeling misled. For instance, let us say a phone company such as Apple creates an advertisement video to promote their new iPhone. The advertisement may contain fancy words and information that may seem appealing to an inexperienced user, however, in reality, the product and features themselves are not nearly as important or innovative as it appears. In this case, although there is some factual information about the product, the advertisement is structured in a way that exaggerates the features. False advertisements can lead to users feeling misled, but it is ultimately up to the user’s media literacy to differentiate what features are actually useful and make the decision whether the product is worth the purchase. The conflict lies in taking all media as facts, this is why a good understanding of media literacy is important to determine what information is factual or exaggerated. As media has become increasingly more abundant in recent years there should be an emphasis on learning media literacy and understanding how to analyze and evaluate media from an objective point of view. Having grown up viewing media on the internet and developing a good sense of media literacy, I often forget that others may not share the upbringing and thus may require some time to learn about media literacy. An example would be my parents who often take what they see in media as facts. Whether the media is from social media sites like Facebook or shared within their friend circle, they do not take the time to look at the credibility of media and figure out what is factual, often leading to a biased perspective on certain topics with little to no factual support. These biases have led to conflicts but have improved over time as they have grown more accustomed to media literacy. Overall, the reason why open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can lead to conflict is that adapting and learning about media literacy may be a hard task, especially when you have become accustomed to taking in all media as facts.

What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

The benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy is that users are able The benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy is that users are able capable of analyzing and evaluating media and deriving useful information from the media. Media is a wonderful learning tool and being able to share important and useful media sources can encourage learning in the PLN. In my own PLN, if we need help on a specific topic, we often send each other links to relevant and credible information sources. The ability to identify what sources are trustworthy and credible is important in order to obtain quality information. Furthermore, we can also identify which media sources are bad and can flag them to each other. Another benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy is the ability to share information through media. This can come in the form of videos, blog posts, or infographics. Being able to create and share media is a wonderful tool as it can provide a visual and audio representation of information which can make content easy to understand.

How does social media engage communications?

Social media is a great tool to engage in communications in both professional and personal settings. For instance, at my previous job, we often used Microsoft Teams to communicate quickly with each other if a task is urgent. We also used emails for tasks that were less urgent or if we needed to formulate a more professional email to stakeholders. Also, according to research done by the University of Maine (2021), there are around 4.48 billion people who use social media worldwide, therefore it is almost a necessity to use social media to communicate with each other.

How does social media challenge communications? Is it inclusive?

Although social media is an excellent tool when used to communicate with others virtually, it can challenge communications in the sense that individuals may feel less inclined to meet in person. Since it is so easy for people to communicate virtually through social media, they often overlook the other aspects of communication such as the social aspect of being in-person, understanding body language, and physical touch. This can lead to individuals feeling socially awkward or anxious as they are not used to communicating with others in person. I think this is inclusive of the majority of the population. Homosapiens as a species are social beings, we need to have social interactions to thrive, and social media may hinder how to interact with others. I have also experienced this during the COVID-19 pandemic, not being able to see my friends for a while made me feel socially awkward talking and communicating with others in person after the pandemic ended.

Does your PLN amplify the views of others?

I do think my PLN amplifies the views of others. In my personal learning network, we often share our opinions about different topics and it is nice to see and learn about different perspectives on the same topic.

The policies of employer social media communication expectations.

The policies of employers in regard to social media communication should be professional and appropriate. Although it is nice to be able to communicate using social media in the workplace, there should be boundaries set so that the conversations are professional and appropriate in a workplace setting. I think that personal conversations can be had using personal social media accounts outside of work hours but should be kept strictly professional during work hours.

How to better use social media to build PLN – Influencers & Commentators

Social media is a great way to build a PLN. If you are willing, you can put yourself out there on websites such as Youtube or Reddit, this can lead to people who share similar views reaching out to you and helping you build connections and expand your PLN. The contrary also works, you can also reach out to people whom you enjoy their content and see if they would like to connect with you.

References

Social Media Statistics Details – undiscovered Maine – University of Maine. Undiscovered Maine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2023, from https://umaine.edu/undiscoveredmaine/small-business/resources/marketing-for-small-business/social-media-tools/social-media-statistics-details/