My goal (hopefully SMART)

I know fundamentally I need to become more of a contributing RESIDENT and less of a VISITOR online.  I spend lots of time online for work marking and giving feedback to students, as well as absorbing lots of information for personal and professional purposes.  I don’t give much back to my online communities, and up until this point have not seen a huge value in doing so.  I need to practice what I preach to students more—  by developing my online presence, and the networks it will cultivate, I will engage and share discourse with others who are like minded (as well to be inspired by avenues and topics previously unknown).  I truly believe this will allow my inspired ideas to bloom, and I will feel a much deeper ‘connection’ to others online. 

I was at a Professional Development day today where various educators were discussing and sharing approaches on where education is going.  One speaker was stressing the need to have higher level interactions (human to human) online, rather than lower level ones (human to machine).  This struck me as extremely relevant to my own personal development on this topic, as I think my own approach to engaging through participating with online communities up until this point has been predominantly me seeking information (lower level interaction). 

My goal for the near future in this course is to take chances, to share ideas that may inspire or provoke emotional reactions in others.  I want to get into ‘conversations’ online with people I don’t know on topics that I feel strongly about.  I want to disagree and agree.  I want to get inspired.  I want to have more faith in how I can connect with people I don’t ‘know’  (like my classmates).  I want to trust and put faith in how they ‘know’ me too, by sharing enough of myself for them to really ‘see’ who I am.  This is a new concept for me, and will take time to form, but ultimately my goal is to ‘want’ to interact through these means, and to seek them out without prompting. 

My purpose

The reason I want to do this is because I know it will inform and help me to morph into the person I will become.  (vague I know).   I have been stuck in a rut for a while, working in a bureaucratic system that pays the bills, but doesn’t really inspire my growth.  This ‘change’ in my presence online will help to open me up to a whole new world that will lead my path into my 40s and beyond.

What will my approach be?

It is difficult to see the path to success at this point, but if I’ve learned anything in recent years, it’s that it’s best to have short term plans that help to break up the steps needed to achieve a longer term one.   

  • I plan to reestablish my Twitter presence, to seek out articles and people to follow on there for school, work, and personal use.  This will happen immediately.   
  • I also plan to get on LinkedIn, and to add testimonials to those I have met in my professional life, in the hope that they will too post things about me to improve my presence. 
  • I plan to go to my blog on a daily basis, and to post once a week at a minimum.  Within the context of our class, I want to try to go on everyone’s blog, and try to establish a connection with all, promoting conversations. 

I will then in a few months evaluate how things are going, and make changes depending on what I see I need to do differently or to do more of less of. 

What are my skills and knowledge gaps?

I know I have an excellent turn of phrase.  I know I have the ability to skim/scan and interpret material at a rapid rate.  I have an excellent ability to prioritize, and can fit this in to my week.  I also have a large network that I know I can access.  I’m opinionated and have varied interests, which also I feel give me a wide net to throw out.

I’m not sure so much on gaps.  I think I may need to start simple as far as means by which I will engage – Twitter, blogs and LinkedIn are a start.  My knowledge of the best way to filter my ‘feed’ may need to be refined.  I may also need to develop my writing skills to suit the medium/app etc.

What are my strategies to deal with gaps?

I want to learn by doing, as well as to observe the approach of both my classmates and the online community on a whole.  There are lots of very bright people in our class who have different skills and backgrounds from me.  I am going to observe and ask questions, as I see what others are doing in order to improve my own abilities.  I’m also not going to hesitate to reach out to my instructors, as they are the ones who have seen the progression of students in this MALAT course.

How will I measure my success?

As mentioned above, I plan to look back at my progression after a few months, and to then make adjustments.     Measurement of success to me will be seen through the conversations that take place.  If others engage with me, and I feel a connection, I will know that I’m moving in the right direction.  If people reach out to me and ask me questions, share things with me, and make further attempts to connect, I will know that I’m becoming more of a resident in this space which has no boundaries.