Horizon image [Quarterly Bolg. Gov.UK]. https://quarterly.blog.gov.uk/2016/01/25/horizon-scanning-helping-policy-makers-in-an-uncertain-world/
Create, Cultivate and Reflect on my Digital Presence
It has been four weeks into my journey to the world of mastery. The MALAT program has unlocked my potentials to be a contributor in the space of the online and digital domain. It has provided me with an opportunity to hone my digital skills and to be outside of my comfort zone; for example, creating a blog and sharing my thoughts in the digital space is new and uncomfortable. What made the feeling of uncomfortable manageable is knowing that it is a safe space for me to learn, explore and acquaint myself with who I am and who I want to be in the web (Schryver, 2013). It has definitely challenged my biases, assumptions, and beliefs. I have also realized that the explosion of digital technologies has made it ubiquitous, and it has become part of our daily practice both in our personal and professional life. With this in mind, I am beginning to ponder on how to cultivate my digital presence and digital identity?
My overall goal and purpose of cultivating my digital presence and identity is to become a positive contributor to the cyberspace. I believe that knowledge should be shared to stimulate ideas and to open a space for people to have healthy dialogues. Social network sites are powerful mediums that can be exploited to generate new ideas and impart knowledge; thus, becoming an alternative to the traditional way of acquiring new skills. To achieve my goal, I am orienting myself to the different digital communication tools that I have been exposed to in the program. I am sharing my views and opinions in the school blogs, and hopefully, in the future expand it outside the MALAT program. I also want to start being an advocate in promoting good practices when engaging on the web and initiating a conversation with other leaders in my organization on digital learning strategy and policies around it.
Although I recognize the importance of online communication tools and social network sites, my use of social network tools is limited. I am also indifferent to joining an online learning community and my knowledge of digital learning strategy and framework is narrow. I am confident with my exposure to the various literature on digital and online learning, in addition to blogging and group discussions, this will help develop my proficiency in the subject. Another strategy that I am going to employ is to reach out to experts in the field by joining an online learning community and be an active participant. I also believe the best way to learn is to teach, and I have started imparting new ideas and knowledge I learned from this program with my team.
How do I know I am successful in my goal of cultivating my digital presence and identity? I have four criteria to measure my success:
- Increase confidence in my ability to engage in conversations about digital and online learning
- Increase comfort in engaging in critical discourse on topics related to digital and online learning
- Apply new digital skills I learned in my personal and professional life
- Initiate a conversation with other leaders in my organization to promote and enhance the digital learning experience across the organization
References
Boyd, D. (2010). Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications. In Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites (ed. Zizi Papacharissi). Retrieved from https://www.danah.org/papers/2010/SNSasNetworkedPublics.pdf
Schryver, K (2013, February 5). Who Are You Online? Considering Issues of Web Identity. Retrieved from the Learning Network: https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/guest-post-who-are-you-online-considering-issues-of-web-identity/?_r=0
Jenkins, H. (2018). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. In Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/8435.001.0001
Ryberg, T., & Georgsen, M. (2010). Enabling Digital Literacy. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 5(02), 88–100. Retrieved from http://www.idunn.no/dk/2010/02/art03%5Cnhttps://www.ucviden.dk/portal/files/11845138/Enabling_Digital_Literacy.pdf
Horizon image [Quarterly Bolg. Gov.UK] “Horizon Scanning: Helping Policy Makers in an Uncertain World,” by Sanford, Richard, 2016 (https://quarterly.blog.gov.uk/2016/01/25/horizon-scanning-helping-policy-makers-in-an-uncertain-world/)