As part of LRNT 521, I’ve been asked to create a network map of the people I know and the connections I have with them. This is something I struggled with as I don’t feel I have a large network, nor the greatest connections with the people in my map. My map would consist mostly of my connections on LinkedIn with other instructors and past students. Despite having maybe 500 connections on LinkedIn, I don’t send messages to my network, nor I really feel connected to my network. Also, I used to have a few connections to some fellow rock climbers, however, due to the pandemic, I haven’t been climbing for about a year (not nearly as much as I’d like – I used to climb twice a week).
Dron (2014) described 3 main categories of social forms: groups, networks and sets. Groups are people placed together by authority or roles. Networks are connections between people like edges on a graph or a web. Sets of people are bound together by commonalities and shared interests. LinkedIn would be my network of instructors and students. I don’t subscribe or currently add myself to groups on LinkedIn or other social media. And as for sets, the closest thing to a set for me, would be rock climbing, though I have fallen out of that recently.
Perhaps this is the insight I need to make a positive change in the future about improving my digital presence.
References
Dron, J., & Anderson, T. (2014). Teaching crowds: Learning and social media. Athabasca University Press.
Featured Image “Network” by Iconathon from the Noun Project
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