A Revolutionary Digital Presence Plan
It has been argued that, “We all want to change the world.” (Lennon, 1968), and I believe this to be true for many, myself included. I am very intentionally conservative in my public digital presence by personal choice, influenced by privacy and safety needs as a public figure (Muirhead & Robertson, 2021, 10:00), yet I am actually a prolific content creator within private digital communities. My overall goal is to further cultivate and expand my digital presence and identity through intentional, measured steps in order to be part of the conversation in the field of education and extend my ability to train and support participants in excellent online learning. My approach to achieve this goal includes the following:
- Pursue graduate and potentially further studies in relationship-based online and blended learning, developing my Royal Roads University WordPress site throughout my current program.
- Maintain my LinkedIn profile with more currency.
- Explore and gradually develop a professional blog site.
- Develop my repertoire of knowledge, skills, and resources that can be flexibly presented on topics relating to learning and technology.
- Strengthen digital capabilities such as those cited by Helen Beetham (2015) to achieve levels of mastery in order to effectively support and train others in them.
In order to achieve the goals noted, I will continue my graduate studies, invest time exploring self-directed learning, explore micro-credential training opportunities in specific digital and leadership skills, research options for domain purchase and website development, and participate actively in conversations through communities of practice in my academic and professional contexts. My success in these goals will be measured by completion of my graduate studies, publication of a professional blog in my own domain, and contributions to education and training for educators.
In conclusion, I would argue that we need a revolution in the world of online learning! Too many participants, including learners, instructors, and ancillary staff are excluded, overwhelmed, lost, disengaged, burned out, and failing. I don’t profess to have the full solution, but I do have the will, drive, and curiosity to seek solutions in collaboration with other brilliant minds, and knowing the potential of innovation and technology, I do believe, “it’s gonna be alright.” (Lennon, 1968).
Beetham, H. (2015, Nov 10). Building capability for new digital leadership, pedagogy and efficiency [blog post]
Lennon, J. (1968). Revolution [Song]. On the White Album. Apple.
Muirhead, B & Robinson, L., (2021) Digital Privacy & other considerations. [Video]. Blackboard Collaborate. https://ca.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/playback
Thanks for this Alisha! I’ve sent you a request to connect on LinkedIn to help achieve your goals!
I agree as well that we need to change what we’re doing. Getting curious about things that are worth getting curious about will help improve the current situation.
Thanks so much, Corie!
Hi Alisha,
First of all, thank you for the Lennon quote, love it!
You mentioned setting up your blog, have you chosen a platform? I have used WIX (https://www.wix.com/) in the past and I found it very intuitive and customizable. Also, you can set up a free site, then upgrade to a paid site as you develop your blog and want the extended features.
I work in Corporate Learning for a transportation company. When COVID shut down the schools, we brought 3000 school bus drivers online (in a very short period of time) to complete training and safety meetings. It was fantastic, for those who had at minimum a basic level of digital skills. Those without were left frustrated and overwhelmed. This is something I am very interested in working on. I don’t have the solutions either but collectively I know we can improve it. Where do we start? 🙂
Aw, thanks Shannon!
I haven’t chosen a platform yet, and did consider WIX. Thanks for the suggestion; I’ll explore it further.
Oh, I hear you on the technological challenges that can be a barrier in any form of online learning, even well-established, let along emergency remote learning – I can’t even imagine how that must have been for you and others facing the same or similar! I’m encouraged as I have begun the readings for our current course to see that the body of knowledge around online learning is expanding rapidly, and I know that we can be part of the conversation in addressing the many challenges we are starting to identify. I guess we could say that we have started, hey?
Thanks again,
~Alisha
Alisha.
I enjoy reading all your blog posts. This too was an excellently crafted blog post. I especially vibrated with your blog post that as teachers or principals, we are public figures. I too tend to be conservative in my public digital presence. Do you ever feel pressure to be more public? If so, does it effect how public you are?
Thank you again for your insights.
Sam
Hi Sam and Alisha,
I am a teacher, and in my school board teachers are often pushed to post hashtags or posts that iterate the school, or the board’s messaging. It is conflicting because as an educator, I engage online to create awareness, to share in creativity, and to learn. I wonder if you have experienced this?
Angela
Hi Sam and Angela,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
I don’t think I have ever felt pressured to be more public, but I do recall some “encouragement” to contribute to public chatter for promotional and connective purposes, especially way back in the early heyday of Twitter. This is definitely a tricky topic, and I look forward to learning more about it.
Alisha,
Your plan speaks volumes for the change needed in education. As we embark on this MALAT journey, the literature continues to reveal opportunities for change, the speakers at various symposiums advocate for change, and those within know it is time for change. I know I can get behind an education revolution. Audrey Watters evokes Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own when she advocates digital domains for students so that they may have freedom to create work they can keep with them for life (2015). This type of work subverts the systems that depend on the status quo, while creating equitable access. There are many individuals across many fields reimagining education, reimagining what and how it can be better. I believe the revolution is upon us, and up ahead in the distance I can see the fragments of a new system slowly being created, waiting to be laboured to life.
Thank you for your post!
Angela
Thanks so much, Angela – I’m inspired by your words and excited to forge on in our learning!