I used Mindmeister to start my plan and followed the energy, the drive you experience when you begin something exciting.   My plan is not just the assignment, but an introduction to a potential third career and perhaps the start of my future job design.  I was hooked when reading about “digital capability”, “digital leadership” and “digital entrepreneurship” (Beetham, 2015).  It felt like my future of work unfolding, soon to be framed in my digital identify and presence.

My overall goal is all-encompassing.  It includes my contribution to relevant communities as a “creative citizenship” (Campbell, 2009, p. 3) with credibility and integrity.  It also includes being the master of my own domain as an “effective architect, narrator and curator “ and “system administrator of my digital life” (Campbell, 2009, p. 4).  Then, I will craft my digital presence and identity with my future job description in mind.

In order to accomplish my goal, I must set my expectations for ongoing learning discomfort, which I have already experienced with WordPress setup.  And that is ok because I am taking into account my “digital wellness” (Beetham, 2015) as a first step in my plan.  Knowing when to stop and task-switch, and to get around the rabbit-hole when exploring will be critical in managing my attention and engagement throughout the program.

Additionally, I will spend some time reflecting on who I want to be online and what I represent (Schryver, 2013) so my contributions are relevant in this world of limited digital attention span.  Using the “critical consumption” (Rheingold, 2010) literacy when writing my personal author description will be essential to my digital identity.

My qualities as a natural connector and network builder are serving me well, both personally and professionally.  I am naturally curious and inquisitive when learning new things.  My necessity for “digital wellbeing” (Beetham, 2015) is rewarded with more energy when I step away from my screen.

As I continue to experiment with WordPress, develop skills such as rapid scanning of relevant information, assessing the “reliability and credibility” (Ryberg & Georgsen, 2010, p. 7) of various sources, organizing the flow of information and critically discerning various perspectives (Ryberg & Georgsen, 2010), practicing “digital competences” (Ryberg & Georgsen, 2010) will be my next developmental focus.

To capture my progress to date, I created a DIDP scorecard to keep my learning and improvement to the forefront.  My evaluation tool is strategically positioned on my main screen so I can populate my DIDP learning objectives and periodically feel good about my learning progress.   I also have my checklist on a post-it for additional readings from the Writing Center so I can master APA!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Beetham, H. (2015, Nov 10). Building capability for new digital leadership, pedagogy and efficiency [blog post]

Boyd, D. (2011). Social network sites as networked publics: Affordances, dynamics, and implications. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A Networked Self (pp. 39–58). New York, NY: Rutledge.

Campbell, G. (2009). A personal cyberinfrastructure. Educause Review, 44(5), 58-59.

Rheingold, H. (2010). Attention, and other 21st-century social media literacies. Educause Review, 45(5), 14.

Schryver, K. (2013, February 5). Who are you online? Considering issues of web identity. The New York Times blogs. Alternate link to the The NYT blogs site.

Watters, A. (2015, July 15). The Web we need to give students. Bright.