Creating my technology map in a previous assignment for this course, helped me to see how I am currently using technology and where I tend to spend a large chunk of my time. Having grown up using a large variety of technology and using a lot of technology at work and home, my map did not surprise me all that much. I have private accounts to share more personal content with a small group, but I also have a public professional Instagram account to share my journey as a teacher which allows me to connect with others around the world.
Boyd (2010) discusses the importance of how technology allows for information to be shared quickly and reach much farther than it had in the past. This allows people all over the world to access information in real time and have access to the most up-to-date details or facts. Being connected through technology allows for better options or access to people, information, and in my case experts to help support within my classroom.
Having different experts join my class from across the province, country, or even world to share their experiences in their professions or interests has helped my students build a broader understanding of the world and what options they have moving forward in life. “Social networks are an essential part of being human, but in the past, there were physical limitations on which people and how many people we could include in our network.” (Rheingold, 2010) The expansion of our social networks outside the limitations of location and space, allows us to find other like-minded individuals to continue our research or development. Allowing more opportunities for sharing, discussions, and debates allows for further reasoning and understanding. It also allows us to “amplify and dampen understanding.”(Dron & Anderson, 2014, p. 43) Remaining in the mindset of how I can create a stronger digital identity and presence, I feel my strategy will allow for an expansion of my social network and perhaps begin to influence my professional and academic life even more.
My Strategy for Building a stronger Digital identity and presence
1) WordPress Blog – RRU/MALAT
As I build and further develop my RRU WordPress blog I will focus on expressing my ideas and opinions while sharing resources that others may find useful. This will allow me to both showcase my learning but also document how things change and develop over the two years of the program. With how quickly technology changes it will be interesting to document this process and timeline throughout the MALAT program.
2) Expand my presence on Instagram and Threads
I already have an Instagram account specifically to share my teaching journey and experiences. Moving forward I will switch to also share my experiences while in this program. I will also be making use of Threads as it is more text-based and will allow me to share more content.
Where am I now? (strengths, stretches, next steps)
Strengths:
– Social Media – Instagram
– Photography editing
– Basic website development
– Exposure and use of educational technology within the K-12 education system
Stretches:
– Use of Threads
– Academic writing skills
Next Steps:
– Increase my use of both Instagram and Threads to improve my level of comfort and confidence in both.
– Access support from the RRU writing centre to help build confidence in my academic writing skills.
– Continue to investigate educational technology that could support students in the K-12 system
– When possible, try different educational technology ideas or concepts with my grade 6/7 class
How will I know if I was successful?
Measuring success is always a stressful and nerve-racking concept as there are many factors to consider. To measure my success I will take into account the following factors:
Is my platform sharing similar content to March 2024 and earlier?
Is there more engagement with others on the platform?
Have I become more comfortable and confident to share both on social media and my WordPress blog?
Before sharing a post on either platform, am I pausing to reflect and critically evaluate the content?
References
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. https://www.danah.org/papers/2010/SNSasNetworkedPublics.pdf
Dron, J, & Anderson, T. (2014). Teaching Crowds. Athabasca University Press. Chapter 1-3. https://www.aupress.ca/app/uploads/120235_99Z_Dron_Anderson-Teaching_Crowds.pdf
Rheingold, H. (2010). Attention, and other 21st-century social media literacies. Educause Review, 45(5), 14. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2010/10/attention-and-other-21stcentury-social-media-literacies
26 April 2024 at 9:12 am
I appreciate the diverse experience of our MALAT cohort, and I know we are just starting to scratch the surface. We are only one month in; it will be interesting to see where we are as a group in a year or two.
Instagram has had an interesting journey. It has quickly grown from a photo-sharing app to a content-sharing platform. It will be interesting to see what kind of engagement you can generate inspired by your MALAT pursuit—and how to find that personal/professional balance. Do you go all-in on professional? Or do you throw in the occasional (or regular) Tofu content? This is the kind of balance I will be trying to find.
26 April 2024 at 2:45 pm
Thank you for the feedback Stephen! In terms of what I share on Instagram, I will admit I am a bit strange and have 3 different accounts…
– One is for personal use that I keep private and I only have close family and friends
– One that is my teacher account (99% professional with a little bit of silly content)
– One that is just for my Rabbit… it is hilarious
Keeping this separation has helped me a lot and has made it easier for me to not share too much.
28 April 2024 at 5:57 pm
I agree with this statement because technology has revolutionized how we share information, enabling rapid dissemination on a global scale. In today’s world, technology has transformed how we share information, making it faster, more accessible, and more democratic. This has profound implications for communication, education, innovation, and connectivity.
Having experts from different regions provides numerous benefits. They enrich the educational experience by introducing learners to an increasingly interconnected and diverse world.
The expansion of social networking has dramatically altered how we connect and collaborate with like-minded individuals in research and development. Have you found this helpful in connecting with others?
I appreciate how you identified where you are, your stretches, and where you are going; it gave me a better understanding of what you want to achieve.
You nailed it about how nerve-racking measuring success is because it is subjective, influenced by external factors, and dependent on the choice of benchmarks. Despite these challenges, efforts to measure success are essential for setting goals, tracking progress, and making informed decisions.
29 April 2024 at 5:10 pm
Hi Lauren, nice work and I agree that Instagram can be a means to explore interesting insights about the actual process of learning and your further plan to investigate this shows that you are proactive about the knowledge sharing process. A picture says a thousand words and can be a meaningful way to spark informative conversations. Here is a thought to go along with my comments: What kinds of conversations would you like to spark with Instagram and what are the best ways to spark these conversations?