Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?

I think that PLNs can be especially helpful to learn more about your profession, and the different ways to do things. PLNs can serve as an extra resource for finding out different ways to apply your knowledge to different jobs as well. For example, as a psychology student, I have learned that a great way to use your degree can be through marketing techniques since we study different ways to grab people’s attention, and also how to shift people’s perspectives.  This is something that I learned through a PLN and is not something that I would have thought of. Furthermore, PLN serves as a great way to help you apply what you know to different settings, helping to broaden your network. Additionally, PLNs help to keep you updated on new techniques and skills to use in your career, outside of an academic setting.

Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?

PLNs have the opportunity to be used in many different ways. People use them to learn more about interests, to find out news, and to connect with others to help with professional development. I know personally, I can use my PLN to connect with others when looking for professional jobs. When looking for jobs I will look on social media for announcements, but I also reach out to different companies that I am interested in working with, as well as reach out to people in my PLN to see if they know if anyone is hiring. Additionally, by having a PLN on social media I can showcase to others what I am capable of doing and what I can bring to a company. Furthermore, I can use my PLN to help with professional development, because by hiring me companies not only get my assets but also get my connections with other people, helping for further collaboration on ideas. So not only does my PLN help me find jobs, but it helps future employers’ benefit from my connections.

Hi Minrui,

I really enjoyed reading your blog post this week! I agree with you that over the pandemic social media provided a much easier way to connect with others. I think in terms of inclusiveness the pandemic forced many people to learn how to better navigate technology and social media as it was one of the only ways to communicate. However, I do agree that there is still a lot of people who are not on social media, I think many more people joined social media or become more aware of using social media as a way to communicate.

https://vicmrhan.opened.ca/blog-6-community-engagement-your-pln/

Hi Felix, I agree with you that your PLN amplifies the views of others. For example, by me commenting on your post and posting this on matter most, we both have a higher chance of our blog posts being read. I think that this is important because by using your PLN to amplify the views of others you are growing your connections, as well as expanding others’ PLN networks.  This also works to help find people with similar interests to interact with.

How does social media engage communications?

Social media helps engages communications by helping to expand the number of people we can communicate with. Using social media, we can contact someone in our neighborhood, our province, our nation, and internationally. However, engaging in communications online does not stop here, you also have the ability to connect with people who have similar interests as you. Social media uses tactics that allow you to view more content that you have previously engaged with, this is especially good for meeting new people online that have the same interests. 

Additionally, social media allows you to spread more content through other users. This can be done by reposting other people’s content or sharing other people’s content by adding it to your story, tagging people, or using the same hashtag. Personally, I have tried to engage in communications using social media during my previous summer job at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. I did a lot of work in marketing and more specifically social media engagement, and this involved using specific hashtags, tagging any members of our museum or inductees, as well as reposting other posts that were related to our mission.

How does social media challenge communications? –Is it inclusive?

Social media challenges communication by potentially not having the same level of depth in conversations, or the ability for something you have said to be misconstrued.  In terms of your conversations not being as in-depth, online it is really hard to show emotions. It is also harder to have long conversations that you feel the other has sympathized with. This is not all communication however, some people are able to have really in-depth conversations, but I think that the topic of the conversation matters. Additionally, It can be easy to misconstrue what someone has said online. This can end up with someone else interpreting something the wrong way, which makes communicating a lot harder.

I would say there are restrictions to social media communications as it does not reach all age demographics since most older generations have not created social media accounts or do not use them regularly to contact others. So, this is one example of how social media might not be inclusive. However, Social media does provide inclusion by being able to communicate with a vast majority of people really quickly.

Does your PLN amplify the views of others? 

I would say my PLN amplifies the views of others, right now as a student I tend to repost many student hacks or other college students who are experiencing similar situations that I am. This in turn means that my followers will see their content which amplifies those whose content I have shared. Additionally, from my previous working experience, I would try to share content on social media from other websites that align with the business. An example of this would be that if there was a sporting event that occurred in Alberta, we would share the event and try to create more awareness because it would help grow our business demographic.

The policies of employer social media communication expectations.

I think in terms of policies on social media communication you would have to play it by ear. At work we would stay clear of any controversial conversations that were occurring in the world, however, you still have to maintain relevant trends to grow your platform. The policy also might depend based on the business that you have if you are a politician the line might not be super clear because you have to talk about controversial topics and address certain things. However, in this case, the policy would be how you address the conversation and how you can make sure your answer does not get misconstrued.

How to better use social media to build PLN – Influencers & Commentators

A lot of people have increased their social media use to build their PLN, whether it be to follow more influencers with similar passions or jobs or to start posting their own videos. I can think of many people who start posting online to give others insight into their jobs but to also connect with other people with similar jobs. I can think of many influencers who do a “day in the life” video that shows people what their job consists of and gives people who are interested in perusing that job a glimpse of what to prepare for.  I have seen many people of different professions like doctors, nurses, and teachers become influencers because a lot of people resonate with what they post.  Additionally, I have seen people have full-on conversations in the comments of videos or pictures, and I have seen the creators respond to comments or answer questions. All of this helps to build a PLN and to gain a better understanding from others.

Hi Jacky Li,

I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I agree with the order of how you would create a PLN, I think that all of them are required and each of them needs to occur in about that order. I am curious on how you are going to find your target audience prior to social media? I think you could put posters up or try to spread the idea through word of mouth

Hi Junyang,

I really enjoyed reading your post! I am interested in how you would approach people to join your PLN? If I were looking for a study group I would ask people in my class and post a poster, and ask the teacher to announce that I was looking for a study group, do you think this would work in a similar way for other PLNs?

How would you create a PLN prior to engaging in a social media campaign on a topic of your choice? Consider how you would introduce yourself to others consider how you would engage in initial conversation to generate interest in your campaign professionally.

               I think prior to social media creating a PLN would be much more difficult to establish since there is a barrier in communication. I think that if I were to create a PLN prior to social media, I would try to find a group of people with similar interests or goals. If I was to start a business and wanted to create a PLN I would try to talk to other owners of local establishments and see if they would provide insight or if they would want to meet up every once in and while to chat about how to run a proper business. Another way I would try to engage in a PLN is by joining a chamber of commerce in my local community. This is a good way to get involved with other local businesses and to learn about new ways to advocate for your business, and how to network for your business. Another way I would try to create a PLN is just by creating overall awareness in the community you are in, this includes newspaper ads, attending community events, and giving to community non-for-profits (NFP). Becoming involved with NFP organizations I think is very beneficial for creating a PLN. From prior experience working for a community-based NFP, local companies that donate or give money to NFP organizations are able to show people that you care about your community and that you are involved. This additionally helps to promote your business as many NFP organizations will advertise your business’s support.

 If I was to start a new business from the ground up and was looking to create a PLN, I would ask a successful local business if I could shadow them or ask for any tips about how to create a successful business. I would also mention to the owner that once I have started my business, I am open to collaboration. This collaboration would allow me to help promote their local business and hopefully would help them promote my business. I would also approach the businesses and the different ways that I can be an asset to their PLN.  Another way to create a PLN would be to go to community-based activities once my business is set up to help create awareness, this is also another good way to interact with other community-based organizations.  

Hello Felix,

After reading your blog, I agree with your point that due to the popularity of social media apps, teachers are much more likely to gain interest with students by using social media. I really like your idea about using Instagram as a way to share information. I know personally while in middle school or high school, I would quite often miss announcements because I did not check my email nearly as much as I should have. So this way students can find out information through a platform that they use multiple times a day.  

Hello Asia,

I enjoyed reading your blog post! I agree with your point about social media requiring consent. I know even myself personally when someone is taking a picture and I know that I will be in the background I try to move out of it just because I do not want to be in someone else’s photo. I think that point amplifies to children as well because dependent on the age even if they say take a photo of me coloring, the child will probably not even know what could happen with that photo and doesn’t even know what consent is yet. So I think that especially in the vulnerable sector, there should be strict rules like the ones at your workplace to help protect the children, even if they have unknowingly consented.

Explore the videos provided and reflect on themes of a PLN in a professional capacity

There are many different “themes” that we follow when using a PLN in a professional capacity. First off there are the themes are rules that are typically common sense, these rules elaborate on how to act in a professional setting when using PLN in a professional capacity. However, there are some themes that are not as noticeable that we follow, such as being mindful about what we post on personal accounts because they could affect our professional work as well. Another theme in PLNs is the type of network we use for different materials, for example, emailing serves as a way to connect with people in a very professional manner, and is also a way to find out information from different companies. However other networking sites such as Linkedin allow you to have a more specific interaction with someone regarding either a new job or a collaboration.  So, therefore, the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity are very different depending on the circumstances.

Which social media platforms are beneficial in education?

There are many different ways social media platforms are beneficial in education, it allows students to interact in a specific way depending on the platform, but it also allows teachers to connect with their students.  For example, because this class is asynchronous many of you could be from all around the world, which means that there are time changes that could make it harder to connect with people. However, with social media platforms, it makes it much easier to check up on people and interact with them without phoning them or texting them without accidentally waking them up.  Another way social media can be beneficial is it allows you to not only connect with students in your class but students in different classes which provides more insight. I think that the best social media platform for people our age in education would be Linkedin because it allows you to interact with people who are in the same field as you and learn from people who have worked in that field for many years. However, this is highly dependent on the field that you are in, if you are in photography or arts, you might consider connecting with others on Instagram or Facebook.  Additionally, there are so many technologies and social media platforms it is hard to just pick a couple that is beneficial in education because each one has a specific purpose for use and can be applied to education in different ways.

When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations?

I do think that there should be strong regulations around social media when working within the vulnerable sector.  Some of these regulations should include never posting while at work, since some security information may be in the background of your photo. I also think that depending on much confidentiality is needed in your job, some jobs might request that you don’t have where you work on your social media, or at least what your position is at the job. I do think that people who work here should still be allowed to be active on social media but they should be strictly personal accounts and not share any professional information. I think another key point is to keep your devices separate, and you should not use your personal device to deal with any confidential or privacy issues from your job, but also while at work you should not use social media on your work devices. This is just another additive measure that can be used to protect any hacking or any information from being leaked. I know that there are some jobs that use social media actively, but I do not see the same outcome for people who work within the vulnerable sector.

Thread discussion: group aspects outside of the traditional classroom, include dialogue about how education in the workplace in any capacity can consist of social media & what boundaries should be considered before encouraging discourse in a professional environment

I know personally, I have learned many things from social media from cooking to learning more about academic topics. I think many workplaces have started to implement more learning from social media sites. I think a great example of this is in the marketing world. At my previous summer job, I had a small role in doing some of the marketing, and it was encouraged for us to go on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and many other social media websites to see what is trending, and to boost our presence online by interacting with other people on social media. This highlights the very need for social media in the workplace. This is not just in the marketing sector however, many teachers will go online to find new ways to teach students and to see what websites are best, and Engineers will use social media to interact with one another and to learn more things.  I do think that boundaries should be put in place if this is the case though, if you are using a personal account to interact in a professional way you should make sure that you are keeping that in mind when posting about your personal life.