As I started the course EDU520, I was so nervous. But as the course progressed, it increased my nervousness and interest as well.
what I like the discussion board where one post his/her thoughts and reply at least three other posts. My knowledge increased considerably. The content material was a major source of information about the ‘Digitally Mediated Teaching and Learning’.
In unit 5 and 6 we were asked to build wiki pages and talk about digital citizenship.
We were four in our group and each of us have a role to act upon. I was the content locator in our group.
It was a new experience to me, where I was working with the group of people whom I never met.
We contact each other via cell phones and started participating in discussion about setting up the wiki website and wiki pages.
I personally liked this collaborative work where all of us had a different responsibility. And come to an agreement of what artifact should go on our pages.
We created the pages, ‘Digital Literacy’, ‘Digital Access’, and ‘Digital Communication’.
Digital Literacy page talks about how to use digital devices carefully and safely. Also, how to use the digital devices to keep one’s privacy, what to post on social media, how careless postings can ruin one’s personal and professional life.
The other page is ‘Digital Access’. This page has content and video to show how important it is for students to have access to digital devices. Digital access is the key to success for today’s students anywhere in the world. Internet and digital devices have transformed the world into a global village. The students, because of these devices have access to the information, new inventions, different approaches, innovations without the limitations of time and space. On this page we have discussed the importance and necessity of digital access in this modern world. The address of our ‘Digital Access’ page is:
The third page of our wiki website is ‘Digital Communication’. This page talk about what digital communication is. It also talks about how to share information to the audience of same interest. Also, how to become a responsible digital citizen. It also has an article which explains that digital communication not only occurs among individuals, but also is possible and important among institutions. The address of this page is:
This is the era of digital devices. Digital devices made this world a global community. Usually people use digital social media to contact their families, however, some use it to reach out to public in general. When people use social media or digital devices, it means they have a digital identity. It is fun and amazing to have digital identity, at the same time it is necessary to use this digital identity wisely. To use a digital media wisely means to have a positive digital identity, otherwise, having a negative digital or precarious identity maybe dangerous for one’s life.
It is essential to look at many personalities
to find out how they are using different social media platforms. It is a way to
discover which personality has a strong positive online identity, a personality
with no positive identity at all, or the negative identity (Hamlin). Two
figures will be discussed here to see why they are called strong digital
identities.
Subjects and Platforms
The first personality to be observed
is Connie Malamed, and the other figure is Signori Colleen. Connie and Colleen
have a solid connection to the education field. Also, both are an excellent
example of strong digital identity.
Data
Collection
Based on the (Zwilling, 2015) 6
keys to a Positive Online Presence and Reputation the data of the Connie
Malamed and Mrs. Signori will be collected from different social media
platforms such as Websites, YouTube videos, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and
Pinterest. The data will be consist of quotes, screenshots, videos, and posts.
Collecting data is vital to analyze online personality if both of them have a
robust digital identity or not. The method for showing the data will be used
through the spreadsheet as shown below (Hamlin).
Connie Malamed
Connie Malamed’s primary field is to
help the employees to meet their professional needs. She designs and builds
creative learning experiences. She has a degree in Instructional Design and Art
Education (Malamed, conniemalamed.com, 2019). She is the
recipient of the Guild Master in recognition of her services to the eLearning
Guild community and the learning technologies industry. She is also a speaker,
workshop facilitator, author, consultant for the learning and designing (21st
Century Learning Experiences). She uses different social media platforms like
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pin and YouTube videos to access to the
people. She is a blogger and has her website as well.
By looking at the big audience in
the workshop shows that the content Connie is presenting is important to a
large group of people. Her website shows her content information, which is a strong
sign of her professionalism that if anybody needs to contact her, all necessary
information is available on her website.
Her LinkedIn photo sends an exciting
message to more than 500 people in her connection list. She says:
“Speed at which knowledge changes”.
It encourages people keep learning and should not stop at any stage of life.
Also, knowledge never remains static and changes and evolve. The picture she
used is pertinent with the idea of speed of light which is moves faster than
anything else. It gives a clear message to her audience that a human must grab
the knowledge at the speed of light. It is obvious that nobody can achieve a
knowledge at the speed of light, however, one must keep trying.
In one article which she posted on
LinkedIn could be used for educators and professionals in any field who are
responsible to train or teach kids or people in any field. It also shows are
deep understanding of the field of education.
“When people are
acquiring information or a new skill, their knowledge structures are more
limited, less organized and have fewer connections than those of an expert. The
schemas of an expert, according to theory, are richer, more complex and
well-connected. This is why experts are generally competent problem solvers.”
“You can overcome this predicament
by understanding the schemas of your learners. It’s a critical skill for those
who design learning experiences because learners can only understand something
based on what they already know. Learning is analogical. That’s why a basic
rule is to help learners recall prior knowledge.”
By looking at the article, the
heading, and the picture she posted on Twitter, attracts the people who like to
be successful in the field of education. It also explains that she knows how to
attract people to her post. As an article advised, “Start by writing a catchy
headline which is going to attract the attention of your audience. You want the
headline to stop the reader in his or her tracks and make it difficult for the
person to walk away (Patel, 2016).
She successfully used this tip as heading of her article says, “Can you read
the minds of your learners?” is attractive to the educators who really want to
see their students learn and be successful. Her LinkedIn account is viewed by
14, 744 people (Malamed, Emerging role of the
21st-century Learnin, 2015).
Connie’s video seems to have a
strong and helpful content because it is watched by more than twenty thousand
viewers. (Malamed, Visual Language for
Designers, 2013).
She has many more helpful videos available on YouTube. All those video are
related to her field. Her Website, Videos, and articles are available to all
who are interested in learning from her around the globe.
One just need to have
access to her account in terms of sending her a friend request or follow her on
Instagram or LinkedIn.
Using the social media techniques
wisely is an art and Connie proved her best skills in using the required
skills. She has Instagram and Pinterest accounts too, but she did not post
anything on these accounts yet. She is a perfect example of positive online
identity.
Signori Colleen
The second personality is Signori
Colleen. She is a 5th grade teacher in an elementary school. She
uses only one social media platform to access to her students, their families,
colleagues, and followers. She explained it in an interview with me that she
uses only Instagram because that fulfills her needs to connect herself with her
targeted audience and it is fast and easy.
An interview with Mrs. Signori,
Q- Which social media platform/s are
you using for educational purpose (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)?
A- For teaching, I use an Instagram
account.
Q- When did you start using it?
A-I created a teaching Instagram
account in September 2015.
Q-Why are you not using other social
media platforms for teaching?
A-The interactions with Instagram
are positive and helpful. Many of my lessons come from Instagram posts I see.
Instagram responses are faster than FB.
Q-When you post something on
Instagram, what things do you focus on (content, pictures, simple language,
colors, etc.)?
A-I post anything teaching related.
I do not have a specific focus. I will always give credit to a person if I use
their idea. I do certain hashtags to share ideas.
Q-Why are you using Instagram? What
benefits do you see in using it?
A-Many ideas for lessons. You can visually
see lessons through videos and pictures that other educators post. Also, it is
a positive social media.
Q-Is it only your teaching platform?
Or are you learning from it too?
A-I get all my ideas from here. Many
posts lead me to purchasing resources from Teachers Pay Teacher.
Q- Would you suggest other
educators/teachers to use it too?
A-Absolutely, Instagram is a
valuable tool and resource in education world.
Data
N.S
Date
Source
(Platform)
Content
Screenshot
Impact
1
N/A
Instagram
Mrs.
Signori’s followership and favorites.
Great
2
N/A
Instagram
Mrs. Signori
is destressing parents in a friendly way.
Good
3
N/A
Instagram
Mrs. Signori
acknowledges her students’ efforts and gives them opportunity to prove
themselves.
Good
4
N/A
Instagram
We can read
Good
5
N/A
Instagram
Mrs. Signori
gives credit to people who contributes in her teaching.
Good
Analysis
Her interview proves her strong believe in using technology for
educational purpose. She is satisfied by using only Instagram. However, her
presence is very positive, engaging, and supportive. She is using Instagram
since 2015, which proves that she found it easy to use and helpful in her
teaching and learning. If it would not be the case, she would not be using it
for so long. She has more than 1,600 followers on Instagram.
By looking at her Instagram it can be said that she believes
pictures are strong way of communication, “educators can post pictures to
social media outlets that model how they are being active.” (Is social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) a positive thing for physical
education/health teacher to engage in? why or why not?, 2017)
She introduces herself in a friendly way by showing a big smile on
her face and her active style like, she is ready to work. Her introduction also
shows her favorite drink which translates her soft personality. (Signori)
In the second picture she is trying to comfort the parents of her
students using words which one child can use to relax his/her parents. Maybe
they are her own words or maybe she did it in her class with her students as a
project.
It is an observation that some parents take even fun activities
seriously and pressurize their children to do their best. As a result, the fun
activity becomes a misery for parents and students. One sentence says, “My
coach is a volunteer” means the volunteers do not work as the hired people do,
so parents should not expect a lot from the coaches. The other sentence says,
“I’m a kid.” It is a message for parents that they should not stressed out
their child and do not expect an adult performance from him/her. Another
sentence says, “It’s only a game.” It is an awesome reminder that moms should
enjoy it and everything is not a winning or losing case. I think it is a nice
way to communicate with the parents and provide them some comfort them. It is
also an opportunity for parents to learn about their children’s feelings.
By looking at the entre number four, it is obvious that she assigns
job to her students. By working with teachers I can say that teachers use this
method to make their student responsible for their words and actions. Creating
responsibility sense is a part of education. Showing it on the social media
Mrs. Signori does not only acknowledge her students’ work, but also showing the
students work to their parents. It is a gentle way to make parents proud of
their children. It also proves that she gives her student some freedom to
decide something for their classroom and it also create a sense of belonging in
the students.
By visiting her Instagram account, it is easily observed that with
all her photos she writes small sentences. It is also obvious that she knows that
majority of people do not like to read long paragraphs, essays, and
uninteresting content. Her short sentences delivers the clear messages and ideas
that what she is trying to say. Some examples are: teachsigi This makes my
teacher heart happy! 💛💚💜🧡💖, teachsigi Thankful!! Three
of my favorite things!
Mrs. Signori acknowledges her students’ work in a unique way by
posting it on Instagram. So, the families can also see the class room
performance of their children. It is an excellent way to a student whose
primary language is not English. Majority of us know the people who are new to
this country they have to fight on many fronts of life. Two most important
fronts in an educational settings are learning the new language and learn the
content as well. Appreciating struggle of a student like that is very
encouraging and give such students a hope that they can be successful in a new
environment in the society and education.
Reflection
I liked the video provided in the unit 3 resources, it stated the
basic components of reflection, like concrete experience, observations and
reflection, formation of abstract concept and generalization, and testing
implications of concepts in new situations (Rivers, 2013). When I apply all
these components on my own learning, I see I am going through all these phases
all the time. Like, analyzing the online identities, in future before writing
any blog on any topic, I would pay attention to what happened or the topic
which is I need to write a post, observe other people in the field and pay
attention what I was doing before and what I need to change in the light of new
learning, how to present abstract concept in a way where my audience relate it
to their lives, and then testing, means if it gets a desired results.
This assignment brought me in a situation where I thought of my
online presence and creating my own personal learning environment (PLE). I never had a digital professional presence on
different social media platforms and I have never thought of using it for such
purpose, but seeing Connie Malamed and Colleen Signori positive online presence
made me think to have one.
I was visiting different platforms Connie Malamed was using. I got
to know that she is a person who is helping people through electronic media.
She knows all the techniques of using the digital platforms like adding
pertinent and unique photos, attractive headings, valuable content, giving her
content information.
On the other hand, Mrs. Signori is using only one platform
Instagram but has a strong and engaging personality to teach, to connect to her
audience, and learn from others.
I am thinking that in my next post on my blog I would be using the
techniques I learned from the above said personalities. I learned that post a
lot is not I need to do, but the content is important. What I am posting if it
is appealing to my audience and related to their lives. Also, the best content
is one important part of the post, however, the best contents remain unread if
the heading/title is not attractive. Additionally, the content and heading
become more attractive if they come with a unique and pertinent picture or
photo.
Also, as Mrs. Signori said in her interview that Instagram is her
teaching and learning tool. I would be visiting other social media platforms
and would learn new stuff, opinions, thought, and discoveries. I would include
them in my teaching.
Plan of Action
In short my plan for a blog and PLE is:
Thorough
research before any post
Choose
a valuable topic
Attractive
heading
Topic
related pictures
Valuable
content which my audience can relate to their lives
Use
simple language
In conclusion I can say
that Connie Malamed and Colleen Signori are good example for me to follow in
creating a positive digital identity and I have learned from them a lot.
Is social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) a positive
thing for physical education/health teacher to engage in? why or why not?
(2017, August). (6), 63-65.
I believe learning new things keeps one’s mind and brain active. So, I always to be the part of learning community.
EDU520_30 was a whole new learning experience than what I learned my entire life. It was all about technology. Technology has changed the world and is keep changing it.
We are all using digital devices one way or the other. May be we do not know if we were doing so, but reality is cell phones, smart phones, computers, iPads, tablets, smart TVs, and other digital devices in our use. We all need to know how to use these devices and social media through these devices.
So, EDU520_30 offered many basic things we need to learn securely and safely. Also, how to use these devices to their full potential.
This course made me think seriously about online safety like what should one post on social media because this may affect one’s personal and professional life. Additionally, it also made me do the things which I always thought, were only for the people who were technology savvy.
Creating a website and pages was an unusual experience which seemed impossible to do in the beginning . But I did it.
Also, creating the videos and posting them on the YouTube was very significant to me. When I first uploaded my first video ‘Digital Access’ and saw it was running on YouTube, I was screaming with joy.
Below is the video I created to show my experience and my feeling about the course. Yes, I am happy, I accomplished the things which were I always thought for IT experts. In this video you will also the references I used to create this video. Please watch!
braintouse 