Blog Post 5
Reflect on the themes of a PLN in a professional capacity
PLN is quite useful in modern day technology as it enables us to meet people who are like-minded, share the same hobbies, interests and professional relevance. People can exchange ideas and also learn from each other. As we are able to build our own digital image in PLN, we can use this a tool for professional development. We can be assured of being engaged in deep meaningful conversation if we communicating with other users and stay engaged. We realise that different platforms are suitable for different types of PLN. Instagram, YouTube and other video sharing platforms are great to teach us about video production. This ranges from equipment management, the video shooting itself and post production. LinkedIn is fro showing off your professional knowledge, qualifications and work experience for job seekers and other professionals. Twitter is great for opinion pieces and snapchat can be used to monetise vlogging.
Which social media platforms are beneficial in education?
There a various social media platforms that are great education and some of them are explored in the article below ⬇️. However I want to highlight Google+. Google+ was a social network owned and operated by Google. The network was launched on June 28, 2011, in an attempt to challenge other social networks, linking other Google products like Google Drive, Blogger and YouTube. Although it is defunct as of 2019 and rebranded, the products are still relevant.
- In the early 2000’s Global System for Mobile Communications (G.S.M.) released the popular Nokia 3310.
- A 84 x 84 pixel pure monochrome display.
- Storage space of approximately a 100 text messages.
- At the time this was the pinnacle of mobile phone technology.
According to Wikipedia, “Cloud storage is a model of data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, the physical storage spans multiple servers (and often locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company.”
- Google drive is a cloud storage service that was created by Google.
- Google offers every user 15 GB of free space for all Google App users.
- Besides file storage Google Drive also permits editing of:
- Text documents.
- Spreadsheets.
- Power point presentations.
- Drawings and more.
Google also offers an unlimited storage for educational and work purposes for at least a 5-member group. All this has enabled some team projects to go much smoother. Group projects can be completed with group members not necessarily having to meet and edit documents in real-time. Same as Github, google drive hosts some of my coding files and projects. It is also important as it backs up my notability notes from my iPad besides my iCloud.
When working with the vulnerable sector, how does social media fit into professionalism and regulations?
PLN and social media should be inclusive, diverse, fair and discussion oriented. We need to make full use of privacy and security of media platforms. There are various campaigns that run on social media and various opinions on how the world should be. Black lives matter, Western Alienation (WEXIT), Fair Fight, Kick It Out etc. This means we have a lot of responsibility to make sure we speak inclusively being mindful of colour, race, gender culture, and education. In a professional environment when I speak externally, I strive to be polite, correct, careful and helpful. When I speak to an internal colleague, I aim to ensure I use the same voice but not afraid to be direct when the company values are at stake. This should apply to PLN as well.
In social media sharing, if you’re privileged enough to have a diverse and inclusive community you have the advantage of continuously expanding your community. Although social media can be an extremely useful tool to utilise remote community collaboration and participation we should always be aware of our conduct. We live in the age of misinformation and media is often running stories that are not true but for clicks and revenue they will stick with the story which is utterly irresponsible. This is extremely dangerous because it could threaten people’s bottom-line, and or reputation. The establishment and release of community PLN should take into account cultural sensitivities.
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