Personal Learning Networks and Digital Identity

We all have and are connected to a personal learning network from the time our World Wide Web (www) originated. Online we have the advantages of interacting with who, what, where, when, and how to source and discover information. We do this from the time we are born until we die, and it has opened up so many areas for lifelong learning. As teachers, we can gather support, inspire, and share resources to strengthen our lesson plans and resources. help and We now have the benefits of learning outside higher education, and we now can take our learnign to the next potential. This concept goes hand in hand with digital identiy, which is our personal presence and footprint online (Stoller, 2016). With our personalized learning network, we have the ability to use social media and other platforms to post, share, and converse with everyone around the world. These social platforms create an identity (digital identiy) on the web that follows us professionally and personally throughtout our lives.

There are many benefits to public communications as the world now has unlimited information in seconds, and the ability to communicate and share freely with anyone in the world. Social media’s ability to connect, gather, and share has tremendously helped inspire and communicate and collaborate with people all around the world. It supports individuals’ growth and learning throughout their professional careers and personal lives. However, there are also disadvantages to having your information shared publicly with the entire world. As with most things, there are certain reproductions if one uses social media in a way that degrades their appearance throughout life, as it hinders their professional accountability and potential job acquisitions.

I am currently in my Bachelors of Elementry Education and need to begin to take into account how I can use my personalized learning network to strengthen my teaching portfolio and deepen my technological skills to prepare lessons that strengthen the student’s abilities and academic achievement. I also need to be aware of my own digital footprint throughout my social media presence. In EDCI 336 we were asked to search up our names in google, and I did not find anything to be wary of, however, I found information that I never thought possible. Social media often intimidates me in this way as I fear the potential misunderstanding or misinterpreted post that might create a lifelong damaging reputation. As we currently live in a society that supports cancel culture throughout media, it intimidates me to use social media to its full extent as my future depends on a valuable and professional reputation. Therefore, my goals are to find other ways to use social media and post and share in a way that is free from consequences and misunderstandings. I hope this helps keep my digital identity free from damaging reputations.

Overall, the World Wide Web has revolutionized the way we learn, work, communicate and share information, through our personal learning networks. With great potential comes great responsibility, with this famous phrase it is a responsibility we need to take into consideration when we upload and share as our digital identity follows us throughout our lives.

Citations:

Stoller, Eric. “What Is Digital Identity?”. Youtube.Com, 25 November 2016,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0RryRbJza0&ab_channel=UniversityofDerby

Boyd, d. 2012. Networked Privacy. Surveillance & Society 10(3/4): 348-350.http://www.surveillance-and-society.org | ISSN: 1477-7487

Rajagopal, Kamakshi et al. “Understanding Personal Learning Networks: Their Structure, Content And The Networking Skills Needed To Optimally Use Them”. First Monday, vol 17, no. 1, 2012. University Of Illinois Libraries, doi:10.5210/fm.v17i1.3559