Guilherme's Blog

As stated in the fifth chapter of the book Social Media and Emerging Economies Technological, Cultural and Economic Implications the number of users on the internet has significantly increased over the last few years as more and more people gain access to the internet. Alongside the growth of the internet is the communication between people, and new media technology. This opens various opportunities varying from social to professional relationships that can be made using the internet. 

With that in mind, as you use these new media and communication technologies to build networks it is only a matter of time until you meet someone who could provide some type of help in your professional carrier. For example, let’s say you are an expert in drawing, and from time to time you share your drawings on Twitter. Someone from the other side of the world views your drawing from their computer and thinks you are very talented. He also knows a friend who is creating a shirt brand and wants a logo for his new company. He gets in contact with you and presents you to his friend who decides to hire you. With access to the internet, humanity has never had so much access to information before, building networks has never been easier. 

Depending on your approach to your PLN it can 100% de relied on to open professional opportunities. It depends on how professional you communicate with others online and how you present yourself on the internet.

What is media literacy? Media literacy is the ability to use the media to express yourself. Just like this blog for example, with every blog post and reply that I make, I am using media literacy. This requires me to use the right digital tools and learn how to properly communicate online. Media literacy is important because of the growing accessible information on the internet. With the more information we have available to us, the ones who learn how to use it more efficiently will learn faster than others. And being media illiterate is like seeing a good opportunity pass right by you, but not being able to catch it. By aiming for varied views in your personal learning network you reduce bias, improve data quality and create a more inclusive learning network, where others feel free to share their opinion.

As stated in chapter 6 of Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning, currently the problem is no longer having trouble finding and free knowledge networks but rather learning how to choose a reliable one. Using your Personal Learning Network as an educational learning tool can be extremely beneficial, but you have to learn how to use the right tools. Firstly, we have to understand that we shouldn’t base our learning on a topic pt but rather on our ability to expand our knowledge learning about this topic from others. Students also need to learn how to use tools from their personal learning environments. 

Personally, one social media platform I believe can be good from an educational point of view is Youtube. It is free of access to the public and contains a comment section that can be used to share knowledge. Besides that, videos receive feedback, from the like button. Although the platform could make some readjustments to improve the platform, just as creating a specific explore page for education just like google scholar.

Personal Learning Networks leverage from the public. As stated in the fourth chapter of media and social justice, the public is increasingly getting more involved in the public media, and tendencies are for it to increase as people gain access to computers and smartphones. Having an inclusive and diverse PLN is one of its greatest strengths and what differentiates it from traditional media. By having the public opinion heard you will get feedback and a second opinion on a common issue. Secondly, the public can offer direct help to an issue, since they understand where you are coming from. It is much easier to sympathize with an individual rather than a corporation. They understand and are more accepting of your issue. Another great benefit of having a diverse and inclusive PLN is that people do not feel judged. Exerting your opinion can be very intimidating, especially when mentioning it to a different public, this barrier can be broken if you demonstrate your PLN is a safe space. This ends up causing a domino effect, as the more people share their opinion, others will gain courage and contribute in their own way. After all, it is the public’s engagement is that sustains a good PLN. 

Living in the 21st century brings one certainty alongside it, the popularization of social media and the internet. Even though, new social media have been expanding information to people that before were not that interesting topic such as politics, and the economy, the rise of social media has been affecting to a large extend traditional journalism. 
As stated in the book Navigating Social Journalism: A Handbook for Media Literacy and Citizen Journalism by Martin Hirst in chapter 6, social journalists face uncertainty pursuing their dream. With new content farms being created, the exploitation of these writers has increased tremendously. Alongside that, I think that the trend of independent editorials is to increasingly rise. This brings the importance that a PLN can have on these people. Having a niche online can be extremely comforting especially when their workspace is directly related to it. Having a personal learning network connects people and teaches them to learn new ways of entering a market reaching their target audience.

After sharing my existing Personal Learning Network(PLN) in last week’s post, I decided to base my PLN on understanding the why. Why does that person think that way, or why does a person feel that way. This topic bases itself on understanding where a person’s line of thought is that way, it means to be considerate to others. By doing so, people would feel free to share their opinions and knowledge without being judged. Concerning my target audience, I believe that all those that are open-minded enough to want to expand their knowledge would like to engage with my PLN. It would be open to all ages but mostly focused on early adults and teenagers. I believe that the best way to approach sharing my social media campaign would be in creating meetings and passing the information along. Regarding the social media platform, Discord would be ideal, since it is a platform that most teens are familiar with.

When I was in third grade I remember feeling segregated from the rest of the class. This was due to the table arrangements, where he would separate the kids based on their performance in class. All the “smart students” would sit together and all the kids who knew less would sit on different groups of tables ranging on how much they knew.  That marked me a lot, the realization that maybe I wasn’t as smart as other kids, that although we all felt included as a classroom we were being segregated based on the knowledge of what the school system wanted us to learn. 

Thinking back to this event, most of my Professional Learning Network was based on that. I started to talk less in group projects and the classroom, and pay more attention to what others had to say, getting most of my information from peers and the teacher. Don’t get me wrong, I like getting information from others, I believe that listening to others perspectives helps us understand the bigger picture. In recent years however, I decided to mark more presence in the sense that I made sure my opinion was heard. Due to that, I started reading more, and watching educational videos on whatever topic I was working on, so that people could see that I would add value by working with them. I would say that due to that my PLN is very diverse, a great part of that due to the fact that I lived in 3 different cities and two different continents(North America & South America).My greatest pride in my learning networks is to be understanding of where and why a person thinks that way, being able to see both sides of the argument without being biased, most of the time. Another aspect about my learning profile is that various things gain my interest, I try to keep my topics diverse and on a wide range. For instance, I could be talking to my grandpa about the battles of World War 2, and move on to a conversation about the latest Netflix Series Squid Game. 

Overall, I would say that inclusion is one of the main principles of my PLN. I always try to understand why a person thinks that way and most of the time I am able to identify the why. So even though I do not agree with what a person is saying I am considerate and inclusive on why they think like that. This week’s reading gave me a new way of looking at the definition of the word inclusion, it made me reflect a lot and think about personal experiences I have had with inclusion and exclusion.

Bibliography:

Introduction (Page 6-10) & Part 1 (Page 11-12). https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/reader.action?docID=4832579&ppg=6

Just like most people nowadays, I use the internet academically and personally on a daily basis. Although nothing negative has occurred to me while browsing and with my social media accounts, however, I always keep in mind the risks of keeping my digital identity safe. My first rule is that I draw a very firm line between my personal use of the internet and my academic use. For educational purposes, I always use my institution account and avoid mixing it with my personal accounts. For example, I have two different youtube accounts which serve different purposes. Another thing that I am always aware of is how my digital profile may affect my professional life in the future. I am always careful when publishing to my social media accounts, and whenever possible I have a closed profile. Although I have to admit I need to be more careful about certain aspects such as browsing using on public wifi or allowing websites to track me and take hold of my data.

Hello everybody, my name is Guilherme Farina and I am from the northeast of Brazil from a city called Salvador, I have lived here most of my life and it is where I currently reside. However, I have lived in Vancouver, Canada for three years previously, and I have also lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a year. The city in which I live is filled with historical architecture and brimming with the Afro-Brazilian culture, it was also Brazil’s first capital where the Portuguese King once lived. 

I am a person that is friendly, outgoing, and intellectual. My friends and family would describe me as a resourceful and amusing person as I always tend to enlighten their day.  I would consider myself an athlete due to the fact that  I love playing soccer and going to the gym. However, nothing intrigues me more than reading new books and enriching my knowledge, may that be a history book or a novel from my homeland, Brazil.