Before beginning this prompt, I would like to express how important it is to be discussing these current events in Canada and how they connect to our learning material. After listening to the interview with Brad Baker, I have gained a lot of insight into the use of our PLNs to raise awareness on crucial issues within society. I first want to expand on when Brad mentioned that your professional learning community is your support system. Brad then explains that the community is for your own well-being and social media use should be healthy. Personally, I find this a fantastic point, this illustrates how the community we are involved in reflects our experiences and happiness in life. Additionally, by having a healthy social media presence, it is much easier to provide understanding and push initiatives that are meaningful.

The next point I’d like to discuss is the role of social media in education. Brad stated that within his professional learning community there is the ability to support each other but also challenge each other to promote health/respectful dialogue. I believe that setting an environment in a way that allows for civil discourse is needed to effectively learn on social media. This allows for everyone to become engaged with their learning and also understand different perspectives on ideas. With that said, I feel that social media learning does provide a more immersive learning experience than the classroom setting. To expand, I get a sense that the classroom setting can only provide one perspective on information that is being delivered to students. Online platforms have the versatility to allow for discourse and understanding of differing viewpoints.

Another interesting point I would like to expand on is how effective PLNs can be in promoting awareness on any type of topic. As discussed in the interview, PLNs has allowed the indigenous voice of truth and reconciliation to be promoted and originates from an authentic source that can be trusted. I feel that this is the single most beneficial use of a PLN, the ability to distribute information to a large amount of people for a good cause. Like Brad said, these learning networks allow the true story to be told. Mainstream media will always have an underlying narrative to push, which is why the information can’t be recognized as genuine. PLNs also enable people to share multiple messages which can help dissect the complexities of certain topics, as Brad said. This point resonated with me because it showed how powerful these networks can be. Being able to share ideas of that magnitude is quite astonishing. This just further illustrates how useful building a community online can really be.  

With that being said, I really appreciate this week’s blog material. I have definitely gained insight into how personal learning networks function as education online as well as promoting awareness on initiatives.  

References

Miller, J. (2021). Brad Baker EDCI 338 Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z8iHxW2n4