Month: January 2021

What is a digital identity?

Digital identity is the information of registered users on digital devices. Eric Stoller regards digital identity as one’s presence online. (Stoller, 0:06, What Is Digital Identity?) Digital identity is not limited to the preferred, and ideal image of yourself set up by you; it also contains and involves your online footprints and interactions with others. The emergency of social media accelerates the registration of digital identity for the mass. (Spracklen)

How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

Personal use differs from the professional use of digital identity in social media by the users’ responsibility. In personal use of social media, self-digital identity is usually established by one’s subjective preference of one’s image. An individual is only responsible for his/her image and conduct. For example, I have to use my Twitter account under legal restrictions, meaning that I cannot and should not spread terrorism or other behaviors that are directly or indirectly harmful to others and society. Professional use of digital identity involving managing others’ digital identity. Governmental and business of digital identity are representative examples. Enterprises and states have digital identities just like individuals; however, they represent individuals’ digital identities and interests and their entities simultaneously. In the Medical Service Plan in B.C., the B.C. government has a professional digital identity. It is responsible for the privacy and interests of its registered users.

How do digital identities converge in networked publics? What are the impacts and/or benefits? – Can a digital wallet provide trust in networked publics?

Individuals’ digital identities merged in the network publics by interacting with others or establishing professional connections with corporations and states. In this process, corporational and national digital identities are spontaneously shaped and formed to best collect and utilize resources. As Manyiki argues, “digital identity could benefit individuals with the convenience of registration, education and economic benefits,” (Manyika, 26:14, World Economic Forum). Evidently, corporational and state corporations can escalate the benefits of the involved individuals; however, privacy remains an issue. Ratas indicates stable and reliable corporations at national levels require trust, transparency, data security between states. (Ratas, 28:55, World Economic Forum) Only trustworthy networked publics that operate under the proper supervision of the state can guarantee trust between individuals when using digital wallets.

 

 

 

Reference:

 

Davos 2019 – Press Conference The Value of Digital … World Economic Forum, 6 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-V7lyxrOmw.

Eric Stoller – What Is Digital Identity? – YouTube. University of Derby, 26 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0RryRbJza0.

Spracklen, Karl. “Identity-Making and Social Media.” SpringerLink, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1 Jan. 1970, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137405876_6. 

What does it mean to network using social media?

Defining networking using social media requires the preceding definition of the broader context in which it lays, namely, personal learning network(PLN). PLN is shaped by our interactions with people, devices, and information according to our habits and preference. To network using social media means building our networks of people and information by using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Gutierrez defines PLN as learning, communicating, and sharing knowledge with others without location and time limitations. (What Are Personal Learning Networks?) She further argues that intention is crucial in PLN because it targets certain learning groups with specific learning purposes. As technology and social media cleared the blockade of time and geographic location in learning, learners became more motivated to participate in networked publics. 

How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

In my experience, participating in networked publics consolidates and deepens my knowledge. At the beginning of 2021, I created a chat group on WeChat. I invited those interested in reading to participate in the chat group. After two weeks, I found out that I have read more books these two weeks than I did last month because I was motivated to share them with my group. Comments from others and discussions about the book always excited me to share my thoughts with the public. In this process, I practiced and strengthened the learned knowledge and improved my weakness by seeking answers from others. Therefore, I would agree with Gutierrez that PLN builds connections between select people to motivate learners to participate in networked publics for new learning. 

While public communication rewards learners by consolidating learned knowledge, it also allows learning and communication to occur in difficult situations such as COVID-19. I recently returned to China, supposedly, I would not be able to continue schooling; however, remote technical support such as Zoom and social media enables me to continue studying at a different location in a different time zone. 

Risks&rewards of public communications

Although, studies indicate that privacy issues still remain a significant concern, and social media will only aggregate this issue because it is likely that we grow more and more dependent on it in the future. Information on our online activities would be collected and patterned politically. (Boyd) The author proposes that internet users could use coded language, or “social steganography,” to protect privacy. Honestly, I used to think that “we could not protect our privacy anyway, why should I bother protecting it?” The author changed my view, and I realized that my previous thought would only empower those illegal activities against our privacy, and it is the last ground that we have to defend.

 

References:

Boyd, Danah, Surveillance & Society. Networked Privacy. ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/article/view/networked/networked

Future Learn. What Is a Personal Learning Network (PLN)? www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/learning-network-age/0/steps/24644.

Gutierrez, Karla. What Are Personal Learning Networks? https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/personal-learning-networks

Rajagopal, Kamakshi, et al. View of Understanding Personal Learning Networks: Their Structure, Content and the Networking Skills Needed to Optimally Use Them: First Monday. firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131.

Hello all,

This is Yiwei Wu. I’m in my 3rd year as an undergrad at Uvic. I’m excited to take this course because I want to learn how can social media impact teaching and learning. I really hope I could incorporate my takeaways from this course into my future career as a teacher. Nice to meet you all!

（This is my dear friend Yuka:)