Month: February 2021

In my perspective, I consider my PLN diverse, but I have remained relatively inactive within my PLN. Since I major in French literature, I spend most of my time reading and exploring literature, philosophy, and history. Although I participate in a silo of information sharing events, I tend to listen to others without expressing my ideas. Besides necessary communications in team projects, I prefer to study and ponder alone. Consequently, I shaped a passive learning pattern as time passes. Therefore, when I was concerned when I first heard about inclusive learning from the videos. I was afraid of bringing my passive learning habit into my future teaching as an educator. 

In the video, Moore argues that inclusive teaching is to teach based on the recognition of “we are all diverse.” She also stresses the importance of volunteering will in inclusive teaching. Her point really strikes me, and I couldn’t agree more. Sometimes, teachers could unintentionally ignore students’ motivation and experience in designing and exercising curriculum. She talks about her regret of forcing her students to participate in a pep rally for an inclusive purpose, yet the students were not motivated to participate. Most of the students do not know their purpose of attending school and thus feel less motivated when forced to attend events. Teachers could start with encouraging students to discover their talents and strengths. Moore argues that the focus on strengths instead of deficits is the key in teaching to diversity. (Moore, 9) It also allows teachers to know the students better. 

After reviewing videos and readings, I learned that I need to motivate students to explore their interests and strengths. Only by recognizing students’ talents and diversity on a volunteering basis, teachers could build an inclusive environment for learning. 

 

Reference:

Moore, S., Miller, J. (2021, February 07). EDCI 338 A01 Week 5 A Conversation with Shelley Moore. February 14, 2021, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGx0ejnMLVc&feature=youtu.be

Moore, Shelley. One Without the Other: Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion, Portage & Main Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/detail.action? docID=4832579.

While doing the VR map, I started to discover my PLN pattern and platform preference. I never really thought about my learning strength and weakness in PLN because learning online is not like learning in reality; I could not identify and analyze my learning habits and the consequences directly and concretely.

Firstly, my PLN pattern appears to be visitor and highly personal. I tend to avoid interactions with others even when I conduct institutional learning. I prefer to work alone and decide my learning and working objectives on my own. For example, I rely on the Wechat ebook and local library for personal development; and I often choose the Uvic library database when I need to work on my essays.

Google docs, Mattermost, and Gmail are my last options when cooperating and communicating with others in team projects. However, realizing that I lack communicative and cooperative skills, I now start interacting with others this semester. I believe it is necessary to separate one’s professional social platforms from the personal ones. I felt strained and stressed that I could not upload personal posts on my personal Instagram account because I also added my colleagues. Studying and communicating on Mattermost is a new experience for me. It’s highly professional and interactive, and my digital identity is shaped by my blog posts and communications with others. I do not need to worry about my privacy and identity as much as on Instagram. Therefore, I started attempting to keep my professional Wechat account separate from the personal one. It became easier to manage my different digital images because I was more aware of the difference.

Digital image weighs heavier and heavier in employer evaluations as technology advances. An unrespectful and unprofessional digital image can count against our interests and damages our careers. On the other hand, a respectful and professional digital image may make us more competitive and elevate our careers. Building a digital image requires time and consistency, and I would argue that one should start doing it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we also guard our privacy more attentively. The Privacy and Surveillance Quiz conducted by UBC indicates many online activities that could invade one’s privacy and shape one’s digital identity, which one may not be aware of, including public wi-fi, blogs, and even gaming. Our online traces cannot be easily deleted and erased completely, and therefore we need to always be mindful in managing our digital identity and image.

 

Reference:

Privacy, Ethics & Security in Digital Spaces Developing Awareness of Privacy https://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/quizzes/privacy-and-surveillance/ Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019).