Examine the application of social media to support learning

TikTok and YouTube are my are the social media apps that I use regularly to support learning. First of all, Youtube is full of longer videos of more than five minutes, and the content is more professional. For example, a blogger that I followed is called “Changan Wannian“, who analyzes criminal cases. Most videos are more than 20 minutes, and he will analyze the suspect’s body movements, demeanor, and language. Secondly, videos on TikTok are generally less than one minute long, and the content will be much more interesting. I think Tiktok is very suitable for watching in leisure time, and you will know a lot of unpopular knowledge. At last, I would like to talk about Zenly, which is the application that I use for the group project. Zenly is a private social media app, which means that only friends can share things with each other. It is not a good social media to support learning, because educators cannot share their work and communicate with everyone.

Explain personalized learning and its relation to learning theory

Personalized learning based on personal’s strengths, needs, skills, and interests to make a study plan. Everyone needs to explore to find the most suitable learning method for them. For example, I chose to take EDCI 338. I really like the design of this class because you can do it wherever and whenever you are. For the first few weeks of the class, I was still in China. I don’t have to wake up very early to attend classes, which is good for my health and saves a lot of time.

PLN helps you to build connections, maintain connections, and activate connections. During the course, I use a lot of apps and have added a lot of friends through these apps. I mentioned that in my “Wow and Wonder Post”: I would be more willing to be friends with people who have the same interests or attributes as me. So when I choose group members, I tend to prefer people who have the same background as me.

Recognize that the Internet is not a neutral or equal space for everyone

The Internet is a double-edged sword, it contains important and unimportant information. Everyone has their own unique identity, such as background, ethnicity, and interests. I agreed with the idea of “Leo’s post”: “The algorithm has the ability to guide or mislead us with its interpretation of our identity and thus influence our decision making.” Some “unimportant information” may influence our perception and decision-making about things. We need to have the ability to distinguish between important and unimportant information (mentioned in my post). I think being critical is a good way when you receive online information. Also, when using the Internet, be careful about the disclosure of personal information. Nowadays, more and more software is trying to create a fair and harmonious environment so that everyone can participate fairly.

Apply social media to develop a personal learning network in support of your personal and/or professional development

Github and World press are two major social media that I use for the course. I am familiar with World press, and it is my first time getting into Github. I think it is fun to explore a new piece of application, and when you have used it, you will have a great sense of achievement. In this two software, I can see the shared works of all the students in this course and communicate with them.

While taking this class, I created a TikTok account (Chinese version). My content is to share what international students eat in a foreign country. My followers grew by 1000 in a month. During that month, I got my first benefit: advertising. I interspersed a ten-second commercial in my work, and based on my current views and fans, the price was around $100. I enjoy sharing my life on TikTok and I have met many people who love life as much as I do. I will reply to their comments and occasionally to their private messages.

Identify privacy issues and practice online behaviours that are legal, safe, consensual, and ethical

In my Week 2 Wow and Wonder post, I mentioned that people leak a lot of personal information when they use various software. When we use social media apps, such as Facebook, there will be a lot of our personal information on the homepage. In the “Who owns your data?” video, the author stated that when you want to go to the bank to borrow money, the staff can judge what kind of person you are through your Facebook page. We have no idea of knowing where this data will be used, so be aware of your privacy when using social media.

When I open a newly downloaded app on my phone for the first time, it will ask me if I want the app to track my internet browsing history, which I usually say no. This feature has only been available for the last year or two, and when I was using the new software before, it automatically collected my information to get my preferences. In the past, when I opened Instagram, it would automatically recommend me an ad for clothes or cosmetics. But it is a lot better when I cancel the web tracking.

Recognize data ownership and licensing (Creative Commons, Copyright, Fair Dealing, and Public Domain) as a core practice when creating, sharing, or using resources online

In Mia’s Showcase blog, she mentioned the copyright concerns for creators on TikTok. I agreed with her that educators can face legal action if their work is flagged as infringing the copyrights of others. According to the copyright policy of TikTok, rights-holders can contact the copyright owner directly to request a retraction; they can also provide a counter-notification to pursue a copyright claim by law. And any User Content that infringes on the copyrights of others may be removed, and if found multiple times, the account may be suspended or terminated. As a TikTok creator, I should take copyright awareness seriously. Because it takes a lot of time to make a video one by one.

Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about social media and personalized learning

My blog is open to everyone, and all the students in this class can see my posts and interact with me. In the article “Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning”, Couros offered a postgraduate course on personal learning networks in open access and distance education. There are many similarities between the courses offered by Professor Couros and EDCI338, both of which use technology platforms to share the contents of the courses. In the EDCI338 course, we use Github and world-press as primary platforms. 

I think GitHub is a very challenging software for me, and I am very grateful to Colin for taking about an hour to fully understand and use this software. In Github, we can see the changes made every time, because it reads plain text files.