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Month: November 2022 (Page 1 of 2)

Blog Post #10: The Personalization of Learning

Photo: https://blog.edmentum.com/personalized-learning-design-your-framework

” When you used the AI games this week, such as Magic Sketch or AI Duet, how did you find the process of having your work completed by an algorithm? Did it feel true to your intention? Were you happy with the results?”

In this week’s activity, I have checked the AI games such as Magic Sketch or AI Duet. Artificial intelligence (AI) is used in video games to create human-like intelligence in non-player characters (NPCs) by generating responsive, adaptable, or intelligent actions [1]. IA games such as Magic Sketch allows you draw stuff with machines! each time you lift your pen up, a machine learning system tries to complete each stroke as you lift your pen up and matches it to the category you’ve chosen. After giving a try to draw different things such as a book, an eye or a key, I was fascinated that the AI finished the drawing as soon as I lifted my hand. It is really amazing to see how technology has developed and reached a very high level. The magic sketch faithfully captured my intention and recognised precisely what I was creating. No matter how differently I drew the book or the other object, the drawing was still coming to fruition, therefore I was pleased with the end outcome.

” Have you used a tool like Khan Academy that creates a learning path for you? Did you find it to be useful or a hindrance to your learning? Or both?”

Yes, I have frequently utilised Khan Academy, which lets you construct a learning path for yourself as you take various classes, and I found it to be quite helpful for my learning. Khan Academy develops a customised learning dashboard that allows you to learn at your own speed both inside and outside of the classroom. Khan Academy is also free and accessible everywhere as long the person has internet and computer.

References:

[1] https://pixelplex.io/blog/how-ai-enhances-game-development/

Final Project: Leveraging Social Media to Build a PLN

Photo: https://educationtechnologysolutions.com/2017/07/using-social-media-build-personal-learning-network/

Group Participants and Contributions

Kate Ueda: Introduction, PLN and Social Media, Conclusion, and Images

Becky Zeng: Key Characteristics of PLN

Abdullahi Bashir: Connection to Digital Identity and Reputation

Adam Li: Privacy and Data Security

Bruce Song: Comparing Course Themes

Final Project Outline

Introduction 

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According to Whitby (2013), a personal learning network (PLN) “is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate, collaborate and create” with people all around the world. In our EDCI338 course, we learned that with the help of public communication on social media platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more, individuals are able to build knowledge on various topics and strengthen personal or professional relationships by participating in shared discussions. Public communication and networking on social media platforms are instantaneous and infinite and provide a sense of feeling connected with others. We will discuss our learnings of PLN platforms, practices, concerns, and education from our EDCI338 course below. 

PLN and Social Media

Image by pikisuperstar on Freepik

By creating a strong personal learning network (PLN) through social media, it equips individuals with the right tools to make meaningful connections through shared online discussions. According to Shirley Tang (2018), personal learning networks (PLN) and social media platforms “are the collaboration process of a shared interest” as social media platforms promote personal and professional connections through discussions surrounding shared resources. Social media offers a unique experience which allows individuals to connect with others on a global scale, without distance or time, and “enables individuals to actively reflect on the resources” viewed (Tang 2018). Some widely used social media platforms include Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Twitter, with over 100 million users, “increased student’s engagement” to the viewed content through shared discussions, emphasizing the idea of active reflection (Evans, 2014). 

According to Przybylski & Weinstein (2012), social media platforms are valuable to a PLN as it efficiently promotes personal and professional relationships and quickly increases exposure to new concepts or ideas that would not normally be covered in a traditional classroom. For background context, Twitter and Instagram are social media platforms that allow users to post images or videos with text, and these posts can be commented on, shared, or liked by others. Individuals such as Sophie Lui separates her personal and professional PLN by using Instagram to document her personal life and Twitter to engage in discussions with her professional connections (Miller, 2022). While Twitter and Instagram can be used for personal and professional connections or both, LinkedIn is more geared towards professional uses. LinkedIn offers individuals the platform to build professional relationships, find jobs and required skill sets. Despite the wide range of values these social media platforms add to PLN, there are some disadvantages such as privacy risks and fake news. However, individuals can carefully curate their digital identity and PLN to prevent risks related to privacy and fake news.

By Kate Ueda

Key Characteristics of PLN

Image by pch.vector on Freepik

Personal Learning Networks is the sum of all “formal and informal networks of individuals with similar goals and interests who interact using digital tools to share information, learn from each other, problem solve and collaborate” (Ferguson, 2010; Nelson, 2012; Perez, 2012; Trust, 2012) while continuously building a stronger network that share similarities in interests, short term goals, and long term learning of similar topics. As opposed to learning by yourself and searching through libraries or search engines to gain better knowledge at a certain topic of interest, PLNs bring everyone that share similar interests in certain topics together by algorithms used like in Instagram feeds, Facebook feeds, Twitter feeds, and forum hashtags like Reddit. This exponentially increases the amount of useful information shared by filtering out the best posts automatically by the amount of traffic brought onto the post. Of course it is easy to be distracted by useless content that the platforms also have to offer if a PLN is not managed or used properly. For example, Facebook and instagram have many posts and shared content that are useless and try to draw traffic to them to users even if it only poses as a slight similarity to the topic users are interested in.

A PLN should be created with the intent of doing what it is supposed to do. If it was for recreation or social media it is okay to just create one at random and to use it for one’s own joy. However, if a user wanted to create a PLN to learn about how stock trading worked they would create a completely new account on all platforms of interest and filter only content related to stock trading. Why the need to create new accounts? This is in order to connect with others who are also interested in the topic because a “successful PLN is also characterized by participants who are highly self-motivated and curious” (Green, 2020). Having to successfully build a PLN around stock trading a user would first:

  • Create accounts on all platforms of interest like Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Linkedin, Finviz, Weibull, and Reddit
  • Follow those who share stock trading content
  • Reshare and comment on only the content related to stock trading
  • View and watch videos, posts, and stories that are related to stock trading or content that helps grow knowledge in the field
  • Create a network with other people by following, adding, communicating and commenting on topics that both of you are interested in
  • Slowly increase the number of users you know that all share the same curiosity and motivation in learning the content.
  • ONLY use the accounts for content related to stock trading, IF you need to use them for other videos and content use your leisure account to not affect the algorithm of the sites that selects what is shown on your feed.

It is important to “[engage] in different communities with different areas of focus will provide a rich environment for learning” (Green, 2020) by incorporating informal learning, formal learning, and social networking all together to achieve a better understanding of your set goal. This means

By Becky Zeng

Digital Identity and Reputation

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The amount of human activities that depend on digital technology has increased at an alarming rate.  Computer downsizing, falling technological prices, and the ease of human-computer interface have made digital devices accessible to everybody. Furthermore, mobile Internet connectivity has become commonplace in many nations throughout the world (Literacy 6: Digital Identity, Safety and well-being: Digital Skills: Project “digital literacies”, n.d). This enabled us to communicate and connect with one another since social media and technology, in particular, have erased physical boundaries that formerly existed.

 A person’s digital identity is described as their online presence; it includes anything they publish and share on social media or the web, such as tweets, blogs, images, conversations, videos, and more. The way a person acts and how others perceive them in both personal and professional contexts shapes their online identity (What is digital identity?, 2021). 

Individuals embrace technology in a variety of ways to improve/develop their digital identity/reputation. Technology enables us to communicate with and exchange resources with others who are engaged in distance learning and establishing a diverse PLN. Technology also allows us to readily access, generate, publish, and share information, as well as find any information we need by using social media or google. Finally, technology is critical in order to develop a diverse and inclusive PLN that allows individuals to learn and progress while also receiving trustworthy information and resources. For example, I have a digital persona in various Reddit groups that I use to engage with people and learn from them. My objective is to work in the data science field, hence “Data Science” is one of the groups I joined and utilize in Reddit. I made friends from different countries that shared their journey to becoming data scientists. When I have a question or need guidance with something, I just submit a question and receive immediate replies or suggestions. I would not have been able to interact with them and learn from their experiences if it had not been for technology.

As we develop and improve our PLN, some of the social factors that we should consider in our PLN include our network’s heterogeneity and openness as this helps us to obtain an awareness of the many thoughts and perspectives of different people. In addition, because our online reputation is based on the people and sites we follow, the content we post, like, or share, and the comments we make, it is critical to be cautious and respectful in all of these areas. Furthermore, It is critical to consider providing one’s own information and expertise since a PLN would rapidly stagnate if no one contributed, and hence no one wants to hang around on a Facebook page where the last post was months ago (Green, 2020).

One of the traits that distinguishes a person as a leader or notable person in a PLN is the use of the PLN to develop significant value and potential, as well as to provide comprehensive and high-quality information since this attracts a huge number of individuals who want to learn more. He creates educational videos on YouTube on evidence-based methods and tools that may help individuals be more productive and create the life they want. He also provides classes on the skillshare website, teaching people about different things such as productivity maximization, video editing, how to be happier and more. Because people liked his educational videos on YouTube, he became extremely successful, with over 3.5 million subscribers (Abdaal, n.d). Furthermore, he creates free Weekly Productivity Insights where he shares actionable productivity tips, practical life advice, and high-quality insights. Some of the insights include how to read 200 books a year, break the Procrastination Cycle and more (Abdaal, n.d). I am so grateful to have been following him for a while now as I have learnt a lot from him.

Individuals employ a variety of strategies to develop a positive reputation/presence on a social media platform. First is choosing a suitable platform to build the PLN and to communicate and interact with others. Second, being staying active and consistent contributors in their PLN as this is very essential in maintaining a healthy digital reputation. Third is to provide comprehensive and high-quality information as this attracts a huge number of individuals who want to learn more and expand their PLN (Baldwin, 2022).

By Abdullahi Bashir

Privacy & Data Security

Image by jcomp on Freepik

Digital identity grants us safety on the internet by making everyone transparent online. It also makes public services much easier. Nowadays, we can do a lot of things such as pay bills, order on Amazon, and study online. These are all possible because of digital identity. The downside to this is that everything is so transparent that identity theft starts to become a problem. This is why people are now working on identity protection so we can protect our information. However, do keep in mind that transparency and privacy are two opposite ends. This means that if we want to maximize online efficiency by making all our information accessible, we will also drastically decrease our data privacy.

Besides the balance between convenience and privacy, there are also other ways to protect our data such as using strong protection softwares to decrease the risk of identity theft. This method is greatly limited by our technology, better softwares are developed as time passes by. However, we have to remember that technology is always a double-edged sword, meaning that bad people such as hackers can also utilize advanced softwares to steal our data. By looking at the current trend of technology, there is no clear evidence that our internet security is much better than before, hackers are motivated and they will always come up with new tools to access other people’s privacy. This is precisely why many people still keep valuable information on paper instead of uploading them electronically.

Lastly, in the current Big Data Era where everything is online, there are only a certain amount of things we can do as individuals. Keep in mind that big companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, are always watching you to a certain extent. Therefore it is impossible to achieve 100% privacy as long as you appear online. If the government wants to find you, they can do that in a split second. However, the good news is that they will not target us personally as long as we live by their laws. Extreme methods are only taken in action if we break the rules. 

By Adam Li

Connections to Course Themes

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Comparing and contrasting connections to course themes:

Leveraging social media to build PLN is a great way for us to expand on and keep building our PLN, in the article provided by first Monday: “Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them.” It teaches you how to build a good PLN, it has been provided that we should build PLN thru people we feel comfortable with building for better communications and learning processes, this concept is known as benevolence. “Another factor that plays a crucial role is benevolence or the general “good contact” between an individual and a new contact (Rusman, et al., 2010). People connect with others whom they like or trust, or with whom they feel a particular connection. (Rajagopal, et al., 2012) To find benevolence, social media is a really good platform for it since you already have your circles within it and you know who you bond well and are comfortable with within your network of people, therefore it would provide a head start into helping you select who to bond with to opt for benevolence while building your PLN.

How will you know that your PLN is a success?

PLN needs to be influential in a good way which is that people follow you and take in the things you shared as valuable, and also at the same time, PLN needs to be inclusive, make sure you use that influence of your PLN to spread out the inclusivity that you are building. In the video shared by Brad Baker, he has stressed about the importance of promoting learning through an inclusive PLN, in which he had mentioned that in building a healthy community, to bring understanding to how to contribute positively to the community to bring harmony to the community within people of different backgrounds.

Have an interactive PLN follower, Shelly Moore has also shared her thoughts in the interview video when she realized her followers were not only followers, but effective learning partners she could share her life and learning thoughts with and build effective long-term learning relationships thru sessions with.

What features & characteristics of existing media technologies make them effective for personal learning?

The connectivity it brings, in the video “The Benefits of Growing your Network & PLN!”, Amy storer and Dyann Wilson Have talked about how they met so many people thru platforms and build their communities of learning where they have deeply emerged with the people that they met on the social media, and they also felt familiar with people they met online at conferences and bonded very well with them. Amy Storer discussed how her first learning meetup is thru Twitter, where she connected to someone she’s never met before thru a common learning topic on social media, a lot of these topics remain open on social media for anyone who wants to join and connect around the topic. Therefore, I would say existing social media technologies have connectivity and openness for people to reach out and form learning communities.

By Bruce Song

Conclusion

In conclusion, this EDCI338 course has taught our group that we can effectively leverage social media platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, to create a successful PLN that promotes knowledgeable discussion and insights. Our group has also learned that using social media platforms for our PLN can come with disadvantages such as data and privacy concerns. However, by carefully curating our digital identity, such as by separating our personal and professional social media platforms, we can further control what information we can share with our PLN. This EDCI338 course has taught us that the more diverse personal and professional connections we make, the more we can learn from the world. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down the physical world, the digital world thrived, strengthening the advantages of PLNs and social media platforms to connect globally.

References

Whitby, T. (2013, November 18). How do I get a PLN? Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby 

Evans, C. (2014). Twitter for teaching: Can social media be used to enhance the process of learning? British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(5), 902-915.

Thang, S. (2018, July 9). Using Twitter as a Personal Learning Network. Technology and the Curriculum Summer 2018. Retrieved from https://pressbooks.pub/techandcurriculum/chapter/personal-learning-networks/ 

Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2012). Can you connect with me now? How the presence of mobile communication technology influences face-to-face conversation quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30(3), 237-246.

MILLER. (2022 June 6). Sophie Lui – EDCI 338 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfcXgKLzOVM

Rajagopal, K., & Sloep, P. B. (2012). View of understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them: First Monday. View of Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | First Monday. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131

YouTube. (2021). Brad Baker Edci 338YouTube. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z8iHxW2n4.

YouTube. (2021). Edci 338 – 20 Minutes MooreYouTube. Retrieved November 22, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeSV0rUl1bA.·       YouTube. (2022). The Benefits of Growing your Network & Pln!YouTube. Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEa8JgAE_qM.

Literacy 6: Digital Identity, Safety and well-being: Digital Skills: Project “digital literacies” (n.d) Literacy 6: Digital identity, safety and well-being | Digital Skills | Project “Digital Literacies”. Available at: https://digitalskills.unibas.ch/en/literacy-framework/literacy-6-digital-identity-safety-and-well-being/.

UoGLibrary (2021) What is digital identity?, YouTube. UoGLibrary. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGV5OBa938I&ab_channel=UofGLibrary .

L. Green, C. (2020) Personal learning networks: Defining and building a PLN, Learning in the Digital Age. Oklahoma State University Libraries. Available at: https://open.library.okstate.edu/learninginthedigitalage/chapter/personal-learning-networks_defining-and-building-a-pln/.

Abdaal. A (n.d), YouTube. aliabdaal. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/@aliabdaal/videos 

Abdaal, A. (n.d) Ali Abdaal. Available at: https://aliabdaal.com/.

Baldwin, C. (2022) Improve your digital reputation with social media and content, WSI. WSI World. Available at: https://www.wsiworld.com/blog/improve-your-digital-reputation-with-social-media-and-content.

Jessica Orchard Research Fellow, & Ben Freedman Director External Affairs and Group Leader Heart Rhythm & Stroke Group. (2022, November 14). Should you really use your smartwatch or fitness wearable to monitor your heart? The Conversation. Retrieve from https://theconversation.com/should-you-really-use-your-smartwatch-or-fitness-wearable-to-monitor-your-heart-194060 

Hale, R., Bywater, J. A. and A., D’Avanzo, M., Krems, K., Corporate Compliance Insights, Silverman, M., Balser, D., Simmons, R., Reports, S. and W., Costa, J., Millar, B., Hann, T., & Stirland, J. (2022, October 12). Instead of crying over spilled data, shore up your governance practices. Corporate Compliance Insights. Retrieved from https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/category/data-privacy/ 

What is data privacy? SNIA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2022, from https://www.snia.org/education/what-is-data-privacy 

Trust, T. (2012). Professional Learning Networks Designed for Teacher Learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(4), 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2012.10784693

Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock! Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(8), 12–15. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/issues/june-july-2010/join-the-flock! Nelson, C. J. (2012). 64 Knowledge Quest | Personal Learning Networks, 70–74.

Perez, L. (2012). Innovative professional development. Knowledge Quest, 40(3), 20–22. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.georgetowncollege.edu:2048/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=82563981

Blog post #10: Engaging Your PLN

” Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?”

Because I learnt a lot throughout the course, I believe I can use my PLN to further my professional development after the course. I have learned that employing diversity and inclusivity in my PLN enables me to expose myself with many perspectives and different views from various resources and people with different background and culture.

” Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities?”

Yes, I believe I can rely on my PLN to open professional opportunities because I have already received some offers of professional opportunities through my PLN and connections I made on social media. As a health informatics student, I always try to expand my PLN and network as having many connections/networks in professional level facilitates us in opening different gates.

Peer Review for Pod #6

photo: https://redlink.com/challenges-in-peer-review/

To access the Pod #6 Google Doc: Click here

Overview:

Hello there, Abdullah, Ehtesham, Lai, Samara, and Cy. Thank you for submitting your interactive learning resource draft about “Stress in the Workplace and its Management Techniques.” I truly appreciate the topic you picked since stress management is critical in the workplace. When I was doing the Co-op, work was difficult and stressful sometimes, and it was vital to handle the tension. In the following sections, I will try to provide any feedback that I have following the structure you have created in your draft.

Description and Rationale:

I loved how you explained why it is important to create a learning resource regarding workplace stress management topic. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but I couldn’t locate the description and rationale for the learning theory (whether it’s behaviourism, cognitivism, or constructivism) and the learning design (whether it’s inquiry, project-based, direct teaching, etc) on which your resource will be based. I think It will be useful to provide a learning theory and learning design that will be based on your resource, as well as explain why you choose that theory and design.

Learning Context:

The resource appears to be lacking context on the specific audience being targeted; I couldn’t establish the particular age or demographic it was aimed towards. Perhaps targeting a specialised demographic would be preferable, as the working class is vast and cannot be targeted everyone at once. Knowing your audience helps you decide what information to include, how to arrange that information, and what type of supporting elements are required for the reader to grasp what you are presenting.

Learning Outcome:

I appreciated the important questions you presented. However, I believe it is critical to explicitly explain the Learning Outcomes since the Learning Outcome declarations define what students are supposed to know, accomplish, and value as a result of the learning. They direct the development of instructional techniques, resources, learning activities, and assessments. They also assist students decide what and how to study throughout the course.

Interactive Activities:

The various interactive activities available in the resource are amazing. For example, I loved the thought of employing a concept map activity since it helps students to see the broad picture and visualise interconnections while also developing higher cognitive skills.

Assessment Plan:

Both formative and summative assessment plans given in resource are incredibly useful and impactful as they drive students to focus, learn and improve .I really appreciate you taking the time and effort to design these activities.

Diverse Inclusion:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I couldn’t identify anything in the recourse regarding your approach for inclusion in the context, such as colour blindness, English language learner (ELL), or hearing loss. I believe it is critical to consider varied inclusion because it benefits both students with learning differences and students who do not have learning differences by making them more aware, tolerant, and understanding of one another.

Technology Choices Rationale:

I’m not sure if you offered any specific technologies that will be employed during this course and the rationale for selecting them, but I believe it will be extremely important to highlight in the resource so that students are aware of it.

Presentation:

Overall, the learning resource looks pretty good considering it to be a draft and not complete. However, I would suggest incorporating different formats and visuals rather than just relying on paragraphs. In addition, I would recommend utilizing online tools such as Notion to present your recourse as it allows you to have numerous formats and add new visuals.

Conclusion

I particularly appreciate the topic you chose as well as the learning resource you developed. You did an excellent job connecting all of the information and developing all of the activities. I believe your learning resource is nearly complete and only requires a few more details to be perfect. Excellent work, and I eagerly await your final version.

Blog post #9: The Future of Multimedia Learning

Photo: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/twine

This week’s activity was to make a simple interactive story with Twine. I started exploring twine to accustom myself. Twine is an open-source framework for telling interactive, nonlinear stories. People read content and then interact by clicking links in the text [1].

I have created a simple interactive story about a rainy day and whether to go to school or stay home and watch Netflix.

Please see my story by clicking here

What are the game elements used in your interactive story using Twine?

Some of the elements used in my interactive story using twice include:

  • Narrative â€“ The story starts with a student waking up on a cold and rainy day and asked to decide whether to go to school or not
  • Immediate Feedback â€“ The player receives feedback for each decision they make.
  • Player Control â€“The result is entirely determined by the decisions made by the player.

“How would you build an activity for students that would have them use this tool? In what type of learning do you think Twine would be particularly effective?” “

I believe there are several activities that may be designed for students that would have them use twine. For example, you can discuss or teach a certain topic, such as Parkinson’s disease, and then invite students to undertake additional reading and research to understand more about the disease. They would then need to produce a narrative about their learning using twine. For example, they may make an interactive story about how to help someone living with the disease and how to deal with the disease’s many symptoms.

Twine, in my opinion, will be the most effective in teaching children to create digital stories since it is simple to learn and use and does not require coding skills. After that, as student confidence grows, it may be used to teach HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Twine enables users to easily shift from linking text units together to adding variables, conditional logic, HTML and CSS styles, and even scripts to create more complicated digital stories.

It was my first time utilizing a web application like twine, which enables you to build interactive, non-linear stories or activities, and I really like it. Because of this, I have used it for activities in other classes and will use it again in the future since it is so helpful.

References:

[1] https://twinery.org/

Module 4 Learning Activity: MOOCs

Photo: https://blog.mimio.com/how-moocs-can-support-teacher-learning

“Provide a short description of the MOOC – what was the topic? how was it organized? what interactions were available? how were you assessed?”

I chose Coursera as the MOOC provider site, and the selected topic was how to “Build a Professional Resume Using Canva”. The course is organized into different sections or categories[1];

  • Project-based Course Overview: Provides instructions for the course objectives, course structure, project structure, and introduces the teacher and platforms to be utilized.
  • Guided Project: A third-party technology called rhyme is employed to enhance the learning experience and promote active hands-on learning. The platform enables the video lesson and work area to be displayed on the same screen. This guided project is broken into five tasks, each with its own video and activity.
  • Quiz: Graded quiz to assess project comprehension. A grade of 80% or above is necessary to pass the course and receive a certificate.
  • Course end survey: Feedback about the course.

The course provides discussion forums that allow students to ask questions, debate ideas, and find classmates who share their goals.

“How did this learning experience compare to ‘traditional’ courses? Consider any of the following factors:”

In terms of “connection with peers and instructor(s),” the learning experience of the finished course is a bit similar to traditional courses. However, unlike traditional courses, which allow us to physically meet with peers and the teacher, the connection is made online by using discussion boards to communicate with the instructor or other peers. In terms of “assessment and evaluation,” the completed MOOC incorporates virtual quizzes, which are quite similar to regular courses with the exception that they are not supervised.

” Do you think this MOOC would be considered an xMOOC or a cMOOC?”

I think this MOOC would be considered an xMOOC as it has a combination a pre-recorded video lectures, computerized testing such as quizzes and discussion forums that allows students to interact [2].

Self Reflection

I chose this specific assignment to learn more about and explore MOOCs after hearing about them for the first time in this class. I’ve used sites like Coursera and edX before, which provide free self-paced classes on any area of interest, however I did not know the courses they provide to be called the term MOOCs. The exercise was relevant to my learning objectives since I now understand what MOOCs are and the different varieties of xMOOC and cMOOC. My overarching objective is to always learn something new, and this activity helped me attain that goal.

References:

[1] https://www.coursera.org/projects/build-a-professional-resume-using-canva

[2] https://www.meetingone.com/blog/turn-your-adobe-connect-room-into-a-cmooc/

Blog post #9: Why Media Literacy matters in your PLN

Photo: https://philmintonsferalchoir.com/what-is-information-literacy-and-why-we-should-care/

“What is media literacy?”

Media Literacy is a framework for accessing, analyzing, evaluating, creating, and participating in communications in many media ranging from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy fosters a grasp of the function of media in society as well as the critical inquiry and self-expression abilities required of democratic individuals. It is people’s capacity to detect and utilize media correctly, which is their ability to comprehend, interpret, and assess media and media messages. [1].

” Why is it important?”

People need media literacy to grasp the messages that are being transmitted to them. With so many sources of information available today, media literacy may assist consumers in identifying trustworthy sources and filtering through the noise to find the truth. People who are media literate can identify biases in the media and how they may influence their impression of an event or topic.

” Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict; why does this happen?”

Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict because most individuals do not consider media literacy to be a consideration while using social media and do not want to exert additional effort to check the information they get as long as it corresponds to their beliefs and desires. This creates conflicts because people will ignore factual information if that does not align with their beliefs, desires or agendas. Nowadays, media employ tags, advertising, and caches to target audiences that are likely to agree with their news and information, even if it is not true, and the media will do this just for profit.

“What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?”

Having a PLN that values media literacy has a lot of benefits including:

  • It enables us to absorb factual information or news from our PLN because they respect media literacy and are trustworthy, as opposed to the general media, which seeks to profit from their information.
  • Lets individuals have access to a wealth of knowledge that may help them learn more and improve.
  • Allows us to have constructive dialogues that will lead to individuals meeting halfway and making necessary modifications.
  • People may use their PLNs to double-check information or news and confirm the trustworthiness of the information they receive.

To avoid fake news and disinformation that travels swiftly in this internet age when everything gets everywhere quickly without being fact-checked at all, it’s critical to have a PLN that values media literacy.

References:

[1] https://www.medialit.org/media-literacy-definition-and-more

Blog Post #8: Balancing PLN’s & Public Discourse

Photo: https://givingcompass.org/article/the-need-for-aapi-civic-engagement-in-public-discourse

” How do notable individuals use social media?”

I believe that notable individuals use social media for the same reasons that ordinary folks do: to connect with others and to obtain information or news. Notable people such as celebrities utilize social media as a sort of marketing, attention seeking, and a means to boost their fame. In addition, notable people such as politicians use social media as a means of disseminating ideas, expressing their views on contentious issues or promoting and advocating for specific ideals.

Sophie Louis noted in the video that she expresses herself differently on Twitter and Instagram. She is more likely to tweet about her opinions and events. While she usually posts about her daily life on Instagram, such as her diet and friends[1]. Like Sophie, I generally express myself differently on social media. For example, I maintain separate social media accounts for business and personal reasons. I use Instagram to interact with close friends and share my daily life, but I use Twitter and Linkedin to network with professionals and gain information.

” What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?”

Being in the public eye and having PLN enables many benefits for individuals. An individual can readily convey a message, picture, and brand that can easily reach a bigger audience, allowing them to be perceived as inspiring and influential figure. Other benefits may include the ability to obtain public support, as being in the public eye implies having a large number of followers and fans.

Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?”

Engaging with a public audience in a media space as a public figure or a person in a position of trust has many benefits. For example, the media space enables them to communicate and interact with the audience on anything, such as difficulties and problems that exist and that the audience is experiencing. They can also utilize the media area to share any new information they have that is relevant to the audience. Furthermore, they may use social media to prevent the propagation of falsehoods about them, which causes mistrust in the hearts of their audience. Using media space as a public figure can also pose a lot of risks. For example, because their identity is hidden and they have nothing to fear, the audience can judge, attack, and abuse prominent figures online. Other risks include privacy invasion, identity theft and misinformation spread.

“How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer’s social media policy?”

I believe that acknowledging unfavourable responses and critiques, reflecting on them, and making adjustments for the better is one approach to dealing with them. If the negative replies and critiques still happen after making some changes, it is maybe better to ignore them as it is impossible to please everyone.

References:

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfcXgKLzOVM&feature=youtu.be

Blog post #8: Active and Passive Learning

Photo by olia danilevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/spiral-notebook-pencils-and-paper-clips-flatlay-5088017/

” What was your experience of trying out H5P? Which of the activities do you think you would make most use of in your teaching context and what would you use them to do? Which ones do you think require the most resources to create?”

H5P, which stands for HTML-5-Package, is a plugin tool that assists in the creation and execution of interactive material and interactive video within an LMS or other type of eLearning browser. Memory games, multiple-choice questions, quizzes, fill-in-the-blank inquiries, and questionnaires are some examples of interactive activities that can be created by using H5P[1].

My experience of trying out H5P was very positive, I enjoyed how simple it was to build engaging learning activities including quizzes, interactive films, drag-and-drop exercises, and other visual activities. I don’t recall seeing this tool before, and I’m not sure why teachers don’t use it because it’s incredibly valuable for engagement.

All of the H5P activities, in my opinion, would be excellent use as interactive activities in teaching. The multiple-choice questions, True and False questions, and interactive video were the ones I found most beneficial and will be utilizing them in our teaching context. I will use multiple-choice questions and True/False questions to assess the learners’ knowledge and understanding of the course material, While the interactive video will be used to actively engage learners in interacting with the videos, this will assist them to retain the information they hear or see.

I believe that all of the activities will necessitate the expenditure of certain resources in order to be created. For example, while I was constructing the True and False activity, I was unable to make all of them at once and had to open a new one to add another question; I’m not sure if this is due to a lack of knowledge or if it is simply the way it is. I don’t think it matters which activity uses the most resources because H5P is simple to use and allows you to construct a variety of interesting interactive visual activities.

True and False questions by using H5P

References:

[1] https://www.lambdasolutions.net/blog/what-is-h5p-and-why-your-elearning-needs-it

Assignment #3: Core Multimedia Skills

Photo: https://www.animationkolkata.com/blog/2021/12/06/multiple-components-multimedia/

A brief description of the purpose of my multimedia learning object

The multimedia object I chose for this assignment is to update or enhance an infographic regarding plagiarism detection tools that I made for another class. Plagiarism is considered intellectual theft. Plagiarism can take numerous forms, ranging from intentional cheating to inadvertently copying from a source without acknowledgment. As a result, if someone incorporates another person’s words or ideas in their work, they must disclose where they got from. Plagiarism detection tools are used to capture those who do this[1]. Plagiarism detection techniques are particularly important in education since they ensure that students do not copy or steal the work of others. After viewing the infographic, learners will understand what plagiarism detection tools are, how they are utilized in education, and what their benefits and limitations are.

See the original Infographic by clicking on this text

Applying Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia

I used the Coherence Principle by eliminating unneeded, distracting contents such as icons and shapes, the Signaling Principle by using contrasting colours to call attention to the information, the Spatial Contiguity Principle by ensuring that relevant text and visuals are situated close to one another, and the Segmenting Principle by adding audio about the infographic that provide learners with more control over their learnings[2]. Before learning about these principles, I did know what I was doing, because I was using too many colours, icons, shapes and texts.

promising practices for infographic design

The following are some of the features of promising practises for infographic design that I implemented into my design to make it better: I kept the colour scheme minimal, adhering to three to four colours, using the same design style throughout, leaving as much white space as possible, using the fewest essential fonts, and remembering that size counts[3].

Applying Inclusive Design

I have not considered inclusive design when I was creating the original infographic but when I was redesigning the infographic, I kept in mind that people come from diverse backgrounds and have varied skills, therefore I took elements like accessibility into account. To minimize confusion, I utilized a consistent font size throughout the design. I also selected specific colours that contrasted with one another to bring the viewer’s attention to the design’s essential components. In addition, for greater accessibility, I have included a voice version of the transcript.

Other design principles

I emphasized on alignment to ensure that the elements of my design were linked and precisely positioned. I used repetition efficiently, for example, to unify the design and overall look, I regularly used the same colours, fonts, and font sizes. By reviewing the fundamentals of colour theory, I was able to make the colours as supportive of the design as feasible.

See the upgraded Infographic by clicking on this text

Plagiarism detection tools Infographic audio playlist

Description of the Infographic
What is it?
Its use in Education
Benefits
Limitations

References:

[1] https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/what-plagiarism

[2] https://waterbearlearning.com/mayers-principles-multimedia-learning/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a55c5h-2gA

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