What were my learning goals, and what was my initial knowledge?

At the beginning of the course, I didn’t know what a PLN was or how it could fit into my digital identity. I was comfortable with the use of technology but skeptical of how social media and online platforms could be integrated responsibly into education. I had a network through social media platforms and other online engagement platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn, but I didn’t know why it was important to have a PLN or how it could benefit personal and professional growth.

My main learning goal from the start of the course was to continue my growth in the area of EdTech, with the hopes of exploring new ways that I can engage meaningfully with my future students. I think that I have definitely achieved this goal. As I previously mentioned, at the beginning of the course, I was concerned about social media, AI, and other technologies in schools, but now, I understand their importance, and I feel more inspired about how I can transfer this knowledge to my future students.

How has my intellectual, professional, and digital literacy grown? What were my challenges and how did I address them?

Initially, I thought of digital identities mainly as they relate to your digital footprint, but early in the course, the provided resource was the press conference on the value of digital identity for the global economy and society from the World Economic Forum 2019, which shifted my thinking about what a digital identity could be. The selected speakers had many interesting thoughts to share about how digital identities could provide aid for individuals without an ID of their own, and the economic and security implications of businesses using this kind of technology.

Something that was also a big growth area for me was learning about digital privacy laws for our week 5 blog post on AI and social media. I always had a vague idea about how data could be stored and used, but I had no idea the specific things that laws like PIPEDA involved. This blog post allowed me to explore more about PIPEDA before answering and reflecting on the blog questions. What I learned is that there are more regulations than I thought in Canada, and that BC has its own regulations related to public sector organizations like schools and hospitals.

Another key takeaway for me has been to reach further with my exploration and include more resources to back up what I’m thinking. This was a general piece of feedback from our instructor about making sure to include research and reliable sources when making general statements. I have kept that in my mind as I have researched and sourced my blog posts to ensure that my posts are clear and helpful to someone who wants to learn more about our course topics.

My goals for future professional learning are as follows:

  • To participate in AI training related to its use in the classroom
  • To connect with more educators whom I meet in person in order to grow my online PLN
  • To learn more about privacy laws as they relate to educational activities.

Overall Thoughts and Takeaways

I have found this course very helpful to deepen my knowledge about how technology, social media, and PLNs can be integrated into the classroom and how they can be relevant to my professional learning journey. In the future, I hope to engage with my PLN more meaningfully and explore more professional learning opportunities related to teaching.

— Sofia

(Here is my favourite goodbye song)