How diverse is your existing PLN?
Since I am active on several social medias, my average time on social media is approximately eight hours per day. However, I do not think my PLN is diverse enough. I do use Wechat and Whatsapp to connect with my close friends and family. For school use, I will connect with my classmates and professors mostly via Gmail, UVic mails, and discord. I do not usually connect with my colleagues through network. I notice that many people are active on LinkedIn but to be honest, I do not use LinkedIn as often as others do. In conclusion, although I spend quiet a few time on social media, I still think my PLN is not diverse.
In your PLN, are you learning from a variety of voices or are you the loudest in the room?
In my PLN, I will consider myself in the group of learning from others. One biggest factor is that I do not like to comment on or give a strong opinion on others’ posts. I am worried to be wrong or sometimes misunderstood by people. However, I enjoy to listen to others’ various opinions. Thus, I think I am satisfied with listening from others.
Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide range of interests)?
I will participate in information sharing only if I am strongly interested in the topic or have a valid evidences to support my thoughts. Otherwise, I usually spend my time on reading and listening to others.
How can you use a diverse PLN to broaden your views of inclusion?
A diverse PLN allows you to hear from others. Firstly, PLN allows people to connect worldwide. This means many opinions and perspectives are available for you to think and read. A diverse PLN will include people without focusing on their ages, genders, nationalities, and races. For me, that is a kind of inclusion.
In your professional setting of choice, do you think inclusion is actively embraced?
My professional of choice is most likely finance since my major is economics. I think inclusion is embraced but probably not embraced enough. In this field, I think we do look at people’s ages and exclude children who are under 16 since they are not old enough for working and “handling” their money appropriately. Especially, based on my personal experience in China, my parents are the one who manage my allowances and “pocket money” when I was under 18. Therefore, I probably would not think to find a financial analyst or an organization for investing or saving.
What is the learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?
My PLN slowly changes me. I am addicted to YouTube and it does not only allow me to learn various contents but also make me want to study. Firstly, there are many professional accounts of different fields on YouTube sharing their knowledge. Many YouTubers sharing their study process as a daily vlogg on YouTube. While watching those videos, I usually will study with them. This year, I even tried to connect with one of them or sharing study tips. I do feel an inclusion when I was learning not only economics through social medias but also other subjects that I typically would not be interested in. Also, I was interested in shooting videos on me studying and I hope I will do it in the future. I think this is not only benefiting me but also others (if they enjoy watching or even study with me).
How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved after reviewing the videos and readings?
After reviewing the videos and articles, I know that inclusion and diversity are closely related. We are all independent individuals. Watching the video makes me realize that the places of learning for students are not the only and the best approach for children with disabilities to get involved in their peers communities. I think the places are not THAT important for including everyone. In fact, PLN does a better job since people usually focusing on opinions and information but not your health concerns. I personally think that similar thoughts will connect people better than just placing them in the same room.
References
Five Moore Minutes. (2018 Octorber 2). The Evolution of Inclusion: The past and future of education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgXBhPh5Zo
One Without the Other: Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion Shelley Moore and Leyton Schnellert
Introduction (Page 6-10) & Part 1 (Page 11-12). https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/reader.action?docID=4832579&ppg=6
3 Comments
Hi Kelsey,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I was just wondering if there is a specific reason you feel your PLN is not diverse? You mentioned you use a lot of different kinds of social media, which in my opinion makes your network diverse, so I was curious to know why you feel it isn’t. I really liked how you mentioned that you only participate in a silo of information sharing if you have valid evidence to support your thoughts. I feel like that is really important as many people just post their opinions or thoughts without actually having information to back it up.
Great post!
Hi Kelsey!
I have the same worry as you! I find it quite challenging to make sure what is being commented on others’ blogs is not taken the wrong way. I also agree that YouTube provides a mass variety of content that is beneficial for studying. Youtube videos are usually my go-to method when it comes to learning new concepts in math. I enjoyed reading your blog and learning about the types of PLN you engage in!
-Kyla