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HTTP/2 301 server: nginx/1.27.4 date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 19:32:19 GMT content-type: application/rss+xml; charset=UTF-8 location: https://ltc.opened.ca/feed/ last-modified: Tue, 01 Dec 2020 04:39:06 GMT etag: "3fd47c25e9f0059775a03a67102397aa" x-redirect-by: WordPress fastcgi-cache: MISS strict-transport-security: max-age=31536000; includeSubdomains; HTTP/2 200 server: nginx/1.27.4 date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 19:32:20 GMT content-type: application/rss+xml; charset=UTF-8 vary: Accept-Encoding last-modified: Tue, 01 Dec 2020 04:39:06 GMT etag: W/"3fd47c25e9f0059775a03a67102397aa" link: ; rel="https://api.w.org/" fastcgi-cache: BYPASS strict-transport-security: max-age=31536000; includeSubdomains; content-encoding: gzip Leigh’s Blog https://ltc.opened.ca Tue, 01 Dec 2020 04:39:06 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 Final Reflections https://ltc.opened.ca/final-reflections/ https://ltc.opened.ca/final-reflections/#respond Tue, 01 Dec 2020 04:39:06 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=110 At the beginning of this class I was not very technology savvy and could only vaguely describe what a personal learning network was. Over the period of this class I have gained a lot of knowledge and confidence on how what a PLN is, how you create one as well as the different types of social media platforms out there. Before my knowledge of social media and technology was that people just used them for fun and were a way to keep people updated on your life as well as keeping up with theirs. I knew to a certain degree that people used them for professional development but I didn’t know to what extent. I am very happy that I took this class and had the opportunity to learn things like what media literacy is or how you can have the ability to use previous experiences and skills, then combine them with technology in order to continue leaning and making a difference. I now know that by having an extensive PLN allows you to make connections with so many more people that are not in your immediate vicinity. I learned so many benefits about PLN’s, but was also made aware of some things to look out for. Such as if you have a small closed- minded PLN you will only ever have one perspective, which can create bias and actually impact your learning, growth and developmental in a negative way.

On a closing note this class was quite interesting because in a way it actually grew my own personal learning network. By being put into smaller groups, it gave us the ability to look through other peoples blog posts and see their perspectives and opinions on the weekly material that we had to go through. It gave everyone the chance to expand their views. There was a couple weeks when I would read other peoples posts and see that they had so different takes and ideas about the questions that I had not even considered; which was very neat to see. Overall I really enjoyed my experience in this class and feel that I learned a lot of new useful things.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/final-reflections/feed/ 0 Engaging Your PLN https://ltc.opened.ca/engaging-your-pln/ https://ltc.opened.ca/engaging-your-pln/#respond Tue, 24 Nov 2020 18:36:03 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=108 If your PLN can be used to help professional development post-course? Can you leverage your PLN in future endeavours?

There is a saying that says “its all about who you know”. With that being said I think it is very true and that by having any extensive PLN it could open up possibilities for future endeavours. Having many connections on the one hand gives you the opportunity to help people reach their goals by introducing them to new people, as well as on the other hand can also allow you to use who you know to help you get places as well. Del Giudice (2014), states that in todays world communicational technology have a remarkable impact on our culture and the way we interact with each other. So this whole idea of online digital networking makes up a huge part of people being able to fulfil goals and find out about different career opportunities. For instance we can consider that after taking this course, we have just expanded our PLN. The course gave us the opportunity to collaborate and work with new people as well gain knowledge from the guest speakers who came into class. Down the line these connections that we made could be useful contacts, when trying to figure out our direction.

Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities and on which platform does your emerging expertise get good exposure?

Yes I do believe that your PLN can be relied on to open professional opportunities. Again it is all about who you know and trying to emerge yourself in situations where people are going to push your learning and be able to offer you assistance and guidance. When thinking about what kind of platform could help you get good exposure for your expertise I think it depends on what you are looking for. An example would be Instagram. That platform is no longer only about posting pictures for fun; there are people that are Instagram influencers. These people build up a following for themselves and then partner with different brands and promote their products, services or even vacation destinations. It has become a whole new kind of job. Not to the same extent, level or degree as that but I have experienced it in a small way. Where occasionally I have had clothing or jewelry brands like the pictures that I post and want me to be brand ambassador where I wear their product and tag them in my post in order for others to see and a way to get their name out there.

With consideration to the reading and video interview, how do you ensure that you expand your PLN via social media platforms into spaces that may be outside of your comfort zone?

Sometimes going outside of your comfort zone can bring up many opportunities that you didn’t for see yourself getting into. It was very interesting to hear Amber Glauser talk about how her goal and passion in life was to be a nurse and be there to help others. She never expected herself to transition and become a representative of the technology world. But soon after she was in it she realized that there was an opportunity to combine what she loved doing (being a nurse) with this new world. It gave her the ability to be the voice and advocate for her patients because she knew what worked and didn’t work for them. She could take her background knowledge to the tech companies and steer them in a direction that would benefit both parties. It is very interesting that by being open and stepping outside of your comfort zone you can create a space for new learning and almost bring together two worlds.

References

Del Giudice M. (2014) From Information Society to Network Society: The Challenge. In: Social Media and Emerging Economies. SpringerBriefs in Business. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1007/978-3-319-02490-5_5

EDCI 338 A01 (2020, Nov 15) Glauser, A. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiWaXNfnHAg&feature=youtu.be

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/engaging-your-pln/feed/ 0 PLN and Communication- What do People See? https://ltc.opened.ca/pln-and-communication-what-do-people-see/ https://ltc.opened.ca/pln-and-communication-what-do-people-see/#respond Sun, 15 Nov 2020 23:52:44 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=106 Your identity is automatically incorporated into your PLN because what you wright, research and communicate about are done in a way that represents yourself. Everything that you do online is an extension of your thoughts and your feelings. The advantage of of it being online, is it gives you the ability to expand your circle. After listening to the interview with Harrison Mooney he explained that by having this larger circle it allows you to expand your knowledge about the lives and perspectives of others. You get to connect with other thinkers and people that are from the same as well as different cultures and backgrounds from yourself. It gives you the ability to share stories and experiences that you had and realize that others could have faced them as well. It gives you a space to learn and be heard, to make you feel that you are not alone in the world.

One other interesting thing that came up in the interview was that he talked about how through the improvements and advancements in social media things have changed. Before people did not have at the ready the ability to google people and see what they looked like, learn about their culture or find a history of their background. This could either be an advantage or disadvantage. It gives people the opportunity to have pre conceived notions of what you are going to be like or how you are going to feel about certain situations. Harrison Mooney told a story about how when he would do interviews on the phone people could not tell his race or culture and would broach how they asked their questions in a certain way due to the way he sounded on the phone. He then brought up the fact that he knew as soon as they did a google search on him they would realize that he wasn’t white and would call back and apologize and almost back track on some of the comments they made. One thing this shows is that people can make assumptions which hinders development of thoughts and ideas in public discourse.

Another aspect to consider is the idea of boundaries. Is it a good plan to incorporate professional or personal boundaries with your PLN? I think that it really depends on the situation. When I consider myself in that position I think that if you are in a very professional setting it might be a good idea to not delve super deep into your personal experiences unless they are relevant to the topic at hand. If you are talking to a group of people about something specific it might not be in your best interest to not just share deep stories or issues. I think that there is a time and place for that. If your PLN is one where you feel comfortable sharing your stories and personal information, I would say that it can be a very useful tool and support network. The only thing to keep in mind is that many people can have access to what you are sharing so it is important to make sure that you have a boundary of what you are comfortable with the masses possibly knowing.

Reference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elKNQpz0RrI&feature=youtu.be

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/pln-and-communication-what-do-people-see/feed/ 0 Media Literacy in your PLN https://ltc.opened.ca/media-literacy-in-your-pln/ https://ltc.opened.ca/media-literacy-in-your-pln/#respond Mon, 09 Nov 2020 20:02:43 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=104 Open dialogue about media literacy can create conflict because people can be very strong in their thoughts and opinions. When they find sources or facts on the internet that make sense to them they just want to take it at face value. Media literacy is designed to help make people stop and do some research in order to weed through to find the actual truth. It is important for people to learn the concept of media and why they should incorporate it into their PLN. Some common questions that people have when the discussion of media literacy comes up are, what is media literacy?, Why is it important?, Why is it dismissed?, Why should you aim for varied views but factual consensus in your PLN?

What is media literacy?

Media Literacy is the ability to identify different types of media you create or consume and the messages that they are trying to convey. There are different aspects that are involved in the concept of Media Literacy. Such as who is the message for, what it conveys and why is the message being sent? Media literacy is designed to help people discover push their knowledge and learn to challenge what is being put out there.

2. Why is it important?

Media literacy is important because it allows people to be more informed and positive about the content that is being put out there. Teaching people media literacy allows them to become wiser consumers and responsible producers in the media that they engage in. It also gives people the ability to gain the skills of working together, collaboration and how to be respectful while interacting with each other.

3. Why is it dismissed?

Media literacy can sometimes be dismissed or put to the side because people don’t think that it is important. Some people have the view that most things that they read on the internet are true. Media literacy is about determining the difference between what we want to believe versus what is true. Some people have a hard time with that because they find an article or post that supports their thinking and they just want to believe it to be the truth. People also dismiss media literacy because they do not have a full grasp or understanding of what it is.

4. Why should you aim for varied views but factual consensus in your PLN?

It is important to aim to connect with people who have varied views from yourself because you can share your experiences and they can give you different insight. By diversifying your PLN, you have the opportunity to talk to people from all around the world that might be in the same profession as you, but approach it in different ways. They might have experienced a similar situation that you are going through and be able to offer you advice. They can give you rational guidance in a situation where you might be worked up. By having a large PLN with varied views you will be able to bounce off each other, see things from different points of views and learn to challenge yourself.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/media-literacy-in-your-pln/feed/ 0 Navigating and Balancing Social Media https://ltc.opened.ca/navigating-and-balancing-social-media/ https://ltc.opened.ca/navigating-and-balancing-social-media/#respond Sun, 08 Nov 2020 20:27:48 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=102 As a public figure there are many different risks and benefits or engaging with a public audience in a media space. When you are in the public eye and have a lot of people interested in what you are doing, leads to a scenario that people are going to follow and trust what you say. This can be a good thing if you use the platform you have created in appositive way and make sure that what you are posting is truthful and will be beneficial to others. There can also be the risk of some individuals hat post what is considered “fake news”. This is when someone posts things that are untruthful in the hopes that it will create enough traction in order to persuade people to follow their beliefs. Along with that people who decide to engage with the public also have the risk of receiving backlash. Everyone has an opinion and some of those people decided to use it to break apart of tear down people that have a very public life. This can be extremely hard as when you are constantly hearing all this hate towards you it can start wearing down your confidence and making you see the worst in yourself.

Another situation that is notable is when employers use social media in regards to hiring, firing and interacting with their employees. Social media can be a very wonderful thing as it allows you to express who you are and give you platform to show and update your friends about what is going on in your life. But it is very important to remember that what you post is traceable and could have the potential to squash certain opportunities that come up in your future. I remember from the time that I was allowed to have social media that my mom would always tell me to be careful that what I posted and as aware of how I would want to represent myself. She brought up that some employers might take a look at your social media in order to view your life a little bit. She would always tell me a the story of how her friends daughter really wanted to volunteer as a big sister and be a role model for younger girls, but the organization was skeptical of working with her because her social media was filled with partying pictures and her doing wild things. They thought that she didn’t necessarily represent what they wanted in a role model. Due to her social media it made her miss out on experience that was important to her and her really wanted to do. That is something that has always stuck with me because social media platforms are just a small glimpse of who you are. It does not represent exactly all of who you are, it is just a quick snapshot. But as an employer or boss those quick glimpses give them enough to make an assumption of who you are and what you are like. So that is always something to be aware of.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/navigating-and-balancing-social-media/feed/ 0 Community Engagement https://ltc.opened.ca/community-engagement/ https://ltc.opened.ca/community-engagement/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2020 04:02:25 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=100 Social media can help people reach out and connect in different community- based communications. Through the advancement and popularity of social media it has allowed individuals to have a voice and reach out and make connections with not only their surrounding circle but people further away. Social media has made it so there are more opportunities for conversations and collaborations by the people to form different PLN. There are many benefits to being able to collaborate on a huge scale but along with anything there are always challenges that you could face when using social media as a tool for community-based communication. A challenge that some people might face is the lost feeling of closeness and personal connections.When you are talking in person or over the phone you are able to hear speech inflection and tone; meaning you are able to really understand exactly what way a person is meaning something. You also have the ability to use non verbal cues that allow for the person to feel like they are being heard. It is a lot easier to try and form an authentic connection with someone when they are standing right in front of you. When we consider communication through an online platform there could be a challenge of not grasping the message being portrayed in the correct manner. Online communication can also be hard as some people find that talking through zoom or FaceTime is uncomfortable because you are very aware of what you are doing and there could be lags or stalls in the conversation. Another major thing to consider is whatever you say online can not be taken away, so you have to be careful and make sure that any information you are giving or opinions or thoughts you have are in a place where your privacy is being protected. Social media can be amazing because it gives us the ability to connect with others that we might never have been able to before. It allows you to research, collaborate, and post things that interest you and that you can share with a large group of people who also enjoy the same things. But there are also many things to keep in mind when you are using it. People need to make sure that the groups you are associated with have your best interest at heart.

Personal Learning Networks can be used in many different forms, such as for professional and personal use. I think depending on what you are using the platform for depends on the kind of image you want to be portrayed. When you are using your social media to communicate to the public or others I think it is very important to make sure that you are very authentic in the things that you are posting. You want to make sure that you are not false advertising or creating a version of yourself or your business that is not real. When saying that it is also important to consider not only how you represent yourself but how you interact with others. You want to make sure that you are respectful and never post any hate out there. Sometimes if you are too honest or go over the top with your opinions on certain things you can receive a lot of backlash or hate. Once something is out there it can never be fully taken away; so before posting something a good idea would be to think about if what you are about to say or do is going to affect or harm a person or group of people.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/community-engagement/feed/ 2 Building a Podcast https://ltc.opened.ca/building-a-podcast/ https://ltc.opened.ca/building-a-podcast/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2020 01:26:38 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=98 When starting a podcast it would be extremely important to create a backing or following in order for it to become successful. To do this you would need to market and create a personal learning network (PNL) that would support the content you are talking about. Prior to starting a podcast I believe that there should be some thought put into what topic you want to talk about. In order for the podcast to be successful the content you are going to put out there should be something that you are passionate about in order for it to come across as exciting and authentic to your listeners. Then it would be important to get the word out about your podcast. Such as promoting it on Instagram, youtube or any other platform. An idea that I had was you could drop teaser videos and clips from your podcast that you could use to promote your upcoming episodes.

I took a look at one of the podcasts that I listened to and I picked out a couple things that they did that I believed helped them grow their PNL. One thing they did was start their own Instagram page dedicated to posting content about their podcast. As well as having a page dedicated to the podcast they linked the and cross promoted it on their own personal accounts. Once they finished a couple episodes they put it out on different platforms for their viewers to listen too like Spotify and apple podcasts. After this particular podcast started gaining attention they started doing things like creating merchandise with popular sayings they used in their podcast and made their listeners feel like they were a part of the group or gang. One other big thing that they did was allow their listeners to write in and ask questions, give tips and share stories of things that happened to them that were on theme with the podcast. The girls would then at the end of each episode share the questions and stories on the podcast and give their answers or feedback. By doing this I think that it made the listeners feel like they were a part of the journey and podcast. It made them excited to listen in every week and keep up.

As a podcast becomes popular the people behind it become influencers and their listeners become interested in who they are and what they are about. It is important to consider things such as privacy and security. When someone becomes more famous their fans or listeners want to know everything they can about them. As this is happening you would want to think about things such as how much of my personal life am I willing to share with the public. Also keeping in mind that if you have a big following people listen to what you have to say you need to consider how your thoughts and opinions will affect other people. Another possible thing to consider is that as your podcast becomes popular yes you will have lots of people that love it, but there will also be another group that can be very critical, have nasty comments and will come at you with hate. That is something that people need to know and be prepared for when creating something for the masses. They have to try and not let the negativity get to them and focus on all the support that they have from their positive PNL.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/building-a-podcast/feed/ 0 Personal Learning Networks through Social Media https://ltc.opened.ca/personal-learning-networks-through-social-media/ https://ltc.opened.ca/personal-learning-networks-through-social-media/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2020 17:43:26 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=94 Students now a days use many different digital networks in order to help create and develop a professional network. Depending on the chosen profession and style of work the student is hoping to get involved with might determine what kind of platform is going to be the most successful. Some common platforms used to expand professional networks are facebook, twitter, linkd in and even Instagram.

As a student I did mention before it would be important to make sure that the digital platforms you choose to use and what you post on them are going to be appropriate. If you are wanting to become a social media influencer it would be a good idea to work on growing your Instagram account and putting lots of pictures and posts that show who you are and what you are all about. On the other hand I think you would want to represent yourself a little bit different if you are looking to break into the corporate world or possibly working with children. One thing that always needs to be taken into consideration is once you post something online it will always be out there and anyone has the ability to find it. So with that being said you need to decide in the moment how each post, picture or story could possibly come back and effect you in a negative or positive way down the road. For an example if you choose to portray yourself online as always going out and partying or being overly negative and opinionated an employer might look you up online and decide that you are not the person they want to hire and have representing their brand or company. It is extremely important to make sure that what you and the other people in your personal learning network are posting about you is something that you would not mind having your parents, grandparents, colleagues or future bosses seeing; as this could effect opportunities in your future.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/personal-learning-networks-through-social-media/feed/ 2 Digital Identities https://ltc.opened.ca/digital-identities/ https://ltc.opened.ca/digital-identities/#respond Mon, 28 Sep 2020 18:02:50 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=92 When I think about what a digital identity is I believe it is a way that you represent yourself over the internet. A digital identity includes the platforms you choose to use, the content you post and the people you interact with. Your online identity is an extension of yourself and allows you to network and reach out to people all around the world. People tend to use a personal digital identity as a way to share information about their life and interests. It is a way for them to let their friends, family and followers see small glimpses of their lives. As well as a platform for them to share their personal interests and opinions. A personal digital identity tends to differ slightly from a professional digital identity (PDI). A PDI is defined as “professional identity that develops through internet-based social interactions by utilizing online platforms and communication tools” (Jawed et al, 2019). People tend to use PDI as a place of learning and communication in a professional setting. A professional identity is one where you can network with other people in your field or perhaps provide a platform to inform others of your business, research or allow you to teach.

With social media becoming so popular some people might find that they have both a personal and professional digital identity. It would be important to keep those two identities separate from each other. That could mean that you have two different accounts on some sites in order to be able to keep the two apart. This would allow you to post thoughts or photos on an private account followed by people you trust and want to know about your life on a personal account. Then on the other you could have an account that might be set to open allowing you to get more traffic through your site to promote you professional outlook and ideas. There needs to be consideration of balance, privacy, and separation of the two personal learning networks in order to make sure that you are portraying the appropriate digital identity in the right setting.

Reference

Jawed, S., Mahboob, U., & Yasmeen, R. (2019). Digital professional identity: Dear Internet! Who am I? Education for Health (Abingdon, England), 32(1), 33–35. https://doi- org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.4103/efh.EfH_232_17

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/digital-identities/feed/ 0 Personal Learning Networks https://ltc.opened.ca/personal-learning-networks/ https://ltc.opened.ca/personal-learning-networks/#respond Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:30:55 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=89 We are living in a time where technology is a huge part of our daily lives. People use them to keep in touch with family and friends, form new relationships, keep up to date on current events, as well as to learn new information. When doing this they are forming a personal learning network. This network is something that can grow and evolve over time in order to create a platform for life long learning.

I think these networks can be used as a very positive way of learning, especially in the times of Covid-19. Because of online networking we have the ability to continue going to school and keeping in touch with people. It made it so we don’t have to put our lives on hold and wait for it to be possible to be allowed in large groups for learning.

There is a whole lot of benefits to having an online personal learning network. But it is also important to consider things such as privacy, online image, and sometimes how there could be a negative interactions. Every time people go online to shop, do research, or just browse the internet; it tracks what you look at in an algorithm and from there displays ads and directs information that will interest you. Along with that I think it is important to consider how much information and the image that you are putting out online. Privacy is a something that is very important and you want to make sure that the people you are including into your personal learning network are supportive, inclusive and are bringing positive value into your life. It can be so easy to fall into a place where the people around you online are not those things and it can bring a real negative impact to your life.

Personal learning networks are something that can really bring a great new dynamic into your life, if you decide to use it in a positive way.

]]> https://ltc.opened.ca/personal-learning-networks/feed/ 0 A Little Bit About Leigh https://ltc.opened.ca/a-little-bit-about-leigh/ https://ltc.opened.ca/a-little-bit-about-leigh/#respond Mon, 21 Sep 2020 03:14:06 +0000 https://ltc.opened.ca/?p=86 My name is Leigh, I am from Victoria and I have absolutely loved growing up on the island. I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to grow up in such a beautiful area. Being from the island I have had the ability to spend most of the year doing outdoor activities, such as rowing, hiking or even just hanging out at the beach. I love that is there is so many opportunities and places to explore. When I am not in school or working I love just spending time with my family and friends.

I am a currently in my last year of the Recreation and Health education program at UVIc. After completing my under graduate degree I have not decided what my next step is. I have a couple of different paths that sound like they could be quite interesting, so I’m hoping throughout the next couple months I will have a clearer idea of what I would like to pursue. I am very interested to see how this semester will play out as it is a big change from sitting in a classroom going to lectures and being able to interact face to face with classmates. I think it will be a way to branch out and learn how to communicate and study in a different manner. I am really excited to take this class because I am not very tech savvy and believe that this will help me learn new skills and improve on the ones I somewhat know how to do.

When I am not in school I spend a lot of time working as a rowing coach. I really like that being a coach I have the ability to work with many different people and be able to pass along my knowledge in the sport of rowing; as I competed for about eight years. It is quite rewarding watching these athletes go from not even knowing how to put a boat in the water to being able to compete at a higher level.

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