My name is Kate. This is my last course before internship and it was strategically picked to improve my understanding of educational technology. I was surprised to see the emphasis on online professional identity from the first set of readings and it got me thinking!

I am not a blogger or tweeter, but sometimes, if I am fired up enough, I will post comments on YouTube or TikTok and delete them later once I calm down. I do like video games (PS mostly) and yet still avoid online communities formed around my favourite games. I have no Facebook, instagram, twitter, and just lurker accounts for reddit and TikTok. I think I may still be suffering from elder millennial online overload that I endured growing up.

Photo: Buzzfeed, (2021). »-(¯`v´¯)-Fr!ɛnds R 4ɛvɛr, Guyz R whatɛvɛR-(¯`v´¯)-» has just signed in. https://egyptianstreets.com/2021/09/10/msn-messenger-a-nostalgic-look-back-at-a-staple-of-the-2000s/ 

Photo: Peterson, Mike (2017). Aim-90s. https://www.idropnews.com/news/aol-instant-messenger-shuts-glorious-20-years/51878/

I realize there may be some professional benefit to developing an online identity, but I am hesitant to begin that journey as an adult. My experience with online communities/presence is primarily restricted to myspace and bmezine–both of which are no longer. I have viewed the absence of an online identity as a benefit to myself when I consider the cringey way I had used it in those early years. It may be time for me to update my thinking!

All of this is to say I am a reluctant blogger, with some experience with educational technology, but that is restricted to learning via this degree and my limited teaching opportunities. However, during my last pre-internship in March I did learn how to use and utilize online spaces in a new (to me) way. My co-op teacher is my age and seemed to integrate technology seamlessly into her classroom. Beyond Google Classroom, she had an instagram and TikTok she was comfortable sharing on and with students; participated in TikTok trends with her students (they were grade twelves and permission was acquired); and students had a myriad of platforms that they could use as a tool to complete responses/video essays/creative writing. I loved that.

Although writing is more my speed, I think using 1-3 minute video format for students to film their responses or journalling (essentially vlogging), is a great way to collect the kind of formative assessments we might want and often can’t adequately gather in traditional response writing. Apparently, there are other useful ways to utilize TikTok in the classroom! I am interested in that! Perhaps, on my journey of reacquainting myself with the internet, I might find short videos a part of blogging and online professional identity making.