Building a professional learning network was extremely useful during my learning project in EDTC 300. Through utilizing virtual spaces, I was able to contribute to the EDTC course community, comment on my peer’s blog posts, share resources and articles, develop a digital identity, and interact with a professional network. I believe as a result I was able to contribute to the learning of others while improving my own learning.
Blog Posts
The first virtual space that I used to contribute to the learning of others was my blog. During the semester I attempted to create engaging blog posts that were filled with useful resources, links, and references to relevant articles. I was intentional with posting my blog posts in a timely manner ensuring that my peers could interact and engage with my posts while the topics and content were still fresh. I was also intentional with including questions and prompts throughout my blog posts that encouraged engagement. I was very appreciative that these questions were always answered in the comments and resulted in deeper learning for myself.
Blog Comments
The second virtual space that I used to contribute to the learning of others was commenting on my peer’s blog posts. Each week I responded to at least 3 of my classmates posts or comments. Each comment I posted provided encouragement, resources, an additional perspective and/or validation to my peers. I also ensured that I included both my name and a link to my blog on each comment to add that additional layer of connection. The comments I received provided motivation to continue with my learning project and validated my experiences; I hope my comments had the same effect for my peers.
The third virtual space that I used to contribute to the learning of others was Twitter. As a completely new Twitter user, this space was easily the most intimidating to conquer. Admittedly, it took me quite some time to get comfortable interacting with other Twitter users and beginning to develop both a PLN and online identity. However, throughout the semester I am proud of the growth I made. As a result of my Twitter account I was able to participate in a Twitter Chat (#SaskEdChat), dabble in the use of hashtags, follow like-minded accounts/users, and share many resources. I was very purposeful in the content I shared, retweeted, liked, and commented on as I wanted to ensure that I was creating a digital identity that reflected my own personal values and perspectives. I believe anyone scrolling through my Twitter account would be able to develop an accurate representation of the type of person and educator I aim to be.
Final Thoughts
Throughout the duration of the EDTC 300 course, I have been able to contribute to the learning of others via a variety of means. By participating both in class and virtually in multiple online spaces, I have enriched my learning, developed a personal learning network, and contributed to the courses learning community. I will continue to develop both my digital identity and PLN outside of this course and aim to continue to grow as both an educator and digital citizen.