Following is my Celebration of Learning post, explaining what I have learned from this course for all the different sections:

1) Examine the application of social media to support learning:

In week 2, Wow and Wonder post 1, I discussed how I thought the application of online learning/social media has altered learning processes. In the article “What is a Personal Learning Network” the author addressed that we were living and learning in a network society. Furthermore, the author explained that online learning/social media has changed how humans think, learn, store information, share ideas, study, work, etc. I believe that I have noticed this in my surroundings as well. In this generation, social media platforms have become very easy to access and many times I personally rely on social media platforms to access information regarding specific topics. But during this course, I got the opportunity to complete a project with my learning pod on Instagram. During this project, I got the opportunity to research the social media platform’s privacy policy as well as misinformation policies. This helped me understand how important it is to double-check information found on social media platforms from other resources so that your learning outcomes are met properly. Furthermore, this project gave me a chance to think about how social media could affect someone’s mental health or growth, which I believe is also interlinked with learning through social media. In my opinion, if an individual has been using social media platforms for learning from a younger age, without knowing about the privacy/misinformation policies, then that could have a negative impact on their growth. Therefore, I think that overall this course taught me the importance of being aware of the policies that your social media platform uses, before fully trusting it and using it for your learning.

2) Explain personalized learning and its relation to learning theory

Before joining this course, I did not know about learning theory or personalized learning theory, as my background is in health and Tech fields. I gained knowledge about these topics during week three when we had to read the article “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age”. In week three’s wow and wonder post I discussed my learnings from the article. The article stated how formal learning is no more how humans gain most of their knowledge. Instead, informal learning has become more common as people learn from communities, personal networks, and work-related tasks. Overall, this article made me understand the concept of personalized learning. It also helped me understand that connectivism is a model of learning, where, learning is not only internal but it can also be done by connecting with a group of individuals in order to gain new knowledge and discuss opinions. However, after reading Jeet’s showcase post I gained a deeper understanding of personal learning networks. In the showcase post, Jeet discussed the networking three-layered approach by Grabher and Ibert in the article “Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them” by Rajagopal, et al. 2012. Jeet explained the findings from the article about the three different layers being the: communality layer, sociality layer and the cconnectivity layer (Rajagopal. et al, n.d). Furthermore, Jeet explained that all of the three layers play an important role in the creation of this relationship as well as in maintaining the relationship (Rajagopal. et al, n.d). After learning about these topics, I reflected back on my personal life and the networks that I depend on for my learning. I realized that I rely on my connections within LinkedIn as I am connected to mostly all the people from my professional field. And as individuals from my connections share or comment on interesting content, I get the chance to learn about projects and opportunities in my profession. Therefore, overall, I believe that this course has taught me the importance of personalized learning and how it affects my career.

3) Recognize that the Internet is not a neutral or equal space for everyone

My background is in health information science and computer sciences. And throughout the three years of my education, I have learned that everyone has a different level of comfort with using technology and the internet. Some people are more tech-savvy, whereas some people do not prefer using technology at all. In my week four wow and wonder post, I read the article “Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement”. I found it really interesting that the author Prensky categorized people into types based on how much technical experience they have naturally and based on age factors. I had never thought this way about digital platforms or the internet. But after reading the article I did agree that students from this generation may be more tech-savvy compared to some of the older population in our community. Overall, this section of the course helped me understand that this is an issue in our general community and not just in health tech fields.

4) Apply social media to develop a personal learning network in support of your personal and/or professional development

Before starting this course, I had never used GitHub in an educational setting. And in the beginning, I was hesitant and nervous about learning how to use it. But as we started adding our research material for the group project on our shared GitHub repository, I realized how helpful this platform is for sharing materials with team members. Additionally, using WordPress made it very easy for all the classmates to share our wow and wonder posts as well as commenting on content. Overall, this course taught me the importance of social media platforms such as GitHub and WordPress in professional development.

5)Identify privacy issues and practice online behaviours that are legal, safe, consensual, and ethical

As technology becomes more easily accessible, privacy issues tend to increase. More people having access to phones, cameras and social media platforms allows more access to the world through the internet. In week eight, we had to watch a short film made by Queen’s University students about surveillance called “#tresdancing”. This short film showed the way surveillance is used in a student’s life. This short film made me realize how surveillance can augment the issue of privacy. It amazed me how closely the students’ actions were being detected, such as the eye movement, voice interactions, etc. Jeet mentioned in her post how she doesn’t believe an education tool should be dictating a student’s personal life choices in relation to surveillance. Overall, after learning more about surveillance and its relation to privacy I have understood that there is a need to be more careful while using public networks.  

6) Recognize data ownership and licensing (Creative Commons, Copyright, Fair Dealing, and Public Domain) as a core practice when creating, sharing, or using resources online

During our group project me and my learning pod decided to research about Instagram. While researching about Instagram I found out that the platform has some guidelines so that it can continue to be a safe platform, such as users only sharing content that they have the right to share, users only posting comments that are appropriate for a diverse audience and users must follow the law and not spread misinformation in relation to sensitive topics such as bullying, alcohol, hate, drugs, etc. I agree with all of these guidelines and believe that if data/information is not shared keeping the law in mind then it could cause issues relating to privacy, legal rights, misinformation, etc.

7) Practice digital, networked, and open literacies in support of learning about social media and personalized learning

Throughout this course, I have practiced using digital, networked, and open literacies to support my learning. The use of platforms such as WordPress and GitHub helped me network with my classmates and share my thoughts/ideas. Moreover, during this course I have ensured that all my blog posts are open literacies and are accessible to all audiences. Overall, this course has taught me the importance of social media platforms, networking and open literacies for my professional development.