Having a Personal Learning Network (PLN) helps the development of thoughts and ideas in education discourse because the connections you form while networking provide more perspectives and additional opinions that promote discussion and thought, thus providing valuable learning opportunities. These factors may enhance your thinking to be critical and inspire creativity. Additionally, networking and forming these connections teach about collaboration and working with others.
Although these are all helpful aspects, having a PLN can hinder thoughts and ideas. As discussed in our group discussion with Maddy, Shalan, and Maika, a PLN may inhibit thoughts and ideas because often, we network with like-minded individuals hence, we are not opening ourselves up to new ideas and discussions. This may also narrow our thinking as we are only engaging in specific areas. However, a reason that may account for us only engaging in particular areas is that because the information is abundant in the networked public, it can be overwhelming to try and sift through it all.
Educators can create discourse by providing the opportunity for group discussions and by encouraging collaboration with group work. For students to become comfortable with discourse, it is important that the educator creates a safe space for the students and is encouraging rather than critical. Helpful examples of creating discourse may include providing resources, videos, examples, texts, and other media and asking the student follow-up questions to generate discussion.
The role of social media in education is that it provides a global platform accessible remotely with a wealth of information and knowledge to be gained. Social media is a great place to share information and create discussions with others, expanding your PLN. As well, you can access information globally, broadening your learning experience.
Although, some problems with social media communication are that it may compromise privacy and security because your personal information is accessible to anyone and leaves a digital footprint. Additionally, social media lacks face-to-face interactions, thus connections may not be as meaningful.
Social media can be a dangerous place because it provides a platform for cyberbullying, discrimination, harassment, and unfiltered content that may be inappropriate, unreliable, or contain misinformation.
Communication in social media can be especially difficult because of the sheer amount of content that can be distracting and compromise ease of use.
A final issue with communications in social media is that it requires digital access that not everyone has, thus impacting its equitability.
Social media platforms that I have found to be beneficial in education are Tik Tok, Instagram, and Youtube for educational videos with experts sharing tips, tutorials, and supplemental information, Twitter to find ideas surrounding education and for collaboration, Discord for communicating with other students, and Reddit for finding information on specific classes.
Social media can prove difficult to fit into professionalism and regulations with the vulnerable sector. When considering social media use for anyone, but especially a vulnerable population, it is important to be aware of maintaining privacy and confidentiality for safety reasons, obtaining consent to share others on your social media, and following any professional guidelines about sharing others on social media.