In the previous reading materials and videos assigned for this class, Personal Learning Network (PLN) is seen as an online community that different learners create in order to learn from each other. In this weekās reading materials and videos, I learned the different side of PLN. Apparrently, PLN can also be used as tool to promote advocacies. To illustrate, last 2020, Markiel Simpson succeeded in advocating for the better representation of Black history in schools in the province of British Columbia. In his interview with Global News Morning BC, Simpson explained that one of the reasons why he started the campaign is becase he wanted the Black community to gain the consciousness that they are part of history. In addition to this, Simpson also mentioned that the better representation of the Blacks in school curriculum can inspire respect (0:40-:0:50). For this advocacy, Markiel Simpson mentioned that one of the social media he utilized is Twitter. Through Twitter, Simpson was able to communicate with different politicians and get the attention of other educators who also have the same advocacy. Consequently, due to Markiel Simpsonās efforts, all 60 school districts in BC today are actively lobbying the Ministry of Education to include Black history in the curriculum ( Miller 16:00-16:10). Simpsonās achievement can be seen possitively as it only proves that advocacies can be promoted through PLN.
Nevertheless, there are challenges in using social media in public discourse. In the fourth chapter of the book entitled Media and Social Justice, Clark and Aufderheide explained that public media, which includes social media, support the creation of publics based on contested issues (55). In other words, because the public media disseminate information, it shapes or influences the public opinion. In addition to this, Clark and Aufderheide also argued that multiplatform, open, and digital public media is an essential feature of democratic public life (56). One of the reasons why Clark and Aufderheide came up with this conclusion is because multiplatform, open, and digital media like social media allows different people to talk about a certain issue. However, because everyone share their own opinion about a certain topic, the social media tend to be filled with political issues that results to conflict, division, cyberbullying, and sometimes discrimination. Hence, the capability of the people to talk about sensitive issues over social media is challenging because instead of unity, public discourse might inspire hatred.
With regard to my own PLN, I would say that since I just recently created it, my PLN is still on its way to amplify the views of others. In order to guarantee that someday my PLN can amplify the views of others, I will make it sure to use my PLN to support advocacies I personally find worth supporting. More so, I will also consider the idea that my employer would not find the advocacies that I am supporting offensive. However, if it is my employer who is ruthlessly not abiding by the labor laws, I will use my PLN to encourage them to do the right thing. Lastly, in order to better impove my social media to build PLN, I will only follow the people whom I share the same advocacy. If I will try to follow other influencers or commentators who have a very different point of view from me, I would probably call them out for their beliefs. If I called them out, the other members of my PLN would feel uneasy and my debate with other people might ruin the āvibesā I have been working so hard to achieve in my PLN. Thus, in order to avoid problems, I would only follow people whom I could have a healthy argument with.
Works Cited
Clark, Jessica, and Patricia Aufderheide. “A New Vision for Public Media: Open, Dynamic, and Participatory.”Ā Media and Social Justice, PDF file , Palgrave Macmillan,Ā 2011, pp.Ā 55-67.
Global News Morning BC. “New Campaign Calls for Better Representation of Black history in B.C schools.”Ā Global News, 16Ā Nov.Ā 2020, globalnews.ca/video/7465200/new-campaign-calls-for-better-representation-of-black-history-in-b-c-schools.
Miller, Jesse. “EDCI 338 – 2021 – 02 – 22 Markiel Simpson.”Ā YouTube, 22Ā Feb.Ā 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCSpm1Lx8-A&feature=youtu.be.
