1.How diverse is your existing PLN?

I think my existing PLN is  diverse,  users across different countries, races, ages, and professions share information.  According to the previous reading and the study of this course, PLN has a better label. It is a tool for collecting, communicating, and collaborating using social media and technology without being restricted by time and space. Through PLN, collaboration can be used as a learning method. It does not have to be limited to face-to-face interaction in school buildings or meetings. Nowadays, due to some force majeure factors, we have to teach under the Internet mode. Professors usually provide  rooms for students to learn and communicate, PLN has a deterrent effect for users of learning and professional development.  In addition, Twitter and Facebook are the backbone of most PLN, easily transfer posts to websites, videos, blogs, and obtain content from a global scale through simple queries.

 

2.In your PLN, are you learning from a variety of voices or are you the loudest in the room?

To be honest at this point, I am not the loudest person in the room, because I am better at acting as a listener and getting information from all kinds of sounds.  PLN is a way that people continuously acquire knowledge and diverge centered on the exchange of ideas and concepts.   I am trying to expand my thinking and express it through active discussion, and contribute more to the participants in the room.

 

3.Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide-range of interests)?

I deliberately let myself not participate in a silo of  information sharing, but there may be some potential blind spots that I don’t realize in some social media.  At the same time, it also depends on how to see the problem. Some people think that Twitter restricts people’s thinking and is forced to express their opinions in simple expressions, which may cause the effect of unsatisfactory words because of the limitation of the number of words.  But at the same time, people can quickly use some of the opinions in Twitter to conduct divergent discussions on websites, blogs, and videos through some simple queries, so as to express their opinions more deeply.

 

4.How can you use a diverse PLN to broaden your views of inclusion?

PLN welcomes users with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to create an inclusive and diverse community by making full use of the power of differences between people. The essence of inclusivity is that people on the PLN platform deliver meaningful content to each other and form connections.(Moore)  Inclusiveness and diversification is a relationship of mutual achievement. As long as PLN achieves inclusiveness, it will be diversified.  At the same time, users will get the most comprehensive information in the process.

 

5.In your professional setting of choice, do you think inclusion is actively embraced?

My future professional background is likely to be related to business, and I think it should be inclusive.  Taking the current epidemic period as an example, at a time when the number of unemployed people is soaring, it is particularly important for companies to create and maintain job opportunities, and companies and employees need to be tolerant of each other at the same time to be able to survive difficulties and create greater value  .

 

6.What is the learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

The most outstanding result of my PLN is that I have an updated concept of how to learn.  PLN’s online interaction capabilities have gone beyond the basic scope of books, and online collaboration has become more and more common.  Now you can not only learn knowledge from open digital content (such as some interview videos, news, etc.), you can also choose to share the same digital content with specific users in the room and discuss together (such as Zoom). Regardless of the type of information interaction just mentioned, the purpose is to enhance mutual learning.  Based on the principle of reciprocity, all parties are actively seeking valuable information from the other party.  The inclusiveness and diversity of PLN is reflected in the process of collection, communication and collaboration.

 

7.How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved after reviewing the videos and readings?

After reviewing this week’s videos and reading, I have a new understanding of PLN.  The potential of PLN cannot be ignored, not only in the education sector, but also very important in all professions.  There are always people on the PlN platform, relying on the guidance, ideas, and opinions of others to get new inspiration, which means that PLN is a dynamic world, the scope is constantly expanding and updating.

References

Thomas, Shelley Moore. One Without The Other Stories Of Unity Through Diversity And Inclusion. Portage & Main Press, 2016, pp. 6-10, 11-12