Blog post 3

●  What digital platforms are students currently using to develop their professional network?

Nowadays there are many digital platforms for students to develop their professional network like blogs, forums on Brightspace and chatting groups in social media, etc. Students can share their thoughts/experiences and engage in academic conversation or brainstorming freely on these platforms. As an international student, I found that people with different cultural backgrounds tend to use different platforms when developing networks. For example, I learnt that LinkedIn is designed for people for their professional career needs that many Canadian students use. Also, Discord is another popular App that students can be used as professional tools, like discussing class material with classmates. But Discord also uses as a private chatting media that people can talk about their interests.

●  What can you (as a student) consider to expand your professional learning network?

As a student, I think what’s important for me is to be more connected with others (face to face and online) to build my professional networks! I remembered when I was in my third year, I felt so lost that one more year I was going to graduate and I felt like I accomplished nothing in the past three years. I was terrified of the unknown future and do not know what am I capable of for my future career. I was also ashamed to talk about it with other people because it seems like others are well prepared with such an issue and have no concern. But I was wrong. Later I had a conversation with my friends and they introduced me to several paths to choose for the future. I also dug more information online, checked others’ experiences, read their articles/blogs. We can also reach out to professionals, like our professors and TAs! Right now is COVID time so it is hard to have face-to-face connections with other people, I think we can also explore all these digital platforms. A great way is to share/asking about knowledge or concerns, engage in the COMMUNITY (TeachThought Staff)! Being in the community is always better to be panic all by yourself, also by receiving direct feedback from the community member is very effective for us to lean experiences (TeachThought Staff).

●  In your network, how can you create a digital identity/reputation?

When I review things I posted several years ago as a teenager, I just post things randomly about my self or use online banking on the digital platform, without concerning about the potential risks of website cookies and public wifi. At that time I also did not realize that some news on social media are rumours. For instance, I remembered one time there was fake news about people dressed up as a clown and kill people randomly on the street! Many of my classmates retweeted it and I retweeted it as well. We are so scared at that time, then our teacher found out and gave us a serious lesson about critical thinking. Right now when I post something, I will first check the source and make sure it is not fake news. I also tried to be real on my internet identity, like it will match the reality.

I read a quote a few years ago, “social media seriously harms your mental health.” As I grow up, I learnt that it is very easy to make a negative comment about others nowadays. And sometimes even some “ignorant” comments like making fun of other people can actually harm them, even if you didn’t mean to do so. I once read a girl’s blog saying that she overheard other people (she doesn’t know) making fun of their depressed classmate, she also had depression and she just felt worse. So when I make a comment to others, I will comment on them respectively and positively, and I tried to not judge people’s looks or outfits. This is already a harsh world, so let’s be nice to others! 🌍

●   Consider what a local employer would do if you applied for a job with them – can they search the content, is it of benefit to the career path, does it hinder the opportunity of employment?

If an employer tries to search my internet content, I think they will only see some professional content of me. I keep close attention on separating my private content and my professional identity. I think it is great to have professional social media like LinkedIn that it provides all the necessary information for my boss, like my certificate, degrees and working experiences. But if later on, we might become both working partners and friends, I guess they will also see more about my personal digital content, which is also fine. Hopefully, they will view me as a happy, hardworking, funny and caring person!

                   |Little cute (annoying) cat energy for everyone🐱| 

References

TeachThought Staff. “20 Ways To Improve Your Professional Learning Network In 2013.” TeachThought, 31 Oct. 2017, www.teachthought.com/education/20-ways-to-improve-your-professional-learning-network/. 

Wikipedia contributors. “Digital Visitor and Resident.” Wikipedia, 31 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visitor_and_Resident

“V&R Mapping.” David White, 13 Jan. 2020, daveowhite.com/vandr/vr-mapping/.