Blog post 4

credit to inclusivecompanies.com

* How diverse is your existing PLN?

I think my PLN can be divided into two forms, offline PLN (friends/classmates/teachers/parents in real life) and online PLN (social media, online community, etc). For the offline PLN, I have many classmates, families, friends and teachers back in China. I also have met a lot of people here in Canada as an international student. My PLN network is connected by many people of different ages, gender, gender orientations, cultural backgrounds and majors in university and so on. The daily interactions with these different people brought me lots of knowledge and experiences. I am learning and sharing at the same time with my companies via classes, group works and communications.

For the online PLN, it is also made up of various social media platforms. Some of them are professional platforms, for example, the online forums on Brightspace and email from classmates/professors. Others are private social media. I pay attention to both Chinese and North American social media. Both of them have professionals with different backgrounds that people can follow online. There are also online communities that people can share thoughts and ideas with each other.

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

In my PLN, I learn from a variety of voices. I am actually the quietest one in the room. I can always be inspired by different opinions and ideas. For example, the response from other students during the class can provide a new perspective for me to learn from. Same as the online platform, people with different knowledge backgrounds can generate my new thought based on their shared opinions. I learnt a lot of new information from their website content, both for my academic needs and . In my opinion, listening carefully to others is a crucial skill for people to practise in their daily lives. However, I also agree with the idea to engage in the discussion. I am currently fighting against my introverted shy personality and share my idea in the Mattermost group chat. I think it is both important to listen and speak up at the same time. It is not necessary for me to be the loudest though.

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

I look up online for the definition of “silo of information sharing”. I found a business article identity “silo of information sharing” as people generate new data within the group but do not update with the rest of the departments (Leeuwen). I think here it can be applied as information-sharing only with people who have similar opinions with us. I think I personally participate in a wide range of interests since I believe that most of the time there is no “right or wrong” to identify an opinion/idea. It is important to make a judgement based on both sides’ views and use critical thinking. 

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

As I previously mentioned, using online platforms from different backgrounds can lead us to be more inclusive with different opinions. Like Moore mentioned in the article, the silo of education exists between minority students and other students. However, if schools and teachers can apply the idea of “inclusion” that explores our strengths and commons, students can be more connected and build a community in that way (Moore). By meeting and connecting with different people (with different gender/background/SES) online/offline, we can learn from their life experiences. Sometimes we are not aware of the privileges we have and ignored other peoples’ needs. Interacting with these people can help us to build a more inclusive environment and society.

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

My university major is social psychology, and I think this is a quite inclusive major since we study psychological differences in various cultures and people. In the future, I need to interact with more people with different cultural backgrounds or gender identities and how these features shaped their identity and experiences. We need to always respect the differences but at the same time treat people with an inclusive, open attitude. We learnt a lot of psychology ethics in the past four years which is a crucial component in psychology, that is how to respect others and then learn from them.

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

I think one of the outcomes of engaging in PLN is that I was able to hear and communicate a lot from my LGBTQ classmates and their perspectives on different topics. They brought me a lot of information about their community and the concept of gender identity, gender-fluid and non-binary ideas, etc. They usually have different experiences in the same event and I learned a lot about their social status and the latest academic research from them. In the process of communicating with them, I have always used an open mindset to listen to their feelings. This process also allowed me to learn more professional knowledge and gain friends as well. And you can learn more from discussing with them in the future.

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

I learn that there is still a long way to go to improve the inclusion model in education areas (Moore, Moore & Miller). The reading and video emphasized the importance of diversity and how diversity can inspire thinking and find our strengths. I am glad to be part of “inclusion” that I am always willing to learn from others without bias and prejudgements. I also learnt that I need to keep expanding my PLN network to hear and learn more from other people’s voices.

References

Moore, Shelley. One Without the Other: Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion, Portage & Main Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=4832579.

Moore, S., Miller, J. (2021, February 07). EDCI 338 A01 Week 5 A Conversation with Shelley Moore. February 13, 2021, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGx0ejnMLVc&feature=youtu.be

Moore, S. (2018, November 05). Don’t Should on Me: It’s not easy being NOT green. February 14, 2021, YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeRNhz0nGts&feature=youtu.be

Moore, S. (2016, April 04). Transforming Inclusive Education. February 14, 2021. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYtUlU8MjlY.

Leeuwen, Mark Van. “What Are Information Silos? Business Problems & Fixes.” Vogsy, 25 Feb. 2020, vogsy.com/blog/information-silos/.