Blog 10 — Term Summary

Photo by Tsessoms on Medium

My Starting Point

At the beginning of this term, I was honestly a bit confused. I knew the course kept talking about PLNs, digital identity, and networked publics, but my goals were pretty simple: I wanted to figure out what a PLN really is, whether I already had one, and whether “personal identity” and “professional identity” should be separated—or if that is even possible in real life. As an international CSC student, I also worry about job searching in the future, because employers might look at what I leave online and form opinions about me.

My starting point was very practical. For learning, I mainly relied on YouTube and Reddit. I used YouTube to review and preview (for example, watching CSC226 recordings). I would pause, replay, and repeat the same part many times. I used Reddit to look at course questions, problem explanations, and practice discussions. Sometimes one short comment like “you missed a condition here” was enough for me to continue. In EDCI 338, I also used PLN-related platforms like WordPress for blogging and Mattermost to read classmates’ posts and reply. But to be honest, at the beginning I used these more to “complete course requirements,” and I didn’t fully realize how much they could affect my thinking.

My Growth

Looking back on the whole term, I can clearly feel I became better in several ways. First, my thinking became deeper. In the past, my writing often stayed at the “description” level—what I did, what I read, what I watched—basically the surface. Later, I started forcing myself to write things like “why do I think this?” and “was my thinking influenced by others?” Especially when reading classmates’ comments on Mattermost, I often noticed there were other angles I hadn’t considered. After realizing that, when I wrote my blogs I would add more reflection about the “why” and the “how,” not only the “what.”

The second change was my professional awareness. I used to think personal and professional life were separate, but after learning more, I feel this boundary is becoming more transparent. You don’t need to post something huge or controversial—people can still infer your style from your likes, reposts, and comments. So now I tend to reflect before I speak: is it necessary? This doesn’t mean I want to act perfect, but I know it can affect my professional image.

The third change was my digital literacy. Before, I knew misinformation and echo chambers existed, but I didn’t have a strong sense of “alertness.” Later in the term, when we discussed media literacy, AI-generated content, and algorithm bias, I realized these issues don’t only exist in the news—they also show up in learning spaces. For example, highly upvoted answers on Reddit can still be wrong, and YouTube recommendations can push me into a very narrow content range. If I don’t check sources, I might learn things that only “look correct.”

Challenges

One of my biggest challenges was writing blog posts. Every time I finished a blog and reread it, it felt like a report: it looked decent, but it was too general. Later I realized being specific is very important—for example, writing where I got stuck, how I solved it, and why I believed one explanation more than another.

Course Activities That Helped Me

One activity that helped a lot was the Visitor/Resident Map, which visualized how I show up on different platforms. It helped me understand whether I am a “visitor” or a “resident” in different spaces. For example, I am more like a visitor on YouTube (watch and leave), more like a resident on WordPress (I leave writing), and in Mattermost I am half-resident (I interact, but I also lurk). Also, in weekly blogging, we needed to do peer reviews. At first I thought commenting was annoying, but later I realized it forced me to shift perspective: how do other people read my writing? Is my viewpoint too narrow?

Normally, I wouldn’t actively search for Canadian privacy policies or media literacy content. Through this term, I learned about privacy laws like PIPEDA, and that education settings may involve different provincial rules. I also learned about Canadian media literacy resources like MediaSmarts, which remind the public how to respond to AI-driven misinformation. For me, these topics connected course ideas to real life: platform data collection and the public impact of AI content.

Peer and Instructor Feedback

The most important feedback I received from the instructor was “include references.” After that, I added in-text citations and a reference list. Also, some of my content was too broad. I sometimes missed the public audience perspective or the equity angle. So now after writing, I often ask myself: “If someone doesn’t know my background, can they still understand what I mean?” I really appreciate Jesse for pushing me to do this.

Future Goals

After this term, I set three practical goals. First, I want to make my PLN more professional. Right now my learning PLN is mainly YouTube + Reddit, but I want to slowly add more career-related networks, like following education technology or CS professionals on LinkedIn.

Second, I want to use AI tools more responsibly. My strategy is: AI can help with brainstorming or checking understanding, but I must verify key content myself. I also want to keep doing practice and thinking on my own, otherwise I may end up “feeling like I understand” but still not able to solve problems.

Third, I want to understand Canadian policy and ethical frameworks more deeply, like privacy, AI governance, and media literacy. I can keep following MediaSmarts and short Canadian reports, and build a habit of summarizing and reflecting regularly.

Conclusion

Totally saying, this course made my understanding of PLN and digital identity more realistic. I used to treat social media as entertainment or a tool. Now I see it more as a learning space, but it has risks and responsibilities. As a CSC student, I naturally tend to see platforms as “systems”: how algorithms push content, how data is collected, and how AI makes content look real. This perspective makes me care more about evidence and verification.

The course also helped me realize professional identity is not built suddenly. It grows slowly through how you participate, share, and respond over time. I can’t say I have a perfect PLN now, but I at least know where I want to go next.

Reference

Tsessoms, T. (2014). Trimester reflection. Retrieved from http://sites.saschina.org/tsessoms/2014/03/09/trimester-reflection/