I interpreted the questions for this blog post in two different ways. The first being that we are looking at how PLNs in general can assist in professional development post-course, and the second being how my PLN in specific could assist in professional development. With this in mind, I decided to talk about this with the latter interpretation.

 

My private learning network is made up of many different topics and people and media. That being said, there are two general subjects that is focused on for the most part. Of course one of those subjects is based around my education. Specifically I connect with peers in my classes, those who have the same academic interests like French and teacher education, and choral music on the side as well. The second part is arguably not professional but has some pieces within it that prove to be beneficial in my everyday life as a student. This side focuses on video editing and live-streaming. To be blunt and completely honest, I play video games live on YouTube for an audience and it has gotten to the point where I can earn money from it. There are many things that you end up learning through making video content as you have to learn how to use editing software and open broadcasting software and develop technological understandings that many people would never learn otherwise. That being said, even the most seemingly unprofessional things can become a profession.

  • Can your PLN be used to help professional development post-course?

My learning network is made up of connections through my current job as a cashier, my classmates and peers who share similar academic interests, and a wide audience of people I interact with online, some of which have great insights into how I can improve many aspects of my life, though mostly focused around my social media.

Now I don’t plan on being a cashier forever, but it has helped me gain an understanding for how to behave in a customer service position and how to converse with complete strangers. This relates to both paths I’ve been looking into: teaching being the realistic career I’m looking to pursue, and live-streaming where I do earn a small amount of money but could potentially make a living off of with enough consistency and activity on my social media.

Now it’s pretty clear that post-secondary education is essential for many career paths, however, it’s unlikely that my connections within my learning network will always be there. For instance, I no longer talk to the people I shared insights with in my first year of university because we were giving each other insights specifically for one course we were all taking. This course, being an earth sciences course, is somewhat useful for teaching as I could end up teaching sciences, but I’m more so looking into teaching French or math at an elementary to secondary school level. These peers didn’t have the same career interests as me, and we stopped talking once we no longer had the course.

The connections I have made with other people who have similar academic interests will surely come in handy. One thing that has proven rather useful is the French Undergrad club, which hosts various social activities that you would do outside of school, with the only difference being that we speak French. My French speaking has never been great, and the French courses necessary for my major don’t focus on pronunciation and instead focus on grammar, reading, and creative writing. Every professor I have had a French course with has recommended we come to one of those club activities as it’ll help us to become more comfortable and fluent in French. The reason why this is so important for me as someone who would like to be a French teacher is simple: if I’m supposed to teach French, I should be able to speak French. From my experience in French immersion from Kindergarten to the time I graduated high school, you also have to learn science, math, and social studies in French up until later in high school where each year one of those academics is no longer done in French. This means if I become a French immersion teacher, there is the possibility that I will be teaching a different subject but in French. That means I would have to broaden my capabilities in speaking French because it’s in the context that we’re not learning French, but instead something else except in French.  With this in mind, the French Undergrad club is an essential part of my PLN and will help me in the future as well. Even though it’s unlikely that I’ll keep those connections after graduation, there are plenty of insights I’ve gotten in how to speak French confidently and fluently which is key when teaching in French.

  • Can your PLN be relied on to open professional opportunities and on which platform does your emerging expertise get good exposure?

I almost got a job in tutoring before I had even gone to university, thanks to my PLN. The platform I used to put myself out there professionally is Indeed. This website, much like LinkedIn, allows users to post their resume for employers to look at. Additionally, you can look or the jobs yourself and hand in your resume with ease. Because of this, I almost already got a job in my ideal career path, though I had to decline due to my course schedule overlapping with work hours. I used this website again to find my current job as a cashier where the hours are relatively flexible as I only work on days that I don’t have class.

  • With consideration to the reading and video interview, how do you ensure that you expand your PLN via social media platforms into spaces that may be outside of your comfort zone?

Amber Glauser explained in her interview that she hadn’t planned on having a career related to technology as she wanted to work in cardiothoracic surgery but was recruited to work in her local hospital’s i.t. department. This resulted in even more recruitment and changes in her career and she was able to have a larger impact on patients and medical workers. Amber explained the importance of keeping an open mind to things and people so you can connect with more people. Doing so results in more opportunities, as she experienced. She also said if people don’t like her or are critical of her, that helps her understand where she can improve and gain more insights into why these people don’t like her. Criticism can be cruel but it also helps those being critiqued to understand what they can improve in. Sticking with those who like you doesn’t give you as many insights on what you could be improving upon.

 

References

EDCI 338 (2020, Nov 15). A01 GLAUSER, Amber [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiWaXNfnHAg&feature=youtu.be