Hana's Blog

At the beginning of the term, we were assigned a group inquiry project. We settled on our topic of How does social media affect attention span, focus, productivity, and learning in digital environments? Our project looks at all aspects of the topic, not just whether it is helpful or harmful. We got multiple perspectives through research and personal experiences.

Over the last 4 weeks, we investigated current research on social media use, attention spans, and types of digital distractions. We all collaborated on research for our topic, but then personally conducted our own experiments on our screen time, social media habits, and more…

Our final project was finalized through a website where we brought together all of our findings and made it one cohesive project. You can find everything through the link below and  how we were able to broaden our understanding on the very complex relationship between social media, learning, and attention in the digital world of today.

https://sites.google.com/view/edci339inquiry-project?usp=sharing 

For this assignment I did my collaborative post on Rita Haxhiavdija Blog Post 5. I left a comment on their post and here is what I wrote.

Hi Rita 

Thank you for the really engaging blog post! Your summary of our topic of the week on generative AI and the role it plays on media literacy was a really great read. The way you connected it to our education systems and leaned in to bringing fixes to secondary schools by implementing a segment to the curriculum  was an amazing idea especially when evaluating news stories which I think is really important. On top of that it was really organized, and easy to follow along and the images you added were great!   

If I could make a suggestion or two on the post I would say that expanding on AI advertising and discussing or looking for research surrounds a range of vulnerable ages. Has this been helpful or hurtful to those vulnerable age groups?. When looking into this I found a really interesting mixed method study done by Velazquez, Flores-Cruz, and Roque (2024) suggested that older adults also may have a harder time identifying generative AI images for authentic content. Similar to how you were mentioning in younger ages adding a segment into your classroom, I wonder if there could be a nation wide program rolled out for all who could be concerned with identifying AI or maybe do even know they are absorbing that kind of content and help them be more aware. It goes to show how we are living in a divided world where the older population hasn’t experienced technology advancement while growing up like we have and to further the conversation on media literacy for all Canadians. 

 Another one thing you could expand on would be furthering your topic of privacy concerns and how Canada has taken steps to create initiatives to protect citizens from AI by mentioning the new proposed social media ban for children under 16 being Bill C-34; The Safe Social Media Act (Government of Canada, 2026). On other the main reason for this bill is due to Generative AI and chat bots are becoming more interactive and could be reinforcing harmful behaviours. 

I think your post was a very strong article overall and was well written, supported and really connected to the weekly topic. Thank you for your unique perspective and ideas and helping me think in ways I haven’t yet.  

 

Government of Canada. (2026, June 10). Government of Canada introduces legislation to make social media services and AI chatbots safer for children. Canadian Heritage. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2026/06/government-of-canada-introduces-legislation-to-make-social-media-services-and-ai-chatbots-safer-for-children.html 

 

Velazquez, E., Flores-Cruz, G., & Roque, N. (2024). DETECTION OF AI-GENERATED IMAGES: A MIXED METHODS STUDY ON AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES. Innovation in Aging, 8(Supplement_1), 1301–1301. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae098.4158   

 

In my first-ever intro post in this course, some of my goals were to better understand different digital spaces, social media apps, and how I can find a way to support myself in my last year at UVIC and into my future career.  At the beginning, I had no clue anything about Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s), and while I now know that I am engaging and connected to multiple PLN’s, it was interesting to learn I was contributing in that way. I also had  not given much thought to how meaningful building those connections could be in my personal and professional life.

During this course, we were introduced to multiple concepts and theories, and through that, I was able to develop a better understanding of digital literacy, digital identities, and the importance of engaging in a PLN not only for myself but for others. I was able to take a look more in depth at this by creating my very own Visitor and Resident Map that helped me look at how I use certain digital platforms and how they all contribute not only to my professional life but also to my personal life too (White & Le Cornu, 2011). My blog posts also gave me the opportunity to challenge my current perspectives and critically think about media literacy, misinformation, and different AI-generated content, and my online responsibilities because of our course content during Week 4 (Miller, 2026). During this specific week, we dove into topics about Canadian Government initiatives like PIPEDA and MediaSmarts, which have helped me get a better understanding of just how important it is to understand privacy for myself and on the sites and apps I am using (Government of Canada, 2026; MediaSmarts, 2025).

 

One of the things that I found hard was realising I normally participate online more as an observer as opposed to actively contributing. I tend to lie to keep up with what is happening, but not actively participate in groups or forums where I haven’t established a huge connection. Through discussions and readings, I learned how strong PLN builds on the things I wasn’t doing before. They build through engagement, collaboration, and help create strong relationships. Giving and receiving feedback was one way where I could practice moving away from being an observer and start not only helping myself grow, but also my classmates. Some research also highlighted that meaningful PLN’s rely on that exact two way engagement and feedback rather than what I was used to doing (Staudt Willet, 2024; Emelo, 2023).

 

One of the most valuable things from this class was the group project, and while I am not studying Education most, if not all, of my groupmates were. We were able to look into how teachers utilise their PLN’s and which social media apps help the most. We looked at three of the most popular ones, being Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, and how they all can be used as a support, a tool, and a way to network with like-minded people. It also solidified our ideas and course concepts on how social media, when used responsibly, can help build a person both personally and professionally.

Beyond this course, I have made three goals for myself. Those would be

1. Expand the way I use the internet professionally, whether that be using Linkedin.
2. Continue my digital literacy skills and keep up to date with new policies.
3. Protect myself properly when using the internet.

Overall, this course has opened my eyes and changed the way I think about technology and the use of tech and social media. I have an amazing tool in my pocket and have the ability to make connections and grow in so many ways.

 

P.S Thank you Jessie for everything. Have an amazing summer  

References: 

Carpenter, J. P., Morrison, S. A., Craft, M., & Lee, M. (2020). How and why are educators using Instagram? Teaching and Teacher Education, 96, 103149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103149

Emelo, R. (2023). Building reciprocal relationships in professional networks.

MediaSmarts. (2025, October 27). “Wait… What?” Media literacy week highlights growing concern over AI-driven misinformation. https://mediasmarts.ca/about-us/press-centre/wait-what-media-literacy-week-highlights-growing-concern-over-ai-driven-misinformation

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (n.d.). PIPEDA in brief. https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/pipeda_brief/

Qualman, E. (2012). Digital leader: 5 simple keys to success and influence.

Staudt Willet, K. B. (2024). Early career teachers’ expansion of professional learning networks with social media. Professional Development in Education, 50(2), 386–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2023.2178481

White, D., & Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday. https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171

Figure 1. Feedback image 

In our course work this week, we had a look at how teacher effective assigned grades to students. The reading we were assigned gave perspective on this as well as our class.  The first thing that I thought about was the concept of how learning itself directly can’t really be measured. The learning cant really be physically observed, but how instructors and educators can make inferences about what students know based off how their work get completed or produced. To me, this is a given, but I didn’t really ever think that much about how much interpretation is involved when assigning a grade to a project. While a student could fully understand the material can experience things like stress, time pressures, lack of sleep, and make a mistake. On the opposite side of the spectrum, students might not fully understand the work but are able to get a correct answer. Vygotsky’s writing from 1978 is a contradiction to this and how grades are an accurate reflection of the learning student have.

A discussion I keep thinking about was the margins of error when it comes to grading. Guskey and Brookhart (2019) agreed that th emesuraments of grading are not allows accurate or precise and can commonly have significant margins of error.   The discussion about margins of error in grading was also interesting. Guskey and Brookhart (2019) argue that grades are not precise measurements of learning and often contain a significant margin of error. The idea that many have gone over the things we talked b auto in class was how grades can fall within an average, which can have negative consequences to students needing to keep a percentage average to keep school funding, to stay in a program, or even to keep a personal goal or standard. It was a good feeling when I learned through this that receiving a 84% vs an 86% on an assignment or even a final grade doesn’t really properly represent an important different and that they are sometimes more like an estimate than and exact measurement.

One of the other concepts that stuck with me was the feedback students get. A piece from Hattie and Timperley (2007), and looked at effective feedback, finding that it helps learners understand what stage they are in their learning, where they could make some improvements, and where their writing could be with the effective feedback. Another thing that I could relate this to would be  my experience as a Swimming lesson instructors and how I give evaluating and feed back to my students and their guardians. In my training and 6 years on experience in the field, I have been able to adopt ways to make sure my students from ages 2 years old all the way to 90 years are understanding where they are doing amazing and where they can improve. When talking about these areas, I use the Sandwich Method. This is where you start with positive feedback, move to an area that can improve on, then back to nothing they excelled at. This not only boosts confidence in themselves but is a way to keep a positive relationship with the water and me, especially if I have a student who is older than me, where the power dynamic is flipped.

 

Figure 2. Assessment infographic  image 

 

Carless (2019) introduces another idea, being “feedback spirals”. This is where feedback cant be looked at as a one time thing but as something that is for learners to build on over time (Carless, 2019). I that the feedback I get from my instructors can be a little, but also can be a lot. Sometimes when the feedback is more or something that will benefit but requires me to think extra, it won’t be fixed overnight, but it is something I continue to work on going forward. Looking back at my own experiences in this, I can confirm that when an instructor has taken the time to fully evaluate my work and give me good quality feedback, I have been able to make improvement that therefore help with work in the course but also in my classes moving forward. Good feedback can go way beyond just a comment on an assignment it can improve the quality in the long run.

Another connection I learned about was technology and assessment. Bower (2019) argued that tech can work like a mediator for learning as opposed to the direct result of learning outcomes. Honestly, I think I see a resemblance to how this can apply to assessment. Technology has been able to provide individuals with so many opportunities within assessment, and some of the ones I have experience in my schooling would be online quizzes, discussion spaces, digital portfolios for an art class, and even this course. One of the main things that I can think about is when I took ASL at UVIC. The course would not have been possible at the student capacity it did  if it weren’t for the videos assignment, online learning tools, and video zoom calls. I was in such an engaging and interesting course, and my grades and assessments were possible because of technology.

I am a firm believer that assessment should not simply be a way of ranking students or giving them a percentage. While I don’t know a way to make that possible or a program to execute that,  all I can hope is that myself, my future teachers, instructors, and managers all have a common goal of wanting their students or employees to succeed and are will to give effective feedback all to support learning and growth that can help well into my future (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).  I really enjoyed this week, and it helped me feel a little bit better about when I get a grade I’m not super happy with, because it could be 2% more.

 

References:

Biggs, John. 1996. “Enhancing Teaching Through Constructive Alignment.” Higher Education 32 (3): 347–64. https://doi.org/10/chx3gp.

Bower, Matt. 2019. “Technology-Mediated Learning Theory.” British Journal of Educational Technology 50 (3): 1035–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12771.

Guskey, Thomas R., and Susan M. Brookhart, eds. 2019. What We Know about Grading: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next. ASCD.

Swimming Lesson Guide – Giving feedback

Vygotsky, Lev S. 1978. Mind in Society. Edited by Michael Cole, Vera John-Steiner, Sylvia Scribner, and Ellen Souberman. Translated by Alexander Romanovich Luria. Harvard University Press.

Figures:

(1): Chase, C. (2020, January 20). What happens during an IT assessment? Directive Technology, Inc. https://www.directive.com/blog/what-happens-during-an-it-assessment.html

(2): Magnific. (n.d.). Positive feedback images [Image collection]. Magnific. https://www.magnific.com/free-photos-vectors/positive-feedback

This week, we got the opportunity to view a lecture by Dr. Valerie Irvine from 2025. This lecture focused on how education is no longer simple and face-to-face vs online learning, it is becoming almost more flexible, and with the come the development of different modalities aiding students and learners with all different abilities (Irvine, 2025). My thought process before the lecture was that online learning was a convenience. I am a busy person who works 2 jobs and is taking three summer classes, and the flexibility my online summer courses have given me are extremely helpful in being able to continue with everything I have on the go.

Dr Irvine spoke about good examples of how modality for students can be confusing. She mentioned how a slight change in language, such as the phrase “flexible,” helped join the formats of onsite and online learning sound more positive, but didn’t give a student a solid answer as to how they were going to be completing the program. (Irvine, 2025). This can be especially helpful for students living in rural communities, who have ongoing health concerns or who need to prioritise other responsibilities like work to support themselves or a family. This highlighted for me how important clear communication is, especially when institutions are advertising and designing courses.

Then, thinking about the different learner groups we touched on, the one that comes to mind is students who are balancing school and work. As a university student, almost everyone I know is working a part-time, if not full-time, job to keep themselves financially afloat. Pack schedules make it hard to come to class, especially if it is a shift change or even a last-minute responsibility that is unavoidable. Dr. Irvine’s research, which she spoke about, looked into how students preferred online or flexible options because it allowed them the grace in finishing their education without sacrificing certain areas of life.

As someone who is diagnosed with ADHD, I am someone for whom asynchronous online learning doesn’t really work the best. I tend to need face-to-face interaction, a motivation to go to class, or to feel like I am absorbing the content accurately. I assumed that there was going to be a preference on both sides of the learning types. The results showed that face-to-face learning was the most popular, and a significant number of students preferred Multi-access, hybrid, or online options.  In this week’s coursework, what stood out to me the most was the different groups and how different their preferences were. For example, caregivers and rural learners often preferred online learning. While international students liked face-to-face learning more. This solidifies Dr. Irvine’s point that there is no modality that works for everyone.

One of the other resources we were asked to look at was the B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Learning Strategy. This site emphasized how important increasing access and flexibility in education is.  One of the main goals is to try to create learning opportunities where they are available, regardless of a student’s location or the unique obstacles they are facing. Modality plays such a major role in getting to that goal. Breaking technology barriers, such as in making sure students have access to devices to work off of, is not enough. Institutions need to look at course offerings and intentionally decide delivery modes to fit all students needs.

While I only have one more year at UVIC, other students in the future are going to need more than what we have currently. Educational delivery will need to continue to advance to more flexible & accommodating learning. That is why I think prioritising all delivery modes, not just face-to-face, can be beneficial. While I’m not saying things need to move to one or the other, I would love to see students feel supported in the way they get their education and have more of a choice.

One of the final things that stuck with me for this week was a comment Dr. Irvine made it and it was that “ anytime you choose a mode, you marginalize a learner”. Its simple sentences explain a complex system. Rather than deciding if face-to-face or online is better, why don’t we try and create education spaces that include as many students as possible?

 

 

References:

AEST – Irvine – Veletsianos – Digital Learning Framework.pdf 

Dr. Valerie Irvine (2025), EDCI339

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/digital-learning-strategy

In this assignment, we decided to look at educators and how they stay informed within their PLN’s. We looked through research that helped us answer our consideration questions that helped us form the assignment. Our work was divided into 6 parts, with 5 people taking 2 prompts each and one creating an infographic on each platform when looked into. With there being so many social media sites included in educators’ PLNs, we thought it would be best to target three in more depth. The three we chose were Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Our group worked off a collaborative Google Doc to assemble our project and Canva to create the infographics.  

 

How should a PLN be created, managed, and engaged with? – Raina Hagel

When making a PLN, a simple way to start it is through social media. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook provide easily accessible information from a wide variety of educators (Gray, 2019). You can find plenty of short videos and posts on diverse topics, gaining knowledge and learning new concepts to teaching. Social media provides connections to more perspectives that may not be available to you in-person, and you can easily personalize it to match your beliefs and values. You are able to follow the creators and like posts that you find informative and useful, and the algorithm will provide you with more posts that are similar (Gray, 2019). On Facebook, people are able to join specific communities for education, where teachers can post their ideas or problems and all the other educators in the community are able to learn about these ideas or provide ways to help with an issue. Following experienced educators on social media platforms can help you learn new concepts that may not be taught in school but gained by experience. This can be an especially helpful resource for young teachers who have not had much experience in their own classroom.

As confidence and knowledge grows, so can your PLN. It may begin with commenting on posts on social media that you can relate with, but as you work more, you will also interact with more teachers in your school(s) and community. As your connections grow, you will continue to learn and know about more resources, which you can now share with your network. Building this reciprocal relationship with your more personal network will strengthen your community by building trust, leading to more opportunities for your community to open up and for you to gain more valuable knowledge (Progress Learning, 2026). It is important to build good relationships with the young teachers as well because they have learned all the new policies and methods of teaching based on more recent research and psychology; in return, you are able to share what knowledge you have gained from experience working in the classroom, which they may not have as much exposure to. This reciprocity is what builds the strongest, most successful relationships in a PLN (Emelo, 2023).

To keep your connections within your PLN strong, it is important to continuously engage with the people in your network/ community (Progress Learning, 2026). Within your school, consistent conversations and check-ins should be a priority during the school week, helping build a strong and unified support system within the building. For connections in your community, exchanging contact information such as an email or phone number allows for easy communication to support each other. A well-developed PLN should be an open space for your connections to be able to reach out whenever they need help, going beyond to make the network feel like a continuously supported community (Dene Poth, 2023).

 

Benefits/Negatives and what features make these platforms effective for learning – Ella Parker

Instagram

Instagram is a popular social media platform that enables teacher collaboration and professional support, but its role in education has been explored only minimally by researchers.Richer et. al give three main collaborative activities among teachers that are used on the platform of Instagram. These are information seeking, information sharing and co-creating. Engaging in these collaborative activities also indicate higher emotional, informational and instrumental support felt by teachers. 

Fig. 3. Direct effect model: Relationships between seeking information, sharing information and Co-creating and digital social support scales.

 

Instagram’s design, functionality, and visual nature may distinguish it from comparatively more text-focused platforms and could contribute to teachers using the platform differently from other social media (see Pittman & Reich, 2016; Shane-Simpson et al., 2018).

 

Instagram is often referred to as the world’s largest teachers’ lounge because it provides educators with access to thousands of teaching ideas, classroom resources, and professional learning opportunities. Through educational hashtags, teachers can discover new strategies, share student work, connect with educators around the world, and exchange resources and best practices. These connections help expand professional networks while also supporting the development of technology integration and innovative teaching skills.

 

Tik Tok

TikTok can serve as an extension of the classroom by allowing educators to create short, engaging versions of their lessons that students can revisit anytime for review or to catch up on missed content. The platform can also be used to encourage student creativity and expression by having students take on the role of teacher, creating their own short-form videos to explain concepts and demonstrate their understanding of course material.

 

Examples of educational uses include:

• Generating awareness about school events, programs, and initiatives
• Showcasing final projects and student achievements
• Teaching or reviewing lessons through short, engaging videos
• Supporting student activism and advocacy for important social or community issues

 

Facebook

Looking specifically at Facebook’s pages and groups feature, it can be used to enhance communication and collaboration between teachers and students while maintaining professional boundaries. Rather than connecting through personal friend requests, teachers can create dedicated class groups or pages where students can ask questions, share resources, collaborate on projects, and participate in discussions. These online spaces extend learning beyond the traditional classroom by providing students with ongoing access to course materials, peer support, and opportunities for on-demand learning and engagement.

Research by Hull, 2014, suggests that Facebook can be an effective tool for sharing class information, announcements, and updates in a timely manner. The platform can help foster a stronger sense of classroom community by creating opportunities for communication and interaction beyond scheduled class time. Students who participated in classes with a Facebook page generally expressed interest in seeing more instructors use similar platforms.

While studies have not found a significant impact on students’ overall perceptions of a course or direct improvements in academic outcomes, Facebook appears to be most valuable as a supplement to traditional instruction rather than a replacement for it. Teachers can use the platform to extend learning beyond the classroom, encourage academic discussions, showcase student work, and increase engagement by connecting with students through a tool they already use regularly.

 

How technology allows you to enhance/develop your digital identity/reputation and the social considerations that should be accounted for – Katie Winchester

Instagram:

Instagram allows you to enhance/develop your digital identity/reputation as according to the FasterCapital, article, Instagram Personal Branding Marketing Strategy: How to Use Instagram to Build and Grow Your Personal Brand and Reputation, it can be used as your own personal brand (FasterCapital, 2026). It is important to be authentic when building your digital identity online as it adds credibility and realism to your account. The article also discusses strategies on content curation for viewers. When it comes to using instagram for teachers, you can gear your content to fellow educators, or if you choose not to post, you can still find inspiration from other teachers/educators who share content online. Linkedin also shared tips and tricks when it comes to enhancing your digital reputation and while many were similar to the FasterCapital article, Linkin also shared the importance of interacting with your community. Even in this EDCI 338 course, one of the readings talked about the importance of networking before you need the network for yourself to help build your connections within a community. 

TikTok:

In Arantxa Vizcaíno-Verdú and Crystal Abidin’s, research article TeachTok: Teachers of TikTok, micro-celebrification, and fun learning communities, it states that “while Instagram was not created for educational purposes, it can positively benefit professional educators who use it to exchange knowledge” (Vizcaino-Verdu & Abidin, 2023). The article also discusses how the push to online education during the covid pandemic also led to a rise in social media use. With many young people using social media and TikTok it led to the rise of “TeachTok” (Vizcaino-Verdu & Abidin, 2023). Where teachers could share or gain information in creative lesson planning or classroom set ups. It is now a fairly popular way to gain inspiration as a teacher or someone within the education community.

Facebook: 

According to the article, A Teachers Guide to Using Facebook, written by Bernadette Rego, it discusses tips on how to grow your PLN as an educator on Facebook. The article discusses how beneficial it can be to join pre-existing groups on facebook to stay in the loop about any news or information in the education field, look for individuals who have good blogs or information to share on facebook, if you are using a professional facebook profile it can be beneficial to share information, resources, or links, that you find important/usefuL (Rego,pg. 17-18) This follows the idea of networking before your require the network. It is also important to consider the groups you are joining before you join them as you have a professional image to hold (Rego, pg. 16)

Social Considerations for social media platforms – Katie Winchester

 Social considerations should always be accounted for when posting anything online on platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok, or Facebook. The Tech Advocate article, The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media for Teachers by Mathew Lynch disscuses the importance of knowing what is appropriate/inapropriate to post publicly as an educator. When it comes to any social media, teachers should be aware of what they are posting as it can affect their professional life/careers (Lynch, 2023). It is important to avoid posting pictures/videos of your students(without proper consent), following/accepting students on social media platforms, engaging in hurtful or unprofessional behavior online, or sharing any confidential student information to the public (Lynch, 2023).

 

PLNs, Data Collection, and Privacy Policies – Maya Stevens

 

As the digital age progresses and we are granted more access to information, it is important to be mindful of what information we are putting out into the world ourselves. Data tracking has become at the forefront of platforms curating the personalized algorithms that we love so much, but we often don’t pause to question how we are being tracked and if it is truly beneficial to us.  

 

What are the ways the technology tracks and uses your data?

Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook track data in many ways, the most obvious that all users are aware of which is through the information you provide when signing up (name, date of birth, etc.), the content you interact with (creators you follow, likes, views, and shares), the content you put onto the platform, as well as communications. In the Instagram Data Policy, you can find details on the data that is tracked beyond this, such as information from your device, including Wi-Fi access points, GPS, and even your phone percentage! When platforms share a parent company, such as Instagram and Facebook, which are both owned by Meta, your data can also be shared between the platforms, so even if you do not consent to your data being shared on one platform, the data has already been accessed by the parent company. 

 

How can data tracking be used to benefit a PLN?

Companies use your data in multiple ways; the article What Data Do Social Platforms Collect, states the biggest goal of these platforms is to encourage further engagement by tailoring your algorithm to fit content you have previously engaged with. Platforms will also send you targeted ads and attempt to sell you products they think you’ll be interested in. Although data collection can be frightening, it can also be incredibly beneficial to your PLNs, as companies tailor your algorithm towards your interests, which allows you to interact with content more relevant to you and your profession. This lessens the “doom-scrolling” or “time filler” aspect of social media by providing you with more useful or informative content. Data collection can also help you build connections with others in your profession; oftentimes, you will receive suggestions to follow people “in your community” or suggest creators who represent a similar standing/profession as yourself and can further educate you, provide advice, or give you further inspiration for your work. In the case of educators, the more academic content they interact with, the greater the chance their algorithm will be filled with educational content, classroom learning, and advice from other educators. For example, many educators use social media to help curate lesson plans and classroom activities. Connecting with others from your community also allows you to share your own content and put yourself out there, which is the biggest goal for PLNs. 

 

What are the strengths of the privacy, security and acceptable use policies for the social media platforms? – Maya Stevens

Platforms may take a lot of data when you are interacting with the chosen media; however, most companies are quite open about what information they are taking from you, as well as what they will provide you with in return. Companies will often ask you to agree to a privacy policy or consent to “cookie collection” before allowing you to engage with their site. Many of the policies also allow you to customize the amount of data collection for more privacy. Companies will often allow you to customize the cookie settings to “only necessary,” and when you no longer wish to engage with the media, platforms will often delete not only your account but the data that came along with it when you signed up. This completely wipes your history for others to see immediately, but the parent company often takes longer to get rid of your information from their servers. Finally, social media platforms in Canada are required to follow PIPEDA requirements, a legally binding document that helps protect Canadian citizens’ data.  

 

What are the weaknesses of the privacy, security and acceptable use policies for the social media platforms? – Maya Stevens

For every strength that comes along with the privacy policies, there are many weaknesses that platforms are able to exploit. Privacy policies and agreements that are provided to users are often lengthy, and users do not fully read them before agreeing, leading to important information often being overlooked and users not being fully informed about what they are consenting to. Included in these privacy agreements is the discussion of cross-content sharing, which, as discussed above, allows for platforms owned by the same parent company to share data between one another, even if you are only active on one platform. Data collection can become excessive at times, and eventually, most of the data being collected is not beneficial to the user; they don’t know where/who their information is going, and they are no longer an informed user. Consenting to data collection also becomes an issue when policies are constantly changing, and users are minimally informed. Often, when policies are changed, users are not required to reconsent, leaving them even less informed.

 

What can I do to remain informed? – Maya Stevens

As a future educator, it is extremely important to be mindful of what you are putting out into the world, both purposefully through content sharing, and through data sharing when engaging on social media platforms. It is important to remain informed on media literacy and how your information is shared on the web. Educating not only yourself but others allows you to protect your professional standing and keep your PLN positive, engaging, and encouraging for others to engage with. If you are using social media for your classroom, it is important that you ensure that students are not involved in your content in any way, as well as the school you are teaching in. If you are to put this kind of information onto your PLN, companies are able to collect that data, whether you consented or not; this puts both your professional standing and your students at risk. When engaging online, ensure that you are doing so on a private device, such as a cellphone, rather than a school computer, as websites are able to access photos and locations on devices. Before engaging online, be careful to thoroughly read through privacy policies, to be confident in the fact that the information you are sharing is what you want shared, and that no sensitive data can get out to other third parties.

 

In conclusion, data collection can be a powerful tool for developing your PLN if you remain informed on what you are consenting to. It is also important that users are mindful that when on media apps, everything they do is being watched, even if they are not directly interacting with certain content; it is still being tracked. This is important for educators to keep in mind because the media you interact with represents who you are, and others are able to see that as well. Data tracking is not necessarily a bad thing for users, as it allows for the customization of algorithms and furthers the chances of meaningful connection, collaboration, and professional content curation for your PLN.   

 

Provide examples of individuals who have used a PLN to become leaders in a field of interest, and discuss their presence on the platform. – Amelia Both 

How do they use social media platforms to build their reputation/presence? – Amelia Both

• What individuals have used PLNS to become leaders in education, and how did they build their presence. – Amelia Both

Gabe Danneburg 

Gabe Dannenburg is a middle school science teacher from South Dakota. In 2020, Dannenburg had filmed his reaction to surprising his students by playing Kahoot. He decided to post his video on TikTok as you could hear the students’ excitement, and it ended up viral with 40million views that night. His content is guided towards teaching, schooling, and education, with the primary audience being other teachers and parents. When posting videos as an educator, he has the mentality of, “If my principal got a complaint about this video, can I defend my actions.”(Hess, 2025). However, his school admin believes social media is a great way to build rapport with students and their families. Dannenburg is active on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube, however, most of his following is on TikTok. With this PLN, He has been fortunate to work in collaboration with mainstream brands to help other educators and students. 

 

Zahra Hassan

Zahra Hassan is a middle school teacher from Ontario who shares teacher outfit inspiration on TikTok. She started posting on Tiktok after her students persuaded her to post her stylish outfits, going viral. With posting her weekly outfits, she helps teachers break the cliché of “teacher outfits”. However, her main motivation for posting her outfits has nothing to do with fashion. Her main goal is “to show young people that they can have their dream career even if their capabilities have been doubted.” (Slone, 2023).  She also posts relatable content for teachers, such as relating popular sounds to a day in the classroom, or sharing resources for teachers. Hassan also uses the power of social media to show her students that she is a real person, and that school is meant to be fun, not boring. 

 

Shelley Moore

Shelley Moore is a former teacher, who is now an Inclusive Education speaker and consultant. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, with her Masters degree and PH.D. in inclusive education theory and practices. With these, she focuses on educating teachers, schools, and the general population on inclusive education, delivering these resources mainly through Youtube and other social media platforms. Her Youtube account has many popular videos on educational topics, with mentions as well by the Government of Canada and Tedx. With the platform she has created herself, she travels throughout North America, giving keynote speeches at conferences, and to school districts on Inclusive Education. 

James Vukelich and Roy Tom

James Vukelich and Roy Tom are both Indigenous language teachers, using the power of social media to teach Ojibway outside of the classroom. These teachers go on Facebook live to teach “words of the day” once a week, with the intention to connect with language learners across the country. Vukelich had decided to teach Ojibway, the language that his family lost due to residential school, after taking a language course to be able to get financial aid for post secondary schooling. He was fascinated by the language, and became an Indigenous language specialist, helping develop curriculum and training Indigenous language teachers. For Tom, he attended a workshop where a Cree elder had mentioned it was everyone’s responsibility to teach the Indigenous language. This led him to the idea of teaching the language through videos on Facebook. Tom then set up a group on Facebook, which he posts his language videos on, with nearly 800 members. With teaching Indigenous language online, Vukelich and Tom are able to explain their PLN across Canada with those willing to learn Ojibway. 

How will you know that your PLN is a success? – Raina Hagel

A successful PLN will contain people and resources that a person can interact with, helping to gain more knowledge and perspectives on topic(s). For educators, this would be specific to teaching and managing a classroom. A strong PLN should provide diversity to your perspective, aid you in problem solving, continuous learning opportunities, potential collaboration/ career opportunities, and should lead to continuous growth in your practice (Emelo, 2023). Personal Learning Networks are supposed to be well-rounded, covering multiple aspects that can advance your understanding for your career. For education, this would include areas such as lesson subjects, teaching methods, organizing a classroom, planning schedules, managing students and dealing with their various emotions, essential classroom materials and where to get them, and how to make a positive impact for the school and with the staff. 

The purpose of a learning network is to broaden your understanding and expand your way of thinking about different matters (Emelo, 2023). It should be personalized to your beliefs, but not limited to one narrative. Educators need to be open-minded, a growth mindset gives teachers the opportunity to develop a better understanding for the students that they are and will work with; a diverse PLN can help create this base for teachers to be able to rely on. Ideally, a successful PLN should be a safe space that provides reciprocal contributions, sharing ideas and perspectives to one another and creating meaningful discussions that can help expand each other’s understandings (Dene Poth, 2023). 

Although a large learning network with lots of resources can be helpful, the best way to know if your PLN is a success is the results you will see in the classroom (Langemeier, 2026). Your classroom may be better organized, you could be more efficient and engaging in your lessons, problems can be solved faster, and you feel like you have support that you can turn to when you need help. Ultimately, you can make the best professional learning network you possibly can, but it can only become a success if you actively use your resources and put what you have learned into action to see direct change in your own success in the classroom and life.

Our chosen platform and Infographic’s on those apps for teachers – Hana Blaicher

Putting together these Infographic posters helped me realize that the three platforms we focused on being TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are often thought of as social platforms, but they are more than that. They are used as a multi-tool and in this case for professional learning, to share ideas, build communities, and find a support system all while promoting professional growth. 

While creating the posters, one thing that stood out was some of the common things we found across all the platforms and how educators connect and learn from each other. This can be through videos, posts, in groups, or even through discussions in specific forums or in comment sections. One of the other things I noticed is that when educators are posting in a professional sense they need to be mindful of their digital identity, and how things shared online are public and viewable to everyone. 

While the platforms have similar areas, they each have their strengths. Instagram’s visual take on posting is a great way to share classroom ideas and inspiration in many ways. TikTok is similar but also is quicker and more engaging through the short videos, and is perfect for a teacher who has many things on the go. Facebook’s platform helps open a space for deeper conversation and depending on the type of group or forum you are in can help you get feedback from people that feels real. Overall, what I have noticed is that there are no “perfect” platforms when developing your PLN. Each platform has different ways that educators can build their network, connect with similar people and continue to grow professionally and it is up to the educator what they want and are looking for.  

 

 

 

References

 

Raina Hagel 

Leveraging Social Media to Build a Digital Professional Learning Network | Edutopia 

Understanding and Mapping Your Personal Learning Network: Unlock the Value of a Leader’s Professional Connections 

Networking in Education: Build a Professional Learning Network 

Professional Learning Networks for Teachers | Edutopia 

 

Ella Parker

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131522001956  

https://www.teachhub.com/technology-in-the-classroom/2019/11/ways-to-use-instagram-to-enrich-your-classroom/ 

https://spacesedu.com/en/blog/tiktok-teaching-tool/ 

https://www.teachhub.com/technology-in-the-classroom/2021/05/how-to-use-tiktok-in-the-classroom/ 

https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2023-08/facebookforeducators.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264816593_Using_Facebook_in_the_classroom 

 

Katie Winchester

Facebook Use for Teachers: A Guide | PDF | Facebook | Social Networking Service 

How to Manage Your Online Reputation on Instagram 

Instagram Personal Branding Marketing Strategy: How to Use Instagram to Build and Grow Your Personal Brand and Reputation – FasterCapital 

The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media for Teachers – The Tech Edvocate 

TeachTok: Teachers of TikTok, micro-celebrification, and fun learning communities – ScienceDirect 

 

Maya Stevens

What Data Do Social Platforms Collect, and How Can You Reclaim It? 

Data tracking: What is it? Why is it important? 

Data Policy | Instagram Help Center 

PIPEDA requirements in brief – Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 

 

Amelia Both

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/how-a-middle-school-teacher-became-a-viral-sensation/

https://torontolife.com/city/students-recognize-me-as-that-tiktok-teacher-meet-the-etobicoke-educator-going-viral-for-her-stylish-outfits/

https://www.drshelleymoore.com/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/ojibway-language-social-media-teachers-1.5014604

https://www.youtube.com/@FiveMooreMinutes 

Hana Blaicher

Blaicher, H. R. (2026). Platforms for teachers within their pln’s [Infographic]. Canva.

Carpenter, J. P., Morrison, S. A., Craft, M., & Lee, M. (2020). How and why are educators using Instagram? Teaching and Teacher Education, 96, 103149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103149 

This is the final week of the course and myself and my group members will be wrapping this up, getting things organized and proof reading and ready for submission. We will have the two dedicated sections to our research and our personal learning and mini evaluating on our own research we did. As a learning pod we got together and delegated tasks dividing the work load and making sure everything was the best it could be. 

Looking back on this project there were some really interesting and exciting aspects but also some things that made it difficult personally in my experience. I had a hard time finding resources when it came to certain things I wanted to cover. Social media is not an ancient system and really hasn’t been around for use to fully find resources to back our inquiry topic. I also struggled with trying to make things perfect and not being able to have everything go as planned. While this is not something that anyone can control I didn’t do my best to set myself up to succeed. 

This course has been eye opening. This is my first EDCI course and has opened up a new avenue of learning that I don’t think I will stop continuing my learning on. This course has made me more aware of the privacy and security of the internet, the ideas of multi model learning, and with this project how we can create something really cool and have a low criteria passion project come to life. 

For this week’s process post and project work I wanted to shift my focus from distraction to educational opportunity on social media. While last week my group members and I looked into research I wanted to look at more research on the negative effects of social media on attention spans. 

Throughout the week I intentionally followed and engaged with educational content on social media instead of aimlessly scrolling. I viewed these creators and content on TikTok, Instagram and Youtube. I look for creators who share knowledge and information on education, sciences, Law, marketing, personal development and some news accounts. One of the creators I found I enjoyed watching was Kayla Lee. Kayla Lee goes by @kaylaleelawyer on tiktok and works as a Lawyer who specializes in DUI and traffic offenses. She has extensive information and resources on ICBC and the rules and laws of the road. I have been able to keep up to date with changes to our learners permits in BC and then to fact check her information I looked into the ICBC website and viewed those changes she had mentioned. I was also consistently avoiding the short form videos and looking for longer, more in depth content in and giving thought to whether the short form videos were helping me learn new information.      

One thing that makes the short-form videos or content I normally gravitate towards useful for is introducing new topics quickly. This aligns with research on microlearning, which suggests that small pieces of information can support learning and encourage further exploration of a topic (Buchem & Hamelmann, 2010). A one minute video is more just the spark notes of the subject and can sometimes not provide all the information I need on content. It feels like it can be over simplifying the content I am engaging with. It makes me think about how much meaningful learning I am getting when I am only viewing the shorter form videos.

One of the things I did when this was a concern was fact checking the information when I feel like I didn’t get enough details. I looked into peer reviewed articles and reliable sources. Research by Wineburg and McGrew (2019) highlights the importance of fact-checking and evaluating the credibility of online information, especially when learning through digital platforms. When doing this I found that most of the information was accurate and well supported, but in some cases important details were missing or even over exaggerated. This is highlighting the importance of critical thinking when using social media as a learning tool.

Another thing I was more aware of is the fact that scrolling on platforms like Instagram or TikTok, the topic of content I am watching changes every 30-60 seconds. While Greenhow and Lewin (2016) suggest that social media can support informal learning and knowledge sharing, I found that constantly changing topics sometimes made it difficult to retain information.Even though I learned small things here and there, I struggled to remember details later when thinking back to using screen time. This made me think that a journal entry could be a good way to track this.

Another interesting finding was how quickly I moved from one topic to another while scrolling. Even educational content encouraged rapid consumption of information. Although I learned small pieces of information, I sometimes struggled to remember details later because I had consumed so much content in a short amount of time.

 

In our group project we will showcase all of our work on a website where one section is dedicated to the research we have gathered and the other section will be about our personal experiments and experiences with altering and reflecting on our social media use. 

 

References 

Buchem, I., & Hamelmann, H. (2010). Microlearning: A strategy for ongoing professional development.

Greenhow, C., & Lewin, C. (2016). Social media and education: reconceptualizing the boundaries of formal and informal learning. Learning, Media and Technology, 41(1), 6–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.1064954 

@kylaleelawyer

Snelson, C. (2011). YouTube across the disciplines: A review of the literature. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 159–169.

Wineburg, S., & McGrew, S. (2019). Lateral Reading and the Nature of Expertise: Reading Less and Learning More When Evaluating Digital Information. Teachers College Record (1970), 121(11), Article 110302. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811912101102

To start this week I wanted to get to know more about digital distractions and how social media can impact my attention span. While last week we started researching these topics I wanted to test them myself and be more conscious about my own habits.

To get a better sense of my own habits I utilised my phone apps such as Apple’s Screen Time feature to track my usage of my phone for the week. I kept a mindful eye on my screen time throughout the week and the apps u used most. One thing that I learned is that not only does it track my screen time, it also tracks how many times I picked up my phone and what app I opened as soon as my phone was picked up, as well as the notifications and how many each app gave me that week.    

As part of my inquiry I tested different working conditions when completing our course work. During my phone I kept my phone beside me with my ringer on and other times I would work while my phone was in another room with a focus or Do not Disturb (DND) mode on. I noticed when my phone was out of sight I was able to focus more and felt less tempted to take a break and scroll. This was similar to research I looked at by Stothart, Mitchum, and Yehnert (2015), who found even getting or seeing a notification pop up on your screen can reduce a person’s attention and negatively impact how the task is completed. Even though I tried to be super strict with myself when doing the work, just knowing my phone was within reaching distance made it harder to concentrate on my work. 

One thing I really struggle with is completing tasks due to having ADHD. When my phone is close to me I realized I was constantly switching between my course work, texts, social media and other apps. When I put my DND on and in the other room I found it easier to focus. This reminded me of a reading I did from Gazzaley and Rosen’s (2016) discussion from The Distracted Mind, and how they explained that our brains are not supposed to or are designed to constantly multitask. Their research shows that frequent notification interruptions reduce concentration and productivity. Another study I also took a look at for this week was by Rosen, Carrier, and Cheever (2013), who found that students that switch between studying and social media and that social media use was most used were associated with lower academic performance.   

 

This week I kept track using a journal entry system as well as a weekly review  which you can see below. 

 

Weekly Review Entry

Category	Reflection
Weekly Screen Time	41h and 37m
Top 3 Most Used Apps	TikTok -> Instagram -> zoom
Educational Topics Viewed	BC road laws, sciences, history, and news
New Things Learned	ICBC Corporation bylaws
Fact Checked	Yes / no
Focus Rating	8/10
Productivity Rating	8/10
Biggest Distraction	Phone or environment when I did course work
Main take away(s)	Need to prioritize putting the devices on DND and away from my reach to keep me productive.

 

Resources 

 

Gazzaley, A., & Rosen, L. D. (2016). The distracted mind : ancient brains in a high-tech world. The MIT Press.

 

Rosen, L. D., Mark Carrier, L., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948–958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.001 

 

Stothart, C., Mitchum, A., & Yehnert, C. (2015). The Attentional Cost of Receiving a Cell Phone Notification. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 41(4), 893–897. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000100

This week we took a look at the new launch of Canada’s new AI to all initiative, and while I don’t think this is coming as a shock to anyone that AI usage is gaining more traction or being used more widely because most of the time while scrolling online 1 in every 10 posts have Ai usage in some way. Whether it is changing the way an image looks, generating a caption, or even searching up anything on google AI is there. This issue starts when these posts or sources whether it is a friend, family member or even a public figure is sharing or using them as an information hub this is when things can get scary.  AI has advanced and I can see that just with the videos and photos that I continue to see. It is getting harder and harder to detect AI usage, and I even catch myself taking a better look when a video or photo seems suspicious. One example of AI amplified misinformation was back in 2025 and earlier during the summer when BC was in the peak of wildfire season. Multiple images were created using AI to make the image more shocking or dramatized, and got so bad that news outlets started reporting on the mass of AI-generated photos (, 2025). This can then influence public opinion and create emotional reactions to things that are just simply not accurate. One of our assigned readings from MediaSmarts noted that AI generated misinformation which could include Deepfakes are becoming more and more common and Canadians are being subjected more to this content on a regular basis (MediaSmarts, 2025).

BC AI wildfire photo from Capital News 

(Louis, 2026)

 

While researching the new AI or All initiative I stumbled upon a new bill that was introduced by the Government of Canada. It is called Bill C-34 and is a new safe social media act under the Digital Safety Act and the Digital Safety Commission of Canada Act. This act would limit regulated services that bring social media and AI chatbots to youth/children under the age of 16 years old (Government of Canada, 2026). One of the main concerns and reason why this was introduced was due to the growing amount of harmful content online and examples listed are Imamate non consensual circumstances, use of content for the purposes of bullying, content that could ensue or start violence, and more (Government Of Canada, 2026) .  

Another example of an organization changing its way when it comes to AI is UVIC. UVIC has revised their Academic Integrity Policy which will be rolling out as of September 2026. On the Uvic website you can find information on the new adopted policy and here are some of my take-aways. UVIC has the understanding that AI is a reality in learning environments and gives more detail than the previous policy for when AI usage is permitted or not. One thing that I didn’t realise that the policy details was, Instructors and Professors are not allowed to use AI software to check for AI usage because these tools are unreliable and inaccurate most times (Uvic, 2026). This can connect to the bigger issues of AI literacy, and how institutions can not trust AI generated material without interventions. AI continues to become more and more integrated into our education, into the things we see on social media, and so having proper education to identify when a video is fake or real is going to become incredibly important.    

Thinking about ways to address these challenges would be further education on AI content. I would look at adding it into the curriculum for students or creating a national campaign for people who are out of school and or seniors who don’t maybe have the same technology experience compared to people who have grown up around new tech. The curriculum or national campaign could help users identify key aspects or indicators that AI tends to generate and how to evaluate and verify the content is coming from a trusted source before sharing it. Rather than teaching the public to distrust or fear online content, instead find ways to build on their skills that can help them feel set up and make an informed decision.   

 

References

Government of Canada. (2026, June 10). Government of Canada introduces legislation to make social media services and AI chatbots safer for children. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2026/06/government-of-canada-introduces-legislation-to-make-social-media-services-and-ai-chatbots-safer-for-children.html

MediaSmarts. (2025, October 27). “Wait… What?” Media Literacy Week highlights growing concern over AI-driven misinformation. https://mediasmarts.ca/about-us/press-centre/wait-what-media-literacy-week-highlights-growing-concern-over-ai-driven-misinformation

Prime Minister of Canada. (2026, June 4). Prime Minister Carney launches AI for All: Canada’s new national artificial intelligence strategy. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/06/04/prime-minister-carney-launches-ai-all-canadas-new-national-artificial

B.C. Wildfire Service issues warning of AI-generated wildfire images on social media. (2026, April 24). Kelowna Capital News. https://kelownacapnews.com/2026/04/24/b-c-wildfire-service-issues-warning-of-ai-generated-wildfire-images-on-social-media/