Post #2 – Personal Digital Identity vs Professional Digital Identity

I will begin by saying how tricky this V&R mapping exercise was! It took me a lot longer than I thought it would, because I got stuck on a few items when considering where to place them on my map.

Below is the screenshot of my map.

I will briefly explain my reasoning for a few of the media’s placements.

One of the media’s I struggled to place was actually YouTube. I decided to put it right smack in the middle, because I use it for looking up videos for personal use, and I have also used it to upload videos for school, like assignments and projects. I mainly am a visitor on this application, but again, I put it in the middle because I do occasionally post on it for school. Same with TikTok, I mainly use it personally, but I included it a bit further down the axis, as I like to either scroll through it when I’m bored (personal), or scroll through #teachertok to learn about what teachers are doing or any tips and tricks for the classroom (institutional).

Another interesting one was Zoom. I had originally placed it in the far right bottom corner, because I was only thinking about how I use it for school. Upon reflection, I decided to give it more of a personal use, because I do use it to connect with friends, not just my classes!

Finally, you might have noticed that I have 2 Twitter labels and 2 email labels. This is because I have 2 separate accounts for Twitter, and 2 separate uses for email! I have my personal Twitter account that I don’t post on, but use on a daily basis to keep up with current events and such, and then I have an educational account that I use to connect with educational topics and users. My email is used for school and work related topics, and I also use it for personal things like online shopping, connecting with my grandmother, or promotional emails like sales at my favourite stores.

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

As a B.Ed student, I personally really like WordPress. I think that this platform is a great way to portray ourselves in a portfolio type manner. I like that we can have numerous pages on our website, so we can have different tabs for our current courses, hobbies/interests, lesson planning or anything else we want to show! I really really like how Hannah has laid out her blog. She has included her work from our second year in the B.Ed program, and has also added a whole menu about her teaching philosophy, hobbies, lessons etc. I think this is a super smart way to do it, a professional portfolio that will only grow with time – nice Hannah! 🙂 When I took EDCI 336 and we were first introduced to WordPress, I didn’t really know how I would use it after that class. Now that I am in 2 Ed-tech classes this summer, and after reflection, I can definitely see myself using this platform extensively throughout my career – which is so cool!

As well, I like having that second Twitter account to network with teachers and educational professionals in my area and across Canada. It’s a great way to stay connected with educational topics, while maintaining a professional appearance and stature. As Breanne mentioned in one of her posts, creating a second Instagram account is something I am really looking forward to! I hadn’t thought of it until she mentioned it. When I get certified and begin teaching, I can use it to portray how I teach, useful tips for other teachers, and to basically brag about how awesome my students will be!

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

I definitely want to continue using my educational Twitter account. I haven’t been very active on it since I created it last fall, so I would like to change that. I would like to try and follow more accounts, engage with them, and post about topics I am interested in. Basically, I would like to become more of a Twitter resident than a visiter. As I mentioned before, I am also looking to start up a second Instagram account. I think that having these educational related accounts separate from your personal ones is a great way to expand your professional learning network. I also want to continue using my WordPress blog in the future. I want it to be something I am proud of, when you search my name and my blog comes up, people are impressed by who I am and what I accomplish.

Some things I am still considering:

As we continue to discuss in our group about privacy and what’s “out there” about us, I can’t help but feel a bit anxious. I have Googled my name multiple times, and I don’t think that there is anything bad about me, but is there a specific tool that a workplace can use to search for specific things about you before hiring you? Are all my embarrassing Facebook posts from 2011 going to pop up? I’m wondering if there is a way that you can “clean up” your digital identity, a way to sort through your presence and get rid of the things you don’t want there anymore. Because sometimes I stress about my future and my potential to be hired as a teacher because of a photo I am tagged in or a comment I have made. I think that I am fine, but am I really?!