Memoires of a Social Media Novice

There is an entire historical timeline depicting how far and wide Social Media has grown. In retrospect, I have gained a greater appreciation for the various social media platforms given that exponential growth.  Diagram 1 History of social media from 1978-2015   (Johnson, n.d., as cited in Delonix, n.d.). It is remarkable to witness how social media has grown beyond 2015, in response to its users' needs, wants and preferences. Those built-in algorithms make it possible because this system works as a sort of tracking mechanism, so your experience is more personalized . Gosh, here's where digital citizenship should be prioritized because everything you do leaves behind that digital footprint . I see your digital footprint as your online signature so you must nurture it well by using social media responsibly. How? by practicing netiquette (that's internet etiquette) by reading those privacy statements (they are long, but the fine print is important) by being respectful of y

  A Walk Through My Emotions: My E-Zone Social Media can be quite invasive so I went through many emotions being asked to explore various platforms, to determine how useful each may be in my special education context. Without a doubt, social media presented multiple ways of representing information, multiple ways of engaging my students and multiple means of action and expression. Social Media is a reflection of Universal Design for Learning and although I am aware of this, I was still in my e-zone where I needed to process my trepidations, my first steps, my ah-ha moments and my realization that, hey social media could actually benefit my students and level the playing field for them in my classrooms across all educational levels. Take a short wordless walk with me below to understand my emotional journey.

 

I always thought for a VLOG to be a VLOG, it needed to be done over a period of time. Now I realize this is not necessarily correct. In reading the literature on it, a VLOG is really meant to capture a person's personal experiences, thoughts, opinions, views and perhaps, just an aspect of the person's life in general via video format. For my first attempt at a VLOG, my VLOG was not completely VLOGGING. It was conversational, experiential, informative, had storytelling elements, ranged appropriately in voice texture and felt natural. It lacked, however, that multi-media component because I became so frustrated with trying to add text and movement, music and images, I stopped. DO NOT ever try to create a VLOG when you are frustrated at the process, because it creates a barrier and for someone like me who moved from technophobe to enthusiast , this is not a positive place to be. Step away from the VLOGGING process and try again. Nobody said it must be perfect the first time . Have

  My journey through Social Media (SM) began with me as a technophobe. Yes, globally, emerging technology was driving life as we now know it, however, it was moving too quickly for me. [SCREAM] "Another social-media site trying to steal our information!" Not to mention, "I heard these SM sites spy on you....so block your camera!" Phishing, digital predators, cyberbullying, hacking, viruses. These were always my thoughts and memories on hearing of a new SM site, because I was always concerned about my privacy, security, ethics and my capacity to manipulate these sites. Talk about a paranoia fix. I had that really bad. Then I thought that was enough LOOK OUT TECHNOPHOBIA! YOU'RE GOING DOWN! GUESS WHAT! I love SM now and explore them as safely as I can. The key to me now being an ENTHUSIAST: learning as much as possible about the site/platform. exploring the privacy. BECOMING CHILL and GETTING WITH THE PROGRAMME 😁 using and realizing how beneficial these SM sit