Throughout this module, I used a variety of social media tools to support my online learning as a digital citizen. These include Padlet, Pinterest, Pocket, Datawrapper, Screencast-O-Matic, Youtube and Peerscholar. These social media tools helped me find, create, publish, curate, manage and share information. I used Padlet to document my use of the other social media tools. I used images from Pinterest to make the space look visually pleasing and provided links to web pages I had worked on. Padlet is an excellent tool for curating and managing information. I will use it when engaging with other modules to support my online engagement as a digital citizen, as I enjoy the visual aspect, making completing assignments an enjoyable experience (Abebe, 2021) (Warwick, 2017).

 

The first social media tool I used and documented my learning of was Pinterest. I created 'boards', which are esentially folders to organise and display images. My four boards were titled 'Flower Fields', 'Teapots', 'studying' and 'books' as each area appealed to me. I searched each title on Pinterest, found images relating to them, and saved them on my boards. I made sure all the pictures on the individual boards looked aesthetically pleasing next to each other. I enjoyed using Pinterest and will continue to use this tool to support my online engagement as a digital citizen when I need visual inspiration for an assignment or a DIY project. (Hur, 2022)

 

Pocket functioned similarly to Pinterest, and I organised articles I was interested in into tags. I could not search for articles, so finding pieces I wanted to read was difficult. I liked the function of recommending articles; however, I would not use this in the future as the free version of Pocket is too frustrating. Perhaps the free version is purposefully challenging to navigate to encourage you to pay for the premium.

 

Pinterest and Pocket were both social media tools I used for organising information. I began to create and publish data with Datawrapper. I created a map mashup using Datawrapper. I used a Choropleth map of Ireland to display how many Eason stores are in each county in Ireland. I gathered the store information from Eason's Store Locator web page. I enjoyed the visual aspect and found it fun to mess around with the data and display it visually, especially considering its ‘flexibility’ and ‘visual quality’ for someone with little programming skill such as myself (Pogeant, 2022). I will use Datawrapper in the future for projects where I need to show stats to support my online engagement as a digital citizen, as it is a great visual and would add a lot to an assignment (Meyer, 2000).

 

I created a short video where I played Minecraft and displayed simple tips and tricks for playing the game. I used Screencast-O-Matic to record my screen as I played Minecraft and my audio as I shared tips and tricks. I found Screencast-O-Matic to be a handy and easy tool to use, and I will use it again for recording videos and presentations. I then saved the recording and created a Youtube channel. The free version of Screencast-O-Matic does not allow you to edit your recordings, so I found the editor in Youtube Studio very helpful. I edited my video cutting out unnecessary footage and ensuring the video flowed smoothly. I then uploaded the video, creating a title, description and thumbnail. I like the unlisted upload option, as it allows you to share the link with others without making your video public. Youtube is an excellent platform for sharing information, and I often consume content off the site. However, this was my first time uploading my content. I may upload videos of me talking through answers and study material to help me revise in the future as there is evidence that audio tools can ‘enhance cognitive processing and ultimately learning.’(Dash et al, 2016).

 

I used PeerScholar to receive and provide feedback on draft reflections. I found this helpful as I got other people's perspectives on approaching these social tools and shared my perspective with them. I believe Peerscholar is an essential tool for digital citizens.

 

I will use these social media tools to support my online engagement as a digital citizen by interacting with them publically so others can access the information I find, create, publish, curate, manage and share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

 

Abebe. M. (2021) How to utilize Padlet, a customizable bulletin board. It Teaching Resources,            Stanford Gradute School of Education.       https://teachingresources.stanford.edu/resources/how-to-utilize-padlet/

 

Warwick, C. (2017). Beauty is truth: Multi-sensory input and the challenge of designing            aesthetically pleasing digital resources. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities,           32(suppl_2), 135-ii150. https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqx036

 

Hur, K. (2022) Pinterest improving user experience to help people ‘take more action’ on boards,             new CEO Bill Ready says. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/29/pinterest-            improving-boards-to-help-people-take-more-action-ceo-says.html

 

Pogeant, N. (2022) Datawrapper — The Future of Data Visualization. Medium.          https://medium.com/mlearning-ai/datawrapper-the-future-of-data-visualizations- 4fbe65f7a6b

 

Meyer, J. (2000). Performance with tables and graphs: Effects of training and a visual search    model. Ergonomics, 43(11), 1840-1865. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130050174509

 

Dash, S., Kamath, U., Rao, G., Prakash, J., & Mishra, S. (2016). Audio–visual aid in teaching “fatty liver”. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 44(3), 241-245.             https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.20935