Johnnie Allen Jr.

Reflecting on this week, I loved that we connected our learning to international perspectives, which allowed me to dig deeper into how technology is utilized beyond U.S.-based perceptions. I often take social media for granted because it can get overwhelming and exhausting if not appropriately balanced. Social media has been a pivotal way for me to learn information; I would even say to learn information globally. The access to resources that increase our knowledge consumption is a privilege that not many developing countries are afforded. Therefore, I wanted to know more about similarities and distinct differences in social media use across the U.S. context and developing countries. In full transparency, this is the first time that I have been able to explore international perspectives in digital media. I found another article that provided an overview through various charts and graphs that were helpful. I never considered how social media can reach a place of stoppage that does not c...

 One aspect I wanted to focus on for this week's topic regarding international perspectives is the impact of online learning in developing countries. I decided to explore Google Scholar and came across a very interesting article by Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih and colleagues (2020) titled Responses to Covid-19 in Higher Education: Social Media Usage for Sustaining Formal Academic Communication in Developing Countries . This article highlighted many other challenges I should have considered during the pandemic, especially regarding international perspectives and experiences with online learning. I knew that the experiences in the United States were highly challenging. Still, we had far more resources than developing countries to transition to online learning and instruction because of the access to learning management systems. However, most developing countries did not know how to continue learning and teaching safely, with no alternative resources and solutions like online learning systems...

  For this week, I slowly got myself back in the swing of things with EME 6414.  I am thankful that we had last week as a break, so I came back curious and with questions as I started to read some of the materials for this week. I am interested in learning more about Trello because I often collaborate with peers and faculty members on research projects. I think that having something where we can connect easier could truly benefit our goals. Reading over some of the features that Trello offers, it was neat to see the various apps (dropbox, twitter, storiesonboard, etc.) available to be connected to Trello. Trello has three different plans; it was interesting to learn about them to see which plans would make the most sense for me and how I would utilize Trello. The standard plan would be where would start to see how using this with a small team could benefit our productivity. I'd like to see what else Trello can do and how individuals can make the best out of the platform. You c...

  I remember the first time I learned about Slack; it was my first year as a Graduate Supervisor in Residential Life at Indiana University. I worked alongside my direct supervisor in co-supervising an undergraduate staff of nine resident assistants (RA's). At the time of staff training, we decided on a platform that could serve as mass communication for the team. We agreed on Slack because there was the option to have multiple channels to engage in different topics. However, this felt far more complicated than a GroupMe chat. After a few failed attempts with Slack, we decided to move forward and not use it as our primary communication forum. I had mixed feelings about Slack. I did not understand any of the other features, so I did not feel I would return to using Slack. We were introduced to Slack in our week 9 module, and I considered giving Slack another try. I checked Slack's website to see if there were any changes, but I did not see any new features or changes. I chose to ...

  Living in a world with constant and rapid changes, specifically in a digital world,  forces individuals to engage with various social and digital media platforms and tools. I could not have thought of a better time to take this course and learn about Web 2.0 and its societal influence. If it was not for this course, I would not pay close attention to the latest social and digital media outlets. EME 6414 has shifted my lens and perspective when thinking about and engaging with social and digital media. I used to feel the need to constantly stay on all platforms because I strongly feared missing out. However, this course has taught me to critically think about the ones I participate in. Should I be participating for my own knowledge consumption, or am I choosing to create all of these platforms so I can always catch what is trending? Now, we are in a world where everyone is on social media, which can cause additional challenges. One very important and favorite platform of mine...

  I decided to engage in one of the tools for this week, Padlet! I had previous experience with Padlet but something different from what we used it for in this course. During my master's program, I used Padlet to engage in class discussions to contribute and contribute to course dialogue in unique ways. It indeed came from the COVID-19 pandemic as I entered my master's program in the Fall of 2020. Padlet was one of our ways to engage and add variety to how we were learning as a community. In this course, Padlet opened my eyes to new opportunities to engage in community learning. I enjoyed the different Padlet categories, which showed me innovative ways to utilize the platform. The types included testing things out (creative/play grid), timeline Padlet, map Padlet, shelf Padlet, and Recreate Art challenge. I did not think that I would enjoy it as much as I did, but I did. I went with the default on the creative/play grid and included a GIF to test things out and see how the plat...