Johnnie Allen Jr.

Every new app has its time of prime existence where I would describe this to be a time where the app is it at its peak. The peak includes high downloads, consistent usage, and constantly a trending topic on other social media apps. TikTok became one of the next apps to enter its prime  where several people worldwide began using it at large rates. What is TikTok you ask? Well as described in Adnan et al (2021) "tiktok allows users to record videos of themselves goofing off to music or spoken-word clips and then edit the footage with a variety of effects. As of 2021, TikTok is one of the world's most popular applications (at least among those under a certain age" (p.1). Being an app that has been successful to capturing an audiences across the world it is important to understand its connection to our education system as a practical and useful tool that can ehnace learning outcomes.  I encourage you to review the questions below and reflect and think about your journey/exper

 Joining Friday's Zoom session about the various challenges and badges we will have the opportunity to engage with throughout the summer initially brought out the competitor in me. However, digital challenges provide a unique spin for me when considering my competitive identity and how it shows up in this digital world. Many of the challenges and badges for the course will only enhance my competence, knowledge, and expertise when it comes to using the various social media platforms and sites. Instead of thinking solely of "winning" when it comes to engaging in the challenges and badges, I am reframing my thinking to embrace the challenges and badges as developmental opportunities to continue expanding my technology knowledge and skills. Dr. Dennen mentioned how students in the past have printed out the badges for them to display or have physically worn some of the badges that they have earned.  I decided to explore the concept of digital badges; one type of digital badge

       Before this week's readings, I only partially thought about generational differences when it comes to technology. Yes, I know there have been distinct differences between how I grew up as a child compared to my parents and now my nieces and nephew with using technology. I did not always have the latest technology growing up, but when I did, it felt like I "had" to have it to stay connected to what my peers were experiencing. My nieces and nephew are now growing up with all types of technology (tablets, school laptops, YouTube, TikTok, etc.) because it is so prevalent in their experiences and upbringing. While reflecting on the readings, the part that shocked me the most would have to be the terms digital natives and digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001). I knew that these specific "identities" regarding technology usage existed, but I did not know there was a term that classified it all together until the Prensky (2001) article. As described in the article,

       After this week's readings, I have a better grasp of the concept of Web 2.0. As a community health major during undergrad and transitioning to higher education and student affairs for my graduate degree/career, I have been in limited classroom spaces that thoroughly discuss the rapid changes occurring with technology. I'm sure several can relate, as many individuals, myself included, only thought about technology through its basic (primary) forms of utilization in everyday life until the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced everyone to become more engaged with technology and digital media. I never utilized specific language such as "Web 2.0" when discussing the internet and social media, although it makes complete sense that there are different iterations of the web.       In  Dennen's (2020)  A brief overview of key concepts for EME6414 ,  I was able to understand how Web 2.0 is evolving right in front of us. One major takeaway that drilled home the defi

 What should I include in my blog? Am I doing this right? How can I make this a fun learning and developmental experience for myself?  These are all questions I began asking myself after listening to Dr. Dennen's Week 1 VoiceThread. I knew that the class would challenge me in areas I may not be as familiar with, which is PERFECT. As someone who uses various digital/social media platforms, I have not gotten into blogging,  not because I don't see it as exciting but mainly because I never took the time to explore it. I never would have thought that enrolling in EME6414 for the Summer would be my start to making time to learn how to blog. Following the instructions from the VoiceThread, detailed syllabus, and week 1 Blog Journal Assignment Overview, I felt more confident in my abilities to blog. While also practicing grace with my journey of learning all about the "Do's and Don't's" of blogging. To become confident using Blogger.com, I watched different YouTu

  Personal Vs. Professional Social Media Identity Do you have to keep separate your personal and professional lives on social media? Why or why not? For a long time, when thinking about social media, I believed that my personal and professional lives could not co-exist on the same social media site/platform. I thought this to be true because I followed what others told me to do rather than what I felt worked for me. Often times I heard professionals share that their personal and professional identities are not the same. I agree that there are some differences between how I am in my personal life compared to professional work settings. However, I pride myself on being authentic and genuine as I hope to reflect those qualities in my personal and professional lives—including in digital and social media spaces. I joined social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay updated with current trends that many of my peers and friends were experiencing, build community and ne