Wait there's MORE?—Discovering New Social Media Platforms

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, Twitter, is experiencing trouble due to changes from Elon Musk. The changes introduced another tool, Threads, for individuals to engage in, similar to Twitter. I thought it was cool for it to emerge so quickly. However, I could not download and create an account. I am in this stage where I want to minimize how much time I spend on social media. However, I have friends sharing how much they love Threads, so I feel I am missing out. What are your thoughts on Threads? Do you see yourself creating an account? Is there a thing as TOO MANY social media apps? I am still figuring out whether Threads will be my next account.

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Challenges of Online Learning in Developing Countries

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...

Keeping up With Technology—Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

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, ...

Is TikTok More Than Just a Social Media Site?

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...

Johnnie Allen Jr.

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