Task: Based on Utecht’s 5 stages of PLN adoption, identify which stage you currently see yourself experiencing and how this impacts on your personal and working lives. Also identify any ‘gaps’ in your existing PLN (ie. areas which you feel you would like to develop further/in the future). Write around 400 words.

(McHugh, 2016)

A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is a series of connections made by an individual to improve and expand an individual’s learning and learning connections (Nielsen, 2008). In today’s environment, PLNs are global and have the capability to connect similarly interested individuals across spatiotemporal bounds (Morrison & McCutheon, 2019, p. 2). PLNs can also cross sector and industry boundaries, as connections are made on the basis of interests and knowledge, rather than as the result of a structure dictated by a specific industry. For example, the PLN of an information professional may incorporate individuals from the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector, Information Technology (IT) sector, and social work sector. Ultimately, PLN’s are about forming a strong community of individuals, information, and resources that a professional can call upon to strengthen their knowledge beyond the capabilities of their immediate school or workplace contacts (Nielsen, 2008).

Utecht (2008) defined the following five stages of PLN adoption to enable professionals to reflect on their progress through the PLN journey:

• • • Stage 1: Immersion – participating in all networks that you can find.
    • Stage 2: Evaluation – focus on networks that you are most interested in.
    • Stage 3: Know it all – spend a high degree of time learning and gaining knowledge as fast as possible.
    • Stage 4: Perspective – take a step back and establish perspectives on life values and goals.
    • Stage 5: Balance – Prioritise other avenues as well as the PLN and achieve a work/learning/life balance.

 

Based on these stages, I am personally vacillating between Stage 2 – Evaluation, and Stage 3 – Know it all. As I progress through the Master of Information Studies (MIS), I have been evaluating my networks to prioritise those that serve my career and knowledge goals. For example, I have increased my engagement with metadata networks and ceased my engagement with archives and records networks. Moreover, as I am pursuing a new career path, I spend a large amount of time trying to learn as fast as possible, which reflects Utecht’s classification of Stage 3: Know it all. However, this takes my attention away from other areas of my life, including being able to engage with leisure and hobbies, and spend time with friends and family. Therefore, I am aware that I need to progress through stages 4 and 5 in the near future so that I can achieve a level of balance between the various areas of my life. I believe that it is important to undertake these stages and achieve balance in my current PLN before completing my MIS and starting a new role, as inevitably new networks will emerge in the workplace which will require their own evaluation and engagement.

(446 words)

References

McHugh, J. (2016). [Image of a head with multicoloured graphics]. Joseph McHugh. https://sites.psu.edu/joem/2016/12/11/learning-philosophy-2-0/

Morrison, D., & McCutheon, J. (2019). Empowering older adults’ informal, self-directed learning: harnessing the potential of online personal learning networks. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 14(10), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41039-019-0104-5

Nielsen, L. (2008, October 12). 5 things you can do to begin developing your personal learning network. The Innovative Educator. https://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-things-you-can-do-to-begin-developing.html

Utecht, J. (2008, April 3). Stages of PLN adoption. The Thinking Stick. https://www.thethinkingstick.com/stages-of-pln-adoption/

The digital era has augmented the essential knowledge and skills required of Library and Information Studies (LIS) professionals as the technologies used within the sector continue to rapidly evolve. As stated by both Burton (2019, p. 42) and Hamad, et al. (2021, p. 592), LIS professionals now not only need to keep up with the rapid evolution of technology for their own work, but for the benefit of service delivery to customers, including being able to provide technology assistance for customers on new platforms, devices, and technologies in which they’re interested.

While the hard skills and knowledge related to technology have evolved, the attributes required of LIS professionals has remained somewhat constant, in that the need for customer service, management, interpersonal, and strategic skills remain highly important regardless of what platforms or technologies are being utilised (Burton, 2019, p. 44). Moreover, the constant evolution of technologies actually demands that information professionals become even more adaptable in the workplace and have high levels of digital literacy that enable them to utilise rapidly evolving technologies (Burton, 2019, p. 44). As stated by Raju (2017, pp. 740, 753), this change has been reflected in job advertisements for information professionals, the majority of which now require “advanced IT skills” and put greater emphasis on the evaluation of these skills. Ultimately, the technology revolution that is occurring may be changing the “professional identity” of the librarian (Raju, 2017, p. 740), but it is vital that the profession keeps up with the demands of society, rather than maintaining professional identity at the sake of societal value.

Unfortunately, as identified by both Raju (2017, p. 745) and Attahir (2018, pp. 113-115), the courses for the education and qualification of librarians do not provide the level of digital literacy training required to ensure future librarians meet the demands of the digital era. While this is changing slowly overtime, it will require the entire LIS sector to acknowledge the blurred boundaries that are developing between the roles of librarian and IT professional, and to develop appropriate and proportionate education that trains individuals in both the requirements of librarianship as well as computer science and engineering.

(356 words)

References

Attahir, I. S. (2018). Digital literacy: Survival skill for librarians in the digital era. Journal of Information and Knowledge Management, 9(4), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.4314/iijikm.v9i4.10

Black Press Media. (2017). [Photograph of a man using VR headset and controls in a library]. Langley Advance Times. https://www.langleyadvancetimes.com/community/vr-comes-to-langley-library-2502450

Burton, S. (2019). Future skills for the LIS profession. Online Searcher, 43(2), 42-45. https://www.infotoday.com/OnlineSearcher/Articles/Features/Future-Skills-for-the-LIS-Profession-130296.shtml

Hamad, F., Al-Fadel, M., & Fakhouri, H. (2021). The effect of librarians’ digital skills on technology acceptance in academic libraries in Jordan. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 53(4), 589-600. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620966644

Raju, J. (2017). Information professional or IT professional?: The knowledge and skills required by academic librarians in the digital library environment. Libraries and the Academy, 17(4), 739-757. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2017.0044

Task: Explore three of your favourite websites (any sites you are interested in) on your mobile device and compare and contrast their functionality and the ways that they provide access to social tools. For each site list features that you consider provide a good mobile experience, and suggest any improvements that could be made. 

 

As this task specifically refers to websites, I exclusively focused on the functionality of these platforms on a mobile web browser. However, it should be noted that all have purposed-built mobile apps.

 

Goodreads

Goodreads is a social networking site (SNS) that is uniquely based around books, while also allowing users to build friendships and communicate in a similar manner to traditional SNS (Thelwall & Kousha, 2017, p. 972).

Positive design elements:

• • • Well-designed infographic for “My Year in Books” showing reading statistics, which can be shared to Facebook, Twitter/X, and Pinterest for social engagement.
    • Quick links in Menu bar to social networking features, such as “Friends”, “Groups”, “Discussions”, and “Comments”.
    • Integration of “Friends” with Facebook and Gmail.

 

Recommended improvements:

• • • All pages should be mobile compatible, as attractive website visual design can increase customer satisfaction and re-use (Jongmans, et al., 2022, p. 2101).
    • Provide the ability to add and edit read dates on mobile, and not just desktop.

 

Stanton Library

Stanton Library is my local public library and has a website that is hosted on the North Sydney Council website.

Positive design elements:

• • • Popular features such as joining, catalogue, events, and e-library, are clearly shown on the homepage to limit navigation to other pages, which provides an intentional experience for users (Bell, 2018, p. 4).
    • The homepage provides clear links to the library’s Instagram and Twitter, and a “Sign Me Up” icon to subscribe to the library newsletter.

 

Recommended improvements:

• • • Separate the website from the council website, as the main drop-down menu navigates away from the library.
    • Employ user-experience design to improve usability of book carousels with larger clickable links for catalogue navigation (Bell, 2018, p. 5).

 

Reddit

Reddit is a large SNS that is based on various “interest-based devices” to enable users to self-organise and engage via “subreddits” (Olson & Neal, 2015, p. 1).

Positive design elements:

• • • The news-feed style user homepage has high usability and ease of navigation. This increases likelihood of reuse (Jongmans, et al., 2022, p. 2101).
    • The organisation of interests into subreddits makes “big worlds feel small and navigable” (Olson & Neal, 2015, p. 1), especially with the use of custom rules for each subreddit.
    • Reddit recommends posts in other sub-reddits to expand user’s engagement. This reflects a “modular community structure” and helps guide users on a largescale platform (Olson & Neal, 2015, p. 2).

 

Recommended improvements:

• • • Change the appearance of sponsored posts on user homepage to appear different to subreddit posts. This may improve user-experience design (Bell, 2018, p. 5).
    • Reddit’s downvote system is unique to SNS’s and can foster an antagonistic environment where conformity is rewarded (Davis & Graham, 2021, p. 650). May be improved by creating more variation in responses.

 

(475 words)

References

Bell, S. J. (2018). Design thinking + user experience = better-designed libraries. Information Outlook, 22(4), 4-6. https://doi.org/10.34944/dspace/96

Davis, J. L., & Graham, T. (2021). Emotional consequences and attention rewards: the social effects of ratings on Reddit. Information, Communication & Society, 24(5), 649-666. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1874476

Goodreads, Inc. (2023). Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/

Jongmans, E., Jeannot, F., Liang, L., & Damperat, M. (2022). Impact of website visual design on user experience and website evaluation: The sequential mediating roles of usability and pleasure. Journal of Marketing Management, 38(17-18), 2078-2113. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2022.2085315

North Sydney Council. (2023). Stanton Library. https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/library

Olson, R. S., & Neal, Z. P. (2015). Navigating the massive world of reddit: Using backbone networks to map user interests in social media. PeerJ Computer Science, 1(e4). https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.4

Reddit Inc. (2023). Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/

Thelwall, M., & Kousha, K. (2017). Goodreads: A social network site for book readers. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 68(4), 972-983. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23733

Mulvey and Keller’s (2023) article Brooms and Ballots: #WitchTheVote, the Nostalgic Internet, and Intersectional Feminist Politics on Instagram, explores how intersectional feminists have navigated the “social media attention economy”, which is governed by algorithms that conform to traditional social norms, ideologies, and trends. This article specifically focuses on the hashtag #WitchTheVote, which was established by a set of witches from Salem in preparation for the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Mulvey and Keller (2023, p. 1-2) undertook a visual and discursive coding of posts using this hashtag which observed that this hashtag used “reflective nostalgic activism” to link witchiness with progressive and social-justice oriented intersectional feminism. This approach sought to disrupt not only traditional social norms, but also the norms of traditional, popular feminism that ignores the importance of intersectionality and marginalised voices, and instead adheres to neoliberal ideologies to create content that achieves social media virality (Banet-Weiser, et al., 2020).

As a consumer of feminist content on various social media platforms, I have observed similar content from witch and wicca communities, such as the subreddit “Witches Vs Patriarchy”. As noted by Mulvey and Keller (2023, p. 3), #WitchTheVote represents a group attempting to engage on a platform in a way that does not conform to the platform’s conventions. This ultimately results in low user engagement as the Instagram algorithm lowers the visibility of these posts. This experience is echoed by the Reddit post by u/Peggy_Hill_Foot_job “The instagram algorithm is trying to kill me”, wherein this user laments the restriction of content shown on their Instagram as their interests do not conform to traditional, high visibility content.

The ideological foundation of social media platforms is intrinsically at odds with the local focus of authentic intersectional feminist content, and thus will continue to suppress these already marginalised voices (Kanai, 2020, pp. 34-37). However, I agree with Mulvey and Keller (2023, p. 11) that to deem #WitchTheVote and similar intersectional feminist campaigns unsuccessful due to their low visibility is inaccurate, as their mere presence challenges “visibility, attention, celebrity, large audiences, and consumption”. Therefore, while this conflict degrades the ability of intersectional feminists to engage widely on social media, their ongoing use of these platforms is subversive in of itself and an act of radical, intersectional feminism that rejects popular feminism’s highly visible, consumable glamour.

(381 words)

References

Banet-Weiser, S., Gill, R., & Rottenberg, C. (2020). Postfeminism, popular feminism and neoliberal feminism? Sarah Benet-Weiser, Rosalind Gill and Catherine Rottenberg in conversation. Feminist Theory, 21(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700119842555

Kanai, A. (2020). Between the perfect and the problematic: Everyday femininities, popular feminism, and the negotiation of intersectionality. Cultural Studies, 34(1), 25-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2018.1559869

Mulvey, A. P., & Keller, J. M. (2023). Brooms and ballots: #WitchTheVote, the nostalgic internet, and intersectional feminist politics on Instagram. Social Media + Society, 9(4), 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231205

Niria Alica [@niriaalicia]. (2020, December 4). I refuse to give any more of my energy to the outcomes of these #elections2020 [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJakX6gJT3/?img_index=1

u/Peggy_Hill_Foot_job. (2023, March 6). The Instagram algorithm is trying to kill me [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/WitchesVsPatriarchy/comments/ 11jmuoo/the_instagram_algorithm_is_trying_to_kill_me/