Honestly, it makes me kinda sad that this course is coming to an end. When we were discussing the topics that we would incorporate in our final projects, one of the things that we all agreed on is that this course definitely gives us a sense of empowerment through helping us engage in our PLN. Although online learning is not new to most students in UVIC, based on my past experiences, most of the online learning that I have experienced were just a digital version of the education that we would normally receive in a classroom. We are told what to do – which chapter to read, which lecture to listen to, which assignment to turn in. It is through this course that I finally realized that online learning could actually empower our learning, by connecting ourselves with other people, by actively engaging in conversations, and by expanding each other’s knowledge.

And this is the word that I would use to describe both my experiences throughout this course and my future plan with my PLN – empowerment. Before this course, although I have long had the habit to learn from the Internet and other social media platforms, my sense of community was thin. Most of my learning was just me searching for people and contents that I found interesting. I have had conversations with people online, but as the conversations ended, we went on our separate ways. After engaging in this course, I learnt that by establishing a network with people who share the same interests with you, I could actually have a sustainable, supporting community of learners which has large potential to evolve and expand. It will be a network that empowers not only my learning, but also other people who are involved in this network. A professional social media network seems even more important. From what I have learnt in this course, professional networking on social media is so much more than asking for an internship opportunity. A professional social media network contains people who have expertise in the area, who understand your line of work, and people who may have connections to unexpected but valuable opportunities. Imagine how empowered we would feel with our professional development when we are a member of such a network.

Empowerment is not only about ourselves, but also about other people. In my opinion, one of the major objectives of education is to open people to different perspectives, not to make them agree with a certain perspective, but to make them realize that opinions are as valuable even if they differ from their own. Engaging in social media platforms could be an important way to empower other people. We could support other people by supporting them to tell their own stories, by being accepting and respectful to different ideas, by constantly checking our own biases and prejudices, to name just a few. We could engage in conversations on social media platforms about crucial causes in our society. Social media platforms have the potential to connect and include people regardless of their backgrounds, and we could act accordingly to support diversity and inclusion in our online communities.