How diverse is your existing PLN?

My current PLN is actually not so diverse. Given that I am quite an introverted person, most of my PLN consists of my real-life closest friends and the internet. And to make friends with, the majority of my friends from real life hold the same interests as me and probably in the same field which makes my PLN not so diverse but considerable deep in some aspects. Plus, the information I seek from the internet by which I mean social media like Twitter, Reddit and Instagram is, most of the time, something that I am interested in.

In your PLN, are you learning from a variety of voices or are you the loudest in the room？

I am always the quietest person in my PLN but quiet doesn’t mean I am not listening and learning. I just deem that I am not good enough to provide advice to other people——that advice is irresponsible! I prefer to learn the object utterly before giving out my thoughts. However, I know this kind of behavior is a bit selfish, it is like you “steal” their knowledge without giving back.

Do you participate in a silo of information sharing (similar themes or wide range of interests)?

I mainly participate in Reddit in similar themes, for example, games I like and fields I am studying in. Well, the word “participate” might not be exact since most of the time I just watch and learn from people’s ideas and thoughts but hardly ever share any.

In your professional setting of choice, do you think inclusion is actively embraced?

My future career will probably be in the field of economics, more specifically maybe business analyst, and I suppose inclusion is actively embraced there. Economics itself is actually a fairly open and inclusive subject. Ideas are considerably welcomed and significant. No matter where you are from and who you are, as long as you have your own ideas, you are part of us.

What is the learning outcome of your PLN and how are you ensuring your exposure to diversity and inclusion?

My PLN provides an environment for me to engage in learning at any time. And it gives out creative thoughts and sometimes there are debates on a specific topic where I can not only learn different ideas but the debate skills and the ability to think critically as well. By joining different groups in Reddit or Discord, I can make sure my exposure to diversity and inclusion as there are tons of posts and comments that I can learn from.

How has your thinking about inclusion and PLN evolved after reviewing the videos and readings?

The only way to ensure there was no “other” was not to make us all wavy, but instead to make us all “an other” (Moore and Schellert, 2017). And I think inclusion and PLN evolved from accepting a specific group of people who are different from the majority of people to accepting all the people. People should not be defined and divided by their characteristics.

Reference

Moore, Shelley. One Without the Other : Stories of Unity Through Diversity and Inclusion, Portage & Main Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=4832579.