Part 1

This discussion will have two parts.

For the first discussion, talk      about your feelings about digital literacy skills. How would you rate      yourself in digital literacy? Where do you feel you need to improve? Where      are you the strongest?

For the second part of the      discussion, what are your feelings about digital identity? What was the      most important thing you learned while reading this unit’s materials? Why      have you chosen to highlight this particular idea?

Part 2

Before you begin creating your own professional PLE, you will explore the online identities of several people you admire professionally.

• This week you will complete Project 1 – the first part of a two-part project. The assignment for this week is designed to help you look closely at how other people in your industry or academic discipline represent themselves online. Once you have identified two representative examples of professional online identity, you will study their online presence and analyze their use of social media and other electronic tools to shape their professional personalities. As a foundation for this project, keep in mind the Zwilling (2015) article presented in this unit’s materials.

One of the people you observe should qualify as a professional member of our field (e.g., a faculty member and one person should be your peer (e.g., another graduate student). If you have trouble identifying appropriate individuals to use as the professional member of your field, consider analyzing any of these education professionals for your project:

• Angela Maiers

Dr. Curtis Bonk

Christopher Pappas

Connie Malamed

George Couros

Steven W. Anderson

Dir Ken Robinson

Tom Whitby

Richard Byrne

• Kathy Schrock

You will be submitting a project proposal for this Project 1

• https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249053

Part 3

• As you work to set up your first PLE site this week, discuss your opinions about PLEs and respond to these questions:

What tool did you decide to use      for your PLE site and why did you select it?

• What benefits do you see in      creating a PLE for your program? Why are we using them as assessment      tools?

What drawbacks, if any, do you      foresee?

• Have you had any problems in      getting started with your PLE? If so, please explain so we can help!

How do you envision using a      PLE-type project in your own professional context?

• Part 4

Now for the fun stuff – setting up and designing your PLE that will represent all of the hard work you have accomplished throughout the program! You will have assignments using this PLE in each course and your PLE website will become a major component in the assessment of your final Capstone project. You will be using this PLE for reflective blogging, content curation, and displaying final projects.

• Please let me know if you need my information to set up this site.

Part 5

• Your first project is due at the end of this week by Sunday night. As explained in the initial instructions, you are being given the opportunity to share your rough draft of your project with your peers for feedback before submitting it. So, for this discussion, please post a rough draft of Project 2 as an attachment to this discussion forum. Then respond to the following questions:

What are your thoughts on the      value of this assignment?

• What things surprised you about      your findings so far?

What has been your greatest      challenge with this assignment?

• What is the most important      thing you have learned by doing this assignment?

Part 6

In this unit, you learned some things about blogging: what it is, different applications, how to be a reflective blogger. This may very well be your first attempt at blogging. If it is, then take this opportunity to try out your new blogging voice!

For this next blogging assignment, you will:

Reflect on what you have      learned so far in this course and write your thoughts about the topics.

Talk about online identities,      perceptions of online personalities, etc.

Apply the blogging concepts you      have learned in this unit when writing this first blog post.

Also, as part of the blogging      process, you should do some additional research on your own about the      topics and include external sources in your post by way of in-text      citations. Citing additional external sources gives support to your ideas      and is an important part of academic writing.

Part 7

• Let’s finish what we began In Unit 1! As a refresher – in Unit 1 you identified two representative examples of professional online identity and studied their online presence. For the conclusion of this Project 2 you will be providing the analysis of your findings. Your paper should be roughly 2,500 words (page numbers will vary depending on the number and size of the data examples you include), double-spaced, and should incorporate specific social media posts, screenshots, and other evidence to support your analysis.

VERY IMPORTANT: Remember, this paper should focus on professionalism. What is it about each individual’s online presence that makes them appear professional to their audience? Give specific examples of professionalism that you are able to see. You should explain specific characteristics about their profiles that make you think they are true professionals. This could be images they share, their profile image, the design of their professional websites, interactions with peers in various social media applications, etc. This is not a paper on the thoughts, ideas, opinions, or content of their websites. This is not a report on the people themselves. It is an analysis of the methods they use to make themselves appear professional.

• This assignment is due on Sunday at the end of Unit 3.

Project Outline:

• Describe the two individuals      you have observed.

Why did you select these      subjects as positive examples when it comes to professional online      presence and identity?

• What makes them stand out to      you as being professional?

What sites did you find your      subjects were regularly using?

• What data were you able      collect?

How did you collect, store, and      analyze your data?

Discuss your findings and your      analysis of these two individuals’ professional online presence. Include      your impressions of their online presence.

What impact does this      information have on your own plans for your online identity? How will you      apply what you have learned to the development of your PLE? Discuss some specific      strategies you will incorporate.

Part 8

In this unit, you will begin the process of working in a collaborative group project. For this discussion, review the unit materials and discuss reasons why it is important to build community and encourage collaboration in an online learning environment. In your response, suggest some additional ways in which you might work to build a sense of community and collaboration in your educational environment.

Part 9