Our main focus in this seminar was understanding the concept of personal learning networks which involves how a person derives knowledge and enhances their learning for their own development from different sources. This can be acquired from online sources such as social media and using the internet to access any websites or from being offline which would include social interaction with teachers and peers, as well as textbooks or newspaper articles.

Currently, as a result of the pandemic, people and students in particular across the world are having to become more reliant and adaptive to technology. Therefore, the amount of individuals using online sources has rapidly increased in order to benefit children with their education but also adults who can no longer attend work. According to statistics, in 2020 nearly all children aged 5-15 had online access, this included laptops, tablets and mobile phones which were the most used devices by seven in ten of these children. Ultimately, this suggests that the global pandemic largely affected how children would spend their time which was and continues to be online. There is further evidence to suggest that online access for children was becoming universal, with the majority using video-sharing platforms more during the Covid-19 pandemic. Seven in ten 5-15 year olds played online games with 78% being boys while 64% were girls as well as over half using social media sites, rising to 87%.

Personally, the sources of information that tend to dominate my network is particularly Google to search any information that is beneficial towards the work I complete for university, but also platforms such as canvas are incredibly useful and easy to access this includes lecture presentations, upcoming information that are to be applied in seminars and essential reading to extend student knowledge further. I frequently use social media such as Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube to connect with my peers, for example group chats on Snapchat are helpful as it allows me to ask any questions to other students but also to discuss any impending work to complete. Moreover, YouTube videos is an app I prefer to rely on when I’m struggling to grasp a particular concept in my work but also Instagram now consists of shorts clips which can assist in understanding different topics that are relevant to the subject I’m studying e.g. documentaries and theories. On the other hand, there are sources offline which are extremely helpful towards my education such as textbooks that contain information regarding my specific subject and allow me to introduce more factual information into my work leading to referencing. Also, attending lectures and seminars allows me to learn by communicating with peers and teachers, this means we can share our opinions and exchange ideas hoping to benefit from what the other person has said, for example creating group presentations can help to expand our knowledge further by elaborating on what one person has shared, assisting to the needs of others and allowing us to be more productive.

In terms of calculating a percentage as an overall view for my personal learning network, it seems to be 70% online and 30% offline therefore much of my time is dedicated to online sources rather than offline. In the future, I would like to focus more toward offline sources of information for my work as this means I can interact more with individuals, adhere to the teachers perspective on learning and I’m fully attentive towards work only. The disadvantage of online learning is it can lead to distractions by shifting to other platforms such as social media and viewing things that aren’t relevant to work.