Reflection 5.
Image: Social Media by @prateekkatyal
This week I created a padlet account. It’s a website for online bulletin boards where users can showcase, curate, collect items on any subject. I am making two padlets. One will be about Afrofuturism, online resources I’ve run into on random searches through vast timelines, hastags, and such. The other will be about 90s boy and girl bands. I’ll share them somehow with people in my social media network. I don’t know how far reaching these collections will get, and I feel a bit of anxiety about it. More and more I am becoming aware of this need for instant gratification when I share my thoughts and creation online. I hate to admit it but the slight disappointment I get knowing my notifications aren’t blowing up says something about me has changed. As my knowledge about social media and its use as an educative tool grows I have been fascinated at the ways people manage their presence online. I think there has been times when I’ve felt ashamed about how I’ve been seen in the past and I could potentially be seen online, how others may take my posts and replies. It’s a big deal because as they say the internet is forever.
I had a conversation with my professor about the padlet project. She was very encouraging. She reminded me that learning is always trial and error. I am noticing how often I go through bouts of forgetfulness about the true nature of the learning process, as much as I want to master this idea of teaching, educating, and instructing with others. My professor reminded me that the learning process is often uncomfortable, where you are asked to hold opposing ideas thoughts, ideas, and ways of being for the sake of expanding your worldview. I feel so bad when I recognize how I limit myself it comes to trying something new, putting myself out there for others to know me and what I think. Fear is harmful that way. As much as I say I want to explore all the different sensations of knowing, I have to be honest with myself about the initial reactions I have when it comes to doing the work of learning that goes against the traditional structures in which I’ve been indoctrinated.
