Digital Badge 2: Critical Review of My Learning

As the online world has become more saturated with information over time, I have found that my original system of bookmarking websites is no longer the optimum way of managing my information, and have availed of platforms such as Padlet or Symbaloo. Using Pocket, however, was a new experience for me. The concept of ‘captur[ing] the content that comes at you all day long’ (2017) and putting this knowledge in one’s Pocket for later is ingenious. It was also somewhat startling: in light of our recent learning about short-lived content, and a recent peer-review interaction, I was made very much aware of how fast-paced and demanding our world is, and how information-management apps are responding eagerly to this.

               I have been a devout fan of Pinterest for several years, making boards for diverse topics such as home renovations, educational resources and cooking. However, I was admittedly somewhat naïve, given the practical nature of my search queries hitherto, regarding the potential of agenda-driven posting on such a platform. Then I read the enlightening article by Guidry et al. (2015) about anti-vaccine pins on Pinterest. It is fascinating that narrative information is often more influential than statistical information (p.5054), and this compelling insight will certainly remain with me as refresh my critical reading skills online.

               The map mash-up consolidated my learning about data visualisation is a palpable and satisfying way. This was also the case for a peer I reviewed, which afforded me an encouraging feeling of solidarity. I expect to transfer this skill to geography lessons in my primary classroom, where it will make for interactive and engaging learning.

               Certainly, social media can help us manage information in a variety of efficient and tailored ways, where we are the curators of our own information. But let us take with that a sense of responsibility.

References:

Giudry, J.P.D., Carlyle, K., Messner, M., Jin, Y. (2015). On pins and needles: How vaccines are portrayed on Pinterest. Vaccine 33, 5051-5056. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.08.064

Read It Later, Inc. (2017). Pocket (Version 7.16) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pocket-save-read-grow/id309601447