Brad Tombleson

The past four months have flown by, yet my UoSM journey has been fantastic! What have I learnt? (KNOWLEDGE) [Powtoon]   What skills have I gained?   How have I changed my digital profiles? [LINK TO E-FOLIO; H5P]   The future…   Word count: [tbc. Continue reading →

[Source: https://youtu.be/AzcMEwAxSP8?t=2m10s]. Clearly, disparity exists with regard to knowledge accessibility in today’s society. Paradoxically, it appears that despite an increasingly digital society, information is not effectively reaching the intended audience. This is because journals charge for access rights; they essentially have a monopoly on research dissemination (Harnad et al., 2004). Some even claim that journal prices have outstripped inflation by 260% (PHD, 2012). Continue reading →

As part of this topic, I have learnt that creating and managing professional, authentic online identities is far from easy. A great deal of time and effort is needed to maintain high-quality profiles (Nyman, 2014b). From conversations with staff from the University’s ILIaD department, I discovered an alternative platform on which to create an authentic professional identity: Pathbrite. I have chosen to adapt my approach for this reflection, by analysing my own profiles. Continue reading →

Why create a professional online profile? The video below provides a neat summary of how creating a professional online identity, through a ‘personal brand’, can be beneficial (see 3:14-3:47). (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25217962) How can I create such a profile? There are many ways to create a professional online identity. Continue reading →

Topic 2 really got me thinking. While I often contemplate the identity I wish to portray to an online audience, I do not believe I devote sufficient attention to the broader picture. Until this point, I have not reflected on the identities I have created and whether these have an overall net negative or positive effect. Figure 5 is one of my first attempts to do so: Figure 5 – A representation of my online and offline identities. Continue reading →

In an era of increasingly blurred public-private spheres, any online activity contributes toward a digital identity (Boyd, 2008). Many concerns exist surrounding the formation of a single identity, let alone multiple. Through assumptions of openness and reinvention, Costa and Torres (2011) argue that creating multiple online identities can be beneficial, but this curation depends on our priorities. Continue reading →

Having considered what it means to be a digital ‘native’, ‘immigrant’, ‘resident’ and ‘visitor’, I now understand their characteristics, relative merits and flaws. I began this topic with the assumption that I would naturally exemplify a digital ‘native’, in accordance with Prensky’s (2001) original concept, owing to my age and relative technological abilities. Continue reading →

Having considered what it means to be a digital ‘native’, ‘immigrant’, ‘resident’ and ‘visitor’, I now understand their characteristics, relative merits and flaws. I began this topic with the assumption that I would naturally exemplify a digital ‘native’, in accordance with Prensky’s (2001) original concept, owing to my age and relative technological abilities. Continue reading →

In today’s increasingly digital and dynamic world, it is no surprise that the conceptualisation of ‘Digital Natives’ and ‘Digital Immigrants’ by Prensky (2001) has been fiercely debated. Articles emerged just two years after Prensky’s original theory claiming that such a concept is outdated (White and Cornu, 2011), and this is testament to the digital world’s rapid pace of development. Continue reading →