Week 8 | 2026 Fall

tl;dr

• Cold call (in preparation of CC#7) – by Weds, Oct 28
• Read, watch, and learn
• Learning Pod meeting
• Complete Blog Post #6 – by Fri, Oct 30
• Engage substantively with at least 2 peers – by Mon, Nov 2
  (To ensure all students receive feedback, please leave your first two comments on posts that have fewer than three replies)

Great work these past weeks completing two assignments for feedback! It has been a pleasure to read your thoughts and see how they’ve expanded and shifted thus far. We have the normal readings+post+comments this week as well as one other piece of homework to actively support the growth of your PLN. I am aiming to return your Social Learning Platform Analysis before the end of the weekend.

Cold Call

Send out a message by Weds, Oct 28

Context: in Week 9, we will be writing a blog post on your personal experiences on expanding your PLN.

Sometime over the next two weeks, I want you to meet with someone that you have never chatted with for an informational interview. This person should be someone you haven’t honestly connected with, such as an absolute stranger whose work you’ve followed online, a friend of a friend working in an area you are curious about, or a colleague whose work you want to understand better.

So many of you have personal goals around employment, and/or have made blog posts or comments on understanding what career paths are available. This is not just an activity for those seeking employment, I see it as an opportunity to better know colleagues, or the systems we work/live within—change often comes from understanding one another.

I cannot stress enough how incredible this experience can be. It is a way to understand the people around you, your community, the workforce AND it can lead to employment. There exists a ‘hidden’ job market, that is jobs that are not posted, and you can access this market through the people you know. Speaking personally, and I may be an outlier, over half of the positions I have been in have emerged through networking.

I know this can be a daunting experience and please reach out or share in Teams any reservations, thoughts, questions, etc.

Read, Watch, & Learn

A couple of quick notes: Save snippets from the content as you read, and keep track of where they came from. Do review the blog prompts before or as you read, but don’t read only to answer the prompt questions. You might miss something interesting that way.

• Personalized Learning: The Conversations We’re Not Having. (Bulger, 2016) [20 mins]
  This article offers a good overview of personalized learning by outlining different types, offering a method of categorizing them (responsive <-> adaptive), and discussing common areas for concern.
  
• CH 1: What Is Personalized Learning? in Make Learning Personal (Bray & McClaskey, 2014) [20 mins]
  This book chapter offers a great distinction between personalization, differentiation, and individualization in learning (review the chart closely). An important caveat is: who’s in control.
  
• Self-Determination Theory (Kerins, 2021) [8 mins]
  This student written overview outlines Ryan and Deci’s (2000) theory of why we do what we do. Three factors contribute to our motivation which can fall on a spectrum from not motivated through extrinsically to intrinsically motivated.
  
• Extra Recommended source:
  • What’s the Problem with Learning Analytics? (Selwyn, 2019) [13 mins]
    A discussion on the dangers of using analytics in education from a holistic perspective.

Learning Pod

This week, I want you to self-organize a face-to-face meeting (virtual or in-person) and discuss the connections from the readings this week to social media. Here are some specific prompts to aid you.

• How does motivation influence learning and engagement with an educational program or social media platform? When are you most or least motivated? What are some practical things that could improve motivation? (utilize self-determination theory)
  
• Is social media personalized, differentiated, and individualized? Can it be a combination of them?

Please share one specific disposition a learning environment provides that everyone in the learning pod is motivated by to the Community Contributions channel (this is in addition to your individual post). Only one person from your learning pod needs to post but they must include everyone’s name on the post.

Community Contribution #6 – Personalization

Post by Fri, Oct 30

Full assignment details, including a rubric can be found here.

For this week’s blog post (approx. 300 words), your post should draw connections to our course themes and bring in your own perspectives or experiences.

Analyze a specific learning experience (i.e., a workshop, a formal class, a digital certification course, a social media page/group focused on a subject) from the perspective of personalization. Apply a couple of the classifications from this weeks readings: for example you cold explore the areas for concern due to personalization, if it is truly personalization (instead of differentiated or individualized), or the amount and role of competency, autonomy, and relatedness.

Community Contribution – Being an Active Member

Engage substantively with at least 2 peers by Mon, Nov 2
To ensure all students receive feedback, please leave your first two comments on posts that have fewer than three replies.

Being part of a learning community doesn’t stop at sharing a blog post. It also involves engaging with one another’s ideas. You can learn a lot from each other by taking the time to listen, respond, and exchange perspectives.

Be sure to visit the Community Contribution page to learn more about providing feedback.

As always, you can reach me by email, Teams, or by booking a meeting.

Take care,
Adrian