PLN are especially important to education for a multitude of reasons, but it is particularly in that it creates opportunities for anyone to be teachers and anyone to be their students. Used correctly, almost any platform can be an educational one. Twitter is a common source for communication and other discourse, Instagram can create incredible profiles of visual learning and concepts and I remember using Facebook to coordinate group projects and study groups in high school. Open learning resources have become opportunities for those who are not able, whether that be financially or geographically to learn about almost any subject matter from experienced academics and professionals through websites and other online or even physical course material. Part of the beauty of these websites is that we all start on equal footing, something that certainly cannot be said for most other aspects of life.

The internet is the only place in the world where a 16-year-old can have as much influence as a rich 75-year-old man and in many ways is “reshaping the ways that humans create, store, and distribute knowledge” (Couros,114) This is an incredible asset for young people especially, who can often struggle to have their voice effectively heard before they can vote or participate in most elections and democratic processes. As a large component of the population, the internet and social media allow them to share their experiences and their concerns and teach while they are being silenced as our leadership has deemed them too young. I don’t think people my age and younger appreciate this enough, our voice, alone and collectively is louder than it maybe ever has been

However beautiful this is as a concept of an equal playing field for learning and collaboration; it is unfortunately not untarnished by the inequality of the outside world. Social media websites like TikTok have faced backlash recently when its algorithm was obviously shown to be favouring European features, and those who come from upper-class families have an easier time gaining a wider audience more quickly. It is unfortunate, but though the platform is equal at its very base the chance to be successful or share your ideas is not. There is also the aspect that many marginalized or even young people cannot truly use social media as an authentic voice due to repercussions in their work. I have personally worked with organizations that have strict social media policies while I am employed, and people of colour have to be particularly cognizant of their social media activity as they regularly face racism that deems black culture “unprofessional.”

Works cited

Veletsianos, George. Couros, Alec. “Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning.” Emerging Technologies in Distance Education (Issues in Distance Education), Edmonton, Athabasca University Press, 2010, pp. 109–28.