Blog Post #1

In this week’s content, there was quite a bit of new information/concepts for me. The topics, such as Learning Management Systems, were new to me, although I have looked into more open ways of learning in previous EDCI courses. I think an important point is how systems such as Brightspace and Canvas, which are useful and efficient, can also limit connection. On the other hand, Open Pedagogy emphasizes collaboration, which helps in building communities that can last beyond a course.

A big theme this week that I think is very important was privacy and consent. I hadn’t really considered how important visible consent is when sharing content online. Just because something is technically public, it doesn’t mean it is exactly ethical to repost it. The examples mentioned made me reflect on my own digital footprint and how I want to be aware and respect consent if I use other people’s work. For example, in past social media management work I have done, I have been told to use Unsplash, a site which provides free, openly licensed photos, instead of grabbing them from Google. Using resources seems like a more consensual way to use content, but I guess even if it is public, the consent of citing and giving credit to these images is still important in the context of using the images.

This was also interesting when looking into topics such as copyright and Creative Commons this week. Prior toUniversity, when referencing wasn’t as strongly enforced as in earlier education, there were no issues with pulling images from Google. Now I understand how risky that can be. Creative Commons is a great way to offer a middle ground. The license chooser is something I hadn’t seen before, and it seems very useful. As I continue on with the blogs, I will definitely keep all of this in mind and be mindful of what I share.