Free time
I use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in my free time. Privacy is important to me. I don’t have any public social media – all my social media accounts are private. I like to take photos and write up my thoughts. I share my photos and writings on Instagram. I like to store memories on an electronic platform. Nowadays, I use Facebook the most to keeping track of current events. From Facebook I can easily find nice tips of the activities by different organizers. WhatsApp is very easy and quick to use. I use it to communicate with my family and friends. My own hobby groups and my dhildren hobby groups also have their own WhatsApp groups. The application makes it easy to transfer information from person to another.
I used to have a study account on Instagram. I’ve been working to reduce my social media usage, so I deleted the account last winter. Sharing study ideas was rewarding. Still I am happy with my decision, because now I have more time for other things.
Work
I work as a family counsellor in open early childhood education. My workplace is located in a small municipality. I meet families with children in peer groups at my working place. I meet families also families in their own homes. Communication is an important part of my job.
Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp
At work I use Facebook. On Facebook we tell about current events that we organize for families with children. I think Facebook is a convenient communication channel. It reaches families with children well at the moment. I should develop the use of social media in my work. It would be important to create an Instagram account. I am a little embarrassed that we do not have one yet. Families seem to be using istagram more and more. Facebook is slowly becoming an old-fashioned social media platform. tavoitteena on tavoittaa lapsiperheitä myös tulevaisuudessa. That is why continuous development and keeping up to date with digitalization and social media is important.
My workplace is not allowed to collect participant data on persons who have participated in open early childhood education group activities. Instead of that we have allowed our participants to join in a common WhatsApp group. WhatsApp is a very active interaction channel among our participants. Almost all our visitors want to join in our whatsApp group. In whatsApp we share information, just like on Facebook. In addition, there is an opportunity to discuss together with other parents and ask for company as a playmate for your own child, for example. This would certainly not be possible in the same way in the larger municipality. Privacy is also important to consider in this group. It is safe to talk about sensitive issues in privately.
LinkedIn, TikTok, & Vimeo
I’ve been about to join LinkedIn. I have already created an account there, but I have not taken the application into active use. I think LinkedIn is a good channel for networking. In specialist work this could be beneficial. I don’t have TikTok either. I know it reaches a lot of people, but I don’t trust the security of the platform. It would be handy to share small videos from my working field on TikTok. There has been a lot of talk in the media about the need to develop and update legislation regarding TikTok. Of course the same need for development applies also to other social media. I would like to learn how to make more versatile videos. I enjoy the visual things and taking pictures. Making videos would be one of the next technical skills for me to learn. Need to get to know Vimeo more!
Blogger & WordPress
I used to had my own blog. Today platforms have changed a lot from those days. I’m interested of creating a blog. I could write a blog about current issues related to my work. It has been good to practice using WordPress with this course on the digital working environment. I was inspired to get to know Blogger as well. I have to think about which platform would be better suited for my use.
Self reflection
I have enjoyed practical learning in this course. I have got new ideas for my own work. I got excited about digital things and I started wondering how I could utilize different digital-tools and e-platforms on my everyday work. I noticed clear learning needs in my own digital skills. It was also nice to notice skills that I already have. This is a good place to move on and keep on learning!