Technology Blog #3 Using Tools to Support Connected Learning: Tools for Artists

                 This Chapter of the Connected Educator covers several online tools relevant during the time of writing that support the connected learning model. Many of these online tools would not be as useful today, due to shutting down, or irrelevance in both the professional and personal aspects of people’s lives in 2025. One tool covered in this chapter that I think has actually increased in popularity is podcasts, though this tool is mostly used for expressing opinions and entertainment. I personally listen to several podcasts, some of which are professionally helpful in the aspects of self-help. I find the format of podcasts to be very reliable to me, as I can listen while working on projects and still register the information in a good way. Podcast recordings on philosophical topics are also easily digestible and interesting to me, and I think help me think about myself and my art in a unique way. In 2025, there is less accessibility to free podcasts than I’m sure was anticipated at the time of the book’s writing, but there are still many available for free with advertisements.

          The chapter goes on to discuss the uses of Twitter in depth, which is also a platform that many still use to spread ideas and create community. Ideas on Twitter spread through a carefully created algorithm and trending topics, the same way hashtags were relied upon before. Twitter, now X, has many new updates and features, but the general usage of tagging, messaging, and sharing remains the same. Wikis and Google Docs are the final tools mentioned for connecting and collaborating, both of which I use often. For my artistic career, wikis are extremely useful in research for projects. Recently, I used several wikis and Wikipedia to research the purpose of different insects to build up meaning for a future project. I appreciate that smaller wikis are built up by people who are passionate about their knowledge and want to share it with others who would like to learn more, making reliable ones my go-to sources for project research.

   

         

       Managing your digital footprint is covered, which people often overlook now, as my generation has grown up on the internet. In professional spaces, however, having poor management of the things you publicly say and do online can come back to haunt you later in your career. As an aspiring artist, I feel that my field is less strict on the boundaries of professionalism online, as many build their brands off of being bold, unique, and expressive in their identity and opinions. I am someone who does not believe in censoring my thoughts for my future career, as I want to build my art off of my identity and politics to keep it authentic to myself. Of course, spreading hateful rhetoric and being rude online are not included in this authenticity. To summarize, I do not aspire to perform as a version of myself that is easily accepted online.