Learning and Communicating Online

Running head: LEARNING AND COMMUNICATING ONLINE 1
Sociology
Student
Institution

LEARNING AND COMMUNICATING ONLINE 2
Learning and communicating online
Online communication is the newest and fastest growing medium of communication
in recent years, and as such is a critical aspect of work skill development. I aspire to get into
digital marketing, a field that is currently driven by online communication, particularly social
media. More than three out of ten marketing jobs require skills in digital marketing (Burning
Glass Technologies, 2017). This unit thus forms a solid base for my future work skill
development. I have so far acquired vast knowledge on how to navigate online
communication, which is not only helpful for my future career, but also my personal
development. This is evident in my use of online facilities in the course of my academic
journey, a skill that has shown continuous progress since I started this unit. This paper,
through theory and evidence, will demonstrate how this unit has helped in shaping the course
of my future career and impacted on my personal life.
As a potential digital marketer, my future work skills have vastly developed as a
consumer, producer and sharer of online sources of information. As aforementioned,
marketing and advertising have seen a major shift towards a heavy reliance on social media
(Patrutiu Baltes, 2015). This requires analytical skills where data is derived from people’s
online habits. As a consumer of online sources of information, I have learnt to question the
credibility of some sources. Previously, it was not uncommon for me to use Wikipedia
citations in my academic work, unaware of its obvious lack of credibility. However, in the
course of this unit I have come to appreciate the importance of rigorous research to ensure the
knowledge I consume from online sources is both credible and relevant to what I seek to
learn. When seeking personal information online, one has to be careful in assessing the
credibility of online sources, more so since it impacts on decision making.

LEARNING AND COMMUNICATING ONLINE 3
As a producer of online sources of information, it is imperative to adhere to integrity
and to create concise and relevant content. This not only creates a sense of satisfaction among
consumers of my online sources of information, but also encourages repeat visits to my site.
Professionally, this skill will come in handy when I need to maintain a social media presence
(Oyza & Edwin, 2015). Credibility and relevance are tools that will help retain potential
consumers and in turn improve communication with customers. Online communication has
become one of the fastest ways to reach a large group of people (Mangold & Faulds, 2009).
This implies that sharing information has been made easier, although sharing online sources
of information may not be as easy as consuming or producing the same. This is because of
the ethical implications involved, such as plagiarism and privacy violations (Neher & Sandin,
2017). In particular, plagiarism has been a source of concern for me in the course of my
academic work, although I have since developed better writing skills. The implication of this
professionally would be copying someone else’s idea or sharing information I have not been
given permission to.
Despite its widespread use, information from online sources is not always credible,
and it is equally hard to determine trustworthy among sources (Keshavarz, 2014). Handling
academic tasks has become both interesting and daunting due to the wealth of information
present on the internet (Keshavarz, 2014). Generally, students have a heavy workload yet are
always expected to produce top standard academic work. It is thus easy to fall prey to
distorted information on the internet. In this unit, we have used several informational
resources, including discussion boards, videos and PowerPoint presentations, in the course of
which we have had to work with various online sources. Evaluating these sources has proven
to be very insightful, especially for me. I have witnessed tremendous growth in the manner in
which I evaluate my online sources. I had earlier mentioned my previous tendency to rush to
Wikipedia, thinking it to be credible.