Personal Development Reflection: COM10003 Online Communication Skills

This essay is a reflection on a student's personal development within an online communication and learning skills unit. The paper explores the development of communication and research skills, online interactions, and confidence in academic and professional settings. It discusses the importance of metacognitive knowledge, the credibility of online information, and challenges in online communication. The student reflects on how the course has improved their communication skills, enhanced their understanding of the online environment, and positively impacted their future professional life. The essay also delves into constructivism and social constructivism theories of learning, highlighting critical thinking skills and their application. The student reflects on their use of Blackboard and the importance of sourcing credible information. The conclusion emphasizes the unit's contribution to the student's academic and professional growth. The essay includes a bibliography of cited sources.

Students’ Last Name1
Online Writing and Communication Skills
By (Name)
Course
Professor
University
Date

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Introduction
Learning and communicating online is a unit that aims at introducing students to an
online learning environment. The unit also develops communication skills boosting
confidence and capabilities of learners within the academic ambiance and professional
setting. As a learner, this information has enabled me to develop my communication and
research skills, online interactions, and confidence when handling my academic work. With
the knowledge gathered from this unit, I can meet the objective of drawing and giving a clear
picture of the online environment as a consumer, producer, and sharer of information. The
unit also has other objectives including a self-reflection of the course. The aim of this paper,
therefore, is to provide a reflection on personal development throughout the entire course
giving relevant sources and arguments gathered online.
Livingston (2003, pp3) contends that online communication builds onto an
individual’s metacognitive knowledge. In his article, the author describes metacognitive
knowledge as the grip of the learning and processing of information. Indeed, online
communication gets an individual to take control of cognitive activities and ensure that the
goals of evaluating and understanding the text are met. However, it is important to ascertain
the credibility of online information before using it. A study by Metzger (2007, pp. 2079) on
the assessment of the credibility of online information found that motivation is a major drive
in the willingness of the users to verify the credibility of online information. Educators
should, therefore, emphasize this point by pointing out the negative impact of misinformation
retrieved from online sources as a way of motivating users to consider evaluating online
information before using it. Indeed this is a vital theoretical principle in teaching online
communication (Einon, 2010, pp.28). For instance, after reading a text online, the learner
may start questioning himself about the concepts and context in which the text is written. The
cognitive goal of the student is to understand what he has read. Self-questioning is one of the

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strategies used in metacognitive comprehension. As pointed out by Donelan, Kear and
Ramage (2012, pp. 27), several challenges are faced when using an online platform to
communicate to a group of people, especially in a discussion forum. These challenges are
evident when comparing the face to face discussions and online discussions. For example, in
a face to face discussion, the leader ensures that all the agenda are fixed within the duration
of the meeting. Secondly, in a face to face discussion forum, the Chairman ensures that all
members participate in the discussion.
Developing effective work skills begins with the mode of communication and
interactions within a working environment. This unit has enabled me as a learner to develop
effective communication skills (Karplus, 2017, pp.9). These skills will build a strong
foundation for my future work experiences by enabling me to communicate effectively with
my colleagues and employers. Online learning through blackboard has enhanced my
interaction skills with different people sharing ideas and opinions on different topics. Online
sources have always been a major challenge to learners as they are unable to source
information from relevant sites. Learners can also fail to recognize authors and publishers.
Online learning has equipped me with the skills to effectively source information and data
online when responding to my academic writings. Interacting with different forms of online
learning and the acquired communication skills has enhanced my understanding of the online
environment as a platform that provides a wide range of information and skills both for
academic and professional purposes. The unit has impacted positively towards my future
professional life by providing a platform to develop and nature the skills learned throughout
the course. Therefore, the platform forms a basis of my effective growth towards my career
and professional environment. However, the skills learned will not entirely base on successful
and effective professionalism since hard work and patience are termed as the main pillars of
success. Constructivism theory of online learning helps me understand critical thinking skills.

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These are skills that an individual gains from broad and precise evaluation of ideas translating
to meaningful conclusions. Critical thinking, on the other hand, boosts the confidence of
learners (Martin, and Whitmer, 2016, pp. 60). Confidence and critical thinking skills have
helped me overcome most of the challenging outcomes at every stage of my academic life.
As an upcoming professional, I will be able to plan and take effective actions within my
organization. I will also be able to maintain, monitor and evaluate the plan to improve my
efficiency at work. When developing my power points and engaging in discussions on the
blackboard, I was able to understand that credibility of online sources does not entirely
depend on whether the article is available but also the entire content of the article, journals of
a website that learners wish to source for their course work.
This unit will boost my efficiency, performance and general course productivity in
other units by providing a wider platform for interaction and active participation. The
communication skills gained will facilitate active discussions and maximum engagement in
the course other works. The online environment will improve and develop my understanding
of the course work since teachers and instructors can approach learners with different
learning styles more effectively and with ease. For example, an instructor can upload a video
for learners who learn best by viewing and listening, an interactive and engaging program for
those who learn best by practice, and a diagram or photo for those who learn by analyzing
and viewing. I think efficiency also comes in during online assessment where instructors
identify those students who need extra attention through blackboard assessments. The
blackboard is a very essential tool where different students get to interact with each other by
asking questions and giving comments. I can actively ask questions and comment on my
other course works respecting all the other students and the privileges given to me by the
instructor. This unit has also improved my mode of coursework delivery by equipping me
with skills to effectively source and recognize the others and publishers of online content.

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This unit will enable me to provide well-crafted arguments and information respecting
author’s privileges hence providing well-developed course work and responses in other units
(El-Masri, and Tarhini, 2017, pp.750). When working on assignments in other units, I will be
able to analyze the questions critically and access relevant information online which could
otherwise be hard to find based on speculations. For example, when using the blackboard, I
can be able to monitor all of my progress from assignments to assessment and grading. The
blackboard is like one big platform where course content such as assignments, videos,
articles, and other learning materials may be discussed and analyzed. It also has a calendar
that enables students to keep track of due dates for assignments. The learning module enables
me to access lessons posted by different professors. Media library allows students to access
posted videos and other materials from peers and lecturers. Assignment board allows students
to access assignments posted by lecturers and submit their due assignments (Churcher, 2014,
pp.30). The black also has tutorials that allow students to navigate through the platform with
ease on their first time. Lastly the grading book allows me to keep track of my progress in
course works and other activities that take place on the blackboard.
According to the theory of constructivism, I learned that people will generate and
construct ideas of their knowledge and therefore the reality is determined by the learners'
experience. From the principles of this theory, I agree that knowledge is constructed not
absorbed. This has enabled me to develop new knowledge from my previous learning and
therefore boosting my confidence and the way that I approach different ideas. Another
important principle that I learned from this theory is that learning is an active process. This is
unlike the passive view that describes learners as people with little knowledge waiting to be
spoon fed. The theory also describes learning as a social activity in which all knowledge is
constructed (Schrader, 2015, pp. 20). For example, in a community, the environment will
influence behavior and how people think. I also agree with the last principles of the theory

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that says all knowledge is personal and knowledge exists in the mind. I believe every learner
will always have a distinctive perspective or notion based on their knowledge. Therefore, a
similar lesson can result in divided understanding amongst different learners.
Social constructivism is a theory that focuses on how people view different aspects of
life. From this theory, I was able to pick up two personal development stages in learning. The
first stage that I picked was the actual development stage in which the learners can solve
problems on their own after reaching a level of optimism (Amineh, and Asl, 2015, pp.10).
Another stage that I learned is the potential development stage in which the learners can
achieve a particular goal under the guidance of instructors and collaboration with peers. This
theory can be applied in learning activities to improve the general outcome. For example, if
students who do not understand a concept are grouped with those who understand the concept
then chances are that those poor students will learn from those who understand the concept.
In academic writing, this enables learners in citing proper evidence, backing up their claims
with evidence and also reviewing the literature provided while addressing the counterclaims.
With effective communication skills, I believe this theory can enable a learner to improve
writing and interaction skills as well as enhancing their understanding of the online
environment.
Conclusion
Online learning and communication skills is a unit that has enabled me as a learner to
interact with the online environment and improve my communication skills within my
academic setting and future work practices. The unit provides a platform for students to
interact with others on learning platforms like the blackboard on which different ideas are
shared all together. As a student, am also able to provide relevant and effective sources when
responding to my course work and other academic writing. The unit, on the other hand, has

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enhanced my understanding as a provider, consumer and sharer of online information for
academic and professional purposes. Online learning and communication skills have aided
the progress of my course goals and the development of effective study and research skills
within the online environment. The theories of learning which are constructivism and social
constructivism have played a major role in my understanding of how different people get to
develop ideas and have knowledge about different aspects of life.

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Bibliography
Amineh, R.J. and Asl, H.D., 2015. Review of constructivism and social
constructivism. Journal of Social Sciences, Literature and Languages, 1(1), pp.9-16.
Churcher, K., 2014. “Friending" Vygotsky: A Social Constructivist Pedagogy of Knowledge
Building through Classroom Social Media Use. Journal of Effective Teaching, 14(1), pp.33-
50.
Donelan, H., Kear, K. and Ramage, M., 2012. Online communication and collaboration: A
reader. Routledge.
Einon, G., 2010. Managing computer-supported collaboration. Online Communication and
Collaboration: A Reader, London: Routledge, pp.26-29.
El-Masri, M. and Tarhini, A., 2017. Factors affecting the adoption of e-learning systems in
Qatar and USA: Extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2
(UTAUT2). Educational Technology Research and Development, 65(3), pp.743-763.
Karplus, S.S., 2017. Integrating academic library resources and learning management
systems: The library Blackboard site. Education Libraries, 29(1), pp.5-11.
Livingston, J.A., 2003. Metacognition: An overview. Jennifer A. Livingston.
Martin, F. and Whitmer, J.C., 2016. Applying learning analytics to investigate timed release
in online learning. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 21(1), pp.59-74.
Metzger, M.J., 2007. Making sense of credibility on the Web: Models for evaluating online
information and recommendations for future research. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology, 58(13), pp.2078-2091.

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Schrader, D.E., 2015. Constructivism and learning in the age of social media: Changing
minds and learning communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2015(144),
pp.23-35.