Mapping My Digital Space

Wow! This weeks activity was very interesting and reflective. As soon as I read about it I felt inspired to begin. This week, we were to take a look at our digital space and reflect on it using the ideas of David White. White explains our digital space as a continuum between being a "visitor" and being a "resident".

Visitor

As White explains, a visitor is someone who uses the web as a tool for their life. They don't leave much of a digital trace behind. If they do it is something visible to one person or a few. The main reasons visitors use the digital space is to search, read, watch videos and shop. 

Resident

A resident, on the other hand, is a web user who uses the internet as a "network of places." These users leave a digital trace behind them, and they create for themselves a digital persona. These types of people are very active on their social medias, join in on digital discussions, and comment visibly on the web. 

My Digital Space 

Brainstorming 

When I sat down to map my digital space the first thing I did was make a list of all the websites, apps, and digital tools I use. I was actually very surprised at the amount of websites and apps I use on a daily basis. I split my list up into both personal and professional. I noticed I definitely use more a variety of digital tools in my personal life. However, there were a few that overlapped into both spaces. 

Building My Map

I began by setting up the four quadrants White describe in a digital map. One continuum on the map is "Visitor" and "Resident" as described earlier. The other is personal and professional. When I began to put blocks on my map, I decided I needed a way to distinguish between things I use more frequently than others. I decided to use size. 

My Map 

Below is my digital space map at this point in time. 

My Digital Space (personal photo)   

Reflection 

I was actually very surprised by the results of this activity. Going into it I thought I would be more of a resident than a visitor. However, my map is showing that I tend to be more of a visitor. There are apps and website I use daily, but leave zero visible trace behind. For example, Youtube. I follow and watch quite a few youtube channels daily, but I never post anything or comment on the videos. So while Youtube is a big part of my digital space I am a visitor in that sense. 

Also, I have accounts on all the typical social media websites (Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). I placed them all overlapping both the visitor and resident sides of my grid because I use them as both. Twitter, for example, I very often use, but I mostly use it as a news source. Occasionally I will retweet or post my own tweet, but mostly I just scroll through and see what others are staying. The same goes with Snapchat. Facebook and Instagram I am much more visible on in comparison to the first two. 

Another thing I found interesting is the apps that overlap between personal and professional. For example Pinterest and Instagram. I use both those apps to search for both personal and work related ideas. I like to follow other teachers on Instagram, and I have quite a few boards on Pinterest that are classroom related. 

Finally, in my professional world I don't use quite as many digital spaces. Google docs is a big one that use to collaborate with my teammates. Almost everything I create is visible and editable by others at my school. Class dojo is the only website I feel that I am 100% a resident at. I use this daily to communicate with parents. I make a visible post or two on it daily as well as send individual messages to parents. 

Overall, I found this activity very rewarding. It was really interesting to reflect on my own digital uses. I'm interested in trying this again in a year to see what has changed.