Meet the face
behind the posts
My name is Appolina Makkigak. I am from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut (Canada). I have been a teacher in my hometown since 2017. I took on some online courses and earned a certificate to be a Nunavut principal from UPEI. I then took on the Masters program with Queen's University.
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My focus for this Masters Degree was on Indigenous Education. I decided to go on this route as I am an Inuk and I could like to understand how I could help my inuuqatit (fellow Inuit).
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Undergoing all of the courses, Digital Literacy was one of my last two courses to complete my Masters Degree journey which I am very excited and emotional about. I am the first in my family to have gone this far with my education and I am proud of it. It has been an emotional journey as I have lost some family along this journey that I could not have made it through without their love, support and upbringing.
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Moving Forward...
Below are connections I have made with this course and beyond, and what I plan to do with what I have learned.
"...we can hope one day that a final media/communication merge will erase the distinction between what it means to entertain and what it means to inform," (Gilster & Glister, (1997, February).
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We have come a long way since this was quoted back in 1997. It is true that the internet, the web, has opened our world like never before and we are at a place where the internet and tools online could be used very much for entertainment and for information. We have come to a place where we have both and sometimes, they intertwine with one another which leads to bad behaviour. More and more, there are steps taken to prevent malicious activity, however, there is room for improvement. What we could do now is to protect ourselves, our privacy and those around us by not sharing personal information from ourselves and others. This course taught me to open my mind again about the importance of being private. I was once myself a victim of TFV. I was too young, but thankfully nothing serious came from it other than being embarrassed in front of my cousin. Thus, I have since become a healthy skeptic when it comes to anything online (and even phone calls).
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This course has been wonderful. I now have a trusted list of resources that I (and we all) can use to create resources and tools. We have the steps to debunk misinformation that we are privy to as the world continues to go down this path (fact checking).
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Lastly, being safe and aware is a great foundation to have when one chooses to engage online.
I hope nothing but the best for all, stay safe!
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