The shifting actions of humanity to stop the coronavirus has augmented and intensified the use of technology. In a global online context, connectedness and professional identity formation have become momentous in considering how we connect, network, educate and work. This study examines International Alumni professional social media ecologies. The research extends conceptions of how International Alumni utilise visual and social media in creative contexts of learning. The focus, how graduate capabilities, connectedness (Bridgstock, 2016a) and formation of diverse professional identities (Schien, 1978; Ibarra, 1999) in informal networks can ethically advance formal learning in a tertiary setting. The objective, to reveal textual and visual evidence of student’s ‘lived experiences’ (Kemmis et al., 2014) within existing postgraduate alumni digital group ecologies.
The study strategically employs reflective practice (Schon, 1983; Kemmis, 2012; Barton & Ryan, 2017) to probe participant experiences. The research engages an ecologies of practice framework of sayings, doings, and relatings (Kemmis, et al., 2014) as a lens to explore emergent themes of visibility, (Lemon, 2016, McPherson, Budge & Lemon 2015; Boyd, 2014) belonging (Lemon, 2018, Bridgstock, 2016; O’Keefe, 2018; Cochrane and Antonczak, 2015) and initiative (Daniel & Daniel, 2015; Bridgstock, 2013; Pollard & Wilson, 2013) to rethink higher education practice.

Primary data is obtained by a background questionnaire and email questions that allow artistic responses. Creative approaches in the design of data collection tools gave opportunity for artistic actions to reveal and illuminate a study participant’s professional context and practices. Recommendations for enhancing connectedness, will address gaps in current practice to reveal mechanics of transformation in diverse learner ecologies.