Week 7 Wrap Up

This has been an interesting week.  Thinking of ways to focus on one person but ethical represent that one person without giving details. This led me to the article Research ethics in emerging forms of online learning: issues arising from a hypothetical study on a MOOC which was a perfect article to scan over as it was exactly what I was looking for in a hypothetical virtual study.  It allowed me to look at ethical decision-making and some processes, yes it was for bigger studies but it helped me frame my ideas for my visual artefact when it came to the ethical considerations.

Then looking back at a question posed by Jeremy

” What happens if we define engagement as more authentic than lurking – doesn’t this overlook other ways of learning?”

This made me think, of course, you can learn by lurker because even in an actual classroom there are lurkers (ones that may never speak) and do incredibly well so they must learn and or study.  I think learning must involve some type of activity and this can be done on your own and doesn’t have to be a community affair necessarily.

While digging for answers, I came across a fascinating study on “community.” It’s a filter bubble for visualisations which I may use in the future because the visual was very useful and clear but shows how content can be shown differently for each purpose (in my opinion). https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611807/this-is-what-filter-bubbles-actually-look-like/

This for me could be a great visual type artefact and how data can be portrayed (maybe use in block3?)

Wrapping it back to the education piece and digital learning (and trying to use pocket more than just posting) This article stood out for me Why Effective Digital Learning Shouldn’t Disrupt Traditional Teaching Techniques.  I was looking for digital and community which is why I came across this, and of course, they talk about using infographics (visual representations like us!) which I found interesting and using more digital assessment like us, even though I still can’t wrap my head around how you get that through ratification 😉

With the conclusion being I think everyone joins a MOOC for a different reason and if you find a people with your same reason then you could create a community.  I speak from past experience from mIRC I joined just looking for fun people to talk to and have a laugh and we did and we continue to be friends after 20 years of meeting online.  We have met up all over the US for parties and get to hang out.  I don’t think I would go into a MOOC looking for a “connection” with people as this leads back to Jeremy’s question and yes I can learn by lurking and taking in information without engaging with specific people as I am engaging with the content.

The Online Educator – Initial thoughts

15th October

I went round and round overthinking as per usual on what MOOC I wanted to do my ethnography on and was still drawn back to The Online Educator by Future Learn.

I have scanned through the resources before this module but thought to look at it from a different standpoint, would be beneficial at looking and engaging with culture/community. I keep thinking people join a course because they are like-minded and engage more because they are interested like we do on this module but will this hold true? I am a lurker for things like a MOOC because I prefer to read the other sides and digest it but not engage. I also think this is going to be harder to make assumptions about people without asking specific questions – is that ethical? It is easy to observe than to emerge in the discussion as that can cause a bigger bias?

Added from my Twitter:

Where do you start when doing a MOOC micro ethnography? The size and cohesion? How do we know the numbers registered? Concentrate on the structure and dynamics of the community as well as etiquette? Ethically is it right to tell the people I am dissecting their actions?

16th October

So the first hurdle of choosing a MOOC is out of the way now to try to figure out the ‘players’ and scope out a few discussion and see how it is designed for interaction and is it set up to allow a community formation?  So far reading the activities it does have a communications approach that “encourages discussion, dialogue and a community not limited by place or time” (Stewart, 2013, p232). The mentor on this MOOC has intervened on the very first discussion block in week 1 saying, 

Hi everyone

Some really thought-provoking comments in this strand, but as an open programme we do need to respect others’ opinions.

Absolutely challenge each other, but respectfully please.

Did this set the tone on how the interactions will be throughout the open course? Was this ethically protecting learners and reminded of ground rules. As we move into week 2 first activity the same mentor seemed to switch the tone a bit by saying,

Welcome to week 2 everybody. Such a wide range of thoughts, experiences and comments have been posted, and it’s great to see the responses and answers to questions.

Again, I’ll pop in frequently to make sure everything’s ok, but remember I’m here if you have any problems.

Hope you all have an enjoyable, and interesting, week.

I read this as great you should share with each and continue to do so. The mentor will just be popping by so does this mean it should be a collaborative approach as since it is ‘open’ as defined by Stewart? (2013, p233) When I think of the community I think of culture and all cultures are different but are they on this MOOC to accomplish the same goal and are most lurkers as theorised by Kozinets (2010, p25).

After our google hangout, I now question open verse public and does community mean participation and vice versa…

Stay tuned

I might need to read this paper on Identifying Conversation and Social Learners in Future Learn MOOCs. 

References

Anemone (2017). question-question-mark-survey-2736480. [image] Available at: https://pixabay.com/en/question-question-mark-survey-2736480/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2018].

Kozinets, R. V. (2010). Chapter 2 ‘Understanding Culture Online’, Netnography: doing ethnographic research online. London: Sage. p21-40

Stewart, B., (2013). Massiveness + Openness = New Literacies of Participation?. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Technology. 9(2), pp.228–238.

Possible MOOCS

In the world of MOOC’s there are so many to choose from but of course, since for me, it is about observing community and the digital side of creating a community (at least this is what I think, it may change). I did not want to pay for a MOOC or a certificate but be able to observe and possibly engage with a topic that is meaningful.

Future Learn 

This is a platform I am comfortable with as we have 2 MOOCs on this platform and I have taken at least 5 MOOC’s here as well.

Digital Accessibility – Delivered by University of Southampton

With a better understanding of users’ needs, technologies can be developed to be accessible & provide a more inclusive environment. My take on this it is just good practice and good to know and how does the community online view this environment to make it all more inclusive.

The Online Educator – The Open University

Design engaging courses, make your teaching more inclusive, navigate online research ethics and shape your digital identity.  My take on this is digital identity which to mean means who you are in a digital community or culture.

I was drawn to this one but realised I had already taken it but might be good as a refresher.

Digital Wellbeing – The University of York

Do digital technologies affect our wellbeing? Explore the concepts of health, relationships and society in the digital age. My take on this is everyone should think about this or it should be taught to all people.  It is a contender! 

CANeLearn

TELMOOC: Introduction to Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL)

Teachers who want to learn more about teaching with technology will find this Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Introduction to Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL), informative and engaging. Using up-to-date learning design and simple, accessible technology, the course runs on an easy-to-use learning platform available via the Internet. The course is designed for teachers who want to build on their knowledge and practice in teaching and learning with technology. It will run over five weeks and requires approximately three to five hours of time each week. Designed to accommodate teachers’ busy schedules, the course offers flexibility with options for learning the content. You will learn from readings, videos, discussions with other participants and instructors, meaningful exercises, quizzes and short assignments. Certification is available for those who wish to complete all required exercises and quizzes.

*It doesn’t start till October 28th so a bit late for this course but I might dip in and out of it for work purposes. 

Canvas 

Learning to Learn

This course will equip you with the knowledge and strategies to get you learning online in no time. Learners will experience a high-quality educational experience designed to be engaging, interactive, and fun! – This was found thanks to Laura and it would fit work purposes for strategies and it says it is engaging and interactive and I would be interested to see how to actually execute this with a digital community setting.

*I don’t think I will do one on this platform as I don’t like the flow and that’s important to me.

Now to see which one I will pick or drop in and out of…

Picking a MOOC

Well, I am trying to be ahead of the game and look for a MOOC to pick for the next block (Community Culture).  The thing is I have helped design 2 MOOC’s and taken at least 4 already and also popped in on our MOOC’s to make sure the tutors were engaging with the learners (notice it says learners not students – why is that?)

A MOOC takes time and can be 4 hours a week and I know we don’t have to participate as much or formally but my guess is to observe the culture of the community in a massive setting online…ok ok I will have to get through some core readings to see what I am looking to get out of this exercise but ethnography is engaging in fieldwork so observing isn’t really engaging is it?

Possible MOOCS

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/digital-wellbeing

 

Week 3 Wrap up

Starting this week with thinking about my visual artefact and how I could link to Cyberculture, Being Human and Education. It seems to be a theme I keep going back to as what does it mean to be human in a digital (virtual) world verse a classroom setting and can they overlap? Yes, I believe so. Do we have the dystopian view and are we altered as human beings by using technology as Miller suggests (2011, p208) I think yes and believe the tools have a way of weaving their way into our ‘being’ and everyday life even as educators.

Continuing my view of being human, this digital magazine article gives a good argument on why we need to change our view on being human in this new digital world but I want to take it further and relate this to changing the view of digital within the human education concept.  Bayne (2014) addresses the rhetoric around TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) and talks about technology enhancing a human but is it learning? Specifically, “‘enhanced learning’ and ‘enhanced cognition’, …creates a discursive link with transhumanism and the project of human enhancement” (p.11).  Is education expecting everyone to live in a post/transhumanism bubble and enhance our learning by using technology for the sake of technology without thinking of the pedagogy? Isn’t being human about making connections socially, emotionally and environmentally? Do we have choices on how we use the digital tools as educators yes but should we allow students to make the best choice for themselves? Absolutely, give options because making choices is a freedom of being human.

We never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment. Whether we permit chance environments to do the work, or whether we design environments for the purpose makes a great deal of difference. (Dewey, 1916, p22)

Bayne, S. (2015) What’s the matter with ‘technology-enhanced learning’?. Learning, Media and Technology. 40:1, 5-20, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2014.915851

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education/Chapter II – Wikisource, the free online library. [online] En.wikisource.org. Available at: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Democracy_and_Education/Chapter_II#The_School_as_a_Special_Environment [Accessed 1 Oct. 2018].

Miller, V. (2011). Ch.9. The Body and Information Technology. Understanding digital culture. London: Sage.

 

Week 3 Future Connection – Being Human (the visual artefact)

Click to enlarge

Pixabay/geralt (2016). hand-robot-human-machine-face-1571849. [image] Available at: https://pixabay.com/en/hand-robot-human-machine-face-1571849/ [Accessed 1 Oct. 2018].

Block 1 Film Review ‘Muted (2014)’

“When technology replaces verbal communication and with it, all emotion, a young man takes it on himself to break the silence”

After watching so many clips/movies/films it was hard to choose just one to critically connect to this block. After some thought and the more I looked at my lifestream I had to choose Muted (2014) as it is the one that spoke to me, the ones I showed my kids and colleagues. It explores the theme of being connected and can/has mobile technology hindered what we know of being human, is it the future?

Exploring Miller (2011) reading, it is suggested that a phone can change how we interact with the world and although this movie’s portrayal may be exaggerated I believe it does have an ounce of truth. It seems that’s digital communication took over the verbal communication. Using just text messages invokes  ‘connected presence’ as well an absence presence as it depends on the proximity of a (human) body, but do we really feel connected if they are within reach? (Miller, 2011, p221). Are they altering how we pay attention to emotions and physical reactions?

Interpretation/Meaning

The scene is set as a very modern/futurist sterile almost artificial environment compared to what we know as a ‘home’. It seems as if it is normal to sit around a table and the only way they are connecting is via text – even asking to pass the salt.  The movie is very grey and dull and the only pop of colour is when I love you 😉 in red is shown before the bridge, almost foreshadowing of what is to come. 

The fact that there is a lack of verbal and physical communication could make it a deafening conversation yet the music seems to set the tone. The ending has an almost spooky sound as if using/hearing a human voice is dumbfounding because it has been so long. It’s almost like they forgot how to use their voice as technology has taken over.

Throwing away his phone from a bridge is breaking the shackles of being ‘connected’ digitally as he wants to speak or connect on a higher emotional level. This is after seeing a proposal with no emotion – was this the straw that broke the camels back?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final thoughts – What does it say?

In this short clip, the synopsis really captures what it is trying to say technology or the digital presence took over his world and he wants to break the technology or silence. He craved the emotion and physical/verbal connection and brought it back as a digital conversation and the sterile/modern life wasn’t making him happy. The first emotion was an almost smile when the female verbally heard, Hi and she seems taken back.

Is this just a hyped up version of our culture now? Could we end up this way, if we aren’t careful? Do we forget that we need an emotional connection?

 

 

 

 

 

Miller, Vincent, (2011) “Ch.9. The Body and Information Technology” from Miller, Vincent, Understanding digital culture p207-223, London: Sage

Zakrzewski, J. (2014). MUTED (2014) | a short film [HD]. [online] Vimeo. Available at: https://vimeo.com/92448637 [Accessed 21 Sep. 2018].

Week 2 Wrap up

Jennborg

This was an interesting week, and my theme/themes seemed to be on Articifical intelligence and digital presence/culture which made me look into creating Jennbot or Jennborg (like my article on Embot via Twitter). This image was different than just being virtual via an iPad but is this what I will be represented as in the cyber world? It made me think about the idea of ‘presence’ and how it can become an extension of the ‘human’ you (again I can’t define human, yet). As Laura pointed out on Twitter, is Miller’s suggestion was cyborgs were ‘becoming an increasing fact of life’ (Miller, 2011, p212) made you think wow this could be happening or evolving.  Miller wrote this seven years ago, imagine what has happened since then?

 

Digital culture aspect & movies

In this TedX Talks (Jeannie Reutemann) suggest that movies shape our view of robots and are usually not nice, but then I thought of WALL-E or Short Circuit and thought well they are kinder but is it because we are introducing kids to robots? When creating the cyberculture Donna Haraway’s article A Cyborg Manifesto (2007) makes you think about cyborgs not having certain limitations (gender, feminism or politics) but how would it be framed? Would the movie representations be different? (This all led to more questions that can’t be answered in 250 words).

Digital culture (mine)

I also looked back at my own digital culture – 1 sec a day app- life from June to June -and realise this is part of my profile, my culture? My first experience into the digital culture or the cyber world was CompuServ, as I mentioned in one of the videos I posted about being so much cooler online but are we, and I remember being anyone I wanted to be – heck my nickname was Honeybunz (yes with a z). Can we represent who we want to be and how we want to be seen? Sure, will it catch up to you? Maybe

*Side note – the amount of information digested, a summary of 250 is quite hard and still not sure how it will work as there is SO much information out there.  Heck I didn’t even touch on our film festival!

Haraway, Donna, (2007). A cyborg manifesto, from Bell, David; Kennedy, Barbara M (eds). The cybercultures reader.  London: Routledge, p34-65.

Miller, V (2011). Understanding Digital Culture. London: Sage. 212.

Tedx Talks (2018). Embracing Robots – How robot stories shape visions of technology | Jeanine Reutemann | TEDxLausanne. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0-fOnOWi_0 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2018].

Cyberculture music

When I think cyberculture, I think the Terminator, Demolition Man and even Avengers to a degree, but if I had to think about a piece of music to express the theme of Cyberculture it has to be Herbie Hancock – Rockit. This video made the song thematic because of the use of robot-like mannequins or ‘bodies’ moving, dancing, doing ‘normal’ human actions with or without all ‘human’ body parts.  Upon looking up on Wikipedia it was supposed to be a “virtual house” in London (En.wikipedia.org, 2018).

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Rockit (song). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockit_(song) [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].

HerbieHancockVEVO. (1984). Rockit. [Online Video]. USA 1984. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHhD4PD75zY&feature=youtu.be. [Accessed: 19 September 2018].

 

Lifestream…

First real day of the next online module and all of this is open to the public not that anyone will read it or I doubt it will make sense to anyone. This is the start of a lifestream blog which I still haven’t quite figured it all out yet…Hoping someone jumps in and tell us 😉