Groups, Networks, Sets, Collectives I would say the participants in NGL could be considered both a network and a collective: a network initially when information is being shared between the nodes; then when collaboration and creation occur, the network would develop into a more complex, transformative entity – a collective. In contrast, our NGL course participants could be considered a group at the moment because the process of gaining knowledge needs to be sustained, and this process is quite complex, carefully designed and managed (Dron & Anderson, 2007). My experience of groups is varied. I belong to several groups personally and professionally. I find Dron and Anderson’s (2007) description of the group useful because I have found that groups are sustained when there is a sustained, managed purpose. When this is lacking, the group tends to dissolve. In my experience, networks can be more flexible. You can drift in and out of networks; take up where you left off. I think that has been a contributing factor to the success of social network platforms such as Facebook, Linked-in and Instagram. The nature of these platforms enable them to facilitate interactions that are topical and reflective of change. The networks I am involved in are professional/industry networks, Community of Practice Networks, Facebook and Linked-in. Quora and Reddit are both interesting concepts, and I believe they could both be used in learning, but I would use them to model the process of learning, rather than use them as a legitimate source of knowledge. I do realise though that this attitude reflects closely the attitude of Higher Education in the use of social media (Bonzo & Parchoma, 2010). I would question the validity and accuracy of the information posted on these sites. After examining Quora and Reddit, it did dawn on me that many people live a large amount of their time online. To formulate some of the questions, and for others to go through the process of reading and responding to the questions, indicates that there is a large community devoting significant chunks of their lives to these forums and networks for reasons other than formal learning. Source: Mashable (2014) How to: Ask and Answer Questions on Quora [You-tube video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqjJUCib588 References
Bonzo, J., & Parchoma, G. (2010). The Paradox of Social Media and Higher Education Institutions. In Networked Learning: Seventh International Conference (pp. 912– 918). Dron, J., & Anderson, T. (2007). Collectives, networks and groups in social software for e-Learning. In World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 2460–2467). Facebook. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/ Linked.in. (2016). Retrieved from https://au.linkedin.com/ Mashable (2014) How to: Ask and Answer Questions on Quora [You-tube video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqjJUCib588 Quora. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/ Reddit. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/
0 Comments
.Week 1
I am an academic learning adviser at the metropolitan campus of a regional university, so my students are undergraduate and postgraduate higher education students. The learning/teaching I am involved in is academic writing and referencing, so I am aware of heavy NGL use in this area. I guess the content of my area is comparatively fixed, compared to the content of program courses; however, hopefully, I can clarify how the connectivist qualities of NGL can enhance learning in every area, including mine. At present, the use of NGL in my workplace is limited. I feel that tools such as these are not regarded as legitimate platforms for meaningful academic discourse. Bonzo and Parchoma (2010) discuss the disparity between the expectations of higher education institutions and their students in relation to the use of social media in learning. I think this disparity may widen if institutions are not prepared to recognise the potential value of web tools and associated networks - particularly when learning principles such constructivism, participation and collaboration, can be supported by them. The difficulty I may have will be the design of learning experiences through global learning networks that fully engage the students in collaborative learning. Sometimes, I feel initial online interaction can be facilitated quite easily; however, it is the deeper learning experiences that can be hard to nurture. Eliciting collaborative contributions to a project online can be challenging; and using global learning networks for collaborative purposes, could prove equally challenging – but hopefully – rewarding. Another difficulty I may face is my own ability to transform my teaching presence from that of a traditional educator, who leads the learning, to that of a facilitator. As Day et al. (2006) suggest, professional identity can be changed by the dilemmas faced within the educational context. I feel that I have recognised the dilemma facing my workplace in terms of meeting student expectations of NGL, but I'm not sure I have fully comprehended my new identity as an educator in the emerging context. References Bonzo, J., & Parchoma, G. (2010). The Paradox of Social Media and Higher Education Institutions. In Networked Learning: Seventh International Conference (pp. 912– 918). Day, C., Kington, A., Stobart, G., & Sammons, P. (2006). The personal and professional selves of teachers: stable and unstable identities. British Educational Research Journal, 32(4), 601–616. doi:10.1080/01411920600775316 |
Archives |