Tonight I ventured into #lrnchat on Twitter. At first it was slow to begin but, as forewarned, it got pretty wild. It definitely was a learning experience and stirred more questions than it provided answers. The topic tonight was, "Keeping Ahead of the Curve". After people introduce themselves and share what they learned today/this week, various questions are posed and everyone answers at the same time!
From a technical standpoint, it takes some figuring to bring up the ongoing tweets which can jump to 28 in a minute or so. Scrolling up and down the thread of conversation was "jumpy" and I didn't know if that was normal or unusual or whether it was a problem on my end or theirs. I finally figured out what to click on to "refresh" the conversation.
Being new to Twitter, some of my questions are:
1) Does each user have to manually retype the hashtag "#lrnchat" in the body of their tweet or is there an easier way to add it in?
2) From time to time, I noticed a few of the questions posed were repeated several times by the participants. Did they click on "retweet" by accident or....?
What was interesting was the thread that was woven. Some comments seemed random and I couldn't figure out what the person was saying or responding to. Sometimes the person's entire tweet was a series of hashtags and URL's. Other times, I noticed people responded directly to another person's comment in a brief side conversation and then got back into the mainstream. Some people commented constantly; others very occasionally or not at all (like me). Many of the tweeters' personalities definitely emerged (funny, intense, more easy going, etc). I actually started "following" a few of the tweeters.
I heard about more media tools with which I am unfamiliar (big surprise, ha) such as Evernote, Pocket, Dolphin, Drive and Flipboard and had no idea what the references to angry birds meant. Would also be interested to know what are considered "fringe topics".
Definitely an interesting hour.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Does it bother anybody?
Today I read Lingel and Naam's paper on the so-called phenomenon of taking and sharing videos of live music events. The authors list the purpose of the paper is to explore the following:
• What are the motivations for recording videos at concerts and sharing them online?
• What are the practices used to take and share videos from live music events on YouTube?
• What roles do these videos and the people who produce them play in online communities?
- Lingel, J., & Naaman, M. (2011). You should have been there, man: Live music, DIY content and online communities. New Media & Society, 14(2).
Okay, so the word phenomenon may be applied to any observed or observable fact, occurrence or circumstance (dictionary.reference.com) but it used to also imply that the fact, occurrence or circumstance which was being observed or studied had some extraordinary or awesome quality to it.
While I follow the thread developed in the paper and found a few noteworthy factoids (in passing) , I respectfully ask, who really cares? What difference does it make if some people attend a live concert, use their phone to video it and later share it on YouTube? Has a substantial contribution been made to the world either by posting the video(s) or by the paper that studies the reasons and implications behind the posting? Maybe I'm just narrow-minded or too old fashioned but what real purpose does this type of discussion/exploration serve? Can't we simply call it a hobby? That's what any pass-time not involving social media is called. Imagine a mother taking pictures of her kids performing different activities, lovingly spending hours placing the photos in an album, annotating them with dates and comments and decorative stickers then sharing them with everyone who comes to visit. Is this a phenomenon? Should someone study it and write a paper on the implications of this behavior? Or is it simply a proud mom who enjoys scrapbooking?
It is the relative newness of social media and sharing that prompts research from every possible angle? This is not a rhetorical question. I would love someone to point out what I am missing here.
• What are the motivations for recording videos at concerts and sharing them online?
• What are the practices used to take and share videos from live music events on YouTube?
• What roles do these videos and the people who produce them play in online communities?
- Lingel, J., & Naaman, M. (2011). You should have been there, man: Live music, DIY content and online communities. New Media & Society, 14(2).
Okay, so the word phenomenon may be applied to any observed or observable fact, occurrence or circumstance (dictionary.reference.com) but it used to also imply that the fact, occurrence or circumstance which was being observed or studied had some extraordinary or awesome quality to it.
While I follow the thread developed in the paper and found a few noteworthy factoids (in passing) , I respectfully ask, who really cares? What difference does it make if some people attend a live concert, use their phone to video it and later share it on YouTube? Has a substantial contribution been made to the world either by posting the video(s) or by the paper that studies the reasons and implications behind the posting? Maybe I'm just narrow-minded or too old fashioned but what real purpose does this type of discussion/exploration serve? Can't we simply call it a hobby? That's what any pass-time not involving social media is called. Imagine a mother taking pictures of her kids performing different activities, lovingly spending hours placing the photos in an album, annotating them with dates and comments and decorative stickers then sharing them with everyone who comes to visit. Is this a phenomenon? Should someone study it and write a paper on the implications of this behavior? Or is it simply a proud mom who enjoys scrapbooking?
It is the relative newness of social media and sharing that prompts research from every possible angle? This is not a rhetorical question. I would love someone to point out what I am missing here.
Hashtags Revisited
It occurred to me that not only has technology changed the world by its impact on professions, businesses, relationships, education, information dissemination and on and on but it has also changed Language - both written and spoken. Words exist today that did not exist a few years ago. We speak differently today that we did 10 years ago. While it has not as yet reached the grandesse of the disparity between the days of "thee" and "thou" and modern English, we are heading in that direction. Language, is becoming (or so it seems to me) more informal. Maybe it all began somewhere around the time when the dot.comers began making it big. Texting brought us a deluge of commonly-accepted acronyms (lol, rofl, yolo, btw, ttyl, brb) which are now used in speech. Google officially became a verb. Birds no longer have proprietary claim to tweeting and wikis mean something other than a new, tropical drink. Learning where the @ and # keys are on the keyboard is no longer optional.
When we began this class, I was introduced to terms like hashtags, RSS Feeds, @replies, @mentions, and tagging to name but a few (not the tagging used in games nor hanging from a dress in a store). Oftentimes the meaning of these words cannot be divined from the context in which they are used but required a specific explanation or definition to convey their meaning. Take, for example, the term "hashtags". I can't count the number of times I've seen or heard it over the past two weeks. Although I visited Twitter (native home of hashtags) and beheld hashtags in all their glory and abundance I still only had a vague idea of what they were and how they should be used. All that changed today when I read Dr. Dennen's and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach's papers on....Hashtags!! TA DAH!
P.S. I still haven't incorporated or tried to actually use a hashtag but will in the very near future.
When we began this class, I was introduced to terms like hashtags, RSS Feeds, @replies, @mentions, and tagging to name but a few (not the tagging used in games nor hanging from a dress in a store). Oftentimes the meaning of these words cannot be divined from the context in which they are used but required a specific explanation or definition to convey their meaning. Take, for example, the term "hashtags". I can't count the number of times I've seen or heard it over the past two weeks. Although I visited Twitter (native home of hashtags) and beheld hashtags in all their glory and abundance I still only had a vague idea of what they were and how they should be used. All that changed today when I read Dr. Dennen's and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach's papers on....Hashtags!! TA DAH!
P.S. I still haven't incorporated or tried to actually use a hashtag but will in the very near future.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
This week sped by in a blur of work, family and social media tools. A few realizations have dawned: The Web has the propensity for extreme good or evil. It is the human behind the machine who decides for which it will be used. As a research tool, it is unsurpassable in speed and accuracy but one must be guided by discernment to evaluate the validity of the sources. It is an awesome tool for connecting people over time and space but, if unchecked, can serve to isolate us from those in our immediate vicinity who should be the closest.
As usual, I enjoyed Sharky. His discussion of the philosophy and success of Wikipedia was fascinating for me. His allusion to Richard Gabriel's "Worse is better" philosophy (pg 122) described a phenomena that is initially counter-intuitive yet upon deeper analysis makes perfect sense as to why it would be successful. Most people will usually choose a the simpler version of something even though it is not as attractive or appealing an invest time in improving the object rather than with something they perceive to be overly complex (a good lesson to remember when writing or posting in grad school). This was certainly applicable to me when I choose Google Blogger over WordPress despite the latter's enhanced versatility.
Another fascinating comment on human behavior was the protectiveness displayed by contributors to Wikipedia topics. In instances of page vandalism, the damage was erased almost as soon as it was created a la "Hovering, protective Mother" style. Hard to believe but it's documented.
Crack's research paper on teenagers in the U.K. revealed access to the web in schools as potentially positive but noted that, if left unstructured or unguided, most users at that level, would succomb to surfing for fun and social interaction rather than for scholastic purposes. This I have found to be generally true with my teenagers. The one in college will start out with great intentions of doing coursework and end up Skyping with friends, playing games and almost everything other than work.
However, I find it strange that she and her friends often Skype to do homework together while they are working on their individual assignments. They will sporadically make comments to each other about what they are working on or ask a question that they hope one of their friends can answer (they're in different classes). The rest of the time they work "together" in silence almost as though they were in a library with others around them. I'd like to explore this concept more at a later date.
Personally, I spent a large amount of time exploring social media tools I've never before visited and while illuminating in many ways, I felt cheated by the return earned on my investment of time. I attribute this in part to my lack of expertise and focus (it's easy to get side-tracked) and believe I will become more efficient with experience. However, as a famous person once said: There's a lotta junk out there (or something similar). My conclusion: With social media tools, as with junk food, the trick is recognizing how to circumvent the bad while feasting on the good.
I'm truly enjoying this class. Coupling this course with the Theories of Learning and Cognition (heavy thinking and delving) was a good choice since this course is teaching challenging but fun stuff. It really is like a kid's sandbox full of different tools for digging, shaping and creating.
As usual, I enjoyed Sharky. His discussion of the philosophy and success of Wikipedia was fascinating for me. His allusion to Richard Gabriel's "Worse is better" philosophy (pg 122) described a phenomena that is initially counter-intuitive yet upon deeper analysis makes perfect sense as to why it would be successful. Most people will usually choose a the simpler version of something even though it is not as attractive or appealing an invest time in improving the object rather than with something they perceive to be overly complex (a good lesson to remember when writing or posting in grad school). This was certainly applicable to me when I choose Google Blogger over WordPress despite the latter's enhanced versatility.
Another fascinating comment on human behavior was the protectiveness displayed by contributors to Wikipedia topics. In instances of page vandalism, the damage was erased almost as soon as it was created a la "Hovering, protective Mother" style. Hard to believe but it's documented.
Crack's research paper on teenagers in the U.K. revealed access to the web in schools as potentially positive but noted that, if left unstructured or unguided, most users at that level, would succomb to surfing for fun and social interaction rather than for scholastic purposes. This I have found to be generally true with my teenagers. The one in college will start out with great intentions of doing coursework and end up Skyping with friends, playing games and almost everything other than work.
However, I find it strange that she and her friends often Skype to do homework together while they are working on their individual assignments. They will sporadically make comments to each other about what they are working on or ask a question that they hope one of their friends can answer (they're in different classes). The rest of the time they work "together" in silence almost as though they were in a library with others around them. I'd like to explore this concept more at a later date.
Personally, I spent a large amount of time exploring social media tools I've never before visited and while illuminating in many ways, I felt cheated by the return earned on my investment of time. I attribute this in part to my lack of expertise and focus (it's easy to get side-tracked) and believe I will become more efficient with experience. However, as a famous person once said: There's a lotta junk out there (or something similar). My conclusion: With social media tools, as with junk food, the trick is recognizing how to circumvent the bad while feasting on the good.
I'm truly enjoying this class. Coupling this course with the Theories of Learning and Cognition (heavy thinking and delving) was a good choice since this course is teaching challenging but fun stuff. It really is like a kid's sandbox full of different tools for digging, shaping and creating.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Builder or Destroyer of community?
While I'm all excited about the new skills I'm acquiring and the new tools I'm discovering, I see and read things that sadden me.
There is this dichotomy between the tremendous benefits and advantages the web has to offer and ways that it is stealing our humanity from us. "Look Up", the video poem Katie posted on her blog is such a plea to put down the phones and turn off the computers and enjoy each other and our world before it's too late and the opportunity vanishes.
Charles Crook's paper reveals that, while Web 2.0 creates incredible opportunities within the sphere of education, few teens avail themselves of these. The so-called "digital natives", who claim to be so adept at multitasking, when honestly commenting on their use of the web while doing homework admitted that they are distracted by other more appealing online pursuits and get very little or nothing done on their school work...."In the end you've added five photos and done no work".
The more I read around the more conflicting the information becomes. Some claim that time spent on the web improves literacy, spelling, communication, etc. Others claim that as a result of surfing the web, students' GPA's drop. Surfing is an exciting but dangerous sport. The better one becomes at it, the greater the illusion of control until, suddenly one day, nature laughs and the illusion is swept away.
Even before this class started, one day I walked into our breakroom at work. Five of my co-workers were eating lunch around the table and each one was peering into his or her phone. No doubt they were communicating or having something communicated to them by someone or thing somewhere but it certainly wasn't happening between the people with whom they were sharing the table. Yes, it's amazing that a dad can see and speak with his wife and son via Skype or Facetime half way around the world but what about his neighbor right next door? Communities of Practice are a wonderful, new phenomenon but how about the breakdown of community within the family? Kids come home, go to their rooms and get on their computers or iphones. Conceivably (and I'm sure some do) kids can go days or weeks without any real communication taking place between them and their parents or siblings.
It is unfair to try to pin the blame on technology. We created it and should be able to control it and not the other way around. Like people who become addicted to alcohol or drugs, when technology masters us, it is simply another manifestation of a deeper ill.
There is this dichotomy between the tremendous benefits and advantages the web has to offer and ways that it is stealing our humanity from us. "Look Up", the video poem Katie posted on her blog is such a plea to put down the phones and turn off the computers and enjoy each other and our world before it's too late and the opportunity vanishes.
Charles Crook's paper reveals that, while Web 2.0 creates incredible opportunities within the sphere of education, few teens avail themselves of these. The so-called "digital natives", who claim to be so adept at multitasking, when honestly commenting on their use of the web while doing homework admitted that they are distracted by other more appealing online pursuits and get very little or nothing done on their school work...."In the end you've added five photos and done no work".
The more I read around the more conflicting the information becomes. Some claim that time spent on the web improves literacy, spelling, communication, etc. Others claim that as a result of surfing the web, students' GPA's drop. Surfing is an exciting but dangerous sport. The better one becomes at it, the greater the illusion of control until, suddenly one day, nature laughs and the illusion is swept away.
Even before this class started, one day I walked into our breakroom at work. Five of my co-workers were eating lunch around the table and each one was peering into his or her phone. No doubt they were communicating or having something communicated to them by someone or thing somewhere but it certainly wasn't happening between the people with whom they were sharing the table. Yes, it's amazing that a dad can see and speak with his wife and son via Skype or Facetime half way around the world but what about his neighbor right next door? Communities of Practice are a wonderful, new phenomenon but how about the breakdown of community within the family? Kids come home, go to their rooms and get on their computers or iphones. Conceivably (and I'm sure some do) kids can go days or weeks without any real communication taking place between them and their parents or siblings.
It is unfair to try to pin the blame on technology. We created it and should be able to control it and not the other way around. Like people who become addicted to alcohol or drugs, when technology masters us, it is simply another manifestation of a deeper ill.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
I watched this great video on YouTube and highly recommend it. I found
it from a reference a few weeks ago in one of our required readings,
"Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond. From Production to
Produsage", Axel Bruns (2008). The video is called, "Community Trumps Content" and is presented by Jeff Utech. He currently teaches at a highschool in China (I think) and discusses how traditional schools block kids (or try to at least) from using social media and how we are really doing them a disservice since more and more the world/companies are demanding tech-proficient employees.
He goes on to talk about the coming revolution in education and jokingly mentions that he has a FaceBook account for one reason: So he will know when he's lost his job as a teacher because one day kids are going to realize that they can get so much more from the Internet than they can in school.
Find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8djV8slDN0
He goes on to talk about the coming revolution in education and jokingly mentions that he has a FaceBook account for one reason: So he will know when he's lost his job as a teacher because one day kids are going to realize that they can get so much more from the Internet than they can in school.
Find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8djV8slDN0
Friday, May 16, 2014
A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with One Step
After spending an age trying to figure out how to set up a blog on WordPress, I finally gave up and switched to Google Blogger. The advice was right. This is so much more user friendly. It is so late, it's tomorrow and I'm beat.
I'm excited about learning to use these tools even though the learning curve will be challenging.
I'm excited about learning to use these tools even though the learning curve will be challenging.
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