Another week has flown past before I feel I have truly got to grips with it. I am a bit stuck in a ‘catch up one week at the start of the next‘ loop. I really enjoyed looking at and commenting on quite a few ethnographies, but made myself move on mid-week. However, I did add Pocket to IFTTT!
Trying to make sense of algorithms was worrying as I am definitely out of my comfort zone with numbers never mind big numbers. I began by watching some instructive talks and videos.
Despite my focus on my YouTube algorithm exercise the main element that has come through my week is yet again online community. On Twitter I spotted a good article about Google and education and this started a conversation about community and sharing and it turned out to be very circular indeed.
The Tweet from Amanda Taylor re article in the Conversation, author, Ibrar Bhatt brought algorithms and/vs serendipity to life: Amanda in Lancaster University, worked in Queen’s previously, Ibrar wrote article whilst at Lancaster University, now works at Queen’s in a different department from me. When I first retweeted the article I had no idea where Amanda was located or anything about the author so discovering such close network nodes showed me how algorithms are at play without me even realising, as I have no recollection of how I came to follow Amanda in the first place.
Lastly, as the week closes I am again thinking on the paradox of Higher Education’s continual resistance to change whilst simultaneously lauding technological innovations as potentially disruptive. Each time change is slow and minimal with a focus on administrative benefits rather than the learning experience. The virtual learning environment, VLE, is an ever present piece of evidence of this.
There you go Jeremy, proof I act on your feedback – word count under 300!
‘However, I did add Pocket to IFTTT!’
Great, hope it proves useful! It might be a good way to demonstrate your wider reading on the web.
Great job with your video too – YouTube is a good place to do some algorithmic play, as the recommended videos seem to respond quite obviously. Your point about multiple users here is a good one, and something other have commented on as well. I wonder if these recommendation algorithms are able to work out which ‘family member’ is currently using the service? There is something important there about the ‘individualism’ presumed by social media…
And, nice work with the word count! 🙂