Week 4 summary
This week started with a BANG – it was the sound of my laptop hitting the floor! After a few hic-cups and erratic behavioural issues it seems to have healed. I found myself moving slowly for the first couple of days as I caught up with the readings and tried to rationalise my thinking before posting and tagging. After a very social Skype meeting with my peer it appeared that social interaction was necessary for me as a new learner to the topic of Digital Education. I took on advice regarding methods that would help the digestion of reading material. I am still considering the pros and cons of ereading and the physicality of a book. I enjoyed zamzam whilst driving but found the monotonous robotic voice dangerous as I was fearful of falling asleep at the wheel. The lack of expression was also difficult for me to retain. The use of recoding myself made me shudder, so it did NOT appear on my blog!
I looked at the issue of managing challenging behaviour online and how social media sites are trying to filter aggression and abusive behaviour. It made me value the physical presence I have as an educator and the ways in which I can facilitate social interaction and learning through my body language and identity. I began to research the generation of students that are digitally competent and came across the millennial paradox . The online culture of knowledge was raised by Chanel 4 and I was shocked to hear that after a discussion with my daughter and her friend that they were both happy to accept google as 100% correct. I continued to have a very ‘honest’ discussion about how google and wikipedia work. I took part in fascinating Brain-Move workshop which made me wonder how the children that have been exposed to high volumes of technology between 0-6 years old will turn out as a generation.
Overall, I enjoyed Block 1 and continue to engage in discussion around our visual artefacts. I welcome Block 2 and along with the readings I have enrolled myself on to the Leadership and Management MOOC course through Open Education. The enrolment process was quick and easy (a rather concerning amount) and particpation will be my ethnographic study focus over the community cultures block.
2 thoughts on “Week 4 summary”
Good summary here Linzi. Sounds like you’ve been pretty busy this week.
‘it appeared that social interaction was necessary for me as a new learner to the topic of Digital Education.’
Yes, it is the question we should be asking ourselves this week. *Is* socialisation, and community interaction necessary for learning ‘online’. If so, what kind of socialisation are we talking about?
‘It made me value the physical presence I have as an educator and the ways in which I can facilitate social interaction and learning through my body language and identity.’
An interesting idea indeed. We often read and hear about online community in terms of ‘networks’ and ‘relations’, however that tends to sideline the ‘physicality’ of community. Online we may not be able to use our bodies in the same way, but there are still ‘physical’ or ‘material’ aspects to our presence, perhaps?
Is there a connection here between the physicality of the book you desire, and the physicality of group presence?
Sounds like an interesting MOOC you have chosen, look forward to hearing more about it.
“Online we may not be able to use our bodies in the same way, but there are still ‘physical’ or ‘material’ aspects to our presence, perhaps?”
As I work with the body on a daily basis I not only listen to what an individual has to say with their words but I observe how they interact in other forms of communication. The impact between people when they are physically present or visible is fascinating. We present ourselves through our body language and facial expressions. So much information can be communicated through non-verbal behaviour. Without it we can feel dehumanised. I feel I can read a group better with their physical presence.
However, I’m not sure there is a connection between this and the physicality of a book, I will need to keep this in mind over the next few weeks and will hopefully get back to you. Although, I do like the fact that when my head is in a book less people will interrupt.
L x