Category: Week 2 – Networked Learning

I really enjoyed the video from last class. I never considered the one way dialogue our society experiences during the early time of television or thought about how it limited our voices. It is amazing how social media and the internet has revolutionized our world. From social gatherings and interactions to education and informational news, the conversation is now a two-way street and every citizen can have their voices be heard. I am the first to attest that  However, with every advancement, there always come negative aspects. Now that social media can easily connect people, it also can be a distraction or an easy avenue for criminal activity. Additionally, if you walked into any restaurant right now, I guarantee that 75% of the patrons would be in their phones while the other 25% are fighting for their undivided attention.

In the world of engineering, I agree with Kuh’s argument and believe experimental learning is imperative. In Campbell’s article, the statement, “The common denominator is a real-world context that provides deeply integrative opportunities for classroom-based learning to be applied to complex and complexly situated problems or opportunities” really stood out to me. Students can be in the classroom for years, learning about the nuts and bolts of engineering and science, but what good is their theoretical knowledge going to do when it comes to solving hands on those real world engineering issues? I can speak on this first hand as in my undergraduate engineering program, we had hand on labs and a year long capstone project. The experiences I had in labs and working hands on for my capstone project has better prepared me for my young professional career and attributed to my success as a graduate researcher. Experimental learning should be implemented throughout a student’s educational training and especially in higher education.

Networked learning is something with which I’ve only recently become familiar. The PFP and GEDI classes are the first courses I’ve taken where blogging was incorporated into the coursework. The more I learn about the concept and how it can work in the classroom, the more intrigued I am. There are definitely certain entities in which it works better – a graduate classroom such as GEDI or an undergraduate seminar class where the class is based around discussion of the material. I am curious how I can work blogging into my typical engineering classroom. In my Senior Design classroom that I’m currently working with, I can see a possible application in that they are suppose to keep an online engineering notebook during the course of their design as well as a website. We could incorporate the two things together with a blog portion of their website in which they control the narrative of their design project and process. In my intro to BSE course, however, I feel like Twitter might be a better option for integrating networked learning. I am not a big twitter person. I have an account but I haven’t used it for years. My handle still includes my maiden name so I think I might have to make a new one for my future career. Utilizing Twitter I could share articles about different things BSE engineers are doing, possibly facilitate class discussion, as well as tweet other insights during the regular guest lectures for the class. Utilizing Twitter is actually something I had never really seriously considered before this discussion but I think could possibly really engage my students in the classroom next year.

I remember being an undergrad in college and having two professors who had created  Twitters accounts dedicated to our course, and another who used her own Twitter account to give updates on class related issues. I followed these accounts only because I was required to for class, or because it meant I would get to see the answer to at least one test question.

I’ve never been someone who enjoyed using social media platforms in the classroom. I’ve always felt that the barrier that was once there between the two was a good thing. When I go to my social media platforms I expect to see posts from friends or family who I have chosen to connect with, because I want to see what they have to say. I use these platforms in my personal time to either catch up with these people or simply as a mindless distraction after a long day, so when I’m lying on my couch at 10:30 having given up on work and school related responsibilities the last thing I want to see on Facebook or Twitter is a reminder that I have Test in two days and I imagine many of my students feel the same way.

I understand why many teachers have chosen to incorporate social media in their classrooms, and I absolutely see how it can be effective in reaching students. I know that students these days spend more time checking their Twitter accounts than their university e-mail, so that reminder about the test is more likely to reach them in through that medium, but at some point I think we have to accept that students deserve a place free from the often never-ending demands of school.

I take education seriously (I’ve been in school for the last 17 1/2 years of my life for goodness sake), and I spend hours upon hours each day working on education related responsibilities, whether that be my own coursework or preparing to teach my classes. Because I dedicate so much time to education related responsibilities, the last thing I want to see when I am on a personal platform like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is some school related post, so I am extremely hesitant to invade the personal lives of my students in this way. I want them to have time to relax. I don’t want them to feel like they should ALWAYS be thinking about their coursework. I want them to have a place to escape the ever present demands of school, and I think they want and deserve social media to be one of these escapes.

I have a confession to make. I was initially turned off by the idea of using social media to bolster academic involvement. For a long time, I viewed social media as a platform for comedy, political riff raff, and embarrassing family photo sharing. I’m learning, however, especially after reading Tim Hitchcock’s piece, that it is critical to utilize the accessible and familiar platforms with young people. One of his quotes that really spoke to me was: “If we simply continue in an older vein – having small (vociferous) conversations amongst ourselves, in professional seminars and at conferences, through book reviews and in the specialist hard copy press – we will lose our place in the broader social dialog.” What an excellent point. For instance, I would most certainly call my grandmother if I wanted to speak to her, but text my siblings if I wanted to speak to them. We must engage in discourse in the way that best fits the generational traditions and we should be open and flexible in our recognition of these traditions. We cannot get so bogged down in our research and finding  exact answers that we forget to reflect and communicate along the way. Needless to say, it will take some time for me to get used to these new educational norms, but I look forward to engaging in discussions such as these this semester with my fellow GEDI’s.

[http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/07/28/twitter-and-blogs-academic-public-sphere]

Prior to beginning this course last week, I had no idea what the word ‘pedagogy’ meant; I honestly had no notion that such a word existed in the English vocabulary. However, I did recognize it must have something to do with education, since I was required to take this pedagogy-focused course as a requirement for the Virginia Tech Graduate Schools’s “Future Professoriate Certificate”. A long-term goal of mine is to make a career as a college professor, which is why I am enrolled in the Future Professoriate Certificate. In my field [food science], the role of a professor is divided into three main functions: research, extension, and teaching. Since 2/3 (extension & teaching) of my aspired-to career involved education in some form,  I am intrigued to learn more about pedagogy and all it encompasses. So, as a first step in my quest to understand concept of pedagogy, I took to Wikipedia- despite the protests of my inner academician .

According to Wikipedia, pedagogy is “the discipline that deals with the theory and practice of education” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy). The term ‘pedagogy’ comes from the Greek word pedagogue – a slave who escorted Greek children to school.  In the present day, pedagogue refers to a practitioner of pedagogy (i.e. someone who imparts or teaches knowledge to another).  From what I gather, knowledge does not solely refer to technical or vocational skills but extends to encompass social skills as well as an understanding of concepts and theories. When thinking about the GEDIS17 course, I wonder what aspects of contemporary pedagogy we will touch upon. One thing is for certain- I’m going to come out of this course with far more pedagogy-related knowledge than I came in with!

According to our course schedule, the first topic we will discuss is Networked Learning. Again, I have no clue what networked learning is, so I turned to Wikipedia once again. Networked Learning is defined as “the process of developing and maintaining connections, with people and information, and communicating in such a way so as to support one another’s learning” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Networked_learning). A key phrase I honed in on within this definition was “…connections, with people and information…”. I can’t think of a better phrase to describe modern society. Today’s world is defined by readily-available technology and the dependency we have on it to live our everyday lives. Not only does this technology connect us to vast amounts of information with the click of a button, but it just as easily connects us with our fellow man. After thinking about it, networked learning seemed like a fitting subject to begin with in the context of contemporary pedagogy.

This thought process lead me to a few “AH HA!” moments:

-Blogging is a form of communication.

-Writing and responding to my classmates’ blogs is a form of networked learning.

-I am actually learning stuff while sitting here writing this post…..cool!

In pursuit of more knowledge (and possibly more “AH HA” moments), I began reading the class material pertaining to networked learning. I first watched Seth Goodwin and Tom Peters on Blogging (2009), and really liked what was being said. Tom’s statement “No single thing in the last fifteen years, professionally, has been more important to my life than blogging” especially resonated with me. My first blogging experience was for my professional organization The Institute of Food Technologists on their blog Science Meets Food (which I presently manage for the organization). It started as a way to build my resume, and quickly became one of the most professionally-influential experiences of my career to date. I not only developed my ability to communicate science with a broad, non-scientific audience but became connected with individuals who would come to make a monumental impact on my career. I would never have guesses that this networked learning-environment, inherent to the nature this and other blogs, would so greatly impact my life.

The second article Twitter and Blogs are Not Just Add-ons to Academic Research (2014), by Tim Hitchcock, was an equally interesting read that I could relate to. As I previously stated, I started blogging to enhance my resume. However, as I wrote more and more content for the blog, I discovered I had a true passion for communicating my passion for food science. The freedom to write about subjects that inspired me allowed me to investigate and gain knowledge about topics I never would have pursued for academic purposes. I also agree with the author’s statement that “They [social media] are where the conversation is happening”. Even in my food science courses, among peers who are knowledgeable about my field, I fail to have the stimulating, passionate-fueled conversations I have while blogging. There is just something about blogging that allows you to open up, be yourself, and communicate freely.

The third article Working Openly On The Web (2014), by Doug Belshaw, provided some interesting perspective and support for (what I believe) the reasoning behind why blogging allows one to engage more actively in networked learning. His first reason is probably one of blogging’s largest appeals: you control everything. Literally. The content, how often you post, what you say, who you say it to, etc. The is no one peering over your shoulder telling you what to do or how to do it. Personally, I know I learn better when I’m not being forced to do so. As an introvert, I also experience a certain level of social anxiety when asked to express my opinion in front of others. The ability to say what I want, when I want, while being veiled  in anonymity (provided by communicating from behind a computer screen) creates an environment where I can I comfortably express myself. This may not hold true for everyone, but I believe learning is best accomplished in an online environment.

Finally, I believe the last article Networked Learning as An Experiential Learning, by Gardner Campbell, was a fantastic piece that sums up how networked learning applies to contemporary pedagogy and supports my overall feelings towards the subject of blogging. In the words of Campbell, “Offering students the possibility of experiential learning in personal, interactive, networked computing—in all its gloriously messy varieties—provides the richest opportunity yet for integrative thinking within and beyond ‘schooling’ “. Allowing students to learn and connect in an online space creates opportunities for learning engagement that are not present within the class room. If one is to teach successfully in this contemporary age, then one must utilize blogs and other forms of online media to engage students in learning.

In the first week of the Contemporary Pedagogy course that I am taking right now, we discussed the interesting topic of using the current available technologies to enhance the learning experiences for students. I find this topic very interesting because in the world that we live in, the technical advancement is growing so rapidly that any tools that we implement today will be obsolete when the next cohort enters.

This rapid growth of the human knowledge is made possible by how easily knowledge can be access by everyone. We collectively build upon each other’s discoveries to continually push the boundaries of understanding. However, because there is so much information available to us, we must be careful to not let our thoughts be easily persuaded. The world that we live in is built upon power, influence, and money. Those with resource or a dire passion have capability to influence the decisions that we make as society. Therefore, it is crucial that we must all learn to think critically to be able to distinguish the facts from opinions and the ability to detect “inaccuracies” in the methods that are used to generate facts.

On the flipped side, those with a passion can use the vast modern network to market their passions to potential audiences. The article, “Twitter and blogs are not just add-ons to academic research, but a simple reflection of the passion underpinning it” mentioned that blogging or social media is a way that these researchers can engage the audiences. I personally myself am not very well versed in social media. However, I can see the validity of using these mediums to communicate with people about the cutting edge work that are currently being done. In a way these high level communications, are used to build momentum and interest in a particular area.

I am an engineering student, and one of the hardest thing that I find about the curriculum is that a good portion of the classes are so theory heavy that most students are not capable of seeing the beauty of the applications behind that topic. I was fortunate enough to be able to utilized some of the high level theories that I have learned in the various titles that I have held in the industry. To me being able to relate the analytical thought process to solve hands on problems in the physical world gave me a deeper appreciation through understanding the engineering theory. I believe that theory and application goes hand in hand because one cannot be truly innovative without have an understanding of both.

From my experience, I have found that the majority of the students goes through an engineering program to obtain an industry job. From those students, I have found that those that had “real” industry experience has a greater appreciation for their engineering classes. From this, I try to incorporate modern technologies into my class room to expose my students to the realities of an engineering job. I find that high level technical videos on social media inspires the students to learn and ask questions.

[Background] I often question the effects that personal computers and the internet have on society. I am 23, so needless to say I do not remember the world before computers were the norm. However, I constantly wonder if computers are good or bad for society. The readings provided this week helped provide some insight on the value of computers in the learning environment. Regardless of your opinion on this topic, we all know that computers are powerful, life-altering machines.

[Discussion] In this post, I will look at the positives and negatives of computers on the educational, environmental, and societal scales. Since this is such an open-ended discussion, there will probably be lots of things I will miss, so I look forward to my peer’s feedback and ideas!

1. Educational

Pros: Without computers, we would be very far behind technologically. The internet was created to entertain collaboration, and that is key in advancing knowledge and technology, especially with all the unlimited resources available at the click of a mouse. If someone wants to know a specific piece of information, they just need to Google it. Computers are also powerful teaching tools at any educational level (ex. try out Hypothes.is if you haven’t already, it really is neat).

Cons: While computers help us learn, what students learn in school often isn’t embedded into their memory because they know they can easily access it later on. Also, students learn to rely on computers to learn, rather than taking advantage of other resources such as textbooks and academic journals. Additionally, most students, especially at the high school and college level, are expected to have their own personal computer, which is an expensive expectation for many.

2. Environmental

Pros: Computers offer the service of online shopping, which reduces the amount of time spent in a car/gas spent to go shopping in person. Amazon Prime, ladies and gentlemen! They also reduce paper trails, since most things now are done virtually.

Cons: Environmentally, computers use a lot of resources and processes to make. Little to no materials used to make a computer are renewable, and many materials cannot be recycled. Once a computer is no longer needed, it is often thrown out instead of properly dismantled and recycled. Also, using a computer limits one to be within a few feet of an outlet, or within wifi range. This eliminates opportunities to spend time outdoors, enjoying what nature has to offer.

3. Societal

Pros: With the use of computers, folks can be more up-to-date on the happenings of the world, and be more quickly informed in case of an emergency such as a hurricane. Computers also enable friendships and communication that would otherwise not be possible (i.e. an Indian child can be pen pals with a Brazilian child, or you can easily keep up with your distant relative that lives in another country). Also, computers/the internet are typically available to those of any age, race, or income, and are becoming increasing affordable.

Cons: Computers often substitute for face-to-face contact. This could include classroom settings, customer service, bullying, etc. Computers often prevent humans from forming meaningful relationships with each other. For instance, think of yourself going out with friends for dinner. How many times do you and your friends check your phone throughout your outing? Computer use can also be addictive, and take the place of other activities such as exercising and working. For instance, I know when I come home from a long day at work, I prefer to parooz Facebook and other social media sites on my computer rather than biking or doing something active and healthy.

[Conclusion] I only touched on the surface of these issues, but it is obvious to me that computers are both good and bad for society. If used correctly and for the right purposes, they can be extremely beneficial and working towards further advancing our knowledge, technology, and more. I welcome any new ideas to this thought-provoking argument!

“What starts as a blog, ends as an academic output, and an output with a ready-made audience, eager to cite it” (Hitchcock 2014)

While I find great worth in academic publication, I also find it inaccessible; lacking in social impact and problematic in terms of who the work is being written for. In the social sciences, especially, much of our work is done for purposes of impact, informing emerging public policy or redirecting the course of social relationships. While there is a level of assumed integrity associated with publishing in academic journals, I must wonder if the work of the discipline is better served in a space that is open to public dialogue and discussion. If the output of social science work stays within the “academy,” especially given the tools to reach larger audiences, it would seem selfish to argue only amongst intellectual colleagues in regards to the use or misuse of some theoretical application or interpretation of a text. Instead,  it seems the work of social science disciplines would be better served if the discussion was just that – a discussion – a reciprocal dialogue between academics and the larger society. This works to both inform academic research and offer a space in which social facts can be given qualitative context.

Like Hitchcock, I find twitter and blogging excellent mediums for this type of work. However, unless one is utilizing two separate handles, twitter runs the risk of conflating the individual and the academic. I do to an extent agree with Hitchcock (2014) that anything placed on Twitter should be treated with the same seriousness as an academic review or questions following a public lecture. But, does this not defeat the value of Twitter? Can it not be treated as a space, even for the academic, to evolve intellectually and allow their own moral compass to inform their opinions and reflections of public policy while also disseminating information? Isn’t this the value that blogging and Twitter create that academic journals – especially those highlighting empirical evidence – turn a cold shoulder to? This is difficult as Twitter can become a snapshot of both one’s character and one’s academic work. While academia oftentimes encourages one to take themselves out of the work, spaces such as Facebook and Twitter would encourage one to be apart of the work (i.e. be actively engaged in the conversation). This is especially given that grassroots social movements and policy implications are happening on social media. Instant reporting is happening on social media. Thus, the work of social science fields are being played out in real time.

One of the larger challenges is finding ways in which to get students excited and involved in the discipline via social media. That though you are an academic, you are also an individual with thoughts and informed opinions that might be deemed inappropriate for the classroom but expected and even celebrated on forms such as Twitter and Facebook. How do educators manage the student/professor relationship in a professional manner while making efforts to meet the students “where they are at?”

Hitchcock, T. (2014) http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/07/28/twitter-and-blogs-academic-public-sphere/

My thoughts are scattered all over the place regarding these readings. On one end, I am a big supporter of technology and its potential. I am also a strong proponent of education and making it accessible. On the other, I think there is a threat of increasing narcissism, lack of self-control, and potential for people to just accept what they read on the Internet.

In Seth Godin’s video, he mentioned that there is a humility that comes with writing a blog. This may or may not be true, but I do believe it is circumstantial. Writing about you and what you think and feel may not necessarily be humble. One writes a blog so that others read it, and their motives for why they want others to read it can vary drastically. We live in a day and age where everybody wants everybody else to know what they think and feel, and often believe that the people they tell should feel the same. The type of social justice that exists on sites such as Tumblr, Twitter, and so forth are very hammer and nail. A dialogue is very difficult to open. In direct contrast to this, writing a blog does make someone trim the fat, and potentially explain their position from a humble perspective. Similar to other things in life, there are exceptions to everything.

In complement to this, there is the threat of someone losing self-control and potentially cutting corners. This again serves as an exception to the rule. When I think of the Internet, I see it characterized as speedy, efficient, and information-filled. I also see it as the shortcut, counteractive, and too easy. In reference to the final attribute, what I mean to say is that it is VERY easy to publish something online without any level of verification. Academicians and researchers may use this as a means to publish and survive in our “publish or perish” world. Even before the Internet existed, researchers have published unacceptable and unethical work. An example of this would be the “Great Pretender” from Japan

This leads into my largest concern regarding the Internet. My major concern is that people, particularly our students of all ages, will immediately accept what they read on the Internet because many have almost been trained to do so. Many might see an official looking headline or a post from a friend and immediately accept it as fact.

This thought leads in to the endgame Michael Wesch discusses in his Tedx Talk. He mentions converting students from knowledgeable to knowledge-able. I wholeheartedly agree with him that this is a mission teachers should embark on. I do, however, think the Internet will make this both possible and challenging. While we are trying to encourage our students to think and assess for themselves, the Internet offers them easy, accessible information and says “this is a fact” and I fear that more often than not the individual sees this and says, “okay this is a fact”.  The trick will be to teach them how to challenge these claims and be knowledge-able.

Networked learning and all of its potential are a wonderful concept. I love this idea of globalization/glocalization that is bringing our communities together to share knowledge with the masses. I believe, however, that it is up to those that elect to publish knowledge, to take on the additional responsibility of being honorable in character and publishing verifiable information. Do not seek to deceive the readers for your own gain and for an additional line on your CVs. Seek to provide knowledge. Seek to have intellectual discussions with kindred spirits. Seek to provide accessible information to those that might not have previously had such access.