Category: Week 2 – Networked Learning

Engineering and Networked Learning

For this first post I wanted to start with a brief background of myself for anyone reading. I'm an Environmental Engineering grad student at Virginia Tech with an undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. I've taken one English class since high school and I can say that course was the most connected to the concept of networked learning and online engagement of any of the math or engineering courses I've taken. I think coming from a very technical background I have had countless "traditionally" taught lectured - at courses and while I don't think they are the best idea, I haven't quite understood a better one. A key topic of this week's readings was the idea of incorporating the internet and computer literacy into the classroom and I will admit, as an engineer, I am a bit confused. I found it very hard to understand quite what the writers and members of videos were saying meaning when they used this term and the vagueness of using the "network" made it hard for me to visualize what this might look like practically in a classroom. I think I probably come from one of the least connected fields both in industry and in the classroom. Sure we've tried having online quizzes, homework that you upload and the occasional youtube video shown to impress on us the importance of taking your job seriously, but I wouldn't say I understand the idea of "networked learning". I agree with Gardner Campbell’s article on Networked Learning as Experiential Learning in that I believe computer literacy and understanding basic elements of coding are vital to surviving in this day and age and that I honestly don't think I was ever taught these elements. This may be predominantly a factor of my age and the fact that I learned with the world on how social media develops and basic web etiquette. But I don't necessarily disagree with my field and the luddite approach I've been predominantly taught with thus far. I feel strongly you must understand a lot of key concepts, equations and applications to be educated in becoming an engineer, which is essentially a vocation and I'm not sure would even qualify as "true learning" even though I can design my way around a water treatment plant. My current understanding of teaching and I suppose learning is, I believe, very traditional. Most of my classes have assigned weekly problem sets with varying degrees of graded weight and then we were tested on the topics presented. I can count on one hand the number of classes that have deferred from this model but I can't say I think its entirely bad. I never had the opportunity to participate in the "flipped classroom" but all I've heard about is that students were completely lost throughout and there was little guidance. I know that for me, the most meaningful instructors have been readily accessible and excited when I came to them with questions. They kept their doors open at all hours and would thoroughly try to answer questions or would point you to someone who could. The engaged professor has been the most helpful to me but I don't think it actually helped me learn the material. I think the goal of teaching course with the idea of imparting knowledge drastically changes depending on the type of course you are responsible for. When thinking of the kind of instructor I hope to be, I struggle with wanted to be innovative but also effective. I think being accessible to students is vital but I struggle with the idea of how to engage struggling students. I'm excited for what this semester has to bring in terms of thinking on these ideas and I hope there is some time spent not only on contemporary pedagogy and how to connect the internet into the classroom but also just on pedagogy because a lot of professors can get to the classroom without ever having been taught about teaching.

Networked Learning

WIthin education, there are so many trends that are constantly being thrown around and changing, though the basic premise of education has not really changed: teachers are there to help students learn. How they do that, though, has basically always been up for debate, but very little has truly changed over time. We have operated in a one-size-fits-all mindset for so long–sure that lecture, notes, and reading are the best ways to learn; however, as teachers, we have this dichotomy that paralyzes us: do we do the new, adventurous thing that is being encouraged, or do we stick with what we know? Most of us chose the latter because it is easier and more comfortable. When it comes to technology and the internet, though, I think education has become slightly more adventurous; that does not mean that technology is being used to its best potential. It is hard to deny the impact technology has had on society; content can be discovered in seconds, lives can be shared across the globe, and communication of all kinds is easier than ever. When it comes to education, technology is a networking gold mine; there is no doubt about it. What holds people back? Fear. Fear that it isn’t what they used to do. Fear that it won’t work. Fear that students will dislike it. Fear that privacy will die. To be fair, these fears have validity. We have all had technology crash and burn. We have all seen a good lesson go to trash when the technological component fails. We have all heard negative comments about technology and how the old way was easier. So, how do we fix this? Acceptance and practice. I think it is fair to say that technology is not exactly going to go away. Educational trends are so common that most people ignore them, knowing that they will die as quickly as they are created. Technology is different, though. If we accept that it is here to stay and commit to learning how to best use it in the classroom, that will make a huge difference. No one was an expert at the smartphone when it was first released, but with practice, we all can do many more things with our fingertips. We all love the new gadget that makes something better and easier. Now, imagine if we had the same curiosity and excitement for technology in education!

An evolutionary psychology approach to deconstructing bias

The reading I did for this week’s discussions covered many topics, of which, I liked Shankar Vendantam’s hidden brain post best. ( S.V is currently producing a podcast for NPR covering social sciences). The main point S.V raises is that bias is traceable to a cognitive process where our mind is trained to see patterns in repeated inputs it receives. So, our first reactions to meeting people who are considerably different from us is fear, suspicion and in general involuntary but  negative judgement.

I think there is more to this argument, as I will try to explain, and back up my thoughts with a few sources. What evolution has done to our minds is that it has wired it so that the tools for detecting confirmation are far more powerful than tools for logical thinking, especially if it requires going against our already re-inforced convictions ( This is the main argument here, and the examples are fascinating!). To make things worse, human beings’ cognitive apparatus is evolved to to scream danger when we find ourselves in new environments. This has been vital for our survival for many years, but is not helping us now, living in a cosmopolitan era. The solution (until our bodies find time to catch up) is to identify and resist and diffuse these misconceptions.

“The Blog” as a living, breathing, evolving body of work

The featured image is of saucer magnolias blossoming in front of Burruss Hall. Like these blossoms that are finally coming into their season, we graduate students are future faculty and we are beginning to come into our own as well.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what the role of a blog is to academia. In this graduate class, like many others across Tech’s campus, blogging is a requirement for the course. Professors point to the blog as a space for sharing ideas, for collaboration, for practicing writing, and for developing a digital presence–kind of like a next generation CV or resumé.  I can get on board for all of that.

I have found that implementing blogging in classroom pedagogy can be difficult without adequate support and reinforcement. For the classroom blogging culture to take off, the instructor has to facilitate the prompts and then make space during course time to talk about the responses. I’m glad I started blogging again when I began graduate school. It has forced me to practice my writing skills on a regular basis–which is priceless, really. Above all else, the blog is a tool.

In a recent article I found by Sara Kjellberg “I am a blogging researcher: motivations for blogging in a scholarly context” she writes about the transformation in academic writing to include non-traditional outlets (such as blogging) in a researcher’s body of work–and she asks the question “Why do people blog?” In her article, she cites different ways that researchers describe how their blogs function: disseminating content, expressing opinions, writing, interacting, and creating relationships. While many may balk at the idea of actually expressing an opinion, I find the concept refreshing and I wish that more academics would exercise their right to free speech. I question whether we can have rigorous discourse without confronting our own bias–we can’t very well bring something to the table to discuss if we are afraid to even speak at all. I liked Kjellberg’s abstract, so I’ll share it. And while it is a little dated now, I think it’s an interesting starting point in the debate over whether blogging should count.

The number of scholarly blogs on the Web is increasing. In this article, a group of researchers are asked to describe the functions that their blogs serve for them as researchers. The results show that their blogging is motivated by the possibility to share knowledge, that the blog aids creativity, and that it provides a feeling of being connected in their work as researchers. In particular, the blog serves as a creative catalyst in the work of the researchers, where writing forms a large part, which is not as prominent as a motivation in other professional blogs. In addition, the analysis brings out the blog’s combination of functions and the possibility it offers to reach multiple audiences as a motivating factor that makes the blog different from other kinds of communication in scholarly contexts. (S. Kjellberg, 2010)

Recently, there has been no shortage of discourse about what constitutes scholarly writing–or blogging for that matter. A quick VT library search for recent publications (published in the last 12 months) yielded a staggering number of results. For the search terms “academic writing” with scholarly & peer-review filters, 40,447 items were produced. 38,200 of these were journal articles. Using the same parameters, the search terms “publish” and “journal” together produced 30,246 results with 30,009 being journal articles.  “Blogging” with the same parameters (except no time limit) produced 119,304 results. With a 12 month cap, there were 9,832. “Blogging” + “scholarly” produced 2,192; restricting results to the last year yielded 134. Flying at 30,000 feet, these numbers are huge. Every discipline has their own way of talking about the place, use, and framework of blogs in the academy. How do we even make sense of it all?

In academe–at least for us up-and-coming scholars– we are under intense pressure to publish. All I hear all the time from every direction is “publish publish publish.” The buzz phrase is “publish or perish” and there is no shortage of writing about that, either! I know I should be doing more–or at least getting into it–but publication is a lengthy process and frankly, I’m new. I just haven’t cut my teeth yet.

Not too long ago, the Architecture program was hosting applicant interviews for a faculty vacancy, and some of the applicants (JR faculty) were boasting upwards of 30 or more publications. And all-stars in the field are claiming 150+ publications over a 25-30 year career! That figure is scary to a graduate student like myself or anyone in my cohort–because we worry that if our merit is distilled down to just one factor (publications) that might tip the scales in our favor, then we are all in trouble. I don’t believe this will be a problem for me forever, because with time and continued research (funding), I will be able to produce those coveted publications.

In spite of this, I know that I shouldn’t just rely on having publications in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals–and I certainly can’t just wait around as I rack these up over time. No, that doesn’t make sense for me. If that were the case, I could probably expect to produce 8-12 +/- papers during my time in graduate school. Maybe? For me this isn’t enough. I want to engage in another style of writing and communication. I want to produce something to show that I haven’t been sitting around with ideas locked in my head. I want to share; the solution that works for me is blogging.

I think blogs are great. They offer a means to share research and writing with the public (isn’t that part of a land-grant institutions’ mission?) Blogs are typically user-friendly and come with many features and tools that can help the author communicate their ideas in a rich format. No, they’re not peer-reviewed in the way that journals are peer-reviewed, but I invite anyone and everyone who finds there way to my blog to comment, challenge, and participate in the conversation.

While some authors may worry about perfecting each post, I am not. This is a flexible platform. If I make mistakes, I can fix them. If I change my mind or choose to take a different stance, I am able. This blog is my place to share ideas and reflections on topics related to science, landscape, and higher education–to name a few. It is a testament to evolving ideas, new concepts, and growth as a whole person. I like to think of this blog as proof that there is progression in academic writing and thinking; the blog is an opportunity to visit research ideas before full projects are conceived.

When the time comes for me to be weighed and measured, I hope that my blog is part of that collection of tangibles reviewed by search committees. It is important that they know and understand who they’re getting, for instance, and a blog is the perfect place to begin to tell that part of my story.

This post’s featured image was taken by me this morning as I was walking into my building (Burruss–Northwest side facing Cowgill Hall). Isn’t Spring wonderful? Last year, freezing conditions took all these beautiful blossoms before the trees had time to put on their full show. Fingers are crossed that we are allowed to actually enjoy them this year!

Between a rock and a hard place: are authenticity and control contradicting factors in a class ?

Reading Shelli Fowler’s  “The Authentic Teaching Self and Communication Skills“, I think of the complex nature of two teaching dilemmas: There is a performance element to teaching, where “acting” skills –vocal training and effective use of movement and gesture — are encouraged to help engage with students. On the other hand, “posturing” and “edu-tainment” are discouraged as distractions from the ultimate goal of a classroom:  facilitating learning. These are reasonable cautions in my opinion. We keep the form in check to let the substance flow.

Another challenging conundrum is being in control of the classroom without being controlling. To assert enough authority to shape a learning environment, weeding out distractions and making sure progress is made towards course goals. At the same time, the power relations should allow the audience to keep their individuality, their actively engaging inquisitive selves. This is to make sure the students are not treated as recording devices needing to be filled with information.

The challenge, however, is to keeping the authority in balance, without falling into the realm of hypocrisy.‌ Here is an idea: As educators, whenever we are in charge of a class, it is better to publicly acknowledge it. It is helpful to point out to the structure that gives meaning to our relations as teachers and students, the one that has placed us in a physical or digital space envisioned for learning. In other words, let us recognize the fact that we are working on a local level, hoping to reform a set of educational practices, from within the system.

The relevant metaphor here is a building. A building, through its existence, defines and enforces meaning to entities such as rooms, hallways, stairs and so on. When we talk about spaciousness, coziness, dullness or joyfulness of a place we are implicitly acknowledging the existence of a building. When I am developing my teaching philosophy and practicing new pedagogical ideas, I will strive to remember the building.

Otherwise, I  could be acting as if we are subverting the whole education system, but as the students leave for their next class, they will undoubtedly notice the disparity between their reality and mine. In simple words, it is better to play it straight, consciously acknowledge that we are motivated by our authentic selves as well as a paycheck, and that we ( the student-teacher collective) are bound, by time and contract. And finally, to keep one eye on every possible improvement and another one on the limitations inherent to structure of the system.

GEDI – Arash's Academic Blog 2018-01-21 22:48:34

 Yes, the digital revolution that was supposed to transform our intellectual lives, through constructing a public global square for sharing ideas and facilitating dissemination of information, did actually happen. But the changes it brought about were, to say the least, underwhelming.

And Reading through one of this week’s readings (Tim Hitchcock’s 2014 blog post), I sense a great deal of optimism in the passionate calls of the academic for better use of web technologies and social media. Being in 2017, it is obvious to me that the transformation has not taken place. The “American scholar” is still struggling to find its broader audience while the masses vehemently reject “taking life advice from Elites.”

While I am being deliberately cynical here to make a point , It is only fair to point out some of the positive changes: MOOCs have indeed democratized access to some levels of higher education. Open text-books are finding their place, although their growth is disproportional in STEM fields and the open-access frameworks allows free of charge access to academic research.

Nonetheless, our diminishing attention spans and the changes in our information consumption habits (from text to audio to visual content) is in direct contrast with blogging. It is also true that I prefer long-form content over fast-food style provocation-delivery services of tweeter. A successful contrasting example that comes to my mind is Vlogging. It is a form of content making that allows engagement with all sensory abilities. (some examples: + , + , +). And many video sharing platforms such as Youtube support discussion groups. It is still an open question where comprehensive, meaningful and constructive conversation can taking place online.

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