Thanks for this, Sogand! I really appreciate the care and research that went into this. And judging by the quality of the comments you received, your points really resonated with your readers.

Thanks for giving this a try, Ashley! I appreciated having the opportunity to read your post, and get some insight about your past experiences (and changing ideas ;-)) about blogging. If you are indeed reluctant to speak up in class, I hope the blog will provide a more comfortable forum for you. Oh, and the networked learning thing is slippery. Basically networked learning emphasizes developing and maintaining connections between people and information, and communicating to support learning. It usually destabilizes hierarchies (instructor-student; knowledge production-consumption) and should democratize the production and dissemination of knowledge.

Double down on that last sentence (for why else are we here)? A student from last semester recently sent me this: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/why-its-time-to-rethink-the-meaning-of-work/
Enjoy!

It’s so exciting to meet another proponent of “the Opens”! I’m part of a (short) cMOOC on Open Learning this semester and you’d be more than welcome to join us: http://openlearninghub.net/

Thank you, Jacquelyn, Lehi, Amy and Neda for sharing your thoughts. I too agree with your consensus that enrichment and innovative methods of content creation seem to be a remedy against the short attention span issues. I want to also give credit to Neda’s point about how vlogging is pretty much a one-way channel from creator to viewer and so carries within the old teacher-student construct. I think that definitely counts as a limitation of this form.

-Arash

PS: so I guess we all agree to stay away from twitter ?

I really enjoyed reading your post this week! I agree that some of these avenues of communication can be very beneficial in helping people articulate thoughts and they can also help shape ideas and provide a variety of perspectives. And these skills do take practice. Thanks for the post!

I definitely agree! There are so many times where I have heard those in the STEM fields say that there is just too much content to cover to take any approach other than lectures and reading assignments from textbooks. But often times, students memorize the process without fully understanding the concept. Incorporating more discovery and problem solving can be a great way to engage students with concepts and not just the process.

Thank you for your post! I think this is a really important discussion to have. There definitely are blogs where people vent and share opinions and it is important to be aware of the source of information. However, there are a lot of great opportunities with blogs too. Blogs can serve as opportunities to share information, share resources, and get feedback on ideas. I have seen a lot of great ideas and resources shared through blogs and other less formal outlets (compared to peer-reviewed articles). I wonder what your thoughts are on engaging in these less formal conversations and sharing information with broader audiences rather than just seeking out information when you are needing something to cite. And how can we engage in informal conversations about academic topics and research?

Good topic! I think your post could be divided into three sections: learning as a child, learning as an adult, and learning through social media. I think there are some factors (e.g., cost, environment, method, benefit, etc.) that affect a child’s or an adult’s motivation for learning. Child’s learning usually has no cost associated with it. A child is normally motivated to learn because in the case of failure he/she does not pay a cost unless there is a punishment (which could be hard to avoid by many parents). It seems that brain control centers become more activated when older children and adults receive negative feedback because they need to figure out why something went wrong (1). Also, compared to children, older children and adults associate more cost (e.g., money, responsibility, shame, etc.) to failure because they have a better understanding of the consequences. As the cost of learning and doing wrong increases, the motivation for learning decreases. Based on this association, Europian schools are eliminating their formal grading and scheduling system. Instead, they are letting the child learn without the traditionally associated cost (low grades, punishment by parents, etc.). Also, they are letting the children decide what they want to do (e.g., courses, assignments, etc.) and when (e.g., take an exam) and call it “free learning”. So, the elementary and secondary school system is already changing to allow for more flexibility and motivation. However, many higher education professors still follow the traditional models which are more or less incompatible with the new generation’s (millennials’) habits and learning styles. That’s why so many professors have problems with the use of technology in the classroom and find it annoying. I think higher education is still in a transition period. Providing for the use of technology in the classroom is in its early stages. I believe the next generation of professors will make a better use of networked learning and communication technology as primary or supplementary educational tools.

1- https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/family-affair/200809/rewards-are-better-punishment-here-s-why
2- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/no-grades-no-timetable-berlin-school-turns-teaching-upside-down

Thank you for your post! I agree with you that blogging helps us write better during the time and gives us voice to talk about our opinions and concerns fearlessly. I also think, by blogging, like many other forms of writing, we give shape to our thoughts, the ones that we ourselves might not be aware of. We write and we erase until we feel “Yes, that’s what I mean”, which I believe is a precious moment!