 | Blogs and Forums as Communication and Learning Tools in a MOOC |
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You may know that Sui Fai John Mak, Roy Williams and Jenny Mackness (who were participants in CCK08) decided (post CCK08) to research the reasons why CCKO8 participants chose to participate in Moodle forums or blogs.
We have worked on this since then and this has led to two research papers which we will submit to the Networked Learning Conference 2010.
Although we have not yet submitted our papers, we have been in touch with a member of the Conference Steering Committee who has encouraged us to share our papers with CCK09 before we submit them for the conference.
Attached is the first of the two papers:
· Blogs and Forums as Communication and Learning Tools in a MOOC
We would very much appreciate feedback on these papers before we submit them to the Networked Learning Conference at the beginning of November 2010.
Best wishes,
Jenny Mackness, Sui Fai John Mak and Roy Williams
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I find myself asking the same questions brought up on this research paper. Does it make sense to use a blog or a forum to discuss my points of view? I enjoy the interaction afforded from a forum (which can be achieved in a blog, but only after the blog develops enough traction/following to develop that same level of discussion and interaction), but I agree on the principle of keeping all of my thoughts in a blog - one central place to have all of your thoughts. When I first started my own blog, www.allthingsgg.com, I found the hardest thing to do was to think of something "intelligent" or "useful" to post to the blog. And if it was "intelligent and useful", it meant that it had to be a very long, elaborate post. I tried posting a few of those long ones, and then I started to look for ways that I could communicate short messages, interesting thoughts, etc, without having to go through the process of writing a "long post". My solution was Tumblr (tumblr.allthingsgg.com). It provided me with the structure to post short, to the point, interesting thoughts and ideas without having to write an elaborate post about it. It is shorter than a blog, but longer, more flexible than Twitter. I think that the discussion forums provide the same type of structure where people can ask a question, post a comment, have a discussion, without having to worry about the structure: just get in there, make your point, and get out. |
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Gus, you make an interesting point about just which tool provides you with precisely the facilities (I would say affordances) for what you want to do. Its wonderful that the range is stretching out, and filling in, between, with tools like Tumblr - I must have a look at it. This of course raises new issues, namely the issue of the mechanisms for aggregation - networks don't just happen, and certainly don't just happen in the space of 12 weeks amongst a huge bunch of strangers. So once we have broadened the range, and richness, of our posting tools, we need to look at how we need to structure the network, or manage the complexity (sorry if this sounds heretical, but there it is). The aggregated-blog-connectivity (ABC?) of CCK08 was a really important trial run. The Ning that Nellie set up in 09 is another. There 'is' no digital learning ecology out there, we have to make it happen, each time, and I think there is another paradox here: the more wonderful tools you make available to people, the more you have to make sure that someone is keeping it all connected. If its self-organising, OK, but dont bet all your money on it, and dont leave the room. |
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May I start with some metaphors and analogies? My observation so far is that our "network(s)" do exhibit some of the phenomena of singles and flocks of birds or schools of fish, when it comes to CCK08 and this CCK09 course. Some would prefer to fly individually in the sky, whilst others would fly with flocks of "birds", flying freeing through the sky, with multi-directions, and multi-"guidance" at times, and then the way they go afterwards.... Others would like to go for a "swim", like a school of fish, through the ocean, and explore the deep, deep world down the ocean(s), and across the different oceans, where they encounter big and small school of fishes of all kinds. Are there any borders in these network exploration? Where are the limits? The sky? The ocean? The clouds (cloud computing, artefacts, social media)? Would the birds and fishes meet? May be, if they want to. But it's all up to the desires and needs of the individuals. There are more and more "clouds or tools" forming, sometimes blurring the flights of the birds, but often they would help in guiding the flight paths as "mediators or navigators". The traces (artefacts, URL, tools, media and techniques) left behind could often be used as guidance for others. Would that be the emergent learning? Are the "birds", "fishes" self organising? Will the "clouds" help in the flight journey? Any thoughts? |
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Roy, one of the things that really "sealed the deal" for me with tumblr was the fact that it can be setup to automatically "create" the "digital learning ecology" that you refer to in your last paragraph. Case in point: I find something that I like somewhere on the web: a newspaper article, a link someone sent me, a video that makes me laugh. I want to share it with my friends and family, because I think that they are going to find it usefull/funny/interesting as well. So - where do I "post it"? Facebook? My Blog? Twitter? Tumblr? ? Or just sent everyone a mass email? Here are the pros and cons for each: Facebook - this is my largest "audience". I've worked hard at cultivating a large group of friends and family members. It got so large that I divided into sub-groups: childhood friends from Brazil, school friends from Brazil, school friends from Phillips Exeter Academy, (high school), friends from college, friends from work, friends from sports, family, etc. (there are a couple of other categories). I know that when I post something here, it will be "seen". But Facebook is not built for "long a serious stuff" - it's more for quick links, videos, etc. Can't post a doctoral dissertation on Facebook.... AllThingsGG / My Blog - this has the smallest audience. I've just started posting blogs and I am working on creating "foot traffic" via Twitter (Zhuyo widget), via Google Friend Connect (another widget), and via RSS feeds. It definitely provides a place to state my case, elaborate on it, and keep all my thoughts in a single place. It let's me post my pictures and my family "tidbits". But how do I get the point across if nobody knows it's there (did the bear sh_t in the woods - even if nobody saw it)? Twitter - not really meant for any sensible postings - more meant for a "reference" to another, more "significant" post (thank God for tinyurls). But at work, I do keep my instant messenger aggregator (Meebo or Trillian) setup so that I can get my Tweets as they come by (is it a Tweet if nobody hears it?) Mass Emails - there was a time when sending out mass emails about what you liked was "cool". Nowadays, the only thing it gets you into is someone's "blacklist". Tumblr - this seems to be a good compromise between all of the above. I let's me post long discussions, short points, videos, or simply a link to something I liked with a bit of explanation of why I liked it. It can be configured to automatically "spread the word" by "reposting" your entry into Facebook and into Twitter - ergo - helping me "create" the "digital learning ecology" that you refer to. The one problem though, is that I end up creating a separate "repository" for my online thoughts - one in Tumblr and one on My Blog. Which one should I put more emphasis on? The solution came in the form of a "widget" that I created - allowing to post my Tumblr "THOUGHTS and TUMBLELOGS" on the landing page of My Blog. |
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| I have read your paper and found your conclusions to be an interesting read. Your findings confirm many of the thoughts I have had when working with teachers who find it difficult to discriminate between collaborative technologies such as blogs and forums. These collaborative tools offer different things to different learners and new users always want a definition and comparative analysis. 'When would I use a blog', what is the difference between a blog and a [wiki]' in many instances, 'who would want to read what I have to say' and my favourite 'I don't have time to read all these posts, just give me the answers now'. It is not so easy to describe the difference in black and white. IMHO you have to use it often to use it well. Then you begin to answer the questions for yourself. |
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Debbie, absolutely. You have to use it often to use it well. I am increasingly convinced that 'affordances' is an essential conceptual tool to describe this stuff, as an 'affordance' is a property of neither the user nor the technology, but is the product of the interaction between the two. This can accomodate 'bloggers', 'forum users' and 'networkers' - in other words, some users who are 'attracted' to particular modes and technologies, and others who are 'multi-moders' - each to his or her own affordance. I blog from time to time (and here's another more academic one), but most of my 'blogging' is now done in wikis, like this one. In a project management wiki that I ran last year one of my colleaguess set up four parallel blog columns 'on' a single wiki page; now that's really neat, and it can't be done in traditional blogs at all. And I often trans-post from one mode to another, (as did several people in CCK08), as well as between all of these and forums. What I found interesting in our research was that there are many other people who are also using social software almost interchangeably, which I think might be a really interesting trend, i.e. the emergence of user-generated affordances as the logical successor of user-generated content. Does this make sense? |
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Roy and Debbie, I ran across this video which really makes sense to me and it gives a different perspective to the entire "experience" or "affordance" as you put it. In this video, David White discusses the theory of "visitors and residents". I think it frames my experiences in the Web very well. I can be a resident in some areas and I am definitely a visitor in others. Interestigly enough though, I find myself a resident in the areas of social interaction (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr), and a visitor in many areas related to my work: I get in there, I use the tool, and I get out (it’s work, it’s not supposed to be fun!). This concept is similar to the CCK09 Week 4 reading assignment - Rhizomatic Knowledge (by Dave Cormier) and my reaction to it (MOODLE Discussion Week 4 - read the last paragraph). There are some "circles" that you are the "expert" and there are other circles that you are a "visitor" or a "student". Watch the video and you’ll understand what I mean. |
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Gus, wow! David White takes the debate to a new level. His distinction between visitors and residents makes digital 'natives' and 'immigrants' seem so 'last season' (See the second to last paragraph of this blog post for a critique of the Dawkins/Blackmore notion of replicators, using the notion of 'fashionable desire'). What I get out of it (so far) is ... 1. "The issues are cultural and motivational" so we should think of it in terms of "post-technical space". Fine, although I'm less comfortable with 'post-digital space'. That takes us out of the means (pipes, connections, platforms) and into the social functions. Great. 2. Then we can play Latour-ish games, and talk about two ways of placing yourself in space. So, you can place yourself as a visitor, or place yourself as a resident, in the same space - twitter space, blogoshere, forums, etc. It will not be obvious which is which until you start to reveal what you have brought with you (e.g. authority, see White's presentation), whether you are just hanging out for a while, or actually making a site yourself, (see "sited, sighted, cited" elsewhere in the discussions) putting down some roots, etc. 3. Visitors can be identified because they always go 'home' at some stage, residents dont. Visitors regard virtual/avatar space as 'other' - and distinguish it by calling it 2nd life, blogosphere, etc. Residents have expanded their life-world (habitus?) to seamlessly include all of the above. One of the acid tests (from the Diverse conference in Wales, recently) is whether it actually matters to you whether you know the 'real' identity of the avatar you are interacting with in L2. A similar test could be applied in 08/09: do you need to know who I Kant is? I dont. 4. This adds a whole new layer to the tagsonmy (cloud-onomy?) of affordances. I'm struggling here a bit, so help out if you can: the best I can come up with is to say that you discover, create, and maintain virtual/ social software affordances in different modes: visitor mode, or resident mode (and I'm tempted to add 'traveller mode' - or 'gypsy' mode, although that's not a politically correct term nowadays). 5. David White distinguishes between what I call modes on the basis of context, which is fine. But I would rather call it a different way of 'placing' yourself, because you can place yourself in different ways (i.e. modes) in the same context, depending on what you are doing there at the time. 6. He distinguishes between communal and collaborative on the basis of autonomy, which is neat (communal retains more autonomy than collaborative). Question: can we construct a draft framework for PLEc's (personal learning ecologies) using modes (visitor and resident, to start with) and various types of affordances (home, bazaar, etc)? Criteria: the framework needs to be able to account for complex adaptive behaviour (i.e. the way different people engage with different aspects of social/learning networks in different contexts at different times for different purposes. Query: I think we should ask whether we can put David White's presentation into an Elluminate session (using the CCK09 licence), where we stop and start it in the white box space, and discuss. Any thoughts? |
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Roy, I am all for expanding the discussion. If placing David White's presentation on the Elluminate session, I am all for it. Maybe this is a task better "suited" for our fearless leaders...George and Stephen - can you see if they can reach out to David White? As for the rest of your comments and ideas.... well, I'll get back to you on that later tonight... gotta tackle other "things" in front of my right now in that ecosystem called "work". |
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| I have alerted @daveowhite to the interest here. |
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Hi Gus and All, I Dave White has replied that he would be more then happy for the presentation to be used in Elluminate, and would also be happy to be part of that conversation. I will email George and Stephen to see how to proceed. I dont mind how it gets formatted, but I would like the conversation to take place, and I woudl like to be part of the conversation. I will experiment with some presentation formats, and also with the idea of running an Elluminate session in one window, and one or more live moodle forum discussions in parallel windows - I find the chat facilities in Elluminate very basic - we could run them in the General forum area, no? Roy |
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Roy, not sure I get how you are thinking of doing this. Are you thinking of launching an Eluminate session, then, as the moderator, open a browser, and play the video recording, and then have a discussion about it? If so, who is going to moderate the session? Having Dave White part of the actual Eluminate discussion would be really neat... |
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| Hi Roy - you can certainly use elluminate for the session you mention. I can send you moderator info to the elluminate room if the discussion takes place during a time when I'm not available... |
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George, many thanks. Please send me the info, and let me know when you have week 7 on the schedule what day might be free. What would suit me would be Wednesday or Thursday at 20h00 GMT (we have just switched back to GMT). Gus, could you make either of these days / times, or let me know if another time would suit. I will contact Dave White and see what suits him too. And it there is anyone out there who would like to join this session, and if you have strong preferences for a time and day, please reply here. |
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| Hi Roy - Wed is always open. If that works for you on week 7, let's plan for that. Thurs varies a bit each week (that's usually when Stephen and I meet in elluminate). |
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| Wednesday works for me as well. |
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George and Gus, Wednesday looks good then. I will try to confirm with Dave White too. George - can you let me know what the best way is to notify people about this? thanks. |
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| Roy, once date/time have been confirmed, we can post it in The Daily... |
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George and Gus, I have phoned Dave White's office, and he is on leave till Thursday, so I would like to pencil in Wednesday 4th November at 20h00 GMT, and Dave will hopefully confirm this Thursday. I'll let you know as soon as I hear from him. thanks ... |
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George, Dave has confirmed 20h00 GMT on Wednesday 4th November. Can you post the announcement in the Daily, and set up the necessary permissions in Elluminate for Dave, Gus and myself? Many thanks Roy |
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Hi Roy - ok, I'll send you an email with details on getting moderator access to the elluminate room. Looking forward to the session. George |
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Hi Roy, That would be interesting. Cultural and motivatonal - more relating to the social-cultural and affective domains. I have once written in my post that I was like a passenger in a virtual flight, with George and Stephen as pilots. Now this time, I have to think about the pilots versus passenger to blogs versus forum....Similarly, one could have the car driving, where each of us become the digital driver (some with L plates, others P plates and E(xpert) plates, with George and Stephen E(xpert) and everyone else as back seat drivers (or coach), and lurkers as digital observers I have since made up a blog post on Learning Metaphors in Social EcoSystems attempting to look at the digital habitat and social ecosystems (a) visitors and residents versus home and bazaar - the "digital fishes at sea versus digital birds in the sky" where they meet, the boundary (sea horizon and sky) and people could use social media to migrate/fly/swim (SL - you could go anywhere). (b) PLE/PLN "water as knowledge and learning" and the strategies relating to the 5 basic elements |
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Here is my virtual flight CCK08 experience that I referred to in my last post. What do you see your "role" as a blogger and/or forum poster in CCK09? |
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This is the original blog that Dave White posted about the concept of visitors and residents. I've also been looking around David's blog and have found other very interesting ideas. One that intrigues me is this one: If Moodle worked like Facebook. Take a look - pretty funny concept - but also pretty on the mark. |
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Thanks for this Roy, John and Jenny. Very enjoyable and I agree that CCK08 was an opportunity to experiment with mixed modes and channels of communication. I also liked that you mentioned Twitter - imagine if it had been used in CCK08 - how it would have mediated the blog and forum conversations - exposing quiet corners. This year it's pretty quiet http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23CCK09 like CCK09 itself. What I wondered about (and not sure your research will pick this up) is what happened to the people who left so early on and again in Week 8. Why did they come? why did they go? Did you get any insights into the use of the backchannel at the 'broadcast' events? That seems to be significant area of interaction in CCK09. |
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Francis, thanks for your comments. I am on the periphery of twitter, so I dont know. It would have been interesting to see if a twitter swarm of micro-posts could have mediated the forum issues, in a way that was not possible in the 'weighty' forums, or the more private blogs. I still see a role in complexity (and therefore open networks) for complex-mediation (amplification, dampening, encouraging emergence, etc), so I cant see the sense in a completely hands-off approach, and as 08 demonstrated, it can become really problematic. But I am interested to see whether tweet-storms (twornadoes?) can provide a counter-balancing affordance to the heavies in forums - could be, but the jury is still out, no? Where did they go? We have some data to suggest quite strongly that many of the forum refugees became bloggers, and particularly aggregated-network bloggers. The others? We dont know. From the post in the forums, we could speculate that many just turned off. They may have continued to lurk in the background, as seems to be evidenced by a few comments in 09. Backchannel - no, we didnt do the analysis, but it would be useful. Blogs are also a backchannel, no? |
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Hi all, My observation of Twitter in CCK09: Tweets tagged with #CCK09 to-date totalled only 81 tweets (6 pages). It seems to be pretty quiet for the past 5 weeks in the CCK09 twitter channel. The tweets of #CCK09 so far falls under the category of (a) posting a question (b) responding to a question (c) sharing a link of ones blog post (d) updating or linking to Elluminate sessions or other courses/artefacts (e) retweeting (f) posting a comment, quote or statement You could analyse the tweets and share with us the findings (how they compare with blogs/forums). There are registrants (participants and non-participants) in the course who have posted tweets without tagging #CCK09 but could still be lurking at various times. John
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| Regarding Twitter, I think it has the potential to integrate channels easily (like the Daily but in real time) but this is diluted by the general lack of volume. What interests me about the text channel in Elluminate sessions is its synchronicity. There can be rapid exchanges involving many more people than ever take up the mike. In fact, it's my impression that fewer non-speakers/moderators are taking up the mike in CCK09 Elluminate sessions (though I have only caught a few of them). In CCK08, the Elluminate sessions were fairly interactive (on audio and chat) whereas the Ustream Friday Sessions were mainly George and Stephen talking with some learner interaction. |
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Frances, I think it would help in integrating channels more easily (folksonomy approach) with twitters (with twitter group as filters) See this update in twitters uploading of report available. One in five internet users are now on Twitter or another status update services. Over 17 million visitors in May 09. More conversations on diversified network(a) platforms seem to be the trend...Interaction could be however an issue - as it is difficult to know who is talking to whom over such spaces. So, may be good for networking (MOON), but would it be difficult for networkers on-line courses (MOOC) unless there are easy to use aggregators. Comments? John |