How might Wenger's notions on practice communities relate to Prensky's on education?
Wenger coined the term ‘communities of practice’ to define “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly”. This idea is in contrast to ‘organisational units’ which is a term used for more formal groups, people who have been assigned to be together, rather than chosen.
Prensky’s notions on education are that ‘digital natives’ need new learning concepts due to the technological world they have grown up in. He believes that “today’s teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students”. Prensky himself favours video games as a method of teaching today’s digital native students.
If you apply Wenger’s idea of an organisational unit to education systems you have the teacher who is in charge of the students; the teacher says what to do and controls the learning content given to the students. However, according to Prensky’s notions the digital native students don’t successfully follow what their digital immigrant teachers are saying; “Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language” (Prensky, 2001).
Therefore, students may create communities of practice away from their teachers in order to learn in their own way, using the internet for example and sharing websites by emailing, instant messaging or texting hyperlinks to each other. If students have friends in other schools who teach in a more ‘digital native’ friendly way, they could create a community of practice to share their ideas.
Prensky, M (2001) “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, On the Horizon, Volume 9 (5), http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Wenger, E (n.d.) “Communities of Practice – A Brief Introduction”, http://www.ewenger.com/theory/
Monday, 23 March 2009
Week Nine - Task 2: The Digital Divide
What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make?
a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society?
b) To global access issues across countries and regions?
a) “The digital divide refers to the gap between those who benefit from digital technology and those who do not” (Digital Divide Org). The main focus of the digital divide is not on the fact that some people don’t have access to technology, it focuses on the fact that these people who don’t have access are at a loss in terms of the benefits gained by using technology. Some benefits of having technology, especially the internet are searching for lower priced goods and services, working from home, being more involved in their children’s education, access to e-learning facilities and informed healthcare decisions (Lu, 2001).
Socioeconomic issues within a society can be about the digital divide, as some people within a society will have access to digital technology whereas some will not. This creates a gap between people who have a higher socioeconomic status, and therefore have access to a range of technology and people who have a lower status and no access to technology.
Neil Selwyn points out that it’s also necessary to remember that the ‘digital divide’ is not just about computers and the internet “people’s use of technology extends far beyond the realm of the computer through technologies such as digital television, mobile telephony and games consoles, all constituting important but disparate elements of contemporary techno-culture” (2004: 346).
Children growing up are assumed by Prensky to be “digital natives” – they understand technology, get the ‘language’ and have no problems grasping the literacy needed to use digital technology. However, supposing this child comes from a family or community who are “digitally disengaged” (BT report) the only access to digital technology they will have will be in school and to computers / internet, reducing the chances of this child being a “digital native”. In this case I would say that digital nativism / immigration is a socioeconomically related issue within a society which the digital divide is adding pressure to.
b) “The term Digital Divide is also used to refer to the disparity in Internet access between developed and developing countries” (Lu, 2001). Therefore the digital divide affects global access issues across countries and regions. Similarly to how there is a digital divide in the UK, with some people being ‘technology rich’ and some people being ‘technology poor’, there is also a global digital divide. Developing countries are the ‘technology poor’ and developed countries are the ‘technology rich’.
In developing countries, citizens do not have the disposable income to purchase the necessary equipment for internet access or and digital technology in general. It is not just the equipment; a literacy is also necessary to use it (Lu, 2001).
In terms of Prensky’s notions of “digital immigrant” and “digital native”, I would say that in some countries they are not even applicable yet due to the lack of resources available. Prensky’s ideas are based around cultures which are immersed into a technological environment which I think means they can’t be applied to people who live in cultures that don’t have these advantages. Maybe, in years to come when the digital divide is much smaller and the majority of people, including those in developing countries, have access to a range of technologies, Prensky’s current theory will come into use.
BT Report, (2004) “The Digital Divide in 2025”, http://www.btplc.com/societyandenvironment/pdf/digitaldivide2025.pdf
Digital Divide Org, (n.d.) “The Digital Divide: What it is and why it matters”, http://www.digitaldivide.org/dd/digitaldivide.html
Selwyn, N (2004) “Reconsidering political and popular understandings of the digital divide”, New Media and Society, Volume 6 (3), pp. 341 – 362, http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/6/3/341
Lu, M (2001) “Digital Divide in Developing Countries” Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Volume 4 (3), pp. 1 – 4, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=83155528&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1237463068&clientId=57096
a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society?
b) To global access issues across countries and regions?
a) “The digital divide refers to the gap between those who benefit from digital technology and those who do not” (Digital Divide Org). The main focus of the digital divide is not on the fact that some people don’t have access to technology, it focuses on the fact that these people who don’t have access are at a loss in terms of the benefits gained by using technology. Some benefits of having technology, especially the internet are searching for lower priced goods and services, working from home, being more involved in their children’s education, access to e-learning facilities and informed healthcare decisions (Lu, 2001).
Socioeconomic issues within a society can be about the digital divide, as some people within a society will have access to digital technology whereas some will not. This creates a gap between people who have a higher socioeconomic status, and therefore have access to a range of technology and people who have a lower status and no access to technology.
Neil Selwyn points out that it’s also necessary to remember that the ‘digital divide’ is not just about computers and the internet “people’s use of technology extends far beyond the realm of the computer through technologies such as digital television, mobile telephony and games consoles, all constituting important but disparate elements of contemporary techno-culture” (2004: 346).
Children growing up are assumed by Prensky to be “digital natives” – they understand technology, get the ‘language’ and have no problems grasping the literacy needed to use digital technology. However, supposing this child comes from a family or community who are “digitally disengaged” (BT report) the only access to digital technology they will have will be in school and to computers / internet, reducing the chances of this child being a “digital native”. In this case I would say that digital nativism / immigration is a socioeconomically related issue within a society which the digital divide is adding pressure to.
b) “The term Digital Divide is also used to refer to the disparity in Internet access between developed and developing countries” (Lu, 2001). Therefore the digital divide affects global access issues across countries and regions. Similarly to how there is a digital divide in the UK, with some people being ‘technology rich’ and some people being ‘technology poor’, there is also a global digital divide. Developing countries are the ‘technology poor’ and developed countries are the ‘technology rich’.
In developing countries, citizens do not have the disposable income to purchase the necessary equipment for internet access or and digital technology in general. It is not just the equipment; a literacy is also necessary to use it (Lu, 2001).
In terms of Prensky’s notions of “digital immigrant” and “digital native”, I would say that in some countries they are not even applicable yet due to the lack of resources available. Prensky’s ideas are based around cultures which are immersed into a technological environment which I think means they can’t be applied to people who live in cultures that don’t have these advantages. Maybe, in years to come when the digital divide is much smaller and the majority of people, including those in developing countries, have access to a range of technologies, Prensky’s current theory will come into use.
BT Report, (2004) “The Digital Divide in 2025”, http://www.btplc.com/societyandenvironment/pdf/digitaldivide2025.pdf
Digital Divide Org, (n.d.) “The Digital Divide: What it is and why it matters”, http://www.digitaldivide.org/dd/digitaldivide.html
Selwyn, N (2004) “Reconsidering political and popular understandings of the digital divide”, New Media and Society, Volume 6 (3), pp. 341 – 362, http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/6/3/341
Lu, M (2001) “Digital Divide in Developing Countries” Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Volume 4 (3), pp. 1 – 4, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=83155528&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1237463068&clientId=57096
Week Nine - Task 4: Potential Problems with Education Tailoring
Is there a potential problem being stored up for people if 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences?
I think that if education is tailored to fit into peoples cultural and personal preferences, then yes, there is a problem being stored up. Relating back to the ‘should education stretch a person’ question, I believe that education should broaden peoples horizons in terms of learning about different cultures. Although this is not a key aspect of education, I think it should take some part in it. If each educational institute, particularly primary and secondary schools, only taught students about their own country and their own culture they would leave with no knowledge of people from foreign countries, and even worse people who live in their own country. The U.K has a population of people from a variety of different countries and religions, and therefore their cultures are very different. If students aren’t taught about this then it could lead to problems such as bullying due to uninformed judgements.
Julia (2000: 281), believes that employing a multicultural curriculum is essential as this will encourage “willingness to expose oneself to one's cultural biases and vulnerabilities” and that “to become informed about other cultures forms the basis of receptiveness to multicultural education and to feel the need to search for and become open to examine multicultural knowledge”. I agree with this as knowing about different cultures is the only way of understanding ‘different’ people.
In terms of education being related to work culture, I think this is also a reason for education not to be tailored for individual’s cultural and personal preferences. After education, people typically find a job. “The lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business instantaneously with millions of people across the planet” (Prasad, 2006). This is another reason for people to understand other people and cultures; the jobs and workplaces they have may involve doing business with people from all around the globe.
Similarly, jobs which include working with the public mean working with culturally diverse people. In this case, education is related to ‘work culture’, so students need to be prepared by their education to enter a workplace which is culturally diverse. Work culture is no-ones culture; it will vary from workplace to workplace and include each individual employee.
Julia, M (2000) “Student perceptions of culture: an integral part of social work practice” International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Volume 24, pp. 279-298, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V7R-3YVDBFT-7-1&_cdi=5849&_user=7880563&_orig=search&_coverDate=03%2F01%2F2000&_sk=999759997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkzS&md5=b8ca48a62e80aba883d23966b71fcf06&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Prasad, S (2006) “Ethnic communities and work ethos: how to create culturally competent firms”, COS Round Table, http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:dgKiP9g786AJ:www.cosbcn.com/documentsCos/S.PrasadEthnicCommunitiesandWorkEthos.doc+is+there+a+problem+if+education+is+tailored+to+fit+peoples+cultural+and+personal+preferences+-health,+-diet,+-medical,+-nutrition&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
I think that if education is tailored to fit into peoples cultural and personal preferences, then yes, there is a problem being stored up. Relating back to the ‘should education stretch a person’ question, I believe that education should broaden peoples horizons in terms of learning about different cultures. Although this is not a key aspect of education, I think it should take some part in it. If each educational institute, particularly primary and secondary schools, only taught students about their own country and their own culture they would leave with no knowledge of people from foreign countries, and even worse people who live in their own country. The U.K has a population of people from a variety of different countries and religions, and therefore their cultures are very different. If students aren’t taught about this then it could lead to problems such as bullying due to uninformed judgements.
Julia (2000: 281), believes that employing a multicultural curriculum is essential as this will encourage “willingness to expose oneself to one's cultural biases and vulnerabilities” and that “to become informed about other cultures forms the basis of receptiveness to multicultural education and to feel the need to search for and become open to examine multicultural knowledge”. I agree with this as knowing about different cultures is the only way of understanding ‘different’ people.
In terms of education being related to work culture, I think this is also a reason for education not to be tailored for individual’s cultural and personal preferences. After education, people typically find a job. “The lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business instantaneously with millions of people across the planet” (Prasad, 2006). This is another reason for people to understand other people and cultures; the jobs and workplaces they have may involve doing business with people from all around the globe.
Similarly, jobs which include working with the public mean working with culturally diverse people. In this case, education is related to ‘work culture’, so students need to be prepared by their education to enter a workplace which is culturally diverse. Work culture is no-ones culture; it will vary from workplace to workplace and include each individual employee.
Julia, M (2000) “Student perceptions of culture: an integral part of social work practice” International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Volume 24, pp. 279-298, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V7R-3YVDBFT-7-1&_cdi=5849&_user=7880563&_orig=search&_coverDate=03%2F01%2F2000&_sk=999759997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzz-zSkzS&md5=b8ca48a62e80aba883d23966b71fcf06&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Prasad, S (2006) “Ethnic communities and work ethos: how to create culturally competent firms”, COS Round Table, http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:dgKiP9g786AJ:www.cosbcn.com/documentsCos/S.PrasadEthnicCommunitiesandWorkEthos.doc+is+there+a+problem+if+education+is+tailored+to+fit+peoples+cultural+and+personal+preferences+-health,+-diet,+-medical,+-nutrition&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
Week Nine - Task 5: Semantic Web
What is the 'semantic web'?
“The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application, enterprise, and community boundaries. It is a collaborative effort led by W3C with participation from a large number of researchers and industrial partners” (Herman, I). The W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium.
The idea behind the Semantic Web is to extend the standard web to enable better searching, processing and integration. It “seeks to enable the Web to intelligently interpret what people are seeking when they search the Net” (Espiner). Its aim is to make better use of the web as it is at the moment.
The technologies of the Semantic Web can be used for many different things. ‘Data integration’ which means different sets of data from different places and formats can be seen together in one application rather than multiple. ‘Resource discovery and classification’ which mans the semantic web technologies can provide better search engines techniques. The technologies can be used by ‘intelligent software agents’ to smooth the progress of information sharing and exchanging.
The Semantic Web isn’t something which is trying to replace the Web, it’s improving it. The way browsers look doesn’t change, the Semantic Web works behind the scenes, cataloguing and organising. The W3C’s organisation of the Semantic Web is to provide the Web with “the order that libraries have and the Web does not – a consistent structure by which people can access materials” (Marshall C and Shipman F). Many large businesses such as IBM, Adobe and Yahoo have started to use the semantic web technologies.
One of the issues with the Semantic Web is privacy. This is due to sets of information being combined and shared. Berners-Lee, a pioneer of the Web, said that the architecture of the Semantic Web will be designed to ensure it can be seen where data is from and where it is going. One option designers are looking at is users being able to set their own privacy options.
In their conclusion, Marshall and Shipman suggest that in the short term there may be “semantic webs” rather than “The Semantic Web”. From what I have read and researched I agree with this. I think it will take a long time to develop as although it’s not a completely new type of Internet, there are many issues to over come, particularly privacy, file sharing and copyright problems. I think the Semantic Web is part of the future of the Web, as like all forms of media we have looked at in New Media Cultures, technology advances and improves to create ‘new media’.
Espiner, T. (2009) “Berners-Lee: Semantic Web will build in privacy”, Cnet News, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10195902-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1023_3-0-5
Herman, I (2008) “W3C Semantic Web Frequently Asked Questions”, W3C Semantic Web, http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/SW-FAQ
Marshall, C and Shipman, F. (2003) “Which Semantic Web?”, http://www.ht03.org/papers/pdfs/7.pdf
“The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application, enterprise, and community boundaries. It is a collaborative effort led by W3C with participation from a large number of researchers and industrial partners” (Herman, I). The W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium.
The idea behind the Semantic Web is to extend the standard web to enable better searching, processing and integration. It “seeks to enable the Web to intelligently interpret what people are seeking when they search the Net” (Espiner). Its aim is to make better use of the web as it is at the moment.
The technologies of the Semantic Web can be used for many different things. ‘Data integration’ which means different sets of data from different places and formats can be seen together in one application rather than multiple. ‘Resource discovery and classification’ which mans the semantic web technologies can provide better search engines techniques. The technologies can be used by ‘intelligent software agents’ to smooth the progress of information sharing and exchanging.
The Semantic Web isn’t something which is trying to replace the Web, it’s improving it. The way browsers look doesn’t change, the Semantic Web works behind the scenes, cataloguing and organising. The W3C’s organisation of the Semantic Web is to provide the Web with “the order that libraries have and the Web does not – a consistent structure by which people can access materials” (Marshall C and Shipman F). Many large businesses such as IBM, Adobe and Yahoo have started to use the semantic web technologies.
One of the issues with the Semantic Web is privacy. This is due to sets of information being combined and shared. Berners-Lee, a pioneer of the Web, said that the architecture of the Semantic Web will be designed to ensure it can be seen where data is from and where it is going. One option designers are looking at is users being able to set their own privacy options.
In their conclusion, Marshall and Shipman suggest that in the short term there may be “semantic webs” rather than “The Semantic Web”. From what I have read and researched I agree with this. I think it will take a long time to develop as although it’s not a completely new type of Internet, there are many issues to over come, particularly privacy, file sharing and copyright problems. I think the Semantic Web is part of the future of the Web, as like all forms of media we have looked at in New Media Cultures, technology advances and improves to create ‘new media’.
Espiner, T. (2009) “Berners-Lee: Semantic Web will build in privacy”, Cnet News, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10195902-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1023_3-0-5
Herman, I (2008) “W3C Semantic Web Frequently Asked Questions”, W3C Semantic Web, http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/SW-FAQ
Marshall, C and Shipman, F. (2003) “Which Semantic Web?”, http://www.ht03.org/papers/pdfs/7.pdf
Week Nine - Task 6: Web 3.0
How does it (semantic web) differ from web 3.0?
The Internet began as Web 1.0, the basis internet providing access to a lot of information, but little interaction. Then Web 2.0 was developed, introducing to the Internet to much interaction; social networking, produsage, file sharing, you tube, blogging, wiki’s. Web 3.0 therefore is the next fundamental change to the Internet.
It is speculated that the next phase of the web will be based around artificial intelligence, meaning the Internet will be able to separate the good from the bad when using a search engine (Nations, D). “In other words, the web is becoming smart” (Richards, J). It’s also suggested that an example of the web 3.0 is ‘natural-language search’ meaning search engines will have the ability to answer full questions.
The Semantic Web can be integrated into Web 3.0; it will be part of the next phase of the Internet. Web 3.0 will include web 2.0, the Semantic Web and linked data (See image). ‘Linked data’ is an expression used to describe the growing RDF (Resource Description Framework) development space and ‘Semantic Web’ is a term being used to describe coupling linked data with RDF’s and OWL (Web Ontology Language). In turn, the phrase ‘Web 3.0’ describes the use of these capabilities which are essentially a large scale web application including Web 2.0 technologies (Hendler, J).
The Internet began as Web 1.0, the basis internet providing access to a lot of information, but little interaction. Then Web 2.0 was developed, introducing to the Internet to much interaction; social networking, produsage, file sharing, you tube, blogging, wiki’s. Web 3.0 therefore is the next fundamental change to the Internet.
It is speculated that the next phase of the web will be based around artificial intelligence, meaning the Internet will be able to separate the good from the bad when using a search engine (Nations, D). “In other words, the web is becoming smart” (Richards, J). It’s also suggested that an example of the web 3.0 is ‘natural-language search’ meaning search engines will have the ability to answer full questions.
The Semantic Web can be integrated into Web 3.0; it will be part of the next phase of the Internet. Web 3.0 will include web 2.0, the Semantic Web and linked data (See image). ‘Linked data’ is an expression used to describe the growing RDF (Resource Description Framework) development space and ‘Semantic Web’ is a term being used to describe coupling linked data with RDF’s and OWL (Web Ontology Language). In turn, the phrase ‘Web 3.0’ describes the use of these capabilities which are essentially a large scale web application including Web 2.0 technologies (Hendler, J).
(http://libresproxy.lincoln.ac.uk/nph-proxy.pl/010100A/http/www2.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/abs/html/mags/co/2009/01/mco2009010111.htm)
The way the semantic web differs from web 3.0 is that it is a part of what is predicted to be web 3.0.
Nations,D (n.d.) “What is Web 3.0?”, About.com, http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/what-is-web-30.htm
Hendler, J. (2009) “Web 3.0 Emerging”, Computer, Volume 42 (1) pp. 111-113, http://libresproxy.lincoln.ac.uk/nph-proxy.pl/010100A/http/www2.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/abs/html/mags/co/2009/01/mco2009010111.htm Richards, J (2007) “Web 3.0 and Beyond: The Next 20 Years of the Internet”, The Times Online, http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2726190.ece
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Week Nine - Task 7a: The oldest digital native
Without giving references to articles or websites, write five blog entries which creatively describe the digital technologically imbricated world (or not) of:
The oldest digital native you know.
A digital native is someone who has grown up in the technological world, which is presumed as someone who was born after 1980, someone who is 29 or younger now. However, the oldest person I know who I would class as a digital native due to their ability and ease with technology is 49 years old.
I think of this person as a digital native as they have more knowledge about technology than I do, they use the internet many things including shopping and communication via a blog and social networking page, have the latest technological gadgets such as a BlackBerry and iPod, and have a very good knowledge about computers. In fact, I think this person couldn’t live without technology even though they have experienced life without the things they have now.
The oldest digital native you know.
A digital native is someone who has grown up in the technological world, which is presumed as someone who was born after 1980, someone who is 29 or younger now. However, the oldest person I know who I would class as a digital native due to their ability and ease with technology is 49 years old.
I think of this person as a digital native as they have more knowledge about technology than I do, they use the internet many things including shopping and communication via a blog and social networking page, have the latest technological gadgets such as a BlackBerry and iPod, and have a very good knowledge about computers. In fact, I think this person couldn’t live without technology even though they have experienced life without the things they have now.
Week Nine - Task 7b: The youngest digital immigrant
The youngest digital immigrant you know.
A digital immigrant is the counterpart to a digital native; it’s somebody who has had to learn about technology, rather than it coming naturally to them. The youngest digital immigrant I know is 23 years old. She has only just become used to technology, the internet, social networking and mobile phones despite the fact she has been living in a world with them nearly her whole life.
I think this is because her family are all quite similar, they never had a computer, the internet or digital television in their house until very recently. I would class this person as a digital immigrant because she is not as comfortable with technology as theorists of digital nativism suggest she should be for her age, but she learns and tries to adapt to our technologically saturated world and ‘immigrate’ into the digital culture.
A digital immigrant is the counterpart to a digital native; it’s somebody who has had to learn about technology, rather than it coming naturally to them. The youngest digital immigrant I know is 23 years old. She has only just become used to technology, the internet, social networking and mobile phones despite the fact she has been living in a world with them nearly her whole life.
I think this is because her family are all quite similar, they never had a computer, the internet or digital television in their house until very recently. I would class this person as a digital immigrant because she is not as comfortable with technology as theorists of digital nativism suggest she should be for her age, but she learns and tries to adapt to our technologically saturated world and ‘immigrate’ into the digital culture.
Week Nine - Task 7c: A person who threatens the notion of digital immigrant / native
A person known to you (could be you, but you don't need to admit it!) who most threatens the notion of native/immigrant in digital culture.
A digital native is a young person who was brought up in a technological world. A person I know who threatens this notion the most is someone who is 20 years old, born in 1988, yet is not very ‘technology friendly’. They have basic skills of the internet and has a social networking page, although this is used very rarely, but doesn’t shop online as to them it is a radical concept. They can very basically use a computer, but would rather not and owns a mobile phone and mp3 player, only they are incapable of putting music onto their mp3 player and don’t have any interest in their mobile phone apart form to call and text.
I think that this person most threatens the notion of digital native and digital immigrant as, according to the ideas behind digital nativism, they should be comfortable with digital technology to the point of having knowledge about web 2.0 concepts and using digital technology in their everyday lives. However, this person seldom uses the internet and is just generally not comfortable using technology.
A digital native is a young person who was brought up in a technological world. A person I know who threatens this notion the most is someone who is 20 years old, born in 1988, yet is not very ‘technology friendly’. They have basic skills of the internet and has a social networking page, although this is used very rarely, but doesn’t shop online as to them it is a radical concept. They can very basically use a computer, but would rather not and owns a mobile phone and mp3 player, only they are incapable of putting music onto their mp3 player and don’t have any interest in their mobile phone apart form to call and text.
I think that this person most threatens the notion of digital native and digital immigrant as, according to the ideas behind digital nativism, they should be comfortable with digital technology to the point of having knowledge about web 2.0 concepts and using digital technology in their everyday lives. However, this person seldom uses the internet and is just generally not comfortable using technology.
Week Nine - Task 7d: A neo-luddite at university now
Describe the daily frustrations of a fictional neo-luddite at university now in the UK. Luddite – opponent of new technology
A neo-luddite is somebody who doesn’t like new technology. I think that a neo-luddite at university now would have many daily frustrations. Many university’s, like Lincoln, have a ‘Portal’ or ‘Blackboard’ (or similar) where students can access exam timetables, general information, lecture slides, seminar programmes, download unit hand books; pretty much everything to do with the academic side of their student life. Similarly, students are contacted by the university via email, meaning all students must access their email accounts regularly to be kept up to date by their tutors. Some university’s and courses have ‘online submission’ of assignments meaning this neo-luddite would have to use technology to simply hand in their assignment, let alone researching using online journals and e-books and also typing it up. All of these digital aspects of university academic life would mean a neo-luddite would have many daily frustrations.
This student would also suffer socially, as the majority of students have Facebook pages and mobile phones which they use to arrange socials, generally chat and also to organise group work. This student therefore would find it difficult to be surrounded by ‘digital natives’ who use technology for every aspect of their university life.
A neo-luddite is somebody who doesn’t like new technology. I think that a neo-luddite at university now would have many daily frustrations. Many university’s, like Lincoln, have a ‘Portal’ or ‘Blackboard’ (or similar) where students can access exam timetables, general information, lecture slides, seminar programmes, download unit hand books; pretty much everything to do with the academic side of their student life. Similarly, students are contacted by the university via email, meaning all students must access their email accounts regularly to be kept up to date by their tutors. Some university’s and courses have ‘online submission’ of assignments meaning this neo-luddite would have to use technology to simply hand in their assignment, let alone researching using online journals and e-books and also typing it up. All of these digital aspects of university academic life would mean a neo-luddite would have many daily frustrations.
This student would also suffer socially, as the majority of students have Facebook pages and mobile phones which they use to arrange socials, generally chat and also to organise group work. This student therefore would find it difficult to be surrounded by ‘digital natives’ who use technology for every aspect of their university life.
Week Nine - Task 7e: A technophile student in 2020
Describe the experience of a fictional technophile (technology fan) student in 2020.
I would imagine that a technophile student in 2020 would be enjoying being a student as in 11 years time technology will presumably have taken an even bigger part in education than it does now. The internet in 2020 will be in web 3.0, possibly moving into web 4.0 phase, making it even more useful for students as the Semantic Web which is meant to be a part of web 3.0 will make researching much easier and efficient.
E-learning in the UK may have become an even bigger concept, so this student may even undertake their whole course via technology; lecture slides, online seminars, using email or a forum for all contact and online submission. Similarly, units such as this one, New Media Cultures, may be the norm for most subjects meaning work is completed via blogging or another technological platform.
The experience of a student who loves technology in 2020 would be a positive one, with technology being a key part of the education system.
I would imagine that a technophile student in 2020 would be enjoying being a student as in 11 years time technology will presumably have taken an even bigger part in education than it does now. The internet in 2020 will be in web 3.0, possibly moving into web 4.0 phase, making it even more useful for students as the Semantic Web which is meant to be a part of web 3.0 will make researching much easier and efficient.
E-learning in the UK may have become an even bigger concept, so this student may even undertake their whole course via technology; lecture slides, online seminars, using email or a forum for all contact and online submission. Similarly, units such as this one, New Media Cultures, may be the norm for most subjects meaning work is completed via blogging or another technological platform.
The experience of a student who loves technology in 2020 would be a positive one, with technology being a key part of the education system.
Week Nine - Task 3: Should Education Stretch a Person?
Should education 'stretch’ a person do you think? (What do you mean by 'stretch'?)
I think that education should stretch a person. Stretch has many synonyms but the one I found most interesting and applicable to this question was ‘broaden’. I think that education should ‘stretch’ or ‘broaden’ a person as the things they learn should help them to become better at something or have knowledge in a particular, or many, subject(s). In this sense, education stretches a person in terms of the knowledge that they have.
Getting an education should also ‘stretch’ people in terms of them finding out about themselves and their interests, hobbies and likes. Without basic education, people wouldn’t be aware of the things they can do with their lives. In this sense, education is ‘stretching’ a person to reach their potential, become what they want to become and do the things they want to.
Education should also ‘broaden’ peoples view points and opinions. Learning about other cultures, countries, or religions can provide a person with an educated, informed decision or opinion. I believe that education in this sense stretches a person’s understanding of the world. Education should expand people’s horizons, so they don’t have a narrow-minded view of the world. In this way, education could be said to make you a better person; understanding other people should mean you aren’t as judgmental to those who are ‘different’.
I think that education should stretch a person. Stretch has many synonyms but the one I found most interesting and applicable to this question was ‘broaden’. I think that education should ‘stretch’ or ‘broaden’ a person as the things they learn should help them to become better at something or have knowledge in a particular, or many, subject(s). In this sense, education stretches a person in terms of the knowledge that they have.
Getting an education should also ‘stretch’ people in terms of them finding out about themselves and their interests, hobbies and likes. Without basic education, people wouldn’t be aware of the things they can do with their lives. In this sense, education is ‘stretching’ a person to reach their potential, become what they want to become and do the things they want to.
Education should also ‘broaden’ peoples view points and opinions. Learning about other cultures, countries, or religions can provide a person with an educated, informed decision or opinion. I believe that education in this sense stretches a person’s understanding of the world. Education should expand people’s horizons, so they don’t have a narrow-minded view of the world. In this way, education could be said to make you a better person; understanding other people should mean you aren’t as judgmental to those who are ‘different’.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Week Eight - Task One: What is digital immigration?
Find out about 'Digital Immigration'. What Is it? Who cares about it? What sort of general attitudes have been based upon it?
Digital immigration is a term coined by Marc Prensky that describes people who haven’t been born into and grown up in a world of technology – they have seen technology develop and had to learn the literacy necessary to use it. The counterpart to digital immigration is digital nativism. Digital natives are people who have grown up (in general this is people born after the 1980’s) surrounded by technology – the internet, mobile phones, mp3 players etc.
The people who care about this topic are educational professionals, who need to understand the topic further in order to decide whether a new design of education system is required. John Palfrey and Urs Gasser are two people who particularly care about this subject as they have initiated a research project on the subject of digital natives.
The attitudes based upon digital immigration and digital nativism are varied, but are mainly based around the issue of education. Authors such as Marc Prensky and Thomas Brady believe a massive change in the way students are taught is necessary. Others take an opposing view, such as Timothy VanSlyke, who thinks that digital immigrants and digital natives are not that different, as many people who Prensky would class as digital immigrants are actually very comfortable with technology.
http://www.digitalnative.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
http://www.enterprisenews.com/archive/x2103875334
Digital immigration is a term coined by Marc Prensky that describes people who haven’t been born into and grown up in a world of technology – they have seen technology develop and had to learn the literacy necessary to use it. The counterpart to digital immigration is digital nativism. Digital natives are people who have grown up (in general this is people born after the 1980’s) surrounded by technology – the internet, mobile phones, mp3 players etc.
The people who care about this topic are educational professionals, who need to understand the topic further in order to decide whether a new design of education system is required. John Palfrey and Urs Gasser are two people who particularly care about this subject as they have initiated a research project on the subject of digital natives.
The attitudes based upon digital immigration and digital nativism are varied, but are mainly based around the issue of education. Authors such as Marc Prensky and Thomas Brady believe a massive change in the way students are taught is necessary. Others take an opposing view, such as Timothy VanSlyke, who thinks that digital immigrants and digital natives are not that different, as many people who Prensky would class as digital immigrants are actually very comfortable with technology.
http://www.digitalnative.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
http://www.enterprisenews.com/archive/x2103875334
Week Eight - Task Two: Identify five websites / pages
Identify five different websites/five-pages-on-different sites dealing with digital immigration and digital nativism. Give their urls.
1. http://www.enterprisenews.com/archive/x2103875334
2. http://technologysource.org/article/digital_natives_digital_immigrants/
3. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/buzzword/entries/digital-native.html#
4. http://fno.org/nov07/nativism.html
5. http://www.digitalnative.org/wiki/Main_Page#What_is_the_Digital_Natives_project.3F
1. http://www.enterprisenews.com/archive/x2103875334
2. http://technologysource.org/article/digital_natives_digital_immigrants/
3. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/buzzword/entries/digital-native.html#
4. http://fno.org/nov07/nativism.html
5. http://www.digitalnative.org/wiki/Main_Page#What_is_the_Digital_Natives_project.3F
Week Eight - Task Three: Criticise each website
In your blog criticise each website (without giving details that would send a reader directly there) in terms of up-to-dateness, usability and practicing what it preaches.
1. My first website which deals with digital immigration is dated May 2008. This is relevantly up-to-date, nearly a year old. The author is an assistant professor of secondary education, so has an insight into the world of these ‘clashing cultures’, which gives this article a usability factor. The article explains what digital immigration and digital nativism are, and then gives a real life example of the two different types of people in one situation which helps visualise the oppositions. Although this page has a primary focus of digital issues in schools I think it practices what it preaches, as the author clearly states that the education system needs to incorporate these new digital tools to aid the new digital native generations of students.
2. This second website has the problem of being a bit out of date as it’s from nearly six years ago; May 2003. However, although the article is not as recent as my first choice, I think that is still has usability. The article is based around critiquing another article on the topic which was written by the man who coined the term ‘digital immigrant’ and ‘digital native’. Due to its nature, I found this article very usable as it gives a different side to the story and provides a different angle of the topic. The author advocates what he suggests in this article as he is an instructional designer for ‘Preparing Tomorrows Teachers to Use Technology’. Also, the criticism of the opposing article is backed up with rationale and argument which makes this webpage useful for understanding this topic.
3. This third webpage is a dictionary insert but has an article underneath from an author, which provides insight into the subject. The article is dated as August 2008, making it only seven months old. This piece of text is only short, but helps clarify the dictionary’s definition. It may not be that usable in terms of academic reference, but the information is backed up by other websites which say the say things in different words.
4. This webpage is similar to number 2: it’s a critique of the same article by the author who coined the terms ‘digital immigrant’ and ‘digital native’. This pages is from November 2007, so in terms of up-to-dateness it’s reasonably recent being just over a year old. I feel that after reading this article, it isn’t that usable. The points are fairly valid and the facts are correct however, I didn’t get a very academic or professional feel from the page. I felt it was more of a negative attitude towards this other person’s work, and that criticising the ideas of the author was the main priority.
5. This webpage is a wiki page, but it’s not open for general produsers to edit; only the creators have this power. This site can be trusted, as the creators are the people who run the digital native project and are using the wiki site to initiate a larger scale research project. In terms of how new the information is, this site doesn’t have a specific date as it’s an on-going piece of work and is continually updated. This is a positive aspect of this page as the most recent information is available. Although this particular page is more about the project than providing a lot of information, it is useful to read why and what the creators are using the project for. There is also a portal section, where people can sign up and share their thoughts within a forum environment. There is also an introduction section which has some useful definitions of words associated with the digital world.
1. My first website which deals with digital immigration is dated May 2008. This is relevantly up-to-date, nearly a year old. The author is an assistant professor of secondary education, so has an insight into the world of these ‘clashing cultures’, which gives this article a usability factor. The article explains what digital immigration and digital nativism are, and then gives a real life example of the two different types of people in one situation which helps visualise the oppositions. Although this page has a primary focus of digital issues in schools I think it practices what it preaches, as the author clearly states that the education system needs to incorporate these new digital tools to aid the new digital native generations of students.
2. This second website has the problem of being a bit out of date as it’s from nearly six years ago; May 2003. However, although the article is not as recent as my first choice, I think that is still has usability. The article is based around critiquing another article on the topic which was written by the man who coined the term ‘digital immigrant’ and ‘digital native’. Due to its nature, I found this article very usable as it gives a different side to the story and provides a different angle of the topic. The author advocates what he suggests in this article as he is an instructional designer for ‘Preparing Tomorrows Teachers to Use Technology’. Also, the criticism of the opposing article is backed up with rationale and argument which makes this webpage useful for understanding this topic.
3. This third webpage is a dictionary insert but has an article underneath from an author, which provides insight into the subject. The article is dated as August 2008, making it only seven months old. This piece of text is only short, but helps clarify the dictionary’s definition. It may not be that usable in terms of academic reference, but the information is backed up by other websites which say the say things in different words.
4. This webpage is similar to number 2: it’s a critique of the same article by the author who coined the terms ‘digital immigrant’ and ‘digital native’. This pages is from November 2007, so in terms of up-to-dateness it’s reasonably recent being just over a year old. I feel that after reading this article, it isn’t that usable. The points are fairly valid and the facts are correct however, I didn’t get a very academic or professional feel from the page. I felt it was more of a negative attitude towards this other person’s work, and that criticising the ideas of the author was the main priority.
5. This webpage is a wiki page, but it’s not open for general produsers to edit; only the creators have this power. This site can be trusted, as the creators are the people who run the digital native project and are using the wiki site to initiate a larger scale research project. In terms of how new the information is, this site doesn’t have a specific date as it’s an on-going piece of work and is continually updated. This is a positive aspect of this page as the most recent information is available. Although this particular page is more about the project than providing a lot of information, it is useful to read why and what the creators are using the project for. There is also a portal section, where people can sign up and share their thoughts within a forum environment. There is also an introduction section which has some useful definitions of words associated with the digital world.
Week Eight - Task Four: Find five articles
In the Harvard manner, name five different academic articles dealing with the notion of young people's facility with the new world of converged media
1 - Bayne, S and Ross, J (2007) “The ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant’: a dangerous opposition”, Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education, University of Edinburgh http://www.malts.ed.ac.uk/staff/sian/natives_final.pdf
2 - Prensky, M (2006) “Listen to the Natives”, Educational Leadership, Volume 63 (4) pp. 8 - 13, http://centre4.core-ed.net/viewfile.php/users/38/1965011121/ICT_PD_Online/ListentotheNatives.pdf
3 - Prensky, M (2001) “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, On the Horizon, Volume 19 (5) http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
4 - Gasser, U and Palfrey, J. (2009) “Mastering Multitasking”, Educational Leadership, Volume 66 (6), pp. 14-19, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=36666619&site=ehost-live
5 - Bennett, S et al, (2008) “The ‘Digital Natives’ Debate: A Critical Review of the Evidence”, British Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 39 (5), pp. 775- 786, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=33902985&site=ehost-live
1 - Bayne, S and Ross, J (2007) “The ‘digital native’ and ‘digital immigrant’: a dangerous opposition”, Annual Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education, University of Edinburgh http://www.malts.ed.ac.uk/staff/sian/natives_final.pdf
2 - Prensky, M (2006) “Listen to the Natives”, Educational Leadership, Volume 63 (4) pp. 8 - 13, http://centre4.core-ed.net/viewfile.php/users/38/1965011121/ICT_PD_Online/ListentotheNatives.pdf
3 - Prensky, M (2001) “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, On the Horizon, Volume 19 (5) http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
4 - Gasser, U and Palfrey, J. (2009) “Mastering Multitasking”, Educational Leadership, Volume 66 (6), pp. 14-19, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=36666619&site=ehost-live
5 - Bennett, S et al, (2008) “The ‘Digital Natives’ Debate: A Critical Review of the Evidence”, British Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 39 (5), pp. 775- 786, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=33902985&site=ehost-live
Week Eight - Task Five: Abstracts for each article
Each student write your own abstract for each article.
Abstrct for Article 1
This article has a focus on the teacher – learner relationship, and the use of technology in higher education. The hierarchal place of teacher and student are deconstructed, providing clear insight into the differences between digital immigrants and digital natives. The article argues against the de-privileging of the teacher who is, as a digital immigrant, seen as backward-looking, slow and old and is put in a subordinate position next to the native students. The article also addresses the issues of teacher - learner relationships in higher education institutes, as it can be suggested that an institute’s ability to meet expectations of new digital native students will form part of their competitive advantage.
Abstract for Article 2
This article focuses on the education system and how much digital natives would benefit from a change in the system to make it more technologically friendly. The author has strong opinions for changing the way education is provided to students and has a very positive opinion on the new digital world. It suggests that students of the 21st century are very different from older generations and that pupils need to be more integrated into the teaching methods in order for them to successfully and joyfully gain an education. Digital natives are advancing and evolving rapidly, and teachers (digital immigrants) need to be fully aware of how much natives know and rather than try and learn these skills they should be leading discussion and including these new technologies in the classroom.
Abstract for Article 3
This article focuses on the differences between generations of digital immigrants and the digital natives who make up the present day’s student body. These digital natives have grown up surrounded by technology and most have spent more time using technology than they have reading a book. This article suggests that the two types of people differ so much that even their brain structures are different. The article suggests that the notions of digital immigrant and digital native also help to see the variations between people who are at ease with technology and people who are not. The article justifies the need for a drastic change in the USA’s education system.
Abstract for Article 4
This article concentrates on digital native’s preference and skill of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking, also known as parallel processing, is how digital natives cope with information overload, and it is an activity they engage in on a daily basis both in and out side of education. The article discusses other findings about whether multi-tasking is having a positive or negative effect on digital natives. One conclusion which the article finds is that multi-tasking is not dangerous, but it does increase the time that it takes to complete a task. The author suggests that trying to stop digital natives from multi-tasking would be ineffective, rather educating them on how best to multi-task and explaining the effects of multi-tasking would be the best way to effectively use their skill.
Abstract for Article 5
This article deals with the idea that the digital native debate is based on two ideas: digital natives actually exists, and education must essentially change to accommodate the needs of these new types of student. Although many academics agree with the need for change in the education system, the wider picture of the issue is unclear, with many people voicing different opinions and not much theoretical backup of the situation. The authors of this article suggest that the wide media coverage of this topic is making the situation seem worse than it realistically is. They also propose that more research into the subject needs to be done before any major changes are made, as they suggest that there is more to young people’s relationship with technology than the idea of ‘digital native’ implies.
Abstrct for Article 1
This article has a focus on the teacher – learner relationship, and the use of technology in higher education. The hierarchal place of teacher and student are deconstructed, providing clear insight into the differences between digital immigrants and digital natives. The article argues against the de-privileging of the teacher who is, as a digital immigrant, seen as backward-looking, slow and old and is put in a subordinate position next to the native students. The article also addresses the issues of teacher - learner relationships in higher education institutes, as it can be suggested that an institute’s ability to meet expectations of new digital native students will form part of their competitive advantage.
Abstract for Article 2
This article focuses on the education system and how much digital natives would benefit from a change in the system to make it more technologically friendly. The author has strong opinions for changing the way education is provided to students and has a very positive opinion on the new digital world. It suggests that students of the 21st century are very different from older generations and that pupils need to be more integrated into the teaching methods in order for them to successfully and joyfully gain an education. Digital natives are advancing and evolving rapidly, and teachers (digital immigrants) need to be fully aware of how much natives know and rather than try and learn these skills they should be leading discussion and including these new technologies in the classroom.
Abstract for Article 3
This article focuses on the differences between generations of digital immigrants and the digital natives who make up the present day’s student body. These digital natives have grown up surrounded by technology and most have spent more time using technology than they have reading a book. This article suggests that the two types of people differ so much that even their brain structures are different. The article suggests that the notions of digital immigrant and digital native also help to see the variations between people who are at ease with technology and people who are not. The article justifies the need for a drastic change in the USA’s education system.
Abstract for Article 4
This article concentrates on digital native’s preference and skill of multi-tasking. Multi-tasking, also known as parallel processing, is how digital natives cope with information overload, and it is an activity they engage in on a daily basis both in and out side of education. The article discusses other findings about whether multi-tasking is having a positive or negative effect on digital natives. One conclusion which the article finds is that multi-tasking is not dangerous, but it does increase the time that it takes to complete a task. The author suggests that trying to stop digital natives from multi-tasking would be ineffective, rather educating them on how best to multi-task and explaining the effects of multi-tasking would be the best way to effectively use their skill.
Abstract for Article 5
This article deals with the idea that the digital native debate is based on two ideas: digital natives actually exists, and education must essentially change to accommodate the needs of these new types of student. Although many academics agree with the need for change in the education system, the wider picture of the issue is unclear, with many people voicing different opinions and not much theoretical backup of the situation. The authors of this article suggest that the wide media coverage of this topic is making the situation seem worse than it realistically is. They also propose that more research into the subject needs to be done before any major changes are made, as they suggest that there is more to young people’s relationship with technology than the idea of ‘digital native’ implies.
Task Six: My disagreements with the articles
In your blog, write a paragraph (or two) about your disagreements with each article
1 - A key theme throughout this first article is against the de-privileging of the teacher; however I disagree with this notion. I personally don’t think that teachers, as digital immigrants, are seen as slow or backward-looking just because they did not grow up with the technology that is available to today’s digital native generation of students. I feel that, although there is a difference between digital immigrants and digital natives, digital immigrants can still learn and use the technology that the natives do. I think that some teachers may have more knowledge about technology than other teachers, and less knowledge than some students, however, I don’t think that this is ‘de-privileging’ teachers as they will always have respect from students as the ‘higher’ person.
2 and 3 - Both these articles are written by the same author, so the arguments within both of the articles are from the same point of view. The only thing that I disagree with in the articles is the extent to which the author feels the need for a new education system. I mainly agree with the points about integrating technology into teaching; however I feel that the author is rooting for too much change.
4 - I think this article was interesting and the findings can be applied to digital natives who are serial multi-taskers. However, the only disagreement I have is that it should be made clear that not all digital natives have the skill to multi-task.
5 - I have no disagreements with this article, as I found myself agreeing with what the authors had to say. I especially share the opinion that the topic of digital nativism and the education system needing to change to accommodate these new types of student is more of an ‘academic moral panic’ rather than a genuinely desperate issue that needs addressing and changing.
1 - A key theme throughout this first article is against the de-privileging of the teacher; however I disagree with this notion. I personally don’t think that teachers, as digital immigrants, are seen as slow or backward-looking just because they did not grow up with the technology that is available to today’s digital native generation of students. I feel that, although there is a difference between digital immigrants and digital natives, digital immigrants can still learn and use the technology that the natives do. I think that some teachers may have more knowledge about technology than other teachers, and less knowledge than some students, however, I don’t think that this is ‘de-privileging’ teachers as they will always have respect from students as the ‘higher’ person.
2 and 3 - Both these articles are written by the same author, so the arguments within both of the articles are from the same point of view. The only thing that I disagree with in the articles is the extent to which the author feels the need for a new education system. I mainly agree with the points about integrating technology into teaching; however I feel that the author is rooting for too much change.
4 - I think this article was interesting and the findings can be applied to digital natives who are serial multi-taskers. However, the only disagreement I have is that it should be made clear that not all digital natives have the skill to multi-task.
5 - I have no disagreements with this article, as I found myself agreeing with what the authors had to say. I especially share the opinion that the topic of digital nativism and the education system needing to change to accommodate these new types of student is more of an ‘academic moral panic’ rather than a genuinely desperate issue that needs addressing and changing.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Week Seven - Task One: China's Distance Learning
Read http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/Technology/broadcast/tv-02.html and comment.
In the UK’s culture, some people find ‘distance learning’ to be a radical concept compared to traditional teaching methods. However, like Australia, China was one of the first countries to introduce a distance learning scheme, dating back nearly fifty years to 1960.
It was in 1976 when the culture of distance learning, which in China is mainly radio and television broadcasting, really took off following the country’s “modernization of industry, agriculture, national defence and science and technology”.
Before this type of learning was introduced at higher education level, China didn’t have many people registering at H.E institutes (in 1975, only 2% enrolment rate, compared to 4% in other developing countries).
Due to Chinas vast population, this concept proved ideal for teaching the masses and also came at a lower cost, meaning more people could enrol on higher education courses, but without the hassle of a traditional university; students could now choose their own time and pace as well as save money. Distance learning also spread out from just higher education to secondary education, colleges, home and places of work (Ma and Hawkridge).
Along side the radio and television broadcasts, which are basically conventional lectures that would typically be given IRL, students have course books, reference books and study guides along with face to face tuition so that students can ask questions to their tutors.
Similar to how engineering students have to carry out work experience, students undertaking courses which are laboratory-based need to also pass practical experiments. However, the problem with this is that there is not an equal standard of labs across the country; therefore some students have the advantage of accessing better equipment.
This method of learning has been extremely successful for China, and in 2004 there were 15.8million non-traditional learners (Wang and Kreysa).
As a traditional student, I think that having all lectures and seminars delivered via television or radio would be difficult in terms of not being able to as questions at the time and the interactivity of being physically in the same room. However, the article suggests that the pass rates are high and students are passing and being employed into industries which need the staff so this must not be a problem the TVU students have. This problem may be resolved now, as the article was written ten years ago, but I think another issue would be the unfairness of all students not having the same level of practical learning environments. Despite these ideas, I think that this method has clearly been very successful and is very practical for China.
Wang, V and Kreysa, P (2006) “Instructional Strategies of Distance Education Instructors in China”, The Journal of Educators Online, Vol 3 (1) http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume3Number1/WangFinal.pdf
Ma, W and Hawkridge, D (1995) “Chinas Changing Policy and Practice in Television Education” Int. I. Educational Development, Vol 15 (1) http://www.scribd.com/doc/6724261/China-Tv-Policy
In the UK’s culture, some people find ‘distance learning’ to be a radical concept compared to traditional teaching methods. However, like Australia, China was one of the first countries to introduce a distance learning scheme, dating back nearly fifty years to 1960.
It was in 1976 when the culture of distance learning, which in China is mainly radio and television broadcasting, really took off following the country’s “modernization of industry, agriculture, national defence and science and technology”.
Before this type of learning was introduced at higher education level, China didn’t have many people registering at H.E institutes (in 1975, only 2% enrolment rate, compared to 4% in other developing countries).
Due to Chinas vast population, this concept proved ideal for teaching the masses and also came at a lower cost, meaning more people could enrol on higher education courses, but without the hassle of a traditional university; students could now choose their own time and pace as well as save money. Distance learning also spread out from just higher education to secondary education, colleges, home and places of work (Ma and Hawkridge).
Along side the radio and television broadcasts, which are basically conventional lectures that would typically be given IRL, students have course books, reference books and study guides along with face to face tuition so that students can ask questions to their tutors.
Similar to how engineering students have to carry out work experience, students undertaking courses which are laboratory-based need to also pass practical experiments. However, the problem with this is that there is not an equal standard of labs across the country; therefore some students have the advantage of accessing better equipment.
This method of learning has been extremely successful for China, and in 2004 there were 15.8million non-traditional learners (Wang and Kreysa).
As a traditional student, I think that having all lectures and seminars delivered via television or radio would be difficult in terms of not being able to as questions at the time and the interactivity of being physically in the same room. However, the article suggests that the pass rates are high and students are passing and being employed into industries which need the staff so this must not be a problem the TVU students have. This problem may be resolved now, as the article was written ten years ago, but I think another issue would be the unfairness of all students not having the same level of practical learning environments. Despite these ideas, I think that this method has clearly been very successful and is very practical for China.
Wang, V and Kreysa, P (2006) “Instructional Strategies of Distance Education Instructors in China”, The Journal of Educators Online, Vol 3 (1) http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume3Number1/WangFinal.pdf
Ma, W and Hawkridge, D (1995) “Chinas Changing Policy and Practice in Television Education” Int. I. Educational Development, Vol 15 (1) http://www.scribd.com/doc/6724261/China-Tv-Policy
Week Seven - Task 2: Africa's e-learning conference
Read Africa e-learning conference. Comment on e-learning issues, problems, how they manage it, if use of ICT is helping or not.
I have chosen to focus on Zambia, and e-learning becoming a solution to health problems in the education system. http://www.elearning-africa.com/newsportal/english/news164.php
In Zambia, education starts as an optional pre-school level, followed by a compulsory primary education which begins at age seven. This is followed by secondary education which starts at age fourteen, however as the government places focus on primary education, only one third of children at primary school actually go on to secondary school (Isaacs).
Cholera (a disease which is caught by contaminated water) is very common in Zambia in the rainy seasons and has an effect on students being able to attend school along with other problems such as strikes, weather conditions and political disturbances.
An outbreak of the disease in Southern Zambia effected many students at the beginning of this year, as the Ministry of Education banned the opening of schools at the beginning of term until the disease was under control. This prompted students in the area to protest against this decision as pupils from other areas were allowed to continue their studies despite the fact they will all be taking the same exams at the end of the academic year.
The chairperson of e-learning in Zambia, Professor Thompson Sinkala, pointed out “in such a situation, technology-enhanced learning would come in handy… Pupils would not have to miss their lessons as they would access their teachers’ lessons through either an Internet cafe or from home or any convenient place”. On top of this, it was also suggested that e-learning would also enhance people’s awareness of the disease which in turn would cut down the number of breakouts. Zambia currently have a radio programme called ‘Tonga Market’ which is for students who need to improve their grades, however it is not a broadly developed scheme.
In the article, there was a quote from a secondary school student agreeing with the need for education to become electronic. He said that many students used electronic devices such as iPods, CD-players and mobile phones, adding that parents should be able to afford these items for their children as the prices were dropping. However, Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with three quarters of households living on one US dollar a day (Isaacs). It seems a suitable medium for e-learning would be the radio, as this is the only broadcasting means found in nearly every home in Zambia. They already have the ‘Tonga Market’ scheme, which could be developed to the wider range of students needing education when they can’t physically go to school.
As e-learning in this case would not be replacing students going to school, just stepping in in times of crisis, the concept would work quite well. There would be no problems of not having access to printed materials or tutors as students could take the print copies home with them when they are told the school will be closing, and ask any questions upon their return.
I think that if the Ministry of Education and the government could set up an e-learning radio based initiative for times when students cannot make school due to closure, students across the country would be receiving a fair and equal education, which could in turn encourage more children to continue their education.
Isaacs, S. (2007) “ICT in Education in Zambia” Survey of ICT and education in Africa: Zambia Country Report, http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.436.html
I have chosen to focus on Zambia, and e-learning becoming a solution to health problems in the education system. http://www.elearning-africa.com/newsportal/english/news164.php
In Zambia, education starts as an optional pre-school level, followed by a compulsory primary education which begins at age seven. This is followed by secondary education which starts at age fourteen, however as the government places focus on primary education, only one third of children at primary school actually go on to secondary school (Isaacs).
Cholera (a disease which is caught by contaminated water) is very common in Zambia in the rainy seasons and has an effect on students being able to attend school along with other problems such as strikes, weather conditions and political disturbances.
An outbreak of the disease in Southern Zambia effected many students at the beginning of this year, as the Ministry of Education banned the opening of schools at the beginning of term until the disease was under control. This prompted students in the area to protest against this decision as pupils from other areas were allowed to continue their studies despite the fact they will all be taking the same exams at the end of the academic year.
The chairperson of e-learning in Zambia, Professor Thompson Sinkala, pointed out “in such a situation, technology-enhanced learning would come in handy… Pupils would not have to miss their lessons as they would access their teachers’ lessons through either an Internet cafe or from home or any convenient place”. On top of this, it was also suggested that e-learning would also enhance people’s awareness of the disease which in turn would cut down the number of breakouts. Zambia currently have a radio programme called ‘Tonga Market’ which is for students who need to improve their grades, however it is not a broadly developed scheme.
In the article, there was a quote from a secondary school student agreeing with the need for education to become electronic. He said that many students used electronic devices such as iPods, CD-players and mobile phones, adding that parents should be able to afford these items for their children as the prices were dropping. However, Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with three quarters of households living on one US dollar a day (Isaacs). It seems a suitable medium for e-learning would be the radio, as this is the only broadcasting means found in nearly every home in Zambia. They already have the ‘Tonga Market’ scheme, which could be developed to the wider range of students needing education when they can’t physically go to school.
As e-learning in this case would not be replacing students going to school, just stepping in in times of crisis, the concept would work quite well. There would be no problems of not having access to printed materials or tutors as students could take the print copies home with them when they are told the school will be closing, and ask any questions upon their return.
I think that if the Ministry of Education and the government could set up an e-learning radio based initiative for times when students cannot make school due to closure, students across the country would be receiving a fair and equal education, which could in turn encourage more children to continue their education.
Isaacs, S. (2007) “ICT in Education in Zambia” Survey of ICT and education in Africa: Zambia Country Report, http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.436.html
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Week Seven - Task 3: E-learning in Spain
Look around the Internet, find somewhere interesting that offers e-learning.
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), “Open University of Catalonia, Spain” was established in 1995 and is a fully online university. The UOC’s educational system is based around its virtual campus. To aid students, the university has set stages to becoming familiar with its learning environment.
Firstly, before the academic year starts, all students undertake a class which helps them grasp an understanding of the virtual campus and the basic ICT skills which are needed. Following this they are taught about the evolution of new technologies which is a subject based around computer science and strategies which are necessary for learning in a virtual environment. Finally, there is another subject that runs alongside the students’ actual degree which teaches about communicating virtually and how to successfully search for and process information.
The whole concept is a “continuous learning process” (Guitert, M and Romeu, T, 2009:6). These steps have been integrated into UOC’s learning activity since the university started, and have been evolving as do new technologies.
The UOC has recently lead the surfacing of a ‘new model of online communication’ which allows an ‘any time any place’ concept, meaning education can be integrated into peoples lifestyles. The university has also won awards for its educational activity (ICDE Prize 2001 for the best virtual and distance university in the world and OEA Prize 2004 for educational quality).
Just last week, the UOC opened an ‘e-learn center’, which is the first for Spain and only one of a few in Europe. The focus of the centers work is going to be on higher education and long life learning. “The aim is to turn the UOC into an international authority in e-learning innovation and research thanks to the University’s own experience, and to contribute to innovation, research, specialised training and dissemination in the field” (UOC Press Room).
This is a considerable achievement because in 2003, e-learning in Spain was “still at a premature stage” (ICT, 2003: 11) and there was more supply than demand in the market as consumers were unsure of their options, with many choosing the traditional method of learning. This evaluation was across Spain in general, as the UOC (at this point) had been around for eight years and “represented a revolution in the university environment” (ICT, 2003: 6). The UOC was a ‘special case’ in terms of e-learning in 2003, and has developed massively between then and now.
Guitert, M and Romeu, T (2009) “A digital literacy proposal in online Higher Education: the UOC scenario”, Elearning Papers, Vol 12, http://www.elearningeuropa.info/files/media/media18503.pdf
ICT (Institut Català de Tecnologia) (2003) “Situation and Prospects for e-learning in Spain” http://www.teleformacion.edu/documentos/informe%20ict.pdf
UOC Press Room (2009) “The UOC sets up Spain’s first e-learning research and innovation centre with researchers from all over the world”, UOC, http://www.uoc.edu/portal/english/la_universitat/sala_de_premsa/noticies/2009/noticia_034.html
http://www.uoc.edu/portal/english/la_universitat/coneix_la_uoc/model_innovador/rao_de_ser/index.html
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), “Open University of Catalonia, Spain” was established in 1995 and is a fully online university. The UOC’s educational system is based around its virtual campus. To aid students, the university has set stages to becoming familiar with its learning environment.
Firstly, before the academic year starts, all students undertake a class which helps them grasp an understanding of the virtual campus and the basic ICT skills which are needed. Following this they are taught about the evolution of new technologies which is a subject based around computer science and strategies which are necessary for learning in a virtual environment. Finally, there is another subject that runs alongside the students’ actual degree which teaches about communicating virtually and how to successfully search for and process information.
The whole concept is a “continuous learning process” (Guitert, M and Romeu, T, 2009:6). These steps have been integrated into UOC’s learning activity since the university started, and have been evolving as do new technologies.
The UOC has recently lead the surfacing of a ‘new model of online communication’ which allows an ‘any time any place’ concept, meaning education can be integrated into peoples lifestyles. The university has also won awards for its educational activity (ICDE Prize 2001 for the best virtual and distance university in the world and OEA Prize 2004 for educational quality).
Just last week, the UOC opened an ‘e-learn center’, which is the first for Spain and only one of a few in Europe. The focus of the centers work is going to be on higher education and long life learning. “The aim is to turn the UOC into an international authority in e-learning innovation and research thanks to the University’s own experience, and to contribute to innovation, research, specialised training and dissemination in the field” (UOC Press Room).
This is a considerable achievement because in 2003, e-learning in Spain was “still at a premature stage” (ICT, 2003: 11) and there was more supply than demand in the market as consumers were unsure of their options, with many choosing the traditional method of learning. This evaluation was across Spain in general, as the UOC (at this point) had been around for eight years and “represented a revolution in the university environment” (ICT, 2003: 6). The UOC was a ‘special case’ in terms of e-learning in 2003, and has developed massively between then and now.
Guitert, M and Romeu, T (2009) “A digital literacy proposal in online Higher Education: the UOC scenario”, Elearning Papers, Vol 12, http://www.elearningeuropa.info/files/media/media18503.pdf
ICT (Institut Català de Tecnologia) (2003) “Situation and Prospects for e-learning in Spain” http://www.teleformacion.edu/documentos/informe%20ict.pdf
UOC Press Room (2009) “The UOC sets up Spain’s first e-learning research and innovation centre with researchers from all over the world”, UOC, http://www.uoc.edu/portal/english/la_universitat/sala_de_premsa/noticies/2009/noticia_034.html
http://www.uoc.edu/portal/english/la_universitat/coneix_la_uoc/model_innovador/rao_de_ser/index.html
Friday, 27 February 2009
Week Six - Task 4: Community of practice in New Media Cultures
The forum in which you are working for New Media Cultures is arguably a Community of Practice. We have shared goals, a joint enterprise, experts, newcomers and those with power. Try to put together some thoughts and reflections on which members fit into which category from our work so far and discuss your ideas of what is our joint enterprise and who fits into which role.
Students who are undertaking the New Media Cultures unit are arguably a community of practice. Wenger suggests that “a community of practice defines itself along three dimensions… what it’s about, how it functions and what capability it has produced” (Wenger reading, page 2).
So, the new media cultures community of practice can also define itself…
What it’s about: our joint enterprise is the work involved with the unit and the need to succeed and do well. This is the shared interest and goal of the members of our community of practice.
How it functions: students meet up if necessary, have Facebook threads, comment on each others blogs and raise questions and awareness in the forums. This is how members participate within the community of practice.
What capability it has produced: the shared repertoire of knowledge of the unit has given students the capability to complete weekly tasks, hopefully improve week on week and fully understand the concepts within the unit.
The people with the power in the community of practice would probably be the tutors as they are the ones who define the content students are working on and discussing. There are no newcomers because each member started the course and will finish it at the same time. The community of practice will mostly break up once the unit is finished, but some people may continue a community of practice, with a renegotiated joint enterprise of succeeding the entire Media culture and communications degree course.
However, I also think that it could be argued that there are communities of practice within the NMC unit, rather than just one…
All students who are taking the ‘new media cultures’ unit are part of a seminar group and also a study group within that seminar group; this would be their organisational unit. Each student has been put into their seminar group depending on their timetables. These groups are relatively formal as students have to be a part of that group. However, students may have friends in the other two seminar groups who they want to share their work with (follow their blogs, comment on posts, advise etc) and this would be their community of practice.
I think that both of these community of practice theories can be applied to the students taking new media cultures.
Students who are undertaking the New Media Cultures unit are arguably a community of practice. Wenger suggests that “a community of practice defines itself along three dimensions… what it’s about, how it functions and what capability it has produced” (Wenger reading, page 2).
So, the new media cultures community of practice can also define itself…
What it’s about: our joint enterprise is the work involved with the unit and the need to succeed and do well. This is the shared interest and goal of the members of our community of practice.
How it functions: students meet up if necessary, have Facebook threads, comment on each others blogs and raise questions and awareness in the forums. This is how members participate within the community of practice.
What capability it has produced: the shared repertoire of knowledge of the unit has given students the capability to complete weekly tasks, hopefully improve week on week and fully understand the concepts within the unit.
The people with the power in the community of practice would probably be the tutors as they are the ones who define the content students are working on and discussing. There are no newcomers because each member started the course and will finish it at the same time. The community of practice will mostly break up once the unit is finished, but some people may continue a community of practice, with a renegotiated joint enterprise of succeeding the entire Media culture and communications degree course.
However, I also think that it could be argued that there are communities of practice within the NMC unit, rather than just one…
All students who are taking the ‘new media cultures’ unit are part of a seminar group and also a study group within that seminar group; this would be their organisational unit. Each student has been put into their seminar group depending on their timetables. These groups are relatively formal as students have to be a part of that group. However, students may have friends in the other two seminar groups who they want to share their work with (follow their blogs, comment on posts, advise etc) and this would be their community of practice.
I think that both of these community of practice theories can be applied to the students taking new media cultures.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Week Six - Topic 3: Communities of Practice and Organisational Units
Wenger states "These 'communities of practice' are mostly informal and distinct from organizational units" What do you think Wenger means by an "organizational unit"?
I think that Wenger uses the term ‘organisational unit’ to mean a group or department of people who have been put together for a reason rather than formed themselves in a ‘self organising’ manner. I think that people in an organisational unit have to be together whereas people in a community of practice have chosen to be together.Wenger states that in a community of practice “membership is based on participation rather than on official status” and that members are “informally bound”. However an organisational unit membership is given to a person because they have to be a part of it and the membership is more formal.
Also, communities of practice are meant to be about a shared understanding and knowledge and the desire to learn, where as organisational units are more groups of people you have to work with, but many not have the same desires or understanding of the subject relevant to them.
An example I found was of a case study of Xerox machine repair workers. They formed a community of practice outside their typical organisational unit due to problems they were having. Their typical organisational unit would have been their boss, anyone who worked with them on repairs and also the company supplied manual, whereas their community of practice were others who did the exact same job as them (they don’t all work together). This community of practices’ joint enterprise was to help each other out and improve their work. Their community of practice included meeting up to discuss their stories and problems and help one another with any struggle they were having with repairing and also any problems with tricky customers.
Sharp, J (1997) Communities of Practice; a review of the literature, http://www.tfriend.com/cop-lit.ht
I think that Wenger uses the term ‘organisational unit’ to mean a group or department of people who have been put together for a reason rather than formed themselves in a ‘self organising’ manner. I think that people in an organisational unit have to be together whereas people in a community of practice have chosen to be together.Wenger states that in a community of practice “membership is based on participation rather than on official status” and that members are “informally bound”. However an organisational unit membership is given to a person because they have to be a part of it and the membership is more formal.
Also, communities of practice are meant to be about a shared understanding and knowledge and the desire to learn, where as organisational units are more groups of people you have to work with, but many not have the same desires or understanding of the subject relevant to them.
An example I found was of a case study of Xerox machine repair workers. They formed a community of practice outside their typical organisational unit due to problems they were having. Their typical organisational unit would have been their boss, anyone who worked with them on repairs and also the company supplied manual, whereas their community of practice were others who did the exact same job as them (they don’t all work together). This community of practices’ joint enterprise was to help each other out and improve their work. Their community of practice included meeting up to discuss their stories and problems and help one another with any struggle they were having with repairing and also any problems with tricky customers.
Sharp, J (1997) Communities of Practice; a review of the literature, http://www.tfriend.com/cop-lit.ht
Week Six - Topic 2: Joint enterprise
Sometimes it is difficult to think about community in different ways. For this task, I want you to think carefully about "joint enterprise". It is easy to belong to a community on the web, but for us to consider the community a community of practice there needs to be a joint enterprise - something that members are actively engaged in with progression and a goal in mind. Usually this means that the members have a vested interest in getting better at something together.
A joint enterprise is what a community of practice is about; the reason the CofP exists. A community of practice needs the shared interest between members and it is this interest which is the joint enterprise. Wenger states that a joint enterprise is “understood and continually renegotiated by its members”.
I found a community website called ‘Minti’ which is designed for parents, to provide them parenting advice and to share their advice with others. I think this site has a consideration for joint enterprise, as all users of the site have the same progression and goal in mind: to improve their parenting skills. All members want to get better at being a parent. One of the reasons this site was set up was to help parents to communicate their problems as they are happening, rather than going to a magazine which is a one way communication device published monthly. This site encourages learning by practice in the activity of actually being a parent. I would consider this community site a community of practice as although there is not a ‘meatspace’ “social setting in which learning takes place” (Wenger) there is an online social setting where members of the community can communicate and aid each others learning.
A joint enterprise is what a community of practice is about; the reason the CofP exists. A community of practice needs the shared interest between members and it is this interest which is the joint enterprise. Wenger states that a joint enterprise is “understood and continually renegotiated by its members”.
I found a community website called ‘Minti’ which is designed for parents, to provide them parenting advice and to share their advice with others. I think this site has a consideration for joint enterprise, as all users of the site have the same progression and goal in mind: to improve their parenting skills. All members want to get better at being a parent. One of the reasons this site was set up was to help parents to communicate their problems as they are happening, rather than going to a magazine which is a one way communication device published monthly. This site encourages learning by practice in the activity of actually being a parent. I would consider this community site a community of practice as although there is not a ‘meatspace’ “social setting in which learning takes place” (Wenger) there is an online social setting where members of the community can communicate and aid each others learning.
Week Six - Topic 1: Community of Practice and Wengers Model
Think of a CofP to which you belong (or have belonged) explain in your seminar forum how your example fits into Wenger's model
Wenger states that communities of practice are “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly”. He also goes on to suggest that there are three vital features which differentiate a community from a community of practice; the domain (the shared area of interest), the community (building relationships and engaging in joint activities) and the practice (the shared catalogue of resources). (http://www.ewenger.com/theory/)
I belonged to a community of practice was when I worked in a clothes store before coming to university. The community of practice was between all the staff despite the job title they had; we all wanted to do well in our jobs and interacted to help each other out with improving. I used to have to work with sales assistants, managers, senior sales assistants and stock room assistants in our community of practice.
The domain between the members was the interest of helping customers out with the goal of getting them to make a purchase in order to secure the staff bonus. The community was the sales assistants working along side stockroom assistants to find sizes, colours etc and managers working along side senior sales assistants to make sure the shop was running correctly and everybody was where they were supposed to be. The practice was the knowledge that we all shared from helping each other out with problems ranging from customers, till operation to stock knowledge which meant we could as a team run the shop productively whilst being able to cover different sections as our ‘shared catalogue of resources’ meant we had a knowledge wider than our own specific job.
Wenger states that communities of practice are “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly”. He also goes on to suggest that there are three vital features which differentiate a community from a community of practice; the domain (the shared area of interest), the community (building relationships and engaging in joint activities) and the practice (the shared catalogue of resources). (http://www.ewenger.com/theory/)
I belonged to a community of practice was when I worked in a clothes store before coming to university. The community of practice was between all the staff despite the job title they had; we all wanted to do well in our jobs and interacted to help each other out with improving. I used to have to work with sales assistants, managers, senior sales assistants and stock room assistants in our community of practice.
The domain between the members was the interest of helping customers out with the goal of getting them to make a purchase in order to secure the staff bonus. The community was the sales assistants working along side stockroom assistants to find sizes, colours etc and managers working along side senior sales assistants to make sure the shop was running correctly and everybody was where they were supposed to be. The practice was the knowledge that we all shared from helping each other out with problems ranging from customers, till operation to stock knowledge which meant we could as a team run the shop productively whilst being able to cover different sections as our ‘shared catalogue of resources’ meant we had a knowledge wider than our own specific job.
Week Six - Website Analysis
Glamour Magazine - http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/
a) How is your chosen site structured?
The glamour magazine homepage is a kind of gateway to lots of information, based on sections of the magazine. The site is structured to display a lot of hyperlinks, which is done in a logical and organised way using lists, subheadings and images.
Lister et al define hypertext as "made up from discrete units of material in which each one carries a number of pathways to other units" (2003: 24). Shields (2000) suggested that links are essential to both navigation and composition of websites. This is very true for glamour magazine.com the majority of the text on the main page is hypertext – a click of the mouse takes you off to the particular article you have chosen. Hypertext composes the majority of the page and also is the way of navigating around the site. Hypertext means that reading information takes a non-linear form; using glamour magazine.com is defiantly non-linear as the user can start wherever they choose and read as much as they want. Sonia Livingstone suggested that as hypertext is non-linear, you may need a new type of literacy to comprehend it. The user of glamour magazine.com doesn’t need a certain type of literacy to understand it, as although hypertext is the main function of the site, it’s clear and easy to use.
Bruns defines produsage as “the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement” (2006: 2). There is an element of produsage on the site, as users can submit their comments and thoughts about each article which is in a way 'extending existing content'. However, the produsage limit stops here, there is no moderation or produser content similar to produsage heavy sites such as Wiki sites or forum based websites.
b) What is it about on a cultural level?
On a cultural level, Glamour is about women, fashion, beauty and celebrities.
The website appeals to mainly women aged 20-35 who are readers of the magazine in real life.
There is an element of community within the site based on the fact there is an element of produsage. People who leave comments on the site obviously have a shared interest; they are visiting the same site, reading the same articles and caring enough to comment on them. However, there is not a feeling of community throughout the site because of the limited interactivity involved for users. McMilan and Chavis (1986) defined the concept of ‘sense of community’. According to their definition, I would say that there is no community within the glamour magazine website, which in turn eliminates and issues of privacy. Similarly, there is no openness to the small element of produsage which is in the site as any comments users do submit have to be authorised by Glamour before posting. Bruns has suggested that having a governed site would put people off, however this doesn’t really apply to this case as becoming a produser isn’t the reason people visit and use the site.
c) What is the appeal for you as a user?
The appeal for a user of glamour magazine.com is the fact it contains items which are in the magazine yet viewing them is easier on screen with the aid of hypertext compared to reading the magazine. On the website the user can be directed straight to the section, or even article that they wish to view, without having to search through the entire print. Another appeal for the user is that they can read other peoples opinions of the topics within the magazine and chose whether to participate become a produser, or just observe. There is trust between the user and the website, as users will feel ‘secure’ knowing that glamour is a big-selling magazine and company which means the user feels confident using the site and its information.
Shields, R. (2000) “Hypertext Links”. In Herman, A and Swiss, T (ed’s), The World Wide Web and Contemporary Culture, New York London: Routledge, 2000, pp. 145
Bruns, A (2006) ‘Towards Produsage: Futures For User-Led Content Production’ online at: http://snurb.info/files/12132812018_towards_produsage_0.pdf
McMilan and Chavis (1986) in Blanchard, A (2004) ‘Blogs as Virtual Communities: Identifying a Sense of Community’
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogs_as_virtual.html
a) How is your chosen site structured?
The glamour magazine homepage is a kind of gateway to lots of information, based on sections of the magazine. The site is structured to display a lot of hyperlinks, which is done in a logical and organised way using lists, subheadings and images.
Lister et al define hypertext as "made up from discrete units of material in which each one carries a number of pathways to other units" (2003: 24). Shields (2000) suggested that links are essential to both navigation and composition of websites. This is very true for glamour magazine.com the majority of the text on the main page is hypertext – a click of the mouse takes you off to the particular article you have chosen. Hypertext composes the majority of the page and also is the way of navigating around the site. Hypertext means that reading information takes a non-linear form; using glamour magazine.com is defiantly non-linear as the user can start wherever they choose and read as much as they want. Sonia Livingstone suggested that as hypertext is non-linear, you may need a new type of literacy to comprehend it. The user of glamour magazine.com doesn’t need a certain type of literacy to understand it, as although hypertext is the main function of the site, it’s clear and easy to use.
Bruns defines produsage as “the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement” (2006: 2). There is an element of produsage on the site, as users can submit their comments and thoughts about each article which is in a way 'extending existing content'. However, the produsage limit stops here, there is no moderation or produser content similar to produsage heavy sites such as Wiki sites or forum based websites.
b) What is it about on a cultural level?
On a cultural level, Glamour is about women, fashion, beauty and celebrities.
The website appeals to mainly women aged 20-35 who are readers of the magazine in real life.
There is an element of community within the site based on the fact there is an element of produsage. People who leave comments on the site obviously have a shared interest; they are visiting the same site, reading the same articles and caring enough to comment on them. However, there is not a feeling of community throughout the site because of the limited interactivity involved for users. McMilan and Chavis (1986) defined the concept of ‘sense of community’. According to their definition, I would say that there is no community within the glamour magazine website, which in turn eliminates and issues of privacy. Similarly, there is no openness to the small element of produsage which is in the site as any comments users do submit have to be authorised by Glamour before posting. Bruns has suggested that having a governed site would put people off, however this doesn’t really apply to this case as becoming a produser isn’t the reason people visit and use the site.
c) What is the appeal for you as a user?
The appeal for a user of glamour magazine.com is the fact it contains items which are in the magazine yet viewing them is easier on screen with the aid of hypertext compared to reading the magazine. On the website the user can be directed straight to the section, or even article that they wish to view, without having to search through the entire print. Another appeal for the user is that they can read other peoples opinions of the topics within the magazine and chose whether to participate become a produser, or just observe. There is trust between the user and the website, as users will feel ‘secure’ knowing that glamour is a big-selling magazine and company which means the user feels confident using the site and its information.
Shields, R. (2000) “Hypertext Links”. In Herman, A and Swiss, T (ed’s), The World Wide Web and Contemporary Culture, New York London: Routledge, 2000, pp. 145
Bruns, A (2006) ‘Towards Produsage: Futures For User-Led Content Production’ online at: http://snurb.info/files/12132812018_towards_produsage_0.pdf
McMilan and Chavis (1986) in Blanchard, A (2004) ‘Blogs as Virtual Communities: Identifying a Sense of Community’
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogs_as_virtual.html
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Week Five - Topic 1b: Moderation in collaborative sites
When collaborative sites have moderation functions to prevent a ‘free for all’, does this defeat the purpose?
Bruns reading: page 4
Bruns suggests: “If sites are seen as being controlled by a closed in-group of participants, they are unlikely to attract new produsers into the fold, as these are likely to feel alienated” and goes on to say that there is also the chance that without moderation, collaborative sites could loose structure and unity.
In response to this many sites have a hierarchical government where a group of certain people take a vote, or certain members are chosen randomly and given the right to moderate other produsers work.
I think that having moderators does kind of defeat the purpose of a ‘free for all’ concept as technically it is then not a free for all, but a moderated site. However, I think the term ‘free for all’ gives the undertone that anyone can write anything, and usually these collaborative sites do have a purpose about them. I think that some form of moderation is needed because if there was none then there’s a high chance of the site being flooded by inappropriate comments / articles or advertisements.
In this case, I would say that some form of moderation is needed, just not too strict or overpowering as this may put produsers off of using the site, and it is the produsers who create the content.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Week Five - Online research into blogs
Do some online research into blogs as a new media genre: their origins, development etc and share your findings in your entries.What forms of expression are they really good for?
The term ‘blog’ came from the word ‘weblog’, which was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 and there are now more than a hundred million active blogs. (Wortham, 2007,). They are entries which are dated and posted in reverse chronological order onto a webpage.
The nature of blogs varies depending on the individual who writes the blog, some are personal diaries whereas some are rants, commentary on news, business / marketing related, or based on a subject such as politics, or travel.
“A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger".” (validwebdesigns.com/glossary/).
One of the earliest bloggers was Justin Hall, who began his ‘online diary’ before the term was even coined. Blogs used to be parts of websites, which were just updated regularly by the person who ran them; however, due to technology advancements these regular posts could now be put up in reverse chronological order and these advancements made the whole concept available to a bigger audience as it removed a lot of the technological aspects. The idea of blogs and blogging grew from there and has evolved into the phenomenon of blogging as we know it today; “a highly networked mass of online knowledge and communication” (Mark Brady, 2005). There are now even blog awards such as ‘the Bloggies’ (http://2009.bloggies.com/) and the ‘BOB – Best of blogs’ (http://www.thebobs.com/)
Blogs are particularly useful for expressing opinions, sharing your daily life and thoughts with your audience, marketing and advertising, creating news stories and keeping colleagues up to date.
Wortham, J (2007), "After Ten Years of Blogs, the Future's Brighter Than Ever", http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/12/blog_anniversary
Brady, M (2005), "Blogging: Personal Participation in Public Knowledge Building on the Web", http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/content/pubs/wps/CWP-2005-02-blogging-in-the-Knowledge-Society-MB.pdf
The term ‘blog’ came from the word ‘weblog’, which was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 and there are now more than a hundred million active blogs. (Wortham, 2007,). They are entries which are dated and posted in reverse chronological order onto a webpage.
The nature of blogs varies depending on the individual who writes the blog, some are personal diaries whereas some are rants, commentary on news, business / marketing related, or based on a subject such as politics, or travel.
“A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger".” (validwebdesigns.com/glossary/).
One of the earliest bloggers was Justin Hall, who began his ‘online diary’ before the term was even coined. Blogs used to be parts of websites, which were just updated regularly by the person who ran them; however, due to technology advancements these regular posts could now be put up in reverse chronological order and these advancements made the whole concept available to a bigger audience as it removed a lot of the technological aspects. The idea of blogs and blogging grew from there and has evolved into the phenomenon of blogging as we know it today; “a highly networked mass of online knowledge and communication” (Mark Brady, 2005). There are now even blog awards such as ‘the Bloggies’ (http://2009.bloggies.com/) and the ‘BOB – Best of blogs’ (http://www.thebobs.com/)
Blogs are particularly useful for expressing opinions, sharing your daily life and thoughts with your audience, marketing and advertising, creating news stories and keeping colleagues up to date.
Wortham, J (2007), "After Ten Years of Blogs, the Future's Brighter Than Ever", http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/12/blog_anniversary
Brady, M (2005), "Blogging: Personal Participation in Public Knowledge Building on the Web", http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/content/pubs/wps/CWP-2005-02-blogging-in-the-Knowledge-Society-MB.pdf
Week Five - Well read blogs
Find some well-read blogs from outside the New Media Cultures unit community that impress you and analyse how the author/respondents use the blog as a forum to present themselves and share ideas.
http://shamelesslysassy.com/
Shamelessly Sassy is a blog written by Amanda Hill, a freelance writer and blogger. She uses the blog to discuss her life, and general issues that she has some thoughts on. Her writing style is humorous and honest. The blog was a finalist in the category of best writing of a weblog at the 2008 bloggies.
From what I read, Amanda presents herself as a busy, slightly quirky mother who is friendly, open and honest. Via the blog, Amanda shares her life with her audience, from stories about her daughter and family to testing products and recommending them to her general day to day activities.
The audience can comment on each post if they want to. From reading the comments, I got the impression that most people tried to present themselves as similar to the author, they agree with what Amanda says, or sometimes offer advice or tell stories about themselves which are similar to the authors posts.
In these terms, the blog is also used to share ideas, when the author posts a blog where she is questioning an issue, many readers respond to her with their thoughts. The responses are all positive.
http://www.soveryalone.com/
So very alone is written by ‘Harlan’. It is generally about his life, and how he ‘feels like he is drowning’ The posts are all about what is happening to him, updates on problems he shared with the audience previously and problems. The whole site is quite depressing compared to the upbeat nature of 'Shamelessly Sassy'.
The author presents himself as lonely, depressed and generally unhappy. All of the posts that I read were written negatively and expressed to his audience how upside down he thinks his life is.
The audience can post responses to each post. Most tend to be giving advice to Harlan about making him feel better where as some are agreeing with his situation, saying they have a similar outlook to him. I think some of the respondents find Harlan’s blog therapeutic or as a means of support, as one person commented “I am alone too - somehow I feel less alone knowing you are out there.”
http://www.iaindale.blogspot.com/
Iain Dale is the author and creator of Iain Dales Diary, a daily blog about politics. It is described as “A unique brand of political commentary, humour and gossip”. The blog is read by party leaders and cabinet ministers, attracting more hits than the three top party sites combined.
The author presents himself as having a knowledgeable opinion. The blog is also used to promote other aspects of his career, such as magazine interviews he has conducted. I found after reading through some posts that the blog that many posts seem to be a round-up of particular stories from a variety of publications with what his opinion of the situation is. The humour part of the blog is brought in through his writing style and gossip is included as some posts are about political speculations.
The readers represent themselves in the same way as the two other blogs; via commenting. The majority of comments are supportive, agreeing with what he has to say and stating that they like his work. The audience use the blog as a forum to share ideas about current political affairs.
http://shamelesslysassy.com/
Shamelessly Sassy is a blog written by Amanda Hill, a freelance writer and blogger. She uses the blog to discuss her life, and general issues that she has some thoughts on. Her writing style is humorous and honest. The blog was a finalist in the category of best writing of a weblog at the 2008 bloggies.
From what I read, Amanda presents herself as a busy, slightly quirky mother who is friendly, open and honest. Via the blog, Amanda shares her life with her audience, from stories about her daughter and family to testing products and recommending them to her general day to day activities.
The audience can comment on each post if they want to. From reading the comments, I got the impression that most people tried to present themselves as similar to the author, they agree with what Amanda says, or sometimes offer advice or tell stories about themselves which are similar to the authors posts.
In these terms, the blog is also used to share ideas, when the author posts a blog where she is questioning an issue, many readers respond to her with their thoughts. The responses are all positive.
http://www.soveryalone.com/
So very alone is written by ‘Harlan’. It is generally about his life, and how he ‘feels like he is drowning’ The posts are all about what is happening to him, updates on problems he shared with the audience previously and problems. The whole site is quite depressing compared to the upbeat nature of 'Shamelessly Sassy'.
The author presents himself as lonely, depressed and generally unhappy. All of the posts that I read were written negatively and expressed to his audience how upside down he thinks his life is.
The audience can post responses to each post. Most tend to be giving advice to Harlan about making him feel better where as some are agreeing with his situation, saying they have a similar outlook to him. I think some of the respondents find Harlan’s blog therapeutic or as a means of support, as one person commented “I am alone too - somehow I feel less alone knowing you are out there.”
http://www.iaindale.blogspot.com/
Iain Dale is the author and creator of Iain Dales Diary, a daily blog about politics. It is described as “A unique brand of political commentary, humour and gossip”. The blog is read by party leaders and cabinet ministers, attracting more hits than the three top party sites combined.
The author presents himself as having a knowledgeable opinion. The blog is also used to promote other aspects of his career, such as magazine interviews he has conducted. I found after reading through some posts that the blog that many posts seem to be a round-up of particular stories from a variety of publications with what his opinion of the situation is. The humour part of the blog is brought in through his writing style and gossip is included as some posts are about political speculations.
The readers represent themselves in the same way as the two other blogs; via commenting. The majority of comments are supportive, agreeing with what he has to say and stating that they like his work. The audience use the blog as a forum to share ideas about current political affairs.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Week Five - Topic 1d: Is open news quality news?
Is open news quality news?
Meikle reading: paragraph 18
“Open publishing means that the process of creating news is transparent to the readers. They can contribute a story and see it instantly appear in the pool of stories publicly available” (Arnison, 2001 in Meikle, paragraph 17). Therefore open news is news which has been created using open publishing.
Due to the nature of how open news stories are put together, I don’t think that open news is quality news. If anybody can fact check, spell / grammar check or take any part in the editorial process then the news article will end up being altered many times. I think that many alterations, by different people takes away any quality the story ever had. It becomes unreliable if open publishing is used and therefore lacks value.
One issue that Meikle brought up about Indymedia’s use of open news was “the large number of items being posted to sites, which meant that even especially well-researched or significant stories would be replaced quickly on the front page”. If the important news is constantly being replaced, I think it can indicate that the story wasn’t that worthwhile in the first place.
Another issue which Meikle mentioned, also about Indymedia, is that open publishing sites are inundated with spam. I personally think that this factor of spam defiantly takes away any sign of quality within a news story; seeing an article covered in spam can make you question the reliability of the site and quality of the news.
Meikle reading: paragraph 18
“Open publishing means that the process of creating news is transparent to the readers. They can contribute a story and see it instantly appear in the pool of stories publicly available” (Arnison, 2001 in Meikle, paragraph 17). Therefore open news is news which has been created using open publishing.
Due to the nature of how open news stories are put together, I don’t think that open news is quality news. If anybody can fact check, spell / grammar check or take any part in the editorial process then the news article will end up being altered many times. I think that many alterations, by different people takes away any quality the story ever had. It becomes unreliable if open publishing is used and therefore lacks value.
One issue that Meikle brought up about Indymedia’s use of open news was “the large number of items being posted to sites, which meant that even especially well-researched or significant stories would be replaced quickly on the front page”. If the important news is constantly being replaced, I think it can indicate that the story wasn’t that worthwhile in the first place.
Another issue which Meikle mentioned, also about Indymedia, is that open publishing sites are inundated with spam. I personally think that this factor of spam defiantly takes away any sign of quality within a news story; seeing an article covered in spam can make you question the reliability of the site and quality of the news.
Week Five - Topic 1b: Online Journalism
Are there ‘new kinds of journalist’ online? If so, how so?
Meikle reading: paragraph 9
Meikle suggests that there is an “ongoing shift in the boundary of what constitutes newsmakers”. Indymedia is a movement which does move the boundaries of who constitutes a ‘journalist’ or who gets to make the news. It is independent and self managing and John Downing defines it as “politically dissident media that offers radical alternatives to mainstream debate”. I think that the Indymedia movement provides a platform for a new kind of journalist online; it provides a network of journalists who use open publishing and democratic media method which allows anyone to have their say. Meikle describes Indymedia as “a forum for non-professional journalists” (paragraph 10).
A journalist is somebody who writes, commentates on or reports news. I think that there are definitely new kinds of journalist online, aside from mainstream news sites and indymedia. Mark Deuze says that “millions of individual users
and special interest groups have used the internet as an outlet for their news”
Personal websites and blogs, although a controversial type of journalism, are one way people become journalists. People can give their opinion, as news, to the world. Blogs are often kept very up-to-date and provide a different spin on current affairs. One example of a new type of online journalist is Perez Hilton, who became an American household name for his blogging about Hollywood happenings and celebrities.
Another form of online journalism is index and category sites. This is where journalists provide links to existing news sites, rather than presenting their own editorial content. A bulletin board system is usually in place on these types of journalism sites. Meta- and comment sites are also seen as online journalism. This can be seen as “journalism about journalism” and is sometimes projected as a ‘media watchdog’. One final type of online journalism is share and discussion sites. This type of online journalism sees the internet as “’just a communications infrastructure” (Rushkoff, 2000) providing a place to swap ideas, stories etc.
Not everybody will agree that all of these types of journalism are credible, but seeing as a journalist is someone who writes, commentates or reports on the news it can’t be denied that they are forms of journalism.
Deuze, M. (2003) “The Web and its Journalisms: Considering the Consequences of Different Types of Newsmedia Online”, New Media and Society, volume 5, pages 203-229.
Meikle reading: paragraph 9
Meikle suggests that there is an “ongoing shift in the boundary of what constitutes newsmakers”. Indymedia is a movement which does move the boundaries of who constitutes a ‘journalist’ or who gets to make the news. It is independent and self managing and John Downing defines it as “politically dissident media that offers radical alternatives to mainstream debate”. I think that the Indymedia movement provides a platform for a new kind of journalist online; it provides a network of journalists who use open publishing and democratic media method which allows anyone to have their say. Meikle describes Indymedia as “a forum for non-professional journalists” (paragraph 10).
A journalist is somebody who writes, commentates on or reports news. I think that there are definitely new kinds of journalist online, aside from mainstream news sites and indymedia. Mark Deuze says that “millions of individual users
and special interest groups have used the internet as an outlet for their news”
Personal websites and blogs, although a controversial type of journalism, are one way people become journalists. People can give their opinion, as news, to the world. Blogs are often kept very up-to-date and provide a different spin on current affairs. One example of a new type of online journalist is Perez Hilton, who became an American household name for his blogging about Hollywood happenings and celebrities.
Another form of online journalism is index and category sites. This is where journalists provide links to existing news sites, rather than presenting their own editorial content. A bulletin board system is usually in place on these types of journalism sites. Meta- and comment sites are also seen as online journalism. This can be seen as “journalism about journalism” and is sometimes projected as a ‘media watchdog’. One final type of online journalism is share and discussion sites. This type of online journalism sees the internet as “’just a communications infrastructure” (Rushkoff, 2000) providing a place to swap ideas, stories etc.
Not everybody will agree that all of these types of journalism are credible, but seeing as a journalist is someone who writes, commentates or reports on the news it can’t be denied that they are forms of journalism.
Deuze, M. (2003) “The Web and its Journalisms: Considering the Consequences of Different Types of Newsmedia Online”, New Media and Society, volume 5, pages 203-229.
Week Five - Topic 1a: News on the Web
What do you think constitutes ‘news’ on the Web?
Meikle reading: paragraph 7-9
Burnett and Marshall suggest there has been “a shifted boundary of what constitutes news”, and in response to this they established the concept of “informational news” where audience members become researchers in terms of information retrieval.
I agree with their idea that (online) news has become a wide search of information by people who use the web. When searching for a particular story, different sources are used rather than relying on the first one they happen to come across. I think that this is largely to do with the idea of ‘produsage’, people are aware that anybody can post their thoughts onto the web and dress their opinion up as ‘news’. Using a few reliable sources confirms the truth in the story.
I think that as the web is so full of people’s opinions, gossip and conspiracy theories, often ‘news’ is not very insightful. Therefore a lot of people will rely on professional media companies to provide honest, trustworthy news. I think that the information provided by reliable, professional sources is what constitutes news on the web. As there is an information overload, not all of the sources can be relied on; people’s opinions don’t form news: truthful information about recent developments, happenings or events is what does.
Meikle reading: paragraph 7-9
Burnett and Marshall suggest there has been “a shifted boundary of what constitutes news”, and in response to this they established the concept of “informational news” where audience members become researchers in terms of information retrieval.
I agree with their idea that (online) news has become a wide search of information by people who use the web. When searching for a particular story, different sources are used rather than relying on the first one they happen to come across. I think that this is largely to do with the idea of ‘produsage’, people are aware that anybody can post their thoughts onto the web and dress their opinion up as ‘news’. Using a few reliable sources confirms the truth in the story.
I think that as the web is so full of people’s opinions, gossip and conspiracy theories, often ‘news’ is not very insightful. Therefore a lot of people will rely on professional media companies to provide honest, trustworthy news. I think that the information provided by reliable, professional sources is what constitutes news on the web. As there is an information overload, not all of the sources can be relied on; people’s opinions don’t form news: truthful information about recent developments, happenings or events is what does.
Week Five - Topic 1c: Will produsage last?
As a trend, do you think produsage will last? Do you think commercial forces will find ways of exploiting it, or perhaps the ways people are involved will end up being short-term? Conflicts in the communities? Flagging energy/interest? Successful sites get bought out? Just a trend? Or the future of the Net?
Bruns reading: page 5
I think that produsage will last, people being able to create their own ideas, news or any product that produsers create is very appealing compared to being constantly on the receiving end of information.
I do agree that more commercial forces will find ways of exploiting produsage as it has already been done. The Sims game is 90% produsage even though the game is sold to produsers for a profit which goes to the games publishers, not the people who have created 90£ of the game!
I’m sure other ways of exploitation will be found, maybe a possibility that in the future produsage sites could incur a fee to ‘join’, or sites will become overloaded with advertisements.
I don’t think that there will ever be a flagging interest or energy of produsage as there are always going to be people who want to get their voice across; therefore it is not just a trend. I think that produsage will continue to grow, however this does depend on how or if the commercial industry takes advantage.
Successful sites could quite possibly get brought out, creating even bigger profits for the legal owners, despite the fact they are using produsers creativity for their own profit whilst the people actually doing the work are left empty handed. Although this may put people off providing their work for free, I don’t think produsage will completely disappear. As Bruns states: “Sites of produsage flourish if they can attract a large number of engaged and experienced participants who adhere to the ideals of the site”. I personally think that produsage sites will continue to attract people to help generate the content and therefore keep the site up and successfully running.
Bruns reading: page 5
I think that produsage will last, people being able to create their own ideas, news or any product that produsers create is very appealing compared to being constantly on the receiving end of information.
I do agree that more commercial forces will find ways of exploiting produsage as it has already been done. The Sims game is 90% produsage even though the game is sold to produsers for a profit which goes to the games publishers, not the people who have created 90£ of the game!
I’m sure other ways of exploitation will be found, maybe a possibility that in the future produsage sites could incur a fee to ‘join’, or sites will become overloaded with advertisements.
I don’t think that there will ever be a flagging interest or energy of produsage as there are always going to be people who want to get their voice across; therefore it is not just a trend. I think that produsage will continue to grow, however this does depend on how or if the commercial industry takes advantage.
Successful sites could quite possibly get brought out, creating even bigger profits for the legal owners, despite the fact they are using produsers creativity for their own profit whilst the people actually doing the work are left empty handed. Although this may put people off providing their work for free, I don’t think produsage will completely disappear. As Bruns states: “Sites of produsage flourish if they can attract a large number of engaged and experienced participants who adhere to the ideals of the site”. I personally think that produsage sites will continue to attract people to help generate the content and therefore keep the site up and successfully running.
Week Five - Wikimedia
Wikimedia is quintessentially collaborative creation of online content. All material on any Wiki site is produsage; the software of the site makes it this way. In the lecture notes, the question was brought up about wanting the site, or only producing it because the software makes it that way. I think that it is a mix of the two because obviously the software does make us become produsers, but I would say that the majority of people want Wiki – if it wasn’t for people who use Wiki sites, then it wouldn’t exist. Wikibooks was actually launched because of a request to build and host free textbooks. Wikipedia’s articles are written collaboratively by produsers, and can also be edited by anyone. Wikiversty provides learning resources projects and research from teachers, students and researchers; if people didn’t want to provide their ideas and donate to the site then they wouldn’t, however people do therefore people must want it that way.
Wiki exist by donations because people like what Wiki provides for them, nobody owns the materials on the Wiki sites and their ‘copyright’ policy is known as ‘copyleft’. The idea behind this is that anybody has permission to use, reproduce and edit the material available so long as that person does not place a copyright on the work they created from using Wiki material.
Relating back to the ‘is produsage a trend?’ question, I think that this backs up my ideas on it not being a trend – people like to contribute to articles, see their opinions voiced to the world and know they have attempted to make their mark.
Wiki exist by donations because people like what Wiki provides for them, nobody owns the materials on the Wiki sites and their ‘copyright’ policy is known as ‘copyleft’. The idea behind this is that anybody has permission to use, reproduce and edit the material available so long as that person does not place a copyright on the work they created from using Wiki material.
Relating back to the ‘is produsage a trend?’ question, I think that this backs up my ideas on it not being a trend – people like to contribute to articles, see their opinions voiced to the world and know they have attempted to make their mark.
Week Five - Topic 1a: Produsers, Produsage and Intercreativity
What do you understand by the words ‘produser’, ‘produsage’, and ‘intercreativity’? Are they useful in understanding collaborative creation of content online?
Bruns reading
Produser – New media has lead to the digitisation of content, which can now be created, published, edited and broadcast widely. This technology has broken down the traditional production chain of producer > publisher > distributor > consumer creating ‘produsers’ (Anyone Can Edit: Understanding the Produser, http://snurb.info/index.php?q=node/286). Alex Bruns defines a produser as a “break down of the boundaries between producers and consumers and instead enables all participants to be users as well as producers of information and knowledge”. I understand this as the people who use the information are also the ones who have produced it, the boundaries of producer/publisher and audience/consumer are broken and both are at the same time.
Produsage – Alex Bruns defines Produsage as “the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement”.
Four key principles apply in all Produsage environments; open participation and communal evaluation, fluid heterarchy and ad-hoc meritocracy (an elite group set up only in response to a specific problem), unfinished artefacts and continuing process and finally common property and individual rewards (Produsers and Produsage, http://snurb.info/produsage). I understand produsage as the continual process that produsers go through, the constant updating of information. Examples of produsage are Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia created by its users, multi-user online games such as the Sims and Second life, and citizen journalism - produsage in news and information sites.
Intercreativity – Tim Berners-Lee defines intercreativity as “it’s what underpins what we can look forward to on the Web. “Intercreativity” can unlock the solutions in our “concoction of half formed ideas”” (http://213.232.94.135/merlinjohnonline/news.php?extend.135). I understand intercreativity to occur when ideas are formed through different people putting together all of their partially formed ideas. People use the web to make their suggestions, which are then read by other people across the globe who in turn add their bit or suggestion, eventually a concept is formed through ‘intercreativity’. I found Berners-Lee’s phrase “one creative process together” helps to understand intercreativity. Basically, everybody helps to create an advanced, thought-through, continually developing idea.
I think that these terms are useful to understand the collaborative creation of content online, produsers create produsage, and the process of intercreativity means that produsers continue updating and advancing the produsage. These terms make the topic easier to discuss and understand, as the definitions also give an insight into the theory of collaborative creation of online content.
Bruns reading
Produser – New media has lead to the digitisation of content, which can now be created, published, edited and broadcast widely. This technology has broken down the traditional production chain of producer > publisher > distributor > consumer creating ‘produsers’ (Anyone Can Edit: Understanding the Produser, http://snurb.info/index.php?q=node/286). Alex Bruns defines a produser as a “break down of the boundaries between producers and consumers and instead enables all participants to be users as well as producers of information and knowledge”. I understand this as the people who use the information are also the ones who have produced it, the boundaries of producer/publisher and audience/consumer are broken and both are at the same time.
Produsage – Alex Bruns defines Produsage as “the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement”.
Four key principles apply in all Produsage environments; open participation and communal evaluation, fluid heterarchy and ad-hoc meritocracy (an elite group set up only in response to a specific problem), unfinished artefacts and continuing process and finally common property and individual rewards (Produsers and Produsage, http://snurb.info/produsage). I understand produsage as the continual process that produsers go through, the constant updating of information. Examples of produsage are Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia created by its users, multi-user online games such as the Sims and Second life, and citizen journalism - produsage in news and information sites.
Intercreativity – Tim Berners-Lee defines intercreativity as “it’s what underpins what we can look forward to on the Web. “Intercreativity” can unlock the solutions in our “concoction of half formed ideas”” (http://213.232.94.135/merlinjohnonline/news.php?extend.135). I understand intercreativity to occur when ideas are formed through different people putting together all of their partially formed ideas. People use the web to make their suggestions, which are then read by other people across the globe who in turn add their bit or suggestion, eventually a concept is formed through ‘intercreativity’. I found Berners-Lee’s phrase “one creative process together” helps to understand intercreativity. Basically, everybody helps to create an advanced, thought-through, continually developing idea.
I think that these terms are useful to understand the collaborative creation of content online, produsers create produsage, and the process of intercreativity means that produsers continue updating and advancing the produsage. These terms make the topic easier to discuss and understand, as the definitions also give an insight into the theory of collaborative creation of online content.
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Week Four - Topic 1c: Dangerous materials on the Internet
To what extent are ‘dangerous materials’ prominent on the Internet (or ‘junk and jerks’ as Kollock put it)? What does their existence mean in terms of the ‘freedoms’ the Net allows? Is freedom always positive?
Lister et al: page 181
‘Dangerous materials’ are prominent on the internet to quite an extent, in the forms of viruses and hackers, pornography, flaming, paedophiles, piracy and spam. Peter Kollock refers to these negative aspects of the internet as ‘junk and jerks’.
Both the internet itself and the freedom it allows are vast. Anyone with a computer and internet access can view anything they wish, give or take a few registration or payment processes.
The existence of these ‘dangerous materials’ along with the freedom the Net allows means that they are accessible to countless people, including children. Lister et al state that “the internet is often seen by consumers as a potentially open channel for frightening materials to enter the home”.
It’s highly inappropriate for children to see pornography which can easily be found innocently on search engines or even just appear as pop-up’s. Also for children who use chatrooms, paedophiles ‘grooming’ is a serious problem. Although I think the dangerous materials are more of a problem when it comes to children, they can also cause problems and stress for adults. Spam, viruses and hackers are a nuisance to any internet user. Logging onto your e-mail account to find hundreds of spam e-mails every day can become extremely frustrating and viruses can be an expensive problem both to prevent and fix.
Of course, the freedom of the internet has positive aspects in terms of researching, news, global reach and communication but the ‘dangerous materials’ means that freedom is not always a positive thing.
Lister et al: page 181
‘Dangerous materials’ are prominent on the internet to quite an extent, in the forms of viruses and hackers, pornography, flaming, paedophiles, piracy and spam. Peter Kollock refers to these negative aspects of the internet as ‘junk and jerks’.
Both the internet itself and the freedom it allows are vast. Anyone with a computer and internet access can view anything they wish, give or take a few registration or payment processes.
The existence of these ‘dangerous materials’ along with the freedom the Net allows means that they are accessible to countless people, including children. Lister et al state that “the internet is often seen by consumers as a potentially open channel for frightening materials to enter the home”.
It’s highly inappropriate for children to see pornography which can easily be found innocently on search engines or even just appear as pop-up’s. Also for children who use chatrooms, paedophiles ‘grooming’ is a serious problem. Although I think the dangerous materials are more of a problem when it comes to children, they can also cause problems and stress for adults. Spam, viruses and hackers are a nuisance to any internet user. Logging onto your e-mail account to find hundreds of spam e-mails every day can become extremely frustrating and viruses can be an expensive problem both to prevent and fix.
Of course, the freedom of the internet has positive aspects in terms of researching, news, global reach and communication but the ‘dangerous materials’ means that freedom is not always a positive thing.
Friday, 13 February 2009
Week Four - Topic 2: Social Networking Sites
Social Networking Sites
Social networking websites have become, for many people, a part of every day life.
In terms of theories of online identity or ‘identity play’, social networking sites are very simple. You register as your ‘real self’ and that is who you are online. The majority of people sensibly only accept ‘friendships’ from people they know of IRL, which means there are no issues of gender swapping, stereotyping or just pretending to be someone else for the fun of it. Of course, you can exaggerate or tone down your personality or characteristics but as the people who view your profile are those who know you IRL, it seems pointless. Social networking sites, unlike MUD’s or any unmonitored forums, are not places for personal experimentation.
After some web-based research, I noticed some suggestions of social networking being described as social communities. I don’t think I personally would describe Facebook as a community. Although you do know your some of your ‘friends’ on an emotional level, you interact on the site and have a continual membership, it is more of a means of peer-to-peer communication, being nosey, or part of the ‘look at me’ phenomenon than a community.
Social networking websites have become, for many people, a part of every day life.
In terms of theories of online identity or ‘identity play’, social networking sites are very simple. You register as your ‘real self’ and that is who you are online. The majority of people sensibly only accept ‘friendships’ from people they know of IRL, which means there are no issues of gender swapping, stereotyping or just pretending to be someone else for the fun of it. Of course, you can exaggerate or tone down your personality or characteristics but as the people who view your profile are those who know you IRL, it seems pointless. Social networking sites, unlike MUD’s or any unmonitored forums, are not places for personal experimentation.
After some web-based research, I noticed some suggestions of social networking being described as social communities. I don’t think I personally would describe Facebook as a community. Although you do know your some of your ‘friends’ on an emotional level, you interact on the site and have a continual membership, it is more of a means of peer-to-peer communication, being nosey, or part of the ‘look at me’ phenomenon than a community.
Week Four - Topic 1f: Is community in the eye of the user?
Having read the piece, is it fair to say that ‘community is in the eye of the user(s)’, in the sense that it is about what’s on offer and how people respond to it, rather than saying any collection of people interacting online is a community?
Blanchard Reading
After reading the article, I do agree that community is in the eye of the user(s). I definitely don’t think that any collection of people interacting online can be defined as community.
Using the ‘sense of community’ proposal as a starting point, I think that if a user of an online group/forum or whatever it may be feels emotionally connected to the other users, has a fair share of input and has a sense of membership then they would feel like they are part of a community. Only they know what they feel about that ‘community’, if someone from outside that community was to come across the site and read the postings they would probably just see it as a standard group because they do not have the feelings of being involved nor would they be aware to a big enough extent of the relationships involved. In this respect, I think it is fair to say that community is in the eye of the user.
Blanchard Reading
After reading the article, I do agree that community is in the eye of the user(s). I definitely don’t think that any collection of people interacting online can be defined as community.
Using the ‘sense of community’ proposal as a starting point, I think that if a user of an online group/forum or whatever it may be feels emotionally connected to the other users, has a fair share of input and has a sense of membership then they would feel like they are part of a community. Only they know what they feel about that ‘community’, if someone from outside that community was to come across the site and read the postings they would probably just see it as a standard group because they do not have the feelings of being involved nor would they be aware to a big enough extent of the relationships involved. In this respect, I think it is fair to say that community is in the eye of the user.
Week Four - Topic 1b: Virtual Settlement Concept
Is the ‘virtual settlement’ a useful concept? Why?
Blanchard reading
The ‘virtual settlement’ concept was proposed by Jones (1997). He describes it as the place in which people interact and suggests that it can be understood by looking at the artifacts: its postings, structure and content.
Jones states that a virtual settlement is present when “a) a minimal number of b) public interactions c) with a variety of communicators in which d) there is a minimal level of sustained membership over a period of time”. It is the relationships within the virtual settlements which can be said to be the difference between a community and a standard group.
I think that this concept can be useful when comparing communities and groups because I agree that for a group to be given the title of community, the factors that Jones proposes should be present. However, it is very similar to Blanchard and Markus’ (2003) proposal of ‘sense of community’. I think that the ‘sense of community’ notion is more valid as I prefer the idea of having an emotional connection and a feeling of membership when describing a community. Jones’ proposal, although a useful concept, I feel lacks detail about the relationships that need to be involved in order to have a community.
Blanchard reading
The ‘virtual settlement’ concept was proposed by Jones (1997). He describes it as the place in which people interact and suggests that it can be understood by looking at the artifacts: its postings, structure and content.
Jones states that a virtual settlement is present when “a) a minimal number of b) public interactions c) with a variety of communicators in which d) there is a minimal level of sustained membership over a period of time”. It is the relationships within the virtual settlements which can be said to be the difference between a community and a standard group.
I think that this concept can be useful when comparing communities and groups because I agree that for a group to be given the title of community, the factors that Jones proposes should be present. However, it is very similar to Blanchard and Markus’ (2003) proposal of ‘sense of community’. I think that the ‘sense of community’ notion is more valid as I prefer the idea of having an emotional connection and a feeling of membership when describing a community. Jones’ proposal, although a useful concept, I feel lacks detail about the relationships that need to be involved in order to have a community.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Week Four - Topic 1a - Do CMC groups deserve the status of community?
What do you think about the issue of whether or not all CMC (computer-mediated-communication) groups deserve the status of communities? What characteristics would you stress as important?
Blanchard Reading
I think that this question relates well to my thoughts on the notion that online community can be empowering / disempowering (post below).
All CMC groups could be described as communities, depending on your definition of ‘community’. As below, a community can be a group of people with common background or shared interests. In this case then I would say that most groups deserve the status of a community.
However, a community in real life is what I think of when the word community is mentioned. I agree that people within a community should get along no matter their differences. I agree with Jones (1997) that people’s feelings and the relationships between people are characteristics that help differentiate between a standard group and a community.
A sense of community has been defined by McMillan and Chavis (1986) to have the following characteristics: feelings of membership, feelings of influence, integration of fulfilment and needs and a shared emotional connection. I agree that these qualities define what a community is about and that a sense of community can also be a distinguishing factor between a group and an online community in the ‘reality’ term.
Blanchard Reading
I think that this question relates well to my thoughts on the notion that online community can be empowering / disempowering (post below).
All CMC groups could be described as communities, depending on your definition of ‘community’. As below, a community can be a group of people with common background or shared interests. In this case then I would say that most groups deserve the status of a community.
However, a community in real life is what I think of when the word community is mentioned. I agree that people within a community should get along no matter their differences. I agree with Jones (1997) that people’s feelings and the relationships between people are characteristics that help differentiate between a standard group and a community.
A sense of community has been defined by McMillan and Chavis (1986) to have the following characteristics: feelings of membership, feelings of influence, integration of fulfilment and needs and a shared emotional connection. I agree that these qualities define what a community is about and that a sense of community can also be a distinguishing factor between a group and an online community in the ‘reality’ term.
Week Four - Topic 1a: Online Community
What do you think of the notion that online community can be empowering/disempowering?
I think that online community can be both empowering and disempowering.
Online communities can help people get away from reality where they may be the ‘odd one out’, or not fit in. If they engage in an online community they will feel welcome, ‘normal’ and accepted. As discussed before, this can be very empowering and confidence boosting for an individual.
However, a community in reality is meant to be about accepting others, whatever their level of difference. When difficult times or situations arise, members of a community help each other out and are supportive, regardless of the individual. This is what a community is meant to be and makes it strong. Online communities don’t have this as they are mostly about being the same; anyone with differences is not welcome into their community. There are no obligations, dependence or stability in online communities, so can they be classed as real relationships? I don’t think that they can, as relationships are meant to be built on trust.
Both online and offline communities can be empowering or disempowering for different people. I think that although online communities tend to be about similar people coming together, this doesn’t make them any less of a community than ones in reality. After all, a community can be defined as ‘a group of people with common background or shared interests’. In this case, I don’t feel that trust or dependence is needed. The members don’t really know each other so being part of the community can just be an empowering thing for each individual in their own way.
I think that online community can be both empowering and disempowering.
Online communities can help people get away from reality where they may be the ‘odd one out’, or not fit in. If they engage in an online community they will feel welcome, ‘normal’ and accepted. As discussed before, this can be very empowering and confidence boosting for an individual.
However, a community in reality is meant to be about accepting others, whatever their level of difference. When difficult times or situations arise, members of a community help each other out and are supportive, regardless of the individual. This is what a community is meant to be and makes it strong. Online communities don’t have this as they are mostly about being the same; anyone with differences is not welcome into their community. There are no obligations, dependence or stability in online communities, so can they be classed as real relationships? I don’t think that they can, as relationships are meant to be built on trust.
Both online and offline communities can be empowering or disempowering for different people. I think that although online communities tend to be about similar people coming together, this doesn’t make them any less of a community than ones in reality. After all, a community can be defined as ‘a group of people with common background or shared interests’. In this case, I don’t feel that trust or dependence is needed. The members don’t really know each other so being part of the community can just be an empowering thing for each individual in their own way.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Week Three - Topic 1a: Internets open architecture
In what ways can the Net be thought of as an ‘open architecture?’
Lister et al: page 164
In the terms of media, an open architecture is a computer or software architecture that permits adding to or improvement.
The Internet can be seen as an open architecture because anybody can create a website, which would be adding to the Internets architecture. Similarly, anybody can add to forums, create pages or profiles, write articles; people can basically post anything they like to the Internet.
This open architecture allows all opinions to be voiced, whether the audience is mass or minority people still are able to present their thoughts.
In this way, the construction of the Internet could be contrasted to other forms of media such as television or print media, which could be said to have a ‘closed architecture’ because it can’t be adapted; people are given what is broadcast or printed.
Lister et al: page 164
In the terms of media, an open architecture is a computer or software architecture that permits adding to or improvement.
The Internet can be seen as an open architecture because anybody can create a website, which would be adding to the Internets architecture. Similarly, anybody can add to forums, create pages or profiles, write articles; people can basically post anything they like to the Internet.
This open architecture allows all opinions to be voiced, whether the audience is mass or minority people still are able to present their thoughts.
In this way, the construction of the Internet could be contrasted to other forms of media such as television or print media, which could be said to have a ‘closed architecture’ because it can’t be adapted; people are given what is broadcast or printed.
Week Three - Topic 1e: Online and Offline relationships
Are online relationships the same as offline ones?
Lister et al: page 170
Lister at al state that “The interaction formed in the supposedly ‘virtual’ environment has profoundly ‘real world’ consequences for those concerned”. This is suggesting that relationships formed online are no different to those formed IRL; although two people may meet online, they can still have a normal relationship in reality. Andrea Baker has written many papers on the formation and continuation of online relationships and has found many to be as successful and genuine as relationships formed in real life.
Lister et al also suggest that as these relationships that are flourishing as well as relationships do in real life that the dichotomy between the real and the virtual may be false; there isn’t actually any major differences.
I do believe that two people can meet online and become genuine friends or a romantic couple, providing they have met IRL and continue to do so. In this scenario, the internet site / chat room / forum etc was just a meeting point for two like-minded people to get together. I agree a healthy relationship can bloom from this situation. However, it is when the relationship is entirely online with no IRL meetings that I think they are not the same as offline ones. Not getting together in reality means that you can be sure who you’re really talking to, I think in this case it’s a ‘have to see it to believe it’ situation.
Lister et al: page 170
Lister at al state that “The interaction formed in the supposedly ‘virtual’ environment has profoundly ‘real world’ consequences for those concerned”. This is suggesting that relationships formed online are no different to those formed IRL; although two people may meet online, they can still have a normal relationship in reality. Andrea Baker has written many papers on the formation and continuation of online relationships and has found many to be as successful and genuine as relationships formed in real life.
Lister et al also suggest that as these relationships that are flourishing as well as relationships do in real life that the dichotomy between the real and the virtual may be false; there isn’t actually any major differences.
I do believe that two people can meet online and become genuine friends or a romantic couple, providing they have met IRL and continue to do so. In this scenario, the internet site / chat room / forum etc was just a meeting point for two like-minded people to get together. I agree a healthy relationship can bloom from this situation. However, it is when the relationship is entirely online with no IRL meetings that I think they are not the same as offline ones. Not getting together in reality means that you can be sure who you’re really talking to, I think in this case it’s a ‘have to see it to believe it’ situation.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Week Three - Brief analysis of a web forum
Choose a web forum and undertake a brief analysis of its dynamics as a communication form.
A web forum is a discussion site where people can post comments or thoughts about a certain topic. Web forums usually contain completely user generated content and are usually about a particular subject.
I have chosen to look at the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) discussion boards, which can be accessed via this link:
http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000002/threads/?p=2
I noticed that people interact mainly by replying to threads that a user has posted. For example, one person will pose a question then give their thoughts, and then other users, sometimes up to hundreds of people, will answer with their views.
I found that people don’t tend to present themselves to others; there’s no conversation regarding personal lives or identities. They are more inclined to express their opinion on the particular thread they’re commenting on. Users do have profiles, where they have the option to display personal facts such as name, age, location, likes and dislikes. The profiles can be accessed by clicking on usernames which are hyperlinks. Although this information can be retrieved I found it seems to be of low importance.
Due to the clear-cut nature of the forums I don’t feel you really get a sense of what kinds of people the participants are. The only information instantly provided are a username and their comments regarding the movie topic.
The characteristics of the site structure make it easy to view many different discussion topics so users can easily pick a subject of interest. I feel that the type of communication used in this forum is very straight to the point and the fact that there are lists of topics is what influences this. People see a topic, and display their opinion, nothing else needs to be included. The type of topic, which is movies, (including films, actors and actresses, games etc) also has a similar effect on the straight-forward communication. People that visit the forum have an interest in movies and a desire to share their opinions with other film fans.
Another thing I noticed about the communication within the forum is that it is very up to date. On the few different occasions when I accessed the site the latest posts were within the last few minutes or hours. Also, I observed that many of the comments on different threads are from the same user name. This shows that some people are very active users of the forum. I found this quite odd, as there don’t appear to be any ‘relationships’ between users despite the high usage. The IMDb forum appears to be used by genuine film fanatics. I see this in a positive light; there is no issue of identity or ethical issues of withholding information.
A web forum is a discussion site where people can post comments or thoughts about a certain topic. Web forums usually contain completely user generated content and are usually about a particular subject.
I have chosen to look at the IMDb (Internet Movie Database) discussion boards, which can be accessed via this link:
http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000002/threads/?p=2
I noticed that people interact mainly by replying to threads that a user has posted. For example, one person will pose a question then give their thoughts, and then other users, sometimes up to hundreds of people, will answer with their views.
I found that people don’t tend to present themselves to others; there’s no conversation regarding personal lives or identities. They are more inclined to express their opinion on the particular thread they’re commenting on. Users do have profiles, where they have the option to display personal facts such as name, age, location, likes and dislikes. The profiles can be accessed by clicking on usernames which are hyperlinks. Although this information can be retrieved I found it seems to be of low importance.
Due to the clear-cut nature of the forums I don’t feel you really get a sense of what kinds of people the participants are. The only information instantly provided are a username and their comments regarding the movie topic.
The characteristics of the site structure make it easy to view many different discussion topics so users can easily pick a subject of interest. I feel that the type of communication used in this forum is very straight to the point and the fact that there are lists of topics is what influences this. People see a topic, and display their opinion, nothing else needs to be included. The type of topic, which is movies, (including films, actors and actresses, games etc) also has a similar effect on the straight-forward communication. People that visit the forum have an interest in movies and a desire to share their opinions with other film fans.
Another thing I noticed about the communication within the forum is that it is very up to date. On the few different occasions when I accessed the site the latest posts were within the last few minutes or hours. Also, I observed that many of the comments on different threads are from the same user name. This shows that some people are very active users of the forum. I found this quite odd, as there don’t appear to be any ‘relationships’ between users despite the high usage. The IMDb forum appears to be used by genuine film fanatics. I see this in a positive light; there is no issue of identity or ethical issues of withholding information.
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