Tools, Tools, Tools

I like new tools!

I really enjoyed the tools for this week! I have never used Google classroom, but I would be interested in using it for my training sessions in the future. I manage two software systems at my workplace, one for our curriculum development, and one for the online catalog. I host training sessions every semester for users, and this would be a great place for users to  connect with each other and post questions, both for me and other users. I may give it a try this fall.

Another option that I am considering is Piazza. I like that you can see if there has been responses from the instructor, or form other students. I also like how it can be organized into different folders so that ,multiple conversations stay discrete. I could just as easily use this tool for my training sessions in the fall, so I am going to play with both tools and see which one offers more features that provide the type of support and environment I need.

Old tools are giving me troubles

Outside of the new tools this week, I also spent A LOT of time on Pinterest trying to sort out how to add a business account to my personal account. I would just create a whole new account for the knowledge sharing project, but I would prefer to have access to analytics available through the business account. So, I had to struggle.

The set up process was strange, since it seemed that I had to create my own pin in order to complete it. However, in this case I am only sharing content, so I got stuck. I somehow ended up creating two identical business accounts in the process. I thin tried to deactivate one to avoid confusion in the future, and accidentally deactivated my whole account! Fortunately I was able to reactivate and get one business account removed, and now my page is a work in progress.I am finally able to share, so that is a relief!

Anyone else have this problem?

Social Media for Instruction

As an instructor, I must admit that I have hesitated to use social media in my courses. My reasons for this align with those given in  the article by Gülbahar, et al. (2017); namely, that my own beliefs and fears about using social media tools for instruction prevented me from even trying in most cases, and succeeding on others. I did try to use Remind, which is an app that allows the instructor to communicate with students via text without having to give out a phone number. However, because I was nervous about making students us a tool like that, I made it optional. For that reason I couldn't use all of the features to their full potential.

The readings this week really helped to give me a different perspective on using social media on the classroom. One theme I noticed throughout the articles was the idea that social media should never be used just because it can be, but only because it fits the pedagogical framework of the course. I do feel that there are times when technology and social media tools are used because they are new and trendy, even when it isn't a good fit for the content or teaching method. In these cases, I have often felt that the use of those tools actually detracts from learning rather than supporting it. I think this is due to an issue that Dr. Dennen (manuscript in process) points out, which is that when the tool becomes the center of the design process, sometimes the learning objectives get lost in the attempt to make an interesting lesson using a cool new technology (p. 5). However, I think the guidelines laid out by Dr, Dennen, especially SCOPE,  as well as the social media toolkit built by Gülbahar, et al., can really help me select the appropriate tools and integrate them into my courses.

I went through the quiz on the social media toolkit website, https://socialmediaforeducation.org/, and found the results to be really helpful. Not only does it provide a ranking of the types of social media that might work for a course, but also a series of tips on how to use those tools. This is a site that I will definitely be using in the future as I design my own courses, as well as something that I will recommend to other instructors who might need this type of support.


References:

Dennen, V. P. (manuscript in progress). Instructional design and development for social media lessons.

Gülbahar, Y., Rapp, C., Kilis, S., & Sitnikova, A. (2017). Enriching higher education with social media: Development and evaluation of a social media toolkit. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2656

Knowledge Sharing - Pinterest Board

This week I have been trying to figure out what to curate for the knowledge sharing assignment. I am interested in local and seasonal eating, and I cook quite a bit, so I decided that I would create a Pinterest Board about it! I've posted some resources that list what types of fruits and vegetables are in season in the month of July, and also some delicious recipes that use those varieties of produce. The link to the board is below:

https://www.pinterest.com/seasonalfood/

Update: I've tweaked the page a bit, and added more boards. Now there are recipe boards for every season, as well as a board for information on the benefits of seasonal eating. I am not the most saavy social media user, but I am hoping to get at least a couple of followers so I  have some analytics to share at the end of the project. It seems tough to get people interested!

So far I have tweeted it with #eme6414, shared my page on Facebook, and am writing this blog to get the word out. I am working on finding other avenues to share as well. If anyone has any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated!

Educational Technology - What is it Good for?

I really connected with the reading this week by Gavriel Salomon. In it he perfectly describes the misgivings I have about how technology in the classroom is sometimes presented. While I am not anti-technology, I do feel that technology has its limitations, and I have never really bought into the idea that eventually everything in our lives will be automated. There are factors in our experiences as humans that can't be quantified, or turned into algorithms, and sometimes those ineffable qualities get pushed aside in he face of the more concrete, visible presence of technology.

Salomon makes the observation on page 153 that he frequently encounters discourse on what technology can do in the classroom, but that the focus is not on learning but on the technology itself. I have observed this in my own experience working at a college, where we rolled out a MOOC that quickly fizzled, and have a heavy focus on classroom technology when remodeling classrooms. The conversation seems to be about what the tools themselves can do, not the results they can bring about for students. That is not to say that better technology and tools can't enhance education in many ways, but rather that it is not a substitute for quality instruction.

I also really appreciated the differentiation that Salomon made between information and knowledge. Information for Saloman is just data, bits and pieces of facts and figures that exist in their own. Knowledge, on the other hand, is a web of constructed meaning that is contextualized and can be applied in new ways (p. 155).  So if information is everywhere, and is easily accessed by so many, does that necessarily mean that everyone can connect that information to create knowledge in the way that Salomon is describing? Or does the ability to do so, at least in the beginning, take guidance? Salomon certainly seems to think it does, and I don't disagree.

Salomon mentions his colleague, who predicts that in the future all education will be virtual and schools will disappear, except those for the the elite (a statement which is worthy of consideration on its own). I am not sure that virtual education for all, although quite within the realm of possibilities, is a desirable outcome, and the possibility raises some questions for me.

• Will this virtual instruction still rely on an instructor? If not, who will the students go to with questions?

• Is Salomon correct in his differentiation between information and knowledge? If so, will a completely virtual education teach young people, as Cuban stated, "to think about information" rather than just collect it (p. 156)?

• How important is socialization to the educational experience, and will missing out on that have some effect on students?

What do you think?

Feeling Overwhelmed

I am wrapping up this week, and I have to be honest, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. We have looked at so many tools, and I am having a hard time narrowing it down to those I want to concentrate on for the rest of the semester. Some of them, like Pinterest and Goodreads, I have already used quite a bit. Others that are definitely more popular, like Twitter and Instagram, are new to me, and I am having a difficult time figuring out how I want to engage with them. I feel like I need to take a step back and assess what I am looking for out of the platforms I choose, and which will give me what I am looking for.

For anyone out there that has felt overwhelmed and done an inventory like this, so you have any suggestions? Advice?

Intellectual Property

At the beginning of the semester, I blogged about some of the intellectual property concerns that I had when using social media. I do know that many platforms (including the most popular like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) retain the right in their user agreement to use anything you post royalty-free. This has been a major factor in my hesitation to share photos, videos, and other creative work on those platforms. Not that I fancy myself an artist or photographer, but I am uncomfortable with the idea that those things can be used any time, anywhere and without my knowledge. For this reason, I found the tips for content creators on social media provided by Ahmed (2018) to be particularly helpful. His suggestions to add digital watermarks, or to only share low resolution images, were good ones. I know that low res might not be desirable for avid Instagramers, but for someone who wants to have more control over their content and how it is used, it is a great idea.

I also read the linked article on Article 13 of the European Copyright Directive published by UDL, a British intellectual property firm. Article 13 would require online platforms that allow users to upload and share materials to "filter" those uploads based on whether or not the creator/copyright holder has given permission for the use of that content. This really got me thinking about just how much content is shared over and over, and most of the people who share it have no idea where it came from. This is especially so for memes and other materials that get passed around on the internet freely. I am not even sure that most meme creators would know how to go through the right channels to make their meme protected or open to the public (whichever they prefer), and it seems like it would be difficult to expect every internet user to understand the complexities of those processes. I am interested to see how this plays out in the future.

Open Educational Resources Everywhere!

I was really excited to see that we are covering open educational resource (OER) sites this week.

Why?

Because I am working on a group project for my other course, and we are designing a lesson on OER! The readings and resources that we have touched on this week have been really helpful to my research. My portion of the project is focused on the history of OER, and the Caswell (2008) article was very helpful in that regard. Obviously there has been some development in OER since 2008, but this article really helped me understand some of the foundations of the movement.

One notion that I noticed runs throughout the literature on OER is the idea that through technology, we have the ability to democratize education. In Reiser and Dempsey's (2018) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, they writes about ideas and thoughts being public and inclusive, in that they are easily shared and used by many people at one time. On the other hand, they describe books, journals, and other physical objects containing knowledge as  rivalrous and excludable. By rivalrous they mean that only one person can use them at a time, and by excludable they mean that access to that book is restricted by proximity, ownership, etc.(p. 317). They then go on to argue that digital media is more akin to ideas and thoughts, because they are both nonrivalrous (many people can use them at one time), and nonexcludable (anyone anywhere can access them). For this reason, some have drawn the conclusion that digital educational resources should be free and open to all, and that would open up educational opportunities to those that might not have access to them otherwise.

I think this is an interesting notion, and one that was also highlighted in the Caswell (2008) article. It does seem like a wonderful idea to allow curious people to access stores of collected ideas and knowledge, removing financial barriers and time constraints of formal education. However, I also think that it can easily become complicated. As the other readings from this week have shown, copyright and fair use issues can become confusing, and difficult both to adhere to and govern. Also, how do we ensure that open resources retain their quality over time? Finally, can we really trust that all learners are  ready to engage in these materials with little or no guidance from an instructor? Or is it potentially dangerous to allow open access to materials that might be easily misunderstood?

What do you think?

Week Overview

I signed up for Nuclino and joined the EME-6414 group, and I really like it as an organizational tool! I love that all of the social media tools we are using in this course are on the EME page. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed keeping track of them all, and that gave me a bit of relief!

I have had Pinterest for quite some time. I used it to plan my wedding, I collect recipes there, and I also keep a page for my Stitch Fix subscription, so the stylists can see the type of clothing I prefer. I really like Pinterest as a bookmarking tool ,but I never really thought of it as a social media platform. I don't actually know who I follow on Pinterest, and I usually just search for whatever I'm looking for or pin from other sites. I don't scroll through to see what others are posting, and I am wondering if there are people who do do that.. Maybe I've been doing it wrong!

I've also had Quora for some time, but I have not posted much on the site (surprised, I'm sure!). I do lurk and read sometimes, though, much like I have with Reddit. I just find the questions and responses on both platforms to be really interesting. I like to seek different perspectives on various topics, and both Quora and Reddit are great places to do that. One area i which they differ is that it seems Quora has a lot more international users, which provides an even broader scope of opinions. I like to see how differently people from various parts of the world answer the same question. It makes me reflect on my own assumptions and challenges my worldview.

Does Social Media Divide?

This post may be a bit off-topic for the class, but my husband has been listening to a song titled "Malcolm on Twitter" by Passport Rav for the past few days so it is on my mind. After listening to it several times I began thinking about the central questions he is asking: If Malcolm X,  a controversial figure even in his own time, had twitter, how would that change how he was perceived, and his effectiveness as a leader? Would Martin Luther King have been as outspoken a leader if he was constantly being trolled online? Would his message have remained as consistent?

As we scroll through our Facebook and Twitter feeds, I'm sure we have all seen articles discussing social media's propensity to divide people, despite the intention for it to do the opposite. Some articles, like this one from UC Berkeley, claim that the algorithms used in social media platforms create echo chambers in which people are only exposed to content that reflects their already held values and opinions. They claim that this further divides people politically, because people are only exposed to information with which they agree, and it becomes easy to essentialize those who hold different views as completely stupid, wrong, or even the enemy. I think this is the kind of division that Passport Nav is getting at in his song. Does social media make it more difficult to have civil conversations surrounding heated topics? When everyone is free to respond immediately, without face-to-face interaction and with high emotional stakes, do those who might have been vocal leaders get silenced? 

Other articles, like this one from Huffington Post, claim that social media use can contribute to economic divides due to who is and isn't included in certain social networks. They claim that those who already have economic and social advantages are likely to have large social media networks with others who share their status, which they can leverage to further increase their social capital and economic advantages. 

What do you think? Are there ways that social media can also unite us?

Communities

I am an unapologetic lurker, and most of the time I have spent in the internet has been in that capacity. I read a lot on the internet, and learn a lot, but I have never been a member of an online community. I rarely even use Facebook beyond liking a post here and there. So, my experience joining a couple of online communities and participating in them over the past two weeks has been interesting.

I am participating in two communities, both on Facebook, and both concerning hiking in the Pacific Northwest. One of the groups is focused on Olympic National Park, and one is focused on Mount Rainier National Park. When I posted on the Olympic page, I immediately received over 20 replies suggesting various hikes throughout the park, as well as advice about tide charts and trail closures. The group seemed very eager to share their love of the park, and they were very welcoming. However, when I posted on the Mount Rainier page I got only one response. This has actually made me prioritize Olympic during my trip, because the overwhelming enthusiasm from the group made me really excited to experience the places they recommended.

I have to say, however, that I haven't really learned any more from participating in the group than I have lurking. I had already found information about most of the places the community recommended by reading posts on the Reddit group and elsewhere. So, I am not sure that there is better information available by joining a community, at least not in this specific case. It was, however, a lovely experience to feel welcomed by the community, and to see how excited they were to share their knowledge and passion with others. So, I did gain something from joining the community, and that was a sense of welcome and belonging. They've asked me to post pictures during our hikes, which I absolutely will!

Reddit

Over the years, I have found myself reading posts on Reddit many times, on varying topics. I have found the site useful for many topics, particularly when I am looking for some tips on a project I am working on. However, I have never opened an account on Reddit, so this is my first moving from lurker to community member in this particular social networking site. So far, I like what I am seeing. It seems that this site is particularly good for communities surrounding hobbies or activities. I found some great groups to join for my Communities assignment topic, which is finding hiking/outdoor activity advice for the Seattle area. The communities are active, and the members seem very responsive. So far I haven't posted anything, though I plan to, because I wanted to see how they react to newcomers. So far it seems pretty friendly.

Since I have enjoyed my experience with the hiking communities, I also searched around and joined some cooking and baking communities, as well. Cooking and baking is a hobby of mine, and one I participate in often as I generally do the cooking at home. I am always looking around the internet to see ho to perfect some technique, and it seems like these communities will be really great for that. I am actually really excited to dive in!

Context Collapse-That's what that is!

I was actually kind of relieved to find out about context collapse through the voicethread and articles this week. I have often experienced discomfort when this happens, and I thought it was just me! At my current job, I made the mistake of allowing coworkers to friend me on Facebook, and now I feel hesitant to post anything for fear that someone I work with won't like it for some reason, and that it will hurt my career. Although it doesn't seem to bother some of my coworkers, who are still very vocal and post a lot on Facebook despite the number of coworkers on their friends list, it's good to know that I am not alone! I wonder why some people experience discomfort when context collapse occurs, and others don't. It's funny, because running into a fellow student or coworker out in public doesn't bother me nearly as much as having so many people from different contexts on social media.

I experience the most worry about posting opinions on Facebook, and especially those that are political. If it was just friends and family I might be less worried, but it is a much more difficult thing to traverse when people from my professional life are involved. Interestingly, I read a study recently that described social media use of students, and the majority of them reported the same hesitation about participating in political dialogue on social media. The number  one reason given for this was a fear that political posts might hurt their future career opportunities. So, maybe this is a common concern (although I wouldn't have guessed it by the posts I see in my news feed every day). A link to the study is here.