Final reflections

The methods, politics and ethics of representation in online ethnography

Do we need to have a response to our online footprint or interactions in order to be a participant in the online community?  Can a person whose blog has 0 comments argue that they are actively participating in the community?  Does that interaction need to occur to boost anther's knowledge? I found the “I am perceived, therefore I am” discussion in the article intriguing.    It might be “old school” to still value the “ I think therefore I am” mentally, but I believe that if you don’t need to be perceived, acknowledged or responded to in order for you to be participating in a community. If you take our class for example, there are some who have spoken very little in some of our discussions but I would not say that they are not active participants in our classroom communities.   Much as we address different learning styles and approaches with our students we must also realize that people have these same differences in an online setting.

Amber Case: We are all cyborgs now

Have we really found a new species?  While I acknowledge that technology is changing our lives, cultures and identities, I found the proclamation of discovering a new species a little over dramatic.  I agree with the existence of a second self, an online self and I think it relates to what we have discussed in class about helping our students learn and navigate their online persona.  I like how at the end she mentioned that the most successful technology is one that gets out of our way and lets us live our lives.   It reminded me of the phone commercial we watched in class about needing to be saved from our phones as we never turn off or connect with what is currently going on around us.

Learning about network learning communities

“The creation of new knowledge by teachers and principals/head teachers leads to deep conceptual changes and new ways of working in schools and classrooms.” (p.28)  While this statement in theory sounds terrific and I certainly agree it can be true, I question how we can get everyone on board and working on the same page.  That “ buy in “ factor can be very difficult to achieve for every teacher.  It seems as if anyone involved in a Network Learning Community (NLC) is already actively engaged in their practice and willing to change.  What about those who do not wish to participate in such communities?  The NLC seems similar in nature to Communities of Practice as they are focused on the learning of pupils and the learning of the teacher, but I have witnessed first hand many teacher opposed to these groups and have even heard them referred to as a waste of time.   Perhaps the educators felt this way because the community of learning they were involved in lacked many of the 6 qualities listed for a NLC to be successful: purpose and focus, relationships, collaboration, enquiry, leadership, and capacity building and support.

Personal Learning Networks:

I think this video reiterated what we have been discussing in class about education lagging behind the digital capabilities of our students.  I think we all agree that students need to explicitly be taught how to navigate their digital environment safely and ethically.