Digital Ethnography: An Examination of the use of new technologies for Social Research
My very first questions when reading the beginning of this text was why on earth would researchers purposefully omit using tools that could enrich and further validate their findings? Why is everything new almost instantly distrusted? Why is there such an “old school” mentally in a field that is potentially meant to influence and impact our actions in the future? In reading about the anonymity of online sources, I felt as if there was a catch 22. If you are merely a quiet observer can you truly understand and accurately represent the findings? However if you are an active member of the interactions can you unbiased when representing the findings? With online material are you allowed to not ask permission to use quotes from postings like Denzin (1999)?
Using online sources definitely seems to have issues, but it also has many positive qualities for research. Online methods can allow people to be more honest and truthful in their responses, providing richness to the research. The use of online questionnaires allows researchers to reach more participants, and again may allow for more honest answers. However I agree with the text when it point out that not everyone has access to digital technologies to be able to participate in studies and that we can’t assume that just because it is the 21st century that everyone has access to technology. Digital video requires more technological tools in order to participate and widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. However it does allow for participants to be further away from the researcher and to be more comfortable in their personal surroundings. It allows for more spontaneous data collecting as the participant can video themselves when they feel they have something to share, rather than waiting to a set interview time. The use of blogs still seems to be controversial because in my opinion it does not fit with the “elitism” and “academia” of research. The view is that anyone can have a blog and share an opinion therefore the sources cannot be as valid as scholarly articles. I agree with Murthy (2008) when he addresses Blogs as being an excellent source of accountability. This can be seen in recently in Edmonton when the Dean of Medicine was found to have plagiarized his commencement speech. It seems as if everything is online now a days and can be traced back.
Reflection from July 5th:
I really valued the opportunity to have a group discussion with everyone about the article and the class. I found the graffiti video really interesting. They seemed very passionate about their work. It did remind me of how we categorize people into sections and then have difficulty shifting our thinking. Graffiti is generally thought of as disgraceful, but the men in the video see it as art to be treasured. Everyone has a story and the men really wanted to get their message out about graffiti. A video allowed us to really go deeper into their story. As a colleague said to me, it would not have had the same impact if we had read their story.
Constructing knowledge and transforming the world
I felt very discourage reading the first paragraph of this paper. It brought up for me all the feelings of never knowing if you are doing the right things for your students and it seems like if you choose one path you leave behind some and if you go on the other path you leave behind others. Differentiation allows for more children to be reached, but how does one differentiate all the time for every student?
I agree with Piaget’s view that children must experience a change or live an event to truly feel the impact and it is the responsibility of educator to assist children to live the change and experience. Technology can be a wonderful resource to help children vividly experience a concept or theory rather than simply reading about it in a textbook.
Papert’s view of education and development seems to be inline with the new Math curriculum that was developed. It encourages children to learn through action and to verbalize their thought process, rather than simply seeking “the answer”. Papert’s seems to focus on the evolution of thoughts, which correspondence with the education trend to get children to self reflect and self evaluate.
I have always been interested in the way Vygotsky views learning. In my opinion the influence of culture and media cannot be dismissed. Children with different societal norms can have different ways of doing things, including learning. However is this influence more powerful than an individual’s natural learning tendencies? The influence of others in the learning process can enrich a child’s development or hinder the development.
Reflection of videos:
Gever Tulley teaches life lessons through tinkering
He definitely demonstrates a strong passion for what he does. He conveys a nice reminder to believe in the capabilities of children and to help guide them to all their potential. His approach reminded me of that of Reggio Emilia in that it asks children to explore, discover and inquire by allowing them time and the availability of various resources. I particularly enjoyed when he said “Failures are celebrated and analyzed.” I think we have gotten better at accepting mistakes from students but I don’t know if we really take the time to analyze and learn from them.
Class reflection July 6th:
I really liked the idea of hands on as opposed to hands up. I find we still have not quite made the shift away from that in all classrooms.
Class reflection July 7th:
I found the morning conversation very interesting. The debate about the balance needed between open assignments and rigid guidelines was very intriguing. I feel that today’s conversation clearly demonstrated the continued divide between elementary/junior high approach and priorities and the High school approach and philosophy. I agree that the whole system needs to be on the same page or you will run in to accountability and evaluation difficulties.
References:
Murthy D. (2008). Digital ethnography: An examination of the use of new technologies for social research. Sociology 42 (5) (pp. 837-855). SAGE Publications http://soc.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/content/42/5.toc
Achermann E. K., Constructing knowledge and transforming the world http://learning.media.mit.edu/publications/Constructing_Knowledge_Ackermann2004.pdf
Chapter published in: A learning zone of one's own: Sharing representations and flow in collaborative learning environments [M. Tokoro and L. Steels (Eds.). Amsterdam, Berlin, Oxford, Tokyo, Washington, DC. IOS Press, 2004. Part 1. Ch 2. pp. 15-37.
Video: “Gever Tulley teaches life lessons through tinkering”
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/eng//id/588 
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