Analyzing
The skill of analyzing learning contexts and strategies for
learning and further development
learning and further development
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Reflecting on the Formation of Digital Cultures This was one of the most interesting assignments that I completed during my time in MET. This assignment was completed in the course Culture and Communication in Virtual Learning Environments ETEC 565G. I had wanted to take this course because of my background in Communication, as well as my minor in Religious Studies, and I found that this course not only complimented my past experience but also offered a new perspective on how culture and communication plays a role in learning environments, both in classrooms and also in workplaces. Even before MET I had a fascination with how communication is changing through social media, and particularly through the use of memes. There were a couple of times in ETEC 565G that I explored this topic further - first with a synchronous collaborate discussion about meme use on 4Chan in creating a digital culture, and then again with this project where I explored the virtual ethnography of the virtual community (Subreddit on the site Reddit), TrollXChromosomes. I loved that I was given the opportunity to find and explore a digital culture, and that I was able to actively apply the theories I learned in ETEC 565G in evaluating the communication techniques that the culture used and how the culture evolved. Essentially, TrollXChromosomes is a "humour based feminist online subreddit (forum), with members as self-proclaimed 'trolls'... while the site is asynchronous, there are hundreds of active members online at any given time" (Handford, 2017).
Through my study I learned that TrollXChromosomes, while humour based, is also serious in it's aim to educate users on feminism and on intercultural understanding. As well, I learned about how the culture communicates, and how users become "encultured" within the culture of TrollXChromosomes. One way that users become encultured is through the clever use of visual memes. Through Reddit, cultures like TrollXChromosomes are able to grow and thrive. Users have tools that enable them to negotiate their cultural beliefs amongst each other and rules can be set to govern their communities (Hewling, 2006, p. 337). Overall this assignment helped me to better understand that culture can be generated and thrive within the digital sphere. And as I discussed in my assignment, "While there is some debate over whether virtual groups constitute real communities, I believe that TrollXChromosomes is a good example of a culture that is using new interactive and visual tools to build a participatory community of people in the digital sphere (Chen and Dai, 2012, p. 127)" (Handford, 2017). This is another instance of cognitive dissonance within my MET journey (Festinger, 1957). When I first started ETEC 565G, I had assumed that cultures could exist within the digital sphere, but that they could not be created within the digital sphere - that they could only integrate digitally after creation, however, after analyzing TrollXChromosomes, I now believe that it is possible for cultures to originate online. Through this analysis I now realize that it is important to observe and involve yourself in communities (both online and offline) that you potentially might impact through learning solutions, as "meaning is in the context while very little is in the transmitted message" (Hall, 1983, 229).
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AnalyzingAnalyzing, in this context, is the practice of studying, researching, and applying theory to real-world contexts, scenarios, and ideas. This aspect of educational technology is important because it is critical that proper research and learning strategies are considered in the phases of design and implementation for sound formation of ideas, learning objectives, and the addition of technology into learning contexts. PCK "...also involves knowledge of teaching strategies that incorporate conceptual representations in order to address learner difficulties and misconceptions and foster meaningful understanding" (Mishra & Koehler, 2006, p. 1027). Click here for Page References
Chen, G.-M. & Dai, X. (2012). New media and asymmetry in cultural identity negotiation. In P. H. Cheong, J. N. Martin & L.P. Macfadyen (Eds.), New Media and Intercultural Communication: Identity, Community and Politics (pp. 123-137). New York: Peter Lang. Dezuanni, M., Dooley, K., Gattenhof, S., & Knight, L. (2015). IPads in the early years: Developing literacy and creativity. Routledge. Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Hall, E.T. (1983). The dance of life. New York: Doubleday. Handford, A. (2017). ETEC 565G: Culture and Communication in Virtual Learning Envrionments, hands-on assignment 3 submission [Written PDF document]. Heidegger, M. (1953/1977). The question concerning technology. In M. Heidegger, The question concerning technology and other essays (trans. W. Lovitt) (pp. 3-35). New York, NY: Harper & Row. Hewling, A. (2005). Culture in the online class: Using message analysis to look beyond nationality-based frames of reference. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), article 16. Hu, W. (2011, January 4). Math that moves: Schools embrace the iPad. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com Lapowsky, I. (2015, May 4). Inside the school Silicon Valley thinks will save education. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2015/05/altschool/ Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for integrating technology in teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Musti-Rao, S., Lo, Y., & Plati, E. (2015). Using an iPad app to improve sight word reading fluency for at-risk first graders. Remedial and Special Education, 36(3), 154. Spiro, K. (2014). 5 elearning trends leading to the end of the learning management systems. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/5-elearning-trends-leading-to-the-end-of-the-learning-management-system Categories
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