elearning reflections

Now that I have finally got the hang of blogging I realise that I have not been using this edublog site as I could have been for the semester as I tended to use it more where I was required to comment in readings or particular ideas for EMT1. I did not use it as a platform where I could, as I am doing now, reflect on my ideas, learning, life, etc on a daily basis or weekly basis.

I have in my life written a lot in a journal and generally I have a notebook where from time to time I jot down my feelings and thoughts and in some way I realise that a blog work in that way, somewhat, except that the whole world can read it and that I am not comfortable about when it comes to feelings and some thoughts. However, I can see that for some people this platform would work for them to write down and share their thoughts and ideas with the wider world and that it would be a satisfactory experience.

I note, though, that as I have gotten older I feel less of an immediate need to write everything down and more a need to quitten my soul. I used to thrive on a thriving and very active mind but now days I am sick and tired of it and instead I look for activities and states of mind that help me quitten than space for me rather than mad eit louder and faster which I feel the new e-world of communications is all about. I am a very outward looking person in nost areas of my life: work, social, and community life but when I am not otherwise engaged I like to refelct and meditate as much as I can and find peace and tranquility instead of more forms of communication.

Hence, I cannot see my self becoming a personal blogger despite learning about blogs but I can see thier use in the area of learning, communication, activitsm etc and will use them in those areas. I will continue to reflect and inspire deeper learning in my self which may from time to time involve writing but I do not think that I will do so via a personal blog. Instead I will treasure looking for a fab writing book and using one of my Lamy fountain pens and write away in some scribble with the odd drawing in between.

This does not mean that I am not excited about the technology and its amazing advances but I like learning about it so I can choose how and when to use it.

Tags: blogging

Well, after spending days on a wiki thinking about learning activities I feel I am able to share my thoughts on these new developments in the area of e-communication. Ahhhhhhh and more ahhhhhh!!!

Lets start with the wiki … I thought that wikis were going to be as easy to use as word type documents where I am so familiar with their workings that I can jump from here to there back to some other spot retaining font style and text size – well not in a wiki – what a cumbersome experience it was.

It is extremely frustrating to develop a wiki within the wiki as you cannot perform all desired text functions within the edit function – for example – you can’t cut and paste and if you drag some text it then does not allow you to change it and it often changes its style. So the best option is to constantly travel between the completed page and the edit function. Why have they left out the spelling check function – or was it that I did not find it? and what happened to undo? – extremely handy tool when writing long pieces of text.

So I would suggest to the developers of wikis to make them a lot more user friendly so that someone like me, after spending days working on creating some knowledge, could feel inspired to return to a wiki with enthusiasm. If I reflect on my experience of working on wiki I struggle past the benefit that a group of people can work on it and keep track of changes – something I have done with word documents for a long time with good version control. There is potential there but unless they are made much more user friendly then I can only see much frustration for its users. I would like to think that I stand to be corrected.

Now to blogs and particularly to blogs and forums – I think I have finally worked out the difference (thanks to my fellow learner in EMT1).  As any adult learner my past experiences help me to learn about new things like e-communication tools like blogs and online-forums and so I can understand tnat blogs are like the old boxes that people used to stand on boxes in the park like the Domain or Centennial Park or Hyde Park in London to make statements of their views on the world, like:

Like making comments on soap boxes there is no expectation of a response, instead one makes a statement about one’s views regardless of what others may think.

Online forums on the other hand are more about dialogue – they are conversations started by/someone who does expect a response so as to discuss the issue/idea being proposed.

Like Mason and Rennie (2008) I think that having blogs and forums in the one community or online learning site is confusing for members and there should be a clear explanation of the difference to encourage use of the technology appropriately. I have experiences this confusion on a Ning community where I am a member and as there is a lack of clarity one has to look in many places to find the right discussion.

Perhaps there is a need for assuming less knowledge about these various e-communication platforms and more clarity provided about their purpose and use so that online travellers can feel more confident in the online world.

Reference

Mason, R and Rennie, F., 2008, E-Learning and Social Networking handbook: resources for higher education, Routledge, London.

Tags: wikis blogs forums