tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86103772864376667102024-03-13T12:03:45.873+00:00Sam's AnticsLife, learning and changing the world......Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-62487859097345913052016-10-14T06:49:00.001+01:002016-10-14T07:10:02.038+01:00Misdirection, redirection, moving on<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlMJdL1wzrK9aUMTfOmWx9MLQGnfTKpHCQaBdHmyQGCyZa_U9R_bvk5k4FEGTTStzoVva7n1yfEpnJ4XUvfLsBCMMeiufxm4INlz-AD9ZVN4MoqE7poZpumyiJxnyFFWmYYkqTS9HLEpf/s1600/chupa-chups-psychologist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlMJdL1wzrK9aUMTfOmWx9MLQGnfTKpHCQaBdHmyQGCyZa_U9R_bvk5k4FEGTTStzoVva7n1yfEpnJ4XUvfLsBCMMeiufxm4INlz-AD9ZVN4MoqE7poZpumyiJxnyFFWmYYkqTS9HLEpf/s400/chupa-chups-psychologist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Taking time to reflect is sometimes the hardest part of life, although it shouldn't be. Every time a fresh cohort of H8** start twittering, I am reminded how much I got into using my blog as a way to reflect and steer my mind. I am also reminded of how I let life and work get in the way! So, no more feeling sorry for myself, its time to start blogging again. I am now a freelance trainer and consultant and every week I am seeing new things and thinking about stuff. I definitely have lots to share.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, one of the things I need to decide, is whether to set up a new blog, or to keep using this one? By using this one (of which I like my title), I can continue my journey and be more broad in my subjects. But should I have a separate one which focuses more on safeguarding? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am about to go on holiday, so I will ponder this over the next two weeks, but do let me know your thoughts. Do I branch out on separate lines, or return to my Antics here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And if you have just started H8** - good luck! Soak it up. Get involved. Its one of the best things I have ever done.</span>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-59024920835767455522015-02-08T11:33:00.001+00:002015-02-08T11:34:28.010+00:00The project approach: networked practice and learning from peers<h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Open and networked practice</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The final project artefact is intended to be an
open educational resource, so developing the project in an open environment was
a meaningful way to explore and role model online participation. Online
networks and open practices are an integral part of my personal (as a student)
and professional (as a practitioner) world. Four main platforms were used to
inform and develop the project: the Open University, Twitter, a personal blog
and open journals. As the project was situated in my professional context,
using established networks outside of the Open University was important. Other practitioners
and Scouting volunteers presented different viewpoints, and diversity of
opinion was helpful in critically reviewing the project development. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This personal blog </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">was
used as the central point with which to share the development of the project. I hope the blog has afforded participation in digital ‘creation’, alongside the development
my digital identity. It does have a limited audience, but sharing posts through
Twitter has increased this and also helped to extend the discussions (thanks all). New and existing
contacts have aided reflection and signposted to further research and
resources. Twitter was also beneficial when looking at the macro-environmental
factors. Using the hashtag facility as a search tool highlighted current
debates, projects and interested people. Furthermore, it afforded research on
the move as posts could be read or bookmarked for future review from a mobile
device. The main impact in being more open was that practitioners outside of
the Open University engaged in the debates. This gave assurance, credibility
and confidence in the project’s relevance for the wider world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Creating posters and peer
review</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The creation of a conference poster presented a
chance to explore new, online, multimedia tools and consider alternative forms
of digital creativity.</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Multimedia
methods<o:p></o:p></span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
face-to-face practice a variety of methods and media are used to deliver
educational material and I wanted to mirror this within the project. I wanted
to tell a story, but to keep the messages simple and reflective of core values,
in order to engage and motivate the intended audience. Mayer’s (2005) cognitive
theory of multi-media learning however, reminds us that we have separate,
limited, channels for processing auditory and visual information and we need to
get the mix of media right in order to actively process information and create
coherent mental representations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As
Scouting is about ‘learning by doing’, I adopted this approach. By experimenting
with different media formats and presenting them early for review, I was able
to determine the most appropriate approach. Animations provoked more emotional
responses and recognition of their story-telling potential. The final decision
to use a slideshow based animation was a result of asking Scouting volunteers
to feedback on two different kinds of animation, in order to get a different
perspective. They viewed the slideshow animations as more interactive and
engaging, with greater potential for re-purposing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
role of feedback<o:p></o:p></span></span></h4>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxSrUOqXhvDv8xkpvlKMVRwwmO49TLN9rzx3oKPkHHwW-iSK7xw4F4aM4Oeud0N7kDcrf-deh4PWakK2LoEGBty3iqh2yZsYprRFWDb0EUlCQHMBTwBaKOnOCs4zhsAsSsiacOF91OUXh/s1600/social-media-550767_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxSrUOqXhvDv8xkpvlKMVRwwmO49TLN9rzx3oKPkHHwW-iSK7xw4F4aM4Oeud0N7kDcrf-deh4PWakK2LoEGBty3iqh2yZsYprRFWDb0EUlCQHMBTwBaKOnOCs4zhsAsSsiacOF91OUXh/s1600/social-media-550767_1280.png" height="320" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The process of engaging in feedback, on our own
as well as others work, aided poster development. Feedback developed from
simple comments to more detailed and constructive guidance as we engaged with
other student’s material and reflected back on our own. A good example of this
is how later feedback often asked about the theme and the artefact, as more
students realised this was not explicit within their own posters. The first poster version created provoked
attention-grabbing, motivational responses and
recognised the impact of the visuals and logical approach it afforded. However feedback also helped develop the poster so that it became more
explicit in the concepts it was exploring and included clearer
links to the project questions and outcomes. Once again,
feedback from outside of the Open University was also sought, to ensure that
the approach and messages maintained a wider relevance, but also kept the wider
network updated with the project progress. The process of feedback also helped
in determining potential accessible alternatives. Following feedback and discussion
with fellow students in OULive, an audio text version was created, which responded
to comments and a simple slideshow version, with embedded
alternative text for screen readers, for those who needed time to navigate the
slides or visual descriptions of the content. The process of giving and
receiving feedback has therefore been invaluable in critically evaluating the
development of project resources.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>So thanks all for being part of the project too!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-483496078420560002015-02-08T10:44:00.000+00:002015-02-08T10:47:29.723+00:00The project topics: Digital identity and digital inclusion<h3>
<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digital Inclusion<o:p></o:p></span></u></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Defining
digital inclusion is challenging as research and debates are often embedded in
specific contexts. Most definitions converge around the idea that all members
of society are able to access the affordances that technology offers (Seale,
2009, Selwyn and Facer, 2007). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Political
and economic influences<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There
are strong political and economic influences throughout many of the debates on
digital inclusion. The UK Government defines digital inclusion as ‘having
the right access, skills, motivation and trust to confidently go online’
(Cabinet Office, 2014). However, the government’s motivations appear to be
focused on creating economic opportunities, with commissioned work addressing
access, through infrastructure projects with telecommunications companies, and
skills, for example, the projects commissioned by Go ON UK (</span><a href="http://www.go-on.co.uk/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.go-on.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> ).
Projects addressing the motivation and trust barriers appear more limited. The
government view of motivation supports the premise that going online makes it
easier to find a job, improve household income, and get more benefits from
public services. These motivations are predominantly economical and financial,
rather than social and cultural. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Meaningfulness
and digital choice<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Further
debates about the motivational barriers emerge mainly from the educational
field, where educators are looking at how to utilise ‘technology-enhanced’
learning. Seale (2009) notes that a lack of skills is not the only influence on
technology use. It must have some meaningful use in people’s lives and afford
contextual uses; in other words, it needs to have ‘life-fit’. Online
initiatives often forget that a person’s motivation and attitude towards the
use of technology, may be as important as the access quality and location. Individuals
develop positive and negative attitudes about technology, which, alongside other
cultural barriers, need to be tackled. Understanding the ‘digital choices’
(Helsper, 2008) people make is a necessary factor when considering inclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Scouting
values and digital inclusion<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Inclusion
is therefore about opportunities and practices and not just the deficits and
barriers. An individual’s values will be influential in determining the
meaningfulness of using technology. Seale (2009) reminds us that people bring
their own set of motivations, skills and resourcefulness to the online world. So
could the existing motivations and skills of volunteers, founded upon shared
values, motivate and encourage meaningfulness in digital participation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7COfo94xw-1ZteG04MJnX0l7-pFwaTRqAWz32E6GLMWfZEcZ3vFYhqKq5qoYufTRt5z16itoHYnXECIUQ8ww8SNo7UDmJVIdfCRJCyWwW0bBkbe7TryOtsP_fFXmYKgIy-D9z6hnLKJDD/s1600/sunset-401541_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7COfo94xw-1ZteG04MJnX0l7-pFwaTRqAWz32E6GLMWfZEcZ3vFYhqKq5qoYufTRt5z16itoHYnXECIUQ8ww8SNo7UDmJVIdfCRJCyWwW0bBkbe7TryOtsP_fFXmYKgIy-D9z6hnLKJDD/s1600/sunset-401541_1280.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<h3>
<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Identity</span></u></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The ‘identity’ topic emerged from research about
the trust barriers to inclusion and the relevance of identity in the digital
landscape. From a practitioner perspective, digital identity is at the
forefront of discussions about online safety. A conscious comprehensive
understanding of the nature of digital identity and how to manage it however,
has yet to be developed (de Kerckhove and Almedia, 2013; Ollier-Malaterre and
Rothbard, 2013). <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Understanding
identity<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">‘Identity’, put simply, is the perception and expression
we have of ourselves. Influenced by cultural contexts and social interactions
(Suke, 2009), it is generally agreed that identity is perceived differently in
different contexts (Besley, 2011; Cullen, 2009). Accordingly, online identity is
about how we present ourselves to others online, and how we perceive ourselves
through our online interactions (Gradinaru, 2013). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Digital
identity<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Early debates about digital identity concentrated
on anonymity and the multitude of opportunities the internet afforded. Technology
has developed and is now embedded in everyday lives, a process Gradinaru (2013)
called ‘technological domestication’. The internet is no longer a playground
with which to construct different identities (although we still use the
internet to explore different facets of identity), but has become a way of
‘customising’ our identities, more clearly linking back to the ‘real’. This
means that individuals participating online need have an understanding of the
structure of digital spaces, and how they influence and shape identity
(Kimmons, 2014). For example, less face to face contact encourages more
self-disclosure, which is the main affordance of social networking (Belk,
2013).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
challenges<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 255.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Online spaces offer opportunities and
challenges. The challenges converge around mis-understanding information. Digital
identity is easier to misinterpret because the original context and meaning of
digital presentations can be lost, as they are not necessarily linked to specific
contexts, particular relationships or situations. Self-disclosure can lead to boundary
dilemmas (Lannin and Scott, 2013), which is why most advice talks about the
benefits of developing separate personal and professional digital identities.
However, as Lannin and Scott (2013) note in their paper about how psychologists
navigate the online world, it would be naïve to think that our private lives
will never intersect with the professional.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Scouting
values and managing identity<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Individuals have to make their own decisions
about digital identity, but educators can help empower them. They need a heightened
awareness of the risks and rewards afforded by online participation in order to
take responsibility and make choices about their own digital identity. By
integrating Scouting values with messages about digital identity, could
volunteers consider how to participate in ways that are meaningful and truthful
for them, within a framework they already observe? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">References</span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Belk, R.
W. (2013). Extended self in a digital world. <i>Journal of Consumer Research</i>, 40(3), 477-500. [online] Available
at: </span><a href="http://www.dies.uniud.it/tl_files/utenti/crisci/Belk%202013a.pdf"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">http://www.dies.uniud.it/tl_files/utenti/crisci/Belk%202013a.pdf</span></a><span style="line-height: 150%;">
(Accessed 2 January 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Besley,
T. (2011). Digitized Youth: Constructing identities in the creative knowledge
economy. </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">Annals Of Spiru Haret
University, Journalism Studies</i><span style="line-height: 150%;">, 12(1), 9-22.</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">de
Kerckhove, D., & de Almeida, C. M. (2013). What is a digital persona?. </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative
Research, </i><span style="line-height: 150%;">11(3), 277-287</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;">Cabinet
Office (2014) Government Digital Inclusion Strategy, 13 April 2014 [online]
Available at: </span><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy</span></a></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><b>
(Accessed 2 January 2015)</b></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Cullen
(2009) Culture, identity and information privacy in the age of digital
government. <i>Online Information Review</i>, 33(3), 405-421.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><b>Gradinaru,
C. (2013). From Multitude to Convergence: Contemporary Trends in the Study of
Online Identity. <i>Argumentum:</i> <i>Journal the Seminar Of Discursive Logic,
Argumentation Theory & Rhetoric</i>, 11(2), 95-108.</b></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Helsper,
Ellen (2008) Digital inclusion: an
analysis of social disadvantage and the information society.<i> </i>Department
for Communities and Local Government, London, UK. [online] Available at: </span><a href="http://www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/communities/DigitalInclusion/tools%5COXiS%20Report.pdf"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">http://www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/communities/DigitalInclusion/tools%5COXiS%20Report.pdf</span></a><span style="line-height: 150%;">
(Accessed 2 January 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Kimmons,
R. (2014). Social Networking Sites, Literacy, and the Authentic Identity
Problem. </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">Techtrends: Linking Research
& Practice to Improve Learning</i><span style="line-height: 150%;">, 58(2), 93-98.</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Lannin,
D. G., & Scott, N. A. (2013). Social networking ethics: Developing best
practices for the new small world. </span><i style="line-height: 150%;">Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice</i><span style="line-height: 150%;">, 44(3), 135-141.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><b>Ollier -
Malaterre, A., Rothbard, N. P., & BERG, J. M. (2013). When worlds collide
in cyberspace:How Boundary work in online social networks impacts professional
relationships. <i>Academy Of Management
Review</i>, 38(4), 645-669.</b></span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Seale, J.
(2009). Digital Inclusion. A research briefing by the technology enhanced
learning phase of the teaching and learning research programme. [online]
Available at: </span><a href="http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalInclusion.pdf"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalInclusion.pdf</span></a><span style="line-height: 150%;">
(Accessed 2 January 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;">Selwyn,
N., & Facer, K. (2007). Beyond the digital divide. <i>Opening
Education Reports. Bristol: Futurelab. </i>[online]. Available at: </span><a href="http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/opening_education/Digital_Divide.pdf" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: blue; line-height: 150%;">http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/opening_education/Digital_Divide.pdf</span></a><span style="line-height: 150%;">
(Accessed 2 January 2015)</span></b><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Suke, C.
(2009). College Male Students' Cultural Value Identity in the New Media World. <i>China Media Research</i>, 5(4), 41-46.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-50407432453497405842015-02-08T10:38:00.000+00:002015-02-08T10:48:04.420+00:00The project drivers<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Project overview</span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">A bit of background into the three main areas areas of the project. Firstly the value-based approach, and why for me it is important to use this as a core in work. Then the importance of digital inclusion and identity (we will explore this more in the next blog post). and finally how I am trying to be a role-model, learning by doing and participating online.</span><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCLB6rj5QfL3xImr2Cl-lekXYQSJf0vTZ_E0LXqwyOyMzESXPvdI5DPwt1pf_VK3uOQUQtlMRZ8tyrrzj6sc7RkummhDsRXOOHubHMSKTlKlh-2L3VJzGj04M6N__TYly9yQIKKxE4e4X/s1600/wanderer-455338_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCLB6rj5QfL3xImr2Cl-lekXYQSJf0vTZ_E0LXqwyOyMzESXPvdI5DPwt1pf_VK3uOQUQtlMRZ8tyrrzj6sc7RkummhDsRXOOHubHMSKTlKlh-2L3VJzGj04M6N__TYly9yQIKKxE4e4X/s1600/wanderer-455338_1280.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A
values-based context<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A</span>s a practitioner
working in the field of children’s safeguarding, educational work is grounded
in the values of the organisation. This involves explicitly linking Scouting
values (integrity, respect, care, belief, co-operation) to key messages and using
the Scouting method (learning by doing, taking part in activities, taking
responsibility and making choices, undertaking new and challenging activities
and having fun) when designing learning activities. This values-based approach
was adopted in order to make safeguarding more accessible for volunteers and simplify
the core messages. The approach concentrates on enabling people rather than restricting
them. This approach has resulted in volunteers being more readily engage in
discussions; with a better understanding, acceptance and recognition of the key
messages given to them. I believe this remains a powerful and productive way to approach work and educational messages.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Exploring digital
inclusion and identity<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Existing research
and advice about going ‘online’ often centres on the practicalities of ‘how to’
go online rather than addressing the ‘why’ go online or the ‘how to be’
online. While the practical aspects are
important, addressing the social and psychological barriers that adults may
have to overcome is an essential and less commonplace discussion. Consequently,
the project wanted to explore whether the adoption of a value-based approach to
inclusion and identity, could offer a simple, but effective framework to help
engage volunteers in discussions about digital participation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Participation and
networked practice<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">After identifying that
education and development involves participation, and because the
project was a result of an Open University module focused on networked
practice, it was important that the project reflected this in its design and
approach. For this reason, the underpinning objective of the project was to ‘learn
by doing’ in order to develop knowledge and skills as a ‘networked’
practitioner. This included undertaking new activities online and</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> adopting a participatory approach in
achieving the project’s aims.</span><em><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-41124365855949748792015-02-08T10:30:00.000+00:002015-02-08T10:30:22.696+00:00In the run up to the conference...<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Open University conference is here and yesterday the first students presented their projects. It was an amazing array of different projects, topics and professions. That's the great thing about the Open University, fellow students are so diverse, so you get a richness of learning about different contexts and through different eyes. Although the conference was for Open University students and alumni, you can see some of the content here in <a href="http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2916" target="_blank">Cloudworks</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I feel like I cheated a bit, but by exploring a topic that I am already passionate about and that I work on in 'real-life' (let's face it, I am a boundary defying practitioner), I have managed to create something that may be useful in the future. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am going to share my last assignment with you through the next few bog posts, so you can understand a little more about the 'stuff' that I have been thinking about. I will also post a recorded version of my presentation, once the 'real' one is done!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpslAkXdSj3dsCq6t5cwrfEb4c8hLBtXaW4aT68eb3I1eBslLqKs3CdYU7ReLyIC4SK6mD_qjB7_acd3vZnGW_7LrrI2lLcppECzP6N90HXyrWUrdojoTiPz45w0tRV01WFB0LT-2hBMG/s1600/chinese-533102_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpslAkXdSj3dsCq6t5cwrfEb4c8hLBtXaW4aT68eb3I1eBslLqKs3CdYU7ReLyIC4SK6mD_qjB7_acd3vZnGW_7LrrI2lLcppECzP6N90HXyrWUrdojoTiPz45w0tRV01WFB0LT-2hBMG/s1600/chinese-533102_1280.jpg" height="108" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong>Conference Abstract</strong></span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><strong>Volunteers in Scouting do amazing things with young people every day, and whether they are climbing a mountain or using social media they should use the values and methods of scouting to guide them.</strong> </span></em></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For The Scout Association, education is about helping young people build confidence and life-long skills. This participatory approach to education means the ‘digital-inclusion’ of adult volunteers is less about accessibility of content and more about participation in online practices and engaging with young people in the online world. Consequently, the ‘Being Prepared’ project wanted to explore whether the adoption of a ‘values-based approach’ to digital inclusion, could offer a simple, but effective framework to help engage volunteers in discussions about digital participation. </span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digital inclusion is a multi-faceted concept, and the barriers to inclusion are embedded in social, cultural, economic and technological contexts. Existing research and advice often centres on the practicalities of ‘how to’ go online. While this is important, addressing the social and psychological barriers that adults may have to overcome are essential and less commonplace conversations. Therefore digital inclusion should also examine the ‘why’ go online and the ‘how to be’ online.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The ‘why’ go online looks at how motivation and attitudes towards technology use will affect the choices made. Individuals may think the technical aspects too challenging or feel participation is irrelevant. For this reason discussions about digital inclusion should consider the ‘meaningfulness’ of digital participation in people’s lives. Digital identity, the ‘how to be’ online, is about the presentation of self to others online, and the perception of self, developed through online interactions. From a practitioner perspective, digital identity is at the forefront of discussions about online safety, as individuals learn to navigate the online world. Exploring identity highlights the risks, fears and feelings connected to the sense of self and exposes individual vulnerabilities in an unknown environment. Digital inclusion needs to help individuals to take responsibility and make informed choices about their own digital identity, so they can take advantage of the opportunities as well as understanding the risks afforded by digital participation.</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This presentation tells the story of the ‘Being Prepared’ project. In order to understand the context, it introduces Scouting and outlines the debates about digital inclusion and digital identity in more detail. The project takes a socio-cultural view of inclusion and identity, and proposes that digital inclusion, like education and development is constructed and defined through our interactions with others and the world around us. Therefore the existing motivations and skills of Scouting volunteers, established upon shared values, can encourage meaningful and truthful digital participation, within a framework already observed. </span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The presentation will conclude by presenting the project artefact; an open educational resource, which takes the form of a website. The purpose of the artefact is not to provide volunteers with the answers, but to engage them in the conversation, and to help them to take responsibility for making their own choices. Choices that are founded upon Scouting values and methods. </span></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-17377108717674492832015-01-13T17:07:00.002+00:002015-01-13T17:07:22.350+00:00Belonging - Believing - Behaving<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am moving house next week. In the process of packing and finding documents to change address I came across something that I wrote when I was 19 (that's 19 years ago). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At that time I had been involved in a Youth group/movement that sprang up in Gloucestershire called 'Holy Disorder'. Our purpose? To help churches understand how to reach and and engage with young people. Not only did we run regular week night 'services', we also traverse the country in a minibus and took our messages to others. That was while I was 16 - 18 years old. Then, one of the churches we visited asked if I would be a youth worker there for a year. I was about to go to Durham to study Theology. But I took a year out and got paid bed and board and £100 a month to help youth work in the community.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the end of that time, I wrote a reflection on my time. I did not realise I still had this, or that I was so reflective back then as a teenager. However, I wanted to share some of the things I wrote, as the messages mirror those I am currently promoting/reflecting on. My spirituality may have changed along the way, but the message about belonging and relationships is at the core of our humanity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0-TSmki32bNL3TopQ9GuqczgL3iylyngN_g3hnFH71-9bDFjPFo40DrBSjrRS9SBuQzFoS_wU3LTPNKlUO6hxCxX9h8coA6qCIrcziL62VigyY4_3phuGFm27WXnf0RQuguNetbgd0oz/s1600/belonging-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0-TSmki32bNL3TopQ9GuqczgL3iylyngN_g3hnFH71-9bDFjPFo40DrBSjrRS9SBuQzFoS_wU3LTPNKlUO6hxCxX9h8coA6qCIrcziL62VigyY4_3phuGFm27WXnf0RQuguNetbgd0oz/s1600/belonging-1.jpg" height="341" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>" The heart of the message is love. The heart of youth work is love in action. We must be messengers of compassion and channels of love and peace. The most important thing will always be relationships. The interaction of people will always teach more than words.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Belonging. Believing. Behaving. I believe these are the three important stages of discipleship, especially with young people. A person will find it very difficult to believe, if they do not belong, and until they believe, it will be difficult to get them to behave. Once again the initial emphasis is on belonging - relationships.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Children want to copy and become like adults. Therefore the greatest lesson we can teach is behaviour and attitude. If we project behaviour which is not attempting to be a model of our values, then what are we teaching our children? </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>So maybe my work has at times eemed 'unstructured' or not largely 'teaching' based. This is because I believe that if you have the relationship right, then the teaching bit follows"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That 19 year old my have been young, but I think those core values have developed over the next 19 years, and is probably why I believe that values in action make a difference. For me faith was never about words and the message I took from Sunday school wasn't about believing dogma or the bible. The message I have carried with me is that people will judge you on how you behave. Therefore if you want to make a difference, you do that through action and not through words alone. </span>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-1742713194834952132014-12-31T15:13:00.001+00:002014-12-31T15:13:36.242+00:00Social networking, ethics and exploring boundary management<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqI0bTGf-7Nym7ESaztUxb8Ix6Yn-N1XD4I54RZFgI4m3WyiAso9WoOu0dbBu5_6vh9WKNxAXZxjFS7cH4Gidsh5MKHHSM7CjJ2XHWvm5pve2KZN_s1MK68o4uOaPWqIegmnk_DIr-Ywr/s1600/private-19858_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqI0bTGf-7Nym7ESaztUxb8Ix6Yn-N1XD4I54RZFgI4m3WyiAso9WoOu0dbBu5_6vh9WKNxAXZxjFS7cH4Gidsh5MKHHSM7CjJ2XHWvm5pve2KZN_s1MK68o4uOaPWqIegmnk_DIr-Ywr/s1600/private-19858_1280.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Developing best
practice for the small world. (Lannin and Scott, 2013)</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Lannin and Scott (2013) paper is focused on the
psychology community and how to navigate social media by interpreting the APA
Ethical Guide in a different context. This paper is a brilliant read and spoke
to me about the personal professional context. In particular it reflecting on
the opportunities and challenges that are presenting in social media, as
similar to those that small rural communities face. Close contact, small
worlds, means that it is very difficult to separate out personal and
professional completely. The paper sees this a ‘small world ethics’, and
situated the dilemmas created where younger members don’t realise there are
dilemmas, but older members can’t help as they have no experience of the technology.
By drawing upon experiences of navigating in small rural communities, then they
could draw lessons in how to navigate in the social networking world.This
resonated with Scouting communities for me. Often part of the communities
becoming extended families. How do we maintain boundaries when boundaries collide?
They say it is naïve of us to think that our ‘private’ lives will never
intersect with our professional lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Social networking, like rural communities, increase the
incidental contact, self-disclosure (remember we said that social media by its
nature is a self-disclosure environment) and multiple relationships. Small
world ethical thinking means we need to have a heightened awareness that the
environment may produce some ethical dilemmas and boundary violations. So we need to assess the risks and rewards
that online activity might have, but we (talking about psychologists) may also
need to be upfront and honest about the potential roles, set expectations from
the start. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The paper ends by discussing the potential for good
practice. This includes boundary management, technical competence and
professional/personal liability. It’s a good idea to have formal social
networking policies in place, so that both parties know the terms of use,
expectations and what they will and won’t do, bearing in mind informed consent
(e.g. – the psychologist will not search for the client online). They consider
potentially avoiding multiple online relationships with clients and maybe
having professional and personal profiles. They also say that psychologists
should develop technical competence before engaging with social media, just as
they would understand the cultural content in any work they undertake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So this paper was interesting for many reasons but there are
two takeaways for me. The guidance and advise advocated is very similar to that
that I give to volunteers. Understand, develop skills, and recognise the risks.
More importantly, there is a lesson here about the fact that in life, sometimes
there will be boundary violations – how we manage and deal with these is important.
So maybe some of the messages that need to be added in, are about what happens
if you think you have crossed a line. How to you deal with that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is a digital
persona (de Kerckhove and Almedia, 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The paper identifies the core identity, the person, and then
persona, which are the roles, relationships, attributes and identifiers of our
person. And these aspects are persona;, social, institutional, legal,
scientific and technological. <i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“..society, experts,
institutions and groups are still in a fragile unconscious, or pre-conscious
phase, regarding the nature of the digital persona; ethical and mature
management of its features and the need to develop more comprehensive, ethical
and friendly self-management tools."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once again we see that digital communication changes private
individuality into networked and connected community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When worlds collide in
Cyberspace (Ollier-Malaterre and Rothbard, 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The final paper I looked at picks up on the idea of boundary
management, and looked at the different ways that we manage social media from
the other side. How does personal information effect others professional views
of us. More can be found at <a href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/social-media-social-minefield/">http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/social-media-social-minefield/</a>
. Another fascinating read and it starts to get ‘under the bonnet’ of how
interactions online can effect others perceptions of us, and our identities.
The paper points out that we haven’t yet figured out how to manage our digital
persona and there are no comprehensive frameworks to draw on. This is good news
in some ways, as it means all those discussions I have been having at work, are
still very much in their infancy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The paper recognising that there can be a collision between
professional and personal lives and social media use require boundary
management and identity negotiation through the opportunities and challenges
present, especially because of self-disclosure. This is about the consequences
of the personal on the professional and it was good to read some of the positive
effects rather than focusing on the negative!. The paper identifies four types
of management behaviours: Open, audience, content, hybrid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Boundary theory in social networking is driven by
preferences for segmentation (how we divide up different aspects of our
persona) versus the integration of personal and professional identities and our
motives for self-enhancement or self-verification. Basically, when you come
down to it, social media is all about ego, and so it focuses on what we want to
tell people about us, or the identity we want to create – consciously or unconsciously).
The paper also explained how the notion of boundary management came about in the
1960s where there was a clear idea that professional and personal were
separate. Once again this adds some understanding in to why some of our older
adults find social media so strange, as the concept of sharing personally
information is not one that they grew up with. However social networking has
become a key forum for developing and maintaining relationships, especially if
as me, you are a relatively isolated practitioner in your context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The danger is, that our self-disclosures online are an
archive of information that is not tailored to a specific context or a
particular relationship or situation, and so it’s original context and meaning
can be lost. Here’s the outcome of their research:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uIENXJ0ENfGC5W-dZv0VboKa01BlhvRi1Gw4Q7YEFb4uScGuZXmJ9OGwa5CxZ72Nq_NzbXbzGLpdj1BHEmQLTKoh0oCSLw4twukaeYC15UIb0qZbe8L9j99XbUVc7jHlyy-pQ1gGORO8/s1600/051914-Rothbard-graphic+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uIENXJ0ENfGC5W-dZv0VboKa01BlhvRi1Gw4Q7YEFb4uScGuZXmJ9OGwa5CxZ72Nq_NzbXbzGLpdj1BHEmQLTKoh0oCSLw4twukaeYC15UIb0qZbe8L9j99XbUVc7jHlyy-pQ1gGORO8/s1600/051914-Rothbard-graphic+(1).jpg" height="468" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">de Kerckhove, D., & de Almeida, C. M. (2013). What is a
digital persona?. Technoetic Arts: A Journal Of Speculative Research, 11(3),
277-287. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lannin, D. G., & Scott, N. A. (2013). Social networking
ethics: Developing best practices for the new small world. Professional
Psychology: Research And Practice, 44(3), 135-141.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ollier - Malaterre, A., Rothbard, N. P., & BERG, J. M.
(2013). When worlds collide in cyberspace:How Boundary work in online social
networks impacts professional relationships. Academy Of Management Review,
38(4), 645-669. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-45018502862222155912014-12-31T14:33:00.002+00:002014-12-31T14:33:47.850+00:00Culture, Society and Identity<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“..values are the
primary motivational construct that influences almost every aspect of human
life, guiding us to consider what is desirable then energising and directing
behaviour towards attaining these goals..” </i>(Suke, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDlFoTQQQlmCRSb1msMoQ7w6U1jbpgVxsij3lg9ei1F_ioO4dipzzhvA91pl7wYDzm2f2oE6yfoa6sePiuDZ-eb4NGyDyrSEoeLx4hPOmbGCcE8QcIloQaU7UhTUrR1mUm4hO-4362bE9i/s1600/chinese-characters-399493_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDlFoTQQQlmCRSb1msMoQ7w6U1jbpgVxsij3lg9ei1F_ioO4dipzzhvA91pl7wYDzm2f2oE6yfoa6sePiuDZ-eb4NGyDyrSEoeLx4hPOmbGCcE8QcIloQaU7UhTUrR1mUm4hO-4362bE9i/s1600/chinese-characters-399493_1280.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wanted to explore further the ideas around cultural
identity and ethics, as this linked to my project premise about taking a
values-based approach to digital inclusion. My assumption was that many of the discussions
about identity, trust and safety are, and will continue to happen, but what we
need to do is find the right ‘conversational frameworks’ with which to have
these discussion. Originally I thought that I could just point people in the
right direction and give them some top tips. But it has become clearer the more
I have researched, that these are decisions that people have to make for
themselves, but you can help them to have these conversations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Suke (2009) paper was an interesting look at male cultural
identity with students in china, and how the digital world might be changing
their cultural values. Chen describes values as objects, conditions or
characteristics that members of that society consider important. This is
interesting in a Chinese context, as cultural values were formed from the traditional
culture of china and the increasing globalised culture of the online world.
Therefore these young men were interacting in two potentially different social
environments and so it would be expected that this might alter their culture
values. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The idea of cultural identity is also pick up in a paper by
Cullen (2009), researching ideas of identity and information privacy in the
context of New Zealand. Cullen notes that the concerns about privacy are
different for different groups and reflect the cultural values and concepts of
personal identity that people have. This difference in privacy concerns is also
the basis for Lorenzen-Huber et al’s (2010) research on privacy and older aged
adults. Their motivation was understanding whether privacy frameworks should be
different for older aged adults, as their perceptions will be influenced by
different psychosocial motivations. They
say that studies suggest that older adults are unconcerned about privacy
related to data-collection and sharing and that their perceived risk is lower
than the actual risk. They explored a five part privacy framework using a
variety of practical experiments with older people.</span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Seclusion (right to
be left alone)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Autonomy (right to self-determination)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Property (right to determine use and dissemination of
personal data)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Spatial construct (physical and virtual boundaries)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Data protection</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They found that older adults were more concerned with
emotional connections to family and friends, but particularly focused on
independence and autonomy. Therefore they balanced privacy preferences against
their desire for independent living, personal autonomy and satisfying
relationships, and had little concern around the five areas of privacy. If
devices were perceived as useful then they generally viewed them as acceptable,
but they wanted to control the decision making.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What this starts to show us is that we need to understand
identity and privacy as not universal. The concerns and approaches are not only
different according to culture, but also to age. Therefore discussions and work
with volunteers might need to be approached differently. One size won’t fit
all, and the risks to one group may be different to those of another because of
their perceptions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The digital world and
youth culture.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Discussions about the fragmented self are scattered around
literature about the digital world and culture. Besley (2011) reminds us of Foucault’s
view that our identities are not fixed but fluid. They change and develop over
time in a fluid, dynamic and creative process. As Besley is reflecting on creative
media and how this contributes to the wider ‘knowledge’ economy, the paper
naturally explores identity with a personal and public dimension, and how the public
dimension shapes our behaviour. Besleys notes that the digital identity can be
more fragmented and more temporal, so we need to manage it more, although we
tend to put our best side forward. Youth culture is often situated within the online
world of content creation and participatory culture (affiliations, expressions,
collaborative problem solving and circulations), and much of this makes us ‘media
producers’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">KImmon’s (2014) focuses in on new media and the literacies
that ensue. We need to have an understanding of the relationship between online
participation and identity and also how the structure of social media spaces
influence and shape identity. <a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/exploring-online-identity-convergence.html">Gradinaru
talked about</a> ‘context collapse’ in the sense that it is hard for us to
figure out what context we are in, but as <a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/a-further-quest-for-identity.html">Belk
pointed out</a>, social media context afford certain characteristics, like more
self-disclosure. Therefore, according to Kimmons social networking sites have their
own cultures and norms that force us to behave in certain ways, making it
difficult to express ‘authentic’ identity. It is also easier to misinterpret
identity through online information as it often doesn’t go deeper into the whys
and whats of what we are expressing. Therefore (back to Foucault), identity is
fluid and shaped by the context of the media we participate in. Which is not a
new idea, as we behave differently at work, as we might at home, and so forth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“…we need to empower
learners to participate in SNS in ways that are meaningful and truthful for
them, but do not reduce identity to the strict confines of the medium”. (Kimmons,
2014)</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Besley, T. (2011). Digitised youth: Constructing identities
in the creative knowledge economy. <i>Annals
Of Spiru Haret University, Journalism Studies, </i>12(1), 9-22.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cullen (2009) Culture, identity and information privacy in
the age of digital government. <i>Online Information Review</i>, 33(3),
405-421.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lorenzen-Huber, L., Boutain, M., Camp, L. J., Shankar, K.,
& Connelly, K. H. (2011). Privacy, Technology, and Aging: A Proposed
Framework. <i>Ageing International, </i>36(2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kimmons, R. (2014). Social Networking Sites, Literacy, and
the Authentic Identity Problem. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To
Improve Learning, 58(2), 93-98. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Suke, C. (2009). College Male Students' Cultural Value
Identity in the New Media World. <i>China
Media Research,</i> 5(4), 41-46.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-17426678091757669442014-12-31T13:03:00.002+00:002014-12-31T13:03:45.257+00:00A further quest for identity<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have been continuing my exploration of identity, after
some carefully worded searching on the Open University library (not sure what I
am going to do without it). The next few blog posts are a summary of some of the
papers that I read on my long train journey yesterday to see family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Extended Self in
a Digital World (Belk, 2013)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Russell Belk is a professor in business and marketing and
his discussion focuses on how possessions are an extended part of our identity.
This paper was so fascinating that I even discussed it over lunch. It is
interesting to come to discussions about identity from a different place, and
his paper looks at rewriting an earlier work about possessions, and how digital
possession might change how we view and create identity. The digital world
means that many of our possessions are now ‘invisible’ (like music, film), and
what was once private collections has now become public. The paper discusses
whether that means that we no longer view possessions in the same way, or does
it mean that we alter how we use and view these possessions as a wider part of
our identity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The key concept is that possessions serve as markers for
others to form impressions of us, and are cues for individual and collective
meaning. Belk notes that digital good can change our behaviour. They can
stimulate consumer desires, and help actualise possible daydreams or impossible
fantasies (by becoming a wizard in world of Warcraft or building a village),
but they also serve to facilitate experimentation. However, the problem with
digital possessions is the uncertainty over ownership. Belk asks if their roles
change when we turn off the device, but I think this is no different from the collections
you keep in the attic, or the music and films that sit on shelves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqf1Zhumx6yQZ8Vd9yF7cp1AvmJQhBfwgrG5N3YVLlGM3ZGyxbkHiEdmQEUgYyDk6Fx_4FNlBgHdIwZ2jk1kcF-SXM5foPRo2vYVMBuxI630OM0jIq7lAQ7hQWvGkFyFXOdRBw_48bVl6/s1600/woman-565631_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqf1Zhumx6yQZ8Vd9yF7cp1AvmJQhBfwgrG5N3YVLlGM3ZGyxbkHiEdmQEUgYyDk6Fx_4FNlBgHdIwZ2jk1kcF-SXM5foPRo2vYVMBuxI630OM0jIq7lAQ7hQWvGkFyFXOdRBw_48bVl6/s1600/woman-565631_1280.jpg" height="512" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This prompted discussion during lunch around how digital
things might have change our own personal possession. We are moving house soon
and have started to ‘declutter’. We have ‘got rid of’ a number of dvds (from a
collection of over 500), books and cds. Several years ago I said that I would
never have a kindle – now – I wouldn’t be without it. I have come to realise
that my love of books wasn’t the physical object, but the places that they took
me. I still feel the same emotions towards reading and treasure some of the stories,
but I don’t need to keep the physical book. I love my kindle and find that a
physical book constrains me being able to just pop it in my bag for those odd
moments. It’s the same with music. My whole music collection fits on a disk
that fits in my phone. I have listened to more music in the last year than I did
the previous ten years before. Why. Because it fits in my pocket, and I can
play it whenever there is a moment. My walk to work everyday has afforded a
great deal of opportunity to revisit albums from my youth, and long train
journeys home from training weekends, let me rest my brain and listen to new
albums. So music suddenly has been
repackaged and repurposed in my life. I guess this is about the fact that
possession are extended parts of us, and it’s how we use it, rather than the physical
presentation of it that is important. But what digital possessions have meant
for me, is that I get to explore my heritage and discover new things that will
potential help me reconfigure my identity for now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Getting back to Belk, there are a number of other points he
makes, which many others also make, about the natural of the digital world. Our
representations of ourselves can be fictional (online games and virtual worlds)
or real-life (blogs, forums and social media). What we have started doing more
of, is sharing our possessions, as a way of enhancing our sense of self: self-portraiture,
self-reflection, and self-confession. I really important point that I had not
really consciously considered, but is acknowledged by many of the writers about
digital identity, is that less face to face contact encourages more self-disclosure.
And most social networks afford self-disclosure as the heart of their
existence. Belk tells us that this means there is more self-revelation (and
this is acceptable, in fact a necessity) , a loss of control, more shared
digital possessions and aggregated self (there’s lots of little bits of us
joined together) and a shared sense of space. It means that the construction of
self is more social, and focus on affirming our existence in a social world,
while building an ‘extended’ self. But it also means that we start to have a
more distributed memory, where the digital world gives us digital clutter, as
well as different narratives of self, and digital cues to our sense of past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Belk, R. W. (2013). Extended self in a digital world.
Journal of Consumer Research, 40(3), 477-500. [online] Available at: http://www.dies.uniud.it/tl_files/utenti/crisci/Belk%202013a.pdf</span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-51390264785993405712014-12-29T14:47:00.000+00:002014-12-29T14:47:11.189+00:00Exploring online identity - convergence of self<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From Multitude to
Convergence: Contemporary Trends in the Study of online Identity (Gradinaru,
2013)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This paper attempts to explore the changes in our understanding
of identity, and how ‘technological domestication’ (the fact that the internet is
a functional part of our everyday lives), has meant a convergence in the online/offline
identity. Today our online identities are similar to our offline, as people
want to be honest and direct, and because it would be incredibly difficult to
manage multi-personalities now that it is easier for us to find ways of verifying
people’s identities and that we have less control, sometimes, as a user. The
information about us needs to fit together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzROCF9ttH0wIHCq7S4HLDW3A3v6wtpANMIs5eysxOmEfOJBRoTVu-wvh8NcFk9G4NmnSJXLq-KQuJrAn_zFJNSaaP1WueGWqJ4kkcpY64wp4w-YPoNZIu7EN07c93EK7h3ELN-3NU_dG8/s1600/edmonton-85045_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzROCF9ttH0wIHCq7S4HLDW3A3v6wtpANMIs5eysxOmEfOJBRoTVu-wvh8NcFk9G4NmnSJXLq-KQuJrAn_zFJNSaaP1WueGWqJ4kkcpY64wp4w-YPoNZIu7EN07c93EK7h3ELN-3NU_dG8/s1600/edmonton-85045_1280.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I remember reading a number of articles when I first started
my <a href="http://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/qualifications/f10">Masters in
Online and Distance Education</a> about anonymity and identity and how the internet
is changing behaviour. So this article, despite it being a difficult read,
really spoke about the ways that technology use has changed and that for most
people, honesty and ‘realistic’ portrayals of self are more important,
especially in a networked age. Gradinaru takes us back to the early internet of
the 1990s and how the multitude of possibilities and anonymity spoke to us of the
freedom and liberty that the internet affords, and links in with postmodern
ideas and multiple personalities. ‘Self’
could be distributed and so we could have a portfolio of personalities and play
different roles at the same time. Being able to explore numerous aspects of
ourselves potentially led to tensions between our online and offline
identities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However the way we use the internet and technology itself
has changed, especially with the advent of social media tools and platforms,
meaning that the difficulty is now knowing which identity to us in which
context (Rodogno, 2011). Or in fact knowing what context we are in. Rodogno
introduces the idea of ‘<b>content collapse’</b>
in sense that the complexity of the platforms and services available to us make
it difficult for us to determine which identity we are in, and so multiple
audiences are suddenly in the same context.
Therefore as users it’s not surprising that we have started adopting a ‘imagined
audience’ and lean towards shaping our online identity to that of our offline.
Otherwise we have a great deal of work to do in ‘archiving’ and protecting our
different personalities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Online identity then, is about how we present ourselves to
others, but also about how we perceive ourselves through our interaction with
others. This the way we present ourselves online becomes a process of managing
and constructing impressions, so that we can control how other perceives us.
Therefore the internet is no longer a playground with which to construct
different identities (although we still use the internet to explore different
facets of identity), it becomes a way of ‘customising’ our identities, with
symbolic markers that link back to the ‘real’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx92K6fZD9q3Bv90DKcorXHQhJlkOfd0HIMhl-bpCs9yz2TYQmrCbvKP8UOdrDkGXlIOSI1zNYaOQlCZlXQEbtufAB3sZzXAuoz5D3IVU-iW2lnZxCk-z0KzNRWcLird03ekz2TcBiSdRz/s1600/macro-319237_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx92K6fZD9q3Bv90DKcorXHQhJlkOfd0HIMhl-bpCs9yz2TYQmrCbvKP8UOdrDkGXlIOSI1zNYaOQlCZlXQEbtufAB3sZzXAuoz5D3IVU-iW2lnZxCk-z0KzNRWcLird03ekz2TcBiSdRz/s1600/macro-319237_1280.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How is this relevant
to my project?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many of our volunteers will be of a generation who lived
through these debates in the 1990s, and may see the internet still as this ‘other’
place where people go to play and be someone or something they are not. The
article reminds us that the way we use technology has changed. The more embedded
it has become, the more people use it as a part of their everyday lives, and so
their online identities will mirror the offline. That’s not to say that there
aren’t people who create completing anonymous identities, and we know that some
of the fears about safety come from the fear of not knowing who you are talking
to. But it has become easier to verify identity. Because people are being ‘real’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thus if we want to help our volunteers with their trust
issues, we can once again draw on our values. The way we behave and act offline
should be the same as the way we behave online. The way we interact with
strangers, should be the same. Just as we might be wary of the stranger on the bus,
we should also be wary of the stranger wanting to be our friend on Facebook.
Being ‘real’ about our identity makes it easier to manage our identity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Gradinaru, C. (2013). From Multitude to Convergence:
Contemporary Trends in the Study of Online Identity. Argumentum: Journal The
Seminar Of Discursive Logic, Argumentation Theory & Rhetoric, 11(2),
95-108.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rodogno, R. (2011). “Personal Identity Online”. <i>Philosophy
and Technology </i>25 (3): 309-328.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-22369539493824637282014-12-29T12:58:00.001+00:002014-12-29T12:58:30.319+00:00Binge studying......<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj1Wf7qt5AjOdPg7gF3apqWswmVMNz1Qzyo3cLMPnyRGSp_XQpMR7eVJsArLGnk4vOr0QmjfiWQUo7ptjQFSSA8R6950KNOENXiygYAUSMef572_wK0xD3z_lHP2Bx5oB63BbYfdnm8OM/s1600/chipmunk-457506_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj1Wf7qt5AjOdPg7gF3apqWswmVMNz1Qzyo3cLMPnyRGSp_XQpMR7eVJsArLGnk4vOr0QmjfiWQUo7ptjQFSSA8R6950KNOENXiygYAUSMef572_wK0xD3z_lHP2Bx5oB63BbYfdnm8OM/s1600/chipmunk-457506_1280.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely picture of a squirrel to represent me binging, but also to provide some cute factor by way of an apology.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So we have had binge eating. Then binge entertainment (where you what the whole series in one day). As you know, I like to 'binge' study. This is through necessity rather than choice really. That's what time resources do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to the<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Binge+Studying" target="_blank"> urban dictionary binge studying </a>is about cramming for a test, and is not useful. However, my binge studying is more about utilising my resources within a temporal context (time). I am breaking up study time by looking at forums, twitter and other students work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So sorry, but I guess if you are binging - it's better to share it right?</span>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-73772032525768300992014-12-29T12:12:00.000+00:002014-12-29T17:58:04.897+00:00Part two: exploring concept of digital inclusion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW2dErzpAS-5TX9rCyF0MnyMZl9njWstiz-Y-_z-nyd_E3JusY7v5tG-P3xxoQc9HLdoT8qqw_dkIz-M3zFZwXVXHEFPiBEcgnJk3UuQoAILJeH576vaR9owvacvTKBWpq2NZW8MoN1RE/s1600/signpost-378569_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW2dErzpAS-5TX9rCyF0MnyMZl9njWstiz-Y-_z-nyd_E3JusY7v5tG-P3xxoQc9HLdoT8qqw_dkIz-M3zFZwXVXHEFPiBEcgnJk3UuQoAILJeH576vaR9owvacvTKBWpq2NZW8MoN1RE/s1600/signpost-378569_1280.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Social and Digital disadvantage
(Helsper, 2008)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Helsper’s (2008) study explored the relationship between
social and digital disadvantage using available empirical data. It is a
comprehensive look at the links between digital and social engagement and focuses
on the debates around socio-economic links to digital inclusion. The study
picks up on the question about use – and asks does it matter that many
households don’t use the internet?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Key findings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The report found that those in socially deprived areas were
also least likely to have access to digital resources, and the analysis
suggested that this had not been improving. However it points out that there
are clear exceptions from the norm. These included the ‘unexpectedly engaged’,
who tended to be younger, single, socially disadvantaged and certain ethnic
groups. It also included the ‘unexpectedly disengaged’, who were those in more
rural areas, older and unemployed. The
analysis highlighted that educational achievement, employment and rural access
could affect engagement, but this was not necessarily because of access or
skill. There were links found with the level at which people accessed
technology and social isolation and economic disadvantage. Those who suffer
specific social disadvantages were least likely to benefit from technology that
could potentially help them (for example, those with poor education faced
barriers to access education, the elderly faced a reduction in the likelihood
of using social application).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digital choice<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Helsper introduces the idea of ‘<b>digital choice’. </b>This concept, I think, encapsulates the idea that
just because you can go online, you do. Online initiatives that focus purely on
access and digital services, forget about the support factors that are needed
for social inclusion, which may help with engagement with technology. Attitude
to technology are just as important as access quality and the access location. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This picks up on some
of the categories that the <b><a href="http://www.tinderfoundation.org/">Tinder foundation</a> </b>have
highlighted:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digitally Excluded – perceive they
have no access<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digitally Dismissive – choose not
to use, but have access and skills<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digitally Included – have the desire,
access and skills<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digitally Determined – have the
access but it is not readily available<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digital choice is driven by cultural factors and social context. This
means that individuals may have positive and negative attitudes and we need to
tackle these attitudes and cultural barriers. This report in particular
highlights that despite discussions around inclusion, the potential for the internet
to address social isolation and economic disadvantage are largely untapped,
because the focus has been on the barriers and have not included the enablers.
There is a need to address ‘digital choice’ as well as ‘digital divides’. Digital
disengagement is a complex problem and there are social, cultural and
attitudinal factors that inform digital choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Beyond
the digital divide (Selwyn and Facer, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This report from Future lab, brings us back into the sphere
of education, and focuses on the more traditional approach to ‘digital divides’
and the uptake of digital technology. This puts inclusion back in to the realms
of ability; “All members of society are able to access the affordances created
and offered by technology use”; and focuses on the debates around digital
literacies, which is the area of the report that is of most interest here. However
it’s worth noting that the authors remind us that access is not just a bout
broadband, but also about wireless and satellite connectivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The report states that skills are not limited to basic
physical actions like keyboard skills but also to those which have technical
and social qualities. We need both a
basic literacy, that is the ability to read and write; and a ‘functional’
literacy, the ability to put our skills in to use. The report develops three core areas of
literacy:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Information literacy – to be able to discern the
quality of content</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Adaptive literacy – to be able to develop new
skills whilst using ICT</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Occupational literacy – to apply skills in a
business, education or domestic environment.</span></li>
</ul>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Definitions of digital inclusion<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5FZzPPU7bSSAbHetxd1S8EaaiMoRuAvQjNHNtmc7QeQPqiInBv7xoCLBV7UKENWNZ_87VUjK1vNQK6eNrq0r3Obto6P36rc-8kYe5Vv8IHbtg1UXFHmpf10HyYharDMnGxYYWEFMibD1/s1600/human-567566_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5FZzPPU7bSSAbHetxd1S8EaaiMoRuAvQjNHNtmc7QeQPqiInBv7xoCLBV7UKENWNZ_87VUjK1vNQK6eNrq0r3Obto6P36rc-8kYe5Vv8IHbtg1UXFHmpf10HyYharDMnGxYYWEFMibD1/s1600/human-567566_1280.jpg" height="281" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">INCLUSION – DIVIDE – CHOICES -
PARTICIPATION<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So where does that take us on our analysis and development
of the concept of digital inclusion? Clearly inclusion is a complex area, and,
going back to what we said at the start, it is not just about access or about
skills. People need to decide whether using technology is meaningful in their
lives, but we also need to remember that inclusion is not just about deficits
and barriers but also about opportunities, outcomes and practices. These reports
highlight the conversations that continue to take place at a government and
education level. There are barriers, access is important, people need the
skills and there are technology and social issues to address.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We need to localise these conversations, so that we truly understand
the cultural and social enablers. I have
already written <a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/digital-inclusion-why-participation-is.html">my
thoughts on inclusion with my own context</a> and that of the project, linking
back to the ideas of openness. For me it’s about participation, and empowering
people (giving them the motivation and belief in themselves), to participate
online. It’s not about the financial or economic benefits to the individual,
but about the wider societal impact of participating in the world with others.
This takes me back to how I think that self-efficacy links to empowerment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seale (2009) reminded us that people bring their own set of motivations, skills
and resourcefulness to the online world, and my hope is that by highlighting
the skills and resourcefulness, as well as the values that people share in my
context, we can encourage participation and inclusion.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Helsper, Ellen (2008) <i>Digital inclusion: an analysis of
social disadvantage and the information society. </i>Department for Communities
and Local Government, London, UK. [online] Available at: <a href="http://www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/communities/DigitalInclusion/tools%5COXiS%20Report.pdf">http://www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/communities/DigitalInclusion/tools%5COXiS%20Report.pdf</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seale, J. (2009). Digital Inclusion. A research briefing by
the technology enhanced learning phase of the teaching and learning research
programme. [online] Available at: <a href="http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalInclusion.pdf">http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalInclusion.pdf</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Selwyn, N., & Facer, K. (2007). Beyond the digital
divide. <i>Opening Education Reports. Bristol: Futurelab. Retrieved
October</i>, <i>24</i>, 2007. [online]. Available at: <a href="http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/opening_education/Digital_Divide.pdf">http://www2.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/opening_education/Digital_Divide.pdf</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-85563719620908635352014-12-29T10:41:00.000+00:002014-12-29T17:57:56.507+00:00Digital inclusion - what does it mean?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the first part of my project I have been exploring
digital inclusion and what it really means. Like most ‘concepts’, there is a
lack of clarity around definition. This puts it in danger of becoming another
meaningless concept that is bandied about. So what have I found?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Economic and political motivations<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy/government-digital-inclusion-strategy">The
UK Government defines digital inclusion</a> as ‘having the right access,
skills, motivation and trust to confidently go online’ (Cabinet Office, 2014). They
want us to be digitally capable of going online and using it to improve our
lives. However the government’s motivations stem from creating opportunities
and ensuring that we have the competencies needed to develop the economy. This
is evident from that fact that many of the projects that have arisen from the Digital
Strategy have focused on access and skills ( see <a href="http://www.go-on.co.uk/">Go ON UK</a> ). While large companies are
working alongside the government to ensure we have the infrastructure to
deliver platforms and services, Go-ON UK are working with partners to make sure
that adults have the basic digital skills needed. And there are some fantastic
projects being delivered, many of which are focusing on those who are deemed to
be excluded (socio-economic areas of older demographics).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> In fact even <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/">Europe has a digital strategy</a>
to ‘help digital technologies, including the internet, deliver sustainable
economic growth’. Once again this focuses on access and skills, although there
is also mention of cyber-security. However this focus on access and skills, has
a hint of technological determinism (technology will make the world a better
place) about it. It divides people into the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’,
focusing on access and skills. Skills and access are not the only things that
influence decision about whether people find using technology appropriate or
meaningful in their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Motivation to go online<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The government strategy highlights ‘motivation’ and ‘trust’
as elements of their digital strategy, and say that overcoming the barriers is
about all of them, but there seems to be little in depth discussion around the motivation
and trust barriers. The motivation seems to be that being able to go online
will make it easier to find a job, to improve household income, to get more
benefits from public services and entertainment. But I wonder whether these
motivations are too ‘capitalist’ in their approach. In other words, they are
appealing to people economically and financially, rather than socially and
culturally. Motivation is about the relevance to the individual, and the triggers
will be different for different people. There cannot be a one size fits all approach.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digital Inclusion (Seale, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seale’s (2009) report is an update about the research being
conducted around digital inclusion, and what wider discussions can bring to the
development of technology enhanced learning. She highlights in the opening that
definitions of digital inclusion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>‘tend to embed within them an expectation or imperative that digital
inclusion happens when all members of society are able to access the affordances
offered by technology use</i> ‘(page 3)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The report focuses on four aspects: Access, Use, Participation
and Empowerment. Access, as is seen by the Government’s digital strategy links
to technologies and services (direct access is seen as being able to access
technology and indirect access is about accessing online services). Use, is highlighted
as mainly being about the skills that individuals have to use technology.
However, Seale notes that it is not just a lack of skills that influences
technology use. Technology must have some meaningful use in people’s lives and
afford contextual uses; in other words, does it have a ‘life-fit’. Seale also
asks us whether non-use of technology is problematic. This is an important question,
which later papers will explore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Traditionally, ‘inclusion’ is focused on helping people to
participate in society. Therefore digital inclusion is about helping to reduce the
disadvantaged, and encourage participation for the marginalised. (see the
Helsper paper on my next blog post for the link between social and digital
exclusion). Seale draws our attention to
Cook and Light (2006) who explore participation and see it as a fluid process
and make a distinction between active (we influence the way technology is used)
and passive (recipients of the service) participation.
This leads on to the final aspect, empowerment. You see power comes up a lot in
discussions about the online world, but also in discussions about inclusion. Seale
highlights that the government see technology as a vehicle for empowerment, and
link this to the idea of independence. Seale issues some sensible warnings
about linking empowerment to independence and self-sufficiency, as it leads us
to link digital inclusion with skills deficits, forgetting that people have a
whole host of other ‘strengths, motivations and resourcefulness’ to bring with
them. Personally I would rather use the term self-efficacy, that is, an
individual believes in their own ability, which is what I think empowerment is
all about rather than independence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The key point that Seale is making is that digital inclusion
is multi-faceted. It is a social, cultural and cognitive concepts, and so we
must define and redefine for our own contexts while recognising the wider
discussions that are going on. If we think about inclusion in terms of access,
then we consider how equality of opportunity can benefit. If we think about inclusion
in terms of use and empowerment, then we are prompted to think about the
equality of the outcomes not just the opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>For my next blog post I will be exploring the concept of
digital inclusion some more, and looking at how this links to social
disadvantage, participation, and whether we need to change how we look at this,
and consider whether digital choice is a good thing.</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cabinet Office (2014) Government Digital Inclusion Strategy,
13 April 2014 [online] Available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cook, J & Light, A. (2006) New patterns of power and
participation? Designing ICT for Informal and Personalised Flexible Community
Learning. <i>E-Learning</i>, 3, 1, 51-61.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seale, J. (2009). Digital Inclusion. A research briefing by
the technology enhanced learning phase of the teaching and learning research
programme. [online] Available at: <a href="http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalInclusion.pdf">http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalInclusion.pdf</a></span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-47204459601164358472014-12-28T15:37:00.000+00:002014-12-28T15:37:26.630+00:00Project poster version 2: for review<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Following peer review and a bit of tinkering, here is version two of the project poster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The purpose?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The poster is designed to be an 'advertisement' for my presentation at the online conference for my H818 module (Networked practitioner). You can read about the project in some of my earlier posts, but particularly <a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/project-plan-version-xxo.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As part of my project I am creating a multimedia website that contains information and guidance for volunteers, based on my assumption that adopting a values-based approach to digital participation, might help remove some of the barriers to going online. The website will explore digital inclusion, and the barriers defined <a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/digital-inclusion-and-different-lens.html" target="_blank">by the government</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the conference I will be talking about my topic and theme (digital inclusion and removing the barriers) and presenting the website as my 'multimedia artifact'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Therefore the poster should act as a way to 'hook' people into my presentation, giving enough information for it to make sense but leaving some room for presenting my findings and approach. I believe that the video should also work as a standalone for the website as well, possibly with a few changes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>For review</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I have been asking my fellow students to review, but as this is all about being 'networked' I also thought I would spread my wings wider. I know that there are still elements that I need to tinker with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Can you help?<br />If you saw this, would you want to know more, or come to the conference presentation?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you think it makes sense?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Should I loose the pictures where there is no text?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is there enough time to read it? Or is it too slow? Too long?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Are any of the pictures out of place (as visuals can be a personal thing)?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is the project and the outcome explicit enough?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Please watch my film and comment below, or pop me an <a href="mailto:samanthajanemarks@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All help muchly appreciated.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rTkzzJEZGQs" width="420"></iframe>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-39202125751866557582014-12-28T15:12:00.000+00:002014-12-28T15:12:29.954+00:00Deck the halls - Creating a multi-media poster.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcrHxZmWPtZ9kvVNhOjUZ9yhudeGzkGWKG5pJQnaRt7P-67HYPenmNtOkmSS7TZTUlPHg1xCjNM7QVCAUUhhiYXrgPf3HI6kgyTX3GdxBXKiQWF5M5tRWiVu2tGfVJAFmVSNjFzdyew-c/s1600/reindeer-160870_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcrHxZmWPtZ9kvVNhOjUZ9yhudeGzkGWKG5pJQnaRt7P-67HYPenmNtOkmSS7TZTUlPHg1xCjNM7QVCAUUhhiYXrgPf3HI6kgyTX3GdxBXKiQWF5M5tRWiVu2tGfVJAFmVSNjFzdyew-c/s1600/reindeer-160870_1280.png" height="320" width="273" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Merry Christmas one and all, and although the last month has flown by, some of us are back in the swing of things and studying hard (after all there is an assignment deadline waiting in the wings). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">December has been about creating a multimedia poster in H818, in order to 'advertise' our presentation at the online conference which will be happening in February. So we have all been experimenting with different media and trying to figure out which one to use. (My next post will include my beta version!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Challenge 1: what is a poster?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This was the first hurdle for many of us, as when you think 'poster', the concept of a physical, graphical presentation spring to mind (like the ones that you stuck all over your wall as teenager, only more educational). any of the tools tried out helped to present this more one dimensional approach. However, the guidance we were given was that it had to be 'multi-media. which means it needs to be raised from one dimensional, to at least two!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Challenge 2: Multimedia tools</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thus began the trek into the forbidden kingdom and an exploration of the tools and variety of format that one could choose to make a poster out of. For many of the tools, the companies like to suck you in with freebies, but if you want to make them available to others then you need pay up. The other thing is that you can spend 'HOURS' online creating new things, so you have to start getting selective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the first things I tried was <a href="http://www.toondoo.com/View.toon?param=8216038" target="_blank">Toon doo</a>, which wasn't really a multi-media tool, but I loved the cartoon strip that you could create. Hours of fun! You can even produce your own comic, and the graphics looks great.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/8216038" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="dig trial 1" border="0" src="http://static.toondoo.com/public/s/a/m/samsantics//toons/cool-cartoon-8216038.png" title="Click to View Full Size Image" width="450" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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By <a href="http://www.toondoo.com/user/samsantics">samsantics</a> | <a href="http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/8216038">View this Toon at ToonDoo</a> | <a href="http://www.toondoo.com/">Create your own Toon</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I will be using this tool again in the future, and possibly using some of it for my final artifact. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdymTZGyLsl70Fmit-lrd_7-0tt2fEu9KSzPIBtBpGD9sG8Gx_yneRp8HIDjz1vIhixBfGNKbUIO1Oe-ppboZ_E2AFl-w_kQ22SboF6MAOny7Nbpei643jVz8gSks6YC9r4zAjQ7KdQzkH/s1600/1417439029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdymTZGyLsl70Fmit-lrd_7-0tt2fEu9KSzPIBtBpGD9sG8Gx_yneRp8HIDjz1vIhixBfGNKbUIO1Oe-ppboZ_E2AFl-w_kQ22SboF6MAOny7Nbpei643jVz8gSks6YC9r4zAjQ7KdQzkH/s1600/1417439029.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://samsantics.edu.glogster.com/being-prepared/" target="_blank">My poster</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Following on from this I found <a href="http://glogster./">Glogster.</a> This is an amazing (american) site, where the tools can be used by students to create their own educational posters. There are hundreds of them to look at. I do wonder if anyone really using them as content or whether the emphasis is on the creation. This is a great way to get kids to be creative, and I wish I had this when I was doing my homework 30 years ago!</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, this was a tool that had a great poster layout allowing for embedding video and audio content. I created a really rough draft to decide whether this would be the approach that I might use. The great thing about Glogster is that it also works on mobile devices. I ended up signing up to the service, as I will be using this tool in the future as a great way to get information together in one place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So far this was the contender for the poster......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">...then I came back to animation. I don't know why, by I like animation and so it was great to explore some different formats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Firstly there was<a href="https://editor.moovly.com/en/" target="_blank"> Moovly</a>. I like the tool because it was a bit like the video and audio editors you get, although the characters and pictures were a little limited (I expect like most tools, you get more if you pay). This was very addictive! It allowed you to create a more classic version of the animated films you see a lot nowadays. I really liked it and could see some potential for creating both the poster and the artifact.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="160" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1Gzw_Fi1fHg?list=UU2dlviYkR2p9WDKW8vcTm7A" width="280"></iframe> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then there was<a href="https://animoto.com/" target="_blank"> animoto.</a> I am afraid this was the approach that I fell in love with! I have used some similar slideshow animations before, and I like the combination of text, images and music. I can't tell you why, but I think it's to do with the richness and also the emotive nature of the medium. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="165" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/INY2KN7ZlaU" width="280"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I asked what people preferred... I was still potentially leaning towards the moovly animation, but after talking to volunteers, a number of them preferred the immediacy of the animoto animation. Animoto however is REALLY expensive if you want to remove the watermark and get the video. And it's a great tool so I can see why it would be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Challenge 3: Accessibility</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As several people pointed out, the challenge with a full on multimedia approach is that it is not very accessible for those with impaired sight. We also talked about how some people like this multimedia approach and other's didn't. So my challenge was to consider whether to use the tool that I really wanted, and create accessible alternatives, or whether to use a different tool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because I had created my storyboard using a slide show, I decided to explore other tools that I could use. Also, by using a slideshow, I could potentially create an accessible alternative that people could click through themselves and a transcript. I like this idea, as I have never tried writing audio descripton's before, so it seemed a good time to try!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Final tool - <a href="http://www.wondershare.com/pro/dvd-slideshow-builder-deluxe.html" target="_blank">Wondershare slideshow creator</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not a free tool, but as it's Christmas I decided to treat myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first version for review is below, but jump to the next blog post to see the second version which expands on this.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/rUAUJeDohNQ" width="420"></iframe>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-68511660901915414642014-12-01T12:31:00.000+00:002014-12-01T12:37:52.186+00:00Digital inclusion - why participation is important<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much
of the debate around open education has focused on formal education, but
education is not limited to formal approaches. For many youth organisations and
charities, education is about helping young people build confidence and
life-long skills. This participatory approach to education means the
‘digital-inclusion’ of adults is less about accessibility of
educational content and more about participation in online practices and
engaging with young people in the online world. </span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This post is an edited version of my paper written to explore the
principles of digital openness, how these could align to organisational
approaches. The debates here form the backdrop to my project for H818, and outline my beliefs about inclusion in the open </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">landscape</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">. It asks why barriers exist and whether inclusion really matters in our context.</span></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXjzz3dQKZkWXnO7PdppRQBG0C5eSkr5wEZnYGp7fe86oq8erfm6nXvoVLBD49w1lHZFugUdGkn-eLqpK28OKiKnt8uAvWEhO2oEnO525dMB92szHS0CX7mYYdL1pdjDKAiNFnNtitDoh/s1600/the_journey_begins-1200x1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXjzz3dQKZkWXnO7PdppRQBG0C5eSkr5wEZnYGp7fe86oq8erfm6nXvoVLBD49w1lHZFugUdGkn-eLqpK28OKiKnt8uAvWEhO2oEnO525dMB92szHS0CX7mYYdL1pdjDKAiNFnNtitDoh/s1600/the_journey_begins-1200x1200.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Cameron Gray 'The Journey Begins' http://parablevisions.com/?page_id=2338</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Defining
education<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The Scout Association defines education as ‘a </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">life-long process which enables the continuous
development of a person’s capacities both as an individual and as a member of
society’ (<a href="http://scout.org/sites/default/files/library_files/ScoutEducSyst_E.pdf" target="_blank">World Scout Bureau, 1998, page 7</a>).<span style="background: white;"> We are a non-formal educational movement where young people and adults
work in partnership, learning by doing through a structured framework of
activities and experiences. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;">The pedagogical approach is comparable, in my opinion, to social
constructivism, in which individuals learn through their interaction with
others and the world around them (Palinscar, 1998, Vygotsky 1978). It also reminds me of </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">John Seely Brown’s notion of ‘social learning’ , as it suggests that we define ourselves by the societies we
belong to (<a href="http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0811.pdf" target="_blank">Brown and Adler, 2008</a>). Learning is about participation (with others
and the world) and therefore we </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘learn to be’ </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">as well as learn about ‘things’.
Consequently </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘how’ </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">we learn is just as important as </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘what’</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> we learn as we are
constructing our identity through our community interactions (<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01411920802642371#.VHxVYjGsWT9" target="_blank">Hager andHodkinson, 2009</a>). This is important when considering the digital openness of
non-formal education, as the barriers are not just </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘what’ </b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">can be accessed, but
also </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘how’</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> to participate in the online world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #252525; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">So ‘education’ from a Scouting perspective is essentially about personal
development and ‘learning to be’, within a values-based community, supported by
adults working alongside young people. Therefore it is not just about subject
matter expertise or specific skills and knowledge, but about life-long personal
skills, developing confidence and engaging with the world in a positive way. ‘Education’ is non-formal, and manifests as an approach to life realised
through participation.</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Digital openness and open
education</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Open
education is loosely defined by the <a href="http://education.okfn.org/handbook/" target="_blank">Open Education Working Group</a> (2014) as ‘any
practices and activities that have openness and education at their core’ (page
8). Veletsianos (2010) notes that educators can shape or be shaped by openness. But openness means different things to different people. Defining openness,
within a digital context, is important if we are to be shaped by it. The Oxford
English Dictionary (2004) defines ‘open’ as not being closed, or as accessible
or available. Thus digital openness could means making things available using
digital technologies. The debates around open education mainly focus on formal
education, and they converge around discussions about availability and talk about open
access, open content and open resources (McAndrew, 2010).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Our definition of education
however, is grounded in participation, and Weller (2011) reminds us that
openness is not just about what technology can do for us, but also about our
practices as scholars or educators. Networked participation is one of the three
formats of open practices described by <span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1313/2304" target="_blank">Veletsianosand Kimmons </a>(2012) who highlight the importance of having and maintaining a
digital presence. Developments in ‘social’ technology, tools like Facebook,
YouTube and Twitter, have also created a new emphasis on participation (<a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles/free_download/9780262513623_Confronting_the_Challenges.pdf" target="_blank">Jenkinset al, 2005</a>). </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;"><i>Accordingly, if the definition of education is ‘learning to be’
and personal development happens through participation, then open education is surely about finding the opportunities to do this within the online world. </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white;">So digital openness in this context, refers to exploring and being
open to new, participative experiences in the online world. As a result, open education is not</span> just about making educational content freely available to all (although there is
plenty of educational content available to adults and young people) but about <b>digital participation</b>. <span style="background: white;">At a very basic level this means that adults supporting young people in
Scouting should be participating and interacting with young people online.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Barriers to online
participation and digital inclusion</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
UK Government defines digital inclusion as ‘having the right access, skills,
motivation and trust to confidently go online’ (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy" target="_blank">Cabinet Office, 2014</a>). </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Discussions about the barriers to inclusion can fall neatly into the three categories of </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">availability, accessibility
</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">and</span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> acceptability</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> (Lane, 2009). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Availability looks at the physical access to
the online world, and considers economics (whether people can afford
technology) and connectivity (the infrastructure, like broadband, that allows
people to access the internet). Accessibility concentrates on usability
barriers, that is the skills and the ease by which people can use the internet.
Debates about digital literacy dominate this area, as well as discussion about
accessibility of content or software for those who have disabilities or alternative
needs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A
lack of digital skills and the means to access the online world are not
necessarily the only, or the biggest barrier that people face. The third
category of digital inclusion barriers come under ‘acceptability’ and this
relates to social empowerment, or having the motivation and confidence to go
online. The Cabinet Office’s (2014) research found that 62% of people said that
the most important reason for not being online was that they were ‘not
interested’. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Their lack of interest may be the result of many different
factors. Some people see the online world as irrelevant for them, and thus it
needs to be made relevant if they are to be motivated to participate. Others
are dissuaded from participation because of their fears of the online world.
This could be a fear of crime, attack, or a fear of venturing into the unknown
and exposing themselves or their identities. Participation means vulnerability,
and individuals need to be given the confidence to overcome this. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Digital
exclusion may arise through a combination of factors and each digitally
excluded person will have their own reasons and set of circumstances (Lane,
2009). <span style="background: white; color: #292929;">Digital inclusion is about
overcoming all of these challenges (access, skills, motivation, and trust) and
not just one.<span class="apple-converted-space"> But does digital inclusion
matter for adults in The Scout Association?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Does inclusion matter?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
simple answer is yes. If education is a life-long process of development as an
individual and as a part of society then adults as well as young people should
be <span style="background: white;">participating and interacting online. However
there are challenges to overcome in assisting online participation. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">Adults and young people within the organisation can
help to remove the skills barrier, sharing and developing the digital
literacies others need for online participation, just as they would when
developing skills like hillwalking or archery. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The purpose and method of
Scouting are about engaging with the world in a positive way. The online world
is a part of the world and therefore it has to be relevant for adults to
participate within it. If adults are to be role-models and support young people
where they are, then the values of Scouting should override any motivational barriers
to digital inclusion, although adults in Scouting may need to be reminded of
this. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>The largest barrier to overcome is trust.</b></i> This will need
both education and a focus on values. There are practical ways of overcoming
security and privacy fears, but adults also need to address concerns about
identity and openness. This must include practical ways of talking about how
values should guide online identity and activities. It also includes understanding that openness is not an
‘all or nothing’ approach and so that volunteers can explore the online world with
confidence and develop their own openness. It is also about helping adults to
take the skills they already have, for example: identifying and mitigating risk, planning
tasks and activities and developing codes of behaviour; and apply them in the online
context.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Open practices, or digital openness, is really about seeking out new
experiences and participating in new ways through the online world. Just as in the 'offline' world, t</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">here
can be tensions between the principals and the practicalities (Lane, 2009) which we need to help adults explore and manage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Adults
in Scouting do amazing things with young people every day, and whether they are
climbing a mountain or using social media they should use the values and
methods of scouting to understand that the online world is just another
‘undiscovered’ world of opportunity. Thus they can be part of the ‘open
landscape’, exhibiting their values, being appropriate role-models and
effective 'digital' citizens working in partnership with young people.</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Brown, J.S. & Adler, R.P.
(2008). Minds on fire: Open education, the long tail, and Learning 2.0. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;">EDUCAUSE
Review</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">, 43(1), pp.16-32</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Cabinet Office (2014)
Government Digital Inclusion Strategy, 13 April 2014</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Hager, P. and Hodkinson, P. (2009) ‘Moving beyond the
metaphor of transfer of learning’, British Educational Research Journal, 35
(4), pp.619–38</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Jenkins, H., et al. (2005) Confronting the Challenges of
Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century, MacArthur
Foundation.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Lane, Andy (2009). The impact
of openness on bridging educational digital divides. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;">International Review of
Research in Open and Distance Learning</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">, 10(5), pp. 1–12.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">McAndrew, Patrick (2010).
Defining openness: updating the concept of “open” for a connected world. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;">Journal
of Interactive Media in Education</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">, 2010(10), pp.1–13.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Oxford English Dictionary
(2004) ‘Open’, </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;">Oxford English Dictionary, </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Oxford University Press</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Palincsar, A.S. (1998). Social
constructivist perspectives on teaching and learning. Annual Review of
Psychology, 49, pp.345–375.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Veletsianos, G. (2010). A definition of emerging technologies
for education. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.),</span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;">Emerging
technologies in distance education</em><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">(pp. 3-22). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca
University Press.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Veletsianos, G. and Kimmons, R. (2012) Assumptions and
challenges of open scholarship.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;">The
International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">, 13 (4) pp.166–189 </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Vygotsky,
L. (1978). Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">W</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">eller,
M. (2011). The digital scholar: How technology is transforming scholarly
practice. A&C Black.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">Open
Education Working Group (2014) The Open Education Handbook.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 150%;">World
Scout Bureau (1998) Scouting: An Educational System. World Scout Bureau.
Switzerland. </span></div>
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Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-63756206594955916662014-12-01T08:48:00.000+00:002014-12-01T08:48:10.839+00:00Building my NSPCC portfolio....reflecting back<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the last two years
I have been completing my NSPCC portfolio for trainer training. Having just
sent my folder off, I thought I would share some of my reflections……..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After all - sharing is good for the soul!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;">The main responsibility of my role at work is to develop the proactive elements of the organisation’s safeguarding strategy. A core part of this is developing and delivering trainer training, and professional development for volunteers who deliver safeguarding training within the organisation. I am also responsible for developing and supporting new resources and training programmes for both adults and young people that focus on the wider remits of creating a safer organisation.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMuyOucTHXkAygsOw1z2NWMYuoe2Vqo-33CioU2FxNtZg35dZVDVaaMxSdrVqR7eVyF3O3LXTkV94lB5Ma7fk8NPi-0DVn2U8HuKIuPwoSp00htdwxABa2_LmxhhwLl7lQl8tShxtylRk/s1600/23991766_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMuyOucTHXkAygsOw1z2NWMYuoe2Vqo-33CioU2FxNtZg35dZVDVaaMxSdrVqR7eVyF3O3LXTkV94lB5Ma7fk8NPi-0DVn2U8HuKIuPwoSp00htdwxABa2_LmxhhwLl7lQl8tShxtylRk/s1600/23991766_l.jpg" height="400" width="257" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> My journey<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Part
of building my portfolio meant reflecting on my own personal journey and how
that links to my values as a trainer. My journey is underpinned by family,
career and personal drives. I belong to a large, wide and diverse family, therefore
my values are firmly grounded in appreciating the diversity that life has to
offer, and trying to recognize and value different perspectives. As a teenager
I travelled the country and worked with other teenagers helping adults to
engage young people, which made me passionate about empowering others. Over the
years, I have been presented with myriads of opportunities in life, which I
have seized and learnt from. Whether deferring University to be a youth worker
in London, becoming University Welfare Officer or becoming a personal assistant
for a disabled woman, I have always looked to get the most out of life. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My
core skills developed when I embarked on an eight year role as a pub manager,
which took me from Wales, to Bristol and back to London again. Working in a pub
teaches you about people, as you see them at their best and worst. Managing
behaviour is about good communication, understanding people’s background and
experiences, and patience. It is also about stepping in and doing things for
the good of others, which can be challenging emotionally and physically. This
is a crucial skill in training and particularly in safeguarding. Being a pub
manager taught me how to manage a team and train in a non-formal ways; skills
that helped when I joined an organisation which values learning by doing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Training Journey<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I started my NSPCC
journey I had just joined the safeguarding team from the </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg018zY1o02xqRjNGc_6zO45XEDs1SGnSdOkIitjI6ncFtz_PNfHznLghcJPMvwQdn0q_8fIY2jsy7FpvZZgHaaETiTrrxOOjdFJRmnqKsybq2EY3ryi2AqpZBq5_fZ0YekmhrIsmrDwTb/s1600/starting_your_journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg018zY1o02xqRjNGc_6zO45XEDs1SGnSdOkIitjI6ncFtz_PNfHznLghcJPMvwQdn0q_8fIY2jsy7FpvZZgHaaETiTrrxOOjdFJRmnqKsybq2EY3ryi2AqpZBq5_fZ0YekmhrIsmrDwTb/s1600/starting_your_journey.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">training team and was
keen to ensure that I received the best quality training in order to fulfil my
role. I also wanted to make sure that training modelled the behaviours and
theories that are I felt were important for the organisation, but also
reflective of good training practice. My
three years in the training team taught me the importance of ‘getting it right’
for our volunteers, but also that they value passion, honesty and integrity; as
well as learning by doing. Upon my journey I have learned to be confident in my
own abilities. I am passionate about whatever I do, but it has been personally
rewarding to be able to truly link my practice to my values, especially in such
an important area. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope that I have
practiced what I preach by role-modelling positive training behaviours in order
to build confidence in those I am training. By approaching people with openness
and understanding in order to empower them and change safeguarding into
something that they need to be aware, but not scared of. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Values<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESMqzmMP236-IwAp0KB9zjKjnucd3bmuZWmwVFgM4O2g-WJ0Kt2v42txNF7FBQ8OUZp2dZonh61pgWc-rQGyljZdZGxA0r4gfSFMXuzV_PjTCvAm7vHy-Ys2jrwu5GYfKG0uwYEqbjlyZ/s1600/Empowered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESMqzmMP236-IwAp0KB9zjKjnucd3bmuZWmwVFgM4O2g-WJ0Kt2v42txNF7FBQ8OUZp2dZonh61pgWc-rQGyljZdZGxA0r4gfSFMXuzV_PjTCvAm7vHy-Ys2jrwu5GYfKG0uwYEqbjlyZ/s1600/Empowered.jpg" height="176" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My
journey links to my values both as a trainer and within safeguarding. I
strongly believe in a proactive approach to training and safeguarding.
Safeguarding can never be just reactive. If we want to make a difference we
have to be proactive and focus on positive ways that we can improve the welfare
of young people. Without a doubt, young people should always be at the heart of
what we do, but I believe this is not just about being recipients. Young people
are active participants in keeping themselves safe and we should always be
involving them. Adults and young people have a role to play in role modeling
positive and appropriate behaviour, whether in the training room or in a weekly
meeting. Therefore empowering adults and young people, so they know they can
make a difference, creates active participants who own and shape their
environments. Among all of this we have to work with honesty, integrity and
humility, recognizing that each of us brings different skills and experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Safeguarding is an emotive subject that is
bombarded with negative media stories which creates disassociation. In other
words, most people don’t want to engage because it either scares them, is not
their responsibility or they feel helpless. I passionately want to change this
and work with volunteers to change perceptions. While safeguarding is
challenging and at time takes us to uncomfortable places, we need to be open
and honest and we need to equip people with the right skills and knowledge. For
me this is about safeguarding primarily being focused on creating positive and
engaging environments where young people’s welfare is at the heart of what we
do. Adults and young people work in partnership, modeling behaviour,
challenging the things they don’t like and are confident in where to go for
help. It’s not difficult. It doesn’t require specialist skills. It’s a part of
everything we do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Identifying training needs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The process I use
for identifying training needs has not changed during my NSPCC journey. It
remains important that I understand the context, the people, the values, the
usual methods and approach of training and the key priorities and outcomes for
any training session that I deliver, and I do this through discussion and
collaboration with whomever is commissioning the work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Working in safeguarding
training however has meant there is another dimension to the process of
planning and identifying needs. Firstly, a need to be clear about my values and
approach, as this has an impact on the way that I develop and deliver training,
and commissioner’s perceptions of safeguarding may need to be changed.
Secondly, by becoming an informed practitioner, both from a safeguarding and a
training perspective, I have become more confident in identifying needs and
priorities, and being able to articulate this during the initial conversations
about training needs and objectives, so that relevant and focused training is planned
for and delivered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Delivery of Training<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">It has been rewarding
to be challenged and praised by my volunteers during training. Becoming a
better trainer has been achieved through several things, but they all link to
my identity.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Firstly, by becoming a
more <b><i>knowledgeable practitioner</i></b>, I know that I have the information and up to
date knowledge to be able to bring this to the room when needed. I am confident
because I know my subject. By basing my training approach on my values, I feel
that I am an <b><i>authentic trainer</i></b>. We talk a lot about role-modelling and being
able to approach training as ‘me’, acknowledging my passions and values, but
also my weaknesses, makes me an <i><b>honest trainer</b></i>. Also, by acknowledging others
and respecting and challenging them in a dignified way, I believe that I am
putting mine, and Scouting’s values into action. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Becoming more confident
has led to more experimentation and less fear about delivering training in more
creative ways, and seeing these methods work. This creativity and innovation,
alongside a bit of tinkering, means that as trainers we are creating simple but
powerful ways of getting the message across. This is very exciting as the
passion is passed on to others and you can see them being empowered to take
action. Most importantly, the emotional environment created is one where
feedback and evaluation is part of the process and people are not scared to
share and learn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Evaluation<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During my NSPCC journey
I have become a more reflective practitioner (help not only by needing to
reflect on this programme, but also through the work and assignments I have
completed through my Masters course.) I like to evaluate content and experiences,
in order to go back to the start of the cycle and decide how this impacts my
perceptions of the perceived needs and whether it can help in redesigning
training approaches. This also helps during continued professional development
with my community of trainers, as it </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GFE9GP_IwysMWduUI35b6ZWZoai7sieGOQjZivfNFQa2DWa0drh-LNrpjLLP9NXmAgw5DHNYXwfH3JLry_HBRZ598p3ItAmMEZHWax32okaAb_PDxooHI8lc-8y2rNzfNsua8Fb2viXB/s1600/hand_with_reflecting_sphere_by_fenwickparrody-d590lb0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GFE9GP_IwysMWduUI35b6ZWZoai7sieGOQjZivfNFQa2DWa0drh-LNrpjLLP9NXmAgw5DHNYXwfH3JLry_HBRZ598p3ItAmMEZHWax32okaAb_PDxooHI8lc-8y2rNzfNsua8Fb2viXB/s1600/hand_with_reflecting_sphere_by_fenwickparrody-d590lb0.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">means I can give practical examples and
advice about identification, design and delivery of training. More importantly,
we must develop better ways of evaluating the impact of training, and
understanding how a mix method approach could help us better monitor and
evaluate the changes in practices and culture that is taking place across the
organisation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-84339875555327685072014-11-30T17:03:00.000+00:002014-11-30T17:04:02.106+00:00Project plan version XXO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5NmYUIkwMzraJ5NJqqRi5ZOSaAcB4uvLb9YpVLEF6-YmAZdz5kPOqqWR5FouvPtos-H2QvIMxMFbjY24sM668oN9HHo1mRK6AVAQhFEuC5DPhMYyAv8MNoEA4fzC5olGX_UXTRlT1UCI/s1600/three-men-hiking-hikers-mountain-climbing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5NmYUIkwMzraJ5NJqqRi5ZOSaAcB4uvLb9YpVLEF6-YmAZdz5kPOqqWR5FouvPtos-H2QvIMxMFbjY24sM668oN9HHo1mRK6AVAQhFEuC5DPhMYyAv8MNoEA4fzC5olGX_UXTRlT1UCI/s1600/three-men-hiking-hikers-mountain-climbing.jpg" height="211" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you know I am using this space to share my project for H818 and the work that I am doing around this. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Part of this is to help me to share, and part of it is to make myself think out loud and be able to go back and look at how my thought processes have changed and developed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So here is the next version of the project (I have forgotten what version).</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Being Prepared. Adopting a values-driven approach
to digital inclusion within a volunteer organisation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Purpose. </span></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Scouting
volunteers do amazing things with young people every day, but for some there still exists a
fear of using online tools. Reminding volunteers of the values and methods of
Scouting can help to overcome their fears and understand that the online world
is another ‘undiscovered world’ of opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Linking to the conference theme: a focus on
Inclusion. </span></b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Looking through the
lens of 'inclusion', the project will investigate the wider issues of digital
inclusion as seen through the four barriers identified by the Government’s
Digital Inclusion Strategy (Access, Skills, Motivation and Trust)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Project aim and scope. </span></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The project’s aim
is to explore barriers in relation to making the online world accessible to
volunteers, focusing on motivational and trust barriers. Firstly, the ‘access’
barriers relate to connectivity and availability, over which the organisation
has less influence and work is being undertaken by the government to address this. Secondly there already exists a wealth of debate about the
‘skills’ barrier, and it is assumed adults will need to learn new skills.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The
‘motivation’ and ‘trust’ barriers are social and psychological, as well as
practical barriers to digital inclusion. These barriers require volunteers to
explore their fears about safety and identity, and be able to translate their
‘offline’ selves to the ‘online’ world. The project activities will look at
existing research and practices to identify the issues surrounding these
barriers, in order to educate volunteers and provide a sound basis for taking
an approach that links back to the values and methods of Scouting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Over the next few weeks I will be exploring the motivation and trust barriers, which neatly follow on from the discussions that </span><a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-art-of-asking-or-making-ourselves.html" style="line-height: 150%;">Amanda Palmer </a><span style="line-height: 150%;">brought up in the last blog post. So please feel free to share your thoughts or experiences about the barriers of being online, from a social or </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">psychological</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> perspective. </span></span></div>
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Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-8099208393234223482014-11-30T16:28:00.000+00:002014-11-30T16:28:57.124+00:00The art of asking or making ourselves more vulnerable <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of our tasks last week was to take a look at the following TED talk from <a href="http://amandapalmer.net/home/">Amanda Palmer</a> and her blog post about how she created the TED talk. We are then asked to comment on what we found useful or reusable. Given the content of the message, I believe that A<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/22/amanda-palmer-visionary-egotist-interview">manda s going to be one of those love her or hate</a> her individuals, but however cleverly constructed, I think that her story has heart, and also puts across something of herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's hard not to get sucked into what Amanda is saying, because the core of her talk is about the kindness of strangers, giving and receiving fearlessly and asking without shame. Many of these themes are ones that echo through philosophy and religion. She talks about the need to be open as a person, both to receive the good and the bad, and that you need to take risks if you want to have adventures. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The thing that strikes me about what Amanda says, is the stuff around vulnerability. I have already mentioned that</span><a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/exploring-power-and-fear-and-request.html" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> being online makes us vulnerable</a> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and one of the things that Amanda doesn't talk a lot about is the the negative side of being vulnerable. However, something tells me that Amanda is a lady who is used to being both in the limelight, and getting negative feedback/reviews etc. Does her message change because of who she is? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am guessing that most of us don't really want to be like Amanda, but in our hearts we hope that we could be a little more fearless, and a little more open. Here is a lady who understands that making herself vulnerable, means that she has to take the bad with the good, although she glosses over the bad in order to enrapture you with the good. And that's OK. Because this talk is a bit like a sermon. She says that it is about 'trust' rather than 'risk', but in order to trust you have to weigh up the risks, and most people in life don't rock up to strangers and ask for a couch to sleep on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I totally agree that "when we really see each other, we want to help each other", but this doesn't need to be for financial reason. Humanity is a 'social' being, and so we need each other. And maybe, the more we show people of the inner us, the more they show us the inner them, and we feel a little less vulnerable and a little more trusting. When I was a child, many adults used to say "if you don't ask, then you won't get". In my teenage years asking for help (in fact this was financial) meant that I got to go to Israel as a 17 year old and have the support to apply to university. I followed that pattern throughout my life, asking for help when needed and seizing opportunities that come along. I also learned that opening up and sharing some of your life experiences, can help to create better connections with others. It's the stories. Life is all about stories. However, there were times that it went wrong, times when people were horrible, and times when I wanted to curl up in a ball and never see people again. But these are the times that give you resilience, so that next time it happens, you cope a little better. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So for all those out there who are scared to open up, don't worry, you don't have to proverbially take off all your clothes and run around the internet naked. But goi</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ng back to the negative side of vulnerability and openness, I think this is about understanding the risks, and what you are take. If you take no risks, then nothing will change for you. But if you take some, calculated maybe, within <a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/identity-and-openness.html">degrees of openness</a>, you might find some power in the feedback you get that helps you to go forward. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After all...our stories are still in the making..........right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And there is power in vulnerability.....</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-53078739006486141532014-11-26T20:47:00.001+00:002014-11-26T20:49:07.431+00:00Digital Inclusion and a different lens for my project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you can see, it's been two weeks since my last confession! Work means that sometimes I purge on study over a few days. A bit like watching a good tv show...honest!</span><br />
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In the meantime, I have tweaked my project and found some key resources to link in to it.</span><br />
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<br /><br /><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy"><b>Government Digital Inclusion strategy</b></a></span><br />
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It's not often that I come across something from the government and think...ohhh....this will be useful. However the inclusion strategy, which I had already heard about, was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
UK Government defines digital inclusion as ‘having the right access, skills,
motivation and trust to confidently go online’ (Cabinet Office, 2014). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy/government-digital-inclusion-strategy">The strategy </a>sets out how the government and partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors will increase digital inclusion. This means helping people become capable of using and benefiting from the internet. Now there are many discussions one can have around this strategy but in the context of my project it does two things. Firstly, it shows that there is a political context for inclusion (and my next task is to do a Political, Economic, Social, Technological - aka PEST analysis). Secondly it breaks down the barriers into a nice four piece set:</span></span><br />
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<em style="color: #222222; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;"><span style="color: #993366;">There are 4 main kinds of challenge people face:</span></em></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #993366; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">access - the ability to actually go online and connect to the internet</span></em></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #993366; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">skills - to be able to use the internet</span></em></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #993366; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">motivation - knowing the reasons why using the internet is a good thing</span></em></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #993366; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">trust - the risk of crime, or not knowing where to start to go online</span></em></li>
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<em style="font-weight: inherit;"><span style="color: #993366; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Looking at each in more detail, we can see that digital exclusion involves some significant and wide ranging challenges. When someone has the access, skills, motivation and trust to go online to do things that benefit them day to day, they are digitally capable.</span></em></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8_TOXegFyLMfbvKRrr2fFhinSS84vw861bW0Is8CI1ocaX2tz8Qm_dZ65QX6RAdYakw5eQPg6bZeMYxyXcoplJbKmafeWnHOdBimNzzz5129XV2FeLN-LnE1LKgG1QgGPTViy2fmcm3r/s1600/tinder+digital+inclusion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8_TOXegFyLMfbvKRrr2fFhinSS84vw861bW0Is8CI1ocaX2tz8Qm_dZ65QX6RAdYakw5eQPg6bZeMYxyXcoplJbKmafeWnHOdBimNzzz5129XV2FeLN-LnE1LKgG1QgGPTViy2fmcm3r/s1600/tinder+digital+inclusion.jpg" height="452" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.tinderfoundation.org/about">Tinder, Digital inclusion</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">My project’s aim is to explore barriers in relation to making the online world accessible to volunteers, focusing on motivational and trust barriers. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 107%;">Firstly, the ‘access’ barriers
relate to connectivity and availability, over which the organisation has less
influence. Secondly there already exists a wealth of debate about the ‘skills’
barrier, and it is assumed adults will need to learn new skills. My theory is, that when I do my PEST analysis, many of these will come up, as access and skills are top of the </span><i style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 107%;">'things we can probably do something about'.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><b>Motivation an trust</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">The
‘motivation’ and ‘trust’ barriers are social and psychological, as well as
practical barriers to digital inclusion. These barriers require people to
explore their fears about safety and identity, and be able to translate their
‘offline’ selves to the ‘online’ world. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 107%;">My project activities will look at
existing research and practices to identify the issues surrounding these barriers,
in order to educate volunteers and provide a sound basis for taking an approach
that links back to the values and methods of Scouting. For me these barriers are all about social empowerment.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglYWRhLsBCG57eG6cBJqZ-J7DsQyjII7Iz9PfmbJaSk6-btarzzxurF-9u_nMziL9chv1sQKDqj0FjYm_JVYGpf9iPRssNpc-_9Q9xfQZeGrhAZgP08gOZAyYlUwJemgzOmUFMJhHEZjWg/s1600/sCIO_ITchallenges_2014_00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglYWRhLsBCG57eG6cBJqZ-J7DsQyjII7Iz9PfmbJaSk6-btarzzxurF-9u_nMziL9chv1sQKDqj0FjYm_JVYGpf9iPRssNpc-_9Q9xfQZeGrhAZgP08gOZAyYlUwJemgzOmUFMJhHEZjWg/s1600/sCIO_ITchallenges_2014_00.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Does inclusion matter?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">The simple answer is yes. If education is a
life-long process of development as an individual and as a part of society then
adults as well as young people should be <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">participating
and interacting online. However there are challenges to overcome in assisting
online participation. </span></span></div>
Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-65474490177969350622014-11-12T20:55:00.002+00:002014-11-12T20:57:07.611+00:00Exploring power and fear (and request for help)<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ACX8gXU1golJLBjfRcwQD5HXH95a-VtMX8oYIRLhmO1EI6vGHr7C5X4Igd_CNs4edPM-nZalLGauDeM3vQ53JdkrvlDDA-nGQZrbp-qPbuatIRcASyDxWl7_kZ7aBfbEM7yZURNmRDtn/s1600/SHG_HeManPower.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ACX8gXU1golJLBjfRcwQD5HXH95a-VtMX8oYIRLhmO1EI6vGHr7C5X4Igd_CNs4edPM-nZalLGauDeM3vQ53JdkrvlDDA-nGQZrbp-qPbuatIRcASyDxWl7_kZ7aBfbEM7yZURNmRDtn/s320/SHG_HeManPower.gif" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Currently I am exploring the theme of inclusion, but not in the traditional approach of accessibility. I want to explore some of the </span><span style="line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">psychological</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> reasons why people (but particularly volunteers) don't use the online world. Here's what I am thinking.......(in no particular formulated order, and still in exploration mode)</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">F</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">irstly, the reasoning behind encouraging people to be online, is that as a values based organisation, who work alongside young people, we need to be where they are. And part of their space is online. And as citizens we have a duty to exhibit our values in all spaces. Especially nowadays when the news is populate with stories of risk and dangers and horrible people. You could be forgiven for thinking that the online world was really some kind of post apocalyptic mad max/trainspotting mash up. If good people didn't rock up online, then we would be leaving it to all the bad people. And I am a bit of a positivist, so I don't think that's what we should be doing. Throughout my life I have strived to be a role model to others, young and old. To be respectful, open and trusting. To believe the best in people and encourage and support them. I believe that the 'open landscape' that is the online world, the web, whatever you want to call it is a place we need to be. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0RuOBPuqbd7852snERnQyHetqACa7ID5oXDDvOFwb6y-66Mfc6T72ollL1OJu-P5adTh99aDxw6o7f8y1iivxiHdzTI7w5LHL8CsFomsJUyXkjjzm05FtJDLLyrY5I9bAM3sxkvC2iYc/s1600/99e875778a2f97fdf8d105c35789c6a6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0RuOBPuqbd7852snERnQyHetqACa7ID5oXDDvOFwb6y-66Mfc6T72ollL1OJu-P5adTh99aDxw6o7f8y1iivxiHdzTI7w5LHL8CsFomsJUyXkjjzm05FtJDLLyrY5I9bAM3sxkvC2iYc/s320/99e875778a2f97fdf8d105c35789c6a6.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what stops people? Well, it probably doesn't help that media stories are full of risks and dangers </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and bad people. If you believed the news then you would think that the online world was the worst place in the world to visit, so why bother. There is of course the fear of the unknown, and the fear that you don't have the knowledge or the skills. But these can be learned. I want to explore some of the more psychological reasons behind the barriers to engage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">My hypothesis that the same fears that drive us in the 'offline' world drive us in the online world. That the way we empower people in </span><span style="line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">the</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> offline world, is the same as the online world. That overcoming fear and taking away someone's sense of powerlessness is the first step in engagement. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I don't know f this is right or not - so if you know of any research that explores issues of fear or power in the online world, or you have your own opinions and thoughts, please let me know. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(If you think I am barking up the wrong tree, then be nice to me when you tell me.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In order to narrow down my project scope, because this could be rather large investigation, I have chosen to focus on three areas - confidence, safety and identity<a href="http://sams-antics-learning.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/project-building-psychological-barriers.html"> (see the start of my project planning)</a> within the lens of fear and power.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Identity. </b>Being online makes us vulnerable. People don't like being vulnerable.Also in our everyday lives we general don't think a lot about our identity. In the online landscape we have to, because it can be more permanent. So we go from the extremes of complete anonymity to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinhibition">disinhibition</a> (basically a complete lack of constraint). So there is fear and fearlessness. So if we want to empower people then we need to help them understand their identity, especially in the context of a values based organisation, and explore with them what identity means, but also how to manage this in a different environment. And this is no different to the offline world. I always use the example of what we wear. the way we act and what we wear are often very different at work, to at home. Therefore we do manage our identity, but we are maybe less conscious of doing it. I think values help a great deal here.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Safety. </b>For ourselves and for others. How do we traverse the risks and dangers of the online world. Should we be risk averse, or should we be risk-embracing? Naturally Scouting is an organisation that is risk-embracing, and so we spend a huge amount of time understanding those risks and responding. If the online world is a 'new place', then we need to help people understand some of those risks and how to mitigate them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Confidence</b>. I think for me this is more about the overall approach of feeling empowered and having the knowledge and the skills, and the belief in oneself, and potentially of others. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ACX8gXU1golJLBjfRcwQD5HXH95a-VtMX8oYIRLhmO1EI6vGHr7C5X4Igd_CNs4edPM-nZalLGauDeM3vQ53JdkrvlDDA-nGQZrbp-qPbuatIRcASyDxWl7_kZ7aBfbEM7yZURNmRDtn/s1600/SHG_HeManPower.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>So here's the part where you can help?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What are your thoughts about fear and power being psychological barriers to inclusion? Is there any research that might be useful for me to look at? Is this an area that you are interested or have done some work in?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I look forward to talking. </span></div>
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<br />Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-48547353914584343102014-11-12T20:04:00.001+00:002014-11-12T20:04:30.637+00:00Project building - psychological barriers to using social media<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Project planning has begun in earnest as the first assignment deadline approaches. So being that this module is all about being a 'networked practitioner', it is expected that we try and explore our openness and practices. Thus I am trying to be open while working through the planning process, one, so I can reflect on how this feel, and two, so that I can start to use my network to help. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So I am sharing my work in progress, as it progresses. So if you think you can help me with the research or theory, or you want to lend me your ear, comment or feedback on anything, please do. And remember it is a work in progress!!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><u>Project plan - part 1</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being Prepared. Exploring the
psychological barriers to volunteers using social media and adopting a
values-driven approach to empowerment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Project overview<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“You
wouldn't climb a mountain </i><i>without being prepared, so
you shouldn't use social media without doing the same!”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Background<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scouting
volunteers do amazing things with young people every day, but there exists a
fear of using online tools like social media for Scouting purposes. We help
volunteers overcome their fear of the online world by reminding them of the
values and methods of Scouting and that the online world is just another
‘undiscovered world’ of opportunity. Thus they can be part of the ‘open
landscape’, exhibiting their values, being appropriate role-models and
effective 'digital' citizens by working in partnership with young people.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Linking
to the conference theme: a focus on Inclusion</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking through the lens of
'inclusion', the project will investigate the wider issues of why adults don't
want to use social media or why they feel social media doesn't include them.
There are physical barriers like poor internet access and knowledge and
skills, however this project will explore the psychological barriers that make
volunteers feel powerless or afraid to use social media. If we want them to use social media then we
need to empower them by addressing their fears. This will involve looking at and
helping them to manage the risks, as well as their own identities. In summary,
Scouting is all about overcoming fears, trying something new, creating
community and being empowered. Consequently the values and methods of Scouting
are synchronous with overcoming the psychological barriers of using social
media. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Project
purpose and scope<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the main deliverables
of this project is to create a proto-type multimedia learning artefact for
volunteers. However the project’s underlying purpose is to explore role of
psychological barriers in relation to making social media accessible to
volunteers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This project will focus on
three main topics: identity, safety and confidence and explore the barriers of
fear and power within an open environment. Therefore the theme of inclusion
needs to address issues of confidence, safety and identity in relation to
overcoming fear and feeling empowered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is an upside down
project, because the key messages to empower volunteers are already in place. The
project activities will seek to underpin these key messages by drawing on
existing research and practice to identify the issues surrounding these
barriers and provide a sound theoretical basis for taking this approach and
linking back to the values and methods of Scouting.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-33688670387330681972014-11-11T09:00:00.002+00:002014-11-11T09:00:55.194+00:00Rocking all over my mind<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyS39CTTUWGCRBY_tcZbhTwCGYbrAAXcY5R7DY1AgiYqXtdBjFZLKghR0tZA_TP0pZVdKHbMA2GNYSu2ZnEeQtXO_7RdlUlf3KTxgOc3I83PkrsaMBinh9IFD4Lny2MmMFR9OYniYVXEKL/s1600/scatterbrain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyS39CTTUWGCRBY_tcZbhTwCGYbrAAXcY5R7DY1AgiYqXtdBjFZLKghR0tZA_TP0pZVdKHbMA2GNYSu2ZnEeQtXO_7RdlUlf3KTxgOc3I83PkrsaMBinh9IFD4Lny2MmMFR9OYniYVXEKL/s1600/scatterbrain.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">my brain last friday looked a little like this I think - i was ready to pop!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I changed my mind. Which meant a whole new set of brainstorming activities. On the plane over to the Isle of Man I therefore wrote about ten pages worth of maps and scribbles to try and get everything out. (The man sat next to me must have thought be some kind of psycho as I kept flipping pages backwards and forwards. )</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For me the act of writing things down, helps me to take control and organise my thoughts (there is that power motive again!). When writing assignments this often means physical mindmapping, where I write on lots of bits of paper then cross things off or screw up the bits that aren't really relevant. Learning by doing you see - I need some tangibility (that's probably a made up word). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So as being a Networked practitioner is all about trying out new tools, I have done a bit of mind mapping. All of this is meant to help me get to my project overview/plan. Don't worry, I will be sharing that too - and hoping for some comments and ideas!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Stage one - the overview of project</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CzLqtPyUTj-rPPWzMl9Tt5DZR4UwsSoExhqyAGsH3vSMJ6XoRs0G3j5O5jZWxaq1K6EN9K1szFYlgNy13L3FBIlUWI_wQirmD3B_z1YOUbzfVFmhUj964kxKqzrsaHbjcq80i2H3wyvt/s1600/mind+map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1CzLqtPyUTj-rPPWzMl9Tt5DZR4UwsSoExhqyAGsH3vSMJ6XoRs0G3j5O5jZWxaq1K6EN9K1szFYlgNy13L3FBIlUWI_wQirmD3B_z1YOUbzfVFmhUj964kxKqzrsaHbjcq80i2H3wyvt/s1600/mind+map.png" height="200" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At this first point I was trying to think about the reasons behind and why volunteers don't use social media. Despite the physical constraints, like not having access or skills, I felt there was an overwhelming amount of psychological reasons. This is partly because the media tells us a lot about the scary bad stuff going on, and because e-safety has always been about sexual perpetrators and strangers coming to abduct your kids. In some ways I was starting backwards with this, as I know what my advice is, so I needed to unpick some of the reasons and link it to the advice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Key words</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I then went back and tried to link up some of the keywords, especially as they related to topics that we have already started to explore in the module.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you can see, there are some links starting to form with some of the core areas, which include things like identity, power etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Psychological barriers</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I then wanted to brainstorm some more and think a bit about these barriers through the idea of openness making you vulnerable. And I think this is the key point. Openness means that you have to take risks, face fear, be trusting...and to do that you need to feel empowered - or in control - or (new word here) self-efficacy - in other words it's what you believe you can do.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwr4CBtoEpNhjMkz0DbLraIBxFMT-JxznIEXoOmNaX3Shbo9ITXuexotvVf3ZoJTJdynni_BPR322TthQi2misSXV5xEATcTmzk3zYyMGG0HLzfR-qYjn_18wvvzlXfzN3d29SvtqfdB4G/s1600/openness+vulnerability.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwr4CBtoEpNhjMkz0DbLraIBxFMT-JxznIEXoOmNaX3Shbo9ITXuexotvVf3ZoJTJdynni_BPR322TthQi2misSXV5xEATcTmzk3zYyMGG0HLzfR-qYjn_18wvvzlXfzN3d29SvtqfdB4G/s1600/openness+vulnerability.jpg" height="298" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are probably loads of other nodes that I could add on here but I like the idea of these three core barriers around identity, safety and confidence which link into the issues of fear, power and trust. You will also see that I have started looking out how the values of scouting help to empower, but suggesting to volunteers that it's part of what we already do and therefore if we journey into the open landscape, we can following the same values and paths.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next stop, first draft of the project plan....will be needing your help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-51474931077087680412014-11-10T16:06:00.000+00:002014-11-10T16:06:12.852+00:00working on a project title....Be Prepared<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>My job (hence my context)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I work for The Scout Association at Headquarters. My job is National Development Officer </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmbD8f_Cbl6W97Mkvp9RaL2eSxudZvpjgJzkTCFq7ElSYdY7e92S0fjM3gC6j5GLTswVXiQmztYLwh-LXaMPZ189E4XlLUNcK9X827o0QRpiAgZdgTyZuKkbWU86F-UQT4rReKppGrCc6/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmbD8f_Cbl6W97Mkvp9RaL2eSxudZvpjgJzkTCFq7ElSYdY7e92S0fjM3gC6j5GLTswVXiQmztYLwh-LXaMPZ189E4XlLUNcK9X827o0QRpiAgZdgTyZuKkbWU86F-UQT4rReKppGrCc6/s1600/images.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Safeguarding). Basically a large part of what I do is develop resources and training for volunteers to help them understand their roles and responsibilities within Scouting in regards to Safeguarding (Child protection, anti-bullying, safer recruitment). So I spend a lot of my time out and about meeting and working with volunteers and training trainers who will go on to deliver safeguarding training to volunteers across the country. It truly is an amazing organisation which can't really be paid justice to in a few words. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Having worked for the organisation for nearly 7 years I am proud to be a Scout and share the values of the organisation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>My project</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My project will be based on work that I already do around empowering adult volunteers in Scouting to use social media in a safe and fun way. For me safeguarding is about enabling people to do things, rather than stopping them - empowering rather than scaring.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GzZf-AQzpcfIBpR9ulGMuWm6NwKvA9G0Oo3ALUCc7B3Jlv7lVoWm5drfBh14Rc59wQpDY2u4yaO12FRjlbFUoQjPcyjRyFR6CvPh4QkKlFT1nhOgXRjy6VObkgZoEf6RHdQqm0JkBUrI/s1600/mc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GzZf-AQzpcfIBpR9ulGMuWm6NwKvA9G0Oo3ALUCc7B3Jlv7lVoWm5drfBh14Rc59wQpDY2u4yaO12FRjlbFUoQjPcyjRyFR6CvPh4QkKlFT1nhOgXRjy6VObkgZoEf6RHdQqm0JkBUrI/s1600/mc2.jpg" height="148" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>You wouldn't climb a mountain......</b> without being prepared, and so you shouldn't use social media without doing the same!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Currently I offer guidance on a weekly basis about how to use social media safely, and so for my project I want to explore this, and link in research as well as create a multimedia artifact that can be used in work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Open education in an open landscape</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Looking through the lens of 'inclusion', my project is focused on why adults don't want to use social media or why they feel social media doesn't include them. There are of course some physical barriers like internet access and personal knowledge and skills. However I think that the psychological barriers are the main thing that is making volunteers feel powerless or afraid to use social media. The media today is constantly telling us what a dangerous place the internet is, and e-safety messages for young people are about the risks and the harm that may befall them. For adults working with young people this makes the internet a scary place, especially as for some it's not their natural environment. So we need to help them understand that it doesn't have to be scary, and they can prepare for it in the same way as they would prepare for other 'scary' scouting activities (like climbing).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If we want them to use social media then we need to empower them by addressing their fears and giving them the skills. This will involve looking at the risks and helping them to see both the good and the bad of openness, and helping them to manage their own identities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Psychological barriers = confidence (power), safety, identity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Self-efficacy= make them believe they can do it by adopting a scouting approach (values, preparation, risk assessment and openness)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Key messages:</b></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVg2wad6loifcuVJDxTEcDq3bs_-4ENYR_55xEvPFaeGGVGEKMn8RoEP4Yn3C5Q6NwAx3EBTzq1vQ4a_BtylxATcNprG8Qq10m6NxM8_6qrDeZy4Yn66tRRX7020XqWKomDE0wRvAthA-r/s1600/Empowerment-Zone-Ahead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVg2wad6loifcuVJDxTEcDq3bs_-4ENYR_55xEvPFaeGGVGEKMn8RoEP4Yn3C5Q6NwAx3EBTzq1vQ4a_BtylxATcNprG8Qq10m6NxM8_6qrDeZy4Yn66tRRX7020XqWKomDE0wRvAthA-r/s1600/Empowerment-Zone-Ahead.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a>
<li>Social media doesn't have to be scary</li>
<li>Use the skills and processes already have to undertake the activity</li>
<li>Values-driven approach</li>
<li>Take ownership of identity</li>
<li>Stay safe by mitigating risk, behaving appropriately</li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Outcome - Volunteers do amazing things with young people everyday, and we help them overcome their fear of the online world and help them to be part of the open landscape, exhibiting their values and being appropriate roles models and effective 'digital' citizens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8610377286437666710.post-50728385418663559082014-11-10T14:25:00.002+00:002014-11-10T14:25:44.403+00:00Reality bites. Project planning and back to the drawing board.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjfpb0Oa8oQ38OXrwc-gx6hlcRzM7GYHSJjarKsMv9PZvWLDbe03_tU-VCopJKth_ZE2ax9dA4WmQmOgla6HdIpZoLTqKf-5lpRahmqSDV3hygVoaJ6hlCxPobrtC5jI25FcHURSmyuis/s1600/banner_gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjfpb0Oa8oQ38OXrwc-gx6hlcRzM7GYHSJjarKsMv9PZvWLDbe03_tU-VCopJKth_ZE2ax9dA4WmQmOgla6HdIpZoLTqKf-5lpRahmqSDV3hygVoaJ6hlCxPobrtC5jI25FcHURSmyuis/s1600/banner_gallery.jpg" height="184" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are now in week 6 of the module and at the final, crucial stages of thinking about our project plans and preparing for our first assignments. In true Sam fashion I had loads of ideas and thought about lots of different topics. Part of this module is about thinking and creating out loud, so here's some of the thoughts and processes that I have been through so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Phase 1: Initial thoughts (aka: lots of excitement and creativity but all over the place)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Originally I was focused on inclusion as a theme, mainly because a lot of the work I do is based around inclusion - and how we help people become a part of something, or make sure that we don't exclude. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDD11ZlFd0EuBDtuUH4eRUX29mmBXwxHchZU1fORsVLpfM6rx-0g46aN3zXS3GCqk2t-8-4lkHILbnrCI9U6ovOVisuGWTSRo6VFZCK8f4ZKjmjJXDCE6rRboe984zc1g6fhk6VDrTs90/s1600/power.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDD11ZlFd0EuBDtuUH4eRUX29mmBXwxHchZU1fORsVLpfM6rx-0g46aN3zXS3GCqk2t-8-4lkHILbnrCI9U6ovOVisuGWTSRo6VFZCK8f4ZKjmjJXDCE6rRboe984zc1g6fhk6VDrTs90/s1600/power.jpg" height="160" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Power:</b> In particular I am fascinated by power. So I thought about doing something that </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">focused on power and inclusion. I talk alot about power dynamics in
training especially as many of the topics I deliver are sensitive, and I work
with volunteers and young people, so power is important. Power is about making the language we use accessible and the way we approach our relationships. but it's also about giving people power to take action in their own right. I think openness and
power has some links to identity but also acceptance, whether it's
academic/non-academic/age/gender/experience/disciplines</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Changing relationships</b>:I also had thoughts around creating a new discipline (innovation) and whether there were ways that the informal (non-academic) can influence the formal (academic). This has a direct link to something I want to do, and also
links to implementation. In the charity/youth work field, there is no such
thing as trainer training or qualifications in many of the subject areas we
become experts in. So for example, my peer network and I talk to each other a
lot about values based training especially in safeguarding. I would love to
create a kind of open studio for us to develop resources together and share our
expertise more widely and openly. Thus not only helping other practitioners,
but also changing culture and teh way that people think about the subject area.
I think our approach is already innovative, but by creating something open and
online. Does a discipline/education/field have to start in academia?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-NlfPXVHIkQTuvZOmqHD7rRLwjBiUUbaDLnUJ97Qybkqsmf1Gmoj-FYlZRXpH3fPdb9oIVbgGn004yyoeKHeRAkzuK7HkFkSiFiBef-G5o8tJDhvEJbU_yqxK2WIpdxh6ma6CUPzm8Ln/s1600/roadmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-NlfPXVHIkQTuvZOmqHD7rRLwjBiUUbaDLnUJ97Qybkqsmf1Gmoj-FYlZRXpH3fPdb9oIVbgGn004yyoeKHeRAkzuK7HkFkSiFiBef-G5o8tJDhvEJbU_yqxK2WIpdxh6ma6CUPzm8Ln/s1600/roadmap.jpg" height="128" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The journey:J</b></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ourneys through openness started to fascinate me too</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">following a couple of tweets with <a href="http://www.veletsianos.com/about-2/">George Veletsianos </a>(the author of one of the papers I read whom I exchanged some tweets with.) and
some of discussions about what we do, I started thinking about journeys. So
here I am thinking about are there routes to openness, and do different
disciplines afford different routes? Therefore how do decide on the best
approach? So just like doing needs and people analysis in training, can we
tailor an approach for different people?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Phase 2: 3 potentials topics.... (28th October and thought I was doing well!)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I then shared with my tutor group three potentials areas where I had ideas, in order to ask comments and get some feedback in what direction to go (below is the exert from the forum)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><strong>1. Bursting the bubble: Building digital networks that improve professional practice. </strong>Here I was thinking about how networks actually inform and develop practice. In particular I wanted to focus on this idea of making sure you have diversity of voice (filter bubble) and so your network has many voices, or at least you know how to chose the ones that will actively challenge and help you develop. There might also be something about how you measure that effectiveness (I am not sure that you can 100%, but so far there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about this but I am not sure there is so much research on outcomes/outputs). (As Louise is doing something about communities of practice then I might move this down my list</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><strong>2. Seeing the tree from the woods: discoverability of non-academic Open educational resources.</strong> In this I was thinking about inclusion as welll as innovation and implementation. In my professional life I am non-academic, and I think that when you look for resources, then academic resources trump non-academic. This is probably because this is not a priority for, for example, charitable organisations. So this one was about recognising the dominance of academia, and considering how to get heard. There are a few ways that this could be honed to be more specific too.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><strong>3. Journeying the open landscape : can blogging lead to academic publishing for the non-academic scholar.</strong> Back on my non-academic thing again. I am really interested in the different journeys that digital scholars take, and also how people develop. I found a <a href="http://justpublics365.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2013/09/25/tweet-blog-peer-review-how-to-be-a-scholar-now/">blog post as a starting point,</a> and this is something that I think that I want to do as a practitioner....I think again this could have links to inclusion innovation and implementation</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had pretty much settled on the third option, as it linked to this idea of journeys, and my creative part of my brain was thinking about the imagery of journeys and how it would make a great little project artefact, with things like 'what to wear' for identity, 'what to pack' for tools, 'travelling companions' for building your network etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Phase 3: journeys of a digital scholar (or trying to go around the world in 84 days) </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAqX5N_ZnQ7w7cZZ7qhBoZ-LrjkibZ9GJ1L9sBtXsO45gvwKiWMsq0RTGIIDVUm3gokc7_DWy3-_2ry2n6AYpsb_RFFdGL81sTqbftqLOfzjWaYZxep02CiG8NBj3MobFs34fqHLJ70O_/s1600/Around_the_World_in_80_Days_by_ilya_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAqX5N_ZnQ7w7cZZ7qhBoZ-LrjkibZ9GJ1L9sBtXsO45gvwKiWMsq0RTGIIDVUm3gokc7_DWy3-_2ry2n6AYpsb_RFFdGL81sTqbftqLOfzjWaYZxep02CiG8NBj3MobFs34fqHLJ70O_/s1600/Around_the_World_in_80_Days_by_ilya_b.jpg" height="200" width="144" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So is started to flesh out my ideas, and considered my approach.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><strong>Postcards from a digital scholar" </strong><strong id="yui_3_13_0_2_1415628534255_255" style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">From theory to practice:<span style="line-height: 17.8181819915772px;">Blogging as a foundation for digital scholarship .</span></strong></i></span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">My theme would be implementation, and basically my plan is to blog my way through the project/module, picking up on each of the themes that are suggested along the way in the module, with a particular focus on blogging and my practice/experience of blogging. My initial thoughts are that there is a lot of information out there about blogging, and this approach is not necessarily new, but if I want to improve my own practice then I need to review the research and practice there is, and reflect on what that means for my own practice and actually do it.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Therefore my artifact would probably be a 'journey planner' of some of the key considerations of using and implementing blogging, (for a practitioner who is not connected to a learning institution) and I am thinking of a multimedia approach. (4th November 2014)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Now hear, let this be a lesson to you.....</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PmHvvvfTudPs6kTfZxl0kxaciitard417ufmgzeMX4sMejnzvt_DcPZVCsm8V-l-q9V5MEh59JbQAmq55nfbua1E0lpko0QWmr9pIdYJn6aGk2WMsjpCDlIEiSltlhTw2neQT5hG1cZT/s1600/frustrated-computer-scream-entrepenuer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PmHvvvfTudPs6kTfZxl0kxaciitard417ufmgzeMX4sMejnzvt_DcPZVCsm8V-l-q9V5MEh59JbQAmq55nfbua1E0lpko0QWmr9pIdYJn6aGk2WMsjpCDlIEiSltlhTw2neQT5hG1cZT/s1600/frustrated-computer-scream-entrepenuer.jpg" height="180" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">I started to look at potential research and resources, and had got a few good suggestions and ideas from my fellow students. However I was starting to find it difficult to find exactly what I wanted. I then sat down on the 6th November and did a project timetable, with key dates and the actual number of days that I would be able to commit to the module and complete assignments. I realised that I was probably aiming too high, trying too hard and potential not going to have the time to cover what I wanted to. The module materials are quite good in suggesting that you think 'realistically' about what you can accomplish. Although I was still interested in my area, I just didn't have the time to learn and research a whole new subject area. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">I contacted my tutor and had a discussion about this and my proposal for a new idea, based on existing knowledge and an area of work that would also benefit from my final artifact. It was really important at this stage to make that decision and to be aware that my intended project was way out of scope for what could be realistically completed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21.7777786254883px;">So here's me telling my fellow students...and I will talk about my new project shortly.</span></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/L7SQ6ENR-Q0" width="560"></iframe>Samantha Markshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18359105761569210961noreply@blogger.com0