Week 7_questions_web 2.0 behaviors

(1) What enable this new terms/ behaviors happen?
There are so many new terms to describe specific behaviors caused by new web technologies such as tagging, free-ride in web 2.0? Does these behaviors could relate to the existing behaviors we found outside the virtual space? When the technology designers create these new functions do they base on the needs of users or compromise with the technologies they can manipulate to provide this function?

(2) By analyzing these behaviors, what can be contributed to the development of online community and collaboration? Continue with the previous description. Are the new behavior terms the marks and footprint to present the users in a specific context and would be neglected later? What are functions of these terms within that specific user community? By analyzing this user pattern, what can we contribute for the evolving/development of online collaboration?

Question for week6..Analogy and Balance

Analogy: wiki communication versus other forms in first life

Question One: What is your analogy of wiki communication?

In Lamb(2004)'s article, he uses many analogies to describe the conversation features of wiki, such as sketchpads, spaces for brainstorming, bulletin boards, note-taking template, home that leaves its front door unlocked, and so on.

It's very interesting to me. Originally, I take on-line writing as serious as my formal paper writing or formal socialization. I'll pay attention to the structure and proper manner to address my ideas or be social with people.

I found this serious way cannot fit in well in all online communication. After reading Lamb's article and reflect on my wiki or other web2.0 tools user experience (IM, facebook, blog, and skype). I found it's quite true. This kind of on-line communication is very dynamic, flowing, interactive, flexible and complex.

So far I found wiki, for group collaboration in either formal or informal learning is good for negotiation, quick/brief message exchange, resources management and accumulation.
But for end-product presentation, or working on some works which require longer time and resources involvement, I think I would rather use the software installed on my personal laptop or pc or using e-mail to communicate with people.

So my question is to inquire other people's idea to test if this idea makes sense. One analogy I think about online communication in informal learning is more like a communication in a small town or village. People seem very close to each other. There are more tools for people to voice their personal opinions and making interaction. However, by lacking the face-to-face contact and without an shared manner/norms has been built in that community, there will be conflicts or an awkward transitional period for users to recognize the proper ways to safely and freely making communications. How do you think about my analogy?



Balance between Security and Openness: Control/ enforce or influence and encourage

Question Two: How to keep the benefits and deal with the down sides?

Online communication seems to be flat in some way. Some people feel safe under the fine line without face-to-face contact. They will be more willing to address/voice their feelings or comments about many sensitive issues. It seems to reach the ideal vision of open, user-centered, and no boundary for any limitations caused by gender, age, race and any other labeling in the real life.

However, without proper regulation or control, this kind of freedom will be a monster to cause damages in many ways that may hurt the first life of everyone. Some stand by the perception to control/enforce. They may use the hard security like password protection, private spaces, IP banning and so on, to control the users. On the other hand, some prefer to use the soft security, a kind of influence and encourage. It allows the users to form their group's self-regulation to watch and influence each others' proper norms, manner and interaction within that virtual community.

How do you think about the application of the above either way? Think about your goal, context and users in the online technology that you are going to use and address your idea about how to apply soft and hard security to make the balance between security and openness in online communication.

Natural Selection VS Human Collaboration

In Week 5, the readings is surrounding about Cooperation and collaboration. Articles (Johnson & Johnson, 1994; Sapon-Shevin et al, ?.) started their articles by claiming the importance and goodness of collaboration. I think their viewpoint is more close to the humanity perspective to discuss how collaboration can contribute to individual and the society development. It’s close to the altruism.

Coincidentally, the 200th birthday of Darwin is on 2/12. In his theory, he claimed the so called nature selection. From my narrow interpretation, it seems a strong theory to support the competition in pushing the human being's development. So from the extreme standing point, people may argue "why schools need to urge for collaboration or cooperation? It's against the nature law.... Why not just let students to compete, sooner and later, they will figure out a way to survive in the end because it how human being survive on the earth past million of year's evolution "

But I think this saying is very strong and controversial. I want to hear how people think about this. Johnson & Johnson in 1994, around 15 years ago claimed for the need of cooperation during schooling. But until now, competition and individual works are still the dominant learning patterns at school system and even in many contexts outside schools.


Share some links in the below
NPR related news about Darwin 200th birthday
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100379229
Darwin in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin



ps my first idea is written in Chinese...this is easier for me to capture concepts in time
hummmm ...so....I have a question...in Chinese we say 適者生存不適者亡
那人類之間的互助合作行為是不是違反所謂的達爾文的演化論了
或者是達爾文的演化論有其盲點 ...在自然界有所謂的社會互助行為
人類就是在這裡不同 現在所謂有些比較不好的基因或是在社會偏狹定義中較弱勢的一群
或許是人類生存的轉機...這或許很難懂 ...但是我就是比較偏向理想主義...互助合作不然一起亡...to swin or to sink together...to survive is not only through competition...
to meaningfully cooperate..it's hard..but worthy doing so...but the actions require shared vision, commitment and practice..

Week4: Questions_Backgroud Theory for EdTech

**SP note**
During Week 4, I was a bit laid back..and resetting my goals for current and future study. During the 627 class, we had a good discussion about is it acceptable for PhD dissertation collaborated by two or more authors. Everyone shared interesting feedback. Later, I'll add in more class notes here. Just post my two questions ahead then later elaborate it. :-)

Discrepancy between in/out of school learning: a reflection of teaching/learning to the test
Why school/informal learning goes into symbolic, general, rule and pure mentation?
It's because of the teaching to the test makes the above happen. I mean teaching to the test is the ways, methods school systems apply to test individual performance to screen, to place people in the educational setting that can better educate them. However, in fact, the school exam system turns out into a way to select the so-called the academic intelligent to have a certain privilege and ignore the needs of learners with diverse intelligent. Ideally, I believe, the education and learning is to help an individual or a group to find out the weak and strong part of each individual, to use the strong intelligence to support the weak, to enhance the collaborate and help among people.

Solo and collective learning in creativity
I am from the visual ArtsEdu background. I found usually in fine arts history we can easily recall many great artists and their great piece of work. And in many art classroom I observed emphasized on how to cultivate individual originality. That is to make you stand out of the group to be different to have your ownership and unique identity. Therefore, I boldly assume in this type of education, artists tend to work more individually rather than collectively. Does it because in this kind definition of creativity that makes the education more focus on how to differentiate the individual from the others?

This view of greatest individual artist might be easily found in the modern art domain or in some periods of art history like three masters in Renaissance. However, in the current arts world, the new way of communication and the concept of taking Art as a tool to share or to co-produce, would this change the solo learning or working style of an artist in the discussion of creativity? Besides, I think if we take creativity as an collective form of human intelligent, the way to enhance or enable creativity in education might be different from the view of taking creativity as an individual production.

Week3: Questions_Distraction, Multitasking & Tech

In Week3, the two cases study: Geek chorus(Guernsey, 2003) & On Audience Activities (Golub, 2004) related me back to many conference experience (the right photo is a APAEC 2007 held in Hwalian, Taiwan, a very typical academic conference, in a big lecture hall. photo by SPK in APAEC2007). I easily felt bored by passively receiving so much information from the presenters but for the courtesy concern, often times I sheepishly did some personal positive (write my papers )or negative distraction (drawing, or sent text message by cell phone).





(the left is a typical syndrome-yawning after 20-30 minutes listening a long speech; the right is what I called active participation-take notes or using digital camera for capturing important messages. photo by SPK in APAEC2007)


Allow the audience to use the IM or any similar technologies are quite controversial and equivocal. Some may argue it can enhance the active interaction among the audience and the presenters. It can build up a higher sense of participation. A shy person who hesitates to present personal ideas by articulation in the public, via the IM, usually can share ideas more freely and straight forward. On the other hand, the presenter might feel annoyed and being ignored by not getting much eye-to-eye and facet-to-face attention from the audience. S/he may also feel uncomfortable about how the others' comments and critics for the topic in the back channel.


(the left is the old type-distraction_reading your own book and pretend to be attentive to the speech ^___^""" photo by SPK in APAEC2007)
I found this situation is pretty similar in one of my class observation. Many students felt bored in passive learning like in a big lecture, sitting in the dark and listening to the endless bombarding of information. Some students just don’t care it. They come late and sit in the back corner, sleep, use laptop, check cell phone, play games, read press or review other courses’ textbook. Some students want to actively participate in by taking note or asking questions.
Some are stuck in the either way and complain about not so involving in the course and feel bored or uncomfortable for not knowing what have learned during the break. Some will complain about the lecture but these messages usually are shared among the class in students’ gossip. I can understand the communication gap between instructor and students. One wants to teach but for limited time concerns seems to overweight in the information delivering. The other wants to learn but not be motivated, they seek other ways to make their mind feel fun and awake.

Well…I need to add in other literatures to deepen my statement about the distraction in passive learning and the role technologies play in this above phenomena.

(the above is a more current type of distraction_checking the cell phone text message, ^+++^. photo by SPK in APAEC2007)



Another interesting topic, I gained from the week 3 reading is Multitasking. There are several perspectives to discuss about multitasking. One is multitasking and distraction. Many people have the intention to multitask in formal occasion such as attending lectures, academic conference, or at works. Perhaps, it technologies make the multitasking so obviously than before. In the old time, without these technologies, there are several ways to multitask such as day dream, read books, drawing, pass note or move body, or many other ways.

Another is multitasking and cognition process. Some people are really good at multitasking. Some are not. While dealing with new knowledge or difficult problem solving, a person would be more fully involved in one task. However, if the capacity in doing one thing is reaching the automaticity, then sh/e can easily does one thing with another at the same time. For example, in Neo-Piagetian view, it found that when children are more familiar in some type of problem solving and reach a certain level of automaticity. Their cognition for process new knowledge will allow more space for storage space and use less part for operating new knowledge (Driscoll, 2005). So you will find the younger children will be more attentive in thinking and slow in giving response to a question, while the older one can answer it more quickly and deal with new information at the same time.

Questions from Week Three Reading

Connection
If the need to connect is one of human being’s intrinsic/ innate natures, why do we need? From the interaction, connection, or feel be connected, what strength we gain from that? (Feeling not alone, mental support, stress release, a sense of belonging, identity, security, collaborate) If it’s possible the action of connection making can cause side effects, such as differentiate, separate (show favorites), compromise, conformity and so on. Why and how?

Distraction
Distraction seems to be a shared experience among students in a lecture time or listening to a presentation. New technologies allow students more choices to distraction. However, there are pros and cons of distraction. Under what circumstance/context/condition, a human mind tends to seek a distraction. Can you share a personal experience about positive and negative distraction to your learning?

Multitasking
While doing multitasking, how a person functions his/her information processing? Does the new generation, the so-called aged, act differently in their coding process compared to the previous generation? Can we learn how to multitask? Can we learn it more effectively and efficiently? Is multitasking one type of learning diversity/style?