Comments on: Week two: Rhizomes and portals http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/ part of the MSc in E-learning at the University of Edinburgh Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:08:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: » Lifestream 3 Ania's E-learning and Digital Cultures http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/#comment-18 » Lifestream 3 Ania's E-learning and Digital Cultures Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:10:24 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/?p=205#comment-18 [...] use a rhizome-related metaphor (Bayne, 2004). First I saw it as a mere aggregating tool. Thanks to Carol’s post, I saw it’s something richer than just a piece of software recording my online activity (like a [...] [...] use a rhizome-related metaphor (Bayne, 2004). First I saw it as a mere aggregating tool. Thanks to Carol’s post, I saw it’s something richer than just a piece of software recording my online activity (like a [...]

]]> By: Carol Jane Collins http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/#comment-16 Carol Jane Collins Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:53:45 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/?p=205#comment-16 Thanks for your comments Ania - a lot to think about! I guess I say writing because my background is in eng lit and writing is a big part of my life. Even though I totally embrace new literacies, writing is my comfort blanket:) I think too we automatically use writing to refer to what we do online...even the old phrase 'write to disk'. I like the idea of aggregation though.....I think the whole lifestream thing is really interesting and quite challenging to someone like me who really just wants to write papers and so on. The process has opened my eyes to a lot of great websites etc but seeing how it has developed is an interesting process. I like the D&G stuff and need to look at it more. Thanks for the links...I'll take a look at them. Thanks for your comments Ania – a lot to think about! I guess I say writing because my background is in eng lit and writing is a big part of my life. Even though I totally embrace new literacies, writing is my comfort blanket:) I think too we automatically use writing to refer to what we do online…even the old phrase ‘write to disk’. I like the idea of aggregation though…..I think the whole lifestream thing is really interesting and quite challenging to someone like me who really just wants to write papers and so on. The process has opened my eyes to a lot of great websites etc but seeing how it has developed is an interesting process. I like the D&G stuff and need to look at it more. Thanks for the links…I’ll take a look at them.

]]> By: Ania Rolińska http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/#comment-15 Ania Rolińska Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:07:29 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/?p=205#comment-15 Re: openness on the web and branding oneself, there is a BBC feature on an extreme take on the issue: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15167917 Steve Wheeler is also talking (very generally though) about digital identity in his last blog post http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/10/identity-play.html. He makes a point about the badges he displays on his blog as potential signs of his credibility. He often talks about changing academic practices like blogs becoming accepted academic sources which might tie in with what Jen, or rather Carpenter (haven't read the paper yet) says about the interplay between academic and popular practices. Re: openness on the web and branding oneself, there is a BBC feature on an extreme take on the issue: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15167917

Steve Wheeler is also talking (very generally though) about digital identity in his last blog post http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/10/identity-play.html. He makes a point about the badges he displays on his blog as potential signs of his credibility. He often talks about changing academic practices like blogs becoming accepted academic sources which might tie in with what Jen, or rather Carpenter (haven’t read the paper yet) says about the interplay between academic and popular practices.

]]> By: Ania Rolińska http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/#comment-14 Ania Rolińska Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:53:23 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/?p=205#comment-14 An interesting perspective - I found it striking that you referred to your lifestream as a piece of writing (albeit the second time you used inverted commas, meaning 'a kind of writing', which is reflected later in your point about a shifting configuration of media-elements) - something that has never occurred to me while thinking of the streaming activity. For me it's always been a mere act of aggregation but now when I think of it, by collecting your online traces, threads and feeds in one place you do weave them into a collage, an enunciation assemblage, to borrow D&G's term. A variety of input, online conversations, film likes, longer blog posts, visual artefacts (to come) make it have a richer, rhizomatic texture, certainly a new 'uncanny' way of 'writing' and also 'reading'. Thanks. An interesting perspective – I found it striking that you referred to your lifestream as a piece of writing (albeit the second time you used inverted commas, meaning ‘a kind of writing’, which is reflected later in your point about a shifting configuration of media-elements) – something that has never occurred to me while thinking of the streaming activity. For me it’s always been a mere act of aggregation but now when I think of it, by collecting your online traces, threads and feeds in one place you do weave them into a collage, an enunciation assemblage, to borrow D&G’s term. A variety of input, online conversations, film likes, longer blog posts, visual artefacts (to come) make it have a richer, rhizomatic texture, certainly a new ‘uncanny’ way of ‘writing’ and also ‘reading’. Thanks.

]]> By: Carol Jane Collins http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/#comment-13 Carol Jane Collins Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:19:11 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/?p=205#comment-13 That's no problem to flag it up to them on twitter Jen. Would be good to carry on the conversation as it seems very relevant on more than one level. Authenticity in reflection, and even more so in online reflection where there is more of an audience, is, I think, a continual problem with education and so I agree it should get a fair amount of attention in e-learning with blogging in particular becoming something I see increasingly in 'professional' courses such as social work. I havent read the Carpenter paper yet but I do think the line between the academic and the social/popular is being increasingly, and intentionally, blurred as recognition of, or an imagining of, students as creatures who live their lives online. That’s no problem to flag it up to them on twitter Jen. Would be good to carry on the conversation as it seems very relevant on more than one level.

Authenticity in reflection, and even more so in online reflection where there is more of an audience, is, I think, a continual problem with education and so I agree it should get a fair amount of attention in e-learning with blogging in particular becoming something I see increasingly in ‘professional’ courses such as social work. I havent read the Carpenter paper yet but I do think the line between the academic and the social/popular is being increasingly, and intentionally, blurred as recognition of, or an imagining of, students as creatures who live their lives online.

]]> By: Jen Ross http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/2011/10/04/rhizomes-and-portals/#comment-12 Jen Ross Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:00:55 +0000 http://edc11.education.ed.ac.uk/carolc/?p=205#comment-12 Ania and Jeremy will want to ponder the rhizome with you, I think! Carol, do you mind if I use Twitter to draw their attention to your excellent post? I really like the digital culture and education journal, and the Mallan article you've mentioned as well. I cited this in a chapter I wrote (in press) about cultural conceptions of blogging, and how these might be affecting students and teachers in their engagement with online reflective practices. I argued that there are profound tensions around the need for authenticity, accusations of narcissism, the risk of disclosure, and demands for personal branding online. Add to that your point about users-as-products and you have a very complicated set of negotiations for digital participants to engage with. I think we pay less attention to this in e-learning than we should. One of the secondary readings for this week, Carpenter, argues that there actually are no boundaries between academic and popular literacy practices, which means we need to be aware of how popular practices are playing out. As we move out of 'walled gardens' and into the wider web for some or all of our educational activities, these things become all the more salient. Ania and Jeremy will want to ponder the rhizome with you, I think! Carol, do you mind if I use Twitter to draw their attention to your excellent post?

I really like the digital culture and education journal, and the Mallan article you’ve mentioned as well. I cited this in a chapter I wrote (in press) about cultural conceptions of blogging, and how these might be affecting students and teachers in their engagement with online reflective practices. I argued that there are profound tensions around the need for authenticity, accusations of narcissism, the risk of disclosure, and demands for personal branding online. Add to that your point about users-as-products and you have a very complicated set of negotiations for digital participants to engage with.

I think we pay less attention to this in e-learning than we should. One of the secondary readings for this week, Carpenter, argues that there actually are no boundaries between academic and popular literacy practices, which means we need to be aware of how popular practices are playing out. As we move out of ‘walled gardens’ and into the wider web for some or all of our educational activities, these things become all the more salient.

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