I earned a badge, y'all!

Can I share?

Basically, after years of knowing about and teaching about QM I finally sat through the basic training. It wasn't anything new to me (after all, I'm a trained instructional designer who has been in practice for 25+ years and teaching online for almost that long), but now I have a badge and I am official.

Twitter and accessibility

I am far from being an accessibility expert, but I care about accessibility, and with that in mind I want to call your attention to how we can help make tweets more accessible. 

Did you know that you can add alt text to your tweets when you have uploaded an image? Yup. You can. 

There are directions here: https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/add-image-descriptions

And here's an example from a tweet I recently posted.

And you can add alt text on blogger, too. See? (this is becoming very meta).

Here's a guide to how Twitter works for people with visual disabilities:

https://www.perkins.org/resource/using-twitter-vision-impairment/

Here's a helpful guide to writing good alt text: 

https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images 

Crowdsourcing some help

Hello EME6414 friends!

I'm working on a book chapter, and I'm having one of those moments where I'm stuck. I need an example (and I know there are many) of a situation where things that have happened online, in a socially constructed space, have gone on to influence thought and action in the physical realm. 

It could be related to online spaces uniting people who are otherwise dispersed, or allowing people to play out two or more identities. 

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

(Oooh. I just thought of Julian Dibbell's work with LambdaMoo, but it's a bit violent/graphic and I'm not sure I want to go there. A well-known political, sports, or celeb type of story may be better.)

Can I tell you a secret about Twitter?

I don't really like Twitter.

There. I said it. I put the thought out there.

I don't like it for various reasons. To name a few, quickly, off the top of my head:

• It's SO public.
• It has an abuse/harrassment problem. 
• The leadership has been ineffective at addressing these problems.
• Of late, the leadership has been ... particularly problematic? And the platform feels rather volatile (i.e., who knows what's going on with the blue checks, misinformation, etc.)
• Drama aside, it moves quickly and makes my head spin.

And yet, I still have an account. Want to know why? And how I make it work for me?

Why:

• I teach this class.
• There's a lot of good stuff out there in Twitter-land, too, and good people. 
• I learn about conferences, publications, etc. on Twitter.
• I've been able to find people I want to interact with on there.
• When things happen in the world, sometimes it's the first source of info (although you have to always be skeptical of the accuracy of that info).

So how do I make it work?

• I'm not always active on Twitter. I can walk away and not log in for week.
• I'm active during this class, and during conferences, and when something is going on. Those are times with high personal interest.
• I limit my posting to things for this class, bragging on students, things I've published, and other professional things that I doubt will attract unwarranted attention.
• I have learned to not worry about what I might be missing when I'm not on there.
• I have alerts set up so I'll get a notice if there's something on there that concerns me.

Tour de Blog #1

I love reading everyone's blogs! So much interesting stuff going on. 

I know it's difficult to get around to all of the blogs all of the time, so let me suggest a few posts for you to go visit (and comment on) if you haven't already.

Jeff encourages us to think not only of what we've gained with technology and networked individualism, but also of what we have lost.

Along the same lines, Frankie is asking if people (kids?) actually talk anymore.

But then we have a really interesting counterpoint from Shaniqua.

Is this a digital native/immigrant issue? (I say this with no idea how old y'all are -- it just makes for a good narrative here.) Or do we even want to use that metaphor? Perhaps not ...

Double M takes Prensky to task on his use of the term "digital immigrant." This is a must read. 

And Marion finds that this description doesn't really hold well in her setting (thinking about the "natives," either. 

Looking ahead to Week 3, we'll talk about Reddit. Well, Unreliable Blogger is already there.

We'll also be diving into badges, and over at MelaninBlissBlog you can read about some LinkedIn badges.

Huong has given herself a TikTok/blog challenge, of sorts. She'll be posting about TikTok each week, two posts (Top Ten / Weekly Hot). Go check out the first one, stay for the second (and more).

Having a bit of fun, Megan wants to know how many degrees of Kevin Bacon you are.

Alright. Ready, set, go. Visit some blogs. Read. Comment. Enjoy!

RSS: RIghteously Super Stuff

 The blogs have been created, and now it's time to begin following each other. You have various options, including:

1. (not recommended, highly inefficient) Return to Canvas each time you want to read blogs and follow links from there.
2. (better, but not the best) Visit this blog and follow the links that will soon be posted as a blogroll in the sidebar. Just click through and see if anything new has been posted.
3. (I'm biased, but it's best) Get a feed reader and subscribe to the RSS feeds for everyone's blog.

Why a feed reader? It will allow you to make a list of all blog feeds for the course (and anything else that interests you) and then check in at one place to see if anyone posted anything new. It's kind of like checking email, only you're checking feeds instead. When you post to your blog, it will send out a ping through your feed and everyone who is subscribed will see that you have a new post when they next log in to their feed reader.

I'm using Feeder. A screenshot is below. What you see on the left is a list of all of the feeds to which I am subscribed -- but I blocked out all but the blogs that I control to protect your privacy. On the right is a list of blog posts from the feed selected on the left. If I click on one, it will expand and I can read it in Feeder. If I click on the post title, I can read it on the blog itself and comment, etc. (Remember, commenting is good blog etiquette!)

It takes a little effort to set it up if you add in feeds blog by blog, but less than 30 seconds per blog. Then, when I want to see who's been blogging what, I just go to Feeder and the blogs with new posts are indicated in the sidebar. When I choose a blog, the list of posts shows up on the right. How awesome is that?

This isn't the only option. Others are posted in our Week 2 module in Canvas, and there are many more out there.

Any questions? Or RSS tools to recommend we try or avoid? If so, please leave a comment!
What's been your experience with RSS so far? (<--- see, I did that thing again where I invite people to comment -it's a way to generate interaction)

What is personal, anyway?

 Public-private is one of the tensions that arises when people go online.

We've all heard the tales of bad things happening because someone's online post got more attention than they anticipated. Bad things can vary from experiencing personal discomfort to losing a job or a friend to getting arrested. Many of us live in fear of these bad things, and construct personal rules against sharing personal things online. Sometimes we even judge others who share personal things online, or overshare.

But what's personal? And what's oversharing? 

We can all probably point to and agree that certain things would be personal and oversharing, but there are others where we wouldn't agree. And also, context might mean a lot, too.

My definition of personal has changed over time, and it doesn't align with what others consider personal. 

For example, I have colleagues who never share about their families, online or otherwise. Me? Well, my husband is on the faculty and that's no secret. I decided when I had a child that I would not keep her hidden because I wanted to prove a point: women can be active moms AND successful faculty members at research universities. [Common wisdom in generations past was that you were careful to not perform motherhood at work, lest you be "mommy-tracked" on the job.] I share that they exist, and what they do (my daughter will perform in the ballet in 2 weeks! and graduates from middle school tomorrow!), but there are limits. I see other moms post their kids' grades online. That's not my thing, and my daughter would not appreciate it if I did. I save those brags for the family group chat. 

Alternatively, I have colleagues and see plenty of faculty who post online about political and religious issues. Me? Nope. Not going there. I don't mind seeing what they post, and it's not that I don't have beliefs (I most certainly do!), but I tend to keep my beliefs and any actions related to them away from the workplace, which also means keeping them out of highly public and searchable spaces. Why? Well, let's take politics as an example. Even during less politically charged times than the one we live in now I see how people judge each other for their beliefs, and I want to try to keep that out of most of my everyday interactions. (I save political arguments for phone conversations with a few family members, and in my upbringing religion was always considered a personal topic.)

I've been told by people that they find me to be very open online and in person, and not at all private, and it makes me chuckle. I think I'm a very private person. My husband would agree. I share parts of my person and persona that I'm comfortable sharing, and I am genuine when I share in that way. However, there are so many things that I consider personal and simply will not share.  So, don't think that just because I share my delight at finding a childhood photo (and share that photo), or comment on a book that was personally meaningful that I'm necessarily sharing personal things. And I may share with you all of my deep thoughts about food and cooking, but none of them about health and fitness (eh, but I may share the odd photo or post of a fun physical activity like kayaking or cycling). If I post it online, then I don't really consider it personal. Not EVEN when I post online in my more private spaces -- e.g., for me Twitter is public, but Facebook is, well, a more (but not fully) private place where I share about non-professional topics so it looks personal, but really it's not. Also, over the years I've learned to write in a style that feels more personal, without necessarily sharing information that is more personal. Yup, voice matters. 

As a reminder, in this class I never expect you to post things that you find personal (and several of you commented about having concerns in that area). If you want to share, you always may do so, but you don't have to. And as you read what each other posts, remember that what's personal to one person may not be to another person. 

So, are there any topics you feel are personal that others seem to not find personal, or vice versa? (only answer if you don't feel that is too personal of a question)

I tried Twitter and I didn't like it. (Or any other tool, for that matter)

 

"I tried Twitter* and didn't like it."

I've heard many a person say that, and not just in this class. It's a fair thing to say, but it doesn't always mean that the person has given the tool a fair chance. How can I tell? The statement is often followed by some variation on, "As far as I can tell, it's pointless."

I'm not about to evangelize for a tool. We can live without them, and everyone has different needs and preferences. However, I want to explore how we explore and find meaning in our tool use. So let's focus on Twitter.

You sign up for Twitter. Now what? 

Do you tweet? If so, what about?

OK, you tweeted. And now what? It felt like shouting down an empty hall.

Eh. So you can follow people. Follow. Follow. Follow. 

OK, now you're following 100 people, and there are plenty of tweets in front of your eyes. But seriously: Now what? 

This is the experience many people have. Perhaps some of you have had this same experience. It makes sense. You open an account. Nothing magical happens. You post your first tweet. No one notices. You follow a bunch of people. Now you have a lot to keep up with. It's a chore, but is it meaningful?

Trying a tool without a clear purpose and without interaction partners can lead to this situation. Feeling uncertain about what to do on the tool ... well it leaves one feeling very "now what?"

This phenomenon occurs because in the end the magic isn't in the tool, but rather in its use. It's a combination of how and with whom the tool is used. If you have people to connect to on Twitter (whether you are broadcasting, following, or interacting), then you have purpose. If there is content you seek on Twitter, that's another reason for purpose. But if you're just on there to check it out, you don't have purpose. 

One thing I recommend is test driving tools for specific purposes. If you're on Twitter, maybe you want to interact with people. Our class is a good place to start. Soon we'll have a handful of people Tweeting out content regularly and even asking you to engage. Maybe you would enjoy using Twitter to get updates from new sources, or publishers, or sports teams, or whoever and whatever you're interested in. Maybe you'll find a Twitter chat -- a time and hashtag that unites people in conversation (more on that in a later post). But you have to get out there and try it to really know if you like it or not. And if you try it today and don't like it, you may never like it, but you may find that if you revisit it later -- when you have purpose -- you will find it quite useful. Whatever the tool. Whatever the purpose.

After all, a tool without a purpose is just a thing that takes up (virtual) space.

Because we're thinking about Twitter today, what might be your purpose for tweeting? Or what purpose do think other people may have?

*replace Twitter with any other tool. The sentiment holds.

A choose your own adventure course

 We're only one day into this course, and hopefully you're starting to see that this is a choose-your-own experience course.

Do you remember choose your own adventure books? Where you got to make decisions about what would happen next?

You are in a dark hallway. The only light is seeping through the crack of what may be a door at the end of the hall. You walk down the long, dark hallway toward the light. When you near the end of the hall, you pass a narrow table with a phone on it. Just as you reach the door at the end, you see an envelope on the floor. The envelope is halfway under the door. The phone begins to ring. You:
a. Answer the phone
b. Pick up the envelope
c. Open the door

I loved those books! The idea that I had a choice and could be immersed in the storytelling was so much fun.

I feel like this course is a similar experience. It's not entirely scripted, but it's also not entirely unscripted. You can be your own protagonist here. I'm going to use this post to highlight some of the choices you have and explain why (pedagogically speaking) I'm giving you this choice.

1. TOOLS

You get to choose which tools you will use, and which you won't use. I'm going to cover a lot of tools, and I'll set up play spaces and challenges for us in many of them. I also welcome suggestions for tools you may want to try that weren't on my original plan. I will never make you use a tool other than Canvas (a university expectation) and blogging (you choose the platform!).
Pedagogically, I feel strongly about having choice in this area. Forcing tools on students rarely goes well. Many of you are in this class with your own personal goals or agendas. I'd rather let you focus on the tools that interest you most rather than spread your time thin across many tools. You're also all at different levels in terms of comfort and prior experience. For some people, trying one new tool per week will be a good stretch. For others, three a week may be a better pace. It really doesn't matter. The tools are simply a means to an end. Also, if we blog about our tool experiences, we can learn vicariously through each other. And many of the tools allow you to just follow if you want a less direct/vivid experience. Case in point: If you never set up a Twitter account, you can still follow along via the tweets in our sidebar.

2. PEOPLE

You get to choose who you interact with. There are 25 other people here with whom you can interact. You can be a social butterfly, or hang with a few buddies (and I hope you won't relegate yourself to playing the wallflower). You're also not limited to this class. There's also a whole world out there, and if your goal in this class is to learn how to productively connect with ... I don't know who. Water buffalo breeders? Pastry chefs? Ultramarathoners? ... then you should be making those connections. I'll show you how, and you can go do it (and count it as participation). Pedagogically, I feel that it's important that I value and encourage your connections with people outside the class. If all you did was interact within the confines of our class community and you were limited to learning about interacting with others, you would be missing the opportunity to explore networks and then debrief them with the class.

3. PRIVACY

Will you be a John or Jane Doe? Or are you building your personal brand on the web, screaming your name from every mountaintop? Either is fine. Will you blog about your innermost thoughts (about social media, of course!) or provide impersonal reviews of tools? Totally up to you. Pedagogically, my goal is for you all to learn how to participate in social media learning environments and to learn how to help others do the same. I want you to see the full range of examples in this class, and by showing you all some of your privacy options and encouraging you to engage in discourse about it when you feel uncertain, I'm trying to model for you how the issue can be approached and demonstrate that there are many ways to participate with varying levels of privacy -- and none is the "best" or most correct way.

4. COMFORT ZONES

Everyone has one, and everyone's is different. I'm going to encourage you all to try things that are a bit out of yours, but I won't tell you want that should be. Pedagogically, risk-taking is a good thing, but it can easily go wrong. A forced risk that doesn't go well can hurt a learner's motivation, creating distrust and ill feelings in the class context. I don't want that! However, when people take small steps out of their comfort zones and feel at least somewhat in control of those steps, they're likely to succeed!

So, what is your adventure going to be? What do you choose? That's something for you to think about as we start to round out the first week (and continue to think about and discuss throughout the entire course). I can't wait to see the "books" you all write for yourselves over the next 12 weeks.

EME6414, 2023 Edition: The beginning.

 Hey there! Hooray! You made it! 

We've been waiting for you since last August, when the 2022 edition ended.

This is the blog I will be using to share links and small tidbits of interest throughout the course as well as to provide some links to and highlight content from your blogs (sort of a "best of"). Through the sidebar, there will also be links to various class-related tools.

Your TA Daeun and I will be posting to this blog, and we encourage your comments and conversation.

Just a reminder -- if you don't want your name appearing online in this context, don't use your name. You may write your blog under a nom de plume, choose a Twitter pseudonym, and so on. I will link to your blog and refer to you in this space using whatever online name you choose. I just need to know for assessment purposes that "Mary Smith" is posting as "Wonder Woman."

Catch the wave and let the wild Internet ride begin!