Skip to main content

Finding the Fulcrum

In 2016, twice as many Americans obtained their news online instead of print. Approximately 3/4 of adult Americans interact with others through social media. Nine out of ten Americans are online, and a majority of these users are using time online to support personal or professional learning. I'm sure that I'm not the only person who finds it challenging to find a balance between personal and professional learning while online.


As time passes, an increasing percentage of the information and interaction that I seek in the name of learning is gathered online. The line between personal and professional learning is becoming blurred. I'm not sure if this is the result of time limitations, or professional ambitions putting the squeeze on personal interests. For example, I would like to start a podcast about pond fishing, but here I am writing about learning and education.


Reading Aaron Davis's recent post, "Templated Self", my perceived challenge of online time took a turn when he asks, "what do we mean by "real world" experiences, what do we mean by digital literacies?" I found myself wondering if my online presence is templated, and if so, how much control do I have in my online identity? In other words, are we manipulating our online spaces, or are they manipulating us?

It was Dave White's "Visitor / Resident" mapping exercise that prompted me to map and share my digital interactions. Initially, I used icons as hyperlinks to invite more engagement and interaction. Later, I realized the V/R mapping activity, which is an ongoing process, allows for deeper reflection of how I leverage online spaces. It's a visual interpretation of my digital self. Is this the same as a template?

At ISTE 2016, Dean Shareski challenged a group of us to consider digital dualism. Does online branding dehumanize us? Like others in my PLN, Dean suggests it's better to own rather than rent. Each person should have an online space to establish residency, contribute to communities, and create their templates. He encourages us to keep it real by retaining our humanity and authenticity in digital spaces.

Recently, Danah Boyd suggested that increases in online participation are shifting the ways in which we are manipulated by digital information. What are the motives of gaining attention and sharing information online? Are we becoming a generation of skilled manipulators?

The original intention of this post was to express a personal challenge of balancing time spent learning between personal and professional learning and balancing digital and analog resources. That ship seems to have sailed. The theme of this post then shifted to finding a balance of control over our online spaces. Are we living two lives? What is the appropriate mixture of online and offline? Where's the balance? The thought of misrepresenting myself with a digital template is a bit disconcerting. I've never personally met many of the folks in my personal learning network, but I believe that when we do finally meet face-to-face, it will feel somewhat like a reunion of old friends.

photo credit: Pixabay CC0 - Public Domain; Ralf Kunze

Comments

Aaron Davis said…
I am fascinated by the 'real' argument. I am taken by the work of Deleuze and assemblages. We are all a product of emergence. See this post on ClassDojo for example https://codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/assembling-classdojo/

Popular posts from this blog

What Teachers Can Learn From Effective Coaches

In my educational world teaching and coaching involve the same processes. The people that impacted my own learning most significantly were coaches. Could it be that great coaches were ahead of their time with respects to instructional best practices? Let's take a look at ten coaching practices that thankfully have found their way into the classroom. http://www.coachwooden.com/files/PyramidThinkingSuccess.jpg Standards-based Grading - coaches aren't concerned with arbitrary measures of success such as letter grades. Great coaches identify a requisite set of skills that are necessary for advancement and success. Promotion and achievement are based upon clearly identified levels of skill mastery.  Authentic assessment - coaches are looking for their athletes to demonstrate their skill mastery under game-like situations. The best coaches incorporate game simulations and competitive, game-like drills into their practices. Winning coaches will use the contests as assess

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research."  - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.”  – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined