Synergy in the Collective

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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In our Technology and Society class, everyone is required to blog every other week.  The content is the choice of the individuals.  In a comment to Huong, Colin noticed how his content unintentionally aligned with hers.

It’s amazing to me how much my blog post this week, without trying, is in a way a response to yours. It’s more of an indirect response mind you – Colin

Synergy

123RF Stock Photo

Our peer-peer collective is beginning to synergize our content.  Thomas and Brown (2011) define a collective as a collection of people, skills and talent that are actively engaged with the process of learning.  Unlike a community, which can be passive, collectives are active.  In a collective people belong in order to learn.  The medium, the blog, defines the collective space where learning can take shape.  Thomas and Brown define the medium, the collective space, the process, and discuss the emergence of a collective. What are the characteristics of the collective?

In the collective seeking of knowledge through networks that develop on the Internet conjures up notions of connectivism:  a learning theory that accounts for learning in digital spaces.  Knowledge is distributed on a network of connections through actions and experiences (Downes )

Both Thomas and Brown’s notion of the collective and Siemen’s and Downe’s notions of  connectivism do not include a concept of synergy emerging through connected blogging about shared interests or topics. Our group of collective bloggers is starting to notice a synergy of thoughts and ideas in our blog posts.   I must be thinking of the Borgs again, but is synergy of thoughts and ideas a component of a collective?  Is synergy an indicator of belonging in a collective?

Krista

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create Space.

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Digital changes to publishing.

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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Participating and publishing in a digital world is blurring the lines of academic credibility.  Many traditional paper based peer-reviewed journals are moving to an open access web-based format.  Access to peer-reviewed articles is becoming easier and cheaper.  Yet as Bate’s asks, why journals are hanging on to pre-digital age existence?

To respond to Bate’s blog question “Do we need academic journals anymore?”, Jacobsen chose two media platforms: an editorial in a peer reviewed journal and a comment on Bates’ blog. Her chosen platforms highlight a crucial difference in publishing formats.  The blog enables comments and debate on site.  The journal does not not. The journal is static.  The blog is dynamic and evolving.  I agree with Bates, academic journals need to walk the digital talk. When is OJS  going to add a comment feature so academic journals can participate in the collective?

Connectivism, a theory about the digital collective, blurs the boundaries of academic credibility.  Published in a blog, the connectivism learning theory  was not peer-reviewed. Some question the credibility of the theory without the peer-review stamp of approval.  Following the connectivism debate gives insight into the basis for the theory.  Marielle Lange critiqued the theory in Wikipedia.    I found out that Marielle critiqued connectivism because Jenny Mackness critiqued Marielle’s critique from her blog.  I found where Marielle published her argument on Michael Bauwen’s blog.  Following the connectivism debate through journals, blogs, and Wikipedia is making me as dizzy as trying to follow John’s alleged fall from grace in the Anusara yoga scandal.  Despite the fact the connectivism was founded in a non-peer reviewed forum, the theory is now published in peer-reviewed journals.  The theory has gained credibility without following the traditional path.

Yet, I cannot help but question what academic publishing changes mean for me.  I am tempted to blurt out my ideas for research and post my rejected papers on this blog.  But I am still a pretty recently minted PhD graduate.  I have a vested interested in the peer-review process as it does represent the keys to the academic kingdom.  Will blog publishing help me in an academic future or will it hurt me?

Krista

 

 

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Academic Publishing

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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I missed posting a blog last week.  Skipping posts is definitely not a good path to follow.  I always have many excuses for not writing but here is one.  Now that our class has found a definition of blogging, I realized that blogging places me on a soapbox.  The blog is a place for me to publically muse and discuss my scholarly pursuits.  For some reason, this realization humbled me.

One of my many scholarly lessons since graduation is about the academic peer-review publishing process.  Learning to deal with rejection part of the process.  Having lovingly crafted papers ripped apart is akin to having your heart torn apart.  Yet rebuilding is valuable. The peer-review process can improve the quality of an article.  Finding the right venue for an article is another lesson.

I just had one (co-authored) freshly minted article mailed to me in print form.  This article was previously rejected twice. First I submitted the article to a high school mathematics teaching journal.  The article was rejected because the math problem was too easy.  Next, I sent the article to a junior high mathematics teaching journal and the article was rejected for because the problem was too hard.  As I was licking my wounds, wondering what is between junior high and high school, an email requesting submissions to a special issue for elementary mathematics teaching arrived. Rather than throw the article out, I sent it off. The article was accepted with minor changes.

I have another article that has been rejected four times. The first couple rejections really helped me improve the article.  I am learning to be grateful for feedback from peer- reviewers. Now I am confident in the quality of the article.  The editor from the last rejection stated that the article was solid but their journal was not the right place. Learning how to find the right journal is my challenge.

By blogging, I can publish my academic thoughts immediately.  I can get my ideas out, but there is no peer-review.  I have confidence in my writing once it has been reviewed and accepted. Are blogs credible without peer-review? I wonder how publishing a blog will influence my scholarly pursuits. What can I learn about writing and publishing from blogging?

Krista

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The Soapbox

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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Last week when I was organizing our class definition for a Blog, one category struck me: a soapbox.

I realized that I have been standing on my soapbox using this blog to proclaim my new understandings about blogging.  On top of that, I wondered why I have no comments.  I really am a slow learner.

My master’s was from the CDE at AU.  Coursework always included CMC text discussions on a forum board.  We were instructed to make two posts, one a response to the instructor’s question and the other a response to a peer.  In all of my course work, my posts were rarely responded to.  Thus started my thesis research.  I wanted to know the characteristics of messages that ‘triggered’ discussion. I compared two models of CMC interaction and coded 100,000 sentences according to the models.  At the end of it all, I had tendonitis in my wrists and a ‘duh’ moment.  The messages that ‘triggered’ discussion were brief and asked open-ended questions.  To elicit conversation in online discussions, Socratic rules applied.  If you want to invite conversation, you need to ask a good question.

I never asked questions in my CMC posts.  I merely pontificated my understandings of the reading. I wondered why I was rarely responded to.  For the past month of blogging, I have done the same thing.  I have pontificated and wondered if anyone will respond.

Here I am using another online forum attempting to attract followers and elicit comments.  I have yet to ask a question to elicit conversation.  Ammarah’s and Brendan’s comments ask questions. They seem to know the etiquette of conversation better than I.  Do I respond or wait to see if someone from cyberspace will respond?

Here is my question for this post.  What are the similarities and differences between online forum discussions and blogs?

Krista

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A working definition of a blog

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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In last night’s Technology and Society class we brainstormed a definition for ‘blog.’  Heidegger’s (1977) Question Concerning Technology was also on the menu last night, so organizing our definition according to Heidegger’s explanation of causality seemed prudent.

Blog Definition

The causa materialis, the material, for the blog is any open source web log publishing tool.  This blog is created on WordPress.

The causa formalis, the final shape, of the blog is the form.  Unlike webpages that replace old text with new, blogs preserve old posts in reverse chronological order.  The appearance of the blog can be customized with themes or CSS skills.  We questioned whether our definition included video in addition to text and images.  There is another name ‘vlog’ associated with video.  Our consensus was to include video in the form.

The causa efficiens, the blogger, is the individual.  The blogger is the one who chooses how to put together the material and form to create the blog.

The causa finalis, is the purpose of the blog.  Common purposes included: to create a collaborative space, to attract followers, and to invite a conversation not a monologue.  A blog typically has regular posting and is evolutionary.  The content was as varied as the individual creating the blog.  A blog could be about anything.

Krista, Tahany, Catherine, Theresa, Salima, Ammarah, Gee, Huong, Rob, Colin, Jody, Nancy, Yvonne, & Lisa

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Revealing and Concealing

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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If an unknown community of followers is part of what it means to blog, then perhaps I am beginning to understand Heidegger’s (1977) notion of enframing in relation to social media.  Heidegger discussed technology as a mode of revealing what is concealed.  The ability to publish on the WWW is what is revealed to me through a blog.  The identity of the readers of my blog is concealed. I have no idea if anyone is reading my blog.  Or if someone is reading it, I have no idea who they are.   By publishing the readers of my blog (if they exist) are concealed.

Judging by Heidegger’s discussion about the environmental impact of a windmill or the true nature of an airplane on the runway, I am not sure if the identity of a collective of blog readers is what Heidegger meant by revealing and concealing.  But maybe it is.

Enframing means that way of revealing which holds sway in the essence of modern technology and which is itself nothing technological (Heidegger, 1977, p. 20)

The creation of the all hardware and software that permit me to blog is beyond my concern.  I try to choose products that minimize impact on the environment and do not contribute to the tungsten wars in the Congo.  In reality, I have no way of knowing where the materials in my computer came from.  Even though I may have doubts about how ethically my equipment was built, I still push along keeping up to date with my modern technology.  Maybe that is also Enframing.  However, the environmental impact is true of all technology.  What is unique about the blog phenomenon?

The essence of modern technology lies in Enframing.  Enframing belongs within the destining of revealing (Heidegger, 1977, p. 25). Enframing blocks the shining-forth and holding-sway of truth… There is no demonry of technology, but rather there is the mystery of its danger (p. 28).

Is the danger of technology the impact of manufacturing?  Or is the danger of technology something else?  What is the danger is writing and publishing on the web?

Writing is a form of handing down memories and understanding (Gadamer, 2004).  But a blog is different from a book.  A book is a physical object.  A blog is a digital artefact. Both are released into the world to be read.  With an Internet connection, a blog is instantly available through a Google search.  A book requires a trip to the library or bookstore or postage through Amazon.  Both can have a following of readers, but a blog invites readers to comment.  There lies the mystery.  The invitation for comments and a potential for dialog with the author summons the unknown.

Krista

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Gadamer, H.-G. (2004). Truth and method. (J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall, Trans.) (Second.). New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology. The question concerning technology and other essays (pp. 3-35). New York: Harper & Row.

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Control of a Human Activity

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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Heidegger (1977) tells us that we frequently view technology as a means to an end and a human activity.  I have no trouble acknowledging that the creation of a blog is a human activity.  However, I am still struggling with what exactly is the ‘means to an end.’  More accurately, what is the ‘end?’

From Gadamer (2004), I learned that writing is a way of handing down memories and understandings.  From Thomas and Brown (2011), I learned that the purpose of creating blogs is to join a collective.   Gladwell (2010) helped me understand that social media’s ties are weak.  Perhaps the weak ties are exactly why I am not sure who is reading my blog.  Why does an unknown readership bother me so much?

Heidegger (1977) suggests that perhaps there is no end.  If there is no end, then perhaps we cannot master it.  Maybe Heidegger is right; is my purpose in blogging to have control or to master this blog?

In some ways, I do have control.  I have control over what I write and what I choose to publish.  I have control over what the blog looks like, within the confines of what WordPress and the web permit. I have no control about who reads my blog.  Is this why I have been so concerned about the anonymous collective?  Is this why I wonder how I can strengthen the ties to my blog?

In my Technology and Society class, each graduate student is required to blog and comment on one of their peer’s blog.  The requirement to respond strengthens the weak ties and creates a blog community within our own group.  Is the response requirement a mode for me to gain control or to master what is part of the actual essence of blogging?  Perhaps an unknown community of participants is part of what it means to blog.

Krista

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Gadamer, H.-G. (2004). Truth and method. (J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall, Trans.) (Second.). New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Gladwell, M. (2010, October 4). Annals of Innovation: Small Change. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=2

Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology. The question concerning technology and other essays (pp. 3-35). New York: Harper & Row.

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create Space. http://www.newcultureoflearning.com/

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Platform of Social Media or Collective?

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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The platforms of social media are built around weak ties. (Gladwell, 2010)

Watching Star Trek: First Contact last night gave me nightmares about being captured by a Borg and transforming into the collective.  I dreamt of excruciating pain when my eye transformed into a technological eyeball.  Instantly, I knew I was Borg and my individuality vanished.

The Borg collective easily aligns with Thomas and Brown’s definition. The Borgs are a “collection of people, skills and talents that produce a result greater than the sum of the part” (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p. 52).  The individual impacts the collective and vice versa.

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/contimission/borgqueen2.jpgYet, I can’t help but notice a few differences between the Blog collective and the Borg collective.  For one, I have been blogging diligently for a month and I do not know if I am part of a collective.  One knows instantly when they become a Borg.  For another, I still have my own personal control and identity.  As a Borg, individual thoughts are part of the collective.  Thirdly, there was only one female Borg who had her own thoughts.  She was the ‘I am’ Borg: the one with the memories.  She controlled the collective.  The blogging collective is uncontrolled as Thomas and Brown point out.  Fourthly, Gladwell (2010) points to another difference.  Blogging ties are weak.  Borg ties are unbreakable (unless you are Data or Jean Luc).

If the ties were stronger, then I would know I was in the collective.  My own thoughts would be closer to the whole.  I would know who was in command and follow orders.  The collective would absorb my individuality. From this perspective, I am quite glad that the ties of social media are weak.    Will the ties ever be strong enough to let me know if I am part of a collective?  What exactly is the whole collective?

I cannot believe I have become one of those academics who argues about terminology. In undergraduate classes I would have slept through this whole discussion. But, now I am at a loss as to what to do with Thomas and Brown’s collective definition.  Should I discard it or rework it?  If I discard their definition I am back to wondering what is the purpose of my Blog.  I do want to share ideas with others.  Can the sharing of ideas still be part of a collective with weak ties? I could say that the purpose is share ideas through a platform of social media. I just don’t like the terms ‘platform of social media’ as much.  As a Star Trek fan, the term ‘collective’ has more appeal. I might still hang on to the word collective with a few caveats.

Krista

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Gladwell, M. (2010, October 4). Annals of Innovation: Small Change. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=2

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create Space. http://www.newcultureoflearning.com/

Borg Queen Image from http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/gallery/borg1.htm

 

 

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How will I know if I am part of the collective?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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If one of the purposes of my blog is to join a collective as Thomas and Brown (2011) suggested, I can’t help but wonder how will I know if I am part of a collective.  I tried to investigate the logs where my domain is hosted.  One of the log programs shows that 50 hits on my blog in January.  I wonder how many hits are my own.

I do have one comment on my blog, so I know that at least one of the hits is not mine. Does one comment mean I am part of collective?  Maybe it is a start.  How many is enough?  What does it mean to be part of a collective?

Thomas and Brown state that a collective is defined by an active engagement with the process of learning.  The collective is a “collection of people, skills and talent that produces a result greater than the sum of the parts” (p. 52).  The collective is a ‘fusion’ of the personal within the collective.  The personal impacts the collective and the collective impacts the personal.  As someone in the middle trying to gain insight into the impact of my own personal on the collective and the collective on the personal, I am in the dark.

John Seely Brown I can find your website http://www.johnseelybrown.com/, but not your blog.   I found Douglas Thomas http://whereimaginationsplay.blogspot.com/  Doug you have not been posting regularly.  Your last post was in September and you missed a few months between April and September last year.   By your own definition, your blog is not active.   You also have very few comments.  As for external links, I just gave you one. Does my link impact the collective?  Is there really a collective?

When I read Thomas and Brown, I easily agreed with their notions of the collective.  Now I am attempting to become an active blogger in an unknown collective and I have less understanding of what a Blog collective actually means.  In Facebook, I know I am part of a collective.  You can see all my friends and my group links.

The Borg’s in Star Trek had a better idea of how their collective worked.  They could easily recognize each other and they knew who made up the collective.  They knew if someone left the collective because they could feel their death.  Now I have a good reason to watch Star Trek: First Contact again.   How does the Borg collective compare to the Blog collective?

Krista

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The Fourfold Causality of a Blog

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Krista Francis-Poscente
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Heidegger (1977) discusses a fourfold causality to determining what technology is.  Heidegger draws upon an a silver chalice to illustrate each ‘cause’.   (1) The causa materialis, the material or matter that the silver chalice is made.  (2) The causa formalis, the form or shape that the material enters: the chalice shape for holding wine.  (3) The causa finalis, the end that determines the form and matter: the sacrificial rite of communion.  (4) the causa efficiens brings about the effect of the finished product: the silversmith.  In this blog post I attempt to apply the fourfold causality to ‘a blog’ to gain insight into the essence of ‘a blog’.

Causa materialis

Like the silver chalice, a blog is made of material.  It is mind boggling when you begin to think of the material used to create the blog.  (a) First there is my own computer or the hardware.  One needs an engineering degree to gain insight into the complexity of how the hardware works. (b) The Internet and WWW that my computer hooks into can be considered hardware too. (c) Then there is the software.  I use a word processor to type the blog and blog software for publishing. The causa materialis is more complicated compared to the silver in the chalice.

Causa formalis

The causa formalis or the final shape of the blog is easily identified with the WordPress software that I decided to use.  WordPress bounds the shape or the look of the blog.

Causa finalis

The causa finalis can be considered the purpose of the blog.  A silver cup can have many purposes.  For instance, cups in a silver tea service provide a mode for drinking tea.  The chalice that Heidegger discussed is used in religious ceremonies.  The shape and form of a teacup and a chalice are very different.

I spent several weeks trying to determine the causa finalis of my blog.  My blog is a hermeneutic journey of my experience trying to learn its essence.  I found that there can be many different purposes to blogging.  Like the silversmith who determines if he/she is making a teacup or a chalice, the blogger determines the purpose of the blog.  So far, I have found that the purpose of my blog is similar to Gadamer’s (2004) notion of handing the memories of what I know and what I learned.  Added to the purpose of writing and publishing is Thomas’ and Brown’s (2011) notion of joining the collective.  I am not sure how long it will take or even if my blog will become part of the collective.  How will I know?

Causa efficiens

The causa efficiens is me.  I create this blog.  I can use my computer, but I have never built one.  I have a simplistic understanding of how the Internet works, but I am familiar with using it.  Like the silversmith’s hammer, I did not have to make the tools I use for creating the blog.  I just have to know how to use them skilfully.  I have no idea of the programming involved with the word processing.  I have some knowledge of how the blog software works with HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL.  My PHP and MySQL skills are rusty, but I know the structure.  I have skill with HTML and enough CSS to fashion a customization of the pages.  The material I work with is the text and the web programming languages to shape and form my blog.

I have identified the four causalities of my blog (1) Text and blog software, (2) a web page, (3) to publish my understandings in a collective and (4) me, the writer and publisher.  Still, I do feel I understand the essence of a blog or the blogging phenomenon.

Krista

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Gadamer, H.-G. (2004). Truth and method. (J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall, Trans.) (Second.). New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology. The question concerning technology and other essays (pp. 3-35). New York: Harper & Row.

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create Space.

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