Digital Dialogues

Handbook for Bloggers & CyberDissidents

RSF (Reporters san Frontiers - Reporters without Borders), a French press freedom of rights group - have produced a book (online, PDF format) that provides basic definitions and technical advice on how to to remain anonymous and to get around censorship, by choosing the most suitable method for each situation - and it's sponsored by the French foreign ministry! (Can't see Alexander Downer sponsoring this type of publication!)

"Bloggers are often the only real journalists in countries where the mainstream media is censored or under pressure. Only they provide independent news, at the risk of displeasing the government and sometimes courting arrest," RSF said.

I've just quickly glanced through the contents and was particularly engaged by the chapter on ethics by Dan Gillmor "What ethics should bloggers have?".

"Not all bloggers do journalism. Most do not. But when they do, they should be ethical."

Actually, I believe ethical writing and publishing should be an inherent part of most weblogs.

"All ethics codes are created for one essential purpose: to instill trust. If a reader...cannot trust the report, there is usually little reason to bother in the first place. The exception, of course, is looking at material that is known to be unethical, as much for instructional purposes - we can learn a great deal from watching unethical people's behavior - as to gain true knowledge.

There are pillars of good journalism: thoroughness, accuracy, fairness, transparency and independence. "

These pillars are simply explained and a valuable reminder to all those who publish their thoughts and opinions. Ethical writing and publishing has been a key issue when guiding my students to develop their own voice on their weblogs - I will certainly add this chapter from Dan to their research.

It also includes some case studies and personal accounts from bloggers in countries where internet censorship is an issue. I haven't had a chance to read these yet...perhaps sometime over the weekend....

Theory versus Practice

I discovered this excerpt from Sir Athur Conan Doyle's "The Yellow Face" the other day:

Holmes: What do you think of my theory?

Watson: It’s all surmise.

Holmes: But at least it covers all the facts. When new facts come to our knowledge which cannot be covered by it, it will be time enough to reconsider it.

Exactly, my dear Holmes, exactly! How pertinent to my current PhD situation this is!!!!

Time to resuscitate this weblog!

Digital Dialogues, my PhD weblog, has been badly neglected over the last few months (or slightly longer)…excuses?? Plenty….too much work, not enough time, running the Learning Technologies weblog for LTUG, distracted by the BlogTalk Downunder conference…well, that should do as far as excuses are concerned…there are more….but…time to move on!

It’s time to re-invigorate, resuscitate, and refresh this weblog that will directly relate to my PhD work – if that doesn’t interest you – and you want a broader perspective on Learning Technologies I suggest you belong over at the LTUG weblog!

I’m currently in London, taking the mid-semester break from Australia (and a break from the winter weather – although Sydney does seem warmer in winter than London in summer….some of the time!) and preparing my PhD data for analysis! Along with preparing subjects for next semester, writing a couple of articles and meeting with European based colleagues!

This semester I am committed to more writing, data analysis, and revisiting literature from my early stages of research. I'm intending to weave this together to form a basis for my Doctoral Assessment that is scheduled for December, this year! So - on with the resuscitation!

Learning Technologies 2004

As I prepare my paper for Learning Technologies 2004 in Mooloolaba, "Can Technology Enhance Learning?" I have become acutely aware of the number of innovative approaches being employed by practitioners across a wide range of educational institutions and within organisations - but there's been something nagging in the back of my mind for a while - what drives these people? What do they hope to achieve? Are they just early adopters, keen to share their enthusiasm with others? Or can they really see and understand how to creatively engage and potentially enhance learning opportunities for their learners?

From what I've discovered, I think the innovative ideas are isolated individuals or small groups (look at smart mobs from Howard Rheingold) - not necessarily backed by their institution or organisation - just doing creative things ... but what happens when the institution becomes aware of the practices and decides it's not within "policy" to use disruptive or alternative technologies (James Farmer entries 2 Nov & 6 Nov).

A need exists for us to become actively involved in the development of educational policy that clearly supports innovative adoption of technologies that lie beyond the boundaries of organisational infrastructure.

Hmmmmm - I have a feeling I'm developing a new theme to my paper here....watch this space....

Ethnography? Phenomenology? Phenomenography?

I'm challenged by the current adventure of determining my research perspective - clearly sitting in the qualitative paradigm - I need to refine my view.
Ethnographic? Probably - I'm inextricably embedded in the research as lecturer/researcher.
Phenomenology? Maybe - even hermeneutics...
Phenomenography? Looking good - I can't ignore this one...."the description of some examined phenomenon. This description is not limited to verbal language only."" as defined by the Phenomenography website.

How about Ethno-phenomenography???? Hmmmmm - I'm inclined that way - so what will the implications be to my methodology....stay tuned!

Are you a blogaholic?

I'm a 53 / 100 - that is a dedicated weblogger but I still have a life??
Really - I thought PhD's were supposed to take that away from you....maybe we should try a quiz like this for PhD candidates??
Try the quiz - even if you're not a blogger!
http://wannabe.catharsis.org/bin/quiz.cgi?quiz=one

A timely thought....

A quote from Rebecca Blood:

"Because there is always more to know, it is increasingly difficult to feel that one knows enough."

This quote represents my exact thoughts at this moment - from where I'm sitting with my literature review and the how the access of digital media and others weblogs can lead you on pathways that appear before you - like a labyrinth!

Rebecca's "The Weblog Handbook" is a must read for all bloggers - new & old!

Teaching vs Learning

As I'm starting to prepare my teaching strategies for next semester (only 2 weeks away now...) I've been considering many of the issues that my research into blogging and learning journals have raised for me.
Wandering along Chiswick Common I noticed a plaque on one of the terraces - E.M.Forster had lived there for some time, then I came across this quote (actually I searched for it) from E.M.Forster:
"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."
hmmmm - thought provoking?!!!
Sebastian Fiedler recently posted a comment on the current focus (or is it an obession) of practitioners on content and delivery. Although I understand Sebastian's position, as a designer and developer of subjects, I am always concerned by the quality of instructional material and content - does it reflect current issues, debates and literature, are we presenting a balanced perspective, is the content logically sequenced to enhance learning potential, are the assessment tasks valid, sufficient, authentic etc etc.
Is it not our responsiblity, as educators, to engage and enhance learning opportunites?
If we sideline content, then we are in danger of presenting our learners with mediocre, out of date, inappropriately sequenced and irrelevant materials.
If we ignore delivery then are we missing opportunities to engage - or provide access to those previsouly unable to attend traditional classroom sessions?
Having said all of that - I also concur with Sebastian's alignment with the view in the article quoted by Oleg Liber (thanks to James Farmer for the link to the article) Cybernetics, e-learning and the education system from the Bolton Institute of Higher Education, UK. - and add the comments from Linda Harasim, as quoted by Liber:

"If we approach this new domain from old mindsets (such as theorectical frameworks underpinning traditional face-to-face or distance mode education), we may be applying metaphors that are not only limiting as a perspective but perhaps even misleading. We need to recognise the distinct nature of on-line education...if we are to realise the potential of this new domain for augmenting educational options and opportunities."

I am certainly aware of how the use of our LMS drives many of my e-Tivities and taking into consideration all of the above quotes, comments and issues, I am now consciously reviewing my teaching paradigms and the use of technologies - oh, and my obsession with quality content!

Down the line...

So - if blogging is a dymanic communication tool, why do I have so much trouble actually getting around to capturing my thoughts on this page?
At the moment, the blogosphere is about being online - if you're not online, you can't blog! Well, I guess you can revert to Word documents and then cut & paste across - but somehow I loose a feeling of spontaneity and when I review the document, it just seems out-of-date.
Currently, I am in my London residence - where at the moment the demands for the high speed line is between 3 people - and we all think we're more important than the other! We don't have a wireless router (although we might by this evening!) so it's a matter of blocking times and then begging if you have some immediate needs. A tricky balance with lots of tensions! hmmmm
Food for thought...

Back on the air

Finally arrived back in London after a few delays out of Vienna.
Thought: Even a 2 hour flight can take nearly a day!
1 day to gather my thoughts and then head down to Somerset in England for the EB2 International management conference - not as a presenter or participant - simply a signifcant partner!
I was really excited when the weather looked awful (what a surprise) - this meant I could avoid my desires to explore the historic sites in the town of Taunton (and they are significant) - it provided me the opportunity to spend time reviewing the BlogTalk conference and putting all my thoughts into context for my PhD and how to move forward with areas of inquiry....
Great intentions cannot always be fulfilled!
Alas - the Castle doesn't have wireless connections, or in fact broadband connections - this meant I was using the phone in the room and calling my ISP in Australia - ooooh - now that's expensive....
So I had to revert to traditional paper & pen notes - seemed weird after Vienna and the high speed wireless access available just about everywhere you went!
Now that I'm back in London I'm finding the discipline of converting the paper & pen notes to my blog tedious - so - I'll look for salient points and create some directions from there...
watch this space, but don't hold your breath!