Digital Dialogues

Dialogues?

After day 1 of BlogTalk 2.0 I'm finding more questions are I need to investigate:
The dialogue vs monologue is still a primary question - what are my students doing with their blogs - I still think they are starting as monolgues but progress to dialogue...Torill Mortensen discussed the difference and confusion of modalities that occur when we examine the blog as a written dialugue but read it as an oral dialogue.
An emergence of the communication modes...perhaps?

Is it Socratic dialogue - or do I influence that in the structured questions I use as we move through the stages of the blogging model?

Self-disclosure and the issue of fiction vs authenticity was raised - by Mark Bernstein. Is this an issue from the learning context - does the authenticity of the writing matter if the dialogue is indicated deeper levels of learning and meta-cognition?

The issue of honesty and truthfulness was raised a number of times. Elmine Wijnia presented her Masters thesis findings in the examination of blogs as a form of communication. Elmine used Habermas (J. Habermas (1985), Theory of Communicative Action, Volume 1: Reason and the Rationalization of Society (T. McCarthy trans.), Beacon Press) and Van Djik (J.A.G.M. Van Dijk (1999), The Network Society: An Introduction to the Social Aspect of new media, Sage Publications Ltd) as models for her research. Again - honesty and truthfulness (authenticity vs fiction) was discussed. But does it really matter? I'm not sure it will from a learning journal perpsective...I will certainly review my model further from this framework..

That's all for now - lots more to write up and lots more questions to consider!

Thought for today....

When you say you're going online - where exactly are you going???

Blogging to Learn

I thought it was timely to re-visit some of my early work that has underpinned my current research directions. The Blogging to Learn article was published in the Knowledge Tree Journal - an online journal published by ANTA (Australian National Training Authority).
The basis of my research has been the model for developing reflective writing skills for my students through blogs - what occurred beyond reflective learning journals introduced the concept of knowledge artefacts intended for others to read and learn from ... !
As I review this position I have started to explore the possibility of socially connected learning and the creation of knowledge webs - beyond simply the classroom members and into a broader learning context.

PhD blogging....or not...

I have been struggling with the shape and form for my PhD blogging - how will it inform my research? What value will it have - to my writing, to others? And on and on and on.....
As I started to read through the blogs of others attending BlogTalk 2.0, I was delighted to discover Lilia Efimova's blog and explore her PhD musings - thank-you Lilia, I think you have enlightened me and provided inspiration as to how I will develop my own blog.

Lilia's metaphor of the jigsaw puzzle is a picture most PhD students will relate to. For me, I've always viewed my PhD journey as a labyrinth or maze - lots of pathways, a few deadends but a clear end result...
Lilia outlines 4 steps to completing her jigsaw:

First I look at border pieces and try to make a frame out of them. Next I find pieces that stick together and make small "clouds" of them, trying to connect them to the frame if it is possible. Then big picture starts to emerge, "clouds" get connected with each other and with the frame. After that there are just a few empty spots and I fill them in with pieces that left.

I think I'm hanging around in the 2nd and 3rd stage - but I must say I consider Lilia's clouds more as "puddles" - every drop enlarges the puddle - eventually it could even turn into a pond, or perhaps a lake!!

Thanks for the inspiration Lilia!

BlogTalk 2.0

July is my month of immersive learning - dedicated entirely to reading, researching and blogging.
To accelerate the process of immersion, my attendance at BlogTalk 2.0 is already providing my research thoughts with masses of questions (is this a good thing?) and ideas.
Hanging out with other people that are playing in the blogosphere and researching the learning and potential for development of blogs is exciting. Opportunities abound!

As I prepare for joining th conference I find myself sitting in front of the TV watching rain interrupted Wimbeldon matches and exploring the blogs of other attendeesof BlogTalk.
It strikes me that this type of pre-conference blogging is a fantastic tool for identifying others that are working and researching in your field of practice, but also to gain an insight into others perspectives which may not become apparent from brief conversations at conference breaks!

Digital Dialogues in foreign language teaching

I'm currently preparing for a lecture to Japanese post-grad teachers that will be teaching Japanese to Australians.
I'm specifically going to address the use of blogs to enhance learning in foreign language teaching!
Wow - now that I've started thinking of ideas - well, they're endless!

An article by Richard Orem, Journal Writing in Adult ESL: Improving Practice Through Reflective Writing, (2001) in Promoting Journal Writing in Adult Education eds. Leona English & Marie Gillen - talks about dialogue journals between students and teachers. What a perfect space for a blog!
A conversation between the writer and the reader that attempts to simulate an authentic exchange!

What about translation activities?
What about collaborative writings - perhaps the students can practice their skills and receive feedback from their fellow students and/or their teachers.

As a speaker of a couple of foreign languages, my written skills are often forgotten (or non-existant) - what fun to be able to practice in the blog-o-sphere!

Future Technologies

Future Technologies 3-6 December 2003!

Monlogue or Dialogue?

Welcome to start of my journey through computer mediated conversations.
At this point I'm debating (with myself) whether this is in fact a dialogue or monologue?
If a monolgue is based on my thoughts and ruminations, and a dialogue is an exchange of communication - then is my publicly published blog a monologue or dialogue?
Watch this space as the exploration begins...