Societal Relevance of Ed Tech (Chapters 9-18 of 25 Years of Ed Tech)
Media, in general, is a medium of consumption and, while there are aspects of it that I do enjoy (connecting with friends on Facebook), it seems that the Social Media climate has become extremely explosive of late, Twitter especially. Aspects of trolling, online abuse, loss of employment, offensive posts, and concerns regarding fake news have shown no signs of stopping since Weller’s book was written. For these reasons, and because it is such an open platform, I have not had an account until beginning the MALAT program. As much as I see the discussion on Twitter, as well as its value in providing a platform or voice to marginalized groups, I struggle with how these seemingly inherent traits create an unsafe environment for students, educators, and simply general discourse, as shown in the need for UNESCO to create a guide. It has made me hesitant to engage, though it seems to be the platform where the most discussion occurs.
For this reason I feel more comfortable with the idea of blogging and am grateful for the opportunity provided in the MALAT program for not only having a blog, but actively encouraging us to post through the course activities. In a world where information is limited by the amount of characters, having a place where words are unlimited and ideas can be fleshed out feels like a remarkably different experience. You also have the ability to limit, to a degree, the visible replies which provides a more curated discussion where trolling and the more dangerous activities associated with Social Media are limited. Discussions can be more fleshed out and nuanced, allowing for views to be expounded with potentially less of the jumping to conclusions that we see on platforms where only a sentence or two is shared. The downside is that commenting tends to take a lot of time and time is often in short supply. It also seems to be more difficult to find blogs or join the conversation as there is no clear, central hub for Blogs.
At the same time, I wonder if my own view is myopic. Just because a platform has inherent limitations does not make them flaws. Perhaps engagement needs to be reassessed as not worse or better, but just different. As Orben explains, there is a need for not just nuance but for those engaging in discussion on the internet to take a step back when posting and replying. Being a researcher, it is understandable that Orben’s view would be to gather information and facts before simply reacting.
If we are looking at learning as inherently collaborative, both of these methods allow for collaborative learning to occur. The question seems to be one of which is more useful or appropriate for a certain situation, but also seems to require education on its use so that students, educators and support staff feel they are able to engage in meaningful discussion in a like-minded community.
I hear what you’re saying, Jean-Pierre, about your reluctance to create a Twitter account. I’m not a fan either. I’ve had an account for years, but have almost never used it. Since reading Weller’s book, I’ve been encouraged to give it another shot… but there’s just so much negativity on there. You mention your support for blogging (I’m really enjoying it too)… but if it were up to you, is there a specific social media network that you would choose as the primary platform for educators?
That’s a really difficult thing to answer as I’m not sure there is so much a “right” answer for any one group. I feel like there is much more to learn about this, particularly in how to use the various platforms. Each platform has its strengths, and I need to learn more about them to effectively use them. Perhaps my reticence is due to jumping in head-first based on courses and recommendations rather than taking the time to research beforehand and “convince myself of the best option.” Lol. I tend towards conservativism when choosing anything that I purchase, for instance. I will research it out the wazoo in order to come to a particular conclusion as to what is the best solution for me. In this case, I haven’t done that as much as followed recommendations by those who have more experience than I. That creates unease.
For me, as an idea I do honestly like Facebook. It allows for longer discussions, sharing of media, private messaging, the ability to share with specific people or a broader network. There is also the ability to limit trolling, to a degree. As an idea it works on all the levels I like. It doesn’t work that way in practice, however, with most of the content being short sentences, single photos, and information that often lacks context or nuance. There’s also the idea of datafication and the commoditization of people that I don’t feel fits well into education in general. From that side, I think something similar to Facebook, but without those two elements, would be ideal.
How about you? Is there a specific platform you might choose for educators?
I empathize with your hesitancy with social media in general and feel generally the same way. I was very anti-Twitter until MALAT encouraged me to start with it and I have (only engaging in Ed. Tech and x-ray circles) been pleasantly surprised but definitely can appreciate you leaning more to blogging than social media. Did the discussion from Chapter 16 about recognising paradoxes in social medica affect your perspective in any way?
That’s a great question. I think it has, at least in regard to reinforcing both the idea of “Democratization vs. Marginalization”. In that section Weller writes, “the experience of a white, middle-aged male online will be very different to that of, say, a young woman of colour, and particularly if that woman is writing about subjects that attract trolls, such as feminism, climate change, technology, and so on” (p. 108). Given the current anti-racism advocacy, for instance, as well as the current opposition, as a white male it has been eye-opening to learn about how best to support those who experience inequality (I tend to naturally gravitate to anything surrounding the notion of “fairness”). One of the ways I have been learning about is in amplifying the voices of those who have lived experience in a matter. For that reason I’m really looking forward to completing Assignment 3, as well as seeing other’s posts, to learn about who others in this field. In that way the decision to begin to engage in Twitter is a question of “Risk vs. Reward,” with the reward being learning about others while sharing and engaging in their stories.
It scares me when Netflix decides what we watch based on either my Facebook and Google experiences. Last night, we watched “The Social Dilemma”, not because we searched it out, but because it was just there waiting for us. The way we are seeing the world now is selected for us. Unbelievable, especially when kids are involved.
I still haven’t watched that. I’ve heard it’s pretty eye-opening.
That happening to you does seem highly ironic given the topic of the show. I started seeing that a lot on my Facebook page, as well, and ended up switching my default search engine on my phone (the device I use most for personal searches) to DuckDuckGo, which doesn’t track you. It’s mostly fine, but when searching some specific things I do find Google the better option, particularly if I need to find a local business or know what time shops open (often a problem now with the pandemic since “normal hours” are anything but). That seems to have helped and I’ve seen a decrease in my search data filtering into Amazon or Facebook.
I think this is where Weller’s idea of developing expertise in fake news and misinformation may be applicable: Just as we need to develop skills in developing awareness in how to spot, avoid and even counter misinformation, it may be useful to develop skills in datafication, commoditization and sharing ourselves on the internet. I wonder if it might fall under digital citizenry or if it would be more a digital safety and security issue.
Hi Jean-Pierre,
I echo your and Shelley’s hesitancy towards social media. I only have a few platforms – Facebook to connect with friends, Instagram to look at pictures of puppies. I don’t have Twitter and my usual tongue-in-cheek response to “Why not?” is that I’m not a narcissist – although I’m starting to recognize it’s importance in education, particularly with making contacts in the industry, bouncing ideas off colleagues, and landing potential job opportunities. I think my issue is that I look at it purely from a personal perspective, so I’ll have to teach myself to start looking at it from an education perspective. Do you think there’s anything that supporters of social media in education can do so someone like me doesn’t get caught up in viewing it outside of the education context?
You should check out Jon Ronson’s “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” – it explores online shaming and its repercussions, particularly on Twitter.
Alison
Thanks for the recommendation … I’ll have to check that out! And I love your answer regarding narcissism. I feel there is often a degree of masochism involved, as well, especially when “conversations” go off the rails.
In thinking about your question, I’m curious myself: Do we have to separate education and personal?
I tend to follow either people involved in education or video games, so there is a mixture in my feed which is difficult for me to mentally box compared to something like Facebook, where things are more relegated, with special interests being in Groups. I wonder how much of that is my unfamiliarity with the interface, which then becomes a question of motivation (i.e. how much I truly care to learn Twitter). Being already adverse to it, I’m not sure that motivation is fully there yet, or if it even needs to be. The “best” solution I’ve found so far would be to keep a particular Social Media account dedicated to one thing (i.e. education, video games, puppy photos), though I suppose that does raise questions about “authentic self”. And possibly multiple email accounts if you want to have separate Twitter accounts.
It seems that most of us in MALAT program do not use Twitter and mostly for the same reasons. I wonder if it’s coincidence or not. As far as I am aware no one in my social circle actively uses it either… who IS the average twitter user ? What kind of crowd do you have to be in to discover that the majority of people are on Twitter ?