Josie Fraser, Keynote, #pelc10

Josie Fraser is well known in the field of social media and learning, and writes regularly about her research on her blog SocialTech. Josie spreads her time and energy across a wide variety of social media/networking spaces, where she can be found experimenting with all manner of emerging technologies. At the ALT-C 2008 Conference, she received the prestigious Learning Technologist of the Year award and continues to be at the forefront of learning technology development. At this year’s conference Josie will talk about how social media can be used to liberate learners and how we might attain learning without limits in a truly anytime, anyplace context.

Notes taken from my iPhone

• Benefits of being an Un-Googlable man – privacy, etc
• Missing out on the benefits of being part of those and shaping what is now changing…
• Knowledge capacity increases exponentially – using multiple brains…
• Internet – an escape – a space outside real society… Nicer than our lives? Configured as a space for escape from our body/from dealing with other people/ coping with social difference…
• E.g Facebook Dec 2009 – passed 300 million – Farmville 69 million users, Twitter 18 million active. Half time on phones – on Facebook. 1/4 under 13 have FB profiles.
• Online – still recreating ourselves – not seperate from real worlds. ESP Second Life. Twitter – Twitpics – not seperate from physical bodies.
• Previously had conversations with those in NZ etc – now with neighbours etc. Geolocation continuing..
• Digital literacy – key – digital tool knowledge, critical thinking, collaborative skills, social awareness… [Becta]
• 40% upading original content ESP photo & video – ESP their online identities. Not transparent ‘what we are really like’ – but constructed… (films, books etc I like) – even more popular than porn online. ID – fluid ..
• Is it permissable to lie online?
• Danah Boyd – persistent ID! Replicable searchable (Inc in job ints) scalable (not confined to those in tur room etc) delocatable…
• Community – is thus the best word to use – more human connotations, user defined – feel a part ofthe community…
• Scott Wilson taxonomy – communiies of practice – interest – less committed! cop – more committed…[5k Twitter browser]
• Wenger – def cop – 2007 – collective learning
• Forums for anorexics – we rarely talk about these communities – don’t shut down – wider social problem – belong to other communities etc.
• Madeline Yomker – collab within network jot co-authoring.
• J R Isidore  do androids dream of electric sheep? Don’t want to be the only person sat there as others have abandoned…
• Can’t MaKe people join communities – but recognise the power of these.
• Rethink sustainability – not there for all time – think what purpose it serves and how can we archive it so it’s still useful…
• JISC – community mapping – place selves on the wall etc – thematic links round projects…
• Elicit narratives – allows people to tell own story in their own … So old had Web 2.0 in the title…
• Amplification – networks will benefit from bringing in the outside – formally/informally!
• Make frameworks explicit – don’t enter online spaces in a vacuum! Jo freeman ‘the tyranny of structreness’ – otherwise same old people take over… Can see online – not all diversity – generally WAsps. Don’t assume everyone to join…
• Humanise online spaces…
• Invasion of men with beards… Conversations online can’t all ne serious – people can’t relax if doesn’t touch reality of who they are…
• Play! Withing learning/games, etc… Alt reality games for student induction! Cheap & expensive -eg Evoke project – solve big social problems… See how comm dev in spaces
• Free up data, massively important – eg how do we let our students use Twitter etc as a format for their work of they desire to do so…
• Impact that having so many online have – edu insts not keen to embrace
• QUESTIONS
• We all have a dig footprint – all there – argue have diff groups and diff ids. Big issue – what we publish – then have much less say… Prof bs personal ids? Employment – if work for me you can’t have a social life – still working out these distinctions..
• What about pictures put up by others. What do we do about those? James Clay – privacy is dead! Identity management online – need to be aware of – part of digital literacy – not having conversations about social understanding of what is approprate to put online! We don’t own our own identites – always need to negotiate that with others anyway – we need critical conversations that we’re not having at the moment… Not looking for permission to post everyone’s images but be mindful of how may be used – and if asked to take down, take down…
• Simfin – be aware of prof – yes 🙂 digital divide – we’re comfortable with being online, etc – whereas others are uncomfortable with sharing info… Others don’t understand that we are rounded people … ?! And that’s ok. Dig div – about access – biggest harrier – don’t see the point… Beyond that tipping point… They’re not thinking about prof ids – more online for social purposes. Changing how much we do/how online – changing things… Positioning that it’s not real life – it is!!!
• Uni Hudd – email, asking students not to friend/be offended. Schools dept for edu – personal space so not friend in schools – accusations of cyber bullying etc. Annoying when taken to a policy level… Look at ways to use but protect ourselves personally… Eg different profiles or other neutral spaces – eg groups/Twitter lists… Hard work of dig lit collapsed into edicts…
• James Clay – say not friends as see pics – if illegal have to act on that – so use Ning instead… Hot word – safeguarding… If feel harassed, you feel it – you are – policy not enforced but in case someone makes a complaint. Professional boundaries! Available 24-7? Problematic when senior management decisions rather than community approches… Eg manage mobile phone situation…
• ‘This is Me’ – digital ID… If staff & student – can not be friends? What about data protection act? If insist that students use particular social networks for courses – have institutional liability issues – eg terms & cones – age limits…
• Steve – social inclusion – do you have a community anymore? J – if you have online comm does that mean no local comm – but are we now working towards restablishimg that?