This is a great video by Dave Cormier, one of the facilitators of the #change11 MOOC. As a first-time MOOC participant, I'm very excited to be in a MOOC that he's facilitating!
Friday, September 16, 2011
#change11 - Growing Pains
After having just graduated with a master's in cyber anthropology, I am very excited to be a part of Georgia Tech's MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) or #change11. My excitement also speaks to the fact that I am once again in the working world and, inevitably, miss being a full-time student.Anyway, I'm trying to dive into this MOOC but it's a bit overwhelming. However, I get the sense that that's kind of the point. By nature, a MOOC is constantly evolving according to the instructors and (mainly) the students. Participants heavily affect the flow and substance of the course and, in doing so, produce a large amount of content. Being raised in a fairly traditional education system (as I'm sure most of us were), a MOOC's dramatically different approach to learning will naturally produce some growing pains (emphasis on the word "growing").
My first instinct (as the "good" traditional student that I was) is to try to digest all the information that this MOOC is producing. However, attempting to stuff myself with the vast amount of content coming out of #change11 soon leads to a stomach ache. I'm trying to adopt the advice of the course facilitators: namely that it will be impossibly to read/watch/listen/respond to everything out there. That being said, I'm going to try to post blog reflections on how I'm interacting with the course and what I am learning. Also, instead of brushing a wide surface by trying to read/interact with as much material as possibly, I'm going to attempt to go deeper with a smaller amount of material.
I think one education's challenges in the 21st century is going to be whether they can change and adapt to new technology. Moreover, whether education can embrace new forms of technology to drive different types of learning and increase international collaboration. I think #change11 is going to be a fascinating experiment for all involved.
(note: the picture is from http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/ - a great blog to learn more about MOOCs and innovations in education)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
I joined a MOOC/#change11
So I just joined a MOOC, or a Massive Open Online Course, at Georgia Tech called #change11.
Just to catch everyone up, I recently accepted a position at Tech as the PR & Social Media Officer for the College of Computing. One of the new things coming out of this college is C21U or the Center for the 21st Century (they just LOVE their acronyms around here). This living laboratory is examining the changes in higher education and the incorporation/disruption of technology in the classroom. One aspect of C21U is this online course, #change11, which is open to the public.
Anyway, being the lifelong learner that I am and a lover of all things new and innovative in social media/technology, I decided to enroll in this class. One of the ways to earn participation is to interact with the course content via your blog. So that is exactly what I am doing. We'll see where it takes me.
Speaking of C21U, Georgia Tech is hosting a launch event for this living laboratory on Sept. 27. It is open to the public and anyone who is interested in higher education, new media, technology, etc. should definitely attend. There are going to be some amazing speakers and opportunities for people to get involved.
More to come on the rest of my life later.
Just to catch everyone up, I recently accepted a position at Tech as the PR & Social Media Officer for the College of Computing. One of the new things coming out of this college is C21U or the Center for the 21st Century (they just LOVE their acronyms around here). This living laboratory is examining the changes in higher education and the incorporation/disruption of technology in the classroom. One aspect of C21U is this online course, #change11, which is open to the public.
Anyway, being the lifelong learner that I am and a lover of all things new and innovative in social media/technology, I decided to enroll in this class. One of the ways to earn participation is to interact with the course content via your blog. So that is exactly what I am doing. We'll see where it takes me.
Speaking of C21U, Georgia Tech is hosting a launch event for this living laboratory on Sept. 27. It is open to the public and anyone who is interested in higher education, new media, technology, etc. should definitely attend. There are going to be some amazing speakers and opportunities for people to get involved.
More to come on the rest of my life later.
Friday, June 3, 2011
My Thesis is Out!
I officially hold a Master's degree! Be sure to check out my thesis, entitled "La Vida Online: The Parallel Public Sphere of Facebook as Used by Colombian Immigrant Women in Atlanta."You can download it here: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/anthro_theses/52/
I am so very excited. Thank you to everyone for their support!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Social Media Isolates People?
Corey just sent me this article on the backlash of the academic community towards social media:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/22/social-networking-cyber-scepticism-twitter
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/22/social-networking-cyber-scepticism-twitter
Facebook Privacy for Dummies
There has been an increasing backlash in the media, among academics, and my own friends regarding the information that people disseminate on Facebook. It harkens to a social fear surrounding privacy and the over-sharing of personal information. While I will be the first to admit that social media is increasingly problematic, I think it can also be empowering to many people in a variety of ways.
On that note, I want to laugh and yell at the same time whenever I see people complaining about Facebook and, yet, they have enacted NONE of the privacy settings available to them. While nothing posted on Facebook is completely "safe" there are certain precautions you can take to limit who can view your information and profile.
MA's Guide to Privacy on Facebook:
1. In the upper right corner on Facebook, click "Account" and select "Privacy Settings" from the drop down menu.
2. Start with the first option, "Connecting on Facebook," and click on the hyperlink "Account Settings." This section allows you to control who sees the type of information you share on Facebook.
3. Select the information you want certain people to see, from the most restricted (selecting "only friends" for every option) to the most open (selecting "everyone" for every option"). My current settings allow everyone to search for me or send me messages but the rest of my information is restricted to friends only.
4. Once completed, click on the button at the top that says "Back to Privacy."
5. The "Sharing on Facebook" section contains more detailed privacy settings.
6. To edit these settings, select "Custom" from the blue side bar and then click the small, blue hyperlink that says "Custom Settings."
7. You may now go through and edit each one of the options by selecting who is allowed to view your pictures, posts, and comments, as well as who can interact with you on Facebook and how.
Stay tuned for version 2 of Facebook privacy when we will discuss how you can organize groups of friends and select which group can see what. This is an ideal function if you have Facebook friends who are co-workers, bosses, professors, parents, etc.
On that note, I want to laugh and yell at the same time whenever I see people complaining about Facebook and, yet, they have enacted NONE of the privacy settings available to them. While nothing posted on Facebook is completely "safe" there are certain precautions you can take to limit who can view your information and profile.
MA's Guide to Privacy on Facebook:
1. In the upper right corner on Facebook, click "Account" and select "Privacy Settings" from the drop down menu.
2. Start with the first option, "Connecting on Facebook," and click on the hyperlink "Account Settings." This section allows you to control who sees the type of information you share on Facebook.
3. Select the information you want certain people to see, from the most restricted (selecting "only friends" for every option) to the most open (selecting "everyone" for every option"). My current settings allow everyone to search for me or send me messages but the rest of my information is restricted to friends only.
4. Once completed, click on the button at the top that says "Back to Privacy."
5. The "Sharing on Facebook" section contains more detailed privacy settings.
6. To edit these settings, select "Custom" from the blue side bar and then click the small, blue hyperlink that says "Custom Settings."
7. You may now go through and edit each one of the options by selecting who is allowed to view your pictures, posts, and comments, as well as who can interact with you on Facebook and how.
Stay tuned for version 2 of Facebook privacy when we will discuss how you can organize groups of friends and select which group can see what. This is an ideal function if you have Facebook friends who are co-workers, bosses, professors, parents, etc.
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