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Showing posts from October 11, 2009

An evaluation of Google Wave

A useful review/overview. Gives me ideas as to which platform I'd like to use for the SMUO module - even if Google Wave is not 'social media' according to Daniel Tenner, which I think I agree with... given that I haven't received my invite yet.

Visual Communication module

It's not a PhD related idea, but who knows, it might becomes useful... It is still about using social media in teaching. Another idea during my long train journey back home last night: to incorporate Flickr in the Visual Comm module. I'll set up a group in Flickr, upload some pics for students to annotate and analyse in a Flickr discussion; students could also/preferably upload similar images for the group. Would be good for 'semiotics' task. I would need to do a quick Jing demo, to show students what I have in mind. In turn, that Jing demo could be used as discussion point (video demos would certainly interest the tech comm students).

Using the June 2009 Ning focus group

Last night in on the train, I had an idea about my PhD work. Since it is an action research project, there will be different cycles. Who says where the cycle starts? So I thought I'd include my experiences with the online focus group that I held last June. In many ways, this was 'square one' since the group discusssed the potential and possible issues for the then proposed SMUO module. Obviously it wasn't set up to be part of the PhD work, so it was a 'naturally occurring event', but still, it is was gave me the PhD idea in the medium term. Here's what I wrote in the SHU CoLab Ning by way of analysis of this first Ning experience. I used Ning last summer as a platform for an online focus groups that brought together a group of past, current and prospective students. The point was to find out their views on a proposed DL pg module, which with their help, ended up being named 'social media uses in organisations'. I hadn't done that kind of on...

A discovery: Wordpress instead of a CMS

I just found this blog site (via llane's delicious list) which is used to support students on a Philo 'course' (ie US for module). A quick scan and it certainly seems an interesting idea, though it probably requires quite a lot of tech tweaking in the background (so is it for me?). There's some background info at: http://www.andrewcullison.com/2009/09/wordpress-as-a-replacement-course-management-system/comment-page-1/ I'd like to explore this a bit - as part of my action research - as a possible platform for my SMUO module. This seems to suggest that there will be quite a few cycles in the research: this initial tool review has to be part of it (even if it's just be involved). Reflexivity, reflexivity...

Reading: CMM chapter on AR

Some quick notes on CMM chapter on action research. different takes on the AR process (diagram) Several approaches to AR (> link to article about AR project in Israel: Arieli, Friedman & Agbaria 2009 'paradox of participation in AR', AR 7(3):263-290) Critique of AR (esp. Habermas and critical theory stance) Some key refs for me to follow up.

Restarting this blog

There's Some interesting stuff in this blog which I could re-use as part of my PhD. I've made some progress but need to keep track. The Cambridge PhD programme made it compulsory to have a diary (it didn't say 'blog' of course) which seems a good idea, even though it's not required for SHU. Now I'm starting in earnest, it's probably a good ideas to have a space to share ideas with Diana R