October 20, 2009
I meant to post my blog on my Carpenter reading earlier but was busy doing the artefact. Just a little background on my experience reading this article… It was Wednesday morning on a train to London attending a seminar on UK Federation Access Management in practice organised by JANET. I can quite relate to Andy’s artefact – Commute to Digital Culture…
I really enjoyed my trip and reading the only thing that dissappoint me was that I was unable to reflect immediately on either Twitter or Facebook as there was no free wifi available as I would like to use my IPod touch. In this case, I don’t think that the technology failed me but human did as why the Midland Mainline could not provide free wifi to its customers. We paid enough money not to just get a sit (if you’re lucky) but don’t we deserve a free cup of coffee and a free wifi? Is this too much to ask? Anyway…
Carpenter mentioned that in the current education climate, our students bring literacies into the classroom and he also made suggestions on how teachers can use their existing skills to improve students critical literacies skills. The students already have literacies but not necessarily the literacies which academic would considered as academic literacy. So what does literacies actually mean – writing, reading, calculating? What is academic? Does the new technology introduced new literacy – information literacy?
What is skill?
What is knowledge?
Text language is considered in appropriate and not a proper language. A colleague claimed that it does not teach students to speak and write properly – no value in text language. So what is a proper language?
How does the academic culture accommodate the different learning styles if only restricted to written text to distribute and present information and knowledge?
Does interpreting information to knowledge not being critical? What is critical?
Based on my experience producing the artefact, there so much involve to just produce a short clips – creativity, thinking, learning new technology/applications and time… So there are lots of skills required in producing the multimedia product, and the calculation does apply to when I was trying to synch my image with the sound!
October 17, 2009
<Sigh> Finally I’ve finished the artefact for this week. The theme is “distance and presence”. Hopefully… it will represent that. Why this theme???
As a distance learner, one cannot help but feel isolated. I have received the course handbook which contain all the instructions/tasks that are required from me to participate and excel in this course – Digital Culture. Before the semester starts I have to set my “lifestream” – what the …. ? I read the instructions and follow them but still I wasn’t sure whether I’ve done it right… I am in the dark here… somebody help!!!! Then I received an email from Sian who is my tutor – checking on me and how I was doing so far. What a relief! We communicate and I keep asking Sian on things that I wasn’t sure of and she replied to assure me that yes I’ve done most things ok and my “lifestream” is up and running. Her email saved my headache and I no longer feel isolated now especially after we had Skype session at the beginning of week 3, “meeting” the group and discuss the reading and any other topics – course or non-course related. I feel connected now!
I feel isolated and unsure to start with (distance), but now I feel connected (presence)… Thank you Sian, Jen, Tracy, Sarah, Andy, Nicola and others who are following my twitter and FB and Skyping. Oh yes to my baby sister too who helped me with finding the background music for the artefact via Skype (she at Birmingham City uni doing Early Childhood education degree).
Last but not least to my dearest hubby who got the version that I really wanted for this artefact and looking after Adrian so I can get on with this in peace… 
Here is the finished product. Hope it did convey the message…
Distance and presence
October 12, 2009
Reading Kress article online because I was desperate for time its a good thing as I know that I can do it (online reading). I had his article on my laptop screen and Ipod touch for my notes while reading. It’s different than what I normally do when reading on paper but I have adapt my methods accordingly. However, I have to plug in my laptop compared to paper it is more portable as I can take the papers with me and don’t have to worry about running out of power, plus paper is less heavy than my laptop. Also if you carrying a book you look more studious than carrying a laptop? There is an ebook application/system that we(Northampton College) subscribed which allows you to highlight text and scribble notes next to it. I have yet to try it and was dissappointed tonite as I can’t access the site using my login. So that’s technology which can fail you at times – 24/7 – NOT!
Kress also mentioned about online writing where the role of an author and reader cannot be distinguished. Readers now are allowed to contribute for example Wikipedia. And also where author/designer have no control of how and where a reader might use the entry point to the reading in contract with book author dictates the entry point. I disagreed as I use the index of a book a lot especially to demonstrate to students there are cross-referencing between a book with another book of a different subject. It’s just that the index is placed at the back of a book compared to website where readers are presented with the index at the homepage – the first page of the website.
A picture worth a thousand words – I could not have agreed more.
October 10, 2009
Reading Kress online made me think about how people read in this current digital age where there are more and more ebooks made available and also information online. Learning in Digital Culture is my fourth course for MSc in E-learning and I always needed to print the notes unless those that available via the website ie: First Monday. I prefer to read text on a piece of paper rather than screen and also many of my friends. Is this because I am used to reading text on paper rather than screen? Can this habit be changed with the information revolution? This is first time ever I’ve finished my course reading online, the reason being because I’ve left my printed copy at work and need to read it before the chat session in two days time plus two other reading.
October 5, 2009
Watching the clips to end the film festival week in Digital Culture was really upsetting. Can it really happen – where human and machine live in the same world? Do we have to add more/amend policies to include/accommodate machines in our world and become politically correct – Diversity, Equal Opportunity to name a few?
I was really sad watching AI – it really touched my motherly emotion. To see David’s emotion – how he was scarred by the actions of the human boys and being left alone in the wood by his human ‘mother’, wandering alone in the woods and meeting strangers, chased by human to be captured and destroyed in a show. And to see how determine he is to search for the blue fairy to make his wish/dream come true. I don’t think that I can separate my feelings towards machine if one day they will be living in the same world and contribute to the population. I am emotional enough to be apart from my mobile or have to be departed with my old car or laptop. I think we human do get attached to machine easily, it is part of our lives.
The first thing I did when I reached a laptop is to check my e-mail. To me this is a very useful part of information revolution as described by Castells cited in Hand. It brings my family and friends closer to me. One good example was at the weekend, my sister and I used Yahoo! Messenger and webcam to call our family. Later we used Skype to call mum on her mobile – we no longer have to worry about expensive phone bills and making schedule when to call to ensure they’re in at the other end and go for the cheap rate time. Its just brilliant!!! Using Facebook to keep up-to-date with family and friends back home. Not just able to know what they’re doing through their status update but also what they’ve been upto with the photos posted. For some reasons, I found that people share their photos more easily using the social website rather than when asked to send via e-mail.
One thing though that I do wish for is that the education institutions will think outside the box to embrace the digital culture among the digital native students. And staff are not skeptical about the technology and applications available out there that could help learning in a more exciting and engaging way.
