Web Pedagogies: Systems Wrap-up and Presentation of Self online

Schedule Planning Student Presentations (volunteers) Systems wrap-up –Quick review of Moore –Broader systems perspective: Cuban –Systems memo Break –Transactional Distance I Presentation of Self Online

A systems approach to distance DesignSources Delivery Interaction Learning Environment Student needs Organization History Philosophy Instructional design Media Program Evaluation Print Audio/video Radio/TV Software Video conference Comp. networks From Moore and Kearsley, Distance Education: A Systems View, Wadsworth Publishing Co, 1996, p.9. Instructors Tutors Counselors Admin staff Other students Workplace Home Classroom Learning Cntr

Distance education and systems Interdependence of elements (common thread in systems approaches) Changes in one component affect others Such as? –Management change –Communications technology –Course content

A more expanded systemic view Community school clas s home Public Policy Technology How does Cuban fit in here?

Cuban: several main points Central Question –Why is there so much investment in technology and seemingly little payoff? –The site: Silicon Valley: if it doesn’t work there what chance do other places have –Not too much evidence of teacher change What does this say about self-reporting? (Link the insight here to Ilona’s lecture on evaluation)

Cuban: unexpected outcomes Interesting methodology: Compares teachers across time (different eras of technology innovation) and across professions Compares different possible answers: –Slow revolution –Historical legacies –Contextually constrained choices

The Theory of Transactional Distance Teacher-Learner relationship as a “transaction” [ L. transactio, fr. transigere, transactum, to drive through, carry through, accomplish] Transactional Distance defined as “a distance of understandings and perceptions caused by the geographic distance, that have to be overcome by teachers, learners, and educational organizations if effective, deliberate, planned learning is to occur” There is always some transactional distance. For Moore, this distance is most significant in distance education, and calls for certain kinds of teaching and learning behaviors if the distance is to be overcome.

Factors that Affect Transactional Distance On the teacher/organization side: Dialog (determined by educational philosophy, personalities of teacher and learners, subject matter, and environmental factors (including size of learning group, language, and medium) Course Structure (determined by educational philosophy, the teachers themselves, academic level of learners, nature of content, and medium) On the learner side: Learner Autonomy

Distance education and transactional distance Distance ed is any separation of learners in time or space Impt: what effect does this have on –Instruction –Teachers –Forms of communication and interaction –Curriculum –Management

Transactional distance Distance is that of understandings and perceptions Not geographical but pedagogical Overcoming that is a matter of design and interaction procedures Separation significant when need special organizational and teaching behaviors

Presentation of Self Goffman (1959): People engage in strategic activities "to convey an impression to others which it is in his interests to convey“ In dating example, balance need to present positive characteristics with authentic self CMC allows individuals to manage their online interactions more strategically than in face to face

On line dating examples Future RL interaction diminishes people’s sense of anonymity Expectations about revealing self may mean people more sharing than in RL But misrepresentation possible online –More likely to explore alternative aspects of personality though dating expectations might mitigate against that How much do you need to be aware of these issues in your projects?

Assessment Strategies for the identities of others People seek to maximize benefits, minimize riks Importance of small cues

Identity and Deception in Virtual Community Identity and the virtual Community Models of Honesty and deception- from biology –Assessment Signals (<Matter) –Conventional Signals (<Information) –Cost of Probing

What about virtual communities? The anatomy of a Usenet letter Common technology and interface, different social mores Account name: basic ID domain name as virtual neighborhood Identity in voice and language The Signature

Anatomy of a USEnet letter (cont) Deceptions and Manipulations –Trolls –Category Deception –Impersonation –Identity Concealment

More cues: social connections Way of cueing others, establishing links What happens when different groups collide? Technology may not do much for strong ties but greatly enhance the number of weak ones What is the utility of social networking online for your projects?