linarmstrong’s posterous

Methodology-justify the approach of tools and theories-

working on a paper for my thesis I though i would just whip up a justification for a mixed methods approach,but in a non-traditional classroom when blended into the time we spend face to face is the time we spend blogging networking ...do we need a new paradigm to justify messy methods research since we have less and less control over it all and know less and less abut the teaching and learning happening where why how....hmmm... ideas please !

To justify the approach -mixed method approach or networked approach or design based research needs a discussion. In the past researchers used  a variety of qualitive and quantitive approaches –one using deterministic numerical methods and statistical analysis and another using more flexible  data such as collections of conversations and views that cannot easily be themed to numerical forms. Quantitive could be useful to see how many entries or hits onto a Moodleä or how many followers a blog can be seen to have. This does not tell the quality of the network and may be misleading information by being ambiguous. Using words from students about their experience and describing events taking place in the groupwork is a qualitive approach for working in real life situations. To observe this fast moving case study and describe the phenomena needs mixed approaches but even with this the flavor and data may not be fully captured or reliably interpreted .The aim was to justify the research stance with a fluid ,flexible methodology that could be transparent ,easily copied or followed by others .To try for a newer terminology for this type of  research method would be ideal but so far only design based research DBR will allow a change of tactics and techniques in different stages of the research instead of tying it down to produce one or two paridigms.  By designing  tactics to attack the research questions ,test and modify and redesign a tactic and do another check and modify again in any format qualitative or quantitative would need the researcher to be aware of the cycle and have some control over the network.The networking paradigm cannot be tied to a stable method transmitted and controlled by the researcher as many connections design the materials to be analysed and the people in the network have a lot of say in translation of what is actually happening. So at the beginning it can be said a mixed method tool box is being set up to measure or examine the phenomena but no one knows what tools the network will create ,use and comment on  or a mixed methods so we need a new understanding of this term to justify my approach.

Networking theory and systems theory or swarm theory all will come from various fields but education has not yet got an acceptable approach for growing the theory as the network grows, tiny plants  in a wood grow and develop and there cannot be a theory to design their outcomes. (chaos theory?)There can be a soil test but sometimes a bird or creature adds something we never know about to that patch and affects the outcome. The research has to have these boundaries traditionally so measurements will be taken from lots of angles until a pattern forms about what grows where and why the tutors or learners believe this developed.This is so messy it won't be like traditional methods where it can reliably be checked again and again since the nodes change the system won't be te same twice....

Teaching and learning is for me mainly a matter of power. The teacher (or in the past a priest ) decides what the reading is to be and who should learn what. When this power changes the learning theory will change and a new theory will be needed.

 The institution is driven by learning outcomes set down by the awarding bodies. In England the need for particular knowledge for particular jobs is set by government bodies who hope to compete across the world by creating people to fill the job market.
Some times the jobs are very defined and the body of knowledge is very clear but often the young students will take part in education without any idea about the future job market. They learn stuff they never use.

 The creation of knowledge for jobs that are not yet known or standardised was difficult so learning how to learn is important

 .This means we have to build people who have a range of powers and skills.Transferable skills ,key skills or basic skills all cover writing and reading and often working with people . In England there is no skill base built at school for using technology or finding reliable information from other nodes..this is a new skill. Foraging for worthwhile materials to create knowledge.Using software to contribute in unique ways to a distributed curriculum.

 So activities ,knowledge and skills change as does the reason to educate people.People can apply for jobs across the word and present educational certificates from their own country thus breaking down the standard qualifications expected for the job.
 Is education for the economy or for the individual.? The individual suddenly becomes the customer.Is it like patient held records an individual collection relevant to that person? The power is changing in that individuals can shop around for their degree
.In such a changing world at the moment the individual's curriculum always leads to rigid assessment of education. The learning is usually transmitted to ensure the individual passes.The teaching and learning can never be individual because there will there always be an academic rigour of the right texts and references to be used in the right part of the written assignment. The power remains with the teacher. But when the word spreads this could be viewed in a different way. Creating some research ,experiments and designs can create empirical knowledge that will be shared faster than ever. The world is changing fast and knowledge is changing faster.All can access most materials on line for them selves.All can publish and put their voice out to the crowds.Connectivism, community learning,distributed and collaborative learning all have their theory but all see the knowledge being within the individuals' head.Knowledge can reside in networks.

 I would argue there is a need for a new learning theory or way to view teaching. There also needs to be a new theory of learning and a new way of distributing curriculums news from all sortsof disciplines and other interesting materials. so new structure of knowledge and sharing and connecting is needed as it happens...All this "new " needs a new theory with new vocabulary."Connetivism" seems to do this nicely.

http://www.jeffreyjuris.com/articles/Castells_ch15.pdf       interesting paper that goes with others I am reading to sort out the gender issues in my blogging studies. it seems current research supports the idea we are on line what we are in real life (prommer 1996    ) Their studies carried out with universities on line suggest the function of on -line life for German students (adults) are very different according to gender .

The research I am engaged in is all about how women connect on a course using moodle,blogs,facebook and wikis.
At first glance the women who blog on the courses seem to have themes and I am busy aggregating the numbers who post about course anxiety and fears ,the posts about praise to others the posts about helpful comments for life for the course work.
 My observation is there are definitely women who blog prolifically and those who seem to follow their blogs by commenting but not writing much themselves. The lurkers -you would never know they are there and the leaders. the reflection I have is about groupworking analysis.
As a worker in children and families team (social work) for years I am interested in the different ways people can help but also why do they help others? Blogs for social problems have sprung up -"my baby is crying" or "Is my child autistic?"Not quite cutting out the experts but helping before a diagnosis to reassure the parent they have a right to be concerned and a voice.

  
On a course of study learners could also support each other and all are asked to join a blog .The number and methods are not led by the course so it is a purely social or personal blog they use for their own reasons.They post things to help others ,without reward or praise or feed back or they post and complain no one ever reads this so i won't blog any more! This is just as in real life-on line personalities are similar to off line ones in this.Some externalise their aspirations and focus for life others lie quiet and feel inadequate.

 There could be types of bloggers just as Belbin (http://www.belbin.com/content/page/49/Belbin_Team_Role_Descriptions.pdf ) thought there were types of team worker..the plant,the joker,the team worker. I am keen not to categorise them yet as it is too early in the study but there does seem to be types of bloggers.

 Also types of leadership -from the front with a more dynamic ,shaping approach or from the group of connectives ..leading by helping or serving as in social work. Maybe there is an opening for labelling leadership roles anew with connectivism? helper/server , expector/deliver, show man/entrepenuter ....just kidding .

 The other observation is about group stages. Tuckman would suggest norming ,forming ,storming performaing and sometimes mourning. The older group that has left still blog with the newbies at times. They are still connected so do we need new people /groupwork analysis theories as the power changes in groups and ties become hidden or more visible.The scape gost will be the one victim to being "trolled" or hit about the cyber connections with bigger and better finds ,greater imagination or enquiry skills and intelligence shows.It is easier to exclude people from your networks then the classroom groupwork at times but will this affect others who can clearly see where the ties of followers of the blog are. They can see the number of connections and the refusal of a friend request .
Very interesting cyber groupworking analysis.
Suddenly when I get followers i write as if someone is going to read so needs clarity and explanation before I mused for my own writing putting a research diary where i could find it ,all in one place -very useful for me.The content becomes very accessible for all to use .it's not my property in my note book but by letting it go or externalising it (VYgotsky) others could comment ,add to ,disagree with or just read a bit till they get bored in a much easier way than in a classroom debate.

This piece is worth a look .

In Savage Minds, Rex produces an excellent post, entitled as C. Wright Mills on blogging, in which he applies one of the older  texts (On Intellectual Craftmanship) to blogging: He had changed none of Mills’s original language except for replaced ‘journal’ and ‘file’ with ‘website’ and ‘blog’.

“......that the most admirable thinkers within the scholarly community you have chosen to join do not split their work from their lives......... You will have often noticed how carefully accomplished thinkers treat their own minds, how closely they observe their development and organise their experience. The reason they treasure their smallest experiences is that, in the course of a lifetime, the modern individual has so very little personal experience and yet experience is so important as a source of original intellectual work. To be able to trust yet to be skeptical of your own experience, I have come to believe, is one mark of the mature worker. This ambiguous confidence is indispensable to originality in any intellectual pursuit, and the file is one way by which you can develop and justify such confidence."

I am keen to watch how as an insider researcher I separate /stand back to examine effects of the use of a blog  to develop learner's own  powers of expression. To maintain a blog is to engage in a controlled experience according to this piece and to craft thinking ,reflective practice and a way of writing that is personal to yourself. 

In my study I worked in a connective way by asking all years of a degree course  to blog. The idea being the examination of what they externalise and how they feel about it would be an original piece that adds to our understanding of technology tools for thinking and education. The results so far show Blogging as a personal development tool is excellent for some to help emotionally and educationally. Problems do develop for some bloggers such as the vulnerability of exposing knowledge and the use or over lap public and personal space. To complete a part of my literature review I focused on a search for blogging and women or returning learners /retrainers and education . This was very limited so I would like to point out that although this literature speaks of journalism, it may help to develop my arguments.

I have just registered with this Connectivism and Connective Knowledge CCK09  that will be jointly facilitated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes of University of Manitoba. Last year I learnt such a lot and throughly enjoyed participating. It has broadened my take on education and my research attitudes. I will plan this year CCK09 into my work load as the conversations are so up to date. connectivism i not yet accepted at my university but I teach it as a learning style thats up for discussion as much as any other and learners from the courses I teach on are very interested in the discoursc.

My new supervisor has suggested an new search amongst "women returners to education" research. What does research say about this sector and how they manage educational courses??

i have a new supervisor ,I have a massive literature review, I have created the design and carried out the research-so now just write!
Amazing! Any time with any one I can talk ,get excited and fully defend my thesis yet it will not write its self.
 
I have turned to the blog as an emotional support because it does not demand academic language just reflections.
I an so interested in how teaching and learning is constructed between a new returning to education woman and a tutor. The idea that education was such a bad experience the first time around and now the woman with family or work commitments is trying to gain a degree level qualification.
 
 I am interested in their life journey and educational journey so have collected stories and experiences. For those with dyslexia and those who suffered racial prejudice bullying and sheer trauma from their peers the idea of starting again must have extra significance. The affective domain Bloom wrote about that could stop any foray into the world of degrees .
 
The adult life also contains divorce,domestic violence,poverty,childcare and elderly care.The additional barrier seems to be the use of IT on courses. Adult returning women seem to complain it's like getting a new course on top of their degree and struggle to get computer literate ,using family members in the absence of time to learn at college on top of their degree. Why do women challenge themselves through education would be one story worth writing but the stance I want to take this time is can the situation be helped through networked learning? Can connectivity lift barriers when the adult returners are reconstructing their identity as a learner? can a blog do a lot more than a moodle site to help the individual to achieve or does traditional teaching ,transmitting knowledge a ta set pace in a set classroom space really give these second chancers a real education?
 
I know I am a late starter to using computers and only begun blogging this year.I have got connected after doing the massive on line course for emerging technologies CCK08. (Before then I could ust about open my mail)
 
I know how I feel about being a mature learner with connections and I want to test out the unusual stance of connectivity at college on the courses I teach. I know already the results are absolutely amazing resulting in individuals creating their own site,webs ,nodes and connecting in their own way.
the write up needs to say this was not action research but has some similarities to it as it was an exploration with learners that resulted i cycles of review ,reflection and feedback.
 
The first year was one following traditional lines in that all the materials were on the site before I even met the learners. the assignments ,videos and handouts were all made. The second year (after I did my own connectivity spurt) I had an empty moodle site that the learners constructed with me. They made video and posted it to u tube! wow! They had slideshows with their own relatives talking about education and co-staring with digital media of the olden times. wow!
 
They actually blogged and found excellent lines of research to share with their course and other courses. They sent papers around the e mail system and commented and foraged until the rich environment served all tutors and learners alike. First years linked with second years on facebook and gave each other emotional support for modules. They commented on tutors performance and materials and improve the emotional content between the learner and tutor as real people with emotional lives. they even found writings blogs from around the world to report on other countries education system.
 
The content on the course blew me away. The support for each other has developed into a real network for the women to take through life.
 
Now I just have to nail down what digital literacies were grown,how good or confusing it was for the individuals involved and the impact on traditional literacies and write the implementation of classroom A and classroom B .
 
Got plenty to discuss-just need to write it!

#  http://www.mindmeister.com/12213323

This is the comment I wished to use to reply to   a really interesting post.   Learning about eLearning - EME 6414 week 2 

I agree but use lots of different learning styles to unpack the course and contextualise it. I  would use behaviourism more for exams and connectivism more for the first weeks of getting networked...

Then came the anti-spam word and figures ,submit and this message "Error: Please enter the correct anti-spam word. Press the back button and try again. no less than 10 times."over and over even when the word was correct.

This week in the college we wanted to connect the Hospital Play specialists up because their course attracts people from all over England  . The creation of the blog on  live journal was so frustrating because the anti-span would not accept correct entries ..So frustrating and I really have not got time to resubmit over and over what is clearly seen and i feel the learners could not see the beauty of the tool since it took so long to get on!  the idea seems to prove we are human -got to be a very frustrated human.