linarmstrong’s posterous

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.