LTGR Ep. #81: “To Lurk Or Not To Lurk”
Susan and Dan revisit a topic that drew many comments several years ago: Lurking!
Show Notes:
So much has changed since the pair recorded the first episode where they explored the concept of lurking. Social media now positions readers and followers to stay on the fringe of conversations. The pair unpacks what that means.
Three or four years ago we were concerned about how much participation a student should have in an online course. Those who did not participate were considered lurkers. But today the conversation has changed. Today, we ask students to participate outside the boundaries of the course. What does it mean to be in a community or following someone?
The learner decides how intimate they want their personal learning network to be. Dan’s brother, who is starting to teach full-time and thinking of online components, asks whether he should ask students to follow experts in social media and how he might integrate that.
Susan asks about assessment. How do you measure engagement and participation in an online course? Dan tells a story about meeting an online instructor while camping. Susan suggests that person needs a free copy of Online Education for Dummies.
Susan recalls a model she heard about where student engagement was not measured weekly, but rather twice a term.
Back to social media and Dan’s brother. The question is how far to let students go and how you bring it in to a meaningful way. Susan relates this to finding current events when younger.
People on the periphery build bridges to others in different networks. Insular spaces lead to echo chambers. There is value to those who live on the edge.
Interesting distinction between lurking and loafing. Maybe students need to be pushed out into other networks to learn skills to interact (after they have a knowledge base and learn the proper scholarship).
Listeners, how have your views changed over the years? Are students better at networking now that they’re using social media tools? Continue the discussion by posting at ltgreenroom.org or talk to us in LearningTimes! We facilitate discussion in LearningTimes.org or call us at 1-800-609-9006 x8055 (US and Canada) or 678-255-2174 x8055 (outside US and Canada). You can also find us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ltgreenroom.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I really identified with the idea of lurking, listening & watching until I felt comfortable to jump in with my own comments. As a 50+ yr old teacher new to blogging and online discussion it probably took me much longer than my 14-18 yr old students might take. Scholarly interaction will need to be taught intentionally to have them be taken seriously and for them to be confident to post. I enjoyed your examples. If you have lots of Online Ed. for Dummies I’m interested.
Thanks,
Karen
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:03 am
“I don’t want to set up a lot of artificial hoops.” This quote from Susan stirred up for me the question of whether or not all formal education is “artificial.” Perhaps we don’t need to apologize (I think I heard the tone in Susan’s voice) for setting up artificial hoops, including monitoring and assessing learning. If our goal is not not just learning but learning about learning, it is important to get people to think about their learning processes. They show us evidence of those processes. We (all other participants in the learning event) offer evaluative feedback, including whether the individual was engaged in lurking or loafing, feedback that then becomes formative for lifelong learning.
Responding to the final question in the episode: I don’t think students are better at “lurking productively” (Dan’s words). They may not be any worse but social networking hasn’t automatically helped. Among the negative forces in this process are our redefinition of words like “friends”, and the substitution of voyeurism for meaningful interactions. In the religious world the distinction has been made between I-Thou relationships and I-It relationships. The difference is found in the attitude I have toward the other person, whether I see them as a person at all and relate to them as anything more than a tool for the advancing of my own life. Social networking, in its best form, connects at the level of I-Thou.
September 6th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Alan:
Over dinner recently my neighbors (late 40s) asked me if I used Facebook and LinkedIn. They expressed indifference and a certain amount of unease about these social networking tools. In your description of the I-It relationship, this phrase caught my attention – “relate to them as anything more than a tool for the advancing of my own life”. I believe this is the fear of many educators (and my neighbors for that matter), that these tools facilitate an attitude of self-centeredness. And they may even allow us to objectify the other person and only engage them when it serves our own ends. So the challenge I see for us as educators (and neighbors) is to use these tools to humanize. Perhaps our feedback in our formal education could include a “how well did I demonstrate a true interest in the other person beyond my own goals?”
Today I was reading up on the iPod Touch’s new Face Time features. I wonder, it has the promise of humanizing, but will it?