Two 'Other' Articles About Social Objects

I thought I’d really hit PAY DIRT with this one entitled: The Consensual Definition of Social Objects. I mean, someone got consensus on that? Then I want to know what it is! (and let Smith and Searle in on it too).Ms Garretson must have been DECADES before her time!Haha.

I found an interesting article by Donald Norman entitled Sociable Design. He is the author of “The Design of Everyday Things,” “Emotional Design,” and “The Design of Future Things.” He lives at www.jnd.org.

While not about social objects in the theoretical or abstract so much, it’s definitely informative about concrete ‘social objects’ and their design. The last sentence of this quote intrigued me:

“Design of both machines and services should be thought of as a social activity,one where there is much concern paid to the social nature of the interaction. All products have a social component. This is especially true of communication products, whether websites, personal digests (blog), audio and video postings mean to be shared, or mail digests, mailing lists, and text messaging on cellphones. Social networks are by definition social. But where the social impact is obvious, designers are forewarned. The interesting cases happen where the social side is not so obvious.”

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Educational Social Objects (Edsobs?)

If, as Martin Weller posits, a social object is "something (real or virtual) that facilitates conversation", then educational content, assessments, and/or assignments can be social objects. The strength of the educational content as a social object would be directly related to how well or how much conversation is facilitated by it.

It seems to me that there are two ways that something might facilitate conversation: by enabling the process of conversation, or by stimulating a conversational response.

The compatibility of an LMS and (educational content as) social objects might logically be measured by how well an LMS enables the process of conversation, as well as how strongly the educational content it contains stimulates a conversational response.

Food could be considered a social object in that it enables the process of conversation by drawing people together. It also naturally stimulates conversational responses about it’s attributes (flavors, quality, preparation, effects, etc) and people’s preferences and experiences with it.

Food could serve metaphorically for education in that its quality and availability does not guarantee consumption – though it is often correlated with it. Certain types of food are preferred over others based on such things as personal preference and interest, as well as cultural and biological factors. Food can nourish as well as poison. It is possible to consume much food, and still be malnourished dependent on the food’s nutritional value, as well as the current nutritional needs of an individual. Nutritional needs are in part determined by conditions in which an individual lives, and the performance requirements and expectations placed upon them. Unmet nutritional needs, due to inaccessibility or inferiority of food, especially early in life, can have pernicious and lasting effects.

For me the best example of a social object both metaphorically and literally will always be an individual human being. An individual enables the process of conversation, as well as stimulates conversational responses. Individuals draw people together, especially and dramatically as they enter and leave the human existence. Individuals create, destroy, share, give, receive, judge, and value (or not), all other social objects. They are the “nodes” of any social network. The implication of this ‘metaphor’ for education is something that educators (formal and informal, aware and unaware) would all do well to remember: though there may be a “body” of educational content, it is only through the individual that it will ever have context, meaning, or worth.

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Check that off the bucket list. (kind of?)

Yes. I have now edited a Wikipedia article. I didn't even stress over word selection - because it was a number that I corrected. A search of BYU's online catalog listed 26 PhD programs. However the Wikipedia article on BYU listed the number of doctoral programs as 25. [Which makes me wonder how often the other numbers are updated] So I edited it.

Then the turmoil began. I found another reference to the same count later in the document and edited that. After I edited the second count, I noticed that it had a citation, so I checked it (which I should have done BEFORE editing). The citation was from BYU's website. On the web page it mentioned "as of Fall '07", and so I assumed it was accurate for that date. Rather than find a reference that backed my edit from searching and counting, I reverted both of my edits (call me lazy).

Kind of fruitless work, but in the process I discovered that there is a talk page for each Wikipedia article (a wiki with a history) and each editor can also create his/her own talk page as well (also a wiki with a history). So I created my own talk page and explained my two edits that I had promptly reverted. I also added my talk page to my 'watchlist' to see what, if anything, happens. I'm not holding my breath. :-) Read More......

Would Whacky Wikis Work?

I think that David Wiley may have created a monster. I could blame it on his encouragement. But I won’t. I’ll stand accountable for my own thoughts. And my thought processes. Though I can’t blame him for my thoughts, YOU can blame him for me feeling a little more willing to share them with you. After all he encouraged me never to lose my perspective about unintended and off-the-wall uses of technology.

Wiki’s …where to start. First I must admit that I didn’t feel “so inclined” to edit a Wikipedia article. I have a hard enough time editing my OWN writing, why would I want to take on the responsibility of someone (or somethousand) else’s? So, if I don’t HAVE to I won’t. At least today. But I will add it to my class "bucket list" - something I want to do and experience before the class is over. Actually I guess we all edited a wiki when we added our blogs to the syllabus – but the syllabus isn't really like Wikipedia (yet?). But I digress…Here are some thoughts I’ve had about Wikipedia and wikis.

First of all I found an interesting website that lists weird Wikipedia articles (most of which are not up to Wikipedia standards by the way). On it, I found this referenced Wikipedia article about “open cola". It was especially amusing to me on several different levels (and connections). While still in that sort of recursive-folding-in-on-itself flavor I hit a gold mine with this Wikipedia article about unusual Wikipedia articles! That’s interesting in and of itself – HOWEVER- talk about educational uses! If you couldn’t hook some hard-core, I-dare-you-to-TRY-to-teach-me-something students with this, I don’t know what would. Of course I must first warn you that there are some less-than-rated-for-general-audiences entries here. However you could look through those and find many harmless yet extremely interesting or entertaining possibilities to tempt the ‘non-interested’ student.

Next I wandered off on the tangent in my mind that told me that the history feature of wikis alone holds a wealth of possibilities. Couldn’t that be a natural deposit of “real” data that is free-for-the-asking, and just waiting to be mined for the social ‘sciences’? I think so!

I also really liked Lyndell’s blog where she mused about family uses of wikis – because I had already thought of using a wiki for my family. I thought it would be a great way to build a family history – but in a very easy and fun sort of way. First of all someone thinks of a memorable family event that took place in the past like : “The Christmas Mom Really Delivered” – which has reference to when my youngest brother was born. This person then writes about the event as THEY remembered it and how it affected their perspectives, day, life, etc. They let others in the family know it's there (if they don't have an RSS feed) and encourages them to add (or edit) in their 2 cents worth! I’ve noticed that when all of us get together to reminisce we all remember things a little differently. Sometimes we argue about the differences, sometimes we laugh, but I always wish we could record everyone’s version. A wiki could do that, and even the editing wars might be fun –if there were any- because you never really lose anything, and part of the charm and interest is to see the history anyway.

Lastly, I had a way-off-the-wall thought about: what would it be like if laws were created and changed by wiki??? I mean isn’t that BY the people? Well at least those with access to the internet… What if you tried THAT out as a simulation in a highschool government class – or even at girls’/boys’ state? Or try the same thing with class rules or – gasp- grading policies? Something to think about anyway…as if there were a dearth!

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Strange Intersections

I couldn't decide which blog to post this in. I finally decided to post it in my Web Analytics blog - and link to it here. Warning: it's not short. And as an update see this link on the same blog. Read More......

Some Educational Uses for Blogs

Hmmm...let's see isn't that something like: Some Educational Uses for Reading and Writing? Besides using and encouraging those two quintessential educational skills, with Blogs you can easily add multimedia, hyperlinks, and cool “widgets”. The possibilities for educational uses are limitless - and so it seems are the blogs/webpages that discuss educational uses for blogs like what you see here and here and here and here (and I could go on ad nauseum).

So what did I find ‘out there’ that was interesting or insightful? I liked a Reuters article about businesses use of blogs. Think about it: in many ways students are educational clients, and hopefully consumers, if not paying customers. Read the following excerpt and see how it could apply to education:

'Indeed, one of the best ways to achieve credibility when your business is small is through an informative and educational blog, say veteran business bloggers. Let key debates and other important topics affecting your industry drive the content, and always provide a way for readers to become part of the discussion. Post frequently and monitor your traffic. "It's really just information and talking about all areas of the process," says Robin von Halle, Conception Connection's president. The blog "does foster a sense of community and enlist people in every facet that we work with...' (emphasis mine)

The one blog about educational uses for blogs that made me want to comment the most (though I didn’t there so I will here) is this posting on how NOT to use blogs. Though there are probably some useful guidelines about any type of technology, I really couldn’t decide whether the author of the post was trying to be the 'blog police' or truly wanted to ‘rescue’ others from spending time in an effort that is doomed for failure. Sorry, no rescuing necessary. I’ve observed that just as much (often more) can be learned from a failure as from a success. So I think bloggers will soon come to their own conclusions from their own experiences about whether or not a particular use of a blog is an effective educational use.

I really need to say at least something about three of Christoph Merrill's four 'rules':

• 1) Never never approach blogs as discussion boards, listservs or learning management systems

First of all, should you ever say “never” (much less “never never”)? Yes, the learning management system seems a bit of a stretch, and granted if all you have is a hammer, everything is going to look like a nail, but “never approach blogs as discussion boards” – really? Does he mean to say that if you want the function of a discussion board (discussion in a particular format) don't use blogs? Why not? He doesn't really say. Maybe I’m totally missing his point – but to me it still seems to be a sweeping (and misled) generalization.

I think Mr. Merrill’s second rule rates (only) a flat-out “HUH?!?” from me:

• 2)Group blogs are a bad idea and don’t work: Sure there’s a place for collaborative/group blogs but that place is not in education.

“HUH?!?”

Lastly I must take issue with his third ‘rule’:

• 3)Don’t try and force blogging into something else.

Though potentially dangerous, using something for which it was not initially intended* is how many great ideas are generated. If you're using a blog for a web-site because it’s easier, so what? It re-confirms the Simple Wins article.

In fact, in opposition to this “rule” what I’d really LIKE to see (but haven't yet) are any off-the-wall, out-there, ultra-creative educational uses for blogs. You know, the kinds of ideas that are catalysts for other similarly ‘non-conforming’ ideas that may end up generating a whole different type of application or use. Ideas that are usually so different, yet so simple that everyone says: “I wonder why no one thought of THAT sooner!” So...do you have any of those types of ideas spasm-ing just outside your consciousness that you could bring to the surface with a little extra thought (or sleep deprivation :-) ) ? Please…by all means…share!! And maybe in the morning I’ll have a few too. For inspiration try something like Cahlan Sharp: BLOGS = DONUTS?

*As a mother of five (four of which are boys) I have ample personal experiences with this - but those are being saved for a future 'I survived Motherhood' blog. If you're curious - ask me about the vacuum cleaner used as a novice exterminator's tool. Read More......

Why I'm taking Dave Wiley's New Media class

Here are a few reasons (in no particular order)

1. Elder Ballard's BYU-Hawaii graduation address
2. It's the little "extra" incentive to jump into blogging that I need. I kept telling myself I would do it once "things slow down" a little - which I realize is only a self deception (or a pleasant fantasy) that such a thing will happen in the foreseeable future.
3. To start my creative juices running about how it could help accomplish some church-related goals and interests.
4. It's just a very exciting bonus that we'll be highly involved in open access discussions/activities. That's something I could become (over?)zealous about, because it adds passion and purpose to my natural interest and absorption in educational uses for technology.
5. Fun!
6. Association with great people and their attendant minds and spirits :-) Read More......

Blog title explanation

Really, it was just a whim, because I needed a name -- BUT -- it also is a subtle warning about:

my propensity to make any type of written communication longer than is necessary (or sometimes even prudent)

a possible downside of open access (or open content) initiatives, which is: SOOO much content that we are even more adrift in a sea of information without the requisite tools and skills (or restraint) to efficiently find only what is needed

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