Who Are We Now That We’re Online? Connected Learners, Connected

Educators

CONNECT 2013

Bonnie Stewart��@bonstewart

University of Prince Edward Island

Education = Multiple axes of change

knowledge scarcity

knowledge abundance

open

public funding

neoliberal markets

closed

Increasing pressure to go online

Going online means moving away from institutional concepts

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/rofi/2647699204/    

Newly emerging species: open, public learner/educators

Online networks enable different forms of identity,

legitimacy, and belonging

than institutions do

Who are we when we’re online?

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/5066287053  

Ourselves

Always Faceted

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/thelotuscarroll/6842167375/  

Always staring down identity

choices as the cursor blinks

/h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/jamison/3669034513  

Networked Identity Roles = Multiple, Public, Participatory

Always Connected

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanr/142455033/  

My local cohort

My cohort on Twitter  

greater access, diversity, visibility… also increased noise & time.

Networked Publics •  Multiple, overlapping, global networks •  Always accessible •  Identities are visible, traceable & searchable •  Different audiences all in plain sight

See Kazys Varnelis, danah boyd, Alice Marwick, Mizuko Ito for more

Who we are is shaped by the context(s)

we’re addressing

The Performative Self

The Quantified Self

The Participatory Self

h"p://etmooclearnings.blogspot.ca/2013/03/no-­‐sorry-­‐here-­‐just-­‐thanks.html  

The Asynchronous Self

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vylen/6158720720/

The Neoliberal Self “Me, Inc.”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/4880623547

Always Hybrid

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/striaHc/2191408271/  

Hard to hear  

Different contexts have different legitimacy practices

Institutions Networks product-focused process-focused mastery participation bounded by time/space always accessible hierarchical ties peer-to-peer ties plagiarism crowdsourcing authority in role authority in reputation audience = teacher audience = world                      

The Digital = a Reputational Economy

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/8113246@N02/7932198032  

Not just for teachers but for students

A networked education…

l  Connects

l  Cultivates

l  Curates

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/gforsythe/7153872159/  

…but cannot control or count

in the same ways as institutional models of

education

There are many currencies in

online networks

Benefits as thinker: just-in-time emergent, choral

conversation

Benefits as learner & scholar: access, engagement, profile

Benefits as teacher: opportunities to connect & convey info in new media

Benefits as writer: real audiences

…that awkward moment when you remember you friended your grandma

on Facebook. And that your students – and your VP –

follow you on Twitter.

Context Collapse

Institutions & Networks = politics are part of every public

h"p://www.flickr.com/photos/rowan72/8672846415/  

But so are new ways of belonging

h"p://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/stratedgy/foundaHons-­‐strategy-­‐part-­‐3-­‐technology  

Get networked. Connect.

Thank you.

@bonstewart