In the course of Topic 1 of the
ONL172 I have already had to confront several of my own fears and phobias concerning
the online world. Here are three of
them:
Fear & phobia #1: Not connecting – total technology failure
An ever-present fear (not
being a digital native – see David White’s webinar at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOG3iThmRI&feature=youtu.be)
is not being able to connect at all – or experiencing slow and intermittent
connection. In the class-room this can
be very frustrating because of the valuable time lost. On the ONL172 course my big worry was of
being irredeemably left behind and not knowing what was going on.
Connection to our group meetings
was eventually solidified when we moved to Zoom. And then there was the amazing connection I had
on the day I was visiting Durban for a workshop. In the midst of an astonishing, massive storm
(see http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/in-pictures-massive-storm-wreaks-havoc-in-durban-20171010
and on Twitter at #DurbanStorm) and connected via a wi-fi network as guest of the
institution I was visiting, I conversed with my ONL colleagues thousands of
miles away as if they were next door.
But perhaps most importantly were
the comments made by Alastair Creelman during the webinar with Sara Mörtsell
when he casually implied that dealing with technological hitches (such as Sara’s
video feed freezing) is just part of the territory and we just deal with it. If my car breaks down I can take the bus or
train, or else walk or rely on my installed Über app. I’m learning to think about the online
environment in the same way.
Fear & phobia
#2: Publicising myself in the online
environment
I completely identify with our subject
in Topic 1. One of her concerns is
keeping her private and public (professional or work) lives separate. With that at least there is easy good advice –
practice basic digital hygiene, common sense and strive to be a sophisticated internet
user.
I also think of myself as quite a shy person and a bit introverted. Having to share thoughts, ideas, suggestions
etc. in public and online is all quite intimidating – it goes against my grain –
whether digital native or not. What DO I
have to say in a Tweet that is so novel and important that others will be
obliged to apply their minds to my thoughts, even for a few seconds? Well, I realise more and more that this is
something I just must get over – and that this ONL course is part of the process.
Fear & Phobia
#3: Not being a digital native and never
being able to be one (because I was not born to it)
Another aspect that was raised in
Topic 1 is the issue of the digital native / digital immigrant dichotomy. The argument is that those people born to
technology are so immersed in the digitised online culture and environment that
it just comes naturally to them.
I am becoming convinced that this
particular fear of mine is misplaced: My digital proficiency is greater than I give
myself credit for. I am comfortable with
many online tools and ‘in my time’ 😎 have even done some programming and developed a few websites and so on.
Quite surprisingly, young people
that I know such as my step-daughter (who got her first i-pad at age 8) or my own
students often evidence a surprising lack of natural feeling for the new
digital world. It appears that they are
very happy to be immersed in – and are totally comfortable with - the online social-media
world but as soon as it starts becoming ‘work’ the online-natural, digital-native
side of them seems to be much less apparent 😉. My students often struggle mightily to submit
their assignments online and the online plagiarism tool (Turnitin) regularly gives
‘problems’.
Even Marc Prensky, who first
suggested the digital native – digital immigrant divide, appears to have
recanted a bit (see generally http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049). An alternative model being suggested is that
of the digital resident versus the digital visitor (again see David White at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO569eknM6U&feature=youtu.be)
My daughter is a digital resident when it
comes to her social life. But she is a
digital visitor with anything resembling work. I will be quite content remaining more of a visitor with respect to social media. But I believe
it is necessary and within my capacity to be more digitally resident when it
comes to my work and career as lecturer.
Maybe you have read about Community in practice (Lave, Wenger) when you start get in to a new area. You don´t be the person in the middle, you start on edges and watch. It is a natural way to behave and interact. So thank you for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that is a good strategy. Nothing wrong with a bit of lurking. But at some stage one then has to pluck up the courage and take the plunge. But I take your point!
DeleteI am so impressed with your journey, from where you started to where you are at now...can you imagine where you will be by topic 5?
ReplyDeleteI think for most the fears/phobias are very similar to begin with, so rest assured this is not something you alone are grappling with. However, it can still be daunting. This is what makes it so much more impressive when you overcome these 'hurdles' and realise you actually know much more than what you really give yourself credit for, and are able to do so much more than what you initially thought you could. Well done on reflecting on this and realising your true merits :-)
Thank you Sonja for the encouraging words. Yes, judging by the progress already made, I'm sure that by topic 5 there would have been lots of self-development. Now to get the courage for that first Tweet ...
DeleteHi Antoine. This is Kaveh and I enjoyed reading your post. I totally agree with you on the point you raise about the digital native generation not necessarily being digital residents and I believe this is in line with David White's ideas. I also sympathize with your second fear. More often than not I end up not posting something on the ground that it is not interesting enough for people in my networks. To be honest though, I am not totally convinced it is entirely a weakness, as one could live without most of the information that floats around out there these days! Having said that, I do believe that to approach digital residency we introverts might have to overcome some of the natural instincts ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is in interesting thought, Kaveh ... that one could survive quite well enough without much the information floating around these days. Deep down I do agree with you, but then I also think that perhaps much of what we do online is just everyday gossip? In the past we gossiped at the marketplace, waterhole, cooking-fire or coffee-shop, now we do it on Twitter. Then we should still have time to go home and read our thick books and THINK?
ReplyDelete