Day 4: Lag and the Ancient Egyptian God of Frustration

After trying out a few different SL destinations, including some arty place where they told me to bugger off until I was more than 10 days old, I found myself fed up to the back proverbial with my avatar’s sluggish response to keyboard prompts.  This frustration over the lag combined with the creepy lack of what I perceived as genuine human interaction was already generating strong disengagement from this learner.

Although Aldrich (2009) promotes the value of frustration as a stepping-stone to intellectual clarity, where "the frustration-resolution pairing is the sensation of new mental muscle forming" (p. 41), I'm a glass-half-empty sort of person who has other things to occupy her time and prefers the shorter route to learning, thankyouverymuch. Sikwibele and Mungoo proposed  in their 2009 study of Botswanan learners is frustration, which, when combined with minimal education levels and an overwhelming workload as well as the significant cognitive overload inherent in learning new technologies (Tyler-Smith, 2006, cited by Sikwibele and Mungoo, 2009) can increase distance-learner attrition.

Expecting frustration to lead to positive learning may work for some LLN learners, but does not take into account the connection between affect and cognition for learners who have had negative experiences.  When a learner associates a subject with pain and frustration, he or she may develop a potentially debilitating affective phenomena such as maths anxiety (Curtain-Philips, 2008; Taylor, 2007).  As with maths anxiety, a LLN learner who has had a negative series of experiences at school, especially with technology, is less likely to have the self-confidence necessary to work through the frustration-resolution pairing (Simsek, 2011).

Taylor and Galligan (2006) recognised the need to address the debilitating problem of maths anxiety and found that use of multimedia such as images, text and story-boarding effectively complemented e-learning for this purpose.  To overcome the isolation of distance learners suffering from maths anxiety, the authors proposed using video on CD-ROMs documenting the experiences of learners working through their challenges.  Under this socio-constructive approach, distance learners could share their problems and triumphs, and in turn developed greater confidence.  Second Life wasn't addressed in the study, but as a medium that allows for learning via group development and modification of the environment, SL is an excellent example for distance socio-constructivist learning. 

So, in an effort to overcome my frustration by finding out how others in my position deal with technological matters, I got social by googling "slow avatars" and immediately found I wasn't the only one out there with issues.  The blogger Amy Gahran  seemed to have the same feelings as me – neither of us are gamers, both of us are more interested in back to basics than bells and whistles. In an illustration of the Web 2.0 community using an asynchronous medium to full effect, the comments left under her post were illuminating  The blogpost is several years old, but the comments felt extremely relevant to my experiences.  How, then, would it feel to a student with limited digital literacy?  At what level would a tutor be expecting a learner to get into an applications like this?  What percentage of learners overcome the initial uneasiness with the new medium, even without the frustration given by coming to grips with a new technology?  If someone is too busy focusing on getting the technology right, what happens if they lose track of their larger goals?  Will the digital world feel more or less relevant?

In their 2003 examination of patterns of engagement, Herrington, Oliver and Reeves also remarked on this issue of learners’ inability to suspend belief to the point where learners can engage meaningfully with the created scenario: 

“Many students initially perceive authentic environments to be non-academic, non-rigorous, time wasting and unnecessary to efficient learning.  It is often only when the suspension of disbelief occurs that these students see the complexity and the value of the learning environment.” (p. 2)

Hulk not get mad!!!!!

Check, check, check, and check again.  By the end of day 4 I certainly felt I’d wasted way too much time when I could have been doing more profitable activities. Like sleeping.  Or doing a meditation exercise to disperse the negative energies I've been mysteriously building up ever since I first logged on to SL.



Before I completely lose the plot, turn green, rip my clothes off and scare the neighbours,  I remind myself why I’m doing this.  I chose SL for a few reasons – first, I’ve heard of it.  It takes a lot for a bit of technology to come to my attention.  Secondly, it came up a lot in the reading I’ve been doing lately, particularly Aldrich (2009) and Salmon (2011), giving me the impression SL is the virtual world of choice. (Harking back to socio-constructivism, I'm one of those who consciously likes to construct understanding socially, so I read the words of others and compared them to my goals.) Thirdly, the idea of venturing into a new environment from the comfort of a couch had a strong appeal – the quintessential armchair traveller, moi.  But if I hadn’t enjoyed Aldrich and Salmon’s books so much I probably would have settled for something easier, like Facebook, which I already know my computer can handle. 

As a matter of fact, the frustration level got so high that I nearly invoked the Ancient Egyptian God of Frustration and quit, but happily (or not) for me, just the other day a co-worker told me that she had been using SL for a while now.  She’d also attended a digital conference the other year, enjoying it very much.  Thanks to this on the spot, unrehearsed encouragement and example of use, suddenly my motivation shot back up again: once past the initial “gotta do this task for my studies” I found myself in a mental realm where I could apply learning for wider benefit - because wouldn't it be fun to attend a digital conference? 

It’s ironic that F2F got me back in SL.

Ancient Egyptian God of Frustration (according to Zack Allan)

 

 References

Aldrich, C. (2009). Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds: Strategies for Online Instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Curtain-Phillips, M. (2008). The cause and prevention of maths anxiety.  Retrieved October 19, 2011, from http://www.mathgoodies.com/articles/math_anxiety.html 

Herrington, J., Oliver, R., & Reeves, T. C. (2003). Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19(1), 59 – 71. Retrieved from http://murdoch.academia.edu/JanHerrington/Papers/93066/Patterns_of_engagement_in_authentic_online_learning_environments

Salmon, G. (2011). E-moderating: The key to teaching and learning online. New York, NY: Routledge.

Sikwibele, A. L. & Mungoo, J. K. (2009). Distance learning and teacher education in Botswana: Opportunities and challenges. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(4). Retrieved October 18, 2011, from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/706/1325.

Simsek, A. (2011). The relationship between computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy.  Contemporary Educational Technology, 2(3), 177-187. Retrieved from http://www.cedtech.net/articles/231.pdf

Taylor, J. (2007). Adult numeracy themes: Competence and self confidence. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Resc/Educ/comcon.html#comcon

Taylor, J., & Galligan, L. (2006). Mathematics for maths anxious tertiary students: Integrating the cognitive and affective domains using interactive multimedia. Literacy & Numeracy Studies, 15(1), 23-43.

Back to (Second) Life

On day 2 I went back to SL, this time in advanced mode in hopes that it would let me find more places and maybe some clothing.  Immediately discovered the limitations of my computer – my movements slooowwwwed dooowwwnnnnnn.  Rather frustrating.

On the plus side, I got to try out some of the different destinations I found when I Googled for potential places to visit.  Went to the Dungeon, which has free clothes (well, some) and other stuff.  Everyone else was zipping around – I zombie-walked my way into walls on the occasions when my keyboard decided to suddenly kick into life and take all my keystrokes into account.  In basic mode I could click on a place and my avatar would walk there.  Now, I’m reliant on my arrow keys.

In the Dungeon, looking for hair.  No, really.

On day 3 I decided to try a more specific search.  I found a Top 20 list of educational establishments on SL and decided to give it a burl.

One link took me to a PowerPoint presentation, that brought to mind a quote in my Book of the Moment: “Death by PowerPoint” (Aldrich, 2009, p. 48).

Rather than burying my enthusiasm in an unmarked grave, the presentation convinced me to give SL another try.  Once back in SL (and still subject to the revolting lag) I changed my avatar from furrie fox to woman in leather jacket in hopes of blending in all the better.  It’s not quite my battered old brown suede jacket, but now avatar isn’t quite so divorced from reality (although I haven’t found out how to make it put on mumble-mumble kilos). 

2 hours later and I realised I’d wasted a lot of time with a lot of nothing.  My computer is so obviously not up to the task of SL and I was strangely reluctant to interact with any of the people I encounter there, to the point where I turned my avatar’s head to avoid eye contact.  Aldrich (2009, p. 49) claims that “students in a virtual world feel as if they are physically near other people, not just viewing the same artifacts.”  However, in all the hours I have spent on SL so far, the people I encountered there were eclipsed by a 2 second “Good morning” exchanged with a complete stranger at the bus stop on my way to work.  While I found a couple of interesting links, I realised that there is a whole new language (and culture) to learn, and ended up feeling too tired and grumpy to bother any more that night.  Or the next night.  Or whenever. 

There was a large number of people in various places in Second Life, true, but I ended up looking for places where I could be the only one in the area as this was considerably less creepy.  Yes, I tried to say hello to a couple of people; yes, I went to the sites newbies were meant to go to, but the interactions were ambiguous and made me feel like an unwelcome foreigner who’s looked on as dumb ’cos she don’t speak the language.  On the plus side it was an insight into the challenges of LLN learners making their way through the everyday "meat" world, and a Turkish ESOL learner informed me the other week that she had the same experience when she went to Paris.

This experience provided an illustration of how a learner can lose motivation when clear goals aren’t established, the environment is unwelcoming, and there is no tutor- or peer-support handy, especially when said learner is tired and grumpy.  As discussed in an earlier blog, learning can be greatly enhanced by social activities with specific, real goals (Beder, Tomkins, Medina, Riccioni, & Deng, 2006; Herrington, Oliver and Reeves, 2003; Ivanic, Appleby, Hodge, Tusting and Barton, 2006; Garrison, 1997).

With this in mind, for a new class I’d suggest having an orientation in a specific quiet location within Second Life.  Here the tutor can help learners come to grips with the new medium and learners can use chat, private IM or even speak directly to share the ups, the downs, and any tricks they’ve learned to help smooth the digital pathways.  Teach the interface, Aldrich recommends: use Second Life in the lesson as valuable content, use the activity to “draw analogies to people’s own lives” (2009, p. 93.)  Meet up for coffee in a specified place.  “Buy” some clothes and try them on.  Have classmates comment through chat or voice on the selection, eg “That colour really brings out the purple in your avatar’s eyes.”  The tutor can arrange materials such as free things to “buy”, cups and a cappucino maker for the set of activities.  The main goal here is to establish the learners’ community of practice, with emphasis on the community.

It's Second Life, Jim, but not as we know it.

Renya from Second Life arriving in the transporter room

For Assignment 3, thought I’d investigate Second Life.

It’s definitely life, Jim, but not quite as one knows it.  Thought I’d keep a log of some of my experiences and see how they stack up with literature and other people's blogs.

Day one, 29  September… just doing the intro to SL and already I can see that distraction is going to be an issue!

Choosing a name… googled second life names.  Learn not to choose anything too basic.  Also apparently using numbers in names isn’t Quaite the Thing, dearies! (Although once on SL saw plenty of people using numbers.)  Settle on JuliaMt, as Julia was taken and I'm not feeling fancy.

Now - downloading, installing, and getting into the program.  Great excitement!  Some excitement.  Go on to YouTube while waiting, when I get bored and watch Lego version of "Cake or Death?" sketch in meantime.  Wow, Second Life took a long time just to get going!  Apparently my computer isn’t up to snuff either, as the friendly pop-up box lets me know. 

Never mind.  On I go, into the initial room that shows me how to use basic functions such as walking, chatting and some of the features I might meet in SL.  I also meet someone, and discover that the chat function works OK, but I watch this person leave for fresh pastures as my destination tab doesn’t give me any options.  Oh well…

Reload.

Destination tab works now.  Go for a walkaround in a different location, run across a few people, some who don't speak English, some who can only speak in Tourette's.  So far, so unimpressed.  More importantly, I check my data allowance with Slingshot.  Yikes!  It’s already ratchetting up there!  Second Life appears to be a bit of a data hog, but this could be due to downloading a few large programs lately.  I’ll check again tomorrow.

3 hours after getting into Second Life, I’m logging off.  And what did I achieve?  A couple of hellos, some confusion, got told off for going into one area where I should have been 10 days old before entering (new form of netiquette to master), and (ironically) the dispiriting reminder that my faithful Ye Olde Acer is at the venerable age of 5 or 6 getting a bit long in the tooth for this newfangled digital world, and I managed to walk around as a fox.  No – the animal kind, not the sex kitten sexy mamma variety.

On the plus side, I did manage to fly and get down again safely.  There was a slight problem with bumping the fox’s head on the ceiling, but avatars are resilient beasties.  On a more sinister note, I'm keen on getting back into it tomorrow to see if I can find myself some clothes.  The rot of SL addiction may already be setting in! 
  

So much for Day One.  What did I learn for potential use in education?  Primarily that unless the learner is a digital native or particularly exploratory in the internet, the tutor is going to have to take great care in setting up the exercise by orienting students into the particular area of Second Life the lessons are scheduled to take part.  A set of exercises to help a learner get past some of the initial frustrations and find specified goals would help. 

In the meantime, check out the flying fox!

Saras's question - part 2 "Keepin' it Real"

When creating websites for learning LLN embedded within a specific subject, this gives exceptional opportunities to develop particular skills within a situation the student finds relevant to their personal environment, goals and literacy practices.

“A social perspective on LLN recognises that these practices are always embedded in social contexts and purposes. This applies to LLN in everyday contexts of home, work, community, and also to LLN in educational contexts, although some practices more obviously have a purpose than others.”
Ivanic, Appleby, Hodge, Tusting and Barton (2006, p. 7)

When the “school” is not a classroom but a laptop in a kitchen or on a desk at work, creating authentic materials with an obvious purpose becomes even more important. Adult learners, being autonomous and goal-oriented, need a clear purpose for assigned tasks, or they can lose motivation (Beder, Tomkins, Medina, Riccioni, & Deng, 2006; Garrison, 1997), a major problem for distance learning.  If, for example, they are learning numeracy through horticulture, a website that allows them to learn how to calculate volumes of potting mix for their home garden or work site can give immediate, personal and practical application of the learning, and demonstrates the authenticity of the material.  For me, the Home and Learn website was a welcome quick-fix for my computer woes.

In a 2003 literature review by Herrington, Oliver and Reeves, the authors defined ten characteristics of authentic activities. Authentic activities:
1. Have real-world relevance
2. Require the student to define the tasks required for the activity
3. Involve complex activities the learner may work on over days, weeks or even months, implying a need for constant goal-checking and reassessment
4. Allow the learner access to various resources in order to investigate from multiple perspectives
5. Promote collaboration
6. Provide metacognitive development through reflection
7. Are applicable across multiple domains of life
8. Provide assessment representative of real world evaluation
9. Create end-products relevant to the learner’s goals
10. Promote diversity of outcome from multiple, original solutions (Herrington, Oliver and Reeves, 2003)

As we can see here, the need to have learning activities contextually embedded in realistic scenarios sits at the top of the list, and although the need for activities to directly reflect the learner’s goals is at number eight, as adult learners, those goals are crucial for engagement.  A website for LLN based around informal learning of a particular interest provides the learner to choose whether or not to engage with the material.  After the learner has decided that yes, this website is interesting enough to warrant further investigation, the other principles come into play. 

The importance of each successive criterion may differ according to personal ability of the learner, for instance criterion 10, where a Foundation learner may find it easier to focus on one solution rather than be presented with an array of options.  At higher levels, however, and as confidence increases, a learner might feel stifled by a single “correct” answer, and a tutor would promote critical strategies for the learner to aid selection of a particular solution – and perhaps point out that in some cases there is no one “best fit”. 

Time constraints for informal learning can differ wildly.  One learner might be studying up on numeracy skills to allow him to wow an interviewer and land him the desired job, while another learner might want to work out how to calculate dilution factors for liquid fertilisers and pesticides, with different applications needed at various times of the year.  A website with a clear progression and automated assessment might be better suited for the first learner, who wants more intense learning, while the second learner might prefer a site with basic principles that she can dip into at periodic intervals to refresh her memory, and may or may not need to learn another numeracy skill.

On a personal level, I have witnessed a learner with low self-confidence cheer up immensely after she created and printed a “simple” one page Word document of a poem she had written and – by learning a new set of skills – illustrated with a picture from the internet.  This dramatically illustrated the importance of an authentic exercise with a concrete end-product a learner could take away from the lesson.

Informal learning online pt 1

Saras's question 2. How would I create a website for the informal learning of say art or music or construction in which the content and instruction are embedded with LLN and online learning principles?

With the promotion of ongoing learning in modern society and increasing use of online media, websites for informal learning offer a new dimension for learners who might otherwise have relied on books or advice from family.  Wikipedia provides one example, with information regularly updated by a wide online community, and learners can access magazines, participate in online discussions or join classes.  For those learning computing, however, Wikipedia can get a little jargon-heavy and is better used for supplementary research rather than lessons.  One UK website I’ve recently discovered, Home and Learn, has helped me come to grips with Microsoft Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint.  I’ve found Home and Learn extremely useful to introduce a novice (me) to these programs.  Home and Learn is also easy to navigate around, and doesn’t require the user to be particularly net-savvy.  As a tutor, it’s made me more aware of how necessary it is to promote learner exploration of web-based resources, and to keep an inventory of sites that might be appropriate for the various learner abilities and interests I work with.

For someone engaged in informal learning – certain computer programs in my case – Home and Learn gives online lessons a learner can dip into at random according to need, although the teaching style is more akin to a work book than a tutorial.  Very “top down” in this respect, although as a beginner user of PowerPoint and Publisher, I appreciated Home and Learn’s methodical approach.  More advanced users might prefer more complicated, interactive resources, but as most of the LLN learners I work with have low or minimal digital literacy, a website set out in distinct steps with clear goals is one I would suggest my learners try.  Ideally, I would introduce the website in class to check for initial issues with the technology, but then expect the learners to tackle the website’s lessons with minimal tutor input.

Using a social practices lens to examine a website for potential use in a learning situation allows a tutor to reframe the question from “Is the student ready to use this website?” to “Is the website suitable for the learner?”  To expand on a learner-centred approach, identifying the particular use, meaning and approach a learner has for the digital medium in a given set of circumstances allows for a more tailored approach to education delivery (Gillen & Barton, 2009).  One-to-one digital literacy classes certainly make it easier for me to implement this philosophy, and luckily many of my classes are one-to-one.  Quite often the initial lesson plan goes out the window when, for example, the student shows up with a computer and wants to learn how to surf the net rather than conjugate verbs – which is fair enough.  From working with students who had clear digital literacy goals in mind and only wanted someone to help them get started, I’ve seen how easily navigated websites like Yahoo! email with clear, attainable goals can give a learner enough confidence to move onto other, more complicated sites, such as creating a Facebook  page and ordering books from the library. 

As a learner moves further into the digital realm, more possibilities for ongoing education become available.  Areas where they have not yet been developed suggests gaps an online tutor could address.  Given the variety of learner backgrounds, a narrow or broad range of websites may be developed to take advantage of interests and ability as well as just how deeply the learner wishes to delve into the topic.  A tutor developing a website might provide anything from an online textbook to a basic homepage with links to other materials and websites, or a self-contained website replete with highly interactive virtual environment, discussion board, multimedia texts, references, activities and assignments, and feedback via quizzes or exams.  Obviously, the breadth of the website depends not just on the learner background and needs, but also on the tutor’s resources (time, money) and personal digital literacy. (Aldrich, 2009)

space to talk

“Learning has more to do with making connections between ideas and concepts than simply focusing on the information itself. …(T)here often remains a crucial need for physical human contact and interaction as a means of fully appreciating the value of these connections.” Sanders, 2006, p. 3.

Learning is a personal journey, undertaken for a myriad of reasons.  But whatever the reason, it can help to compare notes with others on the path.  Despite the amazing amount of online help and instructions provided with computer software, sometimes it’s just easier to communicate with someone who is heading in the same general direction as you.

 

(...yes, we've all been there.)

Developing a social, mutually-beneficial network amongst learners fosters engagement and motivation, and developing ideas through cooperation and debate can benefit and inspire groups as well as individuals (Bitzer, 2001).  This underlines the role of educators as social facilitators, as demonstrated in Bailey and Card’s 2009 study of the teaching practices of experienced online tutors, which I addressed in a previous blog.

Tutors also may be necessary to alert students to holes in arguments and when they go off-track, although cooperative learning may bring in sources of information and points of view the tutor had been unaware of and needs to take into account when formalising conclusions made from the lesson/project (Bitzer, 2001).

Promoting various websites for educational gatherings doesn’t have to result in a wild party involving the police.  Educational establishments may offer specific programs such as the Blackboard suite in the form of wikis, discussion forums and webinars.  This opens up the arenas necessary for distance learners, who may feel stifled without a chance to airing ideas and compare strategies with their colleagues.  Savin-Baden (2006) espoused the concept of dialogic spaces as spaces for criticality and argument, where learning occurs through insights gained via discussion.  Importantly, dialogic spaces do not have to be reserved for oral communication alone.  Online learning in the form of (for example) discussion boards gives a new dimension to the concept of dialogic space, and although learners may initially be disinclined to participate (Sanders, 2006), having learning direction in the form of topics or discussion questions set by the tutor may provide the necessary spark for learners new to the online learning environment.

Despite arguments against soliloquy as a dialogic space (Savin-Baden, 2006), I have found that writing a blog provides a way of working out ideas and coming to conclusions I might not have otherwise come to, “thinking aloud” on a keyboard.  Promoting blogging also allows for networking between learners, for example via comments. 

Writing a blog open to the rest of the online community does, however, require a degree of confidence: after discussing blogging with friends and colleagues, I have found that there can be a reluctance to “make traceable meanings using digital technologies” (Gillen and Barton, p. 9) in a medium they are uncomfortable working within, ie the online realm.  When creating this blog, I was initially reluctant to put my ideas out into the public forum until someone pointed out that it was unlikely anyone other than my classmates would read it  This shyness stemmed not so much from my grammar as from my exploration of ideas.  A Foundation literacy tutor also needs to be aware that learners might be shy of exposing their perceived lack of literacy online, and might prefer to keep their work out of the public eye, perhaps even keeping what they create between themselves and the tutor rather than have anyone else in the class see it.  Email might be better used here.  Having said that, Foundation learners may make up for a lack of grammar and spelling with creative flair and determination and go on to develop some amazing blogs and/or websites.  This illustrates how the tutor’s choice of media is dependent on the learners.

Being human and a member of a social species provides us opportunity for conflict as well as cooperation.  According to instructors surveyed by Bailey and Card, tutors have an important role to play in fostering instructor-student relationships, and I would add that promoting student-student relationships is just as important, perhaps even more so.  Interacting online does, as one tutor acknowledged, require participants from both sides to take care with wording (Bailey and Card, 2001, p. 154).  The lack of body language and voice cues raises a further consideration: for Foundation-level literacy learners communicating via digital means with other learners and tutors, spelling and phrasing may compound misunderstandings.  For those who cannot meet in person or in a webconference, having an “emergency phone” for such times might help students verbally clarify perceived insults and better enable resolution of real insults.  Tutors here may need to play a role in resolving these disputes, if not in person then online, perhaps as a moderator in a discussion forum.  Another option is to assign a student representative or team leader, although this may require an unwelcome degree of responsibility for the chosen leader.

Students new to online learning may be more mindful of the weaknesses than the strengths of the digital medium.  A sense of disconnection between learner and others in the course may dismay some students, who prefer face-to-face learning with its immediacy and all the accompanying nuances of expression (Sanders, 2006).  After recently participating in an online conference, I agree that the medium is incredibly convenient and economical – especially when you are talking to people on other islands! – but the poor broadband connection in New Zealand combined with a lack of visual cues left me with a sense of being removed from direct participation. The technology is, obviously, still evolving, and these issues may soon be a thing of the past.  With more people going online and more opportunities for picking up computer skills online, such as at the BBC’s Webwise website or within the community, such as at a library, the issues may shift from purely digital literacy to narrower fields, such as online identity security.

Regardless of topic, the focus needs to remain on the material and the people relating to it rather than take a technological determinist stance. As Sanders (2006) advises, “just because a tool exists, it does not mean that an educational need or use for that tool exists.”  But with new technologies and social media outlets in constant flux, which ones should educators and learners spend their energies on? This leads on to another question, one that Helen Sharkey is going to tackle.



Gillen, J., and Barton, D. (2009, 12-13 March, 2009). Digital literacies. Paper presented at the meeting of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme-Technology Enhanced Learning, Lancaster University.

Savin-Baden, M. (2008). Learning spaces: creating opportunities for knowledge creation in academic life. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill

All of us

"Maybe one day we'll look back on this period of the internet as our caveman era"

 Technology can be baffling and difficult to navigate, but we have the resources of billions – those who came before and those around us now.  For those lucky ones who have kids or grandkids, you’ve got someone to set your brand spanking new DVD v.2.0 player with all the bells and whistles and a remote control designed by NASA to record Big Fat Gypsy Weddings for you.  For the rest of us, we might go online and Google “How do I programme my DVD Megamaxxx v.2.0 player to record Big Fat Gypsy Weddings?”  Hopefully Google will direct us to a useful site.

First, we need to formulate the questions.  Chances are that someone will come along soon to answer them.  Chances are that there will be someone else out there with questions you or I can answer for them.  We live in an ever-widening society with a deep pool of overlapping strengths and knowledge that can be transmitted symbolically down and across generations and cultures.  Our complex systems of flexibility and cooperation open up routes closed to other creatures.

As humans, we’re apes who have taken a blueprint of community (hierarchy and cooperation) to dizzying heights.  Society is synergistic: the combined strengths of societal units can amount to more than the sum of their individual parts.  Society as an evolutionarily stable strategy isn’t endemic to humans, but includes examples of insects, birds and other mammals such as dolphins and elephants.  But with our linguistic capabilities that are not limited to living entities, we have overcome certain temporal limitations. Yes, we’ve done some pretty horrific things with our societal tinkerings (anyone for World War III or another round of us-versus-them genocide?), but looking at it positively, we can see that we have the chance to work together to lift our social networks up by the bootstraps to new heights. (Clippinger, n.d.)

This increasingly deepening understanding of human organisation underlines the importance of community at every level.  Some of us are happy working out problems on our own, but at some point we are likely to require information from another person, be it through a pamphlet, a colleague, a chat over the fence with the next door neighbour or a radio emergency broadcast.  Students require a large amount of social support, whether it comes from a tutor, a book or a fellow student, but despite the strengths of distance learning (eg student-centredness and flexibility), the lack of a face-to-face social setting can stifle confidence, reduce motivation and raise dropout rates (reviewed in Galusha, n.d.).

Digital literacy is, as Gillen and Barton (2009) stress, socially situated, especially given the collaborative aspect of Web 2.0 technologies (An and Williams, 2010). Many learners may not acquire the basic tools necessary to take advantage of this increasingly social medium from formal schooling situations, however.  While some students may be confident enough in developing their own digital literacy outside of a formal educational setting, enough to overcome obstacles such as low motivation, alienation and lack of feedback, what about those who fall behind in the technology from issues such as technological anxiety or economic stress? (Galusha, n.d.; Saadé and Kira, 2009; Winterwood, 2010.)  How can we, as members of a vast tribe, contact and support others we may never meet in the flesh via technology?

So here is one question, as posed by yours truly in the 169.005 paper:

“How can learners develop social support networks for distance learning of LLN?”

I’ll look at answers to this question in an upcoming blog.