According to Gibbs (1988), the act of having an experience is not adequate on its own. It is imperative that individuals process their thoughts and feelings because without reflecting there is the potential to forget (Gibbs, 1988). Therefore, reflection plays a critical part in the learning experience (Gibbs, 1988). My journey throughout the UOSM2008 module has been thought-provoking, beneficial and educative.
Figure 1: My learning cycle
Description: What happened?
I joined the UOSM2008 module to gain some formal education on the web. ‘Living and working on the Web’ appealed to me as I noticed the impact of digital technologies in the working world. Being a sociologist, I have realised the ongoing academic debate around digital technologies and its impact on cultural, economic and political practices (Orton-Johnson & Prior, 2013). Moreover, I had poor media literacy and lacked skills in blogging, creating online materials such as videos and infographics and managing my online identity. Each week, my peers and I on the UOSM2008 module wrote a blog post on a given topic. After everyone’s posts were uploaded we could read each other’s and comment on various posts to create a critical discussion on the topic.
Feelings: What were you thinking and feeling?
At first, I was intimidated as I this was unlike any module I had ever done before. However, once I began reading and working on the topics my confidence grew. I learned an immense amount through exploring new topics and discussion from various peers weekly. I felt that I had been oblivious to certain things before. For example, when learning about media literacy I felt that my experiences online began to make a lot of sense. I had noticed that my Facebook timeline was not the same as it used to be and once I learned about filter bubbles and echo chambers, I began to understand the importance of algorithms and the implications they had.
In addition, this module changed the way in which I perceived learning. For instance, learning through connectivism was new to me. Through my personal learning network on the MOOC and the UOSM2008 module, I developed my digital profile. This module also changed my approach to other modules for example, whilst studying social movements I realized that most of the literature focused on traditional ways of collective action. However, UOSM2008 allowed me to recognise the affordances of digital technologies. For example, today activism can take place online through online petitions, hacktivism and virtual sit-ins (Van Laer & Van Ailst, 2010). Prior to this, I would have focused on traditional forms of collective action such as marches, strikes and lobbying.
Evaluation: What was good or bad about the experience?
An advantage of this module introduced is that it introduced me to another method of learning called connectivism (Future Learn, 2018). I learned mainly from interactions with my connections with people on the module, technology and non-human information resources. The lecturers took a different approach to learning and one that I haven’t experienced on any other module. UOSM2008 has equipped me with skills in content creation and knowledge that I will use and develop beyond this module. For instance, I will be more cautious with my online identity, search engines and the content that I interact with online. One thing that did not go so well, I think were my discussions, I think that I shied away from interacting with more people.
Figure 2: My Digital Profile
Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation?
I felt that my arguments around the topic were developed and my use of sources was a mixture of the original sources and additional ones that I found on my own. My discussions with others on the module was very engaging, however, at times, I felt that I was not in the correct word count. At first, I did not support comments with sources but once I began to, the discussions became stronger. I believe that my peers contributed substantially to my understanding of living and working on the web.
I learned a range of new skills. As Smyth (1989) notes, values, beliefs and assumptions are an important element of learning. I found that my previous assumptions and beliefs about learning have changed due to learning through connectivism. My understanding of how the media works have advanced especially after learning the key concepts of media literacy. Furthermore, I have seen the impact of media on society such as the US elections and Brexit.
Conclusion: What else could you have done?
Ultimately my experience on the UOSM2008 module was very informative and beneficial. One thing I might have done differently is to be more aware of the visits to my blog. I felt that I had to rush in my responses at times as when I would check them there was a lot of questions from my peers. I also would have used voice-overs more in my videos as I think it adds more of a personal touch.
Action Plan: What would you do next time?
If given another time to do the module or one similar again I would be bolder in my content creation and opt for doing more voiceovers. I would also comment on more than the minimum number of blogs. I think that I might come across a similar experience in the working world and to prepare for that I plan to do other MOOCs to get comfortable with interactions and to form networks.
Word count: 906
References
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.
Orton-Johnson, K. & Prior, N., 2013. Digital Sociology: Critical Perspectives. University of Edinburgh, UK: Palgrave Macmillian
Smyth, J. (1989). Developing and sustaining critical reflection in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 2-9.
Van Laer, J. & Van Ailst, P., 2010. Internet and Social Movement Action Repertoires. Information, Communication & Society, 13(8), pp. 1146-1171.
Tewsdae's Blog 