China has the biggest population in the world and therefore in order fo the country to prosper from having such a large population then they need to make sure that as much of the population is well educated up to the best standard possible. Therefore these graduates can then work in various areas within the country which all helps towards building China's economy. The better China's economy is the more likely they are to play a major part in world politics which, in all is a good thing for the country.
The fact that they have lecturers that teach via tv is a very important education tol for China. As previously stated its in their best interests to educate as many people as possible but this could be very difficult and costly to educate the masses across such a large country. Therefore by teaching via tv they are able to use just one lecturer but this allows thousands to be taught. This is then available for a mass number of subjects meaning that very high numbers of students are able to be taught by the fewest possible lecturers. This saves alot of money for two main reasons. Firstly it would be very difficult to find buildings big enough to fill large numbers of students or keep building new universities in order to educate these extreme number of students. Secondly this also means that money is also saved by only employing a few lecturers for each subject. They record their lectures for tv/radio and then these can be shown to the masses.
It also needs to be considered that some parts of China may be very difficult to get to, therefore this type of learning allows even people who may live hundreds of miles from the nearest university/school to still learn and have the prospect of a career. Overall this is a great thing for China as obviously they will gain a lot from educating as many people as possible, although it may not necessarily be taken full advantage of in such a country like ours (not big enough).
Monday, 31 March 2008
Deakin University
http://www.deakin.edu.au/future-students/online-offcampus-studies/
Technology is continuing to increase and therefore it is within our best interests that we take advantage of this and use new media to further enrich our academic learning. This is why i believe that this online learning which Deakin university are using is definately a good thing. With online learning they are able to learn at their own pace and decide what they want to do when and where. A definate advantage is that it can be done anywhere, this means that if a problem occurs and a student has to leave university for a certain peiod of time then they are still able to complete the unit and recieve a grade.
Obviously many people work in different ways and many prefer having face to face seminars as they are able to ask questions, etc which will be answered straight away and students dont have to wait till their lecturer is online to write back to a query they may have. Many believe that it a very complex process (completeing units online) especially if they have never done it before. From my experience I admit in the first few weeks of starting this unit I found it very difficult to keep up and understand what needed to be done by when. But once you get used to it it is quite simple and easily fits into week. I think alot of people who may be against this type of learning havent actually given it enough of a chance (enough time) for them to get used to it and get the best out of such a learning experience.
Although we have to consider that I may say that this type of learning is ok once you get used to it but Deakin University do a whole unit over the internet therefore they have no lectures like we do (for this unit). This may make things more confusing as theyre not getting this face to face communication at all meaning that relationships between students and lecturers may be virtually none existant. This may make question asking or queries very difficult to come about if they dont have this relationship in order to communicate fully. Although having lecturers online may be a good thing as they wont have to spen all their lecture time writing down notes where they may miss vital information. Using Deakin University's way they can go back to the lecture materials whenever they want, therefore making sure they have all the information they need to complete the unit to the best of their ability.
Technology is continuing to increase and therefore it is within our best interests that we take advantage of this and use new media to further enrich our academic learning. This is why i believe that this online learning which Deakin university are using is definately a good thing. With online learning they are able to learn at their own pace and decide what they want to do when and where. A definate advantage is that it can be done anywhere, this means that if a problem occurs and a student has to leave university for a certain peiod of time then they are still able to complete the unit and recieve a grade.
Obviously many people work in different ways and many prefer having face to face seminars as they are able to ask questions, etc which will be answered straight away and students dont have to wait till their lecturer is online to write back to a query they may have. Many believe that it a very complex process (completeing units online) especially if they have never done it before. From my experience I admit in the first few weeks of starting this unit I found it very difficult to keep up and understand what needed to be done by when. But once you get used to it it is quite simple and easily fits into week. I think alot of people who may be against this type of learning havent actually given it enough of a chance (enough time) for them to get used to it and get the best out of such a learning experience.
Although we have to consider that I may say that this type of learning is ok once you get used to it but Deakin University do a whole unit over the internet therefore they have no lectures like we do (for this unit). This may make things more confusing as theyre not getting this face to face communication at all meaning that relationships between students and lecturers may be virtually none existant. This may make question asking or queries very difficult to come about if they dont have this relationship in order to communicate fully. Although having lecturers online may be a good thing as they wont have to spen all their lecture time writing down notes where they may miss vital information. Using Deakin University's way they can go back to the lecture materials whenever they want, therefore making sure they have all the information they need to complete the unit to the best of their ability.
Communities of Practice - Task 4
Our forum is definately a community of practice as we are all completeing set work in order to learn and reach the ultimate goal of completeing this particular unit and then recievin g a grade to go towards our degree. Within the forum I believe that everyone is equal and able to learn from each other (community of practice). We can all ask each other questions and therefore, as well as learning from our lecturers we are also learning from our peers. This makes the environment alot more relaxed and allows people to maybe ask their friends questions instead of lecturers as sometimes they may feel like the questions they have sound silly so they are more comfortable asking their peers.
Obviously there is a hierarchal system that works as many students may know more than others, this gives them a certain amount of power where they can maybe answer more questions that fellow students have. Lecturers are also there to provide help and support when needed. They are there to help as they obviously want us to get the best grade possible. They are there to help us reach our ultimate goal which is a mjor part of a community of practice.
Also friendships are easily built up here where otherwie this may not happen. For example, if you have a question and open it up in the forum anyone can reply. This leads to communication between different groups of people which, in turn, could allow new friendships to develop and flourish in the future.
Obviously there is a hierarchal system that works as many students may know more than others, this gives them a certain amount of power where they can maybe answer more questions that fellow students have. Lecturers are also there to provide help and support when needed. They are there to help as they obviously want us to get the best grade possible. They are there to help us reach our ultimate goal which is a mjor part of a community of practice.
Also friendships are easily built up here where otherwie this may not happen. For example, if you have a question and open it up in the forum anyone can reply. This leads to communication between different groups of people which, in turn, could allow new friendships to develop and flourish in the future.
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Communties of Practice-Task 2- Organizational units
This leads on from what was previously said about hierarchy as i believe that although there has to be a certain amount of hierarchical structure within a community of practice (in order to allow people to learn there would have to be to a certain degree) there is a much more distinct hierarchy structure when it comes to organizational units. Organizational units are not necessarily there for people to learn (although they can be in some instances i.e. school) but are there to keep order where people may only be present because they need to be i.e. work, day-care, etc.
In order to look at this in more detail I am going to look at the example which I have just previously used which was day-care/after school care for children. In order to make sure children are safe and well looked after there has to be a more organizational and structured approach. Children can be loud, adventurous and boisterous and therefore it is with the best intentions that people looking after them have to have authority in order to keep them under control and keep them safe. If the carer took wenger's more "informal approach" the children may well become out of control and put themselves in danger. Also, in the organizational structure the carer's have been trained and therfore it is more of a job (most likely getting paid) to them compared to a hobby which it would be within a community of practice (the people who are there to teach may or may not get paid). These carer's therefore have more power and have more say over what the children can do than the children themselves.
Although, it can be said that the children will still be learning as they will be learning how to build relationships with other children their age and also how to build relationships with adults. Although this relates to a community of practice, this sort of relationship building is much more forced compared to a community of practice as the children arent choosing to be there like they would with a community of practice.
In order to look at this in more detail I am going to look at the example which I have just previously used which was day-care/after school care for children. In order to make sure children are safe and well looked after there has to be a more organizational and structured approach. Children can be loud, adventurous and boisterous and therefore it is with the best intentions that people looking after them have to have authority in order to keep them under control and keep them safe. If the carer took wenger's more "informal approach" the children may well become out of control and put themselves in danger. Also, in the organizational structure the carer's have been trained and therfore it is more of a job (most likely getting paid) to them compared to a hobby which it would be within a community of practice (the people who are there to teach may or may not get paid). These carer's therefore have more power and have more say over what the children can do than the children themselves.
Although, it can be said that the children will still be learning as they will be learning how to build relationships with other children their age and also how to build relationships with adults. Although this relates to a community of practice, this sort of relationship building is much more forced compared to a community of practice as the children arent choosing to be there like they would with a community of practice.
Friday, 14 March 2008
Communities of Practice - Task 1
I was interested in may things especially when i was younger and therefore could be considered to have been part of many "communities of practice" according to Lave and Wengers ideas. I was part of a swimming club community, theatre production community aswell as a singing and dance school. What Lave and Wenger stress is that even by just livng we become part of these communities of practice and that it is this that helps us to create friendship, memories and communicate with people with common interests.
This is how i believe many of our friendships and relationships are created. During my school days I was part of a singing community within my school where we would have singing lessons twice a week individually and altogether once a week for a whole afternoon. The whole process was to help lead us up to completing our graded singing exams. By including group sessions this helped build up confidence so that when I would enter the exam room I wouldnt be put off if there were more people than just my singing teacher present. Although this was the main objective of doing such a group task , the people who I sang with became my friends and we built relationships as we had this common hobby which we were interested in and we enjoyed reaching our goal of completeing our exam as we were all able to help each other.
We all joined at the same time as it was a yearly switch over which meant you had to take part for the full year, therefore there were no newcomers and all of us were therefore on equal footing allowing even stronger relationships to be produced.This process also allowed us to realise how our piers can help, especially if they have the experience in the community which you are interested in. This shows a sense of hierarchy which is common within these communities of practice especially when related to particular organisations where managers have a workforce to look after, etc. Although this isnt necessarily what wenger is saying as he is talking about small groups of individuals with common interests which is more like how i was part of a singing community. Im glad i became part of a particular community of practice as it provided me with alot more confidence, built realtionships which i still have to this day and most importantly I passed my singing exam with flying colours!!!!
We could also say that being here at university is part of a community of practice as we are all here to complete the ultimate goal of achieving a degree. There is a hierachy systems of the lecturers being knowledgable and therefore allowing us to learn as much as possible. This also shows that these communities dont necessarily have to be as small as wenger has pointed out although within the university there are also many smaller groups of people who will be interested in more personal topics (i.e a student who is part of the university community will also be part of the media community if thats what they study, etc).
This is how i believe many of our friendships and relationships are created. During my school days I was part of a singing community within my school where we would have singing lessons twice a week individually and altogether once a week for a whole afternoon. The whole process was to help lead us up to completing our graded singing exams. By including group sessions this helped build up confidence so that when I would enter the exam room I wouldnt be put off if there were more people than just my singing teacher present. Although this was the main objective of doing such a group task , the people who I sang with became my friends and we built relationships as we had this common hobby which we were interested in and we enjoyed reaching our goal of completeing our exam as we were all able to help each other.
We all joined at the same time as it was a yearly switch over which meant you had to take part for the full year, therefore there were no newcomers and all of us were therefore on equal footing allowing even stronger relationships to be produced.This process also allowed us to realise how our piers can help, especially if they have the experience in the community which you are interested in. This shows a sense of hierarchy which is common within these communities of practice especially when related to particular organisations where managers have a workforce to look after, etc. Although this isnt necessarily what wenger is saying as he is talking about small groups of individuals with common interests which is more like how i was part of a singing community. Im glad i became part of a particular community of practice as it provided me with alot more confidence, built realtionships which i still have to this day and most importantly I passed my singing exam with flying colours!!!!
We could also say that being here at university is part of a community of practice as we are all here to complete the ultimate goal of achieving a degree. There is a hierachy systems of the lecturers being knowledgable and therefore allowing us to learn as much as possible. This also shows that these communities dont necessarily have to be as small as wenger has pointed out although within the university there are also many smaller groups of people who will be interested in more personal topics (i.e a student who is part of the university community will also be part of the media community if thats what they study, etc).
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Website Analysis - Introduction (Part 1)
Heatworld.com is a popular entertainment website interested in looking at the daily celebrity news and gossip from around the world, although mainly in the UK. The website was a development from Heat magazine, a popular weekly entertainment magazine. This in itself shows how new media has advanced as such a website which needs to be kept up-to-date so often has only really been seen in recent years as technology has advanced (technological determinism). The website includes message boards, forums, competitions and much more which allow the user to interact on many different levels.
Celebrities and showbiz gossip have exploded and become immensely popular within today’s culture. Magazines line the newsstands weekly and with this have led the explosion of entertainment websites. Not only this but they allow the audience to interact with each other, allowing them to have discussions and feel like they believe they know what they are talking about when it comes to celebrities. The fact is, what they are saying is only their opinion, as what we read in the papers/magazines/websites can be purely fabricated.
Celebrities and showbiz gossip have exploded and become immensely popular within today’s culture. Magazines line the newsstands weekly and with this have led the explosion of entertainment websites. Not only this but they allow the audience to interact with each other, allowing them to have discussions and feel like they believe they know what they are talking about when it comes to celebrities. The fact is, what they are saying is only their opinion, as what we read in the papers/magazines/websites can be purely fabricated.
Website Analysis - Layout and Design (Part 2)
Firstly, what you automatically see is the homepage made up of the colours red, white and yellow. This colour theme is carried on from the magazine which spurred on the production of the website. The fact that they continue using the same colours means that the audience will automatically be drawn in and will feel comfortable in the surroundings of the website. Therefore the audience will feel more able to interact and more likely to tell other people about the website. The colours seem to be unisex attractive, which you would automatically consider to mean that they are trying to attract both male and female. I have seen some comments on stories that are from males but I have to admit that the majority are from women. Today’s culture shows males to be very masculine and strong otherwise they may be seen as ‘gay‘. Therefore a lot of men won’t want to connect themselves with celebrity gossip as it is a more female orientated subject compared to that of sport for example.
The layout of the website is very simple and easy to use. Headings for the different hyperlinks are across the top of the page with the up to date entertainment stories down the side. This allows the user easy access to the stories which they wish to read. This also allows the user to interact much more easily and switch from one page to another and therefore getting the most use out of the website. Once you have clicked on a news story there is a hyperlink at the bottom of the page to click on the next news story. This therefore means the user doesn’t have to keep going back to the homepage every time they need to read another story. This makes the website very easy to use and therefore may attract a lot more users.
The layout of the website is very simple and easy to use. Headings for the different hyperlinks are across the top of the page with the up to date entertainment stories down the side. This allows the user easy access to the stories which they wish to read. This also allows the user to interact much more easily and switch from one page to another and therefore getting the most use out of the website. Once you have clicked on a news story there is a hyperlink at the bottom of the page to click on the next news story. This therefore means the user doesn’t have to keep going back to the homepage every time they need to read another story. This makes the website very easy to use and therefore may attract a lot more users.
Website Analysis - Identity and Message Boards (Part 3)
As previously discussed within past blogs there are message boards after every entertainment story. These message boards allow the audience to get involved and it opens up discussions about particular articles. Although the discussions are meant to be about the particular articles in question, many discussions open up into full debates and arguments. Technological determinism is said to be “autonomous and the force which changes society” (http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/trinity/determin.htm) and has helped websites such as heatworld evolve and allow more interaction from the user. For example, the website has become much more like general social networking sites as people post back after each comment in relation to each other, not necessarily talking about the particular article in question but conducting a general conversation. This way of communicating also throws up this question of identity (a term coined by Professor Sherry Turkle)as no one can see each other and therefore you can be whoever you want to be. For example, if you’re very political minded and all your friends believe that it is stupid to believe and read in such celebrity news, then you can experiment with a new persona which other people on the forum/message boards will relate to. They can forget about everything their friends or current social network would think as no one else needs to know about it. They can be part of a virtual world that doesn’t have anything to do with the real world they live in.
Website Analysis - Produsers (Part 4)
As well as message boards there is also a general forum which lets users discuss about absolutely anything they wish to. Here, in particular, is where the user becomes a “produser” as they are making up the content that will be seen by all the users therefore making this part of the website particularly user-generated. This is where the ‘produser’ takes part in “the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement” (http://produsage.org/prod usage) I.e continuing an ongoing discussion about a particular topis in the forum.
Heatworld aren’t actually taking part in the discussions or even leading the discussions in particular way by asking certain questions, etc therefore meaning this section is completely lead by the users themselves. The fact that it is completely user- generated means that the user can feel comfortable knowing that they are totally free to talk about anything they want, with no restraints. This may be when we see futher where peoples opinions really shine through, as if people know they are never going to meet the people they’re talking to, they will be more inclined to let go which is when confrontations, disagreements and even arguments erupt.
Heatworld aren’t actually taking part in the discussions or even leading the discussions in particular way by asking certain questions, etc therefore meaning this section is completely lead by the users themselves. The fact that it is completely user- generated means that the user can feel comfortable knowing that they are totally free to talk about anything they want, with no restraints. This may be when we see futher where peoples opinions really shine through, as if people know they are never going to meet the people they’re talking to, they will be more inclined to let go which is when confrontations, disagreements and even arguments erupt.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)