We were asked to explore, again, so of the tools available to us. By this point in the course, I think I have forgotten exactly what I have signed up for!
Anyway a quick look at the following:
Delicious (storing and sharing favourite urls)
Diigo (caching or archiving web content – can file urls, categorise them, comment)
Flickr (managing content – can share photos, send to blogs, comment or tag)
What skills or eliteracies might be required to use these services effectively?
With each of these tools there is an assumed amount of knowledge and internet access and also a need to create a account to use. These are not simple tools to use in my opinion, they take a certain degree of competence in using web tools.This could be done through orientation,or by using something like Elluminate and sharing a browser to take people through step by step. Once again, I found that they looked really interesting but that I didn’t have time to fully utilise them. The other thing I struggle with is that often I will use my work PC in my break to have a browse – but I am not allowed to download any software without the IT department’s authorisation, so often I cannot add links to Delicious as quickly as I would like. So if I have difficulty, no doubt my learners would too.This could have a huge impact on whether they would engage with an activity.
There is also the subject of ‘tagging’. Having started using a content management system for our website at work, this really is an evolutionary process. How do I tag content so that it is useful to me as well as others(in order to make it colloborative). Also, I suffer from putting things in a ‘safe’ place in real life, and I think there is a possibility that this could happen with my tagging – and me forgetting which words I used. It takes time to truly use these tools in a useful way, and this would need to be taken into consideration.
To what extent are the services able, or not able, to support and sustain meaningful exchanges or learning conversations?
As with many online tools, they could be useful as a ‘learning object’ or within a well designed activity. There has to be clear guidelines on aims, objectives and involvement of learners. Using the tools as an individual, I am not sure they have any merit in encouraging learning conversations. I have yet to engage with anyone else while looking for files on delicious. Within the framework of a planned activity, with external support then it may be useful. Certainly when researching for projects or sharing investigations then the tools could prove very useful.
What educational issues are raised by these social tools; e.g. issues of trust, authenticity, self-disclosure or informal learning?
There are more issues to consider when using these tools with young people than adults. The fact that they need an account means that there are issues with who can and can’t sign in. However I work with adults, so will focus from that arena. Again, the assumption that the adults will be happy to create an account is important.
The book marking sites by their nature record what you have bookmarked, and employ cookies where toolbars are downloaded. Diigo say they do not record browsing history, but most of these services link through yahoo or google, and so there will be a certain amount of tracking as this is how they monitor and improved the service they provide. As with all online resources. As learners I do not think there is much self-disclosure between each other, it is the third party service providers who have personal data. This would be different with the sharing of photos. As the OU does, there is a need to inform people of what and how these tools can be used, and awareness that there may be some students who won’t use them.
How could I use these tools?
I can think of instances where each of these tools could be used for an activity within a learning framework. Where training involves topics that are generally widespread, eg, leadership skills, there could be scope for learners to conduct their own investigation and share the content they have discovered. In particular I think these would be useful for trainers to link to each other and build up their resources – provided that the systems they already have are ineffective.
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