scholarly journals Social Media for Informal Learning: a Case of #Twitterstorians

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Kumar ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Information Share ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Online Environments ◽  
Nuanced Understanding

Open, online environments like social media are now a mainstay of life-long informal learning. Social media like Twitter help people gather information, share resources, and discuss with other participant-learners with similar interests. This paper seeks to test and validate the ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema in the context of discussions on Twitter, an approach first developed for studying learning communities on Reddit. The schema considers how participant-learners are leveraging social media to facilitate self-directed informal learning practices, exploratory dialogue, and communicative exchanges. We apply the coding schema on a sample of tweets (n=594) from the History Twittersphere community (#Twitterstorians) to provide a more nuanced understanding of the different kinds of discursive practices, resource exchanges, and ideas being shared and communicated outside traditional classroom settings.

scholarly journals Social Media for Informal Learning: a Case of #Twitterstorians

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Kumar ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Information Share ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Online Environments ◽  
Nuanced Understanding

Open, online environments like social media are now a mainstay of life-long informal learning. Social media like Twitter help people gather information, share resources, and discuss with other participant-learners with similar interests. This paper seeks to test and validate the ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema in the context of discussions on Twitter, an approach first developed for studying learning communities on Reddit. The schema considers how participant-learners are leveraging social media to facilitate self-directed informal learning practices, exploratory dialogue, and communicative exchanges. We apply the coding schema on a sample of tweets (n=594) from the History Twittersphere community (#Twitterstorians) to provide a more nuanced understanding of the different kinds of discursive practices, resource exchanges, and ideas being shared and communicated outside traditional classroom settings.

scholarly journals Learning in the wild: coding for learning and practice on Reddit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Haythornthwaite ◽  
Priya Kumar ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Sarah Gilbert ◽  
Marc Esteve Del Valle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Online News ◽  
Exploratory Talk ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
News Sharing ◽  
Answering Questions ◽  
Analysis Schema

Learning on and through social media is becoming a cornerstone of lifelong learning, creating places not only for accessing information, but also for finding other self-motivated learners. Such is the case for Reddit, the online news sharing site that is also a forum for asking and answering questions. We studied learning practices found in ‘Ask’ subreddits AskScience, Ask_Politics, AskAcademia, and AskHistorians to develop a coding schema for informal learning. This paper describes the process of evaluating and defining a workable coding schema, one that started with attention to learning processes associated with discourse, exploratory talk, and conversational dialogue, and ended with including norms and practices on Reddit and the support of communities of inquiry. Our ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema contributes a content analysis schema for learning through social media, and an understanding of how knowledge, ideas, and resources are shared in open, online learning forums. Keywords: informal learning, social media, coding, content analysis, Reddit

scholarly journals Learning in the wild: coding for learning and practice on Reddit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Haythornthwaite ◽  
Priya Kumar ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Sarah Gilbert ◽  
Marc Esteve Del Valle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Online News ◽  
Exploratory Talk ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
News Sharing ◽  
Answering Questions ◽  
Analysis Schema

Learning on and through social media is becoming a cornerstone of lifelong learning, creating places not only for accessing information, but also for finding other self-motivated learners. Such is the case for Reddit, the online news sharing site that is also a forum for asking and answering questions. We studied learning practices found in ‘Ask’ subreddits AskScience, Ask_Politics, AskAcademia, and AskHistorians to develop a coding schema for informal learning. This paper describes the process of evaluating and defining a workable coding schema, one that started with attention to learning processes associated with discourse, exploratory talk, and conversational dialogue, and ended with including norms and practices on Reddit and the support of communities of inquiry. Our ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema contributes a content analysis schema for learning through social media, and an understanding of how knowledge, ideas, and resources are shared in open, online learning forums. Keywords: informal learning, social media, coding, content analysis, Reddit

Engaging Students with Mobile Technologies to Support Their Formal and Informal Learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 84-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Ciussi ◽  
Gill Rosner ◽  
Marc Augier
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Digital Natives ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Formal And Informal Learning ◽  
Classroom Education ◽  
Students Attitudes

This article explores “Y generation” students’ attitudes to mobile technologies in the context of education, and use of podcasts on their handhelds in particular. Our intention is to investigate how students use mobile devices to support their formal and informal learning practices. One of the “big issues” in mobile learning that we address here is the co-existence of personal informal learning and traditional classroom education. After conducting an experiment and a survey, we conclude that the diversity of student attitudes toward using podcasts in education means that we are in the time of “in between years.” Learning “any time/anywhere” and “digital natives” prove to be a myth for many. The current challenge for podcasting in education is to move from information transmission to knowledge construction and sharing within a formal setting.

scholarly journals Learning in the Wild: Coding Reddit for Learning and Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Kumar ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Caroline Haythornthwaite ◽  
Sarah Gilbert ◽  
Marc Esteve del Valle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Traditional Education ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Exploratory Talk ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
In The Wild

This paper introduces a ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema, an approach developed to support learning analytics researchers interested in understanding the different types of discourse, exploratory talk, and conversational dialogue happening on social media. The research examines how learner-participants (‘Redditors’) are leveraging subreddit communities to facilitate self-directed informal learning practices on the social networking site. The coding schema is tested and applied across four ‘Ask’ subreddit communities (‘AskHistorians’, ‘Ask_Politics’, ‘askscience’, ‘AskAcademia’). The research brings attention to how knowledge, ideas, and resources are being shared and supported outside the confines of traditional education and professional environments.

M-Learning and Y Generation

2013 ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
Melanie Ciussi ◽  
Gill Rosner ◽  
Marc Augier ◽  
Gabriele Suder
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Formal And Informal Learning ◽  
Classroom Education ◽  
Students Attitudes

This chapter explores “Y generation” students’ attitudes to mobile technologies in the context of education, and use of podcasts on their handhelds in particular. The authors’ intention is to investigate how students use mobile devices to support their formal and informal learning practices. One of the “Big Issues” in mobile learning that the authors address here is the co-existence of personal informal learning and traditional classroom education. After conducting two experiments and a survey, they conclude that the diversity of student attitudes towards using podcasts in education means that they are in the time of “in between years”. Learning “anytime/anywhere” and “digital natives” prove as yet to be a myth for many. The current challenge for podcasting in education is to move from information transmission to knowledge construction and sharing within a formal setting.

M-Learning and Y Generation

2011 ◽  
pp. 266-280
Author(s):  
Melanie Ciussi ◽  
Gill Rosner ◽  
Marc Augier ◽  
Gabriele Suder
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Formal And Informal Learning ◽  
Classroom Education ◽  
Students Attitudes

This chapter explores “Y generation” students’ attitudes to mobile technologies in the context of education, and use of podcasts on their handhelds in particular. The authors’ intention is to investigate how students use mobile devices to support their formal and informal learning practices. One of the “Big Issues” in mobile learning that the authors address here is the co-existence of personal informal learning and traditional classroom education. After conducting two experiments and a survey, they conclude that the diversity of student attitudes towards using podcasts in education means that they are in the time of “in between years”. Learning “anytime/anywhere” and “digital natives” prove as yet to be a myth for many. The current challenge for podcasting in education is to move from information transmission to knowledge construction and sharing within a formal setting.

Beyond participation to co-creation of meaning: mobile social media in generative learning communities

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lewis ◽  
Roy Pea ◽  
Joseph Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Generative Learning ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Participatory Media ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Landscape ◽  
Media Applications

Digital social media is dramatically changing the social landscape and the ways in which we understand ‘participation’. As youth embrace these dynamic yet highly scripted forms of mediated social interaction, educators have struggled to find ways to harness these new participatory forms to support learning. This article considers the interactive structures and frameworks that underlie much of ‘Web 2.0’ participatory media, and proposes that theories of social learning and action could greatly inform the design of participatory media applications to support learning. We propose engaging the potential of mediated social interaction to foster ‘generative learning communities’ and describe an informal learning social media application under development known as ‘Mobltz’ — embracing concepts of ‘mobile media blitz’ with the intentional emphasis on the syllable ‘mob’. The application is an attempt to bring guidance from what social science knows about learning and human development to craft interactional affordances based on sharing of meaning and experiences.

scholarly journals Learning in the Wild: Coding Reddit for Learning and Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Kumar ◽  
Anatoliy Gruzd ◽  
Caroline Haythornthwaite ◽  
Sarah Gilbert ◽  
Marc Esteve del Valle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Traditional Education ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Exploratory Talk ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
In The Wild

This paper introduces a ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema, an approach developed to support learning analytics researchers interested in understanding the different types of discourse, exploratory talk, and conversational dialogue happening on social media. The research examines how learner-participants (‘Redditors’) are leveraging subreddit communities to facilitate self-directed informal learning practices on the social networking site. The coding schema is tested and applied across four ‘Ask’ subreddit communities (‘AskHistorians’, ‘Ask_Politics’, ‘askscience’, ‘AskAcademia’). The research brings attention to how knowledge, ideas, and resources are being shared and supported outside the confines of traditional education and professional environments.

scholarly journals Uncovering the low-profile #MeToo movement: Towards a discursive politics of empowerment on Chinese social media

2021 ◽  
pp. 205943642110314
Author(s):  
Xiao Han
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Chinese Context ◽  
Feminist Politics ◽  
Low Profile ◽  
Potential Possibility ◽  
Collective Reading ◽  
Discursive Politics ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Chinese Social Media

In China, a few posts related to #MeToo movement survived and remained online well after its peak and the state’s response in July 2018. This article proposes a theoretical framework that pays attention to discursive meaning-making and employs a broad notion of empowerment, referred to as ‘empowerment through discourse’, in order to offer a more nuanced understanding of the low-profile #MeToo movement in the Chinese context. This framework is used to analyse a corpus of uncensored #MeToo material, which appeared on Chinese social media. This article combines a discourse analysis of these posts and interviews with feminists from activist collectives to critically examine feminist empowerment by reflecting on survivor/victim narration and storytelling practices, digital media’s capacity to facilitate critical dialogue between witnesses and survivors/victims and activist collectives’ organising role in opening up a dialogic space for collective reading, listening and healing. These reflections lead to broader considerations on how notions of empowerment can spur collective action and structural change. In short, this article demonstrates the potential possibility of discursive change and reflects on this mode of feminist politics as a way to speak to empowerment in the Chinese context.

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