Distance No Object
Gina's E-learning and Digital Cultures site – part of the MSc in E-learning at the University of Edinburgh
Views are expressed as part of a distance learning course on Digital Education Jan-April 2013
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Hi Gina
– What do you think the overarching themes are in your Pinterest? At the moment I’m reading it as I would have read a magazine – I like the inherent transliteracy in that – but not seeing mean making. It’s as though the relation between elements (semiotically) needs to be narrowed not widened to begin to create meaning, like beginning explicit in academic texts (would also like to have heard your voice).
hi Phil,
I don’t think I was trying to analyse a trend – to me doing the Pinterest was really a way of ‘listening’ to the voices. The style of the comments was mostly informal, and quite personal. A lot of participants were getting to grips with the vast numbers that have signed up to the course, the idea of ‘free education’ was certainly a repeating comment, and the welcome learning opportunities it could potentially bring.
My observation is more relating to the overwhelming amount of writing that is going on. The style of writing, and the challenge for non-English speakers must be a consideration. Some entries are quite long and covering several points. Visually, I would say the forum is a challenge. Anyone who wants to participate must be motivated to keep reading the spectrum of topics covered although following one strand of the comments, familiar names start to appear, so there is a sense of community.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the appearance of a Dutch speaking group, who were actually commenting on brushing up on their writing in English. I promptly joined in for the reason I enjoyed reading their Dutch…
Anyway, interesting and anything beyond my imagination, I must admit.
The landscape of your presentation is really interesting. I am not too familiar with Pintrest. I know of it but have never used it myself. On my commute home from work late last night I spent time thinking about the structure your presentation. I love the way in which the comments appear as part of the presentation itself contributing to an evolution and growth in the presentation’s shape. Each individual segment looked at a specific aspect but the nature of the presentation platform kept all of these units connected – [a little like the way an orange is structured!] A great read.
great way of describing it, indeed like an orange! I had used Pinterest before, but changed the application by just using images rather than the full web references. It is very easy to use I think, and in view of a pressed timetable last week I unfortunately did not get a chance to play around with any of the other platforms. I found the other samples of our fellow students very inspiring
A few of us asked provoking questions in our artefacts, but Pinterest seems by far the best way to actually start a conversation!! Just out of curiosity, because the comments appear within the pinboard itself, do you think that changes how you think of it as an artefact–I guess I mean, do you think of it as ‘yours’ as much as you did when you first created it, or even as the same ‘thing’? (I just find this interesting as we’re all collecting stuff from around the web that mostly isn’t ‘ours’, and then the pinboard has the added complexity of other people’s comments…)
hi Candace,
I quite like applications that invite ‘dialogue’, but initially it was more a way for me to gauge visually what was going on, so I could make sense of it. So it was more to visualise my internal dialogue, but I quickly realised that other people may want to give their views too… There are a lot of comments, but still, considering 40,000 have signed up, it could have been many more!
I do feel ownership, but just relating to the idea. The comments and associated images are ‘out there’…. I was pleased that people enjoyed the application and will be using it in their own settings. I think that is what a MOOC is all about, at least for me… The same can be said for all the other digital artefacts everyone on the course did. They are great exemplars for learning.
My added complication is that some visitors decided to follow me, but I feel I don’t I have much else to add. I consider the Pinboard ‘closed’ and I think it will just consolidate… Strangely, the pinboard space has now separated from the forum and, I wonder why people commented on the board and perhaps not in the forum. I didn’t actually compare and it would take some time to check this out. Could it be relating to the nature of the engagement with the platforms and the visuality of one vs. the other perhaps?
For those that have decided to follow the board I feel I should keep posting, but I rather pin on the other board (which I had started a few weeks ago) and no one commented here, although a few started following.
Pinterest is such a versatile visual platform, suited to many different needs, and for this task it did exactly what it said on the tin.
This Pinterest board you have created is amazing, especially so to revisit it after a week. It has opened up dialogues and discussions, as noted by Candance, more than other platforms. I wonder though is this because Pinterest is more widely used, particularly, with every other tool, users need to create an account to post? But I also think the selection of images is critical. They drive the response, and the engagement you have with those who posted. I will certainly give Pinterest a go for my next post.
I think Pinterest touches upon something that is very deep and very human: the hunter/gatherer instinct, with the focus of course on ‘gathering’ . It is such an easy platform, literally just a click or two and you have the start of a collection.
The image collection can be very personal, it reminds me of the old fashioned collection (stamps, stickers, matchbox cars, badges, pokemon cards…)
It’s quite fascinating (thanks Phil for starting hat topic on your blog!). When I discovered that some followers have thousand of pins, it must be a near obsession. Perhaps here is a very thin line crossed…?