Since the beginning of this module I knew that this blog was providing a radically different experience than the blog I used in IDEL. Having watched it take shape over the last few months, ebbing and flowing against the tides of offline life, the end is nearing, finality beckoning. On reflection, time itself was instrumental in shaping this difference, created through interaction and the establishment of community.

The blog interaction nourished through feedback and comment has helped to establish our EDC community. Totally aware that all posts are available in the mainstream the intimacy of our group number provided the feeling of being present within a safe, secure environment. Confidence gained through posting within this social network resulted in more confident posting as time progressed.

The community element played a role in how and what I posted. The social aspect embedded as core within the EDC blog meant that feedback and comment were anticipated and readily welcomed. Knowledge sharing was an underlying byproduct of interaction resulting in constant learning and awareness of new topics and technologies. This would not have been as achievable outside of a community based framework.

For my micro-ethnography I decided to study a Nirvana/Grunge Rock You Tube community. Access to the ethnography is available here and EDC comments are listed below.

I had settled on the idea of looking at a grunge community for my ethnographic study. I must admit that I have found it pretty difficult to pick an online community for this activity.

After some pondering I think that one of the main reasons why this has been so difficult is simply down to the personal life structure that I exist in…a lot of my interests and activities are individual based.  Whole segments of my hobbies / interests do not involve anybody else. The ones that do tend to be face-to-face. This is neither bad nor good…it just is! My limited experience of community had shaped the decision making process in pin-pointing a study option. Bell’s (2001) Community and Culture helps to draw lines of distinction between subcultures and communities, suggesting that virtual community structure requires that  participants ‘imagine’ or self-identify with being part of the community itself.

This has got me wondering about how far common interest might be stretched to encompass this imagining?

“C’mon people now / smile on your brother /everybody get together/ try to love one another right now”

Territorial pissings – Nirvana [Nevermind] 1991

While I am certain that it is this common ground that pulls the group of individuals together I’m unconvinced that it is sufficient to create a community. How an online grunge grouping fits this description is still unclear to me. the common ground box is definitely there but how far this progressed to create community is not fully clear. I need to read and think further on this …

• It makes me wonder if I would feel differently about the MOOC if it had been part of the module framework from day one?

• Has this shift from few to many had an instrumental impact on how I view the MOOC?

In scheduling the MOOC several weeks into the course, the participants are eased into the concept and practice of the MOOC. This also emphasizes the size and power of the giant classroom.

My experience of this change in class numbers  from <10 to >10,000+ left me in a ‘transitional’ phase, mostly getting my head around the diversity and vastness offered by the MOOC , participants and content.

I think that for me this period of transition was invaluable. In order that I could grasp MOOC concepts it needed to be a standalone feature and most importantly it needed that group dynamic shift to help in my interactions with, perception of and placement of the MOOC.