The network in full swing. Photo: Adrian Miles
Throughout Networked Media I have utilised the blog to develop my skills in writing and actively participating in the network, that is networked media. Not only this, but it has been a platform for personal development and self-discovery. The experience has been an ultimately positive one, with only a few downsides. It is obvious that it is an appropriate style of learning for me.
My blog has been primarily used to reflect upon components of my study such as lectures (or “unlectures”), readings and tutorial activities and exercises. Although after developing confidence in writing and publishing online, it has taken on a broader and diverse range of personal interests and beliefs. This blogging has helped me to develop better habits in reflecting and noting my own behaviours and practices. It’s helped me to better notice the way I learn and process information. John Mason quotes Bateson in Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing, “the essence of noticing is being awake to situations, being mindful rather than mindless”, this mindfulness of how the world around me is developing, changing, progressing and behaving coupled with a greater self awareness of my own behaviour has developed important skills and habits that I feel have contributed to increasing my successfulness in the key areas of my life; personal relationships, study and overall happiness. Apart from these overarching life skills and personal developments, I feel as though my technical ability and skill in writing and networking is vastly improved, as well as my confidence. I have strived to write at least once a day in my blog, and generally post at least twice a day. By applying myself to these activities regularly and consistently I feel more confident in my ability to express myself and also in my literacy capabilities. Perhaps these are the rewards of endeavouring and diving into a process.
On the other hand, there have been a number of negatives – nothing major – that I have encountered by participating in the network. The main problem is the feeling of being disconnected despite being an active participant in the network. Although the problem may rest with my ability in itself, I feel as though I am not as closely connected to my peers within the network, as I would like to be. The reasons – a lot of others aren’t participating, which makes it hard to develop interactions. Although I shouldn’t rely on others to fuel my own link to the network, as this course is sort of thrusting the student into “the deep end” – so to speak- it is encouraging to have the support of your peers around you. There does not seem to be too much interaction between students, without the middleman developing a link (Networked media blog). That relates closely to the other issue I encountered initially, which was a lack of confidence. Not being confident by nature, I struggled to swim when I was thrown into the blog. Thanks to the ideas being shared by Adrian and the other tutors in the unlectures and tutorials, I have been able to develop my confidence and adapt my habits so that I can embrace challenges and change. Chris Argyris identifies Mode I behaviour as having an emphasis on control and defensiveness. I guess you can’t shoot the messenger; perhaps the negatives are developed on the back of my own inability to approach and manage challenges.
Perhaps what the blog has been most effective in is surprising me in regards to my own abilities. It’s taught me to understand what I’m good at and identify my passions. This, I feel, is a benefit of applying yourself in the best way possible to the task. By continuing my engagement with my writing skills and the network, I have caught glimpses into what interests me and how I express it. The recurring motifs, themes and ideas that I present in my blog posts have helped me to articulate my interests. I have a greater understanding of my passion. The way the blog impacted my confidence levels has caught me off guard more than anything in particular. Being someone who often lacks confidence, my ability to connected with strangers and express myself and my writing through blogging has surpassed my own expectations. It’s a medium that has helped me feel comfortable about my own writing, my own personality and the positive aspects of my character. As I have already discussed, it has benefitted me immensely in developing strong, positive habits as well as more adaptable behaviours and reflective practices. This is part of the reason why I intend to carry on making regular entries into my blog for the remained of semester and the future ahead.
I plan to keep my entries regular, hopefully on a daily basis. The reason for this is keeping myself engaged in the network, actively practicing my writing and skills as well as reinforcing positive habits and behaviours. I have found the blog to impact positively on my studies, and I think it will be a great way to manage my passion and interest in the future. As the traffic on my blog slowly picks up, I have found the next challenge in reaching a wider audience outside of my immediate social group, family and classmates. To achieve this, I will need to present content that is relevant and useful to people, as well as learn how to deliver it most effectively to these people. This is a challenge that I intend to take up over the next year and indefinitely into the future. Finally, one of the draw cards in maintaining a blog is the online presence it has not only helped me to create, but also taught me to maintain. In a future that revolves around technology this is ever-increasingly important as employers, colleagues and people around the world look to learn more about you through your “online footprint”. As Adrian states in Blogs in Media Education. “How you are recognised within the context of [the network] can be controlled by you through your blog.” My presence in both the online world, as well as my success in my own endeavours in life can both be managed and supported through the regular upkeep of this blog, and that is exactly what I intend to do.
Sources:
Smith, M. K. (2001) ‘Chris Argyris: theories of action, double-loop learning and organizational learning’, the encyclopedia of informal education,www.infed.org/thinkers/argyris.htm
Miles, Adrian. “Blogs in Media Education: A Beginning.” Australian Screen Ed 41 (2006): 66–9. Print. vogmae.net.au/vlog/research/network-literacies/blogs-in-media-education/
Mason, John. Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing. London: Routledge, 2002. http://vogmae.dropmark.com/133224/2127749