The Culture of Context
So the question before us is can Blogs be adapted for use along the lines of LO's, that is, as small reusable pieces of digitized knowledge? If we use blogs as LO's, as storehouses for our knowledge, and we use blogs to be with others by sharing our thoughts and ideas, we need to consider how those acts relate to our identity as an academician or administrator. In short, we need to consider the culture in which these acts take place.
Learning objects in their current incarnation (that is, not counting pamphlets as little books, or books as little LO's or...well, you get the idea, this is about digital LO's), are new, and thus the culture of LO's is still forming. But we do know that it is borrowing from the technology culture, and all that that entails - with who's and what's in and who's/what's out, not cool, or from the Evil Land of Giant Software Company. Blogs are new - again, in this current incarnation, not paper journals or letters or handbills nailed to doors - and these too suffer or benefit from the inescapable connection to the technology culture.
Culture as a whole is always evolving and along with it the rules of participation, but it is always best considered within the context of its own time and its own space. What is accepted today was not accepted for 1900, but it wasn't an overnight process. On the other hand, cultural change is fast, faster, fastest in the tech area. But the rest of our social structures that guide our business and academic practices do not change as fast. If we are to tap into or even discover the potential that blogs hold for use as learning objects, we need to look at the culture in which we work. Culture is context. Does the culture at your institution support the idea of blogging? do you have time to experiment and explore? are reward systems in place for sharing the new and different?
Learning objects in their current incarnation (that is, not counting pamphlets as little books, or books as little LO's or...well, you get the idea, this is about digital LO's), are new, and thus the culture of LO's is still forming. But we do know that it is borrowing from the technology culture, and all that that entails - with who's and what's in and who's/what's out, not cool, or from the Evil Land of Giant Software Company. Blogs are new - again, in this current incarnation, not paper journals or letters or handbills nailed to doors - and these too suffer or benefit from the inescapable connection to the technology culture.
Culture as a whole is always evolving and along with it the rules of participation, but it is always best considered within the context of its own time and its own space. What is accepted today was not accepted for 1900, but it wasn't an overnight process. On the other hand, cultural change is fast, faster, fastest in the tech area. But the rest of our social structures that guide our business and academic practices do not change as fast. If we are to tap into or even discover the potential that blogs hold for use as learning objects, we need to look at the culture in which we work. Culture is context. Does the culture at your institution support the idea of blogging? do you have time to experiment and explore? are reward systems in place for sharing the new and different?
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