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I am currently employed at Hertford Regional College as a Media Lecturer.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Task 3b: The Networked Professional


When reading “Reader 3: The Networked professional”, it made me understand the psychological differences within the “Social Mind”. This has allowed me to compare all of the psychological differences between what I do within my networking.

The definition of professional network within this document, alone, gave me a great insight.

“A work related community held together by either close working affiliation or more distant but common work interests or needs”.

The theory of “affiliation” was an interesting concept and made me establish in which situations I tend to network more and what levels of “affiliation” I require.

I use “Facebook” and “Twitter” on a daily basis and as stated in previous blog posts, these are used mainly for personal networking. When deciphering the extent of my usage of both of these forms of social networking, I tend to use them a great amount when I am alone. This is linking to the extract from “Crisp, J & Turner, R. (2007), pages 266-268) which begins on page 6 of the reader. This is my mind choosing when I need to “Affiliate” or seek some form of human contact.

If I am at work, I tend to use a more formal way of networking (as stated in task 3a), therefore affiliating on a professional basis and whereas my mind is in a “working” mindset, the psychological need for human contact is minimal, however there are occasions where I check my social networks throughout the day, however, not to the extent that I would if I was on my own.

Reading further on through the reader to the “Social Constructionism” section (this begins on page 8), I found that I very rarely include this theory in any of my social networking posts, however I come across people that have, however, due to confidentiality I cannot share these but, I have seen posts that state only one meaningless word or sentence and it is not until I read the comments other people have left on the post, that I fully understand the story.  Referring to the extract “Crotty, M. (2005) pages 42-44” and the part where it states:

“In the constructionist view, as the word suggests, meaning is not discovered but constructed. Meaning does not inhere the object, merely waiting for someone to come upon it”.

My “working network” differs from “social network” when it comes to “Social Constructionism”. There may be occasions when some information is passed over to me, or I pass some information and it is not until questions are asked, or more information is added, that the full story is constructed and understandable.
“Connectivism” was the main section of the reader that I was struggling understanding the nature of theory. After reading several blog posts, I have come to the understanding that it is based upon learning from others.  

Connectivism is the concept of continual learning and learning from othersKelly Everitt”

As I work in education, I try to encourage learners to work together when trying to solve a technical problem with a piece of equipment they may be using. I also try to get them to share any experiences they may have that can help them develop their mindset of their futures.

After trying to get to grips with this theory and once I research into it more, I am aiming to set up some form of “Network” that will allow the students to share their experiences (similar to the way that we are doing on BAPP), also allowing me to post things that would be helpful to them.

“Communities of practice” is a theory that I feel is used within my work place all of the time. This part of the reader refers to:

“Members of a community of practice, whether work place, special interests, virtual or of any other form, come together because of mutual interest and generate a shared experience of engagement in the community of practice” (Page 16 of the reader).

There are several occasions that this theory is used, in particular, if there is a “Creative Education” course that is funded by the college I work for, everybody on that course has a significant interest in the subject at hand, this leads to discussion and a professional relationship being established within the group.

The theories within this reflection have allowed me to identify different ways in which I use professional network and extract some psychology from this.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Dan

    I am really interested in your idea of setting up a 'network' for your students. How are you going to go about doing it? Are you thinking in terms of blog like BAPP or a Facebook page? Or do you have another strategy altogether???

    The process of blogging has really made me rethink about everything I do in my practice. It has allowed me to explore my own thoughts and the thoughts of others. What do you hope to achieve from creating this new network for your students??

    Kelly

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  2. Hi Kelly

    I was thinking along the lines of a"Blogspot" sort of thing, I just think this would help them showcase their work with their fellow students and get used to the idea of a more public display... this will also make them think more about what they are doing within their work and always trying to better it (as they know it will be able to be viewed publicly).

    They will also be able to benefit from feedback from other students... like what we do on BAPP.

    As I am Media based I tried creating a youtube channel for the department here at the college, but for some strange reason IT wouldn't allow it, so I think this is the way forward and will bring wider interaction between the groups of students.

    We already have a college facebook page that our marketing department created, but they are in control of what goes on it and they only seem to show work that is almost flawless, but I feel that if everything is perfect then how are the students going to learn from it.

    We already showcase the work at screenings held at the college and the students give feedback this way, but I think blogging is the way forward! :D

    Dan

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