Journal #3: Social Media & Education
Friesen, N. (2010). Education and the social Web: Connective learning and the commercial imperative. First Monday, 15(12). doi:10.5210/fm.v15i12.3149
Friesen's article is a clearly negative critique of all social media in the classroom and for the purpose of learning in general. His chief argument is that structurally these social media resources are commercially driven and exist solely with the support - and for the benefit of advertisers. Much of the article compares this network structure to the existing advertising driven mass-media paradigm historically developed in television. While he does acknowledge the obvious difference that on social networks much of the content is user created, he insists that "by their very presence, advertisements show what is really important in a particular Web context. They indicate the “real social sources,” the true reason for the content provided" (Friesen, 2010). He goes on to discuss the lack of a forum for dissent in many social network sites, objecting to this as he believes dissent is an integral part of education.
I had a mixed reaction to his viewpoint. I agree with his analysis that these networks are profit-driven and this profit comes from advertising, not to mention a source he doesn't touch on extensively - outright selling of members' personal information. I also agree that the existing media sites Facebook and Twitter most likely have little use for the purpose of learning. I think this is primarily because there is very little depth to a posting, unless that posting is a link to an actual article.
Where I had issue with the article was his tendency to homogenize all social networks. Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Blogger all have completely different structures and potentials for learning. Take Blogger first: This service is owned by Google whose motivations may not be as altruistic as they would like us to believe - "do no harm"- however, this service and blogs in general have enormous potential for learning and peer communication. Youtube is clearly ad-driven as well and while we can all agree the content is a mixed bag, I think most would agree that there is high quality content to be found there. I have found a ton of useful information. Also, while I feel Facebook itself being, ad-driven is not the best choice for an educational network, there are similar spaces created for education that I do think are useful.
Q1: Do you think it is unethical for authors to chose to allow advertising in front of their educational or "how-to" Youtube content?
A1: No, I don't. As the creator of the content, it is their choice to take advantage of what small profits are available there. It is also the viewers choice whether to watch or not. This content can be costly and is in the least time consuming. I don't have a problem with these authors being compensated.
Q2: What steps can be taken to avoid contributing to media companies' profits while still taking advantage of the technology?
A1: I think open source resources are the best option if this is your goal. I am new to learning about the WordPress community, but think that this would be a great area to explore if blogging is your interest. I like the fact that your information is being stored locally and not on a corporation's servers.
I agree with your assessment on the article. For profit companies should not be excluded from being sources of material for education. If we can use it to educate people... why not?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think so. It just has to be decided on a case by case basis.
ReplyDeleteI sort of understand why some people would be against social media; some of the sites may not provide in depth knowledge to students. I think that’s why it is important for teachers to carefully choose the kind of technology that they want to incorporate into the classroom. They must ask themselves how it will positively contribute to their education.
ReplyDelete