Research in distance education show a positive relationship between sense of community and learning among adults. To some adult learners, there is more to online learning than the fulfillment of academic work. From a socio-cultural perspective, learning in a virtual community is also about the expression of online selves, identity construction and building a sense of community.
Building a sense of community is a constant challenge at the UP Open University (UPOU), the first tertiary level institution in the Philippines to offer distance education programs to adult learners in the graduate and undergraduate levels. Its current student population engage in online academic courses through UPOU's Moodle-based learning management system. While there are small packets of extra-curricular discussion sometimes encouraged by individual faculties-in-charge, UPOU has yet to explore other platforms to harness involvement and participation among its community members, most especially the students. This is where the UPOU Community Site comes in. The UPOU Community Site is one distinct virtual community developed and maintained by a faculty member outside the course domain. This site was created to cater to students, alumni, faculty and staff who feel there is more to being part of UPOU than just the studies, work and research.
But what does the UPOU Community Site truly mean to these adult learners who manage to sustain online and offline engagements through this virtual community? This case study purposely narrated the development of the UPOU Community Site from the perspective of its current users who care enough to maximize it as a tool and platform for program improvements, community building activities and interaction. Through narrative inquiry, this study was able to surface varied meanings a select group of adult learners attach to this virtual community. The study examined how faculty members and students express their online selves, construct their identities and engage in community building activities outside their usual academic coursework. The study aimed at making explicit the nature of this virtual community's growing sense of community in order to arrive at possible directions it can pursue for it to thrive.
The study significantly provided evidence as to how a virtual community can become a valuable platform to extend the online world of adult learners in order to contribute to an open university’s evolving community of practice. As this qualitative research grounded itself on an interpretive-critical paradigm, the study was able to draw out possible goals and strategies from adult learners-site members in order to sustain engagements among its current users as they continue to take part in building and nurturing a sense of community with the larger population of UPOU adult learners it hopes to reach.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Framing New Questions Here
So, I need to do this once again lest I get lost in the rubble of existing theories.
My questions:
1) What does the UPOU community site mean to its current users/ adult learners?
2) Do adult learners get a sense of community through the site?
3) In what way can this virtual community evolve into or contribute to a community of practice within UPOU?
Layers of Review of Research:
-virtual community: what does current research say about how adult learners use and make meaning out of a virtual community outside an online learning community?
-adult learners and sense of community: what does current research say about how valuable a sense of community is among adult learners? is it automatic in an online learning community?
-communities of practice: how does it evolve? what can be explicitly done for a virtual community to evolve into a community of practice?
Gray areas which I need to clarify:
-will this be ethnography or phenomenology?
-will narrative inquiry work as data gathering method?
My questions:
1) What does the UPOU community site mean to its current users/ adult learners?
2) Do adult learners get a sense of community through the site?
3) In what way can this virtual community evolve into or contribute to a community of practice within UPOU?
Layers of Review of Research:
-virtual community: what does current research say about how adult learners use and make meaning out of a virtual community outside an online learning community?
-adult learners and sense of community: what does current research say about how valuable a sense of community is among adult learners? is it automatic in an online learning community?
-communities of practice: how does it evolve? what can be explicitly done for a virtual community to evolve into a community of practice?
Gray areas which I need to clarify:
-will this be ethnography or phenomenology?
-will narrative inquiry work as data gathering method?
One Missing Piece
I know that there is somewhere.
My thinking patterns when it comes to doing my research in the past was like this:
I have data grounded on my everyday practice or experiences.
Then I have this need to document it to make it worth sharing to others.
Ideas and reflections of the practice go around my head and I feel that perhaps if I write about these, I would feel some kind of release and that hopefully, when I see it written down and read it, it becomes valid. All the more if somebody else reads it or listens to my presentation, then I realize, that my experience does make sense.
In the process of writing the research, I look for ways and means to elevate the way I look at the data based on my experiences. Or perhaps look at the data from another point of view where I can remove myself from the experience, analyze the experience, and go back to my practice with a different way of looking at the experience.
My EDDE 206 provided me with an opportunity to understand from a more conceptual and intellectual stance this process which I have gone through and will continue to go through as a grad student. However, in my need to figure out this QUALI Research, I need some hooks--a structure which I can fit into my thoughts and in the process find connections to my prior experiences and ideas of doing research. I need some kind of graphic organizer or skeleton so that every time I read, I can classify it or sort in some part of my brain.
It wasn't enough that I read the required readings and concentrated on 2 books I borrowed from the library. Now I borrowed 2 more. While reading research to form some kind of theoretical frame, I am also chancing upon research methods and ideas related to quali research. I do need time and I am allowing myself this time to do it. I think I needed that 1 semester to break into the distance ed mode and oil my brains once again to get into a focused mode. I felt a bit bad about myself for not pulling through and so deserved my EXT. However, I do feel a lot better as now, I have more freedom to take hold of my time, and choose topic worth pursuing over the original one.
Looking back, I think I got stuck with the methods. My initial questions were about metanalysis vs document analysis vs content analysis. I got fixated with the technicalities. I think I panicked, and thought that "perhaps my previous researches were not valid and if these were not valid howcome these were published. What did I do wrong? And I can't commit the same mistakes in the future! I have to do this next paper much better than the previous one."
But at least I got on concrete learning--the idea of research paradigms.
That's major light bulb!
Another one is this: that quali research concerns itself with meanings--the search
for it, the making sense of it, the ways of looking at it, and given these, what can be done once meanings are arrived at. That isn't a light bulb yet in my experience. But it's a switch I need to remember.
In the same way that I have to hold this close as a reminder to myself: go back to my research questions. I can easily get swayed while reviewing previous research but I always have to dig deep into my thoughts and ask: What are your questions Aleta?
Why these questions? What do you want to arrive at? Why is it important?
This process of learning I am going through I liken to be like an ongoing conversation in my brain. I know that at some point I will need my teacher to enter and perhaps tell me that this is what I've made sense so far.
Now, all the above fit in perfectly with this figure I chanced upon a book, details of which are as follows:
Book title: Conceptualizing and Proposing Qualitative Research
Author: Thomas H Schram
Publisher: Pearson Education, NJ Year 2006, page 21
"This chapter invites you to experience the creative discomfort of working from a fuzzy concern toward a researchable aim. It directs attention to what it means to pose a researchable problem and how you meaningfully engage a topic of inquiry" (p.21).
This is about engaging in a sense of a problem then moving towards a refined definition of a problem.
Ain't that a good piece to summarize my thoughts today.
It is fine to have a missing piece or missing pieces. It is all part of the process otherwise what will drive me to complete this.
My thinking patterns when it comes to doing my research in the past was like this:
I have data grounded on my everyday practice or experiences.
Then I have this need to document it to make it worth sharing to others.
Ideas and reflections of the practice go around my head and I feel that perhaps if I write about these, I would feel some kind of release and that hopefully, when I see it written down and read it, it becomes valid. All the more if somebody else reads it or listens to my presentation, then I realize, that my experience does make sense.
In the process of writing the research, I look for ways and means to elevate the way I look at the data based on my experiences. Or perhaps look at the data from another point of view where I can remove myself from the experience, analyze the experience, and go back to my practice with a different way of looking at the experience.
My EDDE 206 provided me with an opportunity to understand from a more conceptual and intellectual stance this process which I have gone through and will continue to go through as a grad student. However, in my need to figure out this QUALI Research, I need some hooks--a structure which I can fit into my thoughts and in the process find connections to my prior experiences and ideas of doing research. I need some kind of graphic organizer or skeleton so that every time I read, I can classify it or sort in some part of my brain.
It wasn't enough that I read the required readings and concentrated on 2 books I borrowed from the library. Now I borrowed 2 more. While reading research to form some kind of theoretical frame, I am also chancing upon research methods and ideas related to quali research. I do need time and I am allowing myself this time to do it. I think I needed that 1 semester to break into the distance ed mode and oil my brains once again to get into a focused mode. I felt a bit bad about myself for not pulling through and so deserved my EXT. However, I do feel a lot better as now, I have more freedom to take hold of my time, and choose topic worth pursuing over the original one.
Looking back, I think I got stuck with the methods. My initial questions were about metanalysis vs document analysis vs content analysis. I got fixated with the technicalities. I think I panicked, and thought that "perhaps my previous researches were not valid and if these were not valid howcome these were published. What did I do wrong? And I can't commit the same mistakes in the future! I have to do this next paper much better than the previous one."
But at least I got on concrete learning--the idea of research paradigms.
That's major light bulb!
Another one is this: that quali research concerns itself with meanings--the search
for it, the making sense of it, the ways of looking at it, and given these, what can be done once meanings are arrived at. That isn't a light bulb yet in my experience. But it's a switch I need to remember.
In the same way that I have to hold this close as a reminder to myself: go back to my research questions. I can easily get swayed while reviewing previous research but I always have to dig deep into my thoughts and ask: What are your questions Aleta?
Why these questions? What do you want to arrive at? Why is it important?
This process of learning I am going through I liken to be like an ongoing conversation in my brain. I know that at some point I will need my teacher to enter and perhaps tell me that this is what I've made sense so far.
Now, all the above fit in perfectly with this figure I chanced upon a book, details of which are as follows:
Book title: Conceptualizing and Proposing Qualitative Research
Author: Thomas H Schram
Publisher: Pearson Education, NJ Year 2006, page 21
"This chapter invites you to experience the creative discomfort of working from a fuzzy concern toward a researchable aim. It directs attention to what it means to pose a researchable problem and how you meaningfully engage a topic of inquiry" (p.21).
This is about engaging in a sense of a problem then moving towards a refined definition of a problem.
Ain't that a good piece to summarize my thoughts today.
It is fine to have a missing piece or missing pieces. It is all part of the process otherwise what will drive me to complete this.
The Word Community
My first job was at...COMMUNITY of Learners
My MA degree was COMMUNITY Development
My specialization was COMMUNITY Practice
I managed to work as an area coordinator with an indigenous COMMUNITY
in a resettlement.
Alongside this job, I did COMMUNITY-based training for daycare workers.
My first job at UP was as a COMMUNITY Extension Specialist.
After I gave birth to my first child, I worked in the Beacon School Community.
Now I am part of the UPOU COMMUNITY, and most of all, a Platinum Boarder at
the UPOU COMMUNITY SITE.
Btw, the first words my son played around was the word COMMUNITY.
He'd attempt to spell out the word, any word like this: "...I-N-K-S-P-....COMMUNITY"!
My MA degree was COMMUNITY Development
My specialization was COMMUNITY Practice
I managed to work as an area coordinator with an indigenous COMMUNITY
in a resettlement.
Alongside this job, I did COMMUNITY-based training for daycare workers.
My first job at UP was as a COMMUNITY Extension Specialist.
After I gave birth to my first child, I worked in the Beacon School Community.
Now I am part of the UPOU COMMUNITY, and most of all, a Platinum Boarder at
the UPOU COMMUNITY SITE.
Btw, the first words my son played around was the word COMMUNITY.
He'd attempt to spell out the word, any word like this: "...I-N-K-S-P-....COMMUNITY"!
Why Write when I can Co-write
The initial idea of this study I must say was a product of serendipity.
I think I started seriously thinking about writing something related to distance ed sometime September when Pat Arinto, a co-fac at FEd, emailed me about a possible paper presentation for the DE Colloq series. She asked my however for something related to the SS program. I wasn't ready to do that as it didn't fit the goals of the colloq series and primarily the SS program. The greater need then was to fix the SS program. What was immediate to my thoughts then was something about the comm site. However, I felt that if there was one person who can rightfully write a paper about the Comm Site, it was not I but another co-fac, Al Librero of FICS.
But of course, being an active member at the site, I also had ideas brewing in my brain and it was more because I wanted to share to my co facs how the site has helped me as PC to figure out ways to improve the AA program. What held me back was the thought that perhaps my views were highly subjective as admittedly I am one of the most active members hence from the very start my purposes for engagement were clear then a few goals evolved while I was in the thick of interacting with students. I ask myself...Are my views valid enough? Do other students see the site in the same way I do? Does the site moderator share the same views? Am I the only one making this kind of meaning regarding the Comm Site?
And so I let it rest...only to find out, it did not deserve to rest.
Primo asked for an article for Chancy's mag-type year end publication.
This paper idea popped once again. The good thing about it is Primo, a research guru like Mam Jean, was most encouraging. I also emailed Mam Jean to consider this paper idea to be part of my completion of EDRE 206. She said yes. Now the last layer of approval is a potential co-writer, the veteran site moderator ( as he himself coined this term to refer to himself).
But then why co-write? I just felt that the best person to introduce and narrate the development of the site is the author himself. I am but a humble user who is indebted to the author. In the same way that if students do agree to jump with me on this, then they themselves are the best people to share their narratives.
What was a bit surprising is this: in the whole time (let's say a year) that the comm site was evolving into what it is now, it never crossed my mind that the site moderator/author himself had his own concerns/ pursuits. Only because I dared to ask and solicit his support that the idea of this became clearer and perhaps was meant to be. Librero, surprisingly, was curious over student use of moodle, vs community site, vs. much more and how students are connected. Therefore I realized that my initial ideas in this paper could be part of a possible and even bigger research pursuit he was aiming for.
Hmmm....the things one can chance upon over online exchanges! Aha!
The idea of co writing isn't new to me. I've done this once and almost 2x with Ani Almario. For me, it was a good way of validating classroom practices and ideas. I managed to do the review of lit on my own and I had my own paper. She had her own working outline of a paper. We met and merged our ideas...and there you go. But Ani and I had prior working relations, with a strong F2F foundation.
While I have not worked directly with Al, there lies a question as to whether this co writing will in fact work. I am not sure about how he works but I simply have to trust him that when he says yes, he means yes. I simply have to adjust to his work style.
Now if this doesn't work out, then it doesn't...such as it is.
But, it should be worth a try as long as I know my limitations and I am aware that I am determined to write this paper. And well, the abstract acceptance is one indicator that this paper is in fact worth our time and effort.
I think I started seriously thinking about writing something related to distance ed sometime September when Pat Arinto, a co-fac at FEd, emailed me about a possible paper presentation for the DE Colloq series. She asked my however for something related to the SS program. I wasn't ready to do that as it didn't fit the goals of the colloq series and primarily the SS program. The greater need then was to fix the SS program. What was immediate to my thoughts then was something about the comm site. However, I felt that if there was one person who can rightfully write a paper about the Comm Site, it was not I but another co-fac, Al Librero of FICS.
But of course, being an active member at the site, I also had ideas brewing in my brain and it was more because I wanted to share to my co facs how the site has helped me as PC to figure out ways to improve the AA program. What held me back was the thought that perhaps my views were highly subjective as admittedly I am one of the most active members hence from the very start my purposes for engagement were clear then a few goals evolved while I was in the thick of interacting with students. I ask myself...Are my views valid enough? Do other students see the site in the same way I do? Does the site moderator share the same views? Am I the only one making this kind of meaning regarding the Comm Site?
And so I let it rest...only to find out, it did not deserve to rest.
Primo asked for an article for Chancy's mag-type year end publication.
This paper idea popped once again. The good thing about it is Primo, a research guru like Mam Jean, was most encouraging. I also emailed Mam Jean to consider this paper idea to be part of my completion of EDRE 206. She said yes. Now the last layer of approval is a potential co-writer, the veteran site moderator ( as he himself coined this term to refer to himself).
But then why co-write? I just felt that the best person to introduce and narrate the development of the site is the author himself. I am but a humble user who is indebted to the author. In the same way that if students do agree to jump with me on this, then they themselves are the best people to share their narratives.
What was a bit surprising is this: in the whole time (let's say a year) that the comm site was evolving into what it is now, it never crossed my mind that the site moderator/author himself had his own concerns/ pursuits. Only because I dared to ask and solicit his support that the idea of this became clearer and perhaps was meant to be. Librero, surprisingly, was curious over student use of moodle, vs community site, vs. much more and how students are connected. Therefore I realized that my initial ideas in this paper could be part of a possible and even bigger research pursuit he was aiming for.
Hmmm....the things one can chance upon over online exchanges! Aha!
The idea of co writing isn't new to me. I've done this once and almost 2x with Ani Almario. For me, it was a good way of validating classroom practices and ideas. I managed to do the review of lit on my own and I had my own paper. She had her own working outline of a paper. We met and merged our ideas...and there you go. But Ani and I had prior working relations, with a strong F2F foundation.
While I have not worked directly with Al, there lies a question as to whether this co writing will in fact work. I am not sure about how he works but I simply have to trust him that when he says yes, he means yes. I simply have to adjust to his work style.
Now if this doesn't work out, then it doesn't...such as it is.
But, it should be worth a try as long as I know my limitations and I am aware that I am determined to write this paper. And well, the abstract acceptance is one indicator that this paper is in fact worth our time and effort.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Draft 3
Here is abstract draft 3 which I just emailed to my co-writer, Librero.
I am still awaiting for any response though I got an initial heads up...that YES he is willing to write this paper with me.
I tweaked the first version of the abstract based on Primo's suggestions.
Here goes:
As follows is crude outline of prospective portions of the paper.
Intro:
-the place of virtual community in an online learning environment of adult learners
-the UPOU community (stats)
Background:
-a narration of the development UPOU Community site
Statement of Aims
-to describe how adult learners of UPOU make use of UPOU Community Site
-to examine meanings attached by adult learners to this virtual community vis a vis a growing sense of community
-to investigate the whether in fact there is a growing sense of community among current site users
-to draw out important recommendations in order for members to sustain engagement in this site and build connections with the larger population the virtual community hopes to reach
Research Questions:
-How do adult learners make use of the UPOU Community Site?
-What does this virtual community mean to active users of the site?
-Does this site truly contribute to adult learners' sense of community?
-In what ways can it work towards building a community of practice in UPOU?
Methodology
-quali
-phenomenology
-interpretive-critical
Theoretical Frame:
-community of practice
-sense of community
-online self
-virtual community
I am still awaiting for any response though I got an initial heads up...that YES he is willing to write this paper with me.
I tweaked the first version of the abstract based on Primo's suggestions.
Here goes:
Brief Intro to UPOU
The University of the Philippines Open University is the first tertiary level institution which caters to ______________________________
It maintains an online learning community of adult learners in the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Brief Intro: The UPOU Community Site
Alongside engagement in these online academic courses, students also engage in virtual communities outside their virtual course sites. One distinct virtual community is the UPOU Community Site, developed and maintained by a faculty member of the university.
This site aims to____________________________
It was created solely for___________________________
Though considered as an unofficial site, this virtual community is currently used by a mixed group of students and faculty members who care enough to maximize it as a tool and platform for program improvements, community building activities and virtual interaction.
What the paper intends to do:
This paper narrates the development of a virtual community site from 3 perspectives: a faculty-member-site moderator, 3 student-adult learners, a faculty member-program chair. This select group of community members have managed to sustain online engagements with fellow students through this site. This paper examines how members find meaning and relevance to their identities as members of the UP Open University through this virtual community. The paper describes how site users engage in this virtual community to meet certain ends: academic, and interactive. It also looks into how the virtual community supports other online and offline experiences adult learners are initiating to build a sense of community alongside academic responsibilities as members of the UPOU community.
The Paper's potential contribution
The paper significantly surfaces nuances, potential and possibilities for this virtual community to contribute to an evolving community of practice in the UP Open University. Maintaining a virtual community outside online course sites is valuable to these adult learners as they search for their identity and sense of belonging within the university. Through the UPOU Community Site, ongoing virtual exchanges go beyond the usual academic work and student affairs. Faculty members and students are able to express their online selves and eventually nurture genuine connections with each other. The paper suggests possible goals and roles active members can take in order to sustain engagements among users and continue to build connections with the larger population of UPOU adult learners it hopes to reach.
As follows is crude outline of prospective portions of the paper.
Intro:
-the place of virtual community in an online learning environment of adult learners
-the UPOU community (stats)
Background:
-a narration of the development UPOU Community site
Statement of Aims
-to describe how adult learners of UPOU make use of UPOU Community Site
-to examine meanings attached by adult learners to this virtual community vis a vis a growing sense of community
-to investigate the whether in fact there is a growing sense of community among current site users
-to draw out important recommendations in order for members to sustain engagement in this site and build connections with the larger population the virtual community hopes to reach
Research Questions:
-How do adult learners make use of the UPOU Community Site?
-What does this virtual community mean to active users of the site?
-Does this site truly contribute to adult learners' sense of community?
-In what ways can it work towards building a community of practice in UPOU?
Methodology
-quali
-phenomenology
-interpretive-critical
Theoretical Frame:
-community of practice
-sense of community
-online self
-virtual community
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Self Check 1
I realized that I should just go by my own process of writing research.
I think that's where the confusion came from while I was doing EDRE 206.
It was structured in a way which was different from my way of doing research.
BUT, the point is, I am here to learn. I go back to my goal of why I enrolled in this course.
Beyond what the course guide stipulates, I chose this course because this was the only possible means for me to beef up on Quali Research.
Am I meeting my goals? YES.
Am I meeting the course goals? Not exactly but I will get there. I think because my mind is up to something and the greater need is to satsify that over satisfying the course requirements. But if I adjust my ways, I will be able to comply with my TMA's. So the plan is to get over a few portions of the paper...then back track to do the TMA's.
As an afterthought, I should have relayed this earlier on to my FIC. It's just that I was a bit cautious or played safe. But now that Mam Jean has responded to my request, then that solves a few things already.
So here I am, moving on to doing a review of lit.
It's one of my favorite parts for the following reasons:
1) I enjoy searching for journal and research articles and the feeling of "WOWhhh, what a good find!"
2) I love it when a paper matches exactly what I need.
3) I learn how other researchers structure their papers.
4) I get to trace the "major" sources which most researchers refer to.
5) Now I have a new goal: to look at the paper's theoretical frames...nax!
This is still fun and exciting.
Btw, thanks to Ebscohost and QualR List, FQS and google search.
I think that's where the confusion came from while I was doing EDRE 206.
It was structured in a way which was different from my way of doing research.
BUT, the point is, I am here to learn. I go back to my goal of why I enrolled in this course.
Beyond what the course guide stipulates, I chose this course because this was the only possible means for me to beef up on Quali Research.
Am I meeting my goals? YES.
Am I meeting the course goals? Not exactly but I will get there. I think because my mind is up to something and the greater need is to satsify that over satisfying the course requirements. But if I adjust my ways, I will be able to comply with my TMA's. So the plan is to get over a few portions of the paper...then back track to do the TMA's.
As an afterthought, I should have relayed this earlier on to my FIC. It's just that I was a bit cautious or played safe. But now that Mam Jean has responded to my request, then that solves a few things already.
So here I am, moving on to doing a review of lit.
It's one of my favorite parts for the following reasons:
1) I enjoy searching for journal and research articles and the feeling of "WOWhhh, what a good find!"
2) I love it when a paper matches exactly what I need.
3) I learn how other researchers structure their papers.
4) I get to trace the "major" sources which most researchers refer to.
5) Now I have a new goal: to look at the paper's theoretical frames...nax!
This is still fun and exciting.
Btw, thanks to Ebscohost and QualR List, FQS and google search.
A Good Start, maybe?
Primo- a co fac was the first to listen to my ideas.
He was supportive of my intention and in fact, asked me to write an article for Chancy's mag-type publication.
So here's a product of that exchange...a way for me to briefly state what the UPOU community site meant to me:
The UPOU Community Site has helped me in many ways as Program Chair and a member of the UPOU community in general. For one, this virtual site allowed me to interact with students differently. I see the site members as representatives of the current undergrad population and the grad students to some extent. Some have shared pieces of themselves which I think I would not have known on an ordinary day at the LC. Getting a feel of their online selves all the more allowed me to think of ways to make their stay at UPOU worth it.
I would sometimes have ideas in my brain as I interact face to face with fellow faculty members. Then I'd go to the site to give the students a pinch. There were light and funny posts about "Weird and Fun PE classes" and still earnest ones such as "Looking Back, Moving Forward" and "Volunteer Work: Anyone?". Students can be really quick to bite. I get immediate feedback to plan for things which I think they need or will be really good for them. These plans, of course materialized after further discussions with faculty members. Now, I'm glad to say that we have PE Hatha Yoga, Walking for Fitness and CWTS, bits of which were a product of interaction with students at the site. It really is a good platform to validate initial ideas, gather data, and work for program improvements.
The site is also a good way to tickle brains, raise consciousness and try to get students involved in matters beyond their usual course work. I've witnessed interesting exchanges with them about these topics: Student Org/ Governance at UPOU, AA as Backdoor Entry, Suggested BA Degrees, Online Grades Submission.
The site is also like a playground for me. Sometimes I use it as a motivation to do better work--I look forward to making 'tambay' because I know I deserve it after doing a bunch of admin related-paperwork. In between responding to worries and queries via email, I take a break in this virtual tambayan to breathe fresh air. While at it, I find students needing to breathe out as well with a few complaints and assertions which I try listen to.
Most importantly, I also see the site as a means of building our history as a community of real people. Through the site, I've made little steps to facilitate community building among the students who bother to use it and spread the word on latest events and ways to get involved. A few well meaning activities I was able to do with different groups of students came in assorted flavors: from groundworking and mobilizing for a AA General Assembly/ Fellowship, and the memorable Centennial Lantern Parade, to a cozy field trip to National Museum. Through the site, we learned about the possibility of participating in the Student Regent election and we managed to pilot run an online election for UPOU students. We were also able to pull a few and able volunteers for the Biomodd project. The site documented slices of all these initiatives from both students and reliable faculty members who cared to respond...all these to identify with the "university of the people".
The site has yet to reach the larger community of faculty, staff and students. As it is, the community site in itself is an interesting find, officially unofficial hence a _____________ nuance which makes me all the more wonder about puzzle pieces that make up who we are as UPOU beyond the usual and expected academic work. Life in UPOU is not simply about accessing information, but accessing what people can share about themselves.
What have you learned from these experiences in terms of making students feel that they're part of a larger community?
I'd have to admit that I had a major struggle early on as faculty member. I found the work environment indifferent. I am not used to working in a cubicle isolated from the rest of my co-workers. I guess some students feel the same way as first timers both in UP and in a virtual classroom. I chanced upon the site while googling LB-based co facs (Mam Jean, Mam Fe, Sir Primo, Sir Luna and Sir Al) and the rest was history. I was glad enough to know that somebody cared enough to set it up for students and I simply picked up on it at time when I was almost giving up on the AA's. And so I think, that's what the site did for most of us members who care enough to connect with others at UPOU. Some may just drop by, some choose to stay, some lurk, still there are some who bother to share big chunks at one time and come back after a few months. But in moments these people are in this virtual tambayan, they bother to connect in their own special way.
At best, the site simply allows us to simply 'BE' as we continue to define our rules and create a culture we can claim as truly ours . With that comes looking at and questioning one's views in the light of others' views--be it crazy, warm, funny, green-ish, deep, weird, foolish, laughable, extreme...you name it. THAT, ultimately is being human the U.P. way! Care enough to join us?
He was supportive of my intention and in fact, asked me to write an article for Chancy's mag-type publication.
So here's a product of that exchange...a way for me to briefly state what the UPOU community site meant to me:
The UPOU Community Site has helped me in many ways as Program Chair and a member of the UPOU community in general. For one, this virtual site allowed me to interact with students differently. I see the site members as representatives of the current undergrad population and the grad students to some extent. Some have shared pieces of themselves which I think I would not have known on an ordinary day at the LC. Getting a feel of their online selves all the more allowed me to think of ways to make their stay at UPOU worth it.
I would sometimes have ideas in my brain as I interact face to face with fellow faculty members. Then I'd go to the site to give the students a pinch. There were light and funny posts about "Weird and Fun PE classes" and still earnest ones such as "Looking Back, Moving Forward" and "Volunteer Work: Anyone?". Students can be really quick to bite. I get immediate feedback to plan for things which I think they need or will be really good for them. These plans, of course materialized after further discussions with faculty members. Now, I'm glad to say that we have PE Hatha Yoga, Walking for Fitness and CWTS, bits of which were a product of interaction with students at the site. It really is a good platform to validate initial ideas, gather data, and work for program improvements.
The site is also a good way to tickle brains, raise consciousness and try to get students involved in matters beyond their usual course work. I've witnessed interesting exchanges with them about these topics: Student Org/ Governance at UPOU, AA as Backdoor Entry, Suggested BA Degrees, Online Grades Submission.
The site is also like a playground for me. Sometimes I use it as a motivation to do better work--I look forward to making 'tambay' because I know I deserve it after doing a bunch of admin related-paperwork. In between responding to worries and queries via email, I take a break in this virtual tambayan to breathe fresh air. While at it, I find students needing to breathe out as well with a few complaints and assertions which I try listen to.
Most importantly, I also see the site as a means of building our history as a community of real people. Through the site, I've made little steps to facilitate community building among the students who bother to use it and spread the word on latest events and ways to get involved. A few well meaning activities I was able to do with different groups of students came in assorted flavors: from groundworking and mobilizing for a AA General Assembly/ Fellowship, and the memorable Centennial Lantern Parade, to a cozy field trip to National Museum. Through the site, we learned about the possibility of participating in the Student Regent election and we managed to pilot run an online election for UPOU students. We were also able to pull a few and able volunteers for the Biomodd project. The site documented slices of all these initiatives from both students and reliable faculty members who cared to respond...all these to identify with the "university of the people".
The site has yet to reach the larger community of faculty, staff and students. As it is, the community site in itself is an interesting find, officially unofficial hence a _____________ nuance which makes me all the more wonder about puzzle pieces that make up who we are as UPOU beyond the usual and expected academic work. Life in UPOU is not simply about accessing information, but accessing what people can share about themselves.
What have you learned from these experiences in terms of making students feel that they're part of a larger community?
I'd have to admit that I had a major struggle early on as faculty member. I found the work environment indifferent. I am not used to working in a cubicle isolated from the rest of my co-workers. I guess some students feel the same way as first timers both in UP and in a virtual classroom. I chanced upon the site while googling LB-based co facs (Mam Jean, Mam Fe, Sir Primo, Sir Luna and Sir Al) and the rest was history. I was glad enough to know that somebody cared enough to set it up for students and I simply picked up on it at time when I was almost giving up on the AA's. And so I think, that's what the site did for most of us members who care enough to connect with others at UPOU. Some may just drop by, some choose to stay, some lurk, still there are some who bother to share big chunks at one time and come back after a few months. But in moments these people are in this virtual tambayan, they bother to connect in their own special way.
At best, the site simply allows us to simply 'BE' as we continue to define our rules and create a culture we can claim as truly ours . With that comes looking at and questioning one's views in the light of others' views--be it crazy, warm, funny, green-ish, deep, weird, foolish, laughable, extreme...you name it. THAT, ultimately is being human the U.P. way! Care enough to join us?
Scattered Pepper Thoughts
Good that Ma'am Jean decided to support my change of topic and change of plan.
She also put emphasis on quali research as searching for 'meanings'.
Putting here my initial ideas:
Aims of the Study:
--to narrate the development of UPOU Community site
-to describe the nature of online usage among adult-member-learners
-to draw out valuable roles and future goals of the site in building a true sense of community among its current and prospective members it hopes to reach
Research Questions:
Research Questions:1) How does the UPOU Community Site continue to evolve as a tool/ platform among adult learners of the UP Open University?2) How do current adult members make use of this site as a tool/ platform to meet their ends?3) What future potential and possibilites can this virtual community take in order to encourage engagements from the wider population of adult learners of the UP Open University?
Draft Abstract:
The UP Open University is a university with geographically dispersed students from diverse backgrounds. It maintains a virtual learning community which caters to adult learners in the graduate and undergraduate levels. Alongside engagement in these online academic courses, students also engage in virtual communities. One distinct virtual community is the UPOU Community Site, developed and maintained by a faculty member of the university. Though considered as an unofficial site, this virtual community is currently used by a small but mixed group of students and faculty members who care enough to maximize it as a tool/ platform for program improvements, community building activities and online socialization. This paper narrates the development of a virtual community site from 3 perspectives: a faculty-member-site moderator, 3 student-adult learners, a faculty member-program chair. Through this site, members have managed to sustain engagements which spill over online and off line experiences alongside their academic responsibilities as members of the UPOU community. This paper examines how members engage in this virtual community to meet certain ends: academic, and interactive. The paper significantly surfaces nuances, potential and possibilities among its end users. It recommends possible roles members can take in order to facilitate and sustain engagements in the light of building a true sense of community amongst the larger population of UPOU adult learners it hopes to reach.
She also put emphasis on quali research as searching for 'meanings'.
Putting here my initial ideas:
Aims of the Study:
--to narrate the development of UPOU Community site
-to describe the nature of online usage among adult-member-learners
-to draw out valuable roles and future goals of the site in building a true sense of community among its current and prospective members it hopes to reach
Research Questions:
Research Questions:1) How does the UPOU Community Site continue to evolve as a tool/ platform among adult learners of the UP Open University?2) How do current adult members make use of this site as a tool/ platform to meet their ends?3) What future potential and possibilites can this virtual community take in order to encourage engagements from the wider population of adult learners of the UP Open University?
Draft Abstract:
The UP Open University is a university with geographically dispersed students from diverse backgrounds. It maintains a virtual learning community which caters to adult learners in the graduate and undergraduate levels. Alongside engagement in these online academic courses, students also engage in virtual communities. One distinct virtual community is the UPOU Community Site, developed and maintained by a faculty member of the university. Though considered as an unofficial site, this virtual community is currently used by a small but mixed group of students and faculty members who care enough to maximize it as a tool/ platform for program improvements, community building activities and online socialization. This paper narrates the development of a virtual community site from 3 perspectives: a faculty-member-site moderator, 3 student-adult learners, a faculty member-program chair. Through this site, members have managed to sustain engagements which spill over online and off line experiences alongside their academic responsibilities as members of the UPOU community. This paper examines how members engage in this virtual community to meet certain ends: academic, and interactive. The paper significantly surfaces nuances, potential and possibilities among its end users. It recommends possible roles members can take in order to facilitate and sustain engagements in the light of building a true sense of community amongst the larger population of UPOU adult learners it hopes to reach.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Why It Could Not Work...but What Can
I got an EXT for my quali research course at UPOU.
I take responsibility for that entirely.
This is a chance for me to reflect why so.
I mean I do love studying now in grad school--it was never like that in my undergrad years.
My fave course is EDUC 390 Independent Study. Took it twice cuz it allowed me to meaningfully work on papers I WANT to do and not because of some kind of course fulfillment to comply with.
The idea here is for us students to work on our current research interests--work on these alongside listening to other's work on theirs so you get this feeling that all of you are in the same boat and you have people to bounce ideas with. I was just lucky enough to be with classmates who came from different fields--a doctor of medicine, an expert in the field of hospitality management, a school director, a Dean from another tertiary level institution, another Dean from U.P. But we have a common interest--research and curriculum.
And so we did work on our papers, organized a forum to present these. I was fortunate to have my papers presented in another forum and published later on.
I had these prior experiences to back me up.
Then here goes my course at UPOU.
What a downer...a downer cuz I was excited and enthusiastic only to find myself doubting myself whether in fact I got what it takes to understand research-- qualitative research at that.
My course tasked us students to come up with a research project in the end.
So here I am again, grappling through all the terms--confusing myself as usual.
I managed to lurk for days at different times throughout the course.
I didn't read through most of my classmates posts so as not to get more confused.
I got fixated with books on quali research and I am still in a state of disequilibrium.
I know what quali research is--its purposes.
I learned about paradigms.
I have done a case study.
I am confused about--design vs methodology vs forms of research.
How is a research project diff from a research proposal?
Howcome I've done 3 papers without going through a proposal?
Where is narrative in the scheme of things?
I need a concept map--and a clear one to classify these once and for all.
I am interested in virtual hs only to find out I have topics closer to home I would like to write about. I should settle this once and for all.
I will rule out virtual HS--it may be interesting but not immediate.
I will do virtual communities--it is interesting, new, immediate and practical.
I take responsibility for that entirely.
This is a chance for me to reflect why so.
I mean I do love studying now in grad school--it was never like that in my undergrad years.
My fave course is EDUC 390 Independent Study. Took it twice cuz it allowed me to meaningfully work on papers I WANT to do and not because of some kind of course fulfillment to comply with.
The idea here is for us students to work on our current research interests--work on these alongside listening to other's work on theirs so you get this feeling that all of you are in the same boat and you have people to bounce ideas with. I was just lucky enough to be with classmates who came from different fields--a doctor of medicine, an expert in the field of hospitality management, a school director, a Dean from another tertiary level institution, another Dean from U.P. But we have a common interest--research and curriculum.
And so we did work on our papers, organized a forum to present these. I was fortunate to have my papers presented in another forum and published later on.
I had these prior experiences to back me up.
Then here goes my course at UPOU.
What a downer...a downer cuz I was excited and enthusiastic only to find myself doubting myself whether in fact I got what it takes to understand research-- qualitative research at that.
My course tasked us students to come up with a research project in the end.
So here I am again, grappling through all the terms--confusing myself as usual.
I managed to lurk for days at different times throughout the course.
I didn't read through most of my classmates posts so as not to get more confused.
I got fixated with books on quali research and I am still in a state of disequilibrium.
I know what quali research is--its purposes.
I learned about paradigms.
I have done a case study.
I am confused about--design vs methodology vs forms of research.
How is a research project diff from a research proposal?
Howcome I've done 3 papers without going through a proposal?
Where is narrative in the scheme of things?
I need a concept map--and a clear one to classify these once and for all.
I am interested in virtual hs only to find out I have topics closer to home I would like to write about. I should settle this once and for all.
I will rule out virtual HS--it may be interesting but not immediate.
I will do virtual communities--it is interesting, new, immediate and practical.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
If you Give a Mouse a Piece of Paper...
...you'll never see the end of it. There's paper on my bed, paper under your bed, paper-cut ups on my antique dresser, more paper on our sala, paper scraps on the sofa, paper on the dinner table. Then you got upset when I told you to clean up your mess. Mostly, you were utterly delighted with your paper creations. This week's neat finds: 2 swords, paper planes and fans with doodles, a mustache you taped right below your nose, a plastic food container you stuffed with paper and tape, then labelled it with words only you can understand. I almost forgot, your paper avatar cards. Sooooo much paper around the house. May ents haunt you in your dreams... may you meet a mousegirl who's messier than your nanay so you'd clean up after her. In the meantime, may I nibble your ears. It's looking like cheese these days.
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