I have found it enriching to open channels whereby others can communicate their feelings, their private perceptual worlds, to me. (Carl Rogers, from On Becoming a Person, Part I)

At Carnegie College, we use Facebook on a daily basis. Rather than restrict its use we encourage students to get involved. There are groups set up for each class and all students have embraced it. As a result of this, some students have sent friend requests to staff, such as myself which I have duly accepted.

Yesterday, my colleague Colin Maxwell made the following post in a group of leaders in learning technology.

Colin's Facebook post which started this debate

Knowing Colin, I think he just wanted to spice up the group up a little but it was a valid question and I am in the process of writing up a survey to collate information as a series of graphs with a conclusion

So here are some of the main responses from staff and education leaders:

 I went down the personal account road for a while mainly because I didn’t get Facebook and the way Social Media is used by my students, that lasted all of a month or so and this is my only account, I have lists set up but don’t even use them. I like the idea of Google+ circles, but if you want to share a set of holiday snaps with family why not set up a Picasa or Photobucket album and make it private. Anyway, once I understood the whole social media concept, I quite enjoy the banter and I “personally” feel it has broken down many barriers between myself and my students and one of the main contributors to the rapport I have with them…

… Having tried to make people do stuff with technology and their teaching practice for years. At the start I couldn’t understand why staff wouldn’t do things that were obviously much better……then I realised it’s only obvious to a few people who are naturally adventurous and outgoing. And that staff can be fantastic teachers in all sorts of ways. I think there is space in the world for all sorts of people, including those who don’t want to teach using Facebook or even technology…..isn’t that what diversity is all about? Shouldn’t we be teaching tolerance and accepting others? What about shy people or people who are naturally private….should they not join the profession? It takes all sorts and the young people need to know that too.

None of these , I just feel it is more professional to separate my private life form my work life. Keeping my private life form my students has never prevented me from developing a rapport with them which I agree is essential in teaching.

… Someone would need to explain to me how seeing all the posts on my ‘home’ Facebook from friends and family would in any way enhance the learning experience! Do learners really need that level of information to feel they have some kind of rapport with me?

Another element to this – do we show our ‘real’ personalities in all interactions or do we behave differently in different situations? I’ve got Spotify linked to my other FB profile; I post comments, messages and links to friends overseas. Can’t imagine that it would be very interesting to many of my friends here.

It’s good to have students on Facebook but it should be separate accounts to avoid confusion and remain professional. Relationships with them should be made on a personal ‘face to face’ basis, spending time… though I can see the benefits for people who struggle with that i.e. students on the Autistic Spectrum who often find it more comfortable to use technology.

My pal, also a lecturer likes Led Zeppelin. He shared some YouTube links on Facebook & his students had a new found respect for him which led to a better rapport in the classroom. Suddenly there was some common ground.

Some really interesting points here! I know at least one lecturer who does not believe in building rapport with students and will say so publicly but research shows building rapport is crucial to effective learning. Why do we let teachers do their own thing (even if research shows it to be bad) once they close the classroom door? No other profession operates in that manner.

There is certainly a “generation gap” type divide between educators and students and again I put it down to a misunderstanding of today’s youth culture and the way they use and interpret social media combined with a fear of technology and not knowing how to use it efficiently. I am a private person (believe it or not) but around 200 of the 252 people on my friend list are students or ex-students, the rest are family and friends. I have lists set up so that if I choose i can post to family only, friends only or students only but as I say they are never used.

Interesting! I switched and went with just one account a couple of years back, which mixes lots of different groups of people I interact with including students. Figure I can be myself all the time and know I can still learn as much from students. Flip side is also there – not all students want staff on their friends list, preferring to keep their rants, social activity, etc away from staff (which of course is also a free choice!)

I posted the following question on the wall of my ONLY Facebook account, were having a little debate about this in college, what do you think about having a tutor on your friend list, does it build rapport?? Is it a pain?? If so why?

Within an hour, on my wall and the class groups I had 65 replies, here are a selection of the main points raised…. By students:

I think it really should be up to the tutor themselves if they are okay with students having their own personal Facebook on your friends list & if they’re okay with it then there’s no reason why not to add their personal account

I think it’s a really good, makes it easier to learn when its less formal

I don’t see why not. Then you can talk to them about other stuff other than college work.

I think it helps as they can bring up things that perhaps they wouldn’t say/do face to face. With personal or work accounts it’s a matter of opinion really I don’t mind either really as long as the tutor is on hand….

It does total depend on how you use it, I don’t mind as Facebook is a bit of fun and I never use it for anything serious and I’m conscious of the information I put up. It can sometimes be embarrassing too having family, parents, tutors etc when you have friends like mine who like to post pictures of you for a laugh.

If you are on friendly terms with a student I see no problem. As a tutor though I could see more potential conflicts with the right to say what you want and what your employers might not want to hear. That said I’ve never grassed up Graeme for dressing up in rubber and playing Call of Duty with a bunch of sweaty men of a weekend. As someone on my friends list, what he gets up to in his free time isn’t college businesses.

Quite a discussion developed in only an hour – I guess that demonstrates the power of social media.

I think it’s the way forward, being able to get in quick contact with tutors for guidance or rapid course assistance is very handy and also it does build up some familiarity and banter between tutors and students!

Having a lecturer on Facebook does have positives such as getting feedback quicker, getting help and all those sort of things. However the negative is sharing private information that one might not want to see, for example, if I was a lecturer I certainly wouldn’t like to read the often racist, absurd, outrageous status updates some people post. I also wouldn’t want to see half of the photos people upload drunk.

I think it’s a personal choice, we’re all old enough to be sensible and make our own decisions, and it only takes a couple of clicks to un-friend someone if they’re annoying you anyway

I think it is a good idea and it should be at the discretion of the tutor and the student. The whole privacy thing works both ways. It shouldn’t be mandatory but for those who want to participate then why not.

I don’t think it would be a problem at all, and if lecturers are concerned about privacy, Facebook gives you deep control over what information and updates you share with people, and what lists of people can see what.

I myself have benefited from tutors on Facebook. if we’re doing work at home and have no idea how to find something or where to put it, or are even lost for ideas it’s as easy as coming on this and asking our tutors, making sure we’ve done all our work and don’t give the excuse of “i didn’t know what to do” a week later because we don’t have you for the next 6 days of the week to ask you in college. This is a lot easier I think

It’s possible, but who cares, when you’re out of college, none of our business.

I am currently in the train, heading over to Moray House for my first PhD meeting with Hamish and Jen and I started thinking…. As you do…

This week I introduced the Access Group (int1) to the concept of Creative Commons Licenses and how they can use this to protect their own work. Rather than bore them with the details on copyright and how they shouldn’t use the work of others without permission, I am tackling this from the other side and got them thinking about how others could use their work or even add to it and possibly improve.

So I just started thinking about a Creative Commons approach to educational materials in Colleges and Universities. In these times of cut backs, surely there is an argument for a Creative Commons share-a-like approach between educators. I feel the hurdle would be with management as they are quite blinkered by politics at times but educators are becoming more open to Internet based materials especially as development time has been cut.

I am looking to build a community based site around my research, this may well be an approach.

#just thinking

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## Nov 1st 2011)  ##

I say this is version 1 as through time I know I am going to change my outlook on the whole concept (if there is a concept here at all), but I want to show/track my thoughts as my research develops

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I sat for around three hours this morning gathering thoughts and stating a case that Edupunk is not dead. Those who follow the cause so to speak would already know that but how? Is there a definition of an Edupunk?

I get paid a decent salary for my job as a college lecturer. I use cloud solutions as part of my every day work to help myself, the student and ultimately the college (as it saves them money). Does that make me an Edupunk or an Edupreneur?

#### just thinking ###
My thoughts and beliefs are with the concept of the Edupunk but am I? I suppose it depends how hard you look at what I do. I have the option of the VLE and Microsoft Office, but I choose Google Docs and cloud storage.

I’m going to have to go for a walk, a bath or whatever and think this one through a little further before I continue to write.

—-

It’s been three hours since the paragraph above. Yes I am an Edupunk. I had to think about is because if you read the post by Jim Groom titled “Dear Edupunk” there are a series of heated responses. This I don’t get. Jim Groom coined the phrase as a way of working because that made sense to him and he could not think of a better analogy at the time. I like the name because it has beep roots with the 2nd generation Punk movement of the early 80′s, fundamentally it is a way of thinking outside the corporate guidelines we are asked to follow.

I have no idea how college funding works in other countries, but in Scotland, a college is allocated a set number of student places and we get paid on that basis. Okay, there are some other factors but that’s the main source. From that the college pay rates, wages, software etc. My Edupunk approach may save the college money somewhere which will only be spent somewhere else but is the main point not that I am passing this approach on to others. I am showing my students that there are alternate ways to do things and from that I make no monetary gain. The legacy of my teaching methods will hopefully be taken forward into the next generation, which brings another argument on should I do this, should I not just go with the corporate big-guns? That is another post I think.

My Edupunk definition?

A D.I.Y. Attitude towards learning and teaching which involves sharing and collaboration with no direct monetary gain.

This could be argued and counter argued. Who says I am correct in anything I do as an educator… I teach web design — there are other ways to do it. I teach 3D modeling — there are other ways to do it. Arguably, find a different way to do anything in learning and teaching then you are an Edupunk… Which poses another question in How Edupunk are you?

Please feel free to comment, I would appreciate all thoughts and views.

So the research starts.

For the last 6 or 7 months I have been collecting my thoughts about the whole Edupunk concept.

Edupunk (2008-2011) is an approach to teaching and learning practices that result from a do it yourself (D.I.Y) attitude. The New York Times defines it as “an approach to teaching that avoids mainstream tools like PowerPoint and Blackboard, and instead aims to bring the rebellious attitude and D.I.Y. ethos of ’70s bands like The Clash to the classroom.”  Many instructional applications can be described as DIY education or Edupunk. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edupunk)

The term was coined by Jim Groom who distanced himself from the ‘movement’ in a heart felt blog post titled “Dear Edupunk“. The parallel between this and the punk movement of the 70′s is uncanny. In the late 70′s the main band (in the UK) was The Sex Pistols. A manufactured band who played with aggression which they channeled into the unsuspecting youth. The band split in 1979 and there were cries on “Punk is dead”.

The truth of the matter is that this was only the beginning. After the winter of discontent, unemployed youths formed bands and played for free at small local halls. Rather than sign to major record labels they formed their own. Rather than take any profit, they put the money back in to promote a new band giving them the chance.  The bands further connected with the troubled youth of the time by singing about real life issues such as Unemployment, Nuclear War and Political Unrest making them more aware and together they stood up and said ‘No’.

There was an honesty about punk which was refreshing. By ‘being a punk’ it was more than listening to the music, it was a way of life, it was an attitude. Even at the rife old age of 44 I still hold the values I had as a punk, in fact, as a middle aged (respectable?) guy, I AM STILL a Punk.

I remember in 1984 during the Miners Strike that there was a gig at The Hayfield Centre in Kirkcaldy.

It was a pokey little place. There were 15 bands playing and it was FREE to get in, all you had to do was bring a food donation for the miners. The place was so small that the bands were mingling with us and talking about the music and their thoughts, looking back it was quite surreal.

So back to Edupunk. In the Dear Edupunk post, Jim discusses the Edupreneur, people who make money from education and quite rightly so, this goes against the whole idea of punk. Sure, money was made by punk bands and promoters but it was frowned upon when the big record labels or promoters tried to jump on the band wagon. The whole punk ideal was to help each other without personal gain or profit… so are YOU an Edupunk? For me, as an educator in 2011 I NEED TO BE. My employer can not afford to pay £20k on specialist software licenses every three or four years, especially where there are free alternatives. My employer can not afford to send all staff on training courses costing thousands of pounds, especially when there are cloud communities with people at hand to advise  and point us in the direction of a good tutorial.

Call it what you will, the Edupunk movement is very much alive and it will continue to grow as long as there are people willing to help, share and collaborate. For many it will be a tough journey because as with the Punk movement of the 70′s and 80′s there will be an element trying to cash in while others will back off and fight against it which will be brought on partly with fear of change but more of ignorance.

Further info:

UK/DK  – A story about punks and skinheads (skip through the music and listen to the views of some of the bands)

Today I had my first meeting with one of my PhD co-supervisors, Dr John Lee at The University of Edinburgh. To cleat one point up, why am I being supervised by a member of Informatics and Architecture when I am doing a PhD around. Well basically, he was my main tutor on the MSc, he was knowledgeable and I felt comfortable talking to him… But most of all, he inspired me. He inspired me during my MSc and from the 45 minute chat we had today he inspired me further, just by saying the things I suppose I wanted to hear. I feel I have a clear plan for my PhD research and as someone with no direct background he seen my point or origin and was able to advise. John even had a co-supervisor in mind who, from the School of Education is on my wave length.

So today, I got back from Edinburgh today and my head has been buzzing, so much so that I need to get some of it out. Even though I should make no firm judgments and decisions for at least a year but I signed up for the PhD in January, ten months ago, sonce that time I have been working and thinking non-stop. I need to take a slight step back and look at the origins or my topic but this is in hand and has been for some weeks.

So where now?

Well firstly I want to make any work I do as accessible as possible. This site will be my main port of call for all thoughts, ideas and crazy moments. I want to write, look back, reflect and evaluate and hopefully those reading may gain some insight and understanding.

### thought whilst writing ###
Whilst writing this I just thought about what I just wrote. Okay, I could have removed the text above and made it seemless but how would that show the thought process I have gone through and for that matter, what is to say my thought process is right. We are all individual so please make your own mind up and leave a comment to the post as all are welcome…

Anyway, the whole point of that ramble was to say who or what says that my thoughts and ideas are so correct that anyone could gain any form of understanding, my hope is you can see where I am coming from and you can empathise or add to my thought, again, all comments are greatly appreciated

So, rather than edit any text I will add ### to ‘hopefully’ explain my thoughts as I go.

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As a tutor, I deliver a wide range of modules or units, whatever you wish to call them. These units are governed by either the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority) or by Edinburgh Napier University (as we are linked with this establishment, we are required to deliver their materials to their standards)… but what if on a given unit (being 36 hours spread over 12 weeks) the class were able to decide the content of the unit. What if, rather than a given framework or unit descriptor, the class could decide on the content and outcomes through a series of forums, discussions and debates. The unit outcomes would then be decided at class level.

In the short term it may be a concept I could try at college level the main issue would however be who would sanction such a unit and allow it a grade at a given level

#just thinking

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