catherinefrances

Going back to my very first blog post I was struck by the opening quote: The nature of knowledge is changing and, in this digital age, our definition of basic literacy urgently needs expanding (Knight, 2011). At the start of ‘Living and Working on the Web’ I felt I was lacking the knowledge to make the most of the wealth of digital tools and online networks on offer. Continue reading →

At first topic 5 seemed quite dry so I experimented with adding a theme to my post to try and bring my argument to life. I also found the student posts which focused their discussion on content producers to have the clearest structure. There was a good deal of pro open access reading last week including clear benefits to content producers. Scott supported this in his comment that publishers unfairly drive profit margins at the expense of shared academia. Continue reading →

    There is an ongoing dialogue about whether or not work published online could and should be more freely available, expressly to those in education and those wishing to contribute to current research. Open access describes a situation where anyone anywhere in the world can access, read and build upon research content found online (Shockey and Eisen, 2012). Open, adj. generous, sharing, giving (Wiley, 2010). Continue reading →

During this topic, I made a conscious effort to link my ideas to current affairs relating to business and social media, to make my arguments more engaging and relevant. It came as no surprise that business use of social media raised serious ethical issues. What was surprising was the varied ways in which ‘business use of social media’ had been interpreted by students. Continue reading →

In November last year a woman was brutally killed in Birstall, West Yorkshire. Jo Cox was a respected MP and mother of two children, but her murderer, Thomas Mair was only interested in her political voice, communicated through her professional Twitter account, which he viewed two days prior to the killing (Cobain, 2016). Jo, like most MPs, freely expressed her political opinions online; Mair was reacting against her support for the Remain campaign during the EU referendum . Continue reading →

  I enjoyed this week’s topic as it was all about applying the technical learning from Topic 2. How to build a professional profile in the right way is of interest and importance to me. As a soon to be graduate, I often feel (and I know I am not alone in this) more than slightly daunted by the contemporary pressure to join the job market rat race. This topic has helped me to get a calm handle on some of the main things to be aware of online. Continue reading →

Please watch 1:20 to 2:21. Continue reading →

This week’s topic of online identity provided controversy, intangible ideas and a host of new terms. I felt slightly daunted at the prospect of structuring my post around a topic which, even after substantial reading, still mystified me. I tried to sustain a coherent discussion by focusing on identities through the lens of online security and privacy, exploring how much control a user has over their identity. Continue reading →

The birth of cyberspace provided ‘a new space for the re-construction of the self as a new persona or even personas’  through a wide range of services and platforms (Costa & Torres, 2011). The ability to establish multiple online identities can appeal to users who want to remain anonymous (using pseudonyms) or, for example, want to separate their personal social life from their online professional sphere. Continue reading →

Interacting with other students on the course really brought the topic to life. The process of reading and commenting on a range of blog posts provided me with a richer understanding of the digital Visitors and Residents concept. This led me to form my own opinions and challenge some of the statements in Cherie’s blog. Continue reading →

Digital ‘residents’ and ‘visitors’ form a metaphor for people’s engagement with online technology. Residents live a part of their life online. They use the Web for work, study and recreation; they are comfortable expressing themselves and their opinions in online communities and maintain a digital identity through social networking sites (White, 2008). Visitors are those who use the Web more sparingly and selectively. Continue reading →