Hello All!
I hope everyone is well. I was under the weather yesterday, and still do not feel great today, but what can you do, assignments still need to be completed, articles need to be read, and dinner still needs to be cooked.
The first big assignment of EME6414 is underway. Like many of my classmates, I am doing the Full Assignment on Community Norms. In the schedule I wrote out for myself, today is the day I need to decide on which communities I will follow and contribute to. I am torn between a couple of ideas and am using this space to assist me in making my decision. Feel free to add your input in the comments!
My first thought is that this is summer, so shouldn't my topics be fun? My fun topics include Magic the Gathering (MTG) or lifestyle.
Yesterday I searched for MTG communities on FB, Reddit, and found a website, mtgsalvation.com, that has forums and other ways to keep the community connected. There seems to be a lot of activity, which is essential, but some almost seem too large to be considered a community. Also, a friend here told me about a group chat for our local MTG players through WhatsApp, would that be considered social media?
I am currently part of a lifestyle group on FB that seems to be a true community, I have not participated in it much myself, but was thinking I could start participating more and find another community to be more of a lurker on.
But should I do something more geared towards education? I will not have my own classroom again for a couple years (until we move back to the states in 2022), so I do not think it will hurt to explore some of my current interests instead of staying purely academic. And the example of the log given in the assignment was a Star Wars Fan Fiction forum...
Ok, I think I have decided to go the "fun" route. Now to decide which one...
I tried to go the fun route too since it is summer! But, I couldn't find communities that I wanted to participate in for my "fun" hobbies. I think it is wonderful that you are going to choose something fun! We have a local MTG facebook group here through the local game shop- perhaps you have a local shop where people would have played face to face and they are now participating in an online community? (Also- I love MTG and think it is awesome that you do too!) There is also a pretty big Twitch community for MTG where pros will play and all that, I used to watch matches live to try to get better, but I have never tried to participate on Twitch, I merely lurk.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your input! I will definitely look into Twitch. Our local game store and players have a WhatsApp group chat, I am going to see if that would count as a social media community. It is hard to find "real" communities where most people are not lurkers and relationships are being built.
DeleteI'm sorry that you were sick yesterday. I hope you feel better now. I also want to go with fun things that I can truly enjoy lurking or contributing. In that sense, I'm thinking of the r/PhD subreddit. As I'm a first year PhD student, I'm very interested to know how others are going through their graduate school lives. I didn't think the big size of a community would matter, but the group chat in WhatsApp sounds like a great place to look at as long as there you can find the community's implicit/explicit norms and active interactions of the members.
ReplyDeleteI guess the size makes it difficult to view ".. .people who return repeatedly and develop a sense of trust and reciprocity (I’ll respond to your post if you respond to mine), etc. " These were part of the guidelines the professor gave when I asked about appropriate communities.
DeleteI am still being indecisive. I want to do something interesting enough so that I won't get stressed out for two weeks, but at the same time, I want to look through something informative and educational to get more information. Honestly, I think either way seems fine. Even though the topic doesn't look educational, participants would learn something there. It's informal learning!
ReplyDeleteExactly! I want it to be something I enjoy, I am already stressed enough as it is!
DeleteI first explored "fun" topics such as Reality TV, House Flipping and Travel-- all things I am interested in. While I did find some communities nothing really seemed that great or intriguing to me. All very surface level stuff and I wasn't sure it would benefit me for this assignment. I am going the Teacher route. I have found more than 2 FB groups for teachers that I joined and so far it has been great. In just 3 days in each I have learned a few things, been able to help others and there is a lot of interaction among the members. While it is summer, I am always brainstorming new and innovative things I can bring to my classroom so these groups will definitely help me and hopefully make my planning for next year easier. If you can find something more hobby based, I say go for it! Maybe I am taking the easier route but wanted something I was very comfortable with!
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with the fun route! The academic part comes in as you analyze it all, and then you can think transfer to education. :)
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