OLR Exercises - Topic 6: Designing for Usability, Sociability and Sustainability

Exercise 6.1: Design rules and your CSU forum experience
Consider all the times you have used a CSU forum in your study in all subjects. Under the 3 headings from table 2, purpose, people and community size, describe in your own words, any forum experiences where you not only felt a sense of belonging, worth and satisfaction, but felt a sense of loss when the forum was closed. If this has never happened to you then explain why under the same 3 headings.

Purpose
ITC510 and ITI501 are the first two subjects I am doing as part of the Graduate Diploma of ICT in Education. Therefore the forums for these subjects are the first forums I have used. The purpose of the CSU forum is to connect students of each subject with each other. The CSU forum allows students to share ideas, problems, frustrations and feel connected to others as they complete subjects.

People
Students live and work throughout Australia. The forum allows all to participate, regardless of geographic location and time zones. Students are able to provide assistance, encouragement and reassurances to others. Some students have more ICT expertise than others, and they are generally willing to share their skills and knowledge to help others. Because most of us are also teachers, we are able to discuss and empathise with many school based ICT issues and situations.

The forum for ITI501 is little used, and then only for subject requirements, not as a communication tool.

I have found people to be particularly helpful and friendly in the ITC510 forum. I will probably miss chatting, sharing our frustrations and helping each other when this subject is over. I hope I encounter classmates from this subject in future subjects, although it seems that this is the last subject for many, not the beginning, as in my case.

Community Size
The size of the community depends on the subject. I am currently involved in two CSU forums from two subjects. ITI501 only has about 9 students enrolled, therefore a small forum community. ITC510 has a larger student enrolment, therefore a larger community size.

I have found that a smaller forum size can limit the interaction and value of the forum. In ITC510 forum members communicate and help each, and regularly add to the forum. In the smaller forum of ITI501 I find there is less interaction and input by members, therefore the value of the forum is lost.

While the community size at ITI501 has been too small to be effective, the community size of ITC510 has meant the forum is constantly active and therefore effective. There is always somebody contributing and others offering assistance.

Exercise 6.2: Wiki and Moodle design

What is it about the design of the wiki and Moodle that you liked or disliked?

Moodle

I liked Moodle because it enables users to create and access blogs, wikis, chats and forums from the one site. It was easy to create an account, and the use of columns, headings, breadcrumbs and tags makes it easy to navigate. The account is created by the administrator, but others are able to access, add to and modify the site with the use of the enrollment key. This gives the site security and protects users from outsiders, which would make it suitable for use within the classroom, including in a primary setting. However, I did notice that much of the content on the site was very outdated (2007) and it seems the site is no longer used to facilitate this subject.

Wiki

I have limited experience with wikis. The wiki at CSU Interact has not really been used by participants of this subject. I did add to it early in the semester, and this was easy to do but without the interaction of others I find it difficult to determine the usability and sociability of the site. However, the window of the wiki appears very small within the screen, I can only read 3 lines at a time making it difficult to view and read properly.

What features do wiki and Moodle have in common and what are the differences?

Wikis and Moodle are both free online tools that allow users to share ideas. Users are required to sign in, but are then able to access, modify and add to the site. A wiki is generally a collaborative document, a document that can be modified by multiple users. It therefore has limited capabilities. Moodle is a more sophisticated course management system allows users to create blogs, forums and chat as well as wikis.

Is the presence of likeable features also a combination of the design tips for usability, sociability and sustainability, as advocated by Preece and Kim in earlier
topics?

Easy usability is important with any website that is used to support online communities. If users experience difficulties logging on and navigating a site, they will very soon get frustrated and be unlikely to continue to use the site if problems continue. Moodle and wikis are easy to access and navigate. Access can be controlled by usernames and passwords, and users are easily able to add to the content on these sites.

Sociability is supported in both wikis and Moodle. Wikis and Moodle make it easy to create an online community with a particular purpose (for example education). Both are designed for growth and change, allow a community to create and maintain community feedback and allow users to gradually take control.

Moodle has better usability, sociability and sustainability than wiki. Moodle has more functions than wiki, including chats, forums and blogs, providing a more flexible environment for online communities to meet. This flexibility also makes Moodle more sustainable.

Exercise 6.3: Trust and reputation: how is it achieved?
Analyse and comment on other aspects of online trust and reputation that you feel are worth discussing across any TWO online communities.

CSU Interact is an online community created by Charles Sturt University to allow students to communicate and collaborate. It is a trusted site with a good reputation amongst its community of students and educators. The site has good usability, sociability and sustainability. It is easy to access and navigate. Users are required to have a username and password provided by the university in order to access the site, offering a high level protection of privacy to users. Students are able to access and share information and communicate through the forum, wiki and chat facility. Users are able to access and add to subject forums, but are also able to access a wider variety of forums if they choose. The site is sustainable as long as the university requires students to access it to complete subjects and tasks. Most universities are highly regarded and trusted within the community. This trust transcends into the online world and online communities. The credibility and reputation of CSU as a highly regarded education provider automatically gives users of Interact a sense of trust when using the site.

Facebook is a free online social networking website which allows people from around the world to share personal information and communicate. It has a high level of usability, sociability and sustainability. According to Answers.com (2009), Facebook has over 300 million active users world wide, 50% of which access Facebook every day! It is very easy to set up an account and create your own page. Users are easily able to create online community topics and networks and invite others to join, comment and provide feedback. Users are able to communicate, chat, share and access personal information and photos online. Because Facebook is so popular, it has gained a good reputation and level of trust with many people. Many users, such as myself (and others in this course if you read their blogs!), may begin as skeptics and not share much information or photos. But as users learn to use the site, they become more comfortable and feel like they have a level of control over their privacy and the site. They then begin to share more and more personal information and photos. Facebook still has issues around security and privacy amongst many people worried about the privacy and security of information, potential bosses using Facebook pages to determine employability and concerns about inappropriate content. However, the number of users continues to grow as does its reputation and credibility. Facebook will continue to be sustainable while this continues or until some other trend takes its place!

Wiki Answers.Com. (2009). How Many Members Does Facebook Have? Accessed 30 September 2009 from http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_members_does_Facebook_have

Interact Chat 23 Sept

On the 23 September we used Interact for the second time. Interact is a very simple chat system, and each member appears in a different colour. However, the screen appeared very small and I could only see about 3 lines at a time which made it difficult to follow the chat at times, especially since there seemed to be a lag between some entries, then all of a sudden a few would appear at once.

We had a really good chat about the subject and issues around assignment 2 and the POD groups. Unfortunately Ken did not participate so we were unable to get clarification about our concerns. There are concerns that some POD groups only have a couple of people who seem active. We do not know whether others have dropped out or are just not participating or responding to messages. Vicki invited James and I (Blue group) to merge with violet. We also discussed creating a new group (MUD!) for all those who need a group.

James and I then chatted further using Skype to try to resolve issues, but felt we were unable to make decisions without Ken's input.

Essay 1

Compare and contrast the works of Ward Cunningham and David Winer.
What has been their contribution to development of online communities?

Howard Cunningham and David Winer have both made significant contributions to the development of online communities. Their development of language, patterns and protocols led to the development of wikis, blogs and podcasting which are essential tools for developing successful online communities.

Howard “Ward” Cunningham is a pioneer in the development of online communities because he developed the first Wiki. He started programming the software WikiWikiWeb in 1994 and installed it onto his company website, c2.com, in 1995. The software was originally developed so that developers could collaborate, update and make changes, therefore creating an online community. “My specific purpose for the first wiki was to create an environment where we might link together each other's experience to discover the pattern language of programming.” (Veneers, 2003, pg 1).

A wiki “is a website that allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner” (Governors State University, 2009). Wikis have become popular with online communities because they can be edited, modified and added to by anyone who has access to it. Cunningham named the software wiki after the Hawaiian word wiki-wiki, meaning quick.

Cunningham also “pioneered programming simplicity” (Cunningham, 1996-2009, pg 1) by contributing to the development of object-orientated programming, pattern languages, CRC (Class Responsibility Collaboration cards), Episodes Pattern Language and Extreme Programming.

David (Dave) Winer has made many contributions to the development of online communities. He “pioneered the development of weblogs, syndication (RSS), podcasting, outlining, and web content management software” (Winer, 2007) all of which are the basis of successful online communities. Winer created MetaWeblog API, “an application programming interface... that enables weblog entries to be written, edited and deleted using web services.” (Wikipedia, MetaWeblog, 2009).

A blog, short for web log, is an online journal usually maintained by an individual in reverse chronological order. Most blogs contain text, images, podcasts, and links to other blogs and web sites. “Since all blogs are on the internet by definition, they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked, through blogrolls [and] comments...” (wikipedia, Blog, 2009).

Winer began Userland Software in 1988, a company which sells Web content management and blogging software packages and services. Winer collaborated with Microsoft and developed the XML-RPC protocol. This led to the creation of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) in 1998, “to connect all types of computing appliances to each other and to the Internet” (ecommerce, 2009).

Winer developed the Outline Processor Markup Language OPML in 2000, an XML format for outlines, a hierarchical, ordered list of items known as blogrolls. Winer also contributed to the development of podcasting. His company, “UserLand was the first to add an "enclosure" tag...so that bloggers could easily link to an audio file” or podcast (Wikipedia, Dave Winer, 2009).

According to his Curriculum Vitae, Winer has won numerous honours and awards including the "Top Ten Technology Innovators" in 2002 by InfoWorld, an online media and events business. (Winer, 2004).

Both Howard Cunningham and David Winer have made significant contributions to the development of social networking and online communities. Their development of language, patterns and protocols led to the development of wikis, blogs and podcasting which are now used by individuals, businesses, politicians, educators and special interest groups for social networking and the building of online communities.

References

Cunningham, H. (1996-2009). Ward Says, Don’t Try This at Home: A Weblog by Ward Cunningham. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from Artima Weblogs: http://www.artima.com/weblogs/index.jsp?blogger=ward

Governors State University. (2009). eLearning Glossary. Retrieved 6 September 2009: http://www.govst.edu/elearning/default.aspx?id=12984

Veneers, B., 2003. Exploring with Wiki: A Conversation with Ward Cunningham by Bill Veneers, Part 1. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from Artima Developer: http://www.artima.com/intv/wiki.html

Wikipedia, Blog. (2009). Blog. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Wikipedia, Dave Winer. (2009). Dave Winer. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Winer

Wikipedia, MetaWeblog. (2009). MetaWeblog. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetaWeblog

Winer, D. (2004). Dave Winer’s Personal Website: Curriculum Vitae. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from scripting.com: http://dave.scripting.com/cv

Winer, D (2007). Dave Winer Bio. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from scripting.com: http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/02/21/daveWinerBio.html

Winer, D. (2009). David Winer. Retrieved 6 September 2009 from ecommerce: http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/1086/Winer-David.html

Internet Overdose Song!

This video could have been written for us! It describes just how I feel in this subject most of the time! Thanks to Janice Todd for sharing.

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=85580&title=Internet_Overdose_Song

Further Reflection about Mobile Technology

My grade 6s all have netbooks provided by DEECD as part of 1 to 1 trail. The netbooks, while at school, are blocked from accessing inappropriate material. However, students need to turn off proxy server and therefore all protection, in order to be able to use internet at home.

Just this week we have uncovered 2 cases of boys accessing porn and suicide sites, with one of the boys showing other children as young as 7 explicit videos! While on one hand it is good that we are able to check, monitor and report concerns we have about student welfare because of their internet "footprints," it is a concern that students of this age are able to access this material at all. While I always promote and discuss responsible use and most adhere to this advice, there will always be some that ignore this.

It also makes me think about the problems around wireless technology and small devices like the netbooks and mobile phones. Computers used to live in living rooms and therefore could easily be monitored by parents. Now technology is small and mobile. It is more difficult for parents to be able to monitor student use when students are able to 'hide away' or the screen is too small to be seen easily by others.

We have now checked all student netbooks, and thankfully the remaining 14 students are using their netbooks as intended, for school work, communication and skill practice/games.

My Identities Mindmap

My Identities Mindmap was created using Bubbl.us, which I have now joined. I can see many great uses for this site, both for learning and professional development. See Exercise 5.1 for more information.

OLR Exercises - Topic 5: Online Community Building and Social Architects

Exercise 5.1: The Many Faces of ME

List of my online identities:

• myCSU e-box
• Interact
• e-mail accounts (Edumail, yahoo, gmail)
• blogger
• wikispaces
• LC_MOO (although this didn't work!)
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Ning
• SuperclubsPlus
• Second Life
• DEECD (Vic Education Dept) Portal

Do I show multiple identities or cosistent identities?

Most of my identities are consistent and are based on the "real" me. The only time I have changed my identity was with Second Life because I did not feel confident or comfortable revealing my "real" self on this site. However, the rest of the sites are able to be used for social or professional purposes. Therefore a consistent identity based on my real self is required so that others can find and communicate with me effectively.

What does my "persistent identity" say about me or what shouldn't it say?

My "persistent identity" is based on the real me and it allows others to locate and commiunicate with me, both professionally and socially. When I first joined Facebook, I was a bit nervous about putting myself out there on the internet. However, because I am able to control my contacts, I have become more relaxed and confident to put myself out there.

There does not seem to be a point in being in social or professional networks without using a persistent identity based on reality. The aim of participating in networking is to be able to find and link up with people of similar interests, backgrounds or professions. If we use hidden identities, then this makes it difficult for others to find us. Most of these sites allow us to control who we let in to our network through invitations, log ins and passwords, and I do not include a lot of personal information anyway.

I also find it difficult to be someone I am not. I created a different persona in Second Life, but this did not change the way I think, feel or act about things. Therefore, although the name and the image were changed to protect my identity, at the end of the day, even this is still me!

My persistent identitfy shouldn't say anything negative about myself or others. It keeps in mind my professionalism and reputation. It is respectful of these and does not say anything that could damage my reputation or that of others.

Exercise 5.2: Social Architects and Online Games

1) Define what is meant by social architect

The following is a quote about social architect:

"Where the architect designs physical space, the social architect designs social space….. The social architect’s task is to create the space for people to act on what matters to them."

from Peter Block in his book The Answer to How is Yes, as sited at http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2008/03/24/leader-as-social-architect/ 6/9/09.

Therefore people who design and create spaces for social interaction can be referred to as social architects. People who design platforms for social networking and online communities must be considered to be social architects because they are designing spaces for people to interact.

2) Investigate and compare ANY two of the following online communities and become a member.
3) Use a table to describe the objectives, rules of engagement and unique features of each and report your findings AFTER becoming a member.

I spent hours making tables in Word and then Excel and couldn't copy and paste the format of the table into Blogger. I tried saving as a picture in paint, but was unreadable. Therefore I am sticking with paragraphs!

ShuffleBrain: http://www.shufflebrain.com/

Objectives
ShuffleBrain "is building smart games for a connected world." I played a game called Photograb. This uses photos from Facebook to create visual recognition games. Users can create their own games using their own photos in Facebook. The primary aim is to "play friends to sharpen your visual skills."

Rules of Engagement
Have a Facebook account and link it with Photograb.You can invite others to participate.Participate in a tutorial and some simple demonstration games to begin with.Find each detail within a photo within the allotted time.Points are awarded for accuracy.

Unique Features
Linked with Facebook account.

Can create own games based on own photos

Findings
Very simple to use and is addictive. It is a great game for procrastinating. The site claims to "sharpen your visual skills." It certainly makes you look closely at the screen. I was always told this would give me "square eyes," and after a few games, I had a headache. Therefore, I think this is a fun, online game which allows some interaction with others. I don't believe its claim to "sharpen your visual skills."

One of the games I played was created by our very own Jeanie Axton, and was quite tricky!

Whyville: http://b.whyville.net/

Objectives
“Whyville is an educational virtual world for children to explore, learn, and create together”. Their goal is “to promote and foster learning” in a safe. online environment.

The site is particularly aimed at girls between 8 and 15. While activities are available in all subject areas, many activities have a maths or science focus in order to engage students in these subjects.

Rules of Engagement
Participants create an avatar.

Parental permission is required for students under 13.

Participants must gain a licence before they can chat, ensuring they learn about responsible behaviour.

Unique Features
Use of avatars in an animated virtual world.

Focus on cybersafety and appropriate behaviour.

Earn rewards, buy virtual products and manage virtual business to learn about budgeting.

Findings
It's a bit of a cross between Second Life and SuperclubsPlus. Like Second Life, you had to create an avatar to begin. Then a guide appeared to show me around the 'newbie' section, and explain how the environment works. Like Superclubs, there is a focus on teaching about cybersafety and appropriate behaviour to children.

You can choose to play various games, enter a range of chat rooms on a number of topics, or shop for virtual objects. I tried to play a tic-tac-toe game, but because I was the only person in the room, I was unable to. I think kids would really enjoy this site. It is animated, visually appealing, and does seem to have some educational value.

4) Try to find out who is behind the organisation and managment of each onilne community.

ShuffleBrain:

Amy Jo Kim is an internationally recognized expert in online social architecture. She has designed social architecture for Electronic Arts/Maxis/Origin, Digital Chocolate, MTV/Harmonix, eBay, There.com, Yahoo!, and others.

Scott Kim is one of the world’s most prolific and versatile puzzle designers. He has designed thousands of puzzles for such web game companies as PopCap, Gamehouse and the Tetris Company.

Whyville:

Whyville was launched in 1999 by Numedeon. It is based on “over 17 years of research in education and cooperative learning to develop an innovative environment for engaging children in constructive and engaging activities on the web.”

Are they true social architects?

The creators of both of these sites are social architects because they have designed platforms for social interaction and networking.

Twitter / Home

I have joined twitter and managed to follow a couple of people (Dave Hughes and Kevin Rudd) who I knew had sites. I have noticed a few people are now following me too. Setting it up was very easy, but to be honest I don't see the point. People just write updates about what they are doing in their lives. I am really not interested in reading what others are doing, and I am not interested in sharing what I am doing because I can't imagine that being interesting to anyone else! As far as I know none of my friends use twitter. Most do use Facebook and tend to update their status there.

Many businesses and even politicans are using twitter in order to promote themselves and connect with more people, especially Generation Y and youth. However, I really can't see twitter being used as a serious professional networking tool between businesses, for conducting meetings, professional development or in the classroom. While twitter is great as a marketing tool, there are serious concerns about the security of information and too many distractions for it to beneficial in the classroom.

This is me at twitter - I just don't know what to do with it! Twitter / Home

ITC501 Blue - A Ning for Blue POD Group

I have created a Ning for Blue Group at the following link:
ITC501 Blue - A Ning for Blue POD Group.

It was very easy to set up and invite others to join. There is control over privacy and security because the administrator needs to invite members to join, but once in the site, all members are able to add to it. Ning has many possibilities for use in the classroom. It has forums, blogs, discussion board, email and chat, as well as the opportunity to share photos and videos. So far this is one of my preferred sites for use within schools. Unfortunately only one other POD member has so far responded, but that is a start.

LC_MOO 2/9/09

I logged into LC_MOO about half an hour before the 8pm meeting time so that I could familiarise myself with the site becuase I had never used it before. The site was a bit daunting and I had no real idea what to do. I looked into a few "rooms" but could not work out what to do. I found a page where I could see others from our group and "Hopper" (asleep). I decided to wait here for the meeting to begin. I was a bit anxious but was looking forward to learning to use this site because it was such an unfamiliar environment for me and I have not really worked with commands before. However, about 2 minutes before the meeting was due to start I was kicked out of the site and I could not log back in. After a few frantic messages to Ken and a new log in (lucky was not so lucky), I still could not log in. I therefore was unable to participate in this session. I have looked at the log, but it is hard to understand what is happening because I am not familiar with the environment. I hope we can try this again sometime and that it is more successful.