I feel a lot of analysis of my learning journey this week was covered in my last post – The Fog Clears. Although this was essentially a discussion of Sian’s paper – Uncanny Digital Pedagogies – it really helped me get my head around Block 3. The Cyborg Metaphor of Haraway, and subsequent research has been extremely challenging for me, not just in understanding and analysing the subject, but the actual subject matter of potential cyborg culture itself. Dystopic images of the future was not something I had signed up for on this course. But because of Haraway’s inclusion in the course, I now feel in a position to evaluate to what extent digital technology is shaping my thinking. This in turn has obvious relevance to e-learning and the impact upon teaching and learning.
When I look back over my week’s lifestream – and indeed the previous 2-3 before that, it is noticeable there appears fewer entries. I identify this as having more to do with reading core and secondary texts rather than reduced activity. What I do see in the lifestream though is a developing maturity and acceptance of technology in my thinking. Two particular issues stand out for me – embodiement and situated learning.
” If embodiment is an existential condition in which the body is the subjective source or intersubjective ground of experience, then studies under the rubric of embodiment are not ‘about’ the body per se. Instead they are about culture and experience insofar as these can be understood from the standpoint of bodily being-in-the-world.”
p. 143Thomas Csordas in Perspectives on Embodiment by Weiss, G. and Haber, H., (eds.). Routledge; March, 1999
If I draw upon a before and after scenario, I could potentially identify my academic self as being embodied in both my mind and text books, notes and essays. Now, my embodiement encompasses a lifestream and blog. Yet somehow, my lifestream and blog feel more personal. Whether or not this is to do with the fact digital culture is the actual subject matter of my studies, but I now feel I think of my learning in relation to the time chronology of blogging. The development of my lifestream correlates with my comprehension of the the subject. I wonder if this relates to classmates feeling because they hav not been feeding their lifestreams, like a tamagochi, they get a sense of under-nourishment. The lifestream encompasses the embodiement of our learning.
This now brings me to the issue of situated knowledge. The only shared activity I have been involved in over the last three weeks have been commenting on other blogs, and the Skype tutorial. There appears to be a consensus on cyborg metaphors being challenging but worthwhile, and learning in digital environments new, exciting but unfamiliar (uncanny). I now perceive my situated knowledge as being on the cusp of somewhere new – but definately not at its destination yet. This is because I am not convinced there yet exists a distinctive boundary between a subjective and objective understanding. For 10 weeks I have studied the subject – Digital Culture. I have done so within the confines of digital environments, using digital applications with participants who already possess a positive stance on the use of technology. Through a combination of the course readings and social interaction, the class appear to have developed a consensus view that digital culture can enhance learning. But does this make our stance objective?
Objective When we say that knowledge is objective we are making authoritative claims about its standing. Actually, objectivity is an essentially contested concept in the philosophies of science and the social sciences; it is usually invoked to convey a sense of truthfulness and to offer a cloak of legitimacy for a particular story – it is a mark of authoritative knowledge.
Open University: Learning Space – The Social in Social Science http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2055
At present, I feel conscious of my own situated learning being subjective. When I discuss digital culture with individuals outside the course, I am naturally confronted with their “uncanny” unfamiliarity and scepticism. I can identify with the merits of lifestreaming and blogging, but ti what extent is that because I have not only been studying the subject – I’ve been practicing it too? In order to properly evolve onto the realms of objective, situated learning, I believe I have to test the hypothethis of digital learning within the context of another subject. So take for example, Social Care students. A crucial element of their training involves self-reflective practice. I perceive lifestreams and blogging as appropriate mediums for Social Care students to practice. But it is only by supporting their engagement with digital technology, and seeing other individuals develop using them successfully, will I feel truelly within the realms of objective learning.
I now suddenly feel aware I may have subconsciously produced a part, first draft of my assessment summarising my lifestream.
