This report provides a personal experience of using the WordPress Lifestream widget during the autumn semester 2009.
The following four aspects will be addressed:
1. Interface and Technology used
2. The preferred media for lifestreaming
3. Peer learning and peer support in lifestreaming
4. Conclusion
1. Interface and Technology used
Prior to this module I had no personal experience of using WordPress although I have been aware of it as being one of the mainstream blogging platforms; on the other hand I had never heard of the concept of a Livestream.
Given this prior ignorance I found the software quite easy to use and the written instructions and guidance provided by the course team was enough to help me to configure WordPress and set up the Lifestream plugin. Thereafter the interface was easy to adapt and customise and most importantly the service was robust and did not fall over once.
2. The preferred media for lifestreaming
At its heart WordPress is a blogging tool and given my linguistic learning modalities this did suit me well. Over a period of about 13 weeks of study I published a total of 52 posts, on average four per week. The fact that the Digitalculture Web-site was open to the Web-community and searchable by Google and Bing did not bother me too much, as I have as part of my studies on this MSc course accrued enough confidence to go public with my writings.
Most postings were precipitated by the course readings, triggering both positive (reflective) and negative (despondent) feelings and both aspects were important to be aired. About a quarter of the postings were dealing with work-related issues, many of them containing news and views gathered at conferences or presentations given elsewhere. Although not always feeding directly into current course discussions they provided a useful platform for broader reflection.
Where appropriate and available digital media (images, videos) were embedded in some of the contributions.
The weekly summaries, a total of 11 plus a final conclusion served as important milestones in making sure to (i) instil discipline and structure, and (ii) provide evidence of formal learning, even when struggling. Writing these ‘e-summaries’, usually Sunday afternoons has not been too onerous as it provided a consistent framework for engagement.
Beyond the blogs the two most frequently lifestreamed media were del.icio.us and videos, the latter originating from YouTube and to a lesser extent Vimeo. The bookmark streaming has assisted me in engaging with del.icio.us more formally and I now use it as my default ‘Bookmarking’ repository. There is also the odd Twitter feed but ultimately micro-blogging does not seem to work for me.
On the other hand I have decided to also syndicate my own and other peoples comments made on the EDC Web-site and on more than one occasion I dipped into these feeds for stimulation and reassurance. I would recommend this setting for future use by other students.
3. Peer learning and peer support in Lifestreaming
Potentially lifestreaming can be a remote and isolated experience, possibly more so than a VLE-type discussion board.
However I never felt this way. The Web-site provided a hub of information from which were radiating the activities and ideas of the tutors and the course participants. The fact that all peer learners’ Lifestreams were accessible removed the sense of isolation – reading their ponderings on course readings or their progress (or lack of it) in projects was always comforting.
On occasions I would comment on other people’s Lifestream entries, in particular relating to the visual artefacts and ethnographic studies presented; On the other hand I was pleased to receive the occasional comment although I feel the extent of peer learning was somewhat subdued.
Comments received from the tutors was regular, and the detailed formative feedback halfway through the module (around week 5/6) was most welcome to be re-assured to be on the right track.
4. Conclusion
This has been an exciting learning experience and to some extent the highlight of my study on the MSc course if only to get a feel for what online community learning may look like in 10 years time.
Although initially this format was well beyond my own comfort zone for learning from a pedagogic point of view the ‘experiment’ has worked very well and I hope that it will receive the credit it deserves. Although it is still rough around the edges I think a large proportion of the IT and pedagogic infrastructure is now in place to move forward.
In my view some aspects could be enhanced for example by putting more emphasis on peer feedback on Lifestream activities, possibly in a more formal manner by aggregating EDC community comments within one’s Lifestream.
This diverse cohort had a lot to give in regards to community sharing and this asset remained untapped to some extent.
