The task 1b of the
Module 1 of the BA (Hons) in Professional Practice at the Middlesex University
consists of looking at the Reader 1, and after you have read it you evaluate
what you have learnt about it via writing a post and publishing into your blog.
The readers are texts
written by our BAPP Tutors with extracts from literature to help us build our
own ideas and thinking. And it has indeed! When, at the beginning, I looked at
the title of our first reader, Professional Communication Technologies, I
thought it wasn´t going to be really interesting to me, however I was
completely wrong, the moment I started to read it, I was completely caught by
the content, because for many years I have been using Web 2.0 platforms,
without even knowing, there were called them like that. Especially 1 year ago,
I launched all my Official Social Media as a Professional Dancer (Facebook
Page, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ as well as my Youtube Channel, created 4
years ago), so for me this Reader was perfect not only to learn more about
those technologies but also to analyse the work that I have done during the
previous season on those platforms so I can improve using this new knowledge
that I just got from Reader 1. Here you can see a summary of what´s the most
important aspects for me in the Reader 1:
What is Web 2.0?
Even though, it is
difficult to define Web 2.0 due it is a very extensive concept. You can refer
it as the second generation of web-based communities, including social media,
blogs or wikis. In a very simple way, Web 1.0 is a one-way communication
between the creator and the reader, with very limited opportunities to interact
or create our own content (Like a normal website), however Web 2.0 provides
this opportunity, therefore the reader becomes the creator.
Different positions and interpretations
In an article
published by Tim O´Reilly in 2006, he created this Meme Map (See the picture
below) identifying a number of core competences. Especially there are 3 of
those that are important in order to put Web 2.0 in a professional practice and
the work place.
1- Architectures of participation- Web 2.0 is used as tool of networking and
communication encouraging and enabling participation that is connected to the
ability to people to interact, as well as implying and active and passive
aspect, taking part in something as well as creating it, some writers refer to these
processes as cultural consumption and cultural production (Bourdieu 1993). Also
Hamilton (2000) said that participation is a function, in part of the reduction
of barriers to access. And Ulrich et al. (2008) describes this process as the
“architecture of assembly” where the methods by which people access and use Web
2.0 make “data and functionality accessible”. In a simple way Web 2.0 takes the
traditional one-to-one basis communication and transform it into a many-to-many
approach for thousands.
2-
Remixable data and transformations- Web 2.0 is used as an instrument of constructing
connectivity and networks that frequently is supported by a remix culture.
Valtysson (2010) suggests that the blurring of the distinctions between the
people who make media and the people who consume it encourages people to engage
and participate in the media. These transitions between consumption and
production are one of the key selling points of the role of Web 2.0 in any
network or industry.
3-
Harnessing collective intelligence- There had been many studies
into the effectiveness
of Web 2.0 in building and developing communities. One of those (Feenberg &
Bakardjieva 2004) identified that Web 2.0 allowed communities to develop beyond
their ‘existing professional networks’ and offer a ‘social space for people,
strangers and almost strangers with diverse backgrounds to come together as
equals, as generators of ideas, to deliberate and act collectively’. Web 2.0
platforms are designed to encourage social interaction. There are a lot of
myths and fables that surrounds the notion that the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts, so in terms of Web 2.0 the notion that a collective
intelligence of many may be viewed as far more valuable than the observations
and musings of the one of the few. Gruber (2007) suggests that there are three
components of an online system that support collective intelligence and the
benefits that might be gained from the idea that in a Web 2.0 platform: A
social system, supported by computing and communication technology, a search
engine that is good at finding questions and answers in this body of content
and intelligent users, who know how to formulate their problems in the queries
that the search engine can match to online question and answers. Web 2.0
platforms generally provide the user with all three of Gruber’s processes.
Ethical
Considerations for using the Web
When we use
those tools, it is important for us, as professionals what you say, participate in, and discuss with others
on the web. Copyright and authenticity can be an issue with web-based thinking.
It is very important that everyone consider issues such as confidentiality,
working with children and adults in terms of permission, and the veracity of
sources. Also When working on any public forum you need to consider your own
professional reputation needs.
Using the Web 2.0 for learning
Throughout the BAPP
Arts Programme we will be using different Web 2.0 platforms for communication and to develop the ability
for professionals to engage with others using public forums that are used by
other colleagues and professionals. However There are many sources about using
Web 2.0 to learn for higher education, one clear example is the use of
Wikipedia in academic writing that generally isn´t allowed because it is an
un-authored source.
I hope
that you have enjoyed this post as much as I did when I read all of this
information in the Reader 1 and all the articles that are related with it in
our reading list!
Gonzalo
