We are living in a world where it is now possible to study almost anything from anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. When you are studying by distance education it can sometimes feel like you are all alone, sometimes you aren't sure who to turn to and think you must be the only one struggling with external study. You are sent the course materials and you sit in front of your computer trying to do your work, wondering why you might be having trouble understanding this bit of information or that, wishing you had that study group to help discuss material and ideas. Well you are not alone! That same computer can connect you to other students just like you. Who may have the same questions or may be able to provide a new perspective you hadn't considered. Now your University will most likely have a discussion board in place that allows you to communicate with other students and the tutors but it is also useful to be able to communicate outside the discussion board in real time.
The online social networking tools available today like Facebook, Twitter, and Skype (just to name a few - there are many others) are great tools for connecting to other students and finding other people studying the same course as you. For all those WEB101 students out there we are all going to be learning about these websites and will be using them for the duration of the course, whether you choose to use them outside of WEB101 is up to you but I for one would recommend it as a valuable tool for networking and discussing material and ideas.
Facebook tends to be the most widely accepted site, with many students already having a profile in place. You can search and join groups relating to your course or create a group and ask others to join via your institution's discussion board. Groups can now participate in real-time chat, share photos, links, and documents and even have discussion boards dedicated to various topics. You can make online friends with others studying externally and discuss the difficulties and joys of online study. A prime example of Facebook being used for anybody studying externally is the UNI Coffee Shop group. Created for OUA students by OUA students, a place to discuss whatever is on your mind whether it is related to study or not.
Studying externally does not need to be a daunting experience. If you learn to use the resources available to you will find there are many other people in the same position as you can you can build your own support network. This doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the social aspects of study. Meeting other students is a valuable experience for helpful discussion or mutual commiserations! You may even find someone studying the same course as you that lives close by and you can catch up face to face!
A word of warning with Social Networking – it is easy to end up spending a lot of time using it with no end result (looking at other people's photos and links, catching up on other people's statuses etc). Be mindful of this and set up study periods to allow you to concentrate on your work!
I give you Dilbert on Social Networking in Business:
More Dilbert comics can be found at dilbert.com
USEFUL READINGS
I read through the following articles while writing this blog post and while I haven't referenced anything specific from them they are certainly interesting reads if you want to study this topic further.
Hoffman, E, (2009) Evaluating Social Networking Tools for Distance Education, Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://etec.hawaii.edu/proceedings/2009/hoffman.pdf
Lee, J.-S., Cho, H., Gay, G., Davidson, B., & Ingraffea, A. (2003). Technology Acceptance and Social Networking in Distance Learning. Educational Technology & Society, 6(2), 50-61, (ISSN 1436-4522) Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://www.ifets.info/journals/6_2/6.html
The Economist: Social Networking Debate, Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://www.economist.com/debate/overview/123
Debate related articles:
The Economist: Everywhere and Nowhere, Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://www.economist.com/node/10880936?story_id=10880936
The Economist: Facebook for Suits, Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://www.economist.com/node/12304861?story_id=12304861
The Economist: Joined Up Thinking, Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://www.economist.com/node/8960555?story_id=8960555
The Economist: Hanging with the in crowd, Retrieved 12 March 2011 from http://www.economist.com/node/7918729?story_id=7918729
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