The largest digital writing assignment I've ever created was the biggest flop. So let me share with you what I did, what happened and what I'd do differently.
**Group Instructions Project**
I was teaching a couple of sections of Professional and Technical Writing. A course requirement was a group project and instructions lend themselves naturally to a group assignment because of the complexity of creating an object, writing instructions, using illustrations, testing the final instructions on potential users, etc. The problem was I had five students that for legitimate reasons missed class frequently. I thought I had a perfect set of circumstances to try a distance-learning group project that used digital writing. I asked each potential member if they would be willing to do an online group and all agreed to participate.
''The assignment''
The assignment, in my mind at least, was straight-forward. They were to create a wiki using the U of M's wiki system that would explain to someone that hadn't used wikis before 1) what a wiki is 2) how to create a wiki 3) how to edit a wiki and 4) important issues that new users should consider before contributing or using a wiki. Group members didn't have to come to class (since their group had members in my morning and afternoon class) but they were expected to post each class period on the discussion board I created to divide up work and report back to the group to their progress. My assignment sheet was as clear as I could make it and about triple the length of my assignment sheet for the "traditional" assignment.
''What happened''
Absolutely nothing. The students obviously didn't really read the assignment sheet. Even when I sent emails to the group members reminding them to introduce themselves on the discussion board only one or two of them did so. More than a week into a two week project a few of them came to see me not understanding what a wiki was or why it was important for them to know.
Finally a two of the guys stepped up and took some leadership (grades are great motivators). They got the project divided up and one created the wiki and emailed his group with the link. But the group never became a group - they all did their segments of the project but didn't touch others sections even when their were obvious errors. They all claimed work as individuals and none of them did the posts that I required three times a week.
''What I would change''
If I were doing this assignment again I would require an initial face-to-face meeting with me to discuss the project, the objective and the requirements with the group. I would make individual points for participating in a timely manner as well as group points for having their work done so usability testing could occur. Not having them meet face to face was my largest mistake as a teacher, but I thought the introductions post and the post I asked them to do about their interests and strengths/weaknesses would start the conversation sufficiently. I failed to realize that EVERYTHING has to be for points in an online environment otherwise students see it as optional. Even when it is as important as communicating with their group, many students don't see communication as logically necessary.
If you want to see their final project it's at https://wiki.umn.edu/view/Main/Towar003.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Epworth-Euclid United Methodist Church
Here is one of the photos I found that I would have included in my slideshow. This is my church back home, affectionately known as Church of the Holy Oil Can :)
Playing with Flickr
A few classes ago we were suppose to make some flickr slideshows and I hadn't had a chance to play around. So today (eek! I know how horrible this is) I did the assignment.
The only thing is I feel somehow not right downloading other people's photos when I don't have to. If I set them up as my favorites I can make a nice slideshow out of them (I did a show of University Circle in Cleveland) but I can't post them anywhere. Since I missed the chance to show them off in class I don't really see a reason to use other people's pictures. I will include one of the pictures I found, and would have used in a minute.
The only thing is I feel somehow not right downloading other people's photos when I don't have to. If I set them up as my favorites I can make a nice slideshow out of them (I did a show of University Circle in Cleveland) but I can't post them anywhere. Since I missed the chance to show them off in class I don't really see a reason to use other people's pictures. I will include one of the pictures I found, and would have used in a minute.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wikis and group projects
Group projects are often dreaded by students who simply view them as extra work because it seems that more often than not you have a slacker among you. As a teacher, group projects can be hard to administer as you are not only teaching the subject matter, but also how to work with people, manage time, effectively criticize, divide responsibilities, etc.
Technologies can help but can also hinder the learning process. There is the learning curve and issue of access to the technology. There is the group vision that needs to be created and maintained throughout a project which can be harder to figure out when working remotely from each other. There also can be a lot more "big brother" going on when a teacher (and anyone else) can see who's been doing what and when.
Scott set up a wiki for our group project: a resource for Middle School teachers that would like to teach reader's theatre using technology. It sounds really cool, but I'm totally the novice in this and feel slightly out of my element as I try to figure out what I can possibly do to help... eeekkk! Working on a wiki with a subject area novice, Scott is brave. I'd like to do some interviews - maybe as podcasts (or perhaps vlogs) - with teachers that are currently using podcasting in their classrooms. I think it would be especially useful if we actually had middle school teachers to interview. Wonder where I can find some of those?
Technologies can help but can also hinder the learning process. There is the learning curve and issue of access to the technology. There is the group vision that needs to be created and maintained throughout a project which can be harder to figure out when working remotely from each other. There also can be a lot more "big brother" going on when a teacher (and anyone else) can see who's been doing what and when.
Scott set up a wiki for our group project: a resource for Middle School teachers that would like to teach reader's theatre using technology. It sounds really cool, but I'm totally the novice in this and feel slightly out of my element as I try to figure out what I can possibly do to help... eeekkk! Working on a wiki with a subject area novice, Scott is brave. I'd like to do some interviews - maybe as podcasts (or perhaps vlogs) - with teachers that are currently using podcasting in their classrooms. I think it would be especially useful if we actually had middle school teachers to interview. Wonder where I can find some of those?
Inspiration and other digital notetaking tools
I'm not a fan of digital brainstorming and organizational tools. I'm sure they work for someone, but to-date they haven't worked for me. Back in 2001 I tried a few attempts at computer-based notebooks that allowed a user to create outlines and notes and stories. Exporting them to MS Word was close to impossible and most of my writing (not that it was a tremendous amount) got stranded on these third-party apps.
Later I tried some programs like OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. They seemed to be user friendly- but I didn't seem to have an idea in my head as to what I would do with them! So they sat on the computer unused.
Another C&I class wanted us to use Inspiration to put up our ideas. It was horrid. I think I perspired more than I was inspired trying to understand how to use the system. I never did figure out why you'd want to write on the lines.
This semester I decided to try Compendium because of the orientation videos we saw in class. There is still a steep learning curve and I really need to view the videos to figure out how do some basic things, but it appears to be useful in a way that other notetaking/mapping tools are not. I'm going to try to take the time to use it as a tool for my planning for a research project and see if it can be useful for me.
I'm still not sold on the idea of digital planning tools ... a steep learning curve makes them impractical for use in the classroom. With the current whiteboard technology that will allow students to draw, type and share in real-time, I'm wondering if the time for these software apps is past.
Later I tried some programs like OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. They seemed to be user friendly- but I didn't seem to have an idea in my head as to what I would do with them! So they sat on the computer unused.
Another C&I class wanted us to use Inspiration to put up our ideas. It was horrid. I think I perspired more than I was inspired trying to understand how to use the system. I never did figure out why you'd want to write on the lines.
This semester I decided to try Compendium because of the orientation videos we saw in class. There is still a steep learning curve and I really need to view the videos to figure out how do some basic things, but it appears to be useful in a way that other notetaking/mapping tools are not. I'm going to try to take the time to use it as a tool for my planning for a research project and see if it can be useful for me.
I'm still not sold on the idea of digital planning tools ... a steep learning curve makes them impractical for use in the classroom. With the current whiteboard technology that will allow students to draw, type and share in real-time, I'm wondering if the time for these software apps is past.
True confessions of a college researcher
We were asked to talk a little about our methods as a researcher and what databases we use, how we determine validity/credibility and how we organize it for writing.
*Takes deep breath* I'm not much of a library person. I like libraries in theory well enough, but they just aren't very convenient. They are for some things (I mean I go to the Roseville Library/Dunn Bros. at least 3 times a week) - to grab a new mystery, rent a video, to study away from your apartment, and grab a cup of coffee. However, my local library does NOT have the academic sources that I need.
And I guess I'm just lazy. I don't want to travel a half hour to go to the U's library only to discover what I thought I needed isn't really useful, is lost, or someone else has checked it out before me. I adore full text. My search strategies are biased toward not having to change out of my Eeyore slippers and fuzzy pajama pants on a Saturday.
How do I research then? My absolutely favorite search engines are things like Educational Full Text and Google Scholar (GS). Google scholar might raise a few eyebrows, but I often can get better sources faster using GS and changing my key words because I can look at the articles to see if they are relevant. Also the U has a find it feature that allows me to get articles that aren't available for everyone but that are through the U. Advanced features allow me to sort limiting by year or by being a peer-reviewed source. Sometimes I find that I can get through GS what I can't get through the U due to broken links or paper-only availability.
What about needing a book? I actually do break down and go to the library for some things, but a portion of the time I buy used books online. Shipped right to your door many times for less than you might think. And there are never any overdue notices, fines or recalls!
How do I organize information? Sadly I'm not completely digital native - I usually cut and paste sections of text (and page numbers) into a Word document. I then open another document where I write the paper itself. I'll copy over direct quotes from my source text but most of the time I'll paraphrase from my source text and delete the source text as it is incorporated. This way I know that I haven't plagiarized and can see what material I still plan on incorporating, Many times I will make some book marks of online sources so I can get back to information easily.
I have not used de.lico.us but I am interested in perhaps using it in the future. I'm not sure i would be sharing my bookmarks with many people - who would be that interested? - but perhaps I will see uses for it once I start using it.
*Takes deep breath* I'm not much of a library person. I like libraries in theory well enough, but they just aren't very convenient. They are for some things (I mean I go to the Roseville Library/Dunn Bros. at least 3 times a week) - to grab a new mystery, rent a video, to study away from your apartment, and grab a cup of coffee. However, my local library does NOT have the academic sources that I need.
And I guess I'm just lazy. I don't want to travel a half hour to go to the U's library only to discover what I thought I needed isn't really useful, is lost, or someone else has checked it out before me. I adore full text. My search strategies are biased toward not having to change out of my Eeyore slippers and fuzzy pajama pants on a Saturday.
How do I research then? My absolutely favorite search engines are things like Educational Full Text and Google Scholar (GS). Google scholar might raise a few eyebrows, but I often can get better sources faster using GS and changing my key words because I can look at the articles to see if they are relevant. Also the U has a find it feature that allows me to get articles that aren't available for everyone but that are through the U. Advanced features allow me to sort limiting by year or by being a peer-reviewed source. Sometimes I find that I can get through GS what I can't get through the U due to broken links or paper-only availability.
What about needing a book? I actually do break down and go to the library for some things, but a portion of the time I buy used books online. Shipped right to your door many times for less than you might think. And there are never any overdue notices, fines or recalls!
How do I organize information? Sadly I'm not completely digital native - I usually cut and paste sections of text (and page numbers) into a Word document. I then open another document where I write the paper itself. I'll copy over direct quotes from my source text but most of the time I'll paraphrase from my source text and delete the source text as it is incorporated. This way I know that I haven't plagiarized and can see what material I still plan on incorporating, Many times I will make some book marks of online sources so I can get back to information easily.
I have not used de.lico.us but I am interested in perhaps using it in the future. I'm not sure i would be sharing my bookmarks with many people - who would be that interested? - but perhaps I will see uses for it once I start using it.
Watching all the balls drop
Supposedly successful people are able to juggle many things at once. I used to be fairly good at the juggling act, but now I'm trying something new --- it is called letting all the balls drop. This blog is one of the many balls attacking me. Perhaps referring to these balls as bludgers trying to knock me to the ground is a more accurate (and colorful) description.
I've been doing a lot of playing around with Moodle for presenting in class. The next week's debate sounds like it is going to be fun. I've downloaded so many new pieces of software recently to try out I'm getting confused what does what. Let me look into them and then I will post a little review of what I've downloaded and if I'm going to keep it.
I've been doing a lot of playing around with Moodle for presenting in class. The next week's debate sounds like it is going to be fun. I've downloaded so many new pieces of software recently to try out I'm getting confused what does what. Let me look into them and then I will post a little review of what I've downloaded and if I'm going to keep it.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Vlog about things on a stick
This vlog is from last year but it shows how easy it can be to create a relatively informative/entertaining vlog pretty easily. Someone just went to the state fair and video recorded all the things on a stick he could and edited them together with a little music. I like the different voices - it shows the differences in ages, cultures, and ethnicities. People working there and those merely visiting the fair were represented. The unguarded comments are pretty entertaining.
The audience for this vlog would be people that might attend the state fair or people that are simply amazed by the crazy stuff that is sold at fairs - I mean who would deep fry a candy bar? There must be a lot of us. Food network and shows like Iron Chef do fairly well.
I'm not sure that I would really do anything differently - except perhaps label the items being described. Some of the people are hard to understand. There are some pretty grainy shots that could have used a second take, but all in all this is a fun way to waste time. :)
Monday, April 30, 2007
Still an uproar
Things are still not back to normal at Neopets. People are still flooding staff with angry messages. The boards still show how much people are not pleased with their pets. I was looking through all the changes last night and I think I got off easy. My pets really weren't changed too much others pets are really not cute anymore and the mutant pets aren't really ugly.
Many are calling for Neopets to give us a choice in what our pets look like. People are getting more sophisticated with their means of complaint. They are now calling for everyone to send in feedback about specifically what they don't like. Banners are being placed on many accounts telling the powers that be that we really wanted a choice. Neopets has told us that having the 44 pets in 2 ways times the numbers of colors and poses would be too much for the servers. Many of us would just like a vote on what the "main" look would be. Some of these new pets are just ugly. :(
Here is an example of the before and after look. The thing to note is that to have a royal pet owners have purchased a 1,750,000 np paintbrush for the privilege.
Many are calling for Neopets to give us a choice in what our pets look like. People are getting more sophisticated with their means of complaint. They are now calling for everyone to send in feedback about specifically what they don't like. Banners are being placed on many accounts telling the powers that be that we really wanted a choice. Neopets has told us that having the 44 pets in 2 ways times the numbers of colors and poses would be too much for the servers. Many of us would just like a vote on what the "main" look would be. Some of these new pets are just ugly. :(
Here is an example of the before and after look. The thing to note is that to have a royal pet owners have purchased a 1,750,000 np paintbrush for the privilege.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
More on the protest
More developments. It seems there is now a petition with over 700 signatures against the new layout. I have copy-pasted the petition explanation below.
"Hello Neopians. Once your name appears on the list, please pick up the banner below to SHOW that you signed the petition! (THIS IS MORE OF A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HATE NEOPETS BETA, NOT SO MUCH A PETITION!) The disgusting neopets Beta is ruining coding, and is hard to manage. I mean the layout is cool, but I'd like the old neopets back.
Top Three Reasons to Sign:
1. It's ruining our HTML and CSS!
2. The pets are HIDEOUS!
3. It's hard to find stuff on the new layout!
Those in favour of signing the petition (we know petitions don't work, but I have nothing better to do with my time) neomail ME! AND ONLY ME! Just click the neomail button to sign! I will put your username up! Thanks for the support! "
More information about the petition for Neopets players
As well as the petition there are also players trying to get out information about what the changes exactly are like. The graphic below links to a petpage that shows various redraws of pets and paint jobs. I find this information very useful although I'm really hoping that some of the really ugly ones will get redrawn.
"Hello Neopians. Once your name appears on the list, please pick up the banner below to SHOW that you signed the petition! (THIS IS MORE OF A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HATE NEOPETS BETA, NOT SO MUCH A PETITION!) The disgusting neopets Beta is ruining coding, and is hard to manage. I mean the layout is cool, but I'd like the old neopets back.
Top Three Reasons to Sign:
1. It's ruining our HTML and CSS!
2. The pets are HIDEOUS!
3. It's hard to find stuff on the new layout!
Those in favour of signing the petition (we know petitions don't work, but I have nothing better to do with my time) neomail ME! AND ONLY ME! Just click the neomail button to sign! I will put your username up! Thanks for the support! "
More information about the petition for Neopets players
As well as the petition there are also players trying to get out information about what the changes exactly are like. The graphic below links to a petpage that shows various redraws of pets and paint jobs. I find this information very useful although I'm really hoping that some of the really ugly ones will get redrawn.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Community in protest
Neopets has decided to radically change their user interface. Not only did they change the look, feel, and navigational system but they also redrew many of the pets. This change came out of the blue. In the past we have received warning and were even able to vote on what a new pet would look like. This time it was BAM – in the morning things were normal, in the afternoon everything was changed.
People are not impressed – actually pissed is probably a better term. Some of the new pets are ugly. In fact my beloved biscuit chomby looks extremely vectorized. She’s just not cute and the cookies are all angular. Not all the redraws are bad, but the suddenness and the enevitable glitches are causing people to protest in many ways. People are threatening to leave Neopets, others are saying they will quit premium, and still others are making pests of themselves on the discussion boards complaining about everything. I am interested in how so many people threaten to take their ball and go home. It would seem to me that voicing our opinions through putting in error reports and suggestions will have more success as paying members. They wouldn’t want to disenfranchise their customer base (the adults who are long-term players that will pay for premium). Young children will join and leave in droves, but the adults are the core of the community. It seems that others don’t see it my way because even members of my guild have decided to cancel premium after less than 24 hours of the new system. It will be interesting how this all shakes out.
People are not impressed – actually pissed is probably a better term. Some of the new pets are ugly. In fact my beloved biscuit chomby looks extremely vectorized. She’s just not cute and the cookies are all angular. Not all the redraws are bad, but the suddenness and the enevitable glitches are causing people to protest in many ways. People are threatening to leave Neopets, others are saying they will quit premium, and still others are making pests of themselves on the discussion boards complaining about everything. I am interested in how so many people threaten to take their ball and go home. It would seem to me that voicing our opinions through putting in error reports and suggestions will have more success as paying members. They wouldn’t want to disenfranchise their customer base (the adults who are long-term players that will pay for premium). Young children will join and leave in droves, but the adults are the core of the community. It seems that others don’t see it my way because even members of my guild have decided to cancel premium after less than 24 hours of the new system. It will be interesting how this all shakes out.
Measure of membership
My year anniversary with the guild was in February. Somewhere in that time I’ve managed to move from a newcomer to an old timer in AGW. Still I find myself feeling new when new people join the guild that everyone else seems to know that I don’t. AGW is my first guild that I have ever been actively involved with. Most of my guildies have been involved in other guilds and have previous relationships developed. New people come into the guild and although they are new they may have more deeply established relationships with particular members of the guild than me. I find it an interesting dichotomy of being old yet newer than many.
I have started to keep an eye out for new members based on people posting they are looking for guilds on the discussion boards. A few weeks ago I found someone who was posting they were looking for a guild and it sounded like he was describing us. I sent him a message and he ended up joining. The exciting thing is how well he has ended up fitting in our guild. This makes me happy because he’s happy and because it means that I am evaluating our guild culture appropriately. He and I have ended up talking via IM quite a bit and it has been fun getting to know him individually as well as part of the group (it is fun to watch Grey’s Anatomy and chat about the stupidity of the characters).
Since the start of this project our guild leader has redone membership ranks. Ranks are designed to be a measurement of activity. Originally rank was determined by number of posts. New people could quickly move up the ranks by getting involved with discussions. After the guild was around for awhile this system wasn’t working so well. Some guild members have chosen to leave the guild to join another and then come back (for example some guilds battle other guilds and one of our members likes to battle so he hops in and out of our guild as the wars begin and end), some have had account problems causing them to lose their status, and finally people that were active and have 2000 posts can disappear and still have a high rank.
To fix this problem ranks were changed to reflect overall activity in the last month. People can be ranked as daily, weekly, monthly or vacationing. The expectation is that everyone should be weekly (show up 2-3 times a week) but real life sometimes gets in the way so the other ranks exist for temporary issues. I never have a problem because I chat everyday, but it has dramatically changed who’s what rank. It also makes you aware of the expectations of the community. If your rank is not weekly you are not eligible to participate in giveaways and fun events – many people only show up when events are going on to collect the goodies and then disappear again.
Just how active am I in the guild? If you take my number of posts divided by my number of days in the guild I average at 9 a day. I don’t know whether to be sad or proud. LOL
I have started to keep an eye out for new members based on people posting they are looking for guilds on the discussion boards. A few weeks ago I found someone who was posting they were looking for a guild and it sounded like he was describing us. I sent him a message and he ended up joining. The exciting thing is how well he has ended up fitting in our guild. This makes me happy because he’s happy and because it means that I am evaluating our guild culture appropriately. He and I have ended up talking via IM quite a bit and it has been fun getting to know him individually as well as part of the group (it is fun to watch Grey’s Anatomy and chat about the stupidity of the characters).
Since the start of this project our guild leader has redone membership ranks. Ranks are designed to be a measurement of activity. Originally rank was determined by number of posts. New people could quickly move up the ranks by getting involved with discussions. After the guild was around for awhile this system wasn’t working so well. Some guild members have chosen to leave the guild to join another and then come back (for example some guilds battle other guilds and one of our members likes to battle so he hops in and out of our guild as the wars begin and end), some have had account problems causing them to lose their status, and finally people that were active and have 2000 posts can disappear and still have a high rank.
To fix this problem ranks were changed to reflect overall activity in the last month. People can be ranked as daily, weekly, monthly or vacationing. The expectation is that everyone should be weekly (show up 2-3 times a week) but real life sometimes gets in the way so the other ranks exist for temporary issues. I never have a problem because I chat everyday, but it has dramatically changed who’s what rank. It also makes you aware of the expectations of the community. If your rank is not weekly you are not eligible to participate in giveaways and fun events – many people only show up when events are going on to collect the goodies and then disappear again.
Just how active am I in the guild? If you take my number of posts divided by my number of days in the guild I average at 9 a day. I don’t know whether to be sad or proud. LOL
Hanging out on the premium discussion boards
One way to measure the commitment that someone has to Neopets is by determining whether they are premium members. Premium members means that the person is addicted enough … erm, committed enough to pay for the privilege of not having ads on the site. I decided to go get premium when the ads started to talk at me! Grrrr.
Premium membership also gets the user other perks like an email address, random events of neopoints and items, a scratchcard on Fridays, and access to the superwiz – a way to look up the lowest prices of items in other users’ shops. Because I play so often these features are completely worth the 20 cents a day that the service costs. Another feature of premium are the premium discussion boards. Everyone on the site has access to discussion boards, but the premium boards are restricted to only paying members making them mostly adults who can afford the service. This makes the premium boards a lot more useful and less prone to teenagers looking for a boyfriend or pointless boards begging for items and points.
I visited the premium boards originally because I discovered that they had a board for people to post pets that were up for adoption. I had been lurking on that board for more than a month when I started to visit other boards that commonly appeared. Most people that are premium are tied into the Neopet community in a number of ways. Many belong to guilds as well as being actively involved on a board or two of their choice. What I’ve discovered is that many sub-communities have formed on the premium boards that overlap with one another. They have people that watch for over-inflated items (where people are trying to raise the prices of an item inappropriately), a group that talks about the stock market, another that talks about training pets, lending pets (for avatars), quest help, buy/sell/trade board, restock chat, etc. all have loyal followings. There are people that hang out a lot on the charter board where I’ve gotten so I recognize their usernames.
Discussion groups have evolved on a bunch of the boards premium and regular. There is also a discussion group called the OLDPD that I have lurked on, on-and-off for years. They are currently on their 3945th board. (Boards go kaboom after 30 pages – or around 500 posts.) They formed during the Lost Desert Plot in 2005 and it is still going strong. OLDPD was an abbreviation for “Obsessive Lost Desert Plot Disorder, ” but since that has been over for ages they now say it means the Obsessive Latest Darn Plot Disorder. This is just another example of how the community has managed to form and maintain itself even when there isn’t a plot going on to discuss (like right now). Makes me realize that Neopets is much more than just a site with pets and games.
Premium membership also gets the user other perks like an email address, random events of neopoints and items, a scratchcard on Fridays, and access to the superwiz – a way to look up the lowest prices of items in other users’ shops. Because I play so often these features are completely worth the 20 cents a day that the service costs. Another feature of premium are the premium discussion boards. Everyone on the site has access to discussion boards, but the premium boards are restricted to only paying members making them mostly adults who can afford the service. This makes the premium boards a lot more useful and less prone to teenagers looking for a boyfriend or pointless boards begging for items and points.
I visited the premium boards originally because I discovered that they had a board for people to post pets that were up for adoption. I had been lurking on that board for more than a month when I started to visit other boards that commonly appeared. Most people that are premium are tied into the Neopet community in a number of ways. Many belong to guilds as well as being actively involved on a board or two of their choice. What I’ve discovered is that many sub-communities have formed on the premium boards that overlap with one another. They have people that watch for over-inflated items (where people are trying to raise the prices of an item inappropriately), a group that talks about the stock market, another that talks about training pets, lending pets (for avatars), quest help, buy/sell/trade board, restock chat, etc. all have loyal followings. There are people that hang out a lot on the charter board where I’ve gotten so I recognize their usernames.
Discussion groups have evolved on a bunch of the boards premium and regular. There is also a discussion group called the OLDPD that I have lurked on, on-and-off for years. They are currently on their 3945th board. (Boards go kaboom after 30 pages – or around 500 posts.) They formed during the Lost Desert Plot in 2005 and it is still going strong. OLDPD was an abbreviation for “Obsessive Lost Desert Plot Disorder, ” but since that has been over for ages they now say it means the Obsessive Latest Darn Plot Disorder. This is just another example of how the community has managed to form and maintain itself even when there isn’t a plot going on to discuss (like right now). Makes me realize that Neopets is much more than just a site with pets and games.
And 5 hours later
I am, admittedly, not big on phone calls. There is nothing wrong with them per se. I’m just the type of person where it never occurs to me to call people. The phone has become a functional object – an object for community maintenance rather than community formation. I talk with old friends occasionally, my boyfriend on a scheduled basis, and my family members as news occurs. Ideally the phone is a scheduling device to find out if we are still meeting for breakfast or to find out if someone wants to hang out on the weekend.
One of our members runs an event where the main character has disappeared. It is a mystery and I had to cause trouble. So when I saw my guildmate online I had to ping her to find out if I could add to the chaos. She did something that no one has done before (and I’ve IMed with lots of guildies), she asked to switch mediums to the phone because it was easier for her to talk than type. Five hours later, when both of our cordless phones started to beep we hung up.
So what the heck happened that led to our phones finally time out our conversation? We were long overdue for creating personal bonds. We’ve both been part of the same online community for many, many months but had never talked privately. Because of our online community we had shared experiences, common interests, common friends, and a common culture. We just had tons to talk about and the conversation just snowballed into a conversation that bisected the personal, public and online lives. I discovered that she had actually read my blog (could have knocked me over with a feather) and had misunderstood some of my comments. This just reaffirms my hatred for blogs (a rant for another time). The thing is it wasn’t until hour 4 in our conversation that my blog even came up, even though she had found it offensive.
It seems like the building of trust is both corporate and individual. Although we all tell of personal happenings on a daily basis it seems that we don’t always have the individual trust required to confront someone when something seems off. I find this to be an interesting truth that deserves more time for reflection and analysis.
One of our members runs an event where the main character has disappeared. It is a mystery and I had to cause trouble. So when I saw my guildmate online I had to ping her to find out if I could add to the chaos. She did something that no one has done before (and I’ve IMed with lots of guildies), she asked to switch mediums to the phone because it was easier for her to talk than type. Five hours later, when both of our cordless phones started to beep we hung up.
So what the heck happened that led to our phones finally time out our conversation? We were long overdue for creating personal bonds. We’ve both been part of the same online community for many, many months but had never talked privately. Because of our online community we had shared experiences, common interests, common friends, and a common culture. We just had tons to talk about and the conversation just snowballed into a conversation that bisected the personal, public and online lives. I discovered that she had actually read my blog (could have knocked me over with a feather) and had misunderstood some of my comments. This just reaffirms my hatred for blogs (a rant for another time). The thing is it wasn’t until hour 4 in our conversation that my blog even came up, even though she had found it offensive.
It seems like the building of trust is both corporate and individual. Although we all tell of personal happenings on a daily basis it seems that we don’t always have the individual trust required to confront someone when something seems off. I find this to be an interesting truth that deserves more time for reflection and analysis.
Prepping for and attending a class in SL
Again I ventured into SL with slightly less dread. I decided that I wasn’t going to be the idiot that couldn’t find the classroom on Monday. I used the link that was provided to port myself to the educational island and started to explore.
The good news is I had procrastinated so long there was absolutely no one on the island because it was so late at night. I wandered around and found the lecture hall and various meeting areas. I even ventured far enough to find a cow and to find a building with a coffee maker and a grand piano. I tried to take a picture but I was too tired to figure it out. The good news was that by the end of my travels I was confident I wouldn’t make an idiot out of myself by failing to show up for class.
At class time I did something unique – I managed to be in 2 classes at once. The class I am in F2F was still meeting but I could keep SL running and keep an eye on what was going on in class and type a quick message while still following the general conversation in my F2F class. Pauses in conversation give the opportunity to scan the written conversation allowing me to participate in both places in a reasonable way. This of course isn’t ideal, but it was better than non-attendance in one class.
I really expected the chaos that ensued. Any class where you investigate new technology the class becomes more about the technology itself (IMHO) than about the subject of the day. I answered more questions about where I got my shoes and who I was than about any course material. The conversation went really fast and was not cohesive.
It was an experience – it is the first time I’ve ever been in class with a fox. The classroom experience in SL was anything but smooth. People had different Internet speeds causing the movie to finish at different times, conversation in groups was impossible, once people started to move getting attention to change instructions was chaotic, moving from place to place caused people to get lost, following the flying guy doesn’t work, and tables don’t seem to work as advertised. With that all said, the class was still fun in a novel sort of way. One of my classmates from my F2F class ended up hanging with me for almost an hour watching our antics; I think it is fair to say that it was an entertaining thing to watch.
My conclusion is the technology isn’t ready for education to occur in SL and we as students aren’t really ready for it either. Getting to know each other is hard enough online without using different names and avatars that you have to keep straight. Perhaps as students grow up with these environments and technology advances these environments will become very practical. But for now I will stick with environments where foxes don’t show up to class.
The good news is I had procrastinated so long there was absolutely no one on the island because it was so late at night. I wandered around and found the lecture hall and various meeting areas. I even ventured far enough to find a cow and to find a building with a coffee maker and a grand piano. I tried to take a picture but I was too tired to figure it out. The good news was that by the end of my travels I was confident I wouldn’t make an idiot out of myself by failing to show up for class.
At class time I did something unique – I managed to be in 2 classes at once. The class I am in F2F was still meeting but I could keep SL running and keep an eye on what was going on in class and type a quick message while still following the general conversation in my F2F class. Pauses in conversation give the opportunity to scan the written conversation allowing me to participate in both places in a reasonable way. This of course isn’t ideal, but it was better than non-attendance in one class.
I really expected the chaos that ensued. Any class where you investigate new technology the class becomes more about the technology itself (IMHO) than about the subject of the day. I answered more questions about where I got my shoes and who I was than about any course material. The conversation went really fast and was not cohesive.
It was an experience – it is the first time I’ve ever been in class with a fox. The classroom experience in SL was anything but smooth. People had different Internet speeds causing the movie to finish at different times, conversation in groups was impossible, once people started to move getting attention to change instructions was chaotic, moving from place to place caused people to get lost, following the flying guy doesn’t work, and tables don’t seem to work as advertised. With that all said, the class was still fun in a novel sort of way. One of my classmates from my F2F class ended up hanging with me for almost an hour watching our antics; I think it is fair to say that it was an entertaining thing to watch.
My conclusion is the technology isn’t ready for education to occur in SL and we as students aren’t really ready for it either. Getting to know each other is hard enough online without using different names and avatars that you have to keep straight. Perhaps as students grow up with these environments and technology advances these environments will become very practical. But for now I will stick with environments where foxes don’t show up to class.
Evicted from Second Life
After my first horrific experience with Second Life I found myself avoiding thinking about our assignment to play in Second Life. Unfortunately, Second Life seemed to be pursuing me. An old friend of mine contacted me via IM and started talking about the fact he wanted to get an account to explore SL for educational possibilities. I can’t tell you how loudly I groaned. Somehow I got talked into signing on to explore with him.
We never found each other but I did manage to learn about signs, how to get into a go-cart, how to set up a friend in SL and how to find that friend. Ended up we were about 80,000 miles apart (or something equally insane) so I decided to fly. I ran into a few buildings. I saw some other people flying occasionally. I also found out that some evil people had security in their air space! I finally ran up against a private island where I couldn’t manage to get out of their air space before I was forcibly evicted and sent to a telapad. Only problem was I was clueless on how to use the telapad so I ended up getting kicked out of the game. LOL
The good news is the updates SL has made makes it so I don’t seem to get sick anymore. The game runs at a more normal speed and doesn’t jerk like it did before.
We never found each other but I did manage to learn about signs, how to get into a go-cart, how to set up a friend in SL and how to find that friend. Ended up we were about 80,000 miles apart (or something equally insane) so I decided to fly. I ran into a few buildings. I saw some other people flying occasionally. I also found out that some evil people had security in their air space! I finally ran up against a private island where I couldn’t manage to get out of their air space before I was forcibly evicted and sent to a telapad. Only problem was I was clueless on how to use the telapad so I ended up getting kicked out of the game. LOL
The good news is the updates SL has made makes it so I don’t seem to get sick anymore. The game runs at a more normal speed and doesn’t jerk like it did before.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Slashdot and Adoption boards in Neopets
Posting err, yeah, that would be good. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last two weeks goofing around in either Slashdot and Neopets. (And SecondLife- but that deserves a separate post.)
Our Slashdot presentation is today. I ended up reading quite a few articles and spending time on the boards and in the FAQ sections trying to get a feel for the community. Although I have never commented on Slashdot, I plan on still checking in on the discussions from time to time. I am interested in technology but I’m not sure that I have enough expertise to add to the conversation yet. I guess I will be a peripheral participant for a while before I attempt to join in the fray.
In Neopets I have been trying to learn more about the community outside the halls of my guild. There are many discussion boards that are available and groups that form using the discussion board. Recently I have been spending time on the premium boards. I started doing this to look for some pets for an alias account. There are a number of people that make a habit of adopting unwanted pets in the attempt to change their color and make them more desirable. For example, since I have the labray, I adopted a blue shoyru from the pound and ended up with an island kacheek. I then put her up for adoption and one of my guild mates who dreamed of owning an island kacheek ended up adopting her from me. Only basic colors (red, green, blue, yellow) can be created – every other color can only be earned by purchasing the very expensive lab ray (unlimited uses but you have no control), by buying an expensive paintbrush that is one use or by doing a fountain faerie quest (a random event I have never received) to get the color.
I have been looking for a biscuit chomby on the boards. It ends up there are a number of adoption related boards – some are the no chat variety while others advertise particular pets and want you to chat with them if you want to adopt. The no chat pounding boards are much like wanted or job ads. A person posts if they are pounding or looking and what type and color of pet it is. Agencies will also be advertised where a group of people who have pets up for adoption will list all the pets on one webpage. The individual pet(s) boards will only be offering a pet or two owned by the same person. You might see Ghost Lupe and Starry Xweetok UFA. People will post to the board which pet they are interested in and will stick around to chat and find out what the requirements are. Some people require applications, petpages (a website explaining why you should get the pet), or have requirements that the pet go on main account, not be labbed, or be on an account of a certain age. Sometimes the requirements are extensive wanting pictures, role playing, and a petpage – it is so ridiculous that a group has formed named STIR (Stop The Insane Rules). Others times you can adopt with just a simple neomail answering some basic questions. I have adopted a fire chomby and a mallow grundo without spending more than a few minutes of time.
There appears to be a community that has formed around the placement of unwanted pets. The same people post pets on the no chat boards and adopt more pets to put UFA. Many of these people keep records on pets they have adopted out and check up on them. They expect you to contact them before repounding the pet or giving them away because many will adopt him/her back from you. People that disobey these “rules” can get themselves put on lists that no one will adopt to them in the future. It is clear that this community believes they are providing a service to the Neopian community at large.
Our Slashdot presentation is today. I ended up reading quite a few articles and spending time on the boards and in the FAQ sections trying to get a feel for the community. Although I have never commented on Slashdot, I plan on still checking in on the discussions from time to time. I am interested in technology but I’m not sure that I have enough expertise to add to the conversation yet. I guess I will be a peripheral participant for a while before I attempt to join in the fray.
In Neopets I have been trying to learn more about the community outside the halls of my guild. There are many discussion boards that are available and groups that form using the discussion board. Recently I have been spending time on the premium boards. I started doing this to look for some pets for an alias account. There are a number of people that make a habit of adopting unwanted pets in the attempt to change their color and make them more desirable. For example, since I have the labray, I adopted a blue shoyru from the pound and ended up with an island kacheek. I then put her up for adoption and one of my guild mates who dreamed of owning an island kacheek ended up adopting her from me. Only basic colors (red, green, blue, yellow) can be created – every other color can only be earned by purchasing the very expensive lab ray (unlimited uses but you have no control), by buying an expensive paintbrush that is one use or by doing a fountain faerie quest (a random event I have never received) to get the color.
I have been looking for a biscuit chomby on the boards. It ends up there are a number of adoption related boards – some are the no chat variety while others advertise particular pets and want you to chat with them if you want to adopt. The no chat pounding boards are much like wanted or job ads. A person posts if they are pounding or looking and what type and color of pet it is. Agencies will also be advertised where a group of people who have pets up for adoption will list all the pets on one webpage. The individual pet(s) boards will only be offering a pet or two owned by the same person. You might see Ghost Lupe and Starry Xweetok UFA. People will post to the board which pet they are interested in and will stick around to chat and find out what the requirements are. Some people require applications, petpages (a website explaining why you should get the pet), or have requirements that the pet go on main account, not be labbed, or be on an account of a certain age. Sometimes the requirements are extensive wanting pictures, role playing, and a petpage – it is so ridiculous that a group has formed named STIR (Stop The Insane Rules). Others times you can adopt with just a simple neomail answering some basic questions. I have adopted a fire chomby and a mallow grundo without spending more than a few minutes of time.
There appears to be a community that has formed around the placement of unwanted pets. The same people post pets on the no chat boards and adopt more pets to put UFA. Many of these people keep records on pets they have adopted out and check up on them. They expect you to contact them before repounding the pet or giving them away because many will adopt him/her back from you. People that disobey these “rules” can get themselves put on lists that no one will adopt to them in the future. It is clear that this community believes they are providing a service to the Neopian community at large.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Still pluggin'
I attempted to get on and explore Secondlife over break. I logged on from home this time and discovered that I didn't have enough bandwidth/speed to load clothes (even the body parts). So I was in a world of ghosts. It was pretty funny. I found that I could move around much better (without drowning myself) because the lag wasn't as bad. Unfortunately my DSL over WiFi wasn't fast enough for Secondlife to work properly and so I had to give up. It appears that I am going to have to directly plug my computer into a high speed connection to get it to work right. The set up at my apartment is not conducive to do this - the only phone jacks I have are in the kitchen (and there is no place to put the router in my kitchen) and my bedroom. So I have the box in my bedroom behind my bed and to directly plug in I would have to sit on my bed and unplug the vonage box (because the dang router has one port). Consequently, I'm going to try to find a way to plug in directly on campus sometime this week.
This week was spring break which meant I used it as an excuse to spend too much time playing Neopets. I accomplished the large goal I had of purchasing a honey potion (a bomb) for the battledome. I also purchased a smaller ticket item, a golden compass, the week before as a backup weapon. All my weapons now do 9-11 icons, which I think is a decent amount for an intermediate battler. I remember a time when an six icon weapon was pretty standard - now I don't even have 6-8 in my lineup.
The guild was in party mode with St. Patty's day. I had no luck and won nothing in any of the competitions and games. :( I even ended up missing a few games entirely because the start times weren't announced. Oh well. Our guild leader's goal is to have 50 active members and so there have been a number of people who were kicked out because of lack of activity and at least two new people in the last week. The sad thing is I can't even tell you who was removed (which I guess shows they have been really inactive) but I'm sure I would know them all if I asked for a list of those who were removed for lack of participation.
I guess this just shows the transiency in the online environment. Because of the lack of being able to see each other it is easy to not notice when people stop showing up unless they are extremely active in the community. For example I am aware that player "R" is only around occasionally these days because she use to be around daily. She doesn't have a connection at home anymore but she manages to get on certain days a week for a little bit at a time. I would notice if she disappeared, but I'm not sure if newer people would because she hasn't been super active in months. However if a newer person left (and some have) I don't notice unless someone makes a comment - for example one of the new members left and the only reason I found out was because I read someone asking why she left. I suppose just like a F2F community you have to become involved before people will notice your absence beyond the "welcome back" that you get when you haven't been around a F2F community in a while. For people to call, write an email or start widely enquiring about your welfare you have to be missed. It is hard to miss someone on the periphery.
This week was spring break which meant I used it as an excuse to spend too much time playing Neopets. I accomplished the large goal I had of purchasing a honey potion (a bomb) for the battledome. I also purchased a smaller ticket item, a golden compass, the week before as a backup weapon. All my weapons now do 9-11 icons, which I think is a decent amount for an intermediate battler. I remember a time when an six icon weapon was pretty standard - now I don't even have 6-8 in my lineup.
The guild was in party mode with St. Patty's day. I had no luck and won nothing in any of the competitions and games. :( I even ended up missing a few games entirely because the start times weren't announced. Oh well. Our guild leader's goal is to have 50 active members and so there have been a number of people who were kicked out because of lack of activity and at least two new people in the last week. The sad thing is I can't even tell you who was removed (which I guess shows they have been really inactive) but I'm sure I would know them all if I asked for a list of those who were removed for lack of participation.
I guess this just shows the transiency in the online environment. Because of the lack of being able to see each other it is easy to not notice when people stop showing up unless they are extremely active in the community. For example I am aware that player "R" is only around occasionally these days because she use to be around daily. She doesn't have a connection at home anymore but she manages to get on certain days a week for a little bit at a time. I would notice if she disappeared, but I'm not sure if newer people would because she hasn't been super active in months. However if a newer person left (and some have) I don't notice unless someone makes a comment - for example one of the new members left and the only reason I found out was because I read someone asking why she left. I suppose just like a F2F community you have to become involved before people will notice your absence beyond the "welcome back" that you get when you haven't been around a F2F community in a while. For people to call, write an email or start widely enquiring about your welfare you have to be missed. It is hard to miss someone on the periphery.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Lost on orientation island
I’m feeling kinda stupid here but I’ve managed to get lost on orientation island. I tried to fly and that worked but now I’m in trouble. I hate 3D games!
So far my character has drowned herself on multiple occasions and is flying around the island stark naked (at least she looks that way to me). She has ended up in quicksand (and she shreeks when that happens) but I don’t know how to save her. Finally I figured out how to fly her to one of the islands but there wasn’t a door into the walls. So after cracking her head into a wall repetitively I flew her up to the top of the building. I think running into the wall has adversely affected her because she was acting as if she could swim on the roof. I was really hysterical looking back – stark nuke and attempting to swim on a roof. I was really frustrated at the time.
Secondlife makes me feel ill. After fighting with the system for about an hour I was feeling sick to my stomach and developed a headache. This is why I have been avoiding playing in the game. I try to avoid all games like this- I’ve tried other 3D games and I usually end up having to lie down because I feel so ill. Tried a 3D ball game one time and I thought I would puke within 10 minutes. I’m really concerned about having the class in Secondlife (not only because I’m still on the island) but because I’m not sure I can handle a whole class in a 3D environment without compromising my health.
People often tell me to find a more adult game than Neopets. After this experience I'm ever more committed to sticking with what I know!
So far my character has drowned herself on multiple occasions and is flying around the island stark naked (at least she looks that way to me). She has ended up in quicksand (and she shreeks when that happens) but I don’t know how to save her. Finally I figured out how to fly her to one of the islands but there wasn’t a door into the walls. So after cracking her head into a wall repetitively I flew her up to the top of the building. I think running into the wall has adversely affected her because she was acting as if she could swim on the roof. I was really hysterical looking back – stark nuke and attempting to swim on a roof. I was really frustrated at the time.
Secondlife makes me feel ill. After fighting with the system for about an hour I was feeling sick to my stomach and developed a headache. This is why I have been avoiding playing in the game. I try to avoid all games like this- I’ve tried other 3D games and I usually end up having to lie down because I feel so ill. Tried a 3D ball game one time and I thought I would puke within 10 minutes. I’m really concerned about having the class in Secondlife (not only because I’m still on the island) but because I’m not sure I can handle a whole class in a 3D environment without compromising my health.
People often tell me to find a more adult game than Neopets. After this experience I'm ever more committed to sticking with what I know!
Friday, March 2, 2007
A brief introduction to the world of fuzzles
The fuzzle is one of the many plush toys that can be used to amuse your pet. Fuzzles come in many varieties in most every color of the rainbow and specialty colors like cloud, spotted, electric, starry, ghost as well as evil fuzzles (that look like they have been playing with light sockets and ripped fuzzles (who have lost most of their fuzz). They are no more significant than the thousands of other toys that you can buy for your pet.
In the AGW there is something special about fuzzles. The fuzzles have taken on a life of their own. One of our guild members- who I will refer as Spazz – has a special love for fuzzles. She began to collect fuzzles, but her fuzzles are extremely ill behaved. They cause all sorts of mischief and trouble. They constantly are escaping from her and invading the guild halls and showing up individual members inventories.
When dung gets thrown around or when people get yellow snowballs it is always blamed on the fuzzles getting loose (yes there are really yellow snowballs and dung in many different disgusting configurations). Any inappropriate behavior seems to be caused by the little guys. You would think they were innocent by their smiles but in our guild they are really the source of all mischief. They finally got to sponsor their own game during the winter holidays where you got to feed the fuzzles. If they liked your gift they would give you gifts and if they didn’t you were punished with dung, yellow snow, and rotten veggies.
Fuzzles are so commonplace around the guild that people view them as part of the furniture or decoration. Our guild leader has the bad habit of fuzzle smashing. She “accidentally” sits on the poor fuzzles- flattening them. We started out with a fuzzle sofa and now we have lots of furniture that resembles fuzzles (I’m thinking that someone is using smashed fuzzles to reupholster the furniture!).
One morning the guild was decorated completely in fuzzle furniture! This lounge picture is just one of many representations of how we visualize our community. You will notice beyond the fuzzle furniture that we are almost exclusively a bunch of women. We are sprawled all over the place, chilling. Our one male is kinda watching over us wearing pirate garb. We only have 5 men in our guild – the most active is our pirate. He is big time into the battledome and likes to flirt with the ladies ☺.
In another representation we also have the informal atmosphere and many of us have drinks as we unwind. Again we have the sole man surrounded by women (this time it appears to be “Matt” – another of our active guys who has managed to hurt himself ☹). You will notice the fuzzle couch still present with one guild member (most likely Spazzy) surrounded with fuzzles.
All of this to say, fuzzles are part of the lore of our community. They have become more than just Spazzy’s special item, they have a lifeforce of their own. Fuzzles have been known to “help” people win bingo, they have influenced the decisions of who’s won raffles, they have caused chaos and evil far beyond what mere pixels could normally hope to accomplish. They have provided comfort, an outlet for evilness, and seating to the members of our community. I personally am developing an army of fuzzles of my own – never know when they may come in handy. ☺
In the AGW there is something special about fuzzles. The fuzzles have taken on a life of their own. One of our guild members- who I will refer as Spazz – has a special love for fuzzles. She began to collect fuzzles, but her fuzzles are extremely ill behaved. They cause all sorts of mischief and trouble. They constantly are escaping from her and invading the guild halls and showing up individual members inventories.
When dung gets thrown around or when people get yellow snowballs it is always blamed on the fuzzles getting loose (yes there are really yellow snowballs and dung in many different disgusting configurations). Any inappropriate behavior seems to be caused by the little guys. You would think they were innocent by their smiles but in our guild they are really the source of all mischief. They finally got to sponsor their own game during the winter holidays where you got to feed the fuzzles. If they liked your gift they would give you gifts and if they didn’t you were punished with dung, yellow snow, and rotten veggies.
Fuzzles are so commonplace around the guild that people view them as part of the furniture or decoration. Our guild leader has the bad habit of fuzzle smashing. She “accidentally” sits on the poor fuzzles- flattening them. We started out with a fuzzle sofa and now we have lots of furniture that resembles fuzzles (I’m thinking that someone is using smashed fuzzles to reupholster the furniture!).
One morning the guild was decorated completely in fuzzle furniture! This lounge picture is just one of many representations of how we visualize our community. You will notice beyond the fuzzle furniture that we are almost exclusively a bunch of women. We are sprawled all over the place, chilling. Our one male is kinda watching over us wearing pirate garb. We only have 5 men in our guild – the most active is our pirate. He is big time into the battledome and likes to flirt with the ladies ☺.
In another representation we also have the informal atmosphere and many of us have drinks as we unwind. Again we have the sole man surrounded by women (this time it appears to be “Matt” – another of our active guys who has managed to hurt himself ☹). You will notice the fuzzle couch still present with one guild member (most likely Spazzy) surrounded with fuzzles.
All of this to say, fuzzles are part of the lore of our community. They have become more than just Spazzy’s special item, they have a lifeforce of their own. Fuzzles have been known to “help” people win bingo, they have influenced the decisions of who’s won raffles, they have caused chaos and evil far beyond what mere pixels could normally hope to accomplish. They have provided comfort, an outlet for evilness, and seating to the members of our community. I personally am developing an army of fuzzles of my own – never know when they may come in handy. ☺
Monday, February 26, 2007
Restructuring of AGW
Community reproduction is important to any community of practice. In AGW I have recently noticed the community restructuring and reproducing itself. Reproduction, according to Lave & Wenger, is “…historically constructed, ongoing, conflicting, synergistic structuring of activity and relations among practitioners” (56). In the last week we have lost a member because she decided no longer had the time to devote to the community. She felt that her inactivity was harmful to the group and so she said her farewells and left. We also have increased in size by another two members, which follows last week where three members joined (one of them has already left). We also have about four other members that I still consider fairly new. Being new has a lot to do with how much you have participated in the community, not with how many weeks you have officially been part of the guild.
This play in the fabric of our community of practice has repercussions up to the members on council. This week we had another switch of leadership with one of the five council spots going to a member who joined about six months ago. This changing of the guard highlights the fact that with successful production of a community of practice roles of participants will change. Old-timers who were once in center of the community moved to the periphery because, with “the successful production of a community of practice, [it] also implies replacement of old-timers” (Lave & Wenger 57).
I know that from previous conversations with our guild leader that she does not like moving people off council unless it is at their request. But for a number of months she had been concerned about the stagnation of the current council members who were becoming less active. This is a normal part of the production and re-production of a community as Lave & Wenger explain, “Learning, transformation, and change are always implicated in one another, and the status quo needs as much explanation as change” (57).
Lave & Wenger also claim that reproductive cycles are also productive. I am beginning to notice the historical traces that are created and recreated as new members leave the periphery and become central. For example often you will see (((Jen))). When I first joined the guild I had no idea what all the parentheses were suppose to be. What I discovered is that some members would occasionally write (((huggs))) and it clicked. (((hugs))) somehow morphed into merely the ((( xxx ))). Our guild also uses fuzzles as a symbolic and physical ways. The joy of fuzzles (and dung for that matter) are passed on from one member to the next. In fact a couple of our guild layouts weave fuzzles and community members into the same space. But I need to get some of those pics to show you all so that will have to be a post for next time.
This play in the fabric of our community of practice has repercussions up to the members on council. This week we had another switch of leadership with one of the five council spots going to a member who joined about six months ago. This changing of the guard highlights the fact that with successful production of a community of practice roles of participants will change. Old-timers who were once in center of the community moved to the periphery because, with “the successful production of a community of practice, [it] also implies replacement of old-timers” (Lave & Wenger 57).
I know that from previous conversations with our guild leader that she does not like moving people off council unless it is at their request. But for a number of months she had been concerned about the stagnation of the current council members who were becoming less active. This is a normal part of the production and re-production of a community as Lave & Wenger explain, “Learning, transformation, and change are always implicated in one another, and the status quo needs as much explanation as change” (57).
Lave & Wenger also claim that reproductive cycles are also productive. I am beginning to notice the historical traces that are created and recreated as new members leave the periphery and become central. For example often you will see (((Jen))). When I first joined the guild I had no idea what all the parentheses were suppose to be. What I discovered is that some members would occasionally write (((huggs))) and it clicked. (((hugs))) somehow morphed into merely the ((( xxx ))). Our guild also uses fuzzles as a symbolic and physical ways. The joy of fuzzles (and dung for that matter) are passed on from one member to the next. In fact a couple of our guild layouts weave fuzzles and community members into the same space. But I need to get some of those pics to show you all so that will have to be a post for next time.
Monday, February 19, 2007
A community?
“A community is a multigenerational group of people, at work or play, whose identities are defined in large part by the roles they play and relationships they share in that group activity. The community derives its cohesion from the joint construction of a culture of daily life built upon behavioral norms, routines, and rules, and from a sense of shared purpose” (Barab et al. 18).
How does the community that I’m looking at fit this definition of a community? AGW is multigenerational – we have grandmothers and grandfathers, parents of teens, women that are pregnant, and those of us still dating around looking for love. Since Neopets is site for entertainment we are a community of play in large part but many of us take is quasi-seriously. People develop goals as far as what they are trying to accomplish in a day, week or year.
AGW community members often feel the need to get involved in the community to provide a service to its members. People carve out a standing for themselves by how often they are around, and what they do for the community. For example one member runs a game that is like Bingo and does a weekly treasure hunt. A few others work together to create new guild layouts and develop user lookups for interested guild members. Another member runs a game where the objective is to make the highest or lowest unique bid (1-100). Still another member is developing a team of pets that will fight in the battledome. Someone else posts the crossword answers on a daily basis. Personally I have become the advisor for the guild on the stock market and I am working on doing the web design for the battledome group (because the leader doesn’t know html). Being involved gives a sense of purpose in the group and identity. It seems like everyone finds a nitch for themselves if they want to be a central member of the community. People who are peripheral participants often get involved sooner or later, and sometimes those in the thick of things step away from such an active role. (Very recently council was reorganized to reflect who was actively leading. Those who had become busy in RL and couldn’t do as much stepped aside without anyone getting upset or any upheaval occurring in the group.)
There are definitely group norms that are at work in AGW. One example of a norm is the helpfulness of the group and expected behavior. For example while playing you might get a quest. The fire faerie will come to you and say something like “Where is my jingly bell?” and you are expected to find that object for them for a reward. The catch- you have no access to the shop wizard that you would usually use to find objects. If you try she tells you it is cheating. When I first joined AGW and I got such a quest I posted to the board asking for someone else to look it up for me. Instead people started giving me the object I had requested. The norm is someone posts a quest item, and other members will rush to find it for them. (It is almost like a race to get the object to them first.) The member with the quest will turn in the item to the faerie, find out the reward and copy the award notice to the guild board along with a thank you to the member who sent the object. The first time I got 2 of the same object I didn’t know what to do. Do you send one back? Keep it and send a gift? Thank both and and keep both? Common convention is to thank the first (giving a gift isn’t expected) and then thank subsequent givers and send them back. If you don’t know to post the your results you will get flooded with jingly bells. If you don’t send back extra ones you are considered sort of rude, although no one will say anything. And people will often give you expensive things that you need (at over 10K sometimes less wealthy players will post prices rather than give the item, which is acceptable). The reason for the great rush to give is because this system only works effectively if everyone takes responsibility for the good of each individual member. Getting expensive gifts compels you to also be generous because otherwise you feel as though you aren’t doing your part in the community. I have easily gotten 250K worth of stuff from my guild in the past year (this is not counting the stuff that were presents that were given to me by individuals that I didn’t request). This is only possible because all of us give liberally.
How does the community that I’m looking at fit this definition of a community? AGW is multigenerational – we have grandmothers and grandfathers, parents of teens, women that are pregnant, and those of us still dating around looking for love. Since Neopets is site for entertainment we are a community of play in large part but many of us take is quasi-seriously. People develop goals as far as what they are trying to accomplish in a day, week or year.
AGW community members often feel the need to get involved in the community to provide a service to its members. People carve out a standing for themselves by how often they are around, and what they do for the community. For example one member runs a game that is like Bingo and does a weekly treasure hunt. A few others work together to create new guild layouts and develop user lookups for interested guild members. Another member runs a game where the objective is to make the highest or lowest unique bid (1-100). Still another member is developing a team of pets that will fight in the battledome. Someone else posts the crossword answers on a daily basis. Personally I have become the advisor for the guild on the stock market and I am working on doing the web design for the battledome group (because the leader doesn’t know html). Being involved gives a sense of purpose in the group and identity. It seems like everyone finds a nitch for themselves if they want to be a central member of the community. People who are peripheral participants often get involved sooner or later, and sometimes those in the thick of things step away from such an active role. (Very recently council was reorganized to reflect who was actively leading. Those who had become busy in RL and couldn’t do as much stepped aside without anyone getting upset or any upheaval occurring in the group.)
There are definitely group norms that are at work in AGW. One example of a norm is the helpfulness of the group and expected behavior. For example while playing you might get a quest. The fire faerie will come to you and say something like “Where is my jingly bell?” and you are expected to find that object for them for a reward. The catch- you have no access to the shop wizard that you would usually use to find objects. If you try she tells you it is cheating. When I first joined AGW and I got such a quest I posted to the board asking for someone else to look it up for me. Instead people started giving me the object I had requested. The norm is someone posts a quest item, and other members will rush to find it for them. (It is almost like a race to get the object to them first.) The member with the quest will turn in the item to the faerie, find out the reward and copy the award notice to the guild board along with a thank you to the member who sent the object. The first time I got 2 of the same object I didn’t know what to do. Do you send one back? Keep it and send a gift? Thank both and and keep both? Common convention is to thank the first (giving a gift isn’t expected) and then thank subsequent givers and send them back. If you don’t know to post the your results you will get flooded with jingly bells. If you don’t send back extra ones you are considered sort of rude, although no one will say anything. And people will often give you expensive things that you need (at over 10K sometimes less wealthy players will post prices rather than give the item, which is acceptable). The reason for the great rush to give is because this system only works effectively if everyone takes responsibility for the good of each individual member. Getting expensive gifts compels you to also be generous because otherwise you feel as though you aren’t doing your part in the community. I have easily gotten 250K worth of stuff from my guild in the past year (this is not counting the stuff that were presents that were given to me by individuals that I didn’t request). This is only possible because all of us give liberally.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Eek! The devil's in the details.
I just re-read the assignment sheet and realized that I was suppose to be posting at least twice weekly about my community experience. Well oops.
Yesterday was a huge community day in our guild because it was Valentine's day. Our clan likes to party and we try to take any excuse to celebrate very seriously. A number of us had gift packs that were up in our trades and the council planned a number of activities. Games included pass or trade, scramblers, treasure hunt, romantic movie trivia, and a writing game about a secret crush. Scramblers are always a favorite. Rules are simple to that game - unscramble the word and use it in a sentence that includes a guild member's name. So the scramble "oceholtca" would turn in to a mad rush to post something like "Mandy really needs chocolate when she is cranky."
The guild was extremely busy with many of us spending a number of hours hanging out and chatting. We had good news from one member, her husband wants to get back together and told her on Valentine's day. We also had reports of a horrible day from another whose AS child was having problems breathing so they want her out of school even though she has a doctor's note explaining she is fine for school. (We all decided that forming a mob armed with darts that we could aim at the principal's rear might be a good way to show our dissatisfaction.)
What all this showed me is how much we are all involved in each other's lives. I know many things about people that live all over the place - Canada, Trinidad, Sweden, Australia, and all over the US: Nevada, Indiana, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, and Ohio and I'm sure I am missing many more places that are represented. The thing is that whether it is needing tips for playing a game on Neopets, having a personal problem, or receiving encouragement to tackle something as mundane as doing the laundry (someone sent me a washboard when I was dreading my pile of laundry), someone is always around with a word, a virtual hug or some other form of encouragement.
Next post will relate to some reading, but I wanted to get something up here to explain my lack of posting. Oops. :D
Yesterday was a huge community day in our guild because it was Valentine's day. Our clan likes to party and we try to take any excuse to celebrate very seriously. A number of us had gift packs that were up in our trades and the council planned a number of activities. Games included pass or trade, scramblers, treasure hunt, romantic movie trivia, and a writing game about a secret crush. Scramblers are always a favorite. Rules are simple to that game - unscramble the word and use it in a sentence that includes a guild member's name. So the scramble "oceholtca" would turn in to a mad rush to post something like "Mandy really needs chocolate when she is cranky."
The guild was extremely busy with many of us spending a number of hours hanging out and chatting. We had good news from one member, her husband wants to get back together and told her on Valentine's day. We also had reports of a horrible day from another whose AS child was having problems breathing so they want her out of school even though she has a doctor's note explaining she is fine for school. (We all decided that forming a mob armed with darts that we could aim at the principal's rear might be a good way to show our dissatisfaction.)
What all this showed me is how much we are all involved in each other's lives. I know many things about people that live all over the place - Canada, Trinidad, Sweden, Australia, and all over the US: Nevada, Indiana, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, and Ohio and I'm sure I am missing many more places that are represented. The thing is that whether it is needing tips for playing a game on Neopets, having a personal problem, or receiving encouragement to tackle something as mundane as doing the laundry (someone sent me a washboard when I was dreading my pile of laundry), someone is always around with a word, a virtual hug or some other form of encouragement.
Next post will relate to some reading, but I wanted to get something up here to explain my lack of posting. Oops. :D
Monday, February 12, 2007
Walking in mid-stream
I'm sure everyone has experienced walking into a meeting or class late. Sometimes there is a legitimate reason, sometimes it is just poor planning - sometimes it's both. With me it is both, and it will be a recurring theme all semester. For those of you that don't know the fates conspired against me and the only two classes that I'm taking this semester overlap by 50 minutes. Unfortunately, I'm am not Hermione Granger and the two places at once thing is not possible through magic. Aaron is being nice enough to tolerate my perpetual tardiness, and I hope all of you will excuse my untimely arrival.
In a classroom or a FTF meeting it is easy enough to get up-to-speed. Someone throws you a copy of the agenda, you read the board notes or someone whispers at you that everyone is on page 137 and you can figure it out from there. Pretty soon you have a good idea what is going on and you can contribute to the conversation.
This is not true when you sign on to a virtual class meeting late. When I walked in I was greeted warmly and told that we were on question number 4. Slight problem - I didn't know what the questions were. I went back to the main page to go grab the questions to find myself logged out of the classroom area. Unlike a real classroom where when you get there you are there the Web CT/Blackboard interface doesn't allow multiple logins nor can you be doing two things at once (which you can in a real classroom - looking for a book and listening to conversation or searching for a page and holding up your hand to comment). Going to find the questions was like me leaving the room to go to another to get the handout. When I came back the conversation had gone on without me and there was no way to get up to speed. I think with communicating online typing takes longer than writing so people are less able to tell you what is going on without taking a lot of time. I was told I would get a copy of the conversation (which was great) but it didn't allow me to participate in real time.
Part of this problem might occur because writing is more permanent than talking. Many of us use bulletin boards to communicate and we are use to being able to look back and follow a conversation even though we weren't there when the conversation started. Using this totally sychronous environment does not allow anyone to go back and see what happened in their absense. I have to admit that I hated not being able to go back and look. I was annoyed with the software that was so poorly designed that I couldn't have what I needed (that is a text of the running conversation). I felt irresponsible because I couldn't participate. And then I managed to kick the powerstrip in the computer lab and the computer turned off.
The second half of the class was a lot more beneficial to me. I managed to be there and an keep the lab computer on- so the whole class wasn't a bust. I do think that this method of conducting online classes needs to be improved because things do happen. People sign on late, have to step away for a minute, have power outages, etc. These annoyances shouldn't have such catastrophic implications.
In a classroom or a FTF meeting it is easy enough to get up-to-speed. Someone throws you a copy of the agenda, you read the board notes or someone whispers at you that everyone is on page 137 and you can figure it out from there. Pretty soon you have a good idea what is going on and you can contribute to the conversation.
This is not true when you sign on to a virtual class meeting late. When I walked in I was greeted warmly and told that we were on question number 4. Slight problem - I didn't know what the questions were. I went back to the main page to go grab the questions to find myself logged out of the classroom area. Unlike a real classroom where when you get there you are there the Web CT/Blackboard interface doesn't allow multiple logins nor can you be doing two things at once (which you can in a real classroom - looking for a book and listening to conversation or searching for a page and holding up your hand to comment). Going to find the questions was like me leaving the room to go to another to get the handout. When I came back the conversation had gone on without me and there was no way to get up to speed. I think with communicating online typing takes longer than writing so people are less able to tell you what is going on without taking a lot of time. I was told I would get a copy of the conversation (which was great) but it didn't allow me to participate in real time.
Part of this problem might occur because writing is more permanent than talking. Many of us use bulletin boards to communicate and we are use to being able to look back and follow a conversation even though we weren't there when the conversation started. Using this totally sychronous environment does not allow anyone to go back and see what happened in their absense. I have to admit that I hated not being able to go back and look. I was annoyed with the software that was so poorly designed that I couldn't have what I needed (that is a text of the running conversation). I felt irresponsible because I couldn't participate. And then I managed to kick the powerstrip in the computer lab and the computer turned off.
The second half of the class was a lot more beneficial to me. I managed to be there and an keep the lab computer on- so the whole class wasn't a bust. I do think that this method of conducting online classes needs to be improved because things do happen. People sign on late, have to step away for a minute, have power outages, etc. These annoyances shouldn't have such catastrophic implications.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
A leaderless community
A story about a tree is a reading that resonated with me as well as raised questions. It talks about the impact of a player that passed away but still has a presence in Ultima Online - a presence of enough strength that a person that never met her records her story. There is something that can be said about shared history of an online community. More than recording the history of a player, Designer Dragon constructs through his account a means to legitimize the experience of sorrow as a group. He defines it as a "real" experience and dares anyone else to challenge his interpretation of history.
As this happening has been iconized and becomes part of the community history, I wonder about how much community existed when Karyn was actively playing. I question this because of an experience in my online community where our very dynamic guild leader disappeared.
Our leader and her family were victims of mistaken identity by a group of drug dealers who were dyslexic and got the wrong house. Instead of shaking up and/or terminating the guys who owned them money down the street these hoodlums found themselves in the wrong house unsure what to do. She and her family were tied up and their house ransacked - fortunately her son got a call into the police before they discovered him and so they were rescued without sustaining personal injury. They picked up everything and moved into a hotel while they searched for a new house. However she was without a computer for the first while and basically disappeared.
Instead of the group slowly dissolving and losing focus another member of council almost immediately posted what happened to our beloved leader. People took up the slack and filled in doing things that normally she would do so the community would continue as normally as possible. It took a number of people to fill her shoes and they did an amazing job for almost six weeks during the summer when she wasn't able to look after us herself. Our community is more than just an online community that functions as an aspect of the game. Most of us know at least one other player personally because they are a RL friend. A number of us have met other guildies in RL when they had the chance. Many of us have MSN or AIM user names of other group members, and some of us have shared phone numbers. We have a MSN website where we share pictures and could still get to each other if Neopets went poof.
All this to say, our guild could have fell apart without our leader but it didn't. I think it is due the fact that we are a community rather than just an online group with hazy membership boundaries. Perhaps membership is a key to what makes a community rather than a transitory group of convenience.
As this happening has been iconized and becomes part of the community history, I wonder about how much community existed when Karyn was actively playing. I question this because of an experience in my online community where our very dynamic guild leader disappeared.
Our leader and her family were victims of mistaken identity by a group of drug dealers who were dyslexic and got the wrong house. Instead of shaking up and/or terminating the guys who owned them money down the street these hoodlums found themselves in the wrong house unsure what to do. She and her family were tied up and their house ransacked - fortunately her son got a call into the police before they discovered him and so they were rescued without sustaining personal injury. They picked up everything and moved into a hotel while they searched for a new house. However she was without a computer for the first while and basically disappeared.
Instead of the group slowly dissolving and losing focus another member of council almost immediately posted what happened to our beloved leader. People took up the slack and filled in doing things that normally she would do so the community would continue as normally as possible. It took a number of people to fill her shoes and they did an amazing job for almost six weeks during the summer when she wasn't able to look after us herself. Our community is more than just an online community that functions as an aspect of the game. Most of us know at least one other player personally because they are a RL friend. A number of us have met other guildies in RL when they had the chance. Many of us have MSN or AIM user names of other group members, and some of us have shared phone numbers. We have a MSN website where we share pictures and could still get to each other if Neopets went poof.
All this to say, our guild could have fell apart without our leader but it didn't. I think it is due the fact that we are a community rather than just an online group with hazy membership boundaries. Perhaps membership is a key to what makes a community rather than a transitory group of convenience.
Monday, February 5, 2007
A little background
It has been a long time since I kept a blog, but I find it an assignment I am excited to begin working. It is an opportunity to share my thoughts about the components of what makes a successful community with my friends and classmates.
First of all, for those of you that are unfamiliar with what Neopets is I welcome you to read Michelle’s first post that explains about it. As Michelle explains, there are many ways to communicate with other players and many activities and games available on the site. Membership in a guild is quite common for an established player. Guilds are of various sizes and some are more active than others.
Like Michelle’s guild, the guild I belong to, Adults Gone Wild, is a private guild that is over a year old. I have been a member since February 2005 and I currently serve as part of the guild’s sub-council (council and sub-council are the leadership team for the guild that are responsible for planning events and activities for the group). AGW has about 50 members from all over the globe. The two major membership requirements are being extremely active on Neopets and an adult (18+). To stay a member, active participation on the message board is expected/required.
I joined AGW when I was taking a class where we were discussing online communities. I had been involved in a couple of other guilds that had minimal activity and conversations. To say I was skeptical about the existence of true community online might be understating my feelings. I was pretty sure that “communities” were really just a way for a guild leader to get people to donate items and money to them. My tune has changed greatly with my experience with AGW – a small community in a big game.
First of all, for those of you that are unfamiliar with what Neopets is I welcome you to read Michelle’s first post that explains about it. As Michelle explains, there are many ways to communicate with other players and many activities and games available on the site. Membership in a guild is quite common for an established player. Guilds are of various sizes and some are more active than others.
Like Michelle’s guild, the guild I belong to, Adults Gone Wild, is a private guild that is over a year old. I have been a member since February 2005 and I currently serve as part of the guild’s sub-council (council and sub-council are the leadership team for the guild that are responsible for planning events and activities for the group). AGW has about 50 members from all over the globe. The two major membership requirements are being extremely active on Neopets and an adult (18+). To stay a member, active participation on the message board is expected/required.
I joined AGW when I was taking a class where we were discussing online communities. I had been involved in a couple of other guilds that had minimal activity and conversations. To say I was skeptical about the existence of true community online might be understating my feelings. I was pretty sure that “communities” were really just a way for a guild leader to get people to donate items and money to them. My tune has changed greatly with my experience with AGW – a small community in a big game.
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