Snapchat 'selfies': The case of disappearing data
Little has been written about the impact of ephemeral messaging technologies such as Snapchat, Wickr and iDelete on learner identities. The authors explore how disappearing social media may enable young people to take up a range of discourses and demonstrate discursive agency in ways that support social mobility through shifting relationships with their peers. Much of this unfolds through the transmission of digital images that promote social flexibility. The visibility, of seeing and being seen, demonstrates a Foucauldian 'gaze' where power plays out through the capacity to be visible and recognisable to others and specific practices (e.g. selfies) become normalised. Social media technologies furnish emergent spaces for underlife activity that foster this gaze. Taking up the Foucault's concept of subjectivities as discursively constituted identity categories, the authors explore the relationship between disappearing media and youth identities.
Learning and Teaching in Second Life: Educator and Student Perspectives
Formal off-campus flexible learning has been a feature of higher education since the 19th century. The introduction of various educational technologies over the years has provided additional opportunities for learners to undertake courses offered anytime and in any location, providing greater flexibility for the development of cost-effective learner-centred curricula. With the emergence of 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life in 2003, educators are quick to realise the potential of such immersive environments to extend the flexible learner-centred approaches that have been a feature of off-campus learning over the decades. However, the benefits of technology-enhanced learning can be contradictory and incompatible and can both widen and reduce access to education. Despite the proliferation of articles attesting to the benefits of teaching in virtual worlds such as Second Life, until relatively recently, there has been a lack of empirical evidence reporting on the learning outcomes for students participating in these virtual learning sessions. Good pedagogical practices must be taken into consideration when educating in a virtual world. The case studies presented in this chapter aim to go some way in addressing this perceived gap in the literature. In this chapter, six authors from five Australian Universities provide their accounts of teaching in a virtual world and report on the learning outcomes as well as their students' perceptions of their learning experiences.
Academic domains as political battlegrounds: A global enquiry by 99 academics in the fields of education and technology
This article theorizes the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and non-human components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organized around the following question: in what ways have scholars formed and been formed by the structural configurations of their academic domain? The article uses as a case study the academic domain of education and technology to examine this question. Its authorship approach is innovative, with a worldwide collection of academics (99 authors) collaborating to address the proposed question based on their reflections on daily social and academic practices. This collaboration followed a three-round process of contributions via email. Analysis of these scholars' reflective accounts was carried out, and a theoretical proposition was established from this analysis. The proposition is of a mutual (yet not necessarily balanced) power (and therefore political) relationship between the human and non-human constituents of an academic realm, with the two shaping one another. One implication of this proposition is that these non-human elements exist as political 'actors', just like their human counterparts, having 'agency' - which they exercise over humans. This turns academic domains into political (functional or dysfunctional) 'battlefields' wherein both humans and non-humans engage in political activities and actions that form the identity of the academic domain.
VirtualPREX: Providing Virtual Professional Experience for Pre-Service Teachers
Professional experience (or practicum) is problematic within teacher education courses because preparation for, and the quality of, placements can be inconsistent. Preservice teachers can commence their first placement without some of the requisite skills and off-campus pre-service teachers do not always have opportunities to practise any ski lls at all pre-placement. VirtualPREX is an innovative approach to professional experience preparation, providing opportunities for practice in a virtual world such as Second Life . In this chapter the authors outline the rationale for this innovation and then report on the data from the pilot trials of the VirtualPREX role plays where pre-service teachers role-played the teacher and students in a Second Life virtual classroom. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the next steps in the project.
Snapchat has its risks but it's a powerful tool for youth creativity and socialisation
Charlene takes a picture of her dog with her smartphone and morphs his face onto hers to make a hybrid creature. She sends it to dozens of her friends and acquaintances. Over the next 23-hour period, 70 of Charlene's friends view it. Many reply with pictures of their own, some clutching dogs or cats, some with hybrid faces themselves. Some have accompanying text: "Aww weird!" or "That's an improvement!" It sounds like typical teenage high jinks, and it's all done via Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging app where posts are automatically deleted after a few seconds, or 24 hours if they're posted to the user's "My story" page.
The Use of Wearable Technologies in Australian Universities: Examples from Environmental Science, Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Teacher Training
Innovation and increased access to wearable technologies are poised to inspire a new generation of technology-enhanced learning environments. Wearables provide students and teachers with hands-free access to contextually-relevant knowledge, which can be displayed as a 3D virtual world or overlaid on smart glasses, accessed via a smart watch or wristband, or used for providing biofeedback through EEG monitoring. A wide range of wearable devices is available, and it is often difficult for educators to introduce these advanced techniques into higher education contexts. This paper presents three examples of the kinds of educational applications that have been delivered in Australia and indicate key considerations for educators aiming to develop their practice and embed wearable tools into the classroom.
Harvesting the interface: Pokémon Go
What can we harvest from Pokémon Go? This is a conceptual paper about the use of Pokémon Go in Accounting and Education in higher education. The authors provide readers with an overview and context of Pokémon Go, then ways in which this disruptive technology can be used in educational settings. Outlined are ways in which the Pokémon Go app can be used as a tool to provide problem based learning, problem solving and a variety of other skills in the areas of accounting and education.
Coming of the third wave: a move toward best practice, user defined tools and mainstream integration for virtual worlds in education
The Gartner Hype Cycle has placed virtual worlds on the climb up the Slope of Enlightenment. While some authors in the past have made much of the educational use of virtual worlds languishing in the Trough of Disillusionment, there has been a community of authors, designers and educators working to further understanding of the limitations and affordances of such technologies. It is time to pool this knowledge, experience, tools and practice to solidify best practice, focus research on development of specific elements and forge ahead to shape the third wave of educational virtual worlds. This paper attempts to outline this information and practice while offering solutions for further development.
Snapchat at school - 'Now you see it...': Networked affect - cyber bullying, harassment and sexting
Snapchat is one of the most popular social media applications among Australian young people. Its global impact has grown rapidly in recent years. Reported is a mixed methods case study located in New South Wales schools. An online survey was conducted with education practitioners to enquire into their experiences of Snapchat in their school settings. The researchers used survey responses and comments from follow up interviews to consider how networked affect is enacted through Snapchat. Networked affect can be seen as a visceral movement of emotion through the intra-action of social media and human bodies. Both corporeal affect and Snapchat have received increased attention by researchers over the last five years although little has been written to link the two. We highlight the importance of reading the affective social impact of Snapchat use among young people and the potential of looking beyond its abuses to the affordances of the application.
ICT Teaching Practices from a TPACK Perspective - A View from a Regional Australian University
Three distinct clusters were identified from a survey study of a sample of 127 unit coordinators from a regional Australian University. The clusters emerged after a survey that explored perceptions of pedagogical practices that incorporated the use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT). The key components of the survey were based on seven constructs derived from the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK). For future investigations of TPACK application in university contexts, a three-cluster configuration of teacher-practitioners is proposed that requires empirical confirmation. The relevance of the findings of the inquiry and their implications on universities that conduct ICT intensive courses were also discussed, especially in relation to improving teaching practices.