Tag: persona

#AcDigID, #EdDigID, #HEdigID, Social Media, SocioTech

Networked Practice: My Book List

Laura Pasquini

For some of my own research and review, I have been accumulating a variety of books to my reading list for the networked practice study. Some deal with living online, being connected, and even understanding how communities, networks, and groups thrive (or the opposite) in the digital. For the month of January, I have been taking stock and reflecting on my own networked practice. Recently I facilitated an online workshop to support higher education faculty and staff think more about their digital presence and how to manage their own reputations online. Now my current students are thinking about how they will craft their digital identity online and engage with industry leaders, future co-workers, and engage with professionals in their occupational fields. I have enjoyed having conversations to consider what online reputation means, examining how/where our personal data exists, and understanding that “being” online means so much more in 2019.

Creating, crafting, and/or presenting our professional best self digital is quite complicated and complex — just like the individuals behind the profile. As usual, I continue to think about my digital imprint and I have begun to audit where I “live” online. [This process is taking a while, so I’ll share about this audit and review in another post when I am closer to wrapping it up.] as I start to audit my own life on social media platforms and other digital accounts. Of course, I continue to read and review what others are thinking about this process — being networked, living digital, cyber reputations, and online personas — who are connected and linked to peers and communities. Here are a few of the reads and resources I have recommended lately for higher education professionals (e.g. staff, graduate students, faculty, administrators, instructional designers, instructors, early career researchers, etc.):

Beyond this list, I am more than happy to share what I have “READ” and is accumulating on my “Networked Practice” reading list on GoodReads (some reviews included):

I suppose my attention is drawn to the ideas of self-presentation, reputation, and lived lives on social media platforms (and other digital spaces we don’t fully control). At the moment, I’m “CURRENTLY READING” the following books — thanks public and university library!:

My “WANT TO READ” book list is never short, but here are a few that I have either sitting on my home shelf to read (literally) around networked practices. I have no doubt I will add (or have added) to this list, especially as I hope to read these in February.  I welcome your recommendations for living a networked life, being a connected scholar, and being involved digital communities of practice:

What are you reading these days around networked practice? Do you have recommendations for those of us who live a networked, connected professional life? This could be about online personas, digital reputation, networked groups/communities, impacts of social media at work, and more. Share any recommendations you have, and if you’re GoodReads — be sure to connect with me, so I too can be inspired by the books you’re reading.

#AcDigID, #EdDigID, #HEdigID

#HEdigID Chat No. 4: Digital Opportunities & Networked Challenges

Laura Pasquini

So… as I said in my early post this week, being a higher ed professional online is complicated:

With the shift and scale of a number of social networks and online platforms, I’m not so sure everyone needs to be everywhere online. Some might need an academic persona … whereas other college/university staff may not or might be struggling with their digital, professional lives. Being a higher ed professional online is quite complicated. Asking and learning about professionals digital selves unpacks the complexity of living our individual networked experiences. Being a digital professional might differ based on the culture of the institution, support (or lack there of) from peers and/or a supervisor, ability to participate (or not) based on geographic location, and the social identities that travel with professionals via online platforms. The decision to “be” a professional online is not a simple or straightforward “how to” guide. And, I think it’s something that often gets overlooked or not really talked about it among higher ed faculty and staff — so let’s change that. Let’s talk about it!

And talk we WILL, during the 4th monthly Higher Ed Digital Identity Chat on Friday, May 18, 2018!

#HEdigID Chat TOPIC: “Digital Opportunities & Networked Challenges ”

Here are few QUESTIONS that will roll out on Twitter throughout TODAY and are posted in the open Google doc for the #HEdigID Friday (May 18th) ALL-DAY digital conversation. In previous #HEdigID conversations we have talked about the affordances and challenges, but we have not touched upon our own personal data and privacy after we agree to an app or platforms terms of service. We need to discuss ways to support staff, faculty, and students using social media in higher ed, specifically in asking:

  1. What digital platforms and social networks are you “present” and/or do you participate on (besides Twitter) as a #highered professional (staff/faculty)?
  2. Describe WHY you are digitally active, have a digital identity/persona, and engage in a peer network/community online as a #highered professional (faculty/staff).
  3. What online communities or networked spaces do you flock to for your professional learning & development, discipline engagement, research sharing, or open practice? E.g. hashtags, groups, podcasts, blogs, etc.
  4. What are the benefits of developing a digital identity or being present online in a digital #highered community? Tell us what you have gained from being connected & networked for your role in higher ed.
  5. How much TIME do you spend each day/week on digital and social platforms to engage with peers, share in a community, or “be” online? What strategies, tips or tricks do you suggest to manage social media & flow of information on digital platforms to cut through the noise/clutter online?
  6. What challenges and/or risks exist for networked #highered professionals (staff/faculty) who are active in online communities or engage on digital platforms? Have you ever left a social network or digital platform due to any challenges/risks online?
  7. What suggestions or resources do you have for #highered professionals (faculty/staff) who are concerned about protecting their data and personal information online?

What questions, issues, or challenges should we be discussing with our peers in networked spaces? How are we thinking about the opportunities and the risks for being connected online as a higher education professional (faculty/staff)? What’s the GOOD and BAD about participating in an online community of practice?

The questions are posted and shared NOW and this day-long Twitter chat will conclude late afternoon on Friday (5/18)in my timezone (Central Standard Time). This SLOW style Twitter chat is designed to allow more higher ed colleagues and friends to join in the conversation to account for different geographic regions, multiple time zones, busy schedules, and more

Join us on Friday, May 18, 2018 to discuss these questions and more! You can participate by:

  • Tweeting a response using this hashtag on Twitter: #HEdigID

  • Draft a longer response in the open OPEN Google Doc: http://bit.ly/hedigid4

  • Take any (or all) of these questions to create your OWN response in any media or format, you want: journal, blog post, video/audio reflection, drawing, or offline discussion. 🙂

I welcome and would love to hear YOUR suggestions. What QUESTIONS or ISSUES should we consider for this chat? Please share in the Google doc above or comments below. I’m looking forward to the conversation and contribution in Twitter and in the Google doc. Additionally, do you care to moderate a FUTURE #HEdigID chat? Guest moderators ARE INVITED! Learn more here: https://techknowtools.com/twitter-chats/hedigid/
#AcDigID, #EdDigID, #HEdigID

#HEdigID Twitter Chat: Let’s Talk About Our Networked, Digital Life, Higher Ed.

Laura Pasquini

For the last couple of  years, I have been talking, researching and engaging with colleagues to figure out what it means to be a networked practitioner and/or scholar in higher ed. Based on a recent workshop and Twitter conversation (#acdigid chat), it is clear that being online feels different in 2018 than it did back in 2008 when I first started to really connect to other professionals in digital, social networks.  In an editorial I wrote for Inside Higher Ed last year, I ask questions about what it means to have a digital persona in academia, specifically these ones (slightly modified):

  • How does being part of a digital learning network support learning and development for higher ed professionals?
  • How are faculty and staff shaping their online identity and presence to share professional values, work, etc.?
  • How can does a networked community expand knowledge to enhance our roles on campus and the work we do?
  • Why might others higher ed professionals want to network with peers to scaffold their own career goals?

As these digital networks have scaled past the “social-media-is-just-a-fad” stage and they now influence more of our society in our daily lives. That being said, I think educators are considering how to be more thoughtful and consider HOW, WHERE, and IF, they should “be” in these public and open spaces. A number of college/university practitioners, scholars, and administrators have seen benefits to “working out loud” and being public intellectual in postsecondary. That being said, the repurposing of social media and digital platforms, has come with minimal institutional guidance and limited sociotechnical support (Pasquini & Evangelopoulos, 2017) and does appear to have ramifications for our personal/professional lives. A number of interviews with higher ed colleagues have just begun to identify the benefits, challenges, and future considerations for higher ed networked practices. And, of course, in talking to researchers, student affairs educators, early career researchers, academic advisors, senior administration, instructional designers, and other colleagues — it seems that we have even more questions and the need to continue these conversations among ourselves.

In a recent Twitter poll I put out this month, I tossed out the idea to host a SLOW (all day) Twitter chat ONE DAY per month for 2018. It seems like a few of you (at least 15) in higher ed, are interested in discussing your digital identity and “being online” or connected as a professional:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

So, let me introduce to you the…

Higher Ed Digital Identity Chat (#HEdigID)

We will connect on the SECOND FRIDAY of each month this year to have an open, honest conversation about being a higher ed professional who is connected and digitally engaged. Here’s the schedule, if you would like to #SaveTheDate:

February 9, 2018

August 10, 2018

March 9, 2018

September 14, 2018

April 13, 2018

October 9, 2018

May 11, 2018

November 9, 2018

June 8, 2018

December 14, 2018

July 13, 2018

Any and all post-secondary faculty, staff, professionals, scholars, practitioners, administrators, graduate students, and leaders (really anyone in higher ed) are encouraged to JOIN and CONTRIBUTE to the Twitter conversation. There will be a TOPIC, THEME, and PROMPTS to guide the Twitter Chat over the course of the day. This “SLOW” Twitter Chat (all day) is designed to encourage and allow our colleagues from across the pond, time zones, and busy work schedules to join in the dialogue. I am happy to moderate (MOD) the first few #HEdigID chats; however, I am also quite open to others who want to MOD and/or contribute an IDEA or TOPIC we should dig into online. Let me know!

#AcDigID, Digital Literacy, Reflections

Academic Digital Identity (#AcDigID): Fitter, Happier, More Productive

Laura Pasquini

The start of a new year often brings new resolutions. Updated goals. Ideas for life plans. The start of the new year reminds me of Radiohead’s Fitter Happier [Lyrics] song. Was it just me, or did the semester break and holidays go by too fast for you as well? I’m not completely ready to say hello to 2018 or set my own objectives for work/play. I personally need some more time to for deep reflection on the topic of my digital self (per my end of 2017 year “merry & bright” blog post).

During a holiday road trip, I kept the mood “light” by listening to Bored and Brilliant, reading Under Surveillance [which I promise to write about both books soon] and replaying the OK Computer album. In making a few analog notes and drawings offline, I know I have more work to do on my digital identity and online data. Fortunately, I’ll be able to reflect more about my questions and concerns with participants joining me for the upcoming workshop I’m facilitating next week:  Developing Your Social Media and Digital Presence for Faculty, Researchers, and Scholars (#AcDigID)

A growing number of scholars collaborate and disseminate research, writing, ideas and works via non-traditional spaces online. Many participate in peer learning and sharing networks, and often see support within a number of communities. This workshop was originally created to help faculty and academics craft their online presence and develop a digital identity; however, I hope we dig deeper into what it is to BE online as a networked scholar in 2018. Academics might need an academic persona … and perhaps some do not. This is the reality as our online social networks scale.  All is not as simple and easy in the digital and networked land of academe. So let’s talk about it… together.

#AcDigID Workshop Learning Objectives

  • Evaluate social media and digital platforms for faculty development, connected scholarship, and to enhance research impact.
  • Establish effective strategies for developing an online digital identity within the open, networked community online.
  • Outline the benefits and challenges of open and digital scholarship, specifically with regards to social media and other networked platforms.

This is an asynchronous, week-long online workshop which will begin on a Monday (Jan. 8th) and end on the following Sunday (Jan. 14th).  If you want a look at the #AcDigID workshop agenda, here is the outline for short-course:

  • Why Does Social & Digital Identity Matter in Academia?
    • Getting started, digital identity development, and state of scholars online
  • The Tools of the Digital Academic Trade: Social Media
    • Twitter, hashtags, blogging, podcasting, LinkedIn, and more!
  • Being a Connected and Digital Scholar
    • Digital research impact and influence: ORCID iD, Academia.edu, ResearchGate, etc.
  • Openness in Academia: Benefits & Challenges
    • Working “in the open”  and the tension between benefits & challenges of online.
  • Building Your Social and Digital Presence Online
    • Creating your own space and place for scholarship
  • Developing Your Digital Academic Identity
    • Bonus: Ways to aggregate and showcase your digital academic self

Dates Offered: January 8-14, 2018; Registration Page (to sign up); [Note: The September 2018 version of this OLC  workshop is targeted for professionals, practitioners, & administrators in higher ed.]

As I set up the workshop, I am have been busy reading and reviewing resources. If you are an academic/scholar/researcher/faculty who engages online, consider sharing articles, suggestions, and thoughts with the workshop hashtag:  #AcDigID

Other ways you can connect/contribute to #AcDigID by:

  • ADD TO THE TWITTER LIST: Are you on the“Academics Who Tweet” Twitter list? I would like to get a variety of scholars from all disciplines and areas in higher education. Let me know (comments or directly on Twitter) if YOU or someone else should be added.
  • USE the #AcDigID Workshop HASHTAG this week to introduce yourself, say hello, share resources, or offer advice. I am encouraging learners to follow, read, and use this same hashtag during the week of January 8-14, 2018.
  • TELL YOUR #AcDigID STORY: Interested in coming to talk about your #AcDigID development? How did you become a networked academic? Why do you participate in networked, online communities higher ed? Let me know – happy to have you join during our #AcDigID Online, Synchronous Meeting on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 from 12-1 pm CST. [Drop me a DM on Twitter: @laurapasquini or a comment]
  • PARTICIPATE & TWEET during the #AcDigID Twitter Chat: Join us for the LIVE Twitter chat on Friday, January 12, 2018  from 11 am-12 pm CST.  Using the workshop hashtag, #AcDigID, I will moderate a Q&A 60-minute chat digging into the questions, challenges, and ideas/suggestions for being a networked scholar.

This workshop will help me [and those who join] to reflect on my own digital self-evaluation. I hope to share what I am learning via my research and reading of working/living in a connected society. Being online looks much different in higher ed than it was a decade ago. I think we need to be more critical about our privacy and who has access to our data, plus how often do we consider a balance of life/deep work with the influence of our screens? Join the conversation to reflect and discuss a few ideas for how to best support your work and “live” online as an academic in 2018.

Recommended Reads:

Lewis, R. (2017). Under Surveillance: Being Watched in Modern America. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Zomorodi, M. (2017). Bored and Brilliant: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Spacing Out. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.