Q1StephenButler

Document Q1StephenButler

1. Your Name

Stephen Butler

2. Your field of study?

Technology, Education, and HCI

3. In which semester of study are you?

3rd Semester PhD

4. Why are you interested in taking this course?

To explore how the social and digital spheres connect.

5. What courses / work activities / background knowledge do you have which might be relevant to this course?

BSEE, Former K12 technology teacher

6. Indicate your own digital literacy / fluency:
6.1. Describe your programming experience (languages, projects)

Haven't done hard core programming in a long time. C, C++, Java, Perl, PHP, CSS, etc are all languages I have dabbled with to varying extents over many years.

6.2. What applications are you familiar with (e.g. Photoshop, Canvas, Dreamweaver,...)?

Lots. I taught web page design, graphics, and video editing… so things like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Dreamweaver, FileMaker Pro, Office suites, etc.

7 Give a brief description of the most important book / article which you have read with respect to the topic of the course.

Emerging Technologies for Learning, Volume 2, 2007. Chapter 1, Emerging Trends in Social Software for Education.

This article talks about the emerging field of social networks in education. It discusses the need for educators to embrace social networking systems because students are using them and benefiting from them. It discusses that even though a lot of social networks are looked at as not providing an educational benefit, the reality is that they do provide benefits of their own; even the social gaming networks. The tools promote connection and collaboration, they extend social networks into the digital age, and they provide a method for more people to be creators of content instead of simply passive receivers of knowledge.

8. What do you hope and expect to learn from this course?

I hope to gain an understanding of the research and pedagogy behind DSS. I hope to read current literature on the topic, see how systems are being implemented, and to see what characteristics make digital social systems effective and what characteristics make them ineffective. I hope to gain an understanding of the theories behind them, but then focus on the practical aspects of use and implementation.