The final leg for H818 :)

1. B8729250 H818 – EMA – Part 3 Angela Phillips
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Introduction
The H818 course focused on the development of the students as ‘Networked
Practitioners’. The aim was to ensure the students developed both at accepting
and offering feedback and becoming confident networked practitioners.
The H818 course encourages the use of different networked groups. The groups
has a set time frame and purpose (Dron & Anderson, 2014). However, H818 also
encourages the students to join and contribute to networks. The networks were
built on the connections from H818, but engaged a larger group and help to
underpin informal learning (Dron & Anderson, 2014). Many of the H818 students
used Twitter (Twitter, 2015) and the hashtag #H818 was prevalent during the
duration of the course, see figure 1.
Figure 1

2. B8729250 H818 – EMA – Part 3 Angela Phillips
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During H818, many students were part of sets (Dron & Anderson, 2014), such as
sharing information via Youtube, (Phillips(2), 2014). Although the course also
focused on the importance of open resources, this was not a criteria for the
course.
Development as a networked practitioner
The first section of H818 required students to use Open Studio (The Open
University, 2014), this presented many technical issues, with students spending a
vast amount of time trying to use software that was not correctly set up. The
posts relating to the use of Open Studio attracted the most comments by
students up to November 2014 (The Open University, 2014), please see figure 2.
However, it is common for online course and networks to discuss technical issues,
as the course does not have the face to face interaction to alleviate these
problems (Mostefaoui, et al., 2012). Some students find it more comfortable to
comment on technical issues than peer comments.
It is typical for students to feel nervous about how they are phrasing comments
to peers and students can be reluctant to make judgements about their peers
ideas and comment on work produced (Sydney Education, n.d.). The H818 group
were supportive about the comments they made of others and all comments were
very polite and respectful. However, politeness can also be a disadvantage, as
very polite critisism may be misinterpreted to be praise (Dron & Anderson, 2014).
Once people in the group start forming relationships, it makes constructive
feedback more challenging to both give and receive.
Students posting information to a group can be left feeling demotivated, if other
students do not comment on their work. An example of this is below, see figure
3. Three students all asked for feedback on their plans, projects and artefacts.
Oliver received 20 comments, Stephanie received 17 comments, while Angela only
received 9 comments. This could have impacted on the way Angela participated
in the group, as she could have perceived that her work, was not as interesting or
relevant to her peers on H818. This could lead to a lack of engagement and
Figure 2

3. B8729250 H818 – EMA – Part 3 Angela Phillips
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reluctance to leave comments in the future (The Open University, 2014).
To further highlight this issue, a different student, David, asked for help with
his poster (Alcock, 2014). David received 35 responses to his request, where
Angela received 3 responses to her similar post (Phillips, 2014), please see figure
4 and 5.
David proved to be a very humorous and articulate participant in the H818 tutor
group forums, which could have led to more students engaging with him during the
course. However, some students can find it very challenging to write showing
humour and sincerity. This could be due to students with different learning
needs, for example dyslexia. A dyslexic student, such as Angela, would have to
spend time thinking about how she would phrase comments. Angela finds it
challenging to write something in text, to give the same meaning as it would have
if she had spoken the comment. It is common for students with learning needs,
such as dyslexia to not participate in higher education, in a recent study it was
found under 1% of students with dyslexia continue to further education, while up
to 20% of the population have dyslexia (MacCullagh, 2014).
Students with dyslexia find eLearning particularly challenging (Woodfine, et al.,
2005), the problems can include marginalising and demotivating the student. It
is also suggested that students with dyslexia are less likely to thrive in an
eLearning environment. H818 has been a very supportive environment, but Angela
has found it more rewarding and motivating to discuss her project with people
using audio or face to face, than using the tutor group forum or Cloudworks. The
difference in Angela’s engagement with the tutor group forum and Cloudworks, in
comparison to how she delivered the content of her project at the H818
conference is marked. Angela received a, “Presentation Star Open Badge” (Ball,
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 3

4. B8729250 H818 – EMA – Part 3 Angela Phillips
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2015) for her conference presentation, where in the tutor group forum her
contribution was minimal.
The use of groups can be very beneficial, however if a student becomes slightly
behind the majority of students, the other students have moved on and do not
comment on the work of the latecomer. The student will get the benefit of
reading their peers comments, but will not have the benefit of their peers
commenting on their work. There are also pitfalls in being the first person to
share ideas, the first person to comment, does not have the benefit of reading
their peers thoughts and refining their ideas before they are put in writing for
the group to see. Both scenarios can limit the impact of the groups effectiveness
for the individual.
Students often feel more confident seeking feedback from peers that they feel
comfortable with. However, this can also have an impact of the quality of
feedback received. Feedback received from individuals that are less familiar
with the student would be more dispassionate and could be more constructive
(Dron & Anderson, 2014). Students often seek feedback from peers that they
know will have a similar opinion to themselves, the challenge of becoming a
networked practitioner, is to allow your work to be critically reviewed by all.
What is next for Angela’s online networking?
As part of H818 Angela has engaged in different types of networked practices,
including groups, networks and sets (Dron & Anderson, 2014). Angela has found
some of the areas challenging, due to having dyslexia, which has led to some
feelings of insecurity around posting written comments. However, Angela feels
that she has thrived in different areas of developing as a networked practitioner.
Figure 6

5. B8729250 H818 – EMA – Part 3 Angela Phillips
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Angela has felt confident to share the work that she has produced in many
different mediums and groups, including:
 Producing video clips which were published on YouTube (Phillips(2), 2014);
 Producing multimedia posters, which were published on Prezi (Phillips,
2015);
 Producing PowerPoint presentations, student tasks and Open University
assessment, which were shared using Slide Share (Phillips(4), 2014);
 The development of an open source webpage (Phillips(3), 2014);
 The use of Twitter to engage with other likeminded people (Twitter, 2015),
see figure 1;
 The use of a blog (Phillips(2), 2015); and,
 Presenting at the H818 conference.
To improve as a networked practitioner Angela needs to try to engage with
written peer feedback, including using methods such as, the tutor group forum
and Cloudworks. Angela feels that she is more confident sharing resources and
ideas that are not being critically reviewed by her group, but are available for
review by both a larger network and set (Dron & Anderson, 2014). This could be
as Angela feels receiving feedback from strangers is easier to digest, if negative,
than if received from your peers in your group.
Online Networking Angela’s professional context
Angela feels that H818 has developed her skills as a networked practitioner, in
her professional role. Angela feels confident to peer assess in her school internal
networks, as the Learning Management System (LMS) used has the capacity to
leave voice recordings, as well as text. This enables Angela to say quite clearly
what her thoughts are, rather than having to leave a written response.
Angela has encouraged her colleagues to start using different groups, networks
and sets, including contributing to the sharing of ideas and resources (Phillips(5),
2014), see figure 7.
Angela is a member of LinkedIn (Phillips(3), 2015) and regularly networks using
this medium. Angela is also a member of Teachers.net, where Mathematics
teachers come together to share ideas and resources (Teachers.Net, 2014).
Angela has a passion for networking and encourages her students to network
within their learning (Phillips(3), 2014), which has been evident during the design
of the H818 project.

6. B8729250 H818 – EMA – Part 3 Angela Phillips
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Conclusion
In conclusion, course H818 has enabled Angela to grow as a networked
practitioner. The course has highlighted areas that Angela needs to address to
improve her participation in becoming a fully confident networked practitioner.
Angela has performed confidently and effectively in some areas, such as the use
of wider networks and sets, during the course. However, Angela needs to ensure
she considers the areas that need improvement, such as participation in groups
with particular attention given to written forums. As an educator, Angela feels
that she is reflective and will continue to develop.
Word Count: 1499
Figure 7

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