Tuesday 17 January 2012

The research continues...

It's been a while since I posted on the Communities of Practice blog, over a year in fact. The blog was initially set up to gather student feedback about the use of blogs on the CG Arts course, and the comments that students provided in response to my questions have proved invaluable during the past year. The knowledge and understanding provided from observing the conversations on the CG Arts blogs has helped me work with tutors and course leaders to set up successful collaborative activities on myUCA and other learning tools, and I feel obliged to offer my thanks not only to all those who posted on my blog but to the CG Arts community as a whole. So..

Thank you very much to all CG Arts students and alumni!

The time has come to continue the research. Phil and myself are hoping to publish our findings later this year in order to spread the word about the success of the CG Arts online community and the potential benefits to other students and universities. But before we do, it would be great to get some further feedback from you about your experience of the use of blogs as part of the course.

I'm going to post a question per week for the next few weeks and I would love to hear your views, whether positive or negative. The question for this week is:

Although you are required to post your work on your blog for your tutor, how valuable to you are the conversations and interactions that you have with other CG Arts students on the blogs, and why?

As always, all thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Tony

12 comments:

  1. I am finding it more and more valuable as time goes on, as at the start it really was just like why am I doing this? Whats the point of this blogging lark? But then it slowly came more and more helpful and valuable as it opens up my work, it ask questions, gives new ideas to all the feed back I get, where as before it was just me and my sketch book, now its me, the rest of the class and my sketch book which has helped with ideas and developments, (Simply, very, very valuable.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mike, many thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think a lot of people experience a similar journey when they start blogging, at first you wonder why you do it but after a while the value of sharing your thoughts is revealed.

      Delete
  2. Hi Tony,
    I'm a graduate from CG Arts last year and I’m currently doing an MA. After I graduated I was hired to be the CG Arts GTA, so this has meant a continued engagement with the course blogging culture. As technically a member of staff but also as another fellow student, I try to interact; culturally, creatively and technically.

    For technical advice, the blogs are a real boon. Recently - very close to a deadline - there was an occasion where a students work was rescued from the brink after it was thought lost to a file corruption. He was working from home but posted the issue on his blog and I was able to quickly respond. Arguably said student may not of been of able to finish his project on time had he not sought the advice of the community.
    Of course, not every piece of technical advice given is in a life or death situation but the blogs are so useful in just easing people over the finish line. A small nugget of advice can really go a long way to polish off a project in the closing stages. Conversely - on the other end of the stick - where people are not interacting or plugging into the resources and experience available to them- as GTA I find it slightly frustrating because often the problems are easily solvable. A short blog post may well of provided them with a solution, whether it'd of been by me or another student.

    Away from technical problems. Prior to First Year film screenings, I often post a profile of the film which is to be shown. Usually it encompasses a short outline of the plot and themes of the film, a quote from an academic and referenced source, production details and related films etc. For films of a difficult or obscure nature, it's a useful way to break the ice and give a heads up about the type of film they are going to experience. A number of people in the Second and Third year have also said they find them useful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tom,

      Thank you for such a detailed reply, it's most appreciated. Your comments really support the notion of the blogs as a community-building tool, able to help out students in trouble in the same way as a physical community.

      Your journey through the CG Arts course to your current role as GTA also reflects one of the main characteristics of a community of practice, which is the notion that participants begin on the fringes of a community and gradually move towards the centre. The fact that you provide feedback on the blogs to assist current students bears witness to the skills and experience you acquired during the course which you can now pass on to newer students.

      Thanks again for your reply, it is a valuable example of the community-building power of the blogs.

      Delete
  3. there were many instance when I received comments from my fellow coursmates. It helped me improve the work, fix any mistace I myself haven;t noticed. Another huge reason is, that if a particular idea or concept etc has a huge potential, I noticed it is never left unnoted by my coursemates. So it works as an indicator too, of the audience response to your ideas/work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi J.J., many thanks for this - that's a good point about your coursemates pointing out the potential of your ideas. This could be described as 'crowdsourcing' in a way, using the power of the community to test ideas and concepts.

      Delete
  4. Hi Tony,
    I have been a Learning Support Assistant on the CG Arts course for nearly 3 years now, and find blogging an invaluable resource for supporting students. The students I support often have issues with interacting personally with their classmates (and tutors!), and it is useful for me to be able to prompt them to use the blog as a means of asking questions and receiving feedback. It is also a useful tool for me to gauge how a student is keeping up, or not, with the volume of work required.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jackie,

    It's great to have feedback from an LSA, may thanks for your response. Your example is a good indicator of the benefits of the blogs in terms of inclusive learning, providing an alternative means of communication for students who may feel more comfortable with online discussion than face-to-face contact. And your second point supports the notion of the blogs as a powerful tool for formative assessment, enabling tutors and LSA to diagnose problems at an early stage and take appropriate measures to support the student.

    Thank you for your comment!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I now find Blogging a pleasure, it's as J.J. said a great way for un-noticed potential to be shouted out, but it's also really inspiring, like our community working together in sincerity knowing that whatever comments are left are meant in a positive way, even if they are to say the work needs to step up, its never meant in a negative sense. So the blogging is highly valuable to get feedback from other brainwaves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing Nat, its certainly true that that comments on the blogs always come across as constructive. It's also interesting that you now find blogging a pleasure rather than an obligation, as choosing a good medium for communication is often one of the biggest challenges in building an online community.

      Delete
  7. Hi Tony,
    Simon here again. Since your last batch of research I have moved into the role of technical tutor. In this role I deliver Maya to the CG Arts first years one day a week, as well as making myself available for support when I am not teaching at Rochester, I also teach a variety of other software to whichever courses require it. I feel that blogs are an essential tool for students to be utilising when completing their tutorials as it allows me and the rest of the team to see how they are getting on with the software. Beyond this however I feel that blogs have two more important roles.

    Firstly, if a student has encountered an issue or problem there is a resource of students that are either tackling the task or have already had experience to provide support and feedback. With the number of CG Arts students accessing the blog an answer is normally forthcoming very quickly.

    Secondly, I believe that the blog is an excellent motivational tool. As students start to place their work up it can prompt those students that are not already in as strong a position to apply themselves more readily. Having been associated with the CG arts course for five and a half years I have followed the blog since its inception, as such I have watched the bar set by students increase with each year and I feel that the community of current and former students are essential to this progression.

    The fact that students are encouraged to show their work also encourages a sense of professionalism at quite an early stage. On courses that support blogging students are in the public sphere at a very early stage and as such are able to develop presentation skills significantly earlier, they also lose the fear of public critique relatively quickly and the best students actively seek such feedback. In todays culture of internet awareness the level of access and distribution that a savvy blogger can achieve is at an unprecedented level.

    As a tutor I would love to see all courses be as open and available towards blogging as CG Arts. It would provide me with a second sight in order to be able to assess skill levels of students, make introductions, provide feedback and support much more readily.

    I hope this helps.

    Simon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Simon,

      Many thanks for your detailed reply, it's really useful to get feedback from someone who has progressed through the course. The peer-learning opportunities provided by the CG Arts blogs are without doubt one of the great strengths of the CG Arts online community.

      Your point about motivation is also interesting as it must certainly be useful for students to see both the quality and quantity of other students' work. One of the key issues with many online communities of practice is the problem of persuading all members to contribute and share, and the notion of competition may be a key reason in determining why the level of participation in the CG Arts community is so high.

      Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts, they are indeed most helpful!

      Tony

      Delete