Who am I online

I’m Professor Martin Weller. I’ve written a lot about online identity in my blog, The Ed Techie over the years. My own online identity is very much shaped by that blog and was shaped for many years by my use of Twitter.

The use of blogs, social media and other online technologies, such as the creation and sharing of YouTube videos and podcasts, can allow educators to create an identity beyond their classroom or the lecture hall. This is part of a practice known as open scholarship, which involves being open about knowledge creation and dissemination.

Veletsianos (2012), writing about Twitter, identifies seven ways in which scholars use social media:

• to share information, resources, and media
• to share information about teaching
• to request assistance from and respond to requests from others
• to engage in social commentary; to engage in digital identity and impression management
• to explicitly network and connect with others
• to highlight their participation in other networks, for example linking to blogs.

Online education creates new opportunities and considerations for educators, for example they can share practice and ideas using a blog. Dennen (2010) points out that at the start of a blog, the academic must make decisions about that online identity: what type of tone will the blog adopt? What topics will it cover? How much of the author’s personal life should they reveal? She suggests that, just as on campus there exists a set of social norms, so it is online, and the blogger responds to these. These identity norms spread across the highly connected blogosphere ‘based on a viral movement of individual actions across blogs’.

These new identities can also be in conflict with traditional ones, as Costa (2013) argues, stating ‘Higher Education Institutions are more likely to encourage conventional forms of publication than innovative approaches to research communication’. She goes on to suggest that although universities are not necessarily opposed to change, their own identity is deeply associated with certain traditions, which are reinforced through the creation of certain myths and ‘strategies that coerce individuals to play by the rules’. Blogging, and other forms of online identity, have their own social norms, which could be seen as competing with the traditional ones.

Relatively few educators, though, have the time and energy to maintain a blog. For many, their online identity is more closely associated with social media. For over a decade, Twitter/X was the main platform used by English-speaking academics and by multiple educator communities.

Twitter has been central in UK HE in the sense that it has been seen as the single most important gathering place on social media for academics. Individual academics have tended to see Twitter as the default place to have their social media presence (Carrigan, 2023).

However, this changed in 2022, when Twitter was taken over by Elon Musk, who made a series of largely unpopular changes to the platform:

including cutting down on content moderation; ditching its ‘blue-check’ verification system in favour of one that grants paying members additional clout and privileges; charging money for access to data for research; limiting the number of tweets users can see; and abruptly changing the platform’s name and familiar logo to simply ‘X’ (Valero, 2023).

These changes led to many academics and educators leaving the platform and/or opening accounts on other platforms including Mastodon, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads and BlueSky (Valero, 2023). It also prompted many to think more carefully about what they wanted from a social media platform – was the aim to engage with a wider public, to form a specialist community, to share ideas, to source new ideas, to reach out to experts, or to be acknowledged for your own expertise?

Moving forward, there has been a shift away from the assumption that all online educators will be creating an identity on the same platform. Your choices will be shaped by what you want to achieve, the communities you want to engage with, and your local context.

This week, you’ll look at different aspects of online identity, including the importance of the online educator’s role in supporting student wellbeing.

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There are both positives and negatives to establishing an online identity as an educator. In the poll below, consider the benefits of online identities.

Which of these do you consider to be the greatest benefit for creating an online identity as an educator? Poll

In the last poll you considered the benefits of creating an online identity; in this one you will consider the possible negatives of using one. 

What do you consider to be the greatest negative aspect of using an online educator identity? Poll

Having considered the use of an online identity for an educator, it is also important for you to think about the role an institution plays. For example, if you work for a university, college or company do they have a social media policy? Is there a policy for supporting staff who may suffer abuse online? Do they recognise and reward an online profile in the same way that a traditional profile is rewarded? Do they know how to recognise the impact of online tools such as a blog? Should they?

Some institutions are very positive about social media. For example, the London School of Economics notes:

LSE Blogs have grown into one of the world’s primary digital knowledge exchange platforms for academics, students, policymakers and journalists. Contributions from think-tank researchers, politicians and third-sector experts across the world provide evidence-based commentary and accessible summaries of academic research. At LSE we also use blogs for student engagement and teaching, where our teams are recognised for the early adoption of digital platforms (LSE, 2023)

These days, most institutions have a policy about staff use of social media, providing guidance about such issues as appropriate content, tone, representing the institution, branding, respecting others, adhering to the law, and protecting copyright (Pomerantz et al, 2015).

If you search for ‘university guidelines for social media’ or ‘school guidelines for social media’, you will find many policies. These cover practical advice on how to use social media, legal statements on representing the institution and where to gain support.

Examine one or two of these quickly, and then contribute to the discussion with your fellow learners, considering the question ‘What is the institution’s role in relation to an educator’s online identity?’

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In the video, Dave White explains the Visitors and Residents concept, the reasoning behind it, and how it can map technology use. In the next activity you will draw on your viewing of this video when reflecting upon your own use of technology.

For now, watch the video and make a note of the reasons why White proposes the use of terms ‘visitors’ and ‘residents’, and how he determines which technologies to place on the grid.

Share your thoughts about the ‘visitors and residents’ concept in this forum.

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© Visitors and Residents by jiscnetskills, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 

Having watched the Visitors and Residents video, this activity asks you to apply it to your own practice. Using this perspective to think about how you use different tools is a useful means of mapping your online identity.

First, try creating a Visitors and Residents map for yourself, as shown in the video in Step 4.6.

Draw a horizontal line labelled ‘Visitor’ at one end and ‘Resident’ at the other. Now draw a vertical line that crosses your horizontal line in the middle, labeled ‘Personal’ at the top and ‘Institutional’ at the bottom. This will create four areas, where you can place boxes to represent your use of online tools.

You can draw this with pen and paper as in the video, or you might use a tool such as Word, or PowerPoint to create the grid, or a drawing package if you have one.

Consider the different technologies, tools and apps you use at work and in your personal life. If your personal use of a tool is very much as a Visitor, add a box for that tool at the top left. If you use a tool very much as a resident while at work, add a box for that tool at the bottom right. Tools you might add include search engines such as Google; social media such as TikTok; fitness apps such as Strava; navigation tools such as Google Maps; networking sites such as Mumsnet; conferencing tools such as Zoom; academic tools such as Google Scholar; institutional tools such as an intranet; office tools such as PowerPoint; and specialist tools associated with your personal or institutional life.

Then discuss with your fellow learners whether you found this a useful way of considering technologies and how you engage with them. For example, was it difficult to map some technologies?

Share your thoughts in the discussion forum.

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In most educational institutions, online education used to be a small element of the entire offering, with most interaction taking place face to face in workshops, lecture theatres, classrooms and training centres. These physical settings offer opportunities for health and wellbeing through interactions with others, facilities such as sports halls, clubs and societies, and specialist health and counselling support. As more and more education takes place online, the need to support learners’ health and wellbeing becomes increasingly important. Increasingly, the identity of online educators includes a pastoral role.

This is particularly important because if you do an online search for phrases such as ‘student mental health’, ‘mental health in schools’ or ‘mental health in universities’, you won’t have to read too many results before you come across assertions that there’s a ‘crisis’ in student mental health.

While it’s not unusual to use dramatic language to make a point, when the same phrase is used time and time again, in different settings, by different organisations or individuals, there’s probably some justification for that language.

There’s abundant evidence that the word ‘crisis’ is entirely appropriate for describing what’s happening in schools, colleges, universities and other formal learning settings around the world. The problem increased during the pandemic. ‘On average 56% of university students worldwide said their mental health suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a survey of about 17,000 students in 21 countries’ (Kigotho, 2021).

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that

• Globally, one in seven 10- to 19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group.

• Depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents (WHO, 2021)

Although more recent surveys focused on the educational sector have shown a rise in student happiness, there are still very significant concerns about mental health and wellbeing:

In the US, 71% of students have experienced not sleeping enough, 68% have experienced daily feelings of anxiety, and 65% have experienced academic burnout. In the UK, 66% of students have experienced not sleeping enough, 62% have experienced daily feelings of anxiety, and 56% have experienced academic burnout (Global Student Survey quoted in MacGregor, 2023).

The terms ‘mental health’ and ‘wellbeing’ are often used interchangeably. ‘Wellbeing’ is a broad-ranging term that encompasses consideration of mental health.

The organisation Advance HE focuses on student wellbeing, rather than student mental health, in their report Embedding mental wellbeing in the curriculum: maximising success in higher education and gives this explanation:

We deliberately use the term ‘wellbeing’ rather than ‘mental health’, as not everyone who experiences a decline in their wellbeing would associate that with a ‘health’ concern. Moreover, we wish to draw a distinction between mental wellbeing, which we all have, and a mental health problem which only some of us would identify as experiencing. We see the two dimensions as independent: a person with a diagnosed major mental health problem may experience a subjectively high level of mental wellbeing. Conversely, someone who has never received a psychiatric diagnosis may experience poor levels of wellbeing (Houghton and Anderson, 2017, p. 7).

Wellbeing is often discussed in education in ‘pastoral’ terms, under a domain of student welfare or student support. It is much less well explored in terms of online learning, and you will look at some of these connections on the following steps.

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It’s vital that considerations about learners’ mental health are in the foreground when planning online teaching, learning and assessment.

For some students, especially in higher education, studying at a distance (which usually means online) will be a conscious choice informed by mental health-related factors. These students may be unable to leave home to attend school or university, or they may have had a bad experience in the past that means they feel more confident when studying in their home environment.

Other students, who have not chosen to study online, may find a change to this mode of study to be very stressful. Study online requires the development of new skills and can involve uncertainty over matters such as assessment. These challenges may be especially acute for learners with existing anxiety.

• Increasing learner wellbeing The role of educators in supporting online learners’ mental health has not been commonly discussed, despite there being an obvious need. The pandemic changed this somewhat, with increased attention being paid to the need for students’ mental health and wellbeing to be considered when moving teaching online. However, these discussions often focus on immediate support for mental health rather than focussing on ways of embedding mental health and wellbeing into the curriculum. There’s also a tendency for conversations about the online pivot to focus on technologies and resources rather than the learner experience. The points below introduce some areas where your choices as an educator can be made in ways that support wellbeing.
• Relevant and authentic learning Many barriers to learning and wellbeing can be addressed by ensuring learners’ interests, background and social identity are represented in learning materials and supporting resources such as images, case studies, supporting texts, videos, interactive games, animations, slide presentations and music.
• Safe spaces Feeling safe is essential for mental wellbeing and every educator has a responsibility to ensure their classroom, whether online or offline, is a safe space for learners. This can help with the development of positive relationships that are conducive to learners’ wellbeing. Simply acknowledging that studying online can be difficult, juggling different elements of our lives (study, work, family etc.) is often tricky, and normalising the stresses learners are experiencing can help to reduce anxieties.
• Supporting digital wellbeing Ways of doing this include teaching learners how to manage digital workload, overload and distractions, and how to look after personal health, relationships and work-life balances in online settings (Beetham, 2015)
• Sustain a human connection Set up ways of keeping in contact with students – these might include emails, text messages or phone calls. Include synchronous sessions in your teaching, when everyone is together, and provide times for introductions and social interaction.
• Learner autonomy Giving learners greater responsibility for their own learning leads to them feeling more in control, with positive effects on their wellbeing. Consider whether learners could take some control over: learning objectives, what is learned, how it is learned, which tools and resources are used, who they learn with, and how learning is demonstrated.
• Assessment Test anxiety, also sometimes called exam anxiety, is a condition that affects people when they are being examined or tested in some way. It causes extreme distress and anxiety in testing situations. This stress can be reduced by making reasonable adjustments, for example by avoiding peer assessment or assessed group work; avoiding toxic situations such as the use of proctoring software that requires students to manage their movements and environment while sitting a test; providing a choice of assessment type or format where possible; considering whether learning outcomes could be assessed in a different way; creating authentic assessments that learners find valuable; or providing examples of completed past assessments.
• Ask students Learners will know which aspects of learning they find stressful, and will often be able to propose solutions. Providing opportunities for them to share their experience, and acting on suggestions where possible, can improve online learning for everyone involved.
• Talk to other educators A consistent approach to wellbeing across the institution means learners know what to expect, and should involve educators having opportunities to share experience and agree on good practices.

As part of that final activity of talking to other educators, take the opportunity to share ideas with others on this course. In the comments section, add one suggestion for a way in which an online educator can potentially increase student wellbeing, read through other suggestions, and ‘like’ those that you think are helpful.

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At the beginning of this course Leigh-Anne and I posed an overarching question: how can the educator effectively navigate the fast-changing, hype-filled world of innovation in online education? Over the past four weeks you’ve approached this question from several perspectives, examined several related myths, and considered some of the roles and identities of online educators.

A repeated theme has been the relationship between face-to-face and online education. There are many similarities between the two. Learners’ needs – motivation, support, clear goals and well-structured, engaging, relevant content – are the same in both contexts. What’s different is the way in which educators meet those needs.

The process of learners making social connections is a good example. In a face-to-face setting, these connections arise informally through being physically present in the same place, for example in lectures, laboratories, social events and cafés. When online, opportunities for social connections need to explicitly be designed into learning materials, for example with collaborative activities, discussion forums and blogs. The dynamic between adapting what we currently do and realising what new possibilities online learning provides is at the heart of many of the debates concerning educational technology.

In the above video, Leigh-Anne and I talk with Rebecca Ferguson, who you met in Week 1. We discuss some of the challenges online educators are likely to face in the next few years and make some predictions about future developments in online education.

Do use the comments area to share your own views about this topic. The video was recorded before the pandemic – in what ways does that influence how you think about the predictions? Are your predictions different from ours? What do you think will be the key developments in online education? What will the biggest challenges be?

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References

Beetham, H. (2015) ‘Digital Wellbeing’, #LTHEchat, 19 June. Available at: https://lthechat.com/2015/06/19/lthechat-no-28-with-helen-beetham-helenbeetham-on-digital-wellbeing/ (Accessed 14 December 2023).

Bennett, S., Maton, K. and Kervin, L. (2008) ‘The “digital natives” debate: a critical review of the evidence’, British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 39, no. 5 pp. 775-786.

Carrigan, M. (2023) ‘Where now for academics on social media, post Twitter?’, LSE Blog, 27 July. Available at https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2023/07/27/where-now-for-academics-on-social-media-post-twitter/ (Accessed 14 December 2014).

Costa, C. (2013) The Participatory Web in the Context of Academic Research: Landscapes of Change and Conflicts, doctoral dissertation, University of Salford.

Dennen, V. (2010). Online Communities and Professional Development Narratives: What Can We Learn from Bloggers?. In E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning.. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Houghton, A.-M. and Anderson, J. (2017) Embedding mental wellbeing in the curriculum: maximising success in higher education. York: Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/embedding-mental-wellbeing-curriculum-maximising-success-higher-education (Accessed 14 December 2023).

Kigotho, W. (2021) ‘Most students say their mental health suffered in pandemic’, University World News, 5 March. Available at https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210305085025296 (Accessed 14 December 2023).

LSE (2023) ‘LSE Blogs Team’, LSE Blogs. Available at https://info.lse.ac.uk/staff/divisions/communications-division/blogs-team (Accessed 14 December 2023).

MacGregor, K. (2023) Students are embracing AI but want training - Global Survey University World News 30 November 2023 Edition. Available at https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20231130111013805 (Accessed 13 December 2023).

Pomerantz, J., Hank, C. and Sugimoto, C.R. (2015) ‘The state of social media policies in higher education’, PLoS One, vol. 10, no. 5. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127485

Prensky, M. (2001) ‘Digital natives, digital immigrants, part 1’, On the Horizon, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 1–6.

Valero, M.V. (2023) ‘Thousands of scientists are cutting back on Twitter, seeding angst and uncertainty’, Nature, 16 August. Available at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02554-0 (Accessed 14 December 2023).

Veletsianos, G. (2012) ‘Higher education scholars’ participation and practices on Twitter’, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 336–349 [online]. Available at http://www.veletsianos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/scholars_on_twitter_veletsianos.pdf (Accessed 14 December 2023).

White, D.S. and Le Cornu, A. (2011) ‘Visitors and residents: a new typology for online engagement’, First Monday, vol. 16, no. 9.

White, D.S. and Le Cornu, A. (2017) ‘Using “Visitors and Residents” to visualise digital practices’, First Monday, vol. 22, no. 8. doi: https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v22i8.7802

World Health Organization (2021) ‘Mental Health of Adolescents. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health (Accessed 14 December 2023).

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Aknowledgements

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. If any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Important: *** against any of the acknowledgements below means that the wording has been dictated by the rights holder/publisher, and cannot be changed.

505746:   IMAGE Rear view of person running along a path near water in the countryside:   Leigh-Anne Perryman

501170:   IMAGE Young people chatting by laptops:   Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

184047:   ou_futurelearn_mc1173_fig_1025:   Photo by Haley Phelps on Unsplash

501166:   UNSPLASH Bird on a branch with sky as background, in silhouette:   Benjamin Balazs on Unsplash

500788:   UNSPLASH people dancing on stage with blue lights :   Photo by note thanun on Unsplash

501164:   UNSPLASH Phone with Map App being held and pointed to:   Sebastian Hietsch on Unsplash

214350:   1 1_7 Studying the MOOC - multiple screens:   Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This test covers all four weeks of the course.