I took time to listen to "The Lie of Community: The True Nature of the Network" by Bud Hunt. This post is part of the K12 Online conference going on right now. I was turned on to this particular post by a Kim Cofino tweet while marking papers and it turned out to be one of those things that made me just stop working and listen. The discussion explores both definition of the word "lie" to help us understand both the potential and limitations of online networks and the how they're used, where they fit, in education. It's important for us to realize as we start using social networks in education that they are NOT the same as a community of people who see each other every day. And, students perhaps don't want to use their Facebook to communicate with their teachers. They also need a place to escape, be themselves, not doing school work.
Have a listen and let me know what you think. Can we effectively build "community" through online networks? How do we do it? Should we?
Photo: "map of online communities"
by Ross Mayfield on Flickr