Watching Dr. David Wite's video on visitors and residents,Residents and Visitors of online engagement has made me rethink my identity as a technology user. In his video, he describes two different identities: the visitor and the resident. He defines a visitor as a person who uses the web only as a collection of tools and does what he/she needs to do but has no social persona online.A resident on the other hand lives a portion of their life online, is a part of different networks and uses the web as a social space.What helped me visualize these terms more than just their oral definition was the words Dr. White associated each identity with.
After listening to his video, I realized that in general I now see myself more as a resident than a visitor. However, in different contexts and cultures( as Dr. White states), I become different online users.On the continuum, if 1 was visitor and 10 was resident, i would see myslef as a 7 moving more in the direction of a resident.
In the past I had used the internet more as a visitor. My interent use was limited by only looking up specific words or terms for school, playing online games, being a member of facebook to see other's pictures and using other web tools.I was not informed of how I could use the internet and technology to be a part os social networks. My educational ideology was seeing the web solely as a collection of tools in " an untidy tool box."In a sense, at home and in my spare time away from my career as an educator, i still am a visitor. I like to escape from education at times and just use the internet as a tool for finding gossip, buying softball equipment or watching television shows.
As I have become more interested in the field of education, I see myself more as a resident.I have learned more efficient ways to use the web to connect with others and have become motivated to become 100% resident. I am a part of twitter and use Tweetdeck for opportunities to read, share educational strategies and best practices with and from others in the education field. I have also started to create my own PLN, professional learning network. I use Facebook, pinterest, twitter( social media) to extend my relationships with preexisting friends in the education field.
In the future, I would like to become more of a resident in all different contexts because of its benefits to me as an educator and the relationships I form due to it. As I become more informed of all the social media networks and tools to connect me to others, it amazes me and i want to be included. Being connected to others allows me to see what others are doing as well as for me to share my ideas with others all over the world.Education is my passion and I would love to spread it with others and keep my learning a continual cycle.
Visitors and Residents Video
I like what you said about using the internet to "escape" from other responsibilities. That is certainly something I do, and in frequent, short bites. If anything, that habit reinforces my visitor status, as many of the most tempting sites are best enjoyed in little snippets. Pinterest is about to change that, though - it's addicting!
ReplyDeleteStephanie beat me to saying that. But I think that I also use it to escape. However, I don't really use it from a professional standpoint. I don't have this identity I have created and is there long after I log off.
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