Media Conceptions of Authentic Learning with Virtual Reality: A Public Pedagogy of Social Alienation

Media Conceptions of Authentic Learning with Virtual Reality: A Public Pedagogy of Social Alienation

Written by: Jacob Fortman, & Ruth Yeboah

Abstract: Educational use-cases for virtual reality (VR) have proliferated over recent years. The use of this technology is often viewed as a means of promoting authentic learning opportunities through immersive simulations. While prior research has attended to the pedagogical implications of authentic learning with VR, there is a lack of research considering media conceptions of authentic learning with VR. In this study we qualitatively analyze two popular education technology journalism websites to understand what kinds of authentic learning practices are promoted and why these practices are perceived as pedagogically valuable. Our findings show these sites value recreating authentic places and practices, and these activities are valuable insofar as they promote convenient instructional practices, memory retention, and safe spaces for learning. We problematize these media narratives for their tendency towards social alienation. In particular, we argue that these narratives constitute a form of public pedagogy that foregrounds individualist perspectives of learning and strips authentic learning from considerations of social equity and the active social construction of knowledge. Rather than bringing learners closer to real-world learning opportunities, these media conceptions of authentic learning with VR estrange learners from social reality by positioning them as non-agentic objects outside the active social construction of knowledge.

Keywords: Public pedagogy, virtual reality, authentic learning

Virtual Reality and Learning English as a Second Language with Young Learners: Impact of Classroom Culture

Virtual Reality and Learning English as a Second Language with Young Learners: Impact of Classroom Culture

Written by: Robin Couture-Matte - TÉLUQ University, Québec, Canada

Abstract: This exploratory study investigated the impact of classroom culture on the use of highimmersive virtual reality (HVR) (Kaplan-Rakowski and Grubber, 2019) with young learners of English as a second language (ESL). Classroom culture was defined as the teacher’s views of her role in the classroom, group work and learner autonomy, the students’ use of the target language and learning strategies, and the use of technologies (Gagné and Parks, 2013). Participants consisted of 24 Grade 6 ESL students enrolled in an intensive program in the province of Quebec, Canada. Students worked in teams of four with two Meta Quest 2 head-mounted displays (HMD) as they carried out four communicative tasks in the software application Rec Room. Following a qualitative case study approach (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016), interviews were conducted with the teacher. Recordings of the students’ interactions and the researcher’s observations were also used to analyse the impact of classroom culture on how students engaged with the tasks. The analysis highlights the significance of classroom culture, revealing its connection to students' attitudes, behaviors, and strategies for managing the HMDs and communicative tasks. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research are also presented.

Keywords: Virtual reality, classroom culture, student engagement, second language learning, young language learners

Learning by sharing in #Langstagram: Formats of learner-generated content by Finnish-language learners on Instagram

Learning by sharing in #Langstagram: Formats of learner-generated content by Finnish-language learners on Instagram

Written by: Maarit Jaakkola - University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract: Language learning has undergone significant changes in the era of social media and mobile technology, introducing new communicative practices and social models for personal development. This article examines social media-based language learning communication by introducing the concepts of learner-generated content (LGC) and educator-generated content (EGC) to refer to language learning posts on multipurpose social media platforms. A qualitative study is conducted with the aim of understanding the genre of language learning and teaching on the visual mobile app Instagram. Through thematic content analysis of platform-specific features related to the use of affordances, the study traces the formats and signature aesthetics of language teaching and learning content to understand its production and characteristics. The data consists of accounts focused on users mediating messages related to the acquisition of the Finnish language and culture. Four types of users are identified: language entrepreneurs, professional teachers, language learners, and language influencers. The signature aesthetics of language-learning content on the multipurpose social media platform Instagram include a high number of images rooted in personal experiences, which can be highlighted as the strength and pedagogical potential of the LGC communication mode. The experiential aspect introduces a new dimension of aspirational online content that, unlike typical aspirational content, is non-profit.

Keywords: social media, foreign language learning, learner-generated content (LGC), genre, informal adult learning, online learning resources, Finnish

Scalar Translation as a Method - Small Approaches to Scalability in Digital Cultures

Scalar Translation as a Method - Small Approaches to Scalability in Digital Cultures

Written by: Christoph Engemann, Jens Fehrenbacher, Sylvia Kokot, Thomas Nyckel, Alex Schmiedel, Mary Shnayien & Florian Sprenger

 Abstract: Processes of scaling lie at the heart of digital cultures and form the prerequisite for global exploitations of labor. However, when researching on, and teaching about and from within digital cultures, we are faced with a dilemma: The very quantitative procedures of data collection and analysis that most researchers use are the same ones on which economic value creation in digital cultures is based. Thus, the platforms that play a decisive role in shaping digital cultures also shape the methods and possess the datasets for research and teaching on digital cultures. To avoid this confinement, we propose using scalar translation as a method, following an inquiry-based learning approach. Drawing on four examples from our collaborative work at the Virtual Humanities Lab, we outline how in what we call speculative reconstruction, we employ different techniques of scaling to gain insights into the role of scaling in (phenomena of) digital cultures, while at the same time opening our methodology up for reflecting on the role of scalability in our own inquiries. This way, we aim to construct a more comprehensive research object that makes the large visible in the small, highlights the changes that occur when objects are downscaled, as well as accounts for our situatedness in digital cultures.  

Keywords: scale, hybrid lab, models, virtuality, downsizing

“Can we train students in both Sanskrit and Python?” Book review: Tilton, L., Mimno, D., & Johnson, J. M. (2024). Computational humanities. University of Minnesota Press.

“Can we train students in both Sanskrit and Python?” Book review: Tilton, L., Mimno, D., & Johnson, J. M. (2024). Computational humanities. University of Minnesota Press.

Book review by: Andrea Kocsis, Chancellor’s Fellow in Humanities Informatics, Edinburgh College of Art


The edited volume clears the stage for the field of computational humanities (CH) from a post-COVID, non-binary, and ethical perspective. It feels like a restart, as the book does not explicitly explain the link between computational humanities (CH) and digital humanities (DH). By avoiding this debate, the authors sidestep DH's fuzzy and never-ending definition struggles. The editors also invite readers to rethink the relationship between computational social sciences and digital humanities, positioning CH as pivotal in this dialogue.

By breaking out of the circular conversation of defining DH, the strength of the volume lies in its candid exposition of non-inclusive practices, freely pointing out when the DH emperor has no clothes. The book bravely confronts ethical challenges, inclusion and labour issues, and infrastructural hurdles, lending it an implicit Foucauldian perspective. It underscores that CH does not need to force the humanities into a neo-positivist mould but should instead overcome the limitations of both extremes: the "codebro" computer science and elitist humanities cultures.

A PEDAGOGY OF DIGITAL IDENTITIES: IDENTITY AS A CONCEPTUAL LENS FOR TEACHING SOCIO-TECHNICAL JUSTICE

A PEDAGOGY OF DIGITAL IDENTITIES: IDENTITY AS A CONCEPTUAL LENS FOR TEACHING SOCIO-TECHNICAL JUSTICE

Written by: Jenna Condie, Luigi Di Martino, Benjamin Hanckel, Thilakshi Mallawa Arachchi, & Bhavya Chitranshi

Abstract: Given the complexities and inequities of our digitised lives, many educators are developing technology curricula with an orientation towards social justice outcomes. Our pedagogical goals are to centre issues of digital inequalities, power, and social justice in curriculum about digital technologies. To do this, we use ‘identity’ as a conceptual lens and narrative for students to critically examine digital technologies. Drawing on a duo-ethnographic method, we examine the development of our ‘Digital Identities’ curriculum over an eight-year period, which encompasses teaching practices that make visible and aim to challenge the inequalities and inequities perpetuated by digital technologies and systems. A ‘pedagogy of digital identities’, we argue, positions students to explore the implicit assumptions embedded in technological design, reflexively consider their own digital identities, practices, and experiences of power, as well as (re)consider the socio-technically (un)just implications of our digitalising society.

Keywords: identity; power; digital technologies; pedagogy; socio-technical justice

ONLINE INFORMATION: THEORISING PEDAGOGICAL ATTUNEMENTS THROUGH TECHNOFEMINIST PERSPECTIVES

ONLINE INFORMATION: THEORISING PEDAGOGICAL ATTUNEMENTS THROUGH TECHNOFEMINIST PERSPECTIVES

Written by: Mary F. Rice & JuliAnna Ávila

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to conceptualise the teaching of online information evaluation through a technofeminist lens. This lens draws on work on entangled relationality in intra-activity, interconnectedness, materialities, and agencies while questioning the human/non-human binary. We provide a rationale for setting a research agenda about teaching online information literacies as spaces where technologies and literacies represent indistinguishable fluid ecologies. To achieve our goal of positioning the technofeminist perspective on the practice, research, and policy landscapes of online information evaluation, we focus on three broad perspectival attunements in thinking about online information evaluation as a concept. To illustrate these shifts, we draw on a curricular unit where preservice teachers are asked to interrogate the cultural appropriation of Indigenous design alongside online source evaluation.

Keywords: technofeminism, online information evaluation, cultural aspects of online information, new materialism, cultural appropriation

TRANSCENDING THE HYPE: A COMPARATIVE PUBLIC MEDIA ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL DISCOURSES ON MOOCS AND CHATGPT

TRANSCENDING THE HYPE: A COMPARATIVE PUBLIC MEDIA ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL DISCOURSES ON MOOCS AND CHATGPT

Written by: Xinman Liu. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Abstract: Within its early adoption stage, ChatGPT has inspired widespread discourse on the potential and threats of artificial intelligence in revolutionising education. Nonetheless, to what extent is ChatGPT truly disruptive in education? New educational technologies are oftentimes not complete novelties but rather built upon existing lineages and patterns. Hence, examining the broader historical implications of education innovations is crucial (Reich, 2020). This study conducts a comparative public media analysis on the current “hype” of ChatGPT and the “hype” of the massive open online courses (MOOCs) a decade ago, which similarly inspired unprecedented interest and involvement from the general public (Kovanović et al., 2015). Deploying Latent Code Identification (LACOID) framework (González Canché, 2023) and sentiment analysis, the study highlights how MOOCs and ChatGPT are similarly constrained within a sociotechnical context that discursively marginalises deeper structural and ethical concerns coated under the hype of proclaimed disruptiveness. It is thus crucial to transcend the perception of technological innovations as transformative solutions to existing educational issues, and instead harness them as a lens that prompts and challenges educators, policymakers, and researchers to approach educational change collaboratively and systemically.

Keywords: MOOCs; ChatGPT; early adopters; media discourse; education innovation

DISRUPTING HYBRID ETHNOGRAPHIC PRACTICES IN LITERACIES RESEARCH: A STORY OF SHIFTING DIGITAL RELATIONS WHILE VIRTUALLY ‘BABYSITTING DIANE’

DISRUPTING HYBRID ETHNOGRAPHIC PRACTICES IN LITERACIES RESEARCH: A STORY OF SHIFTING DIGITAL RELATIONS WHILE VIRTUALLY ‘BABYSITTING DIANE’

Written by: Diane R. Collier - Brock University, St. Catharine’s, Canada

Abstract: Researching online is often assumed to be difficult, distant, and flattened. Building relationships with young children is often said to be best done in person. This paper traces relations and events between a researcher working remotely from home with young children and their teacher working on photographic literacies in their classroom. The ways in which relationships emerged and were enacted are discussed. Thinking beyond narrow definitions of literacy to literacies, the analysis builds on Latour’s network of relations as used in Brandt and Clinton’s literacy-as-action to think about how literacies travel and engage with human and nonhuman actors. Framing literacy-as-event as proposed by Burnett and Merchant emphases how literacies can be playful, unpredictable, and emergent. While ‘following the iPad-baby-Diane,’ this paper shows how children improvised and played with metaphors and the researcher and built care and connection while performing literacies in online digital spaces. Relational online research was enacted as children were imitating and ‘becoming-with’ a distant researcher. Considering tools and innovative digital literacies practices as embedded in assemblages, it is possible to see intimacies and imagine literacies-as-relations across material and digitised spaces.

Keywords: relational research, assemblage, literacies, becoming, intimacy, iPads, online research, digital literacy