I'm a little confused about the reflective report we're writing.
It's mainly about the "focus" section listed. It says we're meant to clearly identify and describe the particular aspect of our experience. Would it be fair to say that the questions stated earlier on the sheet are examples of "focus" topics ? ie, would the focus be things to talk about reflectively.
Just confused, because then, in the Reflection section it says "Based in the focus you choose for the article, you should identify one or two questions to deal with". Does this mean that "Focus" would be something like "awareness" ? And how the various social networks / tools assist in peer awareness ?
Clarification would be great! Thanks
- Anthony
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Reflective Report Question
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5 comments:
Hi,
Good questions. Your focus could be on something like awareness, although you would have to write about that focus in a context relevant to your experiences with the software. The questions listed on page one aren't really a focus in themselves, but questions that could be discussed about a particular focus. For the awareness example, most of the questions listed would be relevant.
I hope that helps, please reply if it doesn't, or if there is any other questions.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand, the "focus" may a particular concept the software uses, one that interests you.
For instance, the idea of tagging is widely used on various websites for sorting content based on what their users feel about it, what words they associate the content with, rather than what the people behind the website think about it. You could then go on to talk about the origins of the concept, its pros, its cons, where it is in use, whatever you find relevant.
Hi,
still unsure of what the focus is about can you give some examples of what we might be able to discuss.
Im also quiet confused about the reflective report and what needs to be done.
Are we meant to reflect "in general" when it comes to our experiences while using the social and mobile computing applications by answering the questions on page 1?
After reading the comments here, Im a little more confused and if we can get some examples in terms of the focus that would be great.
Thanks.
I hope that comments elsewhere have answered the questions here, but just to restate, the need for focus is so that you can discuss an issue or concept related to the experience of using social software in a substantive (not superficial) way. Without some kind of focus, you will spread yourself too thin, and end up not really saying anything.
So, the focus you choose could be something fairly broad like awareness, privacy, or accountability (when you would need to then answer questions related to how your chosen focus impacts on the use of one or more of the social software sites you have experience with, including specific examples to illustrate your point).
Alternatively, you might prefer to focus on a specific feature of one site, e.g. browsing friends of friends on flickr, or awareness of friends' activity in facebook, and explore how the different concepts we have talked about in class relate to it.
Take a look at some of the resources on reflective writing. Key points are that you choose a thesis (argument, point, ...), describe it, and defend it (with evidence). What makes a reflective piece of writing different from 'normal' academic writing is that part of the evidence we expect is you relating your own experience to the argument, and reflecting on how it matches or relates to the background on the subject.
Hope this helps.
--Stephen.
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