I'm A Bot -- Understanding My Personal Learning Network
"I'D RATHER BE A BOT," I exclaimed as I hid inside my digital pedagogy robot plotting what to do for Assignment 2...
Growing in Leadership of My Personal Learning Network
Twitter is commonly used by Occupational Therapists for continuing professional development (Hughes, 2018). The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA, 2020) stipulates that health practitioners must produce evidence of the connections between learning and practice. The purpose of the study is to analyse and develop leadership of my personal learning network (PLN) on Twitter, by:
1. critically reviewing social learning theory, and digital pedagogy theories;
2. mapping, analysing and evaluating my PLN;
3. experimenting with being a bot on Twitter and reflecting on outcomes;
4. developing a vision for my future PLN.
Health practitioners may not be familiar with the term ‘Personal Learning Network’ (PLN), which is used more commonly by educators to describe a collaborative process around a shared interest. For this study, the PLN occurs in digital environments--social media and virtual learning platforms (Thang, 2018). Creative Arts Research is my interest area that I promote through the Twitter platform @arts_research (see Figure 2), as part of my PLN. Figure 1 shows where Twitter fits within my broader PLN constellation.
Figure 1: Map of my Personal Learning Networks--showing Twitter @arts_research in orange. (Click on diagram)
There are differences between my understandings of arts research as a dynamic ecosystem and paradigms of transformational social learning theory and digital pedagogy that I have encountered. Ito
et., al, (2012 p. 33), contend that “…connected learning is defined not by
particular technologies, techniques, or institutional context but by a set of
values, an orientation to social change, and a philosophy of learning.”
My Values
I
value personal approaches to learning, and freedom to explore my PLN, on
my own terms. As an Occupational Therapist, I understand action learning expressed
through dynamic relationships between
people--environment--occupational performance. However, for this study, I shall explore educational theories which introduce transformational digital pedagogies that are new to me.
Creative Arts Research @arts_research Twitter 22 August 2020
A collective of Researchers in Creative Arts discussing their practice and research. Motivated to create, curate, collaborate—and support one another.
Australia. Joined June 2015. 264 Following 98 Followers
Figure 2: Description of Twitter @arts_research PLN platform
Theory of Connected Learning, Transformational Teaching
The connection of learning with civic engagement, contrasts with the dominant marketing focus of Edutech (educational technology), according to Ito and colleagues (2012) . Exponents of civic engagement value hands-on, authentic learning which is characterised by social connectivity--linking learning across home, school and community environments (Baker-Doyle, 2017). These values align with Transformation Social Justice Learning Theory, described on my blog (Kirkwood, 2020). Jack Mezirow describes Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1994; and Mezirow, 2000), which is based on Paulo Freier's philosophy (2005). An unknown author has described Transformative Learning Theory with application to digital learning.
Kira Baker-Doyle (2017 and n.d.), links the importance of creation with civic engagement, and describes this process as being a 'transformational teacher.' Kira Baker-Doyle's (2017), description of transformational Teachers provides numerous case examples of transformational Teachers that support student's inquiry learning through digital projects. The vision of transformational teaching is relevant to PLN leadership of social action.
The Twitter Song by Donny Brewer (2013) reveals the common understanding that Twitter is used for mundane purposes. Can Twitter support planned PLN pedagogy?
Pedagogy
The pedagogy of socially connected, digital, and transformative teaching, is more clearly expressed as engaged scholarship by Lynton (2018, para. 1), defined as: "...the co-creation of knowledge that shifts the position of students and community groups from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers and partners in problem-solving." The norms of engaged scholarship include: participatory epistemology; collaborative research; scholarly artefacts; experts outside the academy; transdisciplinarity; and impact (Lynton, 2018). This theoretical perspective is more relevant across disciplines, because we are not all Teachers.
To analyse my Twitter pedagogy, I draw on categories devised by Fondo and Konstandtinidis (2018, see https://twitter.com/angelntini/status/1102912612994551808/photo/1). Table 1 reveals the pedagogical foundation of my Twitter PLN (shown in the right column). This is predominantly 'connecting information sources' (80%), and some collaborative capacity building activity (asynchronous discussion 10%).
|
Type of task |
Type of activity |
Aim |
Pedagogical foundation (Constructivism) |
@arts_research |
|
Forum synchronous discussion |
Collaborative |
Share and reflect |
Build knowledge diverse opinions |
Not used 0% |
|
Online asynchronous discussion |
Collaborative |
Direct communication |
Strengthen connections for participants |
Present 10% |
|
Creating & reusing learning materials |
Individual |
Tailored learning materials adapted |
Building capacity to learn for participants |
Present 5% |
|
Sharing learning materials |
Individual Collaborative |
Provide/use self-created learning materials |
Connecting information sources |
Present 80% |
|
Questions and self-reflection |
Individual |
Self-reflection, awareness learning needs |
Building ability to see connections |
Present 5% |
Table 1: Analysis of @arts_research pedagogy
The activity functions corresponds with Baker Doyle's (2017), categorisation as: participatory knowledge production and participatory relationship development. There is room for further socio-political development and leadership of shared social action in the future, but the main purpose is support through connectivity.
Personal Perspective and Plan
The vision for @arts_research is described as: A collective of Researchers in Creative Arts discussing their practice and research. Motivated to create, curate, collaborate—and support one another.
My view is that social learning involves: Person-Environment-Occupational Performance relationships [PEOP model] (Baum et al., 2015). The Environment includes the physical and social relationships in material or virtual worlds. The People include the social connections that I have. The Occupation of learning occurs through co-active participation in the learning network. I use the PEOP model (Baum et al., 2015), to describe the social, geographical, occupational aspects of my PLN.
My personal aim is to maximise social networking to share resource information that supports mutual learning and growth. The following examples reveal the nature of the active participants (people), and excerpts of our discussions that occurred from 20 July to 20 August (occupational performance), @arts_research (environment). This description sets a baseline, prior to my experimentation.
Participation
Participants—Locality and Occupation
Active participants of @arts_research, are listed in Table 2 for the 20 July to 20 August, 2020 period. 12 new followers were added. Of the 22 active participants: 13 are based in England; with 4 Australians; 2 Canadians; and 2 in USA.
|
Place |
Occupational Performance |
|
Derby, England |
Occupational therapy society |
|
Dorset, England |
Recently retired OT lecturer |
|
Vancouver, Canada USA |
Writer, editor, teacher (British Columbia) |
|
Cumbria, England |
RCOT, Professor, researcher |
|
South East, England |
Music Therapist, singing, health |
|
Melbourne, Australia |
University student, Educator, writer. |
|
Uni of Derby, England |
Researcher, singer, musician, Music Therapist |
|
Kentucky, HBCU, USA |
Classical pianist. Assist Prof Piano/Music theory |
|
Uni of Derby, England |
OT student. Interest in outdoors. |
|
Monash Uni, Australia |
PhD candidate, social justice and policy women |
|
Worcester Uni, England |
OT student, office bearer, Illustration grad. |
|
Leeds Beckett Uni, Eng |
MSc OT student |
|
Beechworth, Australia |
OT, researcher, interest in practice-academic alliances |
|
Brighton, England |
Director arts & health project. Author. |
|
London, England |
Critical care OT, Human rights. |
|
Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
Researcher, community artist, writer, activist, film maker |
|
New York, USA |
LGBT Latinx kinesiology, advocate diversity inclusion, Arts |
|
Unknown |
Petty Space X Fan |
|
Brisbane, Australia |
Assoc Prof UQ, Music, Psychology, UQ Music Dance Health |
|
Uni of Derby, England |
Assoc Prof, Drama therapist, researcher, writer, Arts Therapy |
|
England |
NHS Art Psychotherapist |
|
Vancouver, Canada USA |
Music lover, British Columbia. |
Table 2: Description of @arts_research participants, occupations and locations (20 July to 20 August).
Activity
I mostly retweet items of interest for creative arts research. This allows me to use the site as a catalogue of information that is relevant to my practice and research, and of potential interest to followers.
I posted a few Tweets about my research publications, my blog, and status of my livelihood:
July 9: UNESCO Singapore and Asia Pacific music education resource database is at https://www.unesco-care.nie.edu.sg/research/search
July 24: 5 hours work per week is not enough! https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1770-4656 #FindingWork #OccupationalTherapist #Researcher #DigitalArts #CommunityEngagement #PublicHealth #Education
August 16: https://pianokeynote.blogspot.com/
Social Interaction
An interactive discussion about Arts Health occurred in this series of posts:
Post (28 July): what's the point of #art4health? if physically unwell, surely a medical is what's required, and if struggling mentally/emotionally/psychologically, a professional of that ilk would be most suitable. let the artists make art?
Response (28 July): If you think of health-illness along a continuum from acute episodes (requiring hospital or primary care, medication, 1:1 treatment with health professionals) to recovery to wellbeing, most of the continuum is preventive and self-care. Arts health are well suited to this
I asked: (29 July) “Where did the
Arts Health movement come from? Is it very old?”
(2
people liked post)
Reply
1: (29 July)
Check
out part one of @Daisy_Fancourt book https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198792079.001.0001/oso-9780198792079.
Really a tale as old as time; more recently I found it being talked about in
terms of current movement around early/mid 2000’s but seems to go in waves!
Reply 2: (30 July)
Agreed. If you look at the kinds of concerns that show up in people’s creative work, there isn’t really a starting point. Goes back forever.
My reply: (7 August)
Thanks Emma.
Supporting Health and Well-being of Artists
I noticed a post on my Twitter feed that could indicate a health concern:
Post (14 August) Now I just need to get an Alexander Technique teacher in my life.
Reply: (14 Aug)
Yes! I’m not hurting or injured,
but I want to know more about how optimal alignment and coordinated movements
facilitate artistic expression.
This reveals mutual support and the potential for promoting health and well-being through Twitter.
Inspiring and Encouraging Students
I responded to an Occupational Therapy student’s tweets in this way:
Post: (8 Aug) I’m interested to know… What are of OT do you work in? What do you love about it? And is it a unique area? I’m eager to open my eyes to the OT world as a 1st year student (going into second) #OccupationalTherapy #OccupationalTherapyStudy
My reply: (9 Aug)
Hi [ ], I work in Creative Arts Research and Music Museums. I enjoy Community Cultural Development. What areas are you interested in? #OccupationalTherapy #CreativeArtsReserach #CommunityMusic #ArtsHealth
Response: (9 Aug)
Now that area sounds fascinating! What types of things do you do with your clients? I’ve had a background in outdoor activities and being in nature. I’d love to use those skills and intertwine them with OT…still trying to work out how haha!
My reply: (11 Aug) (I also messaged the person privately with further information).
I do Creative Arts Research! Yes, you sure can use your background in outdoor activities and being in nature as part of your practice. Museum Outreach provides a wonderful platform for face-to-face or digitally connected experiences that promote health and well-being.
These examples reveal the potential for providing professional support and encouragement. These examples demonstrated the connectivity described by Ito et al., 2012, but they do not approach a high level of civic and personal engagement. I aspire to listening more deeply to what people are saying and reviewing a smaller number of tweets in detail.
Reflection
Politics of Pedagogy (power relations)
The Twitter site operates in this way. The primary user establishes the Twitter account. Social connectivity occurs between participants who read and/or contribute to posts. Some participants join as followers. Not all followers participate. Non-response conveys messages. Users may ‘like,’ share, and use information. The primary user may spontaneously post, delete, share information, and open or close the account. These are blot-like behaviours which are supported by the Twitter platform. The platform regulates use, and functionality of the site which changes over time. The participation is under public scrutiny and survelliance, which is beyond my control. Users choose how to represent themselves, but not all people have access to Twitter. There is co-ownership of learning only as far as people are included socially and have access to the platform. There are politics of learning that is regulated through social performance, but not formally evaluated. Trust et al., 2018 reveal desirable features through their study of leader's PLN. I sensed that I wanted to be free of surveillance and wanted to change my identity on Twitter, but had to comply.
Evaluation of my PLN
After completing the review and analysis of Tweets at Creative Arts Research for one month, I am pleased with the interactivity of the site. There is potential to be more involved in tweeting, but this comes at the cost of my time and attention. Life can be more enriching when time is spent face-to-face with family and friends. However, Twitter brings a new dimension in being able to communicate with people internationally, with ease. I am pleased that there is such a diversity of followers that range from students, to academic researchers, arts practitioners, therapists, and professional leaders. I am interested to listen more deeply.
Originally, @arts_research operated as a recreational occupation for me, as I scrolled through my tweets to find anything appealing to share and use. I often replied to posts. However, my engagement was superficial. This is in stark contrast to my values of personalisation of relationships. To improve my PLN leadership, I reasoned that stronger personal interest and direct connection with participants would encourage mutual growth.
Therefore, during this study, I experimented by changing the name of @arts_research (but maintained followers). I operated as a bot: posting only hyperlinks to resources; and sharing posts without comments or ‘likes[1]’ from 10 to 24 September. This was to test the null hypothesis: that impersonal tweets are less effective for social connection.
Experimental Learning: "I became a bot on Twitter"
On 10 September, I experienced a transformational insight about capabilities of robots that prompted me to experiment with my online identity (GPT-3, 2020). A social bot “is an agent that communicates more or less autonomously on social media, often with the task of influencing the course of discussion and/or the opinions of its readers. It is related to chatbots but mostly only uses rather simple interactions or no reactivity at all” (Cloudflare).
I changed my Twitter handle and became a bot on 10/09/2020. The followers remained, so I informed them that for the next 2 weeks, I will be using bot posting. This means only posting hyperlinks to resource information or sharing posts (with no comments or likes attached). There was no reply to my tweet. My aim was: to compare the effect of personalisation on people's participation by analysing the number of followers. Surprisingly, becoming a bot is fun, but I did not expect it to expand my Twitter PLN social connections.
These are my before and after insights:
|
Table 2: Before and after insights: Human vs Bot identity
Outcomes of Bot Experimentation
Qualitative Outcomes
Becoming a bot had the advantage of allowing me control over my participation because I set the terms on which I would respond. This saved time and was efficient for obtaining and sharing resource information. Changing the Twitter name provided me with greater anonymity and reduced surveillance. I felt a sense of freedom that I was no longer directed by the University and did not need to comply with OLA directions of what to post. This allowed me to study Twitter in detail. Deeper learning resulted from my analysis of results at 1-week and 2-week intervals.
Quantitative Outcomes
When tweeting as human from 20/07 to 09/09 (7 weeks 2 days), followers increased from 94 to 103 (9 new).
During one week from 10/09 to 17/09, the bot had 109 followers (6 new).
During the week from 17/09 to 24/09, bot followers numbered 116 (9 new).
The number of followers increased significantly (15 new) during a fortnight of bot posting.
The growth in number of bot followers surpasses the growth when posting as a human (with interactive discussions, and personal responses). The null hypothesis was not supported.
Impersonal tweets are NOT less
effective for social connection. Participation on Twitter PLN is not dependent on personal responses for PLN connectivity. The bot amplifies posts. Alex Mitchell (2018), explains more about what it means to become a bot, and the insidious way that this can occur through using automated messaging. Further research is needed to clarify the optimal degree of personal responsiveness for various purposes. If a bot is more effective for linking and stretching PLN, then automated posting may be beneficial.
Figure 4: Map 2 of my PLN with further linking, stretching, amplifying of posts by becoming a bot (click on diagram)
Formulating Future Directions
Figure 4: Vision for future PLN: community-focussed, personal, creative, accessible, inclusive, and productive.
I am thankful for the active participants and followers on my Twitter platform. My vision for the future is doodled in Figure 4, which combines the elements that I value from learning about transformational approaches. From this
point forward, I conspire with my bot to venture towards transformational leadership of my Twitter PLN. Doodling is useful for brainstorming new possibilities.
The participatory approach is consistent with my creative practice and action learning as an Occupational Therapist. I foster a hybrid combination of face-to-face and digital network applications for PLN that I plan strategically, according to time and resources available. However, I am also open to the serendipitous learning that occurs from global connectivity on experimentation Twitter.
What I see
as paramount to my PLN is sharing resource information, and establishing collaborative relationships through Twitter @arts_research. My experience of curating the PLN as a
bot raised my capability in locating and sharing resources efficiently. This resourcefulness attracted and retained followers @arts_research; nurturing the established network. The curatorship is not as costly in time when posting as a bot, and posts could be increased through automation in the future. There are limitations for bot posting in being responsive to followers, therefore, human monitoring and intervention is needed to instigate collaborative action. Consultation with the PLN would be useful to negotiate mutual goals and personal benefits. Participants may pay for a resource service if this is what is valued.
The
theoretical framework that I find most useful is a socio-ecological perspective derived from the Person-Environment-Occupational Performance
(PEOP) model. Transformational Social Justice Learning Theory adds another layer to my understanding of digital pedagogies, which are inspired by the Transformational Teachers case examples. This new knowledge informs my decisions about the usefulness of bots vs human curatorship on Twitter PLN. Twitter is a useful as a springboard for PLN participation, but collaborative social action requires more effective strategic planning that provides mutual benefits.
My vision for the future is to collaborate in creative ways with active participants in Arts Research. Further research is needed, regarding the usefulness of bots vs humans for maximising PLN connectivity and attaining mutual goals. To extend my PLN further, I aim to present this study at a professional development meeting, and consult with professional colleagues about the way forward. I am interested to pursue further research about the usefulness of bots for Creative Arts Research.
References
Australia Health Practitioner Regulation Authority [AHPRA]. (2020). Occupational Therapy Registration Board registration standard: Continuing professional development. https://www.occupationaltherapyboard.gov.au/Registration-Standards/Continuing-professional-development.aspx
Baker-Doyle, K. (2017). Transformative teachers: Practices and profiles. In K.
Baker-Doyle (Ed.), Transformative teachers: teacher leadership and learning
in a connected world. (pp. 31-66). Harvard Education Press.
Baker-Doyle, K. (n.d.). New book. Kira J. Baker-Doyle Blog. https://kbakerdoyle.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/new-book-transformative-teachers-teacher-leadership-and-learning-in-a-connected-world/
Baum, C. M., Christiansen, C. H., & Bass, J. D. (2015). The Person-Environment-Occupation- Performance (PEOP) model. In C. H. Christiansen, C. M. Baum, & J. D. Bass (Eds.), Occupational therapy: Performance, participation, and well-being (4th ed., pp. 49-56). SLACK Incorporated.
Brewer, D. (2013) The Twitter song. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWeXBqpbmIs
Cloudflare (n.d.) What is a
social media bot?
https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/bots/what-is-a-social-media-bot/
Freire, P. (2005) Pedagogy of the oppressed, 30th anniversary edition. Continuum. https://envs.ucsc.edu/internships/internship-readings/freire-pedagogy-of-the-oppressed.pdf
GPT-3 (2020). A robot wrote this entire article. Are you scared yet human? (8 September). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3
Hughes, K. (2018). The use of Twitter for professional development in occupational therapy. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 44(1), 113-125. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1515900
Ito, M., Gutiérrez, K., Livingstone, S., Penuel, B., Rhodes, J., Salen, K., Schor, J., Sefton-Green, J., & Watkins, S.C. (2012). Part 2 Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design. Digital Media and Learning Research Hub. https://dmlhub.net/wp-content/uploads/files/Connected_Learning_report.pdf
Kirkwood, S. (2020). Transformational social justice learning theory for pianists. https://pianokeynote.blogspot.com/2020/08/transformational-social-justice.html
Lynton, E. (2018) Defining engaged scholarship. https://www.brown.edu/swearer/lynton/defining-engaged-scholarship
Mezirow, J. (1994). Understanding transformation theory. Adult Education Quarterly. 44(4), pp. 222-232. https://doi.org/10.1177/074171369404400403
Mezirow, J. (2000). Transformative learning. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 1-33): Jossey-Bass.
Mitchell, A. (2008). You're becoming a bot and you don't even know it. https://medium.com/@Amitch5903/youre-becoming-a-bot-a04035bdde6c
Trust, T., Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2018). Leading by learning: exploring the professional learning networks of instructional leaders. Educational Media International, 55(2), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2018.1484041
Thang, S. (2018). Using Twitter as a personal learning network. https://techandcurriculum.pressbooks.com/chapter/personal-learning-networks/
[1] A ‘like’ on Twitter involves clicking on a heart icon to show affiliation with the author, and/or liking the post content.
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