BAPP Arts 2016-17 Module 1 Task 3b - Theories relating to networking

I found this topic rather a lot to take in in a short space of time. Did my usual research on the old YouTube and found some great tutorials on the theories mentioned in the reader 3. These are Social constructionism - Connectivism - Communities of Practice.

Social Constructionism - Video by Sydney Brown



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVCkJ7jLnz0&t=4s


What makes something real?? An interesting theory that look at everything we experience as a construct. Things that only exist because we give them because we give the reality through social agreement. Things such as money or books would not exist in the absence of human society. Its a bit of a mind boggler, for those with a vivid imagination your mind can wonder with this one. Its seems so logical to me, but that exactly it. I have a vivid imagination and that is what this theory is based upon, the mind acknowledging facts so they can exist. But what about natural phenomena? These actions cannot be explained and do not rely on the recognition of the human mind to exist.


Posted by Sydney Brown
https://www.youtube.com/user/seb02009






Connectivism - Video by Erin Jonesrebandt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFCYjm6nf40

Apart from the helpful little tutorial I found, I also did some online research. I am a real advocate of Connectivism, as I do what is described quite often. The BAPP Arts course I would say encourages Connectivesm. When researching Downs and Siemens theory I came across web designer Charlie R. Caldwell's blog. I found his blog when I wanted to know what the term 'nodes' meant. He talks about social network theory and gives a description of 'Nodes' as actors within a network.


Caldwell's Blog - http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/What_is_Social_Network_Theory

"Social Network Theory is the study of how people, organisations or groups interact with others inside their network. Understanding the theory is easier when you examine the individual pieces starting with the largest element, which is networks, and working down to the smallest element, which is the actors." 

"Nodes can most easily be defined as the individual players -- or actors -- inside the network."

Caldwell goes on to describe three types of social networks that social scientist explore:

Ego-centric networks are connected with a single node or individual. For example, you, the node, connected to all your close friends. 

Socio-centric networks are closed networks by default. Two commonly-used examples of this type of network are children in a classroom or workers inside an organisation. 

In open-system networks, the boundary lines are not clearly defined. A few examples in this type of network are America's elite class, connections between corporations, or the chain of influencers of a particular decision. Due to the lack of clearly-defined boundaries, this type of network is considered the most difficult to study

Which one best describes your network? I would say that I have quite an ego-central network both socially and professionally. This is something I am hoping to develop during my time on the BAPP arts course. Through Caldwell's blog I discovered a concept I like from the social network theory, 'Six degrees of separation'. Mary Beth Adomaitis talk about it on her blog from the same website. The idea behind the six degrees of separation is simple: If a person is one step or relationship away from each individual he or she knows and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the individuals he or she knows, then everyone on Earth is six relationships or less away from each other. The background behind the six degrees of separation is broad, depending on which part of the theory you are studying.


Mary Beth Adomaitis's Blog - http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Theory_of_Six_Degrees_of_Separation

Six Degrees on Facebook - While conducting research for his novel, The Watcher, thriller writer Steve Jackson turned toward the Internet. He wanted to see how connections are made between individuals online (in this case through Facebook). In November 2007, he created a group on Facebook called Six Degrees and invited all of his friends to join. His initial results weren't promising as only 20 friends joined his group. However, within days, that quickly changed. As those friends invited their friends, who in turn invited their friends, Jackson's list grew. Within one week, his initial 20 friends turned into 30,000, and within three weeks, he had more than 2 million friends. By January 2008, he had more than 4 million friends. Below is the link to the report written on Jackson's research.


link:
http://www.steve-jackson.net/six_degrees/




Communities of Practice - video by Eva Cianciara Banka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfxpmfucmac&t=42s


How many different communities of practice do you think you are or have been apart of? I had a real think about his and there have been so many throughout my life and career so far. As a dancer I was part of a Kinsi Dance company for a year. We would rehearse once a week and learn from each other, share ideas and create beautiful routines. As in individual I am a member of British Military Fitness, something I wanted to do for years and now am part of a lovely community of friends all with the same goals and passion to keep fit. As a teacher I am part of a strategies for learning team, currently observing and learning from more experienced teachers, with the hope soon to bring my experiences to the table and share some ideas. Communities of practice I think are vital for any practitioner who wants to develop improve and share their experiences. As the saying goes, two heads are always better then one.