Week 3

Affordances

I like the idea of reviewing technologies and looking at the features of them. it makes me think and question the technologies I have been using, in some cases, for a long time, and truly think of its purpose and functions. I also like the idea of a framework with which to judge them - it gives an already unusual view further depth to it, and truly forces me to focus on them in a different way.

My framework is as such:

Tool

Feature

Affordances - Positive - Negative

Pedagogical Implications

Legal, Ethical, Safe Implications

To see how that measures up, here is my affordance framework when reviewing blogs.

Tool: Blogs

Features: Easy to setup and use, can be created by anyone (any age), in multiple languages, can share information about a range of topics

Affordances (Positive): Information is organised and searchable, it can be a reflection of an individual or collective, it is generally free (wikipedia), it is creative, and it allows for interaction and collaboration.

Affordances (Negative): Authenticity can be questionable, leading information located there to not be trusted. Users can contribute negatively, for example making changes to be silly, for fun, or to be destructive towards anothers' work.

Pedalogical Implications: Blogs create collaborative learning - with users all over the world, allowing them to share their ideas, collaborate with one another, and produce pages and information with far more than they could have done alone. It provides a platform to consolidate their learning and to share it and publish it.

Legal, Ethical, Safe Implications: May contain illegal or potentially hurtful information to individuals or companies. There may be incorrect information if it comes from unconfirmed sources. If information is incorrect, it may not always include information that is safe for younger readers, or safe instructions in how tos (for example, connecting car batteries, fixing electrics).