Networked Learning Conference 2016

Academic social networking sites (SNS), such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate, seek to bring the benefits of online social networking to academics' professional lives. Online academic social networking offers the potential to revolutionise academic publishing, foster novel collaborations, and empower academics to develop their professional identities online. However, the role that such sites play in relation to academic practice and other social media is not well understood at present.Arguably, the defining characteristic of academic social networking sites is the connections formed between profiles (in contrast to the traditional static academic homepage, for example). The social network of connections fostered by SNSs occupies an interesting space in relation to online identity, being both an attribute of an individual and shaped by the social context they are embedded within. As such, personal network structures may reflect an expression of identity (as "public displays of connection" (Donath & boyd, 2004) or "relational self portraits[s]" (Hogan & Wellman, 2014)), while social capital has been linked to network structures (Crossley et al., 2015). Network structure may therefore have implications for the types of roles that a network can play in professional life. What types of network structures are being fostered by academic SNS and how do they relate to academics' development of an online identity?This presentation will discuss findings from a project which has used a mixed-methods social network analysis approach to analyse academics' personal networks online. The personal networks of 55 academics (sampled from survey participants, to reflect a range of disciplines and job positions) on both one academic SNS (either Academia.edu or ResearchGate) and Twitter were collected and analysed. Differences in network structure emerged according to platform, with Twitter networks being larger and less dense, while academic SNS networks were smaller and more highly clustered. There were differences between academic SNS and Twitter in the brokerage positions occupied by the participant. The results are discussed in relation to other salient studies relating network structure in online social networks to social capital, and implications for academic practice. Future work, including co-interpretive interviews to explore the significance of network structures with participants, is introduced.

This paper explores academics' writing practices, focusing on the importance of digital platforms in their processes of collaborative learning. It draws on interview data from the first phase of a research project working closely with academics across different disciplines and institutions to explore their writing practices.  The project is framed within a social practice perspective on literacy, which sees reading and writing as practices developed and maintained through participation in a social context, shaped by aspects of people's purposes, histories and institutional positionings (Barton & Hamilton, 2000; Barton, 2007).The role of an academic in higher education is diverse, and almost every aspect of this role involves specialised forms of writing and knowledge creation in a very wide range of genres for many different kinds of audiences (Hyland, 2011).  Transformations in the social and institutional structuring of higher education in recent years have changed the nature of the writing demands faced by academics. At the same time, information and communications technologies have proliferated in the higher education setting. As the demands of academic life have changed in recent years, so the writing practices have changed too.  Learning how to engage with these new kinds of genres and practices goes on throughout academics' careers, much of it in an informal way, collaborating with other people on particular projects and learning as they go along.The paper outlines characteristics of academics' ongoing professional learning, demonstrating the importance of collaborations on specific projects in generating learning in relation to intellectual and disciplinary aspects of writing, writing strategies and structures, and using digital platforms. A very wide range of digital platforms have been identified by these academics, enabling new kinds of collaboration across time and space on writing and research; but challenges around online learning are also identified, particularly the dangers of engaging in learning in public, the pressures of 'always-on'-ness, and the different values systems around publishing in different forums.

The currents of post-modernist thought during the late 20th century spurred an interest in identity as an object of scholarly exploration, as the massive social changes in this period revealed the instable nature of identity. Thus, the study of professional identity has been a recurrent theme in educational science through the last couple of decades, exploring the characteristics and development of professional identity. Simultaneously, the technological development in society has massively affected how we live and our work practices, increasing the intensity of Information and Communication Technology adoption and application of professionals. Educational practices of higher education are equally affected. New educational programmes emerge and course titles, pedagogies, and curricula are adapted to reflect technological changes. Thus, ICT has become a significant aspect of the content and practices of professions and disciplines, and consequently higher education. There is a lack of knowledge with regards to how professional identity are affected by developments and adoption of ICTs in society in general and higher education specifically. The author of this paper suggest Actor-Network Theory as an approach in understanding how Information and Communication Technologies contribute to the characteristics of professional identity in higher education. In the study of how actors are given an identity, the nature of groups is perceived as an on-going process made up of ties. Based on this approach, the study of professional identity must focus on the tracing of associations between heterogeneous actors and their practices. The nature or identity of the group is described through the mapping of spokespersons, anti-groups, boundaries and the inclusion of other professionals such as social scientists and statistics. When studying professional identity in the context of higher education, actors include but is not limited to students, educators, graduates, experienced professionals, but equally tools (including ICTs), curricula, professional legislation and employment statistics. The number or nature of the actors included in the mapping of ties cannot be defined from the outset. The approach will allow the voices of the actors to be heard in characterizing the social context of professional identity, revealing a multitude of perspectives. The author suggests future studies that will engage in higher education practices empirically, developing the theoretical contribution and thus elaborating our understanding of the interrelations of ICT and professional identity as well as serving as a contribution to the body of ANT literature.

Social media and public engagement play an increasing role in how people across ages, disciplines, and interests communicate with each other and perform their own lives. While different audiences participate for a variety of reasons, researchers increasingly explore how connections are made, remain, and shift, along with the whats and whys these occur, especially within personal learning networks or environments related to academic learning (Buchem, Attwell, & Torres, 2011; Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012; Kop, 2011; Rahimi, Berg, & Veen, 2014; Veletsianos, 2012). While researcher development is a growing speciality within higher education academic discourse (McAlpine & Amundsen, 2009; McAlpine, Horn, & Rath, 2011; Wisker et al., 2010; Wisker, Robinson, Trafford, Lilly, & Warnes, 2004), little is known about researcher support structures of those engaging in research in public. Social media is meant to promote and share in conversations, with personal learning networks and connected communities increasingly utilized by developing researchers.With social media and networking technologies constantly shifting how people use, learn from, and make meaning with them, a scoping study is a useful methodology to explore this area. A purpose of a scoping study includes examining the range and nature of an area of research, determine value of undergoing a full systematic review, summarizing findings of previous studies, and identifying gaps in the literature (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005; Paré, Trudel, Jaana, & Kitsiou, 2015). While there are numerous kinds of literature reviews, scoping studies are particularly useful when a rapid overview of the literature is needed to broadly map what is currently known about an area (Pham et al., 2014), especially one that is not directly linked to a specific disciplinary community or function.The question that will guide this study is: How do developing researchers learn in networked public spaces?