I would like to discuss a challenge I am facing in the ubiquitous learning environment on the topic of transparency and surveillence. This is something I struggle with for myself and I see similar fears of, in let’s say, my more traditional students. I have a real fear of putting my thoughts and ideas out there in the world for all to see and perhaps judge me on. As Dr. Cope shares in the video “Ubiquitous Learning, Part 1C: Transparency or Surveillance?” those discussions, comments and assignments we post are indexed, stored and forever available out there for anyone and everyone to access. This in my opinion is one of the biggest barriers to building and supporting online learning communities or communities of practice. In a face-to face classroom environment some students may feel more open about sharing ideas and discussing topics then they would in an online setting. I understand there is a flip-side to this issue as there are some students who fear speaking out in public and therefore not benefit fully from a discussion in a traditional face-to-face setting but online feel a freedom in which they can express themselves.

So I think of learners’ participation (myself included) in this way. The X symbolizes the barrier to learning through discussions.

While all those areas with barriers are important to address, the one that interests me the most (because I’m there!) is the group that is hesitant to participate in online interactive learning. One of my personal objectives for this course is to work on a strategy to decrease this specific barrier in learners.