Have you ever experienced a culture shock? Being in a new environment and having a feeling disorientation, having hard time in finding your own comfortable role in the new society or situation?
The notion of ‘culture shock’ came in into my mind after familiarizing myself with David S. White’s idea of people as ‘Visitors’ and ‘Residents’ in the Web (White, D. & Le Cornu, A. (2011) Visitors and residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9).) Visitors don’t want to stay in the Web but use it as a tool, so they just visit there when necessary and try to find what they need at the moment. Residents, in turn, stay in the Web, express themselves there, build their identity (or identities) there and become part of meaningful societies in the Web. This Visitors-Residents is a continuum, not an either-or stamp, but there are different ways of using the Web and belonging to the Web in different parts of it.
A culture shock can result, if someone is visiting a place that doesn’t meet one’s expectations, or when moving into a new environment. Is it possible to experience these in relation to digital environment, the Web as a place? E.g. the concept of different digital literacies makes it clear how much it demands to be an active and capable member of a digital society (Developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide). In the context of teaching and learning, maybe softening students’ digital culture shock could be seen as one goal when planning an online course.
I don’t think ‘traditonal’ (offline) courses are different in this regard, but many of the softening elements are already institutionalized or part of the pedagogical tradition. E.g. with lecture courses: Students often have a clear idea what to expect, how to use the required tools (books & note-taking equipment), how learning materials are shared and where to find information (e.g. library), whom to ask help if needed (other students & faculty staff), how to act and how to participate (raise hand) and so on. For teachers, anticipating students’ questions about the learning process and giving support in the right time might be easier in lecture courses at least in the beginning, because lecture courses are well-established. All this softens the ‘culture shock’ and all this is equally necessary in an online course, but the ways of doing this are new and unestablished – and thus maybe also varied and sometimes inconsistent.
As a side-note, because of a quick shift to online teaching following the covid-19 outbreak, maybe some kind of ‘digital culture shock’ is also experienced by many of the teachers? For example feelings of confusion, loss of familiar cues and rules, and feeling of incapability in a new environment (Winkelman, M. (1994). Cultural shock and adaptation. Journal of Counseling and Development : JCD, 73(2), 121-126.). If we are now still in the shock phase, then next would be the adjustment and the adaptation phases. And eventually after the pandemic (depending on how long it lasts) maybe the reverse culture shock as well, when returning back to the ‘good old’ offline environment. We’ll see.
I don’t know how well the concept of ‘digital culture shock’ works with White’s idea of ‘Visitors’ and ‘Residents’, and in relation to teaching and learning. However, if the Web is seen as a place, it’s interesting to reflect on different perspectives into it.
Photo by Tobi Oluremi,
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