Posts Tagged ‘persona’

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Class 6: My Avatar and Me – virtual identities

March 12, 2020

Discussing self and identity is more complex than it seems!

Very few of you had reviewed the reading/viewing material before coming to class this week so, John asked you do so before we began a discussion. It is pointless trying to have any discussion without some prior exposure to the concepts presented by Daniel Dennett and David Chalmers. This is quite challenging territory so we all need to start off from the same point of departure.

Although this took up a considerable amount of class time it was necessary.

Locks Aichi sent apologies and regrets that due to work commitments she was unable to join us as guest speaker this evening. However, she had done considerable preparation and sent notes to John to guide the discussion.

We started by remembering Sitearm’s introduction to the concept of ‘persona’ in class 3. John then asked everyone to answer the question ‘who are you?’ in the context of the two presentations, ‘how do you describe your self?’ The questions were more difficult to respond to than we might have thought but the following emerged after some prompting:

  • 20 year old male
  • student
  • a mind in a body
  • outgoing, extrovert
  • introvert
  • fair
  • fun
  • cheerful
  • honest
  • concerned
  • considerate
  • careful
  • curious
  • creative
  • musical
  • visual
  • aspiring (to greatness)
  • positive

Sitearm asked you about your skills, do they contribute to who you are? John wondered what impression you would like to give to someone you are meeting for the first time. How would you like them to describe you?

  • inventive
  • swimmer
  • process (eg, design process)
  • kind
  • good humoured
  • charming
  • open and approachable

Then John asked if you consider these descriptions to be real, or are they illusions? So, what makes your self real? You suggested that it is social interaction, how others reflect you back to yourself. One of you put it as ‘I am what other people think of me’. This led to the proposition that while we are one person we have many different layers. John asked if there is a core ‘you’ an unchanging sense of your self underneath all the layers? The response was that you have some core qualities that are more stable than others and that might change much more slowly than others.

You spoke of how your presentation of your selves is somewhat determined by the social situation. For example, your persona at home with your family is very different from your persona when out with friends.

Another interesting comment from one of you was that you don’t sit down and have a conversation with yourself.

Ultimately, it seems difficult to grasp exactly what our ‘real’ self might be. John suggested that the notion of an unchanging ‘you’ that lies at your core is what we tend to think of as our ‘self’ whereas the manner in which we present in different social situations is seen as a range of ‘identities’ that we can assume depending on the situation.

This led on to a discussion about social media and how we might present ourselves there. Do online environments give a greater opportunity for controlling our identities? Or does it simply result in a more detailed digital footprint that you leave behind? Instagram, SnapChat, WhatsApp, Facebook and LinkedIn we mentioned as the main apps used. Some of you use aliases when using them, just as we do here in SL. Your use of the apps reflected your earlier references to different identities.

Sitearm asked an interesting question about how your use of social media might also change over time. For example, if you were using social media before college have you felt the need to change your profile since leaving school? or do you anticipate having to change again when you enter the workplace? John wondered if you had heard of the phrase ‘the internet never forgets’? Are you aware of the nature of ‘digital footprints’?

This led the discussion to the difference between your personal identities and your professional identities. How do you present your professional skills in the digital online environment? John suggested that you need to take control of your social media – it is too important to simply allow your image to develop randomly. So, activities such as blogging can support the development of your ‘personal brand’. Your social media profile is an opportunity to demonstrate your professional attributes.

Before we concluded Sitearm asked for a quick ‘likes and wishes’ reaction to the class. The ‘likes’ included the opportunity to dig deeper into the topic; support for developing professional profiles; shared examples of our ideas on personality and identity; open conversation with no right or wrong answers; Sitearm appreciated how the everyone participated and shared their experiences. The ‘wishes’ included viewing the reading/viewing material in advance of class; and also doing the reading together during class!

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Class 3: Teamwork and Collaboration

February 20, 2020

Sitearm Madonna presents the theory of teamwork and collaborative working.

 

John introduced Sitearm Madonna, our guest speaker on the topic of teamwork and collaboration this week. Site began by asking each of us to jot down one experience of poor teamwork and another positive experience of teamwork for later discussion. He then pointed us in the direction of a short video to introduce the topic.

Site also provided this link to his slides.

Projects involving teams go through different stages and each stage requires different energies or has different flavours, as described in the sestet (a poem made o fix lines) displayed in the class – if you haven’t seen it make sure to visit SL and review it along with this summary.

Sitearm’s sestets give a flavour of teamwork dynamics.

 

Teamwork is like breathing: it is a process not a one time event. There are four aspects to understanding how teams function. Firstly, teams have effective members. Each of us brings some commitment and some level of competence. You can compensate for the lack of either in team mates to ensure a positive outcome. Secondly, effective teams develop in stages. Starting with the forming stage where members are getting to know each other and find their place before moving onto what can be the most difficult stage known as storming. This is where everyone is pitching ideas and working out how to proceed. Then teams usually move on the norming stage when the members are beginning to work together comfortably and settle down to performing and getting the project done.

Thirdly, effective teams use best practices. For example, using brainstorming to generate ideas and then agreeing a protocol for deciding how to progress: majority vote, consensus or some other way. You will find that you move back and forth between brainstorming and deciding until the project begins to take shape. When you meet in your teams get into the habit of briefing yourselves. Ask questions like: what are we going to do in this meeting? Then do it. At the end of the meeting leave some time for debriefing: record any decisions made or what happened. Also ask each to member to say what they liked about the meeting and what they wished had happened. This helps your team meetings to become more efficient, effective and enjoyable.

Finally, effective teams share roles: research shows that there are nine key roles for highest performance and success in teamwork. As many teams don’t have nine members it is often necessary for people to take on more than one role. Each of us has a natural affinity to some roles but you can practice taking on new roles also. The disadvantage of this is the discomfort as you move into unfamiliar territory and the extra work involved but the advantage is seen in performance and success on both the personal and team levels.

Collaboration is a technology – proven and time tested with a vast number of academic papers describing the process. Think of it like that and you will find it less daunting.

Always remember to practice your presentation before the final deadline, have backups and expect catastrophe. Prepare for it and you will be successful no matter what happens. Ease the typical headaches of teamwork, whether you are a member or leader, by trying to discover what you can rely on from yourself and others on your team.

We then revisited the experiences Sitearm asked us to jot down at the beginning of the class to compare them against the theory outlined in the talk. This helped to root the theory in practice.

In closing, Sitearm introduced Persona theory. The concept originated in ancient Greek theatre where the actors wore wooden masks with a hole for speaking through. Humans develop multiple personas during our lifetimes – tailored for multiple purposes and taken on in different social situations. An awareness of persona increases your competence in moving from one role on a team to another as necessary.

Finally, John posted the team members for the Team Project. In the next class we will consider the brief for the project and answer any questions you have about working on it for the rest of the semester.

For the rest of the semester you will be working in the following teams.

Posted in 2019 class summaries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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