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Matyas Baan

“Resurrecting Homo habilis”, the tool using human: a glimpse at Facebook’s potential in learning sustainable living skills

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Edited by Matyas Baan, Tuesday, 18 Feb 2020, 18:35

IT IS TIME TO SHINE MORE LIGHT ON THE POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL MEDIA 

Click HERE for my H818 Online Conference poster.

Link to project website.

H818 Online Conference abstract:


Environmental activism is beginning to receive the attention it deserves as a result of the appearance of charismatic figures such as Greta Thunberg coinciding with ever more obvious warning signs of Global Change. Rob Greenfield has dedicated much of his adult life to making a difference. Since he set up his Facebook page in early 2013 he has become increasingly influential in the zero waste living movement. (Schmitt, 2019)

Greenfield’s work focuses on how humans can produce their own food freely without producing waste other than the degradable leftovers of the foodstuff itself. The solutions he and the online community he has created have come up with have wide-reaching implications not just for us living in industrialized societies, but also for communities dependent on subsistence farming.  

This project aims to:

  • investigate whether Greenfield’s Facebook page constitutes a community of practice (CoP). (According to Wenger-Trayner (2020) a CoP is a community where members are brought together by a learning need they share, their collective learning becomes a bond among them over time and their interactions produce resources that affect their practice.)
  • identify good practice*
  • and potential areas for improvement.*

*within the context of an actual or potential CoP.


The project relies on the following sources:

  • asynchronous interactions on Greenfield´s page
  • Greenfield’s own personal account
  • other followers’ personal accounts obtained through unconstructed interviews carried out on the Facebook platform asynchronously
  • relevant literature such as Wenger’s research on CoP
According to Ville (2011) cited in Baan (2019) macro innovations (such as the Internet and social media in general) are followed by ‘micro inventions that transform the efficiency and impact of the original innovation.’ This suggests that the potential of social media is yet to be depleted through innovative ideas that might turn social media platforms into widely accepted formal educational tools in the future. 

This project is a precursor for a larger scale research project culminating in the development of a framework of good practice for social media (e.g. Facebook) based CoP. According to Akhavan et al. (2015) CoP ‘absorb information and transform it into knowledge by blending this knowledge with experiences, values and internal rules to obtain a basis for their actions’, thus merging explicit and implicit knowledge. ‘CoP have the potential to transform modern education entirely, innovating a new era where terms such as lecturingmemorizingreciting, and even teaching might fade into pre-21st century history’ (Baan, 2019). 


References: 

Akhavan, P., Marzieh, B., Mirjafari, M. (2015) Identifying the success factors of Communities of Practice (CoPs): How do they affect on students to create knowledge? [Online], VINE (ISSN: 0305-5728), Available at  https://www-emerald-com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/insight/content/doi/10.1108/VINE-03-2014-0022/full/html(Accessed 03/01/2020).

Baan, M. (2019), TMA01, submitted to the Open University as part of H818 assessment.

Schmitt, K. A. (2019) ‘This man will eat only what he can grow or forage – here is why’, National Geographic, March 15 [Online]. Available at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/03/rob-greenfield-of-orlando-florida-eats-only-what-he-grows-forages/ (Accessed 8 January 2020). 

Wenger-Trayner (2020) What is a community of practice? [Online]. Available at https://wenger-trayner.com/resources/what-is-a-community-of-practice/ (Accessed 03/01/2020).


 


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Matyas Baan

11

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11

 

Dear Brian,

I forgot your birthday 

and there are no excuses

You turned eleven on Tuesday

and I knew this.

 

Dear Brian,

Now that you are a teen

between a kid and and a grown-up

Some things will seem

Little but blown-up.

 

Dear Brian,

The most important lesson

You taught me last September

Kindness is life’s blossom

That’s all there’s to remember.

 

Dear Brian,

Never doubt it in your heart

How proud I am of you

So much wisdom in a ‘little adult’

Plus such a good student, too!

 

Dear Brian,

Whatever brings you joy

And a sense of satisfaction

That’s what’s right for you boy

Do it with conviction!


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Matyas Baan

H818 TMA02 poster - revised version - pls comment

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To watch the revised version of my poster pls click HERE

Pls share your thoughts on it in the comments below 🤩

To attend the conference on 15th Feb pls click HERE

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Matyas Baan

My H818 project poster for TMA02

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To begin, please click HERE to watch my project poster. 

In a nutshell on my methods and sources:

I conduct participant observation and unstructured interviews on Rob Greenfield’s Facebook page.

I aspire to get feedback from my fellow learners through Open Studio, as well as from my LindkedIn and Instagram followers.

Join me from 15:30 to 15:45 on 15th February if you are curious to learn about the outcome of my project.

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Matyas Baan

Façades of self - a poem inspired by the book “The power of now”

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Façades of self

 

 

A façade is to impress

And I am so blinded by the shine

Of your ivory-blue teeth and blossom lips

Undeniably one of a kind. 

 

Cute little wrinkles 

Splash out on your cheeks

When that smile-machinery scrambles 

Into a full-throttle charm offensive. 

 

Time is on my side

But god, it’s been half a lifetime

On this ruthless roller-coaster ride

Bouncing around bewildered by ego and pride. 

 

Awaken by chance

Or perhaps by heavenly spell

At last I see beyond the hindrance

Of my own divided self.

 

Why resent the price

I had to pay to regain my sight?

Seeing folks sleepwalk through life

Makes me bow before my Fortune’s might.

 

Fortune, god or heavenly spell

I thank you for unmasking

This ego-feeding terrestrial hell

Of my own divided self. 

 


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Matyas Baan

Be it - a poem inspired by my month-long road trip across Europe

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Be it

 

Let it go, the masquerade,

Making an impression,

Tinkering your image 

Through self-censorship.

 

Let it go, the conforming

To imaginary norms,

Wash your hands of the clay

You have grayed your face with.

 

Let it go, the fearing

Of the word and gaze

Others cast on you 

Outcast, be it, daredevil.

 

Let it go, the tomorrowism,

Watching waves on the horizon,

Look down where you’re splashing,

Feel the water soak your skin.

 

Let it go, the self-hatred

For acts that were forced upon you,

Think EGO, think, think, think

Without thinking a thing.

 

Let it go, let the ego go,

Go, go, go, go, go,

Wherever you’ll arrive

Will be a better place.

 

Let it go, the hopefulness,

Hope is dead today,

Control nothing but your breath,

Let yourself be swayed. 

 

There is nothing but today.

 


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Matyas Baan

13 - a poem I wrote for my adopted son’s 13th birthday

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13

 

13 is a magic number

If you doubt me, just listen

The first of the teens after

Ten, twelve…almost forgot eleven.

 

13 is a lucky number

That’s what they say in Italy

“Fare tredici” means to do thirteen

Which can make you win the lottery.

 

13 is so American

Count the stripes on their flag

13 stripes stand for the 13 colonies

That colonial America had.

 

13 is rough at times

Just like a game of rugby

Where 13 players run and bounce

Then hold that ball real snugly. 

 

Happy 13th birthday, Rayimon

And as you leave behind twelve

Think of the power of your mind

Always love and improve yourself!

 


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Matyas Baan

A recent piece of my poetry

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Façades of self


A façade is to impress

And I am so blinded by the shine

Of your ivory-blue teeth and blossom lips

Undeniably one of a kind. 


Cute little wrinkles 

Splash out on your cheeks

When that smile-machinery scrambles 

Into a full-throttle charm offensive. 


Time is on my side

But god, it’s been half a lifetime

On this ruthless roller-coaster ride

Bouncing around bewildered by ego and pride. 


Awaken by chance

Or perhaps by heavenly spell

At last I see beyond the hindrance

Of my own divided self.


Why resent the price

I had to pay to regain my sight?

Seeing folks sleepwalk through life

Makes me bow before my Fortune’s might.


Fortune, god or heavenly spell

I thank you for unmasking

This ego-feeding terrestrial hell

Of my own divided self. 


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Matyas Baan

TMA reminder pop-up (Activity: Remix!; H880)

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Personally I find it challenging to keep the content of the TMAs in mind while working through the courses of H880. I thought it could be a good idea to be reminded of the contents of the upcoming TMA at regular intervals through the course (let’s say, once a week). I figured a pop up window could help learners not to lose focus.

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