Studytube: Educational Bloggers in the Higher Education Ecosystem
https://doi.org/10.31992/0869-3617-2023-32-4-156-168
Abstract
The article examines a new non–traditional actor in higher education: educational bloggers “studytubers” who being students themselves record informal and non-professional videos on the topic of learning, productivity, popular science, and education in general. The objectives of this study included a description of the phenomenon of the studytube itself, its history, context, specifics, then in revealing the ways educational bloggers work and, finally, in fixing its role in the ecosystem of higher education. The phenomenon of studytube was considered through an ecosystem approach, the framework of the “participatory culture”, and the concept of “micro-celebrity”. It was empirically studied through the methodology of digital ethnography and methods of nonparticipant observation, visual analysis of video materials, thematic analysis of texts. The results showed the main thematic repertoire of the educational bloggers, the stylistic features of their work, the affective nature of the work of educational bloggers, ways of interacting with subscribers, and monetization models. Recommendations are also offered to universities for the involvement of the studytube community into the development of the university environment.
Keywords
Supporting agencies: The research was supported by RSF (project no. 22-18-00687 “Research on the institutional design of the Russian education system transformation in the context of postpandemic reality: ecosystem analysis and landscape mapping”).
About the Authors
K. R. Romanenko
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ksenia R. Romanenko – Cand. Sci. (Education), Research Fellow, Assistant Professor, Institute of Education
Researcher ID: L-3075-2015
16, bldg. 10, Potapovsky alley, Moscow, 101000
A. Yu. Makareva
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Anastasiia Yu. Makareva – PhD-student, Institute of Education, visiting lecturer, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs
16, bldg. 10, Potapovsky alley, Moscow, 101000
References
1. Marginson, S. (2017). Elite, Mass, and High-participation Higher Education. Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Dordrecht: Springer. doi: 10.1007/97894-017-9553-1_50-1
2. Tomasova, D.A., Koroleva, D.O., Havenson, T.E. (2021). Educational Ecosystems: Traditional and Non-traditional Actors in the Development of Territories. Goroda budushhego: prostranstvennoe razvitie, souchastvujushhee upravlenie i tvorcheskie industrii = Cities of the Future: spatial development, participatory management, and creative industries. Moscow: Publishing house “Delo” of RANEPA. Pp. 349-373. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=48178467 (accessed 09.03.2023). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).
3. Jenkins, H., Ito, M., Boyd, D. (2015). Participatory Culture in a Networked Era: A Conversation on Youth, Learning, Commerce, and Politics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 978-0-745-68943-2.
4. Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., Robison, A.J. (2009). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge, MA; London: MIT Press. doi: 10.7551/mitpress/8435.001.0001
5. Senft, T. (2008). Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks. New York, N.Y.: Peter Lang Inc. ISBN: 978-0820456942.
6. Kolpinets, E. (2016). The Celebrety as Part of the Digital Everyday. Logos. Vol. 26, no. 6 (115), pp. 161-188. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=27451891 (accessed 09.03.2023). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).
7. Kolpinets, E. (2021). The Value of Affective Labour in the Culture of Internet Celebrities. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: economicheskie i sotsial’nye peremeny = Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes. Vol. 5, pp. 118-137, doi: 10.14515/monitoring.2021.5.1959 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).
8. Boellstorff, T. (Ed.) (2012). Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method. Princeton: Princeton University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.cttq9s20
9. Hine, C. (2000). Virtual Ethnography. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9780857020277
10. Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., Braun, V. (2017). Thematic Analysis. The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology. Vol. 2. pp. 17-37, doi: 10.4135/9781526405555.n2
11. Abidin, C. (2018). Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online. Emerald Group Publishing. doi: 10.1108/9781787560765
12. Pearson, R. (2010). Fandom in the Digital Era. Popular Communication. The International Journal of Media and Culture. Vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 84-95, doi: 10.1080/15405700903502346
13. Logunova, O.S., Lebedev, P.A. (2021). Digital Celebrities: Transformation of Theoretical Approaches. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: economicheskie i sotsial’nye peremeny=Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes. No. 5, pp. 12-31, doi: 10.14515/monitoring.2021.5.1992 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).
14. Hou, M. (2019). Social Media Celebrity and the Institutionalization of YouTube. Convergence. Vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 534-553, doi: 10.1177/1354856517750368
15. Tsaliki, L. (2015). “Tweeting the Good Causes”: Social Networking and Celebrity Activism. A companion to celebrity. Pp. 235–257, doi: 10.1002/9781118475089.ch13
Review
Views:
982
Email this article 