collaborative digital work: mapping religious activity in the gta

CTL Talk Mar17-11 - Dr. D. Perley

1. Project Background and Learning Objectives2. Project Design: Groups and Tasks3. Digital interface – the “Religion Engine”4. Learning Outcomes5. Project Review6. Conclusions: sustained and ongoing

collaboration


Fall of 2010 (RLGB10 – Intro to the Study of Religion) collaborative work as part of the first stage of the project

“Mapping Religious Activity in the GTA: Past and Present”

groups were given the task of defining, classifying, and historically contextualizing 2 distinct religious traditions, and then mapping religious locations in the GTA related to those traditions


Map projects at DCSR (Frances Garrett; Pamela Klassen)

Christine Berkowitz and ◦ The History Engine (Scott Nesbit and Rob Nelson, University of

Richmond) CTL Student volunteers (Seyed Hossein, Mathura

Karunanithy, Samia Haque) UTSC library (Sarah Fedko, Lola Rudin) IITS (Syed Kashif and Julia Bronfenbrener)


[excerpt from RLGB10 Course Outline]

Students will learn about contemporary instances of religious activity and the global context of

religions in the GTA connections between religious sites (past and present) and their

historical emergence in the GTA cultural mapping and theoretical classification Students will learn how to research, design, and upload digital content appreciate religious diversity on a sophisticated level in group

settingsStudents will be able to offer new suggestions for classification; participate in

‘redescriptions’ of religion (JZ Smith)


onnections with other course requirements and course content

ROUPS (4 primary groups, 16 subgroups total)

ach of the four PRIMARY GROUPS addresses 2 major religious traditions

. Judaism and Sikhism

. Christianity and Hinduism

. Islam and East-Asian Religions

. Buddhism and 1st Nations/Indigenous Religions

SUBGROUPS: Each student is responsible for duties depending on subgroup:

. Definitions and Classifications: Traditions and Sites

. Interpretations: Insider and Outsider, E-world and “Real” World

. History of Communities: Arrivals and Establishments

. Comparative Analysis in Modern, Global, and Canadian Contexts


pproximate total number of students: 15 X 4 = 60 students.

student’s group affiliation is, e.g., 3.4 (Islam and East-Asian Religions, Comparative Analysis in Modern, Global, and Canadian Contexts).


TASKS GROUP MEMBERSHIP (Wishlist) DELEGATION OF DUTIES (BASED ON *WORKSHEET)

RESOURCES USED Computer rooms in BV RLGB10 Libguide E-Resources

Encyclopedia of Religion Websites

*Turnitin.com* THE RELIGION ENGINE

ACTIVITIES – PRESENTATIONS/ROUNDTABLES


www.turnitin.com and the need for digital review


http://www.turnitin.com/

The Religion Engine

*‘tags’ feature


http://webapps.utsc.utoronto.ca/historyengine/

Collaboration between subgroups:

“Redescription”?

GTA and religious pluralisation

Global connections with the GTA


Development and Improvement◦ Better processes of review◦ More customized form fields for data entry◦ More class time for presentations and intergroup analysis◦ “Redescription” and “tags”◦ In-class evaluation for teaching effectiveness

Suggestions for improvement?


sustained and ongoing collaboration Resources and help? (CTL; IITS)


collaborative digital work: mapping religious activity in the gta

Education