edc 2020 handbook final · course guide 6 course learning outcomes the outcomes for this course are...
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COURSE GUIDE: Education and digital cultures
Session 2019/20
Contents
Contents 3
Welcome 5
Courselearningoutcomes 6
Deliverymodeandparticipationetiquette 6
Equipmentyouwillneed 6
Coursestructureandformat 7
Weekbyweekplan 8
Assessment 9
1. Thelifestream-blog(50%) 9
2. Thedigitalessay(50%) 12
Submissiondates 13
Technologies:whatyouneedtoknow 14
Introduction 14
Settingupthelifestream-bloginWordPress 14
Suggestedlifestream-blogcontent 18
Othercourseenvironments:Twitter,Togethertube,GooglehangoutsError!Bookmarknotdefined.
Suggestedresourcesforcreatingartefacts 21
Coursetutorcontactinformation 22
Educationanddigitalcultures
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Welcome WelcometoEducationandDigitalCultures.
Thiscourseisaboutsomeofthewaysinwhichdigitalculturesintersectwitheducationalculturesonline.Alongsideabroadunderstandingofsomeofthemostengagingperspectivesondigitalcultureinitspopularandacademicforms,we’llbeconsideringhowourpracticesasteachersandlearnersareinformedbyvariousinterpretationsofdigitalculture.
ThecourseisunlikemanyoftheothersontheMScinDigitalEducationprogramme,inthatwemakenouseofMoodle–apartfromforassignmentsubmission–orofprivatelearningspaces.Allcoursecontent–apartfromcopyright-protectedreadings–ispubliclyavailableontheweb.Similarly,weaskyouascourseparticipantstoconductmuchofthebusinessofthecourseinpublic,includingtheassessedelements.Themostsignificantelementoftheassessmentinthisregardisthe‘lifestream-blog’.There’smoreonthisbelow,butinshortitisanattemptto‘capture’somethingoftheprocessandpathofyourlearning,inallitsvarietyandcomplexity.
Becausethetechnologicalenvironmentsweareusingareabitdifferent,you’llfindthere’smoretechnicalinformationinthisguidethaninothercoursehandbooks.Sopleasereaditthroughthoroughlyandgetbacktousifyouhaveanyquestions.
Wewantparticipationinthiscoursetobeacollectiveexperimentinbeingpartofthewidersocialweb.Weexpectthatsomeorevenmostcourseparticipantswillhaveactivepersonalorprofessionalpresencesonthewebalready,andsoforyouthiscoursewillbeabouttranslatingsomeofthoseexperiencestoaformallearningcontext.Forthosewhosepresenceonthewebhasbeenlesspublic,itisperhapsachancetounderstandandreflectonwhatdifferencethismakestoyouasastudent,towhatyoudoanddon’twishtoshareandsay,andhowthatchangesforyouovertheperiodofthecourse.
Wearealsoexploringalternativewaysforpresentingacademicknowledge,encouragingyoutothinkaboutdigitalmethodsforconveyingunderstanding,andtousedigitalspacesinnewwaystopresentyourworkforassessment.Thecourseisthereforeexperimentalinseveralways,andwehopeyouwillembraceandenjoythegeneralethos!Bestofluckoverthecomingsemester.
JeremyKnoxTutorCo-directoroftheCentreforResearchinDigitalEducationLecturer,SchoolofEducation
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Course learning outcomes Theoutcomesforthiscourseareasfollows.Onitscompletion,youwill:
- haveacriticalawarenessofthekeyconceptsemergingfromthestudyofdigitalculture
- beabletoassesstheimplicationsofthisthoughtforthehistory,developmentanddeploymentofonlineeducation
- beabletosynthesisetheseideasinordertodevelopcriticallyaware,media-specificpedagogiesforonlinelearning
- havedevelopedtheabilitytousesocialmediaanddigitalspacesinthepresentationofacademicdiscourseonline.
Delivery mode and participation etiquette Thecourseisdelivered–entirelyonline–throughacombinationofenvironments.ItscoreisbuiltontheWordPressbloggingplatform,andisavailableat:
http://edc20.education.ed.ac.uk
Thisiswhereyouwillfindthecourseactivities,yourlifestream-blogspace,andlinkstothereadings.Wewillalsobeconductingsynchronoustutorials-you’llfinddetailsofthesebelow.Asthecourseprogresseswemayalsofindithelpfultomakeuseofotheronlineenvironments:wewillkeepyoupostedonthese.
AswithotherMSccourses,participationisflexiblewithincertainbounds.Youwillneedtokeepupwiththeweekbyweekstructure,andtoplanyourtimeforthefilmfestivalweeks,theethnography,andthesynchronousdiscussions,particularly.
Aswesaidintheintroduction,theethosofthecourseisoneof(public)commentaryoneachother’swork,andofpublicsharingofyourownthoughts.Yourimmediatepublicisofcourseyourownpeersandyourtutors,butgiventhatmuchofthecourseprocessandcontentisopen,thereispotentialforaglobalaudience.It’snotnecessarythatyouactivelysolicitthisaudienceforyourworkonthiscourse,thoughifyouchoosetodosoyoumayfindthatprovidessomeinterestingmaterialforyourreflections.Wedohoweverstronglyencourageyoutoengagewiththeworkofyourpeersonthecourse,throughcommentingonandreferencingtheirwork,andbeingopentotheircommentsonyourwork.Youcangetasenseofhowthismightworkbylookingatapreviousinstanceofthecourseat:http://edc18.education.ed.ac.uk/,http://edc17.education.ed.ac.uk/,orhttp://edc15.education.ed.ac.uk/
Equipment you will need Aswithothercoursesontheprogramme,youwillrequiretheusualcomputerequipmenttoviewandcreatecontent.Pleaseensurethatyouhaveaccesstoacomputerwhichmeetstherequirementstoviewonlinevideos,andthatyouhavespeakersorheadphonessothatyoucanhearsound.
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YouwillneedaGoogleaccounttoattendtheHangouttutorials,andwerecommendaTwitteraccounttotakepartindiscussions.
Course structure and format Thecoursewillbeorganisedinthreeblocks.Learningactivitiesthroughoutwillfocusonthecreationofyourlifestream(seeassessment),onblogging,synchronousandasynchronousdiscussion.Youwillbeproduce:afilmreviewandvisualartefact(block1);anethnographicartefact(block2);anaccountof‘algorithmicplay’andafinalblogpost(block3),eachinanydigitalmedium,andallofwhichwillcontributetoyourassessedlifestream-blog.Youwillalsoproduceafinalassignment:the‘digitalessay’.
Block1:Cyberculture(week1-3)Thisfirstblockwillconsidersomeoftheover-archingnarrativeswithinpopularculturewhichhavedrivenourunderstandingofdigitalcultureanditsrelationtoeducation.Itwillbeginwithacourse'cyberculturefilmfestival'andaccompanyingsynchronoustutorials,connectingthesewithreadingswhichfamiliariseyouwithsomeorientingtheoriesofcyberculture.Youwillbetaskedwithwritingabrief‘filmreview’duringthefestival,andattheendoftheblock,youwillproduceanonlinerepresentationofthethemescovered,usingvisualmethodsonly.Thismightbeintheformofacompositeimage,aYouTubevideo,aFlickrphotostreamorsomeothermediumofyourowninvention.Thisartefactshouldbereviewablebypeersandmustfeedintoyourassessedlifestream-blog(moreaboutthisbelow,in‘Assessment’).
Block2:Communityculture(week4-7)Thissecondblockwillconsidertheconceptofonlinecommunityandwilllookatdigitalethnographyasaresearchmethod.Readingswillbeprovidedonboth.Themainworkofthisblockwillinvolveyouinworkingalonetoconductamicrovirtualethnographyofamassiveopenonlinecourse(MOOC).Thereisinformationonthecoursewebsiteabouttheethicalandpracticalissuesyoushouldtakeintoaccountindoingthis.Youwillendyourworkintheblockbycreatinganethnographicsnapshotofthiscommunityusinganonlinemediumofyourchoice.Thismustalsofeedintotheassessedlifestream-blog.
Block3:Algorithmicculture(week8-10)Thisblockwilllookatthewaysinwhichlargequantitiesofdigitaldata,andthealgorithmsthatoperateacrossit,areinformingcontemporaryculturewithinandbeyondeducationalcontexts.TedStriphasdefines‘algorithmicculture’as:‘thewaysinwhichcomputers,runningcomplexmathematicalformulae,engageinwhat’softenconsideredtobethetraditionalworkofculture:thesorting,classifying,andhierarchizingofpeople,places,objects,andideas.’1Inthisblockwewillconsiderthisideaanditsimplicationsfordigitaleducation.Duringtheblock,youwillproduceanaccountof‘algorithmicplay’,andfeedthisintoyourlifestreamblog.Youwillalsowriteafinalblogpostdescribinghowyourlifestreammayhavebeeninfluencedbyalgorithmicprocesses.
Final2weeks:the‘digitalessay’assignmentThefinal2weeksofthecoursewillbedevotedtodevelopingandsubmittingyourfinalassignment:thedigitalessay(seebelowforfurtherdetails).Youwillworkindependentlyonthistask,withtheopportunityforanindividualtutorialwithyourtutor.
1https://medium.com/futurists-views/algorithmic-culture-culture-now-has-two-audiences-people-and-machines-2bdaa404f643
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Week by week plan Block1:Cyberculture activity medium mode assessmentweek1:13thJanuarycybercultures
readingsfilmfestivaltutorial
Groupvideospacetweeting
synchronouschatTwitterexchanges
lifestream-blog
week2:20thJanuarycybercultures
readingsfilmfestivaltutorialblogtask:filmreview
Groupvideospacetweetingpeerfeedbackonblogs
synchronouschatTwitterexchangespeerblogcommentary
lifestream-blog
week3:27thJanuarycybercultures
readingsvisualartefactcreation
Googlehangoutvisualenvironmentofchoice
synchronoushangouttutorialblogcommentary
lifestream-blog
Block2:Communityculture activity medium mode assessmentweek4:3rdFebruarycommunityculture
readingsbrainstormingonblogs
bloggingpeerfeedbackonblogs
peerblogcommentary lifestream-blog
week5:10thFebruarycommunityculture-micro-ethnography
researching MOOCofchoice
MOOCandblogsynchronoushangouttutorial
lifestream-blog
week6:17thFebruarycommunityculture-micro-ethnography
researching MOOCofchoiceGooglehangout
MOOCandblog lifestream-blog
week7:24thFebruarycommunityculture-micro-ethnography
‘writing-up’theethnographypeerfeedback
reportingenvironmentofchoicevariousenvironments
workingaloneprovidingandreceivingpeerfeedbackinblogs
lifestream-blog
Block3:Algorithmicculture activity medium mode assessmentweek8:2ndMarchalgorithmicculture
readingsalgorithmicplay
Socialmedia/digitalspaceofchoice lifestreamblogpeerblogcommentary
lifestream-blog
week9:9thMarchalgorithmicculture
readings
Lifestreamandblog lifestreamblogpeerblogcommentary
lifestream-blog
Week10:16thMarchalgorithmicculture
readingsblogtask:algorithmsandthelifestream
Googlehangout synchronoushangouttutorialpeerblogcommentary
Assignmentpreparation activity medium mode assessmentweeks11-12:23rd–30thMarchfinalassignment
finalassignment:developingandsubmittingthedigitalessay
Tobenegotiatedwithtutor seekingpeerfeedbackonideasindividualhangouttutorialsoffered
digitalessay
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Assessment Thecourseisassessedintwoways:
1. apubliclifestream-blogandwrittensummary(50%)
2. adigitalessay(50%)
1. Thelifestream-blog(50%)Thefirstpartoftheassessmentisthelifestream-blog,whichyouwillsetupandcreateoverthefirst10weeksofthecourse.A‘lifestream’(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestreaming)isameanswherebyanindividual’stweets,blogpostings,imagepostings,YouTubefavourites,andother‘feeds’canbepulledtogetherintoasingleblogstream.Forthiscourse,youwillbesupportedinsettingupandmaintainingalifestream-bloginWordPress,whichwillbringtogetherallthedigitalfragmentsofknowledgegeneratedbyyourstudies.Thefilmreviewandvisualartefact(block1),themicro-ethnography(block2),aswellasthe‘algorithmicplay’andfinalblogtask(block3)willfeedintothis,aswillothercontentyouchoosetoincludeinthestream,andpeercomments.
Thelifestreamisdesignedtodemonstrateyourengagementwiththeacademicthemesandcontentofthecourse–youarenotexpectedtoincludepersonalandsocialcontent.Ifyouwishtoincludeafeedwhichisbothsocialandcourse-related(aFacebookstatusupdate,forexample),youwillbeabletoeditthepurelysocial‘events’outofthelifestream-blogasyougoalong,asyouwish,keepinginmindthatthecourseispublic.Thedetailofhowtodothisisgivenbelow,inthe‘Technologies’section.
Youwillbeexpectedtomaintainthelifestream-blogfromweekonetoweektenofthecourse.Eachweekyouwillwriteabrief(250-wordmaximum)synthesisoftheweek’slifestream-blogcontentwithinyourblog.Youwillbeabletoeditthecontentofthestreambeforeyousubmititforassessmentattheendofweek10.
Whatisalifestream?Alifestream(or‘presencestream’)isanaggregationofuser-createdorcollectedcontentfromvariouswebservicesandtools,organisedchronologicallylikeaweblog.Thewebsiteathttp://lifestreamblog.com/providesanexcellentresourceforunderstandingmoreaboutlifestreaming–startwithhttp://lifestreamblog.com/about/.
Asyou’llseefromthatsite,therearemanylifestreamingservicesfreelyavailableontheweb.However,becauseweareusingourlifestreamforassessmentpurposesonthiscourse,wehavesetupindividual,centrally-hostedWordPressblogs,withinwhichyouwillcreateandpresentyourlifestream.Yourblogspacewithinthecoursewillthereforeconsistbothofblogpostsyoumake,andfeedsthatyoudecidetopullintoitautomatically.Forthisreason,wearecallingita‘lifestream-blog’,ratherthanjusta‘blog’.TocreatetheautomaticlifestreamupdateswithinyourWordPressblog,wewillbeusingtheservice‘IfThisThenThat’(https://ifttt.com/).Fulltechnicalguidanceisgivenonthisbelow.Forthosetowhomlifestreamingisnew,youmightfinditabitofafiddleatfirst,butyouwillsoonbeabletomakesenseofit,andwewillgiveyouallthesupportyouneed.
Whyarewedoingthis?Thereareseveralreasonswhyweareusinglifestreamingtoassessthiscourse,ratherthanjustanordinaryblog:
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- toencourageyoutocreateandcollectcontentinavarietyofmediaandstyles
- toemphasisevisuality,multimodalityanddigitalvolatility
- togiveyoutheexperienceofusingarangeofservicesandenvironmentsforlearningandreflection
- tochallengeyoutocreateandmanageacoherentpresencefroma‘mashup’ofsources.
WhatisexpectedThereismoreonthisintheassessmentcriteriabut,inbrief,yourlifestream-blogisexpectedtohavethreebroadelements:
1. Itshoulddemonstrateregularfeedingofcontent–evidenceofnewmaterialeverydayorso–links,blogpostings,tweetsetc.Thiswillhappenautomaticallyoncethelifestreamissetup,buttheamountofcontentwillreflectyourlevelofactivityonthewiderinternet(thoughweshouldstressagainthatyouwillbeabletoeditthelifestreamasyougoalong–itisnotintendedtoincludeallyourpersonalandsocialusesoftheweb).
2. Inaddition,weaskyoutomakeablogpostingattheendofeveryweekwhichreflectionsuponthelifestream-blogcontentforthatweek,andprovidesexplanationsforwhycontentwasadded.Thisdoesnothavetobelong,andshouldn’tbemorethan250words,butitshoulditselfformpartofyourWordPresslifestream-blog.Ratherthanreflectingdirectlyonthecoursecontent(asyoudidinIDEL,forexample),thepurposeoftheseweeklypostingsistosynthesise,review,interpretandexplainthecontentofyourlifestream.Itisexpectedthateachsummarypostwillcontainreferencestothecontentfromthatweek.
3. Youmustalsosubmiteachofthetasksfromthethreeblocksofthecourse:thefilmreviewandvisualartefact(block1),themicro-ethnography(block2),aswellasthe‘algorithmicplay’andfinalblogtask(block3).Yourlifestream-blogshouldendon22ndMarch2020.
Importanttip:Youwillwantyourlifestream-blogcontenttobeasdemonstrativeofyourengagementwiththecourseasitpossiblycanbe.Forthisreason,tryalwaystogetinthehabitofaddingmetadatawhereverpossibletolinks,photosandsoon,intheformofcommentary,descriptionorwhateverisavailable,andensurethatyouincludethiswithinyourpostsinWordPress(seebelow).Thesewillgreatlyenrichthelifestream,andallowyoutoexplainwhythecontentisrelevanttoyourengagementwiththecourse.
Inaddition,thestyleofthelifestream-blogisintendedtobedifferenttomoretraditionalblogging–we’renotlookingforlengthyreflectivewriting,butratherafocusonfeeds(seebelow)accompaniedbyshorterpoststhatcriticallyengagewiththecoursethemes.Shorterpostsarealsolikelytoattractmorecommentsfrompeers.
BeingpublicBythispointontheprogrammeyouwillallhaveexperiencedbloggingforassessmentin‘Anintroductiontodigitalenvironments’andpossiblyothercourses.Oneofthekeydifferencesoftheassessedlifestream-blogforthiscourseisthat,unlikethedefaultinIDEL,anythinginyourlifestream-blogispubliclyviewableontheweb.Inpracticeyouraudienceislikelyprimarilytobeyourtutorsandtheotherstudentsonthecourse,butyoumayfindyourworkgetsattentionfromawidergroupatsomepointduringthecourse–thishashappenedinasmall-scalewayinallpreviouscourseruns.Weencourageyoutobereflectiveabout
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howyoucreateyourpublicpresence,andwerecognisethatthiswillbedifferentforeveryone–however,pleaseensureyourlifestream-blogisclearlyvisibletopeersandtutors.Weinvitebothyourcautionandyourcreativityasyouapproachwhatmayfeellikequiteadifferentsortoflearningexperience.Andpleasetalktoyourtutoraboutanyconcernsorquestionsyouhave.
Atdifferenttimesacrossthecourseitisquitelikelythatyouwillwanttomakeuseofcontentfromtheweb,perhapsinthecreationofyourvisualartefactorperhapswithinblogposts.Whilewefullyencourageyoutodothis,itisimportanttothinkaboutattributionandcopyrightwhenusingcontentthatsomeoneelsehascreated,forinstancewhenitcomestomakinguseofphotographsormusicasyoutrytoputideasover.Thisisparticularlythecasewhenwewillbesharingallourworkpublicly.Weencourageyoutoacknowledgeotherpeople’sworkwherepossible,andseethisisausefuldiscussiontopicthroughoutthecourse.
AssessmentcriteriaThefollowingcriteriaapplyandareconsistentwithourPostgraduateCommonMarkingSchemeasfarasispossible.
ActivityIsthelifestream-blogwell-maintained?Doesitdemonstrateregularandreasonablyvariedactivityacrossarangeofinternetspaces,servicesandapplications?
ReflectionAretheend-of-weeksummaries,andhasmetadatabeenusedtocontextualiselifestreamitemseffectively?Dotheydemonstrateanappropriatelevelofinsightintotheprocessandcontentofthelifestream-blogandthecourse?
KnowledgeandunderstandingIsthelifestream-blogcontentindicativeofagoodlevelofengagementwiththecoursethemesandcurriculum?Arethestructuredblogactivitiesinplaceandaretheyofhighqualityintermsofanalysisandcreativity?Dothelifestream-blogweeklysummariesprovidedgivefurtherevidenceofdepthofengagement?
Forexample,alifestream-bloggradedat70%orabove(anA),wouldmeetthecriteriainthefollowingway:
ActivityContentisbeingfedintothelifestream-blogregularly–nearlyeveryday–andthisisdemonstratedacrossthewholeperiodofthecourse.Thecontentinthelifestream-blogisdrawnfromarangeofappropriatesources,andisconsistentlyappropriatetothecoursecontent.
ReflectionThelifestream-blogincludes10end-of-weeksummaries,eachofwhicharewell-written,appropriatelyreflectiveandhelpbuildagenuinesenseofengagementwiththelifestream-blogandthecourseprocess.Feeditemsinthelifestream-blogincludemetadatacontentthateffectivelyandinsightfullyexplainstherelevanceofthecontent.
KnowledgeandunderstandingAlllifestream-blogcontentisdemonstrativeofaveryhighlevelofengagementwith
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thecoursethemes.Thestructuredblogtasksarecompleteandarescholarlyandimaginativelypresented.Thelifestream-blogsummariesandmetadataareconsistentwithahighlevelofscholarlyengagementwiththecoursecurriculum.
2. Thedigitalessay(50%)Youarerequiredtosubmitanessayonanaspectofthecoursecontentdefinedbyyourself.Youmustpresentthisdigitally.SimilartotheopportunitiesforassignmentsubmissionforIDEL,thismightbeawebessay,avideo,ananimation,andsoon.Inotherwords,weareusingtheterm‘essay’verybroadly.Theideaisthatyouexplorethepossibilitiespresentedbydigital,networkedmediaforrepresentingformalacademicknowledge.Youshouldagreethetopic,mediumandany(optional)additionalassessmentcriteria(uptothree–seebelow)foryouressaywithyourcoursetutorbeforeembarkingonit.
Youshouldchooseamediumwhichismostsuitabletoyourownlevelsoftechnicalability.Forexample,ifyouarenotableto,orhavenointerestin,makingavideoordoingsomethinginPrezi,youmightbuildasimplehypertextessayusingafreewikilikePBworksorfreewebbuildingsiteslikeWeebly.Technicalprowessisnotformallyassessed–weareratherlookingforimaginativeandrigorouswaysofpresentingyouracademicworkonline.
Pleasenotethat,whilewewelcomeassignmentswhichreflecttheinstabilityofdigitaltextsandwaysofworking,assessmentregulationsrequirethatatleastaversionoftheassignmentisstableenoughtobepreservedforseveralmonthsbeyondtheendofthecourse.Pleasespeaktoyourtutorsaboutthisifyouhaveanydoubts.
AssessmentcriteriaThecorecriteriaforassessmentareasfollows.
KnowledgeandunderstandingofconceptsDoesthedigitalessayshowacriticalengagementwiththecontentofthecourse?Doesitdemonstratebreadthofunderstandingoftheconceptsandtheoriescovered?
KnowledgeanduseoftheliteratureHavetherelevantkeyreferencesbeenused?Haveotherrelevantsourcesbeendrawnonandcoherentlyintegratedintotheanalysis?Isacriticalandcreativestancetakentowardthenewkindsofliteratureswhichexistontheweb?
ConstructingacademicdiscourseIstheassignmentproducedwithcarefulattentiontotheexpositionofideasthroughthechosenrepresentationalformofthework?Doesitusedigitalmediainaneffectiveandappropriateway?Isitscholarlyinitsapproachtotopicandform?
Youarealsoinvitedtonominateuptothreeofyourowncriteriainadditiontothese,whichshouldbeappropriatetotheparticularmediumandtopicyouhavechosen.Youshoulddiscussthesewithyourcoursetutorbeforeembarkingontheassignment.Notethatadditionalcriteriaarenotintendedtoprovideadditionalmarks.Rather,theyallowyoutoreceivedspecificfeedbackonparticularaspectsofyourdigitalessaynotcoveredinthecriteriaabove.
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Submission dates Yourlifestream-blogshouldendbytheendofweek10ofthecourse,Sunday22ndMarch2020.Youmustsubmitalinktoyourlifestream-bloginMoodle.
Yourassignmentshouldbesubmittedbytheendofweek12ofthecourse,Sunday5thApril2020.YoushouldsubmititbyventuringintoMoodleandpostinginstructionsastohowtoaccessitusingtheassignmentsdropbox.WeareusingMoodletodothissothatwehaveaclearrecordoftheassignmentsubmissionwhichisaccessiblebyourexternalexaminer.Wewillalsocollatealltheassignmentstogetherandprovidelinkstothem,wherepossible,fromwithintheEDCWordpresssite.
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Technologies: what you need to know IntroductionEducationandDigitalCulturesworksdifferentlyfromothercoursesontheMScinDigitalEducation.Thereasonforthisisthatwearecommittedonthiscoursetomaintainingapublic,openpresenceontheweb.VirtualLearningEnvironmentslikeMoodle,andthemajorityofourprogrammediscussion,blogandwikispaceshaveallbeendesignedtoprovidesafeandprivatespacesforcourseparticipantsandcoursecontent.Thiscourse,becauseitisexploringthenatureofdigitalcultureandmoreopenmodesofproductionandexchange,hasadifferentethos.Coursematerials(withtheexceptionofe-reservematerials,forcopyrightreasons)arepubliclyavailableonthecoursewebsiteat:http://edc20.education.ed.ac.uk
Thisisthemaincoursespace.ItisbuiltontheWordpressbloggingplatform,andcontains:
- allcoursematerials,assessmentinformation,tutorallocations,announcements,aggregatedcommentsandtweetsfromthecourse,andlinkstoreadings
- alinktoaWordPressblogforeachcourseparticipantwhichwillbecomeyourlifestream-blog;thecontentofthiswillaccountfor50%ofthefinalmarkforthecourse.
Attheverystartofthecourse,you’llreceiveanemailwithdetailsofyourcoursesiteaccount.Whenyoulogin,you’llhaveaccesstoyourWordPresssite–instructionsforgettingstartedarebelow.
Othercoretoolsandenvironmentswewilluseonthecourseinclude:
- Twitter:http://twitter.com/
- Googlehangouts:https://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/
Pleasereadthesectionsbelowfordetailedinformationaboutthetechnicallandscapeofthecourse.Thisisbrokendownbyactivity.Someofthetechnologiesonthiscoursemaybenewtoyou,soifyouhavequestionsatanytime,pleasegetintouchwithyourtutor.
Settingupthelifestream-bloginWordPressYouwillreceiveanemailatthebeginningofthesemester(viayourstudentemailaddress)welcomingyoutoyourblog.Theemailwilltellyouyourblogname,andgiveyouadirectlinktoit.
Forthelifestream-blog,we’llbeusing‘IfThisThenThat’(https://ifttt.com/),forwhichyouwillneedyourWordPressblogdetails.Here’showtosetupyourIFTTTaccount,andcreateafeedforyourblog:
1. GototheIFTTTsitehttps://ifttt.com/andclick‘Signup’.
2. Supplyanemailandpassword.Thenclick‘Signup’.
3. Thewelcomescreenwillofferyoulotsofdifferent‘Applets’,butwearegoingtoskipthisandgetstartedmakingourown.An‘Applet’inIFTTTisareallysimpleandflexiblewayofsettingupanautomaticconnectionbetweenyoursocialmediaaccounts,andwe’llbeusingitspecificallytocreatefeedsforourWordPressblog.
4. Clickon‘Explore’,andthenthe‘MakeyourownAppletsfromscratch’button.Thiswilltakeyoutothe‘Createyourown’page.
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5. Youmayrecognisethephrase‘IfThisThenThat’ifyouarefamiliarwithprogramming.Itisanexampleofaconditionalstatementwhichallowscertainactionstohappenifaparticularconditionismet.‘Ifthis’specifiesthecondition,while‘thenthat’defineswhatwillhappeniftheconditionoccurs.OuruseofIFTTTwillfollowthiskindofpattern:ifIamactiveinthisparticularsocialmediaservice,thenautomaticallyposttomyWordPressblog.So,theactionwillbethesameeachtime(posttomyblog),butwewillneedtosetupconditionsforeachofthesocialmediaservicesyouwanttouse(e.g.Twitter,YouTube,Deliciousetc).Theexampleherewillbe:ifIsendatweet,automaticallyposttomyWordPressblog.
6. Onthe‘AppletMaker’screenyouwillseetheIfThisThenThatstatement,withthe‘This’highlightedasalink.Thismeanswearegoingtocreatethecondition.Click‘This’
7. Onthenextscreen,youwillseealonglistoficonsrepresentingthepossibletrigger
channels,fromwhichyoucancreateafeed.Forthisexample,locateandclickontheTwittericon.
8. YouwillnowbeaskedtoactivateyourTwitteraccount.Clicktheactivatebutton
andprovideyourTwitterusernameandpasswordinthepop-upbox.Notethatyouonlyhavetoactivateanysocialmediaaccountonce,afterthatyoucanuseitformultipleapplets.
9. Click‘continuetothenextstep’,whereyouwillseeanumberof‘trigger’options.
ThesearetheactivitiesinTwitterthatyouwanttotriggerapostinyourWordPressblog.
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10. Youcanonlychooseonetriggerforeachrecipe,andforthisexample,clickthefirst
one‘Newtweetbyyou’.Thismeansthatwheneveryousendatweet,itwilladdaposttoyourWordPressblog.(Note:ifyouarealreadyaregularTwitteruser,youmaywanttocreateyourIFTTTrecipewiththecondition‘NewTweetbyyouwithhashtag’,andusethecoursehashtag#mscedc.Thiswillmeanthatyourpersonaltweetsdonotgetintothelifestream.)
11. Choosewhetheryouwanttoincluderetweetsandreplies,thenclick‘createtrigger’.We’rehalfwaythere!
12. Youwillnowseethatwehavecompletedthe‘this’part(ourcondition),and
replaceditwiththeTwittertrigger.Nowclick‘that’tocompletetheactionpart,whichwillbetocreateapostinyourWordPressblog.
13. Justasinthestepabove,youwillbepresentedwithalonglistofsocialmediaicons
showingyouallthepotentialactionsyoucansetup.However,whileyouwillbechoosinglotsofdifferenttriggersinsettingupthevariousfeedsforyourlifestream,
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youwillalwayschoosethesameaction:posttoyourWordPressblog.Thisstepwillthereforebethesameforeveryrecipeyoucreate.LookthroughthelistoficonsandclickWordPress
14. Clickthebuttontoactivateyouraccount,haveyourlogindetailsfromtheEDCemail
handy.Remember,youwillonlyneedtoactivateyourWordPressaccountthefirsttime.Inthepop-upwindow,addyourblogURL,username,andpassword.Click‘done’.
15. Click‘continuetothenextstep’,whereyoucanchoosethetypeofaction
16. Choosethefirstoptionhere‘createapost’.(Youcouldexperimentwith‘createa
photopost’here,butrememberthatyouwillhavetosupplyaURL,andthatitwillbethesameimageeachtimetherecipetriggers).
17. Thenextscreenshowsanumberofactionfieldsthatyoucancustomise.Whilethismightlookalittlecomplicated,thedefaultsettingsareperfectlyadequate,andmostofthetimeyoujustneedtoclickthe‘createaction’atthebottomofthepage.Oneedityoumightwanttomake,istospecifythe‘category’fieldas‘Lifestream’.ThiswillappearabovetheentryinyourWordPressbloganddifferentiateitfromanywrittenpostsyoudo,suchasyourweeklysummaries.
18. Afteryouhaveclicked‘createaction’,youwillbeatthefinalstep,andyourIfThisThenThatstatementwillbecompleted.Makesuretoclickthe‘finish’buttontofinishandsaveyourrecipe.
Belowisanexampleofwhatyourresultinglifestream-blogmightlooklike.ThetopentryshowstheresultoftheIFTTTTwitterrecipewehavejustcreated,whileunderneathyouwillseewhataYouTubeIFTTTrecipewilllooklike.
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Stoppingyourlifestream-blogAsnotedabove,yourlifestream-blogshouldendonthe22ndofMarch2020.AstherecipesyouwillhavesetupinIFTTTwillbeautomatic,youwillneedtostopthempostingtoWordPressafterthisdate.Whenyouwanttostopyourlifestream-blog,youwillneedtogotoyour‘MyApplets’pageinIFTTTandturnoffeachofyourrecipes.The‘on/off’buttonisatthebottomofeachofyourrecipes.Onceturnedoff,yourrecipeswillturngreytoshowthattheyarenolongeroperating.Note:youdon’thavetonecessarilystopallofyourfeeds,howeveronlythosefrombeforethedeadlinewillbeconsideredfortheassessment.
Suggestedlifestream-blogcontentNowthatyouknowhowIFTTTworks,hereissomeguidanceaboutthekindsofcontentwerecommendyouincorporate.Itisarequirementofthecoursethatallofthestructuredblogtasksareincludedinthelifestream-blog(see‘Assessment’sectionabove).However,youwillalsowanttoexploresomeofthemanyotherpotentialfeedsthatcanbecreatedwithIFTTT.Thefollowingareafewideastohelpyoutogetstarted,butwealsoencourageyoutobecreativeaboutthekindsoffeedsyouadd.
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BlogginginWordPressAswellasholdingyourlifestream-blog,yourWordPressblogwillalsofunctionasyourmainbloggingspaceforthecourse.BloggingwillbeimportantnotonlyforthosetimeswhenyouwanttowritealongerormorenarrativepiecethanTwitterorothermediawillallow,butalsoifyouneedtobringincontentnototherwiseavailabletoyourlifestream–youcoulddothisbycopyingandpastingtext,uploadingimagesorscreenshotsandsoon.
Ofcourse,thiswon’trequiretheuseofIFTTT,andthefeatureswithinWordPresswillallowyoutocreateandaddanynumberofblogposts,withlotsofdifferentmediacontent.Remembertomakeanypostsforthiscoursepublic.
Thereisnothingtostopyouimportingpostsfromotherblogsintoyourlifestream-blogaswell,iftheyarerelevanttothecourse,butthebulkofyourbloggingforthiscourseshouldbedoneinWordPress.
Note:weexpectarangeofdifferentfeedstobethecorefocusofyourlifestream,withmoretraditional‘blogwriting’tosupportthem.ThisiswherethelifestreamdiffersfromtheIDELblog–inEDCwearenotexpectinglong,reflectivepostsinyourlifestream.
TwitterWewillbeusingTwitterquitealotinthecourseasweexplorerepresentationsofdigitalcultureandparticipatein‘tweetstorms’,soyouwillalmostcertainlywanttofeedyourcontributionstotheseintoyourlifestream-blog.YoumayalsowishtouseTwitterapartfromthistopostbriefthoughts,linksorothermaterial.SeetheguideaboveforaddingaTwitterIFTTTrecipetoyourlifestream-blog.
Thehashtagforthecourseis#mscedc.
WerecommendyouinstallaprogramlikeTweetdeck(http://tweetdeck.com/),whichhasamoresophisticatedinterfaceandletsyousorttweetsintocolumnsaccordingtotheirhashtags.ThereisguidanceintheTechnologiesHandbookaboutsettingupTweetdeck,andsubscribingtohashtags.
Onceyou’resetup,simplypostthoughtstoTwitter(makingsureyourtweetsarepublic)andincludethehashtag#mscedcsomewhereineachtweet.Forexample:
#mscedcIwouldhavetakenthebluepill!
FlickrandInstagramFlickrisapopularphotosharingwebsite,andmightbeusefulifyouwanttocreateavisualcomponenttoyourlifestream-blog.Ifyoudon’thaveaFlickraccount,youcansetoneupathttp://www.flickr.com/.Alternatively,youcouldsetupanIFTTTrecipewithInstagram.
YouwillneedtoactivateyourFlickrofInstagramaccountinIFTTT,andyoucancreaterecipesthattriggerwhenyouaddanewimageorfavouriteanexistingone,andembedthisimageintheresultingWordPresspost.Asnotedintheassessmentsectionabove,itisworthwhileannotatingyourimagestoexplainwhyitisthatyouareaddingthemtoyourlifestream-blog,andhowtheyconnectwiththesubjectmatterofthecourse.YoucandothissimplybyeditingandaddingtexttothepostinWordPress.
YouTubeandVimeoVideosharingsitesmayprovideyouwithusefulresourcesaroundthethemesofdigitalcultures,orindeedspacetohostyourownvideocreations.YouTubemightthereforeprovideausefulfeedforyourlifestream-blog,andtherearetriggersinIFTTTforfavouriting
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anduploadingYouTubevideos.Asanadditionoranalternative,youcouldalsoactivateyourVimeoaccountinIFTTT.
Asnotedabove,addingcommentstocontextualiseyourYouTubeadditionswouldprovideimportantadditionalinformationaboutwhytheyarerelevanttoyourlifestream,andthiscanbedonewithintheresultingWordPresspost.
Pocket,DeliciousorDiigoManyofyouwillhaveusedbookmarkingtoolssuchasdelicious(https://del.icio.us),Pocket(https://getpocket.com/),orDiigo(https://www.diigo.com/)alreadyinoneormoreofyourcoursesontheMSc.Bookmarkingtoolsgiveyouawaytocapture,tagandannotatelinkstositesofinterestorrelevance.Withthesetools,youcanspecifyatagyouwanttouse,andonlylinksusingthattagwillbeaddedtoyourlifestream-blog.ThismeansyoucoulddeviseatagspecificallyfortheEducationandDigitalCulturecourse,andkeepyourlifestream-bloglinksseparatefromyourotherbookmarks.
FacebookYoumaywishtoincludeyourFacebookstatusupdatefeeds,andtherearearangeoftriggeroptionstoexploreinIFTTT.Youmaywishtokeepyourmoresocialorpersonalupdatesoutofthelifestream-blog,soifso,becarefulaboutwhichtriggeryouchoose.AsyourlifestreamissimplyacollectionofWordPressblogposts,youcanalwaysdeleteindividualentrieswithinWordPressifyoufindthatyouwanttoremoveanyfeeditem.
CommentsCommentsonyourownorothers’WordPresspostingscouldbecapturedasanRSSfeed,whichcanbeusedasatriggerinIFTTT.Everyone’sWordPresssitewillhaveafeedfortheircomments,andtheformatisthis:http://example.com/comments/feed/.Justreplace‘example.com’withtheblogyouwanttogetcommentsfrom,andusethatURLwiththeRSStriggerinIFTTT.Commentingoneachother’sblogsisareallyimportantpartofthecourse,soyouwillcertainlywanttomakesureyourowncommentsareincludedinthelifestream-blog,inorderthattheycancounttowardyourfinalmark.
NoteonRSS(ReallySimpleSyndication):theRSStriggerisagreatwayofaddingextrafeedsinIFTTTthatarenotformallysupported.
YouhaveprobablyseentheRSSfeedsymbolinanumberofplacesontheweb–itusuallylookslikethis:
Whenyouseethis,oralinkwhichinvitesyouto‘subscribe’viaRSS,ononeofyourwebservices,itmeansyoucanprobablyaddittotheRSStriggerinIFTTT.RightclickontheRSSsubscriptionlinkorimageandcopythelink.
Rememberthatthelifestreamismeanttobeacollectionofcontentthatyouhavecreatedorcollected,sodon’taddsubscriptionstojustanything–onlytositesandtoolsyouhaveanaccountwithandarecreatingcontentfor.
YoucanlearnmoreaboutRSSfromtheRSSinPlainEnglishvideo-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU
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Thenon-digital.Thereisawholeworldof‘stuff’outthere–howcanyougetsomeofitintoyourlifestream?(hint–recordit,photographit,scanit,drawit,describeit…)
GooglehangoutsHangoutsenableeasy,freevideoconferencingtotakeplace.YouwillneedaGoogleaccounttojointhehangouts,sopleasesetoneupduringwelcomeweek,orweek1.
SuggestedresourcesIneachofthecourseblocks,youwillbeworkingindependentlytoonstructuredblogtasks.Youshouldexploredifferentwaysofcreatingdigitalartefactsinresponsetothesetasks,thatcanbefedintoyourassessedlifestream.Youwillhaveconsiderablefreedominchoosinghowtorespondtoeachoftheblogtasks,andtousethemethodsandtoolswhichsuityoubest.Thefollowingaresuggestionsonly,intendedtohelpyougetstartedandfindwhatyouneed.
Forexample,incompletingtheseactivitiesyoumightchoosetodoanyofthefollowing:
- createacompositedigitalimage(block1)(mountitinFlickrorelsewhereforcommentary/lifestreaming)
- makeaFlickrphotostreamwithcomments/description(https://www.flickr.com)
- makeaPinterestboard(http://www.pinterest.com)
- makeaPearltreescollection(http://www.pearltrees.com)
- makeaYouTubevideoorresponsevideo(www.youtube.com)
- createaslideshowonSlideshare(http://www.slideshare.net)
- createamultimodalposterinGlogster(www.glogster.com)
- makeapresentationinPrezi(www.prezi.com)
- blogit(block2),photoblogorvideoblogit(block1)
- storytellit(seeresourcesbelow)
Youwillhaveotherideasandfavouredapplicationsofyourown–usewhateverworksbest,justbearinmindthattheartefactyoucreateshouldfeedintoyourlifestream-bloginsomeway.Intermsofactualapplications,thefollowinglistofsuggestionsmaybeuseful:
ImageeditingandcreationsoftwareOnline(browser-based):
Pixlr:http://www.pixlr.com/PicMonkey:http://www.picmonkey.com/Google+creativekit:http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1053729&p=picnik_creativekitQueeky:http://www.queeky.com/
Mac:ArtRage:http://www.artrage.com/artragedemo.html(scrolldownforfree‘starter’version)Paintbrush:http://paintbrush.sourceforge.net/ImageTricks:http://www.belightsoft.com/products/imagetricks/overview.php
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Seashore:http://seashore.sourceforge.net/The_Seashore_Project/About.html(basedonGIMP)
Windows:ArtRage:http://www.artrage.com/artragedemo.html(scrolldownforfree‘starter’version)Paint.NET-http://www.getpaint.net/Photoscape-http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.phpGIMP-http://www.gimp.org/(opensource,verysteeplearningcurve,butapowerfultool)
DigitalStorytellingresourcesVoicethread:http://voicethread.comSteller:https://steller.co/(mobile)Pixton:http://pixton.com/uk/Issuu:http://issuu.com/Storybird:http://storybird.com/Weebly:http://www.weebly.com/Animoto:http://animoto.com/Otherpossiblyusefulresources:Wordle:http://www.wordle.net/Bubbl.us:http://bubbl.us/
Course tutor contact information [email protected]+44(0)1316516347Skype:j_k_knoxTwitter:@j_k_knox
Goodluckwithyourstudies,andwelookforwardtoseeingyouonline!