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.

Educationanddigitalcultures

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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 MOOCofchoiceGooglehangout

MOOCandblogsynchronoushangouttutorial

lifestream-blog

week6:17thFebruarycommunityculture-micro-ethnography

researching MOOCofchoice 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,Sunday30thMarch2018.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 JeremyKnoxjeremy.knox@ed.ac.uk+44(0)1316516347Skype:j_k_knoxTwitter:@j_k_knox

Goodluckwithyourstudies,andwelookforwardtoseeingyouonline!