Hello, everyone! Time to begin prepping for the final. Fortunately, with the change logs and statements you’ve been writing all quarter, you’ve already started that process. Now it’s time to articulate what you learned this quarter and communicate that learning through various media. There shouldn’t be any math involved, tho.
The final consists of two parts: a reflection and a group presentation.
The Reflection
Your reflection should assume the form of a digital video roughly two minutes in duration (no less than 90 seconds and no more than 150).
In that video, you should (either directly or indirectly) respond to these questions:
In BIS 343, what—exactly—did you learn about digital collaboration and publication?
How did your perceptions of (or assumptions about) digital collaboration and publication change over the course of the quarter?
How will what you’ve learned transfer to other situations (academic or not)?
As you compose the video, please keep in mind a few things:
Your reflection should demonstrate how your work fulfilled the course outcomes, which you should review carefully before you begin this assignment. (Note how the outcomes speak to not only technical competencies (e.g., how to compose in Omeka), but also social (e.g., project management), cultural (e.g., the valences of DIY), and theoretical (e.g., questions of access and representation) issues.)
Evidence! Evidence! Evidence! In your two minutes, point your audience to specific things you’ve contributed to the course and to the exhibit. Try quoting your writing (e.g., change logs & statements), referencing specific parts of the website, including your interpretation of a reading (e.g., Vallier, Siebert, or Daniel), recalling a moment from class (e.g., workshops, lectures, or collaborations), and mentioning what you did outside of the classroom. In short, ground your reflection in examples—examples that represent how your learning developed over time. Highlight change.
Barring any objections from you, your video will ultimately be included in our Omeka exhibit on DIY music and the Croc. (I will distribute release forms.)
Since the video will be part of the exhibit, it should be aware that its audience includes anyone from scholars in new media studies to fans of DIY music in Seattle. Of course, that audience includes me and your peers, too.
That said, the content and style of the video should be accessible, creative, and engaging, but also thoughtful and self-reflexive. You want to show a broad spectrum of people what you learned and that you learned it in an academic setting; however, you also want to show how that knowledge influences your everyday life.
Your video can be “production-lite.” That is, if all you know how to do is record yourself speaking into a camera, then that’s fine! There’s no need to edit. Post-production will not be figured into your grade. Still, you are welcome to edit as you so choose.
The video does not have to be you sitting in front of a camera. Use the medium as you wish. However, do consider some basics, including how to set up your shot (e.g., what’s in the background? are you using a tripod? is the room noisy?). Here are some tips.
If you include any media (e.g., audio, video, or images) that are not your own, then please be sure to abide by fair use and/or select media in the public domain (or media subject to situation-friendly Creative Commons licenses).
The file size of your video should not exceed 1 GB. Preferred formats are: MPEG-4, MOV, AVI, and WMV.
Experiment. Record a few times. Watch and listen to what you have. Repeat until you’re happy.
Your video is due on Monday, March 14th. You should submit your video via the class dropbox. The dropbox automatically closes at 12:01 AM on March 15th. Prior to publishing your video as part of the exhibit, I will contact you for a final review.
Group Presentation
While your final reflection asks you use video to communicate what you’ve individually learned this quarter, the group presentation asks you to use other media forms to speak to the work conducted by your clusters. More specifically, it asks you to present your work with the sustainability or shelf-life of our exhibit in mind.
Your presentation should be framed around these concerns:
In five years from now, what will be the status of our Omeka exhibit on DIY music and the Croc? How (if at all) will it have changed or grown? Why will it still matter? Who (if anyone) will be accessing and moderating it? And how?
With those concerns in mind, your presentation should:
Be between 7 and 8 minutes in duration,
Be prepared and rehearsed,
Point your peers and me to what—exactly—your cluster did this quarter,
Mention what you still think needs to be done to the exhibit,
Articulate your concerns about the future of the exhibit,
Include a concise and easy-to-read print handout, intended for readers five years from now and including guidelines (or a “sustainability plan”) for how to pick up, develop, and maintain our exhibit,
Mention at least two specific things your cluster collectively learned about digital collaboration and publication,
Include a visual medium of some sort (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Docs, or Prezi presentation), and
Be conducted in such a way that it is clear how all cluster members contributed. (In other words, not everyone needs to speak, especially if your cluster is large.)
Feel free to present from your cluster’s perspective. For example, if your cluster oversees the exhibit’s metadata, then you don’t need to account for what the theme/code cluster, or the history/representation cluster, is doing (or should be doing in the future).
Each cluster will present during our last class meeting: Wednesday, March 9th. Your presentation should not exceed the time limit. Presentations will be followed by a brief Q&A, so be prepped to respond to any quibbles or concerns.
Prior to the presentation, all of your materials (e.g., the digital version of your handout and other presentation materials, like slides) should be uploaded to the class WordPress blog and included in a blog entry (one entry per cluster).
That’s it! By comment below, please let me know what questions you have. I’m happy to elaborate on anything above, since I’m sure not everything is crystal clear.
It’s been a pleasure working with you this quarter.
Tanya
February 28th, 2011 → 11:06 am
Did we figure out the types of ways we will be uploading our videos onto the Omeka website? Was the Asset group having trouble with that previously?
Harmony
February 28th, 2011 → 11:10 am
Are you also looking for a script of what we are saying in our final prompt video? Particularly if we quote readings or outside sources?
Suehee
February 28th, 2011 → 11:11 am
Thanks for the clear outlines! Now we will have plenty of stuff to fit into those two minutes, instead of scrambling for things to say.
I have never even given much thought to the “future” of the exhibit, and I’m glad we have to consider that for our presentation.
Tanya
February 28th, 2011 → 11:12 am
Looks great!
Savannah
February 28th, 2011 → 11:12 am
You say the video should be “two minutes in duration” but based off your criteria, there’s A LOT of information to include in the video. Should we make sure to cover everything and do it briefly or talk about a few things and go into detail?
Clancy
February 28th, 2011 → 11:12 am
On the video, do we have to do it individually? I was just thinking that it might be interesting to record a conversation between two class members (perhaps in the same cluster) discussing their experience. It would still touch on all the aspects you laid out in this prompt and probably be more like 4 minutes instead of 2.
Nicole
February 28th, 2011 → 11:13 am
When you say “point your audience to specific things you’ve contributed to the course and to the exhibit,” do you want video proof (like a screen shot) of the icon, writing, or other content you are referring to? Or would simply telling what that “something” is suffice? Are you wanting specifics like “I created the background color/image of the home page” detail?
Jon
February 28th, 2011 → 11:14 am
Looks manageable, cant wait to get working on it.
marci
February 28th, 2011 → 11:14 am
i think i’m mostly concerned about the time constraints because on a topic/prompt as extensive as this, i may feel rushed trying to get through everything
Jaimie
February 28th, 2011 → 11:16 am
“Evidence! Evidence! Evidence! In your two minutes, point your audience to specific things you’ve contributed to the course and to the exhibit. Try quoting your writing (e.g., change logs & statements), referencing specific parts of the website, including your interpretation of a reading (e.g., Vallier, Siebert, or Daniel), recalling a moment from class (e.g., workshops, lectures, or collaborations), and mentioning what you did outside of the classroom.”
Do we do this with screen shots? Or can we just directly “quote our writing” by reading off a response we wrote from the exhibit? Do we need to link where we wrote this or can we stick with a verbal description of where it can be found?
Katie Mylott
February 28th, 2011 → 11:16 am
When you refer to Digital Collaboration and Publication, are you talking about specific examples of our growth in those areas or the class as a whole?
Jarka
February 28th, 2011 → 11:16 am
Read it and I dont have any questions, yet.
Jarka
Katie
February 28th, 2011 → 11:16 am
No questions yet, but I might have some once I actually start the reflection.
Nils
February 28th, 2011 → 11:17 am
What video camera should we use, from home, will the IT staff have video cameras that late in the quarter for checkout? And editing to huh? oye
Kristina
February 28th, 2011 → 11:17 am
First initial response outloud was WOW, you want us to thoroughly answer all of those questions with quotes, etc in 2 minutes? I feel like I could take 2 minutes on just one question. That is one of my concerns.
If I don’t have a camera, can I use the camera’s on these macs in the lab to record myself? Does it matter if it is a computer cam/web cam etc?
If everyone is going to see our video on the Exhibit, don’t you want it to be edited and presentable?
adina
February 28th, 2011 → 11:17 am
When you say “what—exactly—did you learn about digital collaboration and publication?”, you’re referring to the class as a whole, correct? Just to verify that I’m thinking of it correctly.
Maureene
February 28th, 2011 → 11:18 am
As far as the first question for the final “what—exactly—did you learn about digital collaboration and publication?” I am unsure of what to write about as I mainly focused on interviewing, reviewing the interviews, and uploading information to wordpress or Omeka. Could you point me in a direction that would help be to understand what I should stress in this section of the final and what maybe I am missing.
Thank you
candiece
February 28th, 2011 → 11:18 am
Include a visual medium of some sort (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Docs, or Prezi presentation),
i meant what exactly does that mean?
everything else is clear
Tepp
February 28th, 2011 → 11:18 am
I don’t know…I feel like 2 min is too short to cover all of the question but I will try. Those tips should help when I record my video clip. Thank you, Jentery.
Karina
February 28th, 2011 → 11:18 am
Hi Jentery. No questions. Thanks
Maureene
February 28th, 2011 → 11:19 am
Do we need to answer all of the questions?
EuroLad
February 28th, 2011 → 11:20 am
I think that from the information you list above goes more than the two minute constraint you are proposing. Is there a “specific” area that you want us to focus in on more than the rest?
Stephanie
February 28th, 2011 → 11:21 am
This definitely sounds like an interesting project, especially since I’ve never done a video final before. For now, I don’t have any questions, though I might have some once I start.
Long
February 28th, 2011 → 11:41 am
Can I animate myself for the reflection?