[Air-L] Digital Methods

[Annette Markham]

Hi Amanda,

Come down the hall! We’ve been developing a range of techniques for this since 2013 in the Digital Living MA program. There are some great tools to automate logging and tracking, but we have found over the years that allowing students to find their own tools enables them to more fully capture their own experiences and flows. In other words, when we tried imposing a specific tool, it yielded less fruitful results. As a result of these early experiments, we now set up the exercise to focus the students’ attention on 1) the intent behind the tracking/logging/reflecting and 2) the importance of doing their own experiments in multiple modalities (with different tools) to develop a range of perspectives on the various stakeholders, actors, and influences on privacy, identity, cultural formations, and so forth. 

We combine tracking and logging with reflections in the form of blog, podcast, vlogs, which they use in later stages of the course as layers of data they analyze. We found that combining tracking with reflections created a stronger awareness of the complexity and reduced oversimplification. Early tracking/logging exercises pulls up many emotional responses whereas later repeated tracking and logging can help identify or look for different patterns. As they develop a more complex picture, they can compare their early reactions to their perspectives over time.  

I have loads of details and examples and a project guide written for students if you want to talk more about it. We’ve experimented with 4 week intensive studio courses, 12-14 week semester long courses, and a two week summer school for BA students. 

Here’s an article, led by Kat Tiidenberg, where we share some findings on some patterns in how students frame their social media use and describe briefly some of the techniques: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318477667_I'm_an_Addict_and_Other_Sensemaking_Devices_A_Discourse_Analysis_of_Self-Reflections_on_Lived_Experience_of_Social_Media <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318477667_I'm_an_Addict_and_Other_Sensemaking_Devices_A_Discourse_Analysis_of_Self-Reflections_on_Lived_Experience_of_Social_Media>

and here, I talk more about the pedagogy and activities: Markham, A. (2018 forthcoming). Critical pedagogy as a response to datafication: Research methods as critical data literacy tools. Qualitative Inquiry. (Accepted draft copy): https://www.dropbox.com/s/suf2uoesim4slkl/critical_pedagogy_as_data_literacy_final_draft_feb_2018.pdf?dl=0 <https://www.dropbox.com/s/suf2uoesim4slkl/critical_pedagogy_as_data_literacy_final_draft_feb_2018.pdf?dl=0>

—Incidentally, I’ll be doing it with the MA students in an intensive 4-week course Sept 3-30 (3x/ week), so if you want to sit in on any of the sessions, please let me know!

annette 

> On Aug 13, 2018, at 13:06, Amanda Karlsson <amandakarlsson588 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear all
> 
> 
> I am planning a course on digital methods together with two other colleagues and looking for inspirations/ideas for exercises the students can do with their smartphones - it could be tracking various everyday aspects (e.g. time spent on smartphone, mood tracking, sleep etc.) to raise awareness on privacy issues and data flow, or it could be recording video diaries, collecting data by using a smartphone... or something completely different?
> 
> 
> If any of you have experiences of integrating apps/smartphones as part of your teaching - and maybe even recommendations on specific apps/tools for smartphone that you would like to share -  it will be very much appreciated!
> 
> 
> It's a master course in media studies with 60 students so preferebly free software/apps.
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Amanda Karlsson
> MA, PhD Fellow
> School of Communication & Culture
> Aarhus University
> akarl at cc.au.dk<mailto:akarl at cc.au.dk>
> +45 40603734
> __(‘’)__/
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