Wrapping up!

Hi everyone!

Today, at our final class meeting, I’m going to ask each of you to share your final digital thesis projects. Please be prepared to answer the following: how is this project not only a reflection of your written thesis, but a further development of your argument or ideas?

If you want to continue to make edits to your project, that’s fine–as long as all edits are complete by Macaulay graduation day, June 6. At that point your thesis project site must be available to the general public.

Sometime prior to graduation, please also do one more thing: write a final blog post over here. A letter to everyone in the class: me, Steve!, Jenny, your classmates, your advisor, your fellow NCUR attendees, Macaulay in general, whoever you want. Share your thoughts on the semester, whatever they may be. I would welcome suggestions for how to improve, always, but I would also like to hear what worked well for you, as well as anything else you would like to share.

I will do the same (probably next week sometime), and I’ll invite Jenny to do so as well. Let’s wrap up the blog conversation with some reflection on the wonderful small community we’ve built here, and on the lessons we’ll take with us as we all walk new paths.

Plan for May 13th

May 13th is your digital thesis project work day. Come with a list of things to accomplish. Work anywhere in the Macaulay building (the atrium or the back balcony if we can, even!), alone or in a group.

If you need help from Lindsey or Jenny that day, please e-mail to set that up in advance; let us know what you’ll need help with and we’ll triage–what needs to happen first, second, third, etc.

At 5 pm that day, we’ll gather together in the 3rd floor classroom to reflect on and share the day’s accomplishments, make plans for the Macaulay Research Event, and strategize for how best to move forward with each project.

Plan for May 6th

Our revised plan for May 6th is as follows:

• Meet up at 21st & 10th at 3 PM for a visit to EYEBEAM, where we will have a look at “The New Romantics”
• Head on up to the High Line, discuss the exhibit, and have a feedback session on everyone’s thesis projects–everyone brings something to “show and tell”
• Make a final decision on the really darn cool dance performance for which we have tickets

Looking forward! In the meantime, please please please remember that Jenny and I are always available via e-mail. Do not hesitate to be in touch.

Resources for Week #10: Audience, Your NCUR Mission

• Lindsey’s Google Doc

Overlapping Audiences

Article Comparison on Questions of Audience

Your NCUR Mission

1. Enjoy the trip!
2. Document the experience as much as possible: take photo, videos, even just straight audio (your phone may be able to record this)
3. At the end of each day, write down your thoughts and impressions (do this either by hand, on a device, or through blog posts–whatever works best for you. Lindsey is going to try and blog to the class eportfolio daily.)
4. Finally, please interview the other Macaulay attendees about the topic of presenting itself. What tips would they have for other Macaulay students presenting at conferences? What have they learned from attending NCUR? What would they do differently next time? Interview your colleagues on video, take photographs of their presentations, write down notes. Make sure that some of your data collection is specifically geared towards this question of effective presentations.

Schedule for 3/25

Hi everyone,

Here’s our updated plan for next Tuesday, which I worked out with Colby and Laura at the end of today’s session.

2-3 PM: Colby and Laura have one-on-one meetings with Jenny (Reading Room)

3 PM: Kerishma gives her draft presentation (3rd Floor Classroom)

Following presentation/feedback, we’ll use the classroom as workspace. I will endeavor to meet with everyone one-on-one. You can stay all the way until 5:40, or you can move on once you’ve had a one-on-one with me.

Bring stuff to work on: presentation materials primarily, and digital project materials if you want to work on that at all.

I hope this works for everyone–if not, let’s figure out changes in the comments.

See you all next week!

Resources/Notes for Weeks #8 & #9: Practice Presentations and Individual Consults

Week 8: Practicing for NCUR

This Week’s Location: 2nd Floor Classroom, beginning promptly at 3 PM
Order of Presenters: Kerishma, Colby, Laura
Presentation Length: 15 minutes (we won’t cut you off if you go long, but we will tell you just how much longer you went, and give you advice on where and how to cut your material)

We will have an overall feedback session and discussion after all three presentations. Jenny will record your performances and post them (protected) on the eportfolio for your review. We will finalize our plans for 3/25.

Week 9: Individual Meetings

Date: Tuesday, March 25
Assignment: Meet with Jenny for 30 minutes, use the feedback from that meeting to work for 30 minutes, then meet with Lindsey for 30 minutes.
Meeting Location: 1st Floor Reading Room
Topic: your NCUR presentation or your digital thesis project, whichever needs more attention

Ideal schedule: 

• Student #1 meets Jenny at 2 and Lindsey at 3
• Student #2 meets Jenny at 2:30 and Lindsey at 3:30
• Student #3 meets Jenny at 3 and Lindsey at 4

To-Do for Week 10 (April 1st)

Read one article on audience:

• Colby reads Jenny Kidd, “Digital Storytelling at the BBC: The Reality of Innovative Audience Participation”
• Kerishma reads Alice Marwick and danah boyd, “I Tweet Honestly, I Tweet Passionately: Twitter Users, Context Collapse, and the Imagined Audience”
• Laura reads Peter Levine, “A Public Voice for Youth: The Audience Problem in Digital Media and Civic Education”

Continue revising and preparing your NCUR presentation, as well as developing your digital thesis project as appropriate.