This week was challenging and great fun!

The main focus of this week was the creation of a digital artifact. Decisions on which elements of the MOOC to focus upon and how to present the artifact were of primary concern. Choices made… Dystopia on Glogster! This presentation platform was new to me and I found that the visual which I had in my head transferred easily onto the screen. I wanted to move away from text [where I feel most at home] and dabble in sound and image.

What I found really refreshing about this task was the diversity of the artifacts. The eight of us, given the same brief, submitted a varied and exciting range of presentations, each one substantially unique. I view such variance as a byproduct of  the vastness found in both the MOOC and the substantial number of presentation platforms that we have access to.

Interaction with the MOOC over the past two weeks has me feeling more at ease with it. My posts this week have considered how I feel about the MOOC and the potential impact, if any that a shift in the group dynamic has had on shaping these feelings.  Although it is massive in content and participant numbers the solid structure helped me to become more at ease with my navigation through this great online ocean.

• It makes me wonder if I would feel differently about the MOOC if it had been part of the module framework from day one?

• Has this shift from few to many had an instrumental impact on how I view the MOOC?

In scheduling the MOOC several weeks into the course, the participants are eased into the concept and practice of the MOOC. This also emphasizes the size and power of the giant classroom.

My experience of this change in class numbers  from <10 to >10,000+ left me in a ‘transitional’ phase, mostly getting my head around the diversity and vastness offered by the MOOC , participants and content.

I think that for me this period of transition was invaluable. In order that I could grasp MOOC concepts it needed to be a standalone feature and most importantly it needed that group dynamic shift to help in my interactions with, perception of and placement of the MOOC.

I had never used Glogster before. In fact, the first time that I had even seen the word in print was when I saw it on the list of ‘possibles’ provided to us for our artifact presentation options.

 As a presentation platform Glogster ticks several boxes. It supports audio, text and image. At the outset of this project I had was very conscious of my inexperience when it came to audio / sound so I decided that it would HAVE to be a majority stakeholder in my presentation. Screeching violins, unnerving whispers and the most dystopian-esque music I could find online! 

Having the option to ‘create’ [ term loosely applied!] a visual background and build upon it allowed me to think in terms of layers. By layering the topic it became easier to break down the interactions / discussions of dystopia from the MOOC  and see how various components could/n’t knit together. This digital artifact project was a series of firsts for me….introduction to Soundcloud,  experimentation in charcoal and  of course the use of the presentation form Glogster itself. It is a nifty presentation platform, one that I would both use again and recommend.

My digital artifact, dystopian frequencies tries to capture the feeling of dystopia through image, sound and text.

Please click on the image to access the artifact itself.

A reference list of materials used in the artifact are available here.