My Digital Northwest Passage: A Semester of Exploring the Digital World

Self-directed Learning / Personal Blog Posts
Even though I wasn’t very interested in the Internet when this class began, before long I was gobbling up Dr. Burton’s lectures and seeking more information for myself on the web.  This self-directed learning has been an important part of my learning this semester that has fueled my enthusiasm for learning and for digital culture.  

My self-directed learning was often sparked by a lecture Dr. Burton delivered in class.  When I heard about something that interested me I would go look it up online.  Sometimes my classmates would post on topics that interested me and I would learn about them from their posts and then sometimes look for more sources online.  Much of my self-directed learning was also related to my group project.  An important part of my self-directed learning was my blog posts, because writing about a topic would help me to understand it better and think of new questions about the topic.

Four topics I researched this semester were badges, open content, use of media by the Church, and credibility.  My interest in badges as alternative accreditation led me to an interest in how credibility is created and maintained online.  Because badges are open and because of a lecture about openness, I also looked into open content and it’s advantages and disadvantages.  Trying to use badges as a tool to reward informing oneself about Mormonism led me to investigate how the Church uses media to educate.  Following are links to my blog posts on these topics:

Badges
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/open-badges-future-of-learning.html
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/evaluating-credibility-of-badges.html
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/ideas-for-mormon-info-badges-project.html
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-mission-statement-for-mormon-badges.html
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-story-of-mormon-badge-project.html

Open Content
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/11/argument-for-apple-pie-internet.html

Use of Media in the Church
http://mormonbadges.blogspot.com/2012/10/efforts-by-lds-church-to-promote.html
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-new-idea-for-online-missionary-work.html

Credibility
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/evaluating-credibility-of-badges.html
http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-lesson-from-importance-of-being.html

Much of my learning was demonstrated in the Google+ stream.  Here are the links to some of my posts:

Badges
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/F3JGkmyjUY8
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/1zu16Jqcjm1
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/QuBFPTp1jiB
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/AzQU3DkRTkG


Open Content
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/i4PmvBVmdCP
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/1uMWDe4HAjA

Use of Media in the Church
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/Wg5eZiio6v9
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/LwuhtQefZiq
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/GtxmVzpKtD2
https://plus.google.com/109246995627383520220/posts/eYiexFwbTcD

Here are some of the websites I used in my self-directed learning:
http://opencontent.org/definition/
http://openbadges.org/en-US/
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/
https://p2pu.org/en/badges/

Collaboration

My contribution to my group project can be described by two roles: idea generator and prototype maker.  As an idea generator, I was responsible for the idea that was the genesis of the project and I continued to invent new ideas for applications of badges as the semester progressed.  For example, I came up with using badges to reward indexing for FamilySearch and helped develop ideas about how badges could be used in proselytizing.  

My other main role in the group was as a prototype maker.  Throughout the semester, I developed prototypes of graphics for our badges.  At the beginning of our project I designed slides with prototype badges to introduce our project.  Later in the semester I made prototypes for a Personal Progress badge, a Restoration badge, and an indexing badge.

I also contributed to other groups projects by offering feedback and sharing new ideas.  Early on in the group process, I created a blog post of feedback for the CCC group.  Later, I contributed more to Menagerie and the Sweet Homies.  I gave occasional feedback on new developments in their work such as Menagerie’s new websites or blog posts by Sweet Home members.  More often, I would think of ideas that might be interesting and share them on the Google+ stream.  For instance, I suggested to Menagerie creating a space to allow feedback and revisions.  Another time I alerted the Sweet Home group to a MMSS presentation that related to their topic.
I think I also contributed in a small way to class in general by making comments or asking questions during lectures and student presentations.

Others’ assistance

The two students who have contributed most to my learning in this class were Jessica and Josh.  They helped come up with ideas for our project that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own.  They were also supportive and enthusiastic about my ideas and contributions to the project, which motivated me to keep working hard.


Two other students who contributed to my learning were Katie and Greg.  It was inspiring to watch their progress and the professional results of their project.  They were good examples of good design values and of seeking social proof.


One more student who helped me this semester was Rebecca Graham.  Though she probably didn’t know it, Rebecca encouraged me by responding to my Google+ posts with helpful, friendly comments, and by being enthusiastic and interested in our project when I talked to her in person.

Digital Literacy
Because one of my concerns at the beginning of the semester was that the Internet was primarily a time-waster, the Consume, Create, Connect model was instrumental in helping me realize how I could make the Internet a beneficial asset in my life.  Before my Internet use was mostly consuming with a little bit of connecting, which was why I’d drastically scaled down that use over the summer.  But the idea of creating online helped me understand how to achieve a better balance.  Even though creating is something really important to me (especially because I write poetry) I hadn’t before thought of the Internet as a creative tool.  Once creating took a larger place in my Internet use, my consuming and connnecting also became more meaningful.

My first efforts to incorporate Create were to write the weekly blog posts.  When I knew that I wanted to have something meaningful to share in a post, my consuming became more significant.  My consumption became more focused as I chose specific topics to explore that I thought I would like to write about.  Later in the semester, much of my creative activity was related to my group project on badges.  This also helped direct my consumption, which became primarily focused on learning about badges.  One important part of my creating this semester was Prezi.  Once I learned to use it for this class, I started using it in my other classes.  Prezi was a good way to incorporate all three C’s.  I had to consume information to put in the Prezi, then create the Prezi to organize that information, and then I connected with other people when I presented it.  

Throughout the semester, the Connect aspect of digital literacy suddenly became more important to me because it made my creating and consuming more relevant.  When I was learning about something, I would also be thinking about how to share it with the class on Google+ or in a blog post.  I pushed myself to learn more things because I wanted to share them with my classmates. Creating also became more exciting because I had people to share it with.  It was motivating to know that if I made a prototype badge I had interested people to share it with.

Even though this class is over, I’m going to try to continue using the three C’s to regulate my Internet use and make it more useful and meaningful to me.  This coming semester I’m going to be spending much of my time completing an original collection of poetry for my Honors thesis.  To enhance my creating, I plan on reviving my defunct poetry blog so that I can connect with others and receive social proof to help me revise my poems.  I’m going to try to relate my consumption to my creative efforts by reading more online poetry publications and maybe by keeping up with Menagerie.  When I consume other media or information online, I’m going to try to moderate that consumption by looking for opportunities to connect with others in meaningful ways and by letting that consumption inspire creation.  What I’ve learned in this class will keep influencing how I use the Internet and will continue helping me to take control of my digital life.
 

My Exam Questions

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

1. According to @ Is for Activism by Joss Hands, "it is very difficult for one person or people to dominate or dictate what happens on the network" (p78) because:
A. International agreements forbid governments from censoring the web.
B. Information sent online bounces between routers instead of traveling in a direct line, making it nearly     impossible to intercept and censor.
C. There are so many voices present online that the rule of the majority nearly always triumphs.
D. Almost anyone can connect to the Internet because it is not expensive to purchase a router.

See Ellis Dyck’s review of the book at http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/preliminary-review-of-is-for-activism.html 

2. According to Jessica Lee’s post “Copyright and the Open Movement” at http://leesjessica326.blogspot.com/2012/11/copyright-and-open-movement.html, the purpose of Creative Commons licensing is to
A. allow, through contracts, increased access to and use of artistic and scientific works.
B. to remove obstacles to creative activity.
C. help small artists make a profit from their work
D. both A and B

3. A new service Ellis Dyck made use of in this class is Prezi. According to http://prezi.com/about/, an advantage of using Prezi for a presentation is that
A. It uses gamification to keep viewers interested.
B. it’s more flexible because you can zoom in on smaller pictures instead of being limited to include only large photos in a slideshow.
C. Prezis are more memorable to audiences because they engage spatial memory.
D. Prezi’s superior graphics capabilities keep your audience from getting bored.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. Badges have the potential to help earners gain job opportunities because employers will be able to see evidence of their experiences and granular knowledge. See my post at http://dyckellis326.blogspot.com/2012/09/open-badges-future-of-learning.html

2. Although meme culture makes more people “creators” because anyone can create variations on a meme, memes actually inhibit significant creativity because most people recycle the same photos over and over and don’t think outside the box of a meme. See Josh Mckinney’s post at http://mckinneyjoshua326.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-is-meme.html

How Telemedicine Saved my Weekend

How remote medical attention from a generous friend saved my "six-monthiversary" celebration.

Wikipedia defines telemedicine as “the use of telecommunication and information technologies in order to provide clinical health care at a distance.”  It uses various communication mediums like telephones and the Internet to connect doctors with patients who live far away from medical services or cannot easily travel.  Medical records can be sent to doctors in another location, or a doctor may examine a patient remotely with phone and video devices.  Telemedicine can be used in emergency situations when a patient in critical condition will not be able to reach a hospital in time.

I spend my weekends in Cedar City with my husband, Brandon, who attends SUU.  We live just one mile from a hospital.  So how did telemedicine become necessary to save my weekend?

Brandon and I were looking forward to celebrating six months of marriage on Saturday.  But on Friday night, Brandon, in a fairly characteristic fit of restless athletic ability, decided to do a handstand in our living room.  Just as he balanced his feet above his head, I saw him make a very odd face.  He told me his left shoulder had dislocated.  Here we go again, I thought.

Since a minor bicycle accident over a year ago, Brandon’s shoulder has been prone to pop out of its socket during mildly strenuous or even normal activities.  In August for instance, Brandon woke up in the morning, let his left arm slide off the edge of the mattress, and felt his shoulder pop out of the socket.  We spent the morning in the emergency room and left several hundred dollars poorer.  Brandon didn’t have insurance.  Later, the ER doctor billed us separately, siphoning off more money.

So when I realized Brandon was stuck upside down on his head with a shoulder joint that found amusement in trying to wander out of its cubby hole (this became very funny later), getting him right-side-up without worsening the injury wasn't the only thing I was worried about.  The family finances were not going to take kindly to another ER visit without insurance.  That could mean only one thing: we had to do this ourselves.

Unfortunately, majoring respectively in choral education and English did nothing to prepare us for self-treatment in a medical emergency (in retrospect, I should have spent more time playing the board game of the Worst Case Scenario Survival Manual instead of studying).  After I helped Brandon ease out of the headstand onto the floor, some painful, experimental wiggling of his shoulder convinced us we needed help.  So we called up an acquaintance from our ward who is an ER doctor.  We didn't know that he is something of a specialist in reducing dislocations without anesthetic.  He was out of town and couldn't come over himself, but he generously offered to walk us through some methods to fix Brandon’s shoulder on our own.  Enter telemedicine!

Over the phone, our friend talked us through how to rotate Brandon’s arm along the floor in a snow-angel motion so that his shoulder would pop back in.  When that didn't work, he emailed us a PDF of another auto-reduction method.  We tried it and then modified it slightly and Brandon’s shoulder popped back into place!  We were so relieved.  Brandon improvised a sling for his shoulder and all he had to worry about after that was sore muscles.

So thanks to telemedicine and a generous friend willing to work free of charge, just 24 hours after that ill-fated hand stand, Brandon and I got to enjoy celebrating together the “monthiversary” of our first six months of marriage. . .without having to discuss which of our possessions we could hawk on Craig’s list to help pay the bills.  I have seldom been so thankful for digital technology!