This week I have been reading through my Lifestream blog and tidying up my tags and metadata.
In a way I have been analysing some fairly low key learning analytics on myself. After adding and editing the tags on all of my posts I was able to quickly identify and notice the key themes that I have studied over the duration of this course. Until recently I had considered basing my assignment on algorithmic cultures and their influence in shaping digital education. However after reviewing my tags I noticed that over the last 11 weeks I have shown the strongest and most interest in community cultures – particularly within MOOCs. As a student, it was the first time I have been able to use data to make an informed and proactive decision about my studies with no influence from my tutors or the University as an institution.
I used the rest of this week to dabble in some of the less popular themes within my blog, such as the use of music in education. My tweet referencing a blog that draws metaphoric comparisons between MOOCs and music albums killed two birds with one stone. I was able to revisit the music themes whilst exploring the use of metaphors with community culture.
I have also visited the blogs of my peers to see what technologies have been used over the course to create artefacts and ethnographies in the hope to find some inspiration for presenting my digital essay.