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Anna Greathead

Sustained or Scattergun?

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If I could go back to October 2019 I would tell past-Anna this one thing about H818 - I'd say identify a couple of people who engage a lot with the course and comment on every single thing they post. Search out their blogs, twitter accounts and any other platform they frequent and comment there too! Don't stop doing this after TMA02 is done and dusted. If they stop posting stuff then hound them until they do!

My issue with part 2 of the EMA is that it requires 'sustained' engagement with two other projects. I have made dozens and dozens of comments in Open Studio and have generally been in the upper quartile of 'engagers' with H818 (I think) but I am struggling to find anyone who I would class as having been the recipient of my sustained involvement in their project as it developed.

I emailed Simon (the tutor!) in the hope that he might have an innovative and inclusive definition of 'sustained' which I could implement (see what I did!) but sadly his bar is even higher than my own. He says that even if I have only commented a couple of times on the poster development, and a couple of times on the abstract development, and a couple of times on the conference development, and a couple of other occasions then that would be fine! So - as long as I have engaged 8 times.... hmmmm.

And even the people with whom I have engaged the most - (typically 4 or 5 comments) - there is a problem. A lot of my 'engagement' is little more than 'I really like this' or 'you spelled survey wrong in paragraph 2'.

I know that we were told this nearer the start but I content we were told and not told! I am going to search out new H818 starters in April to give them the heads up I needed and didn't get! How's that for good networking practice?!

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Anna Greathead

EMA - a game of three halves!

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Now the H818 conference is done and dusted it's time to turn our attentions to the EMA. Unlike my previous MAODE modules this counts for 60% - not 50% - of the final grade of the module.

It's an unusual EMA because it's far more reflective than academic. This is not in my comfort zone even though it should, in theory, be no harder.

  • Part 1: I must evaluate my own project from a critically reflective perspective. Manageable...
  • Part 2: I must evaluate my own project in comparison to the projects of two of my course mates and demonstrate sustained engagement with the development of their artefacts and presentation. More or less impossible.....
  • Part 3: I must evaluate my own journey as a networked practitioner referring to relevant theory. Manageable...

My problem with part two is that I have commented widely - but not deeply. I have breadth rather than depth.

That said - I am not sure any of us can demonstrate 'sustained engagement' with the projects of other students. What exactly is 'sustained engagement'?

My plan at the moment is to get great marks on parts 1 and 3! Based on my module averages I can get 60% without even doing part 2!

So - what could I have done differently or, maybe more pertinently, what could have been done differently?

I could have been more engaged. But - I was pretty engaged. I probably wasn't the top engager but I think I was in the top quartile. I could have been more strategic and decided early on which projects would be my 'top two' and consciously engaged with those students about those projects. This would, however, have been to the detriment of my networking with the other students and possibly to their projects.

Or - the university could have grouped us into smaller groups of 5 or so students. The module Open Studio page quickly became very crowded and hard to navigate. Had we been in smaller groups we would have been able to keep track of a smaller number of projects and been able to see them progress and make meaningful suggestions and comments. This was achieved to some extent by the fact that a smaller group of us have an active WhatsApp group. I felt more inclined to see how Anna, or Bindi, or Allyson, or Robert's projects were progressing because we had a relationship through this group. (There are other members too!), Had this smaller group been slight facilitated by the OU (maybe based on project type?) then maybe this could have been more easily achieved within the VLE as well as outside of it.

Anyway - I am sure you all recognise procrastination when you see it....




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Anna Greathead

Quid Pro Quo

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Edited by Anna Greathead, Friday, 17 Jan 2020, 11:32

Interesting development.

We are all starting to share work in the Open Studio area. The idea is that we share our work, thoughts and so on and get feedback from our tutors and each other.

I have shared a post (similar to the previous blog post) about my ideas for the TMAs, conference presentation and EMA. A few people have fed back to me with encouraging and helpful comments. And I have sought out their work and endeavored to do the same. It just feels right and fair!

Now the logical thing to do would be to look at everyone's work, identify where I had genuine insight and knowledge which may be useful, and contribute mostly in those areas. However - we are not logical creatures. We are relational creatures. I can already see how small communities are likely to form between people who may be working of different kinds of project but who are at the same kind of stage and who have been encouraging and helpful to one another so far.

I have decided to pursue the OU Blog idea for this module. I have found the blog - this blog - to be such a useful tool in my OU journey and I want to see why it's been so great for me and how the tool could be better utilised to ensure other people also benefit from the opportunities for reflection and connection it offers. Not to mention the validation of 30k views and numerous citations in other people's work.

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Anna Greathead

The Open Architechtural Studio or the Great British Bake Off

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Edited by Anna Greathead, Friday, 17 Jan 2020, 11:33

The vision of an open studio within which individuals pursue their creative projects in full view of their peers offers, as John Seely Brown explains, opportunities for critique, feedback, individual progress and group progress. I can immediately see how various individuals with special skills or experiences could help those with different skills and experience (and vice versa) to enable improvement in the outcomes for all.

I cannot think of an example where I have been in this kind of environment but I did immediately picture the Great British Bake Off tent! (The analogy would also work with the Sewing Bee, Throw Down and all similar talent shows!). The Bake Off is a competition so participants should not really help one another but they do! (I know it's generous editing but bear with me!) You periodically hear someone ask a question and, from benches around the tent, people call out their knowledge based on their own experiences. Bakers will sometimes look around the tent and see that their competitors are doing something different from them and it makes them second guess or review their own timetable and process. Imagine if all of those participants were not in competition but working in concert with one another - maybe to cater for a huge posh garden party! If all of that skill were pooled then the sum total of, the quality, of the ensuing product would be so much better than it would be when individuals work alone.

I love the theory. However - I am not very good at receiving criticism however constructive! This aspect of H818 may be a challenge!

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