Counting Activities: Week 2 #Rhizo15

Counting Activity 1

Spark:
Playing Pictures: http://www.nomadwarmachine.co.uk/2015/04/20/playing-pictures/
Twitter connections to music: http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2015/04/19/what-rhizo15-connections-sound-like-sort-of/

Questions behind the activity: What happens if you change text to a different format? Is music easier to 'grade' than text? Is subjective voting bad if you understand the subjectives of the students?

Idea: For a (totally subjective) way of measuring things we could convert assignments into music and then play it. This removes the meaning of the words but gives each piece an individuality. Put a poll on the music. The most 'pleasing' piece is the one that gets shared/wins? Or the 'music' is posted on a open forum and the class can 'vote' on them. Votes are then measured. Top entries are then used for remixing.

How to Grade Dave (version 1)!
1. Get transcript of Video or copy text
2. Put into https://p22.com/musicfont/
3. Save the MIDI file
4. Use http://solmire.com to convert to MP3
5. Upload to Soundcloud
6. Create a G+ poll and add a screen clip of something!
7. Get results!

Result
The Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/wendy-taleo/rhizo15-woodblock

The Poll

Question after the activity:
Well that was all about assessment really!
I had 5 responses to the poll - that's counting.
The counting part is easy, the interpretation is the killer! The poll answers didn't lean one way or another and were not 'designed' for any particular result apart from participation.

(A more serious) Counting Activity

Spark:
Blackboard Social is enabled in the Learning Management System (LMS). An Education Develop recently asked me how I could quantify what is going on in Blackboard Social.

Questions behind the activity:
How could you 'grade'/count or measure the social presence of the students or staff?
How could you justify to the Faculties that this is a worthwhile task to promote (ie students setting up profiles)?
Is this the best tool to get students connected across Schools, Degrees and Universities.

Idea:
Overall numbers can be shown in the Blackboard Social area. Let's look at one particular space and analyse what is happening there.

Result:
54 Members
17 Posts spanning 8 weeks
10 contributing members including staff

Most interaction was student-tutor, students question got answered (mostly).
One post read "I have been searching for this space for 2 weeks lol".

After the activity:

from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/futility accessed 30th April 2015

It's a tool and it can be used. That's the only advise I can give an academic. How useful is it for social connections and other such questions....I'd have to say....use it and see. There are certain technology limitations (lack of notifications, lack of functions like adding media) that contribute to the lack of 'success' of these spaces. Maybe if one student has a question and they get an answer....that is success? Maybe if one student chats with another student....that is success?

My top 4 fave 'readings' from Week 2.
http://taniasheko.com/rhizo15/how-can-we-measure-learning-week-2-rhizo15/
http://impedagogy.com/wp/blog/2015/04/26/accounting-4-the-unaccounted-4-a-rhizo15-poem/
http://tachesdesens.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-last-post.html
http://teachingbeyondtropes.blogspot.com/2015/04/measuring-beyonces-butt-psyched-siked.html

and finally RHIZORADIO hit the shores of our learning!
https://soundcloud.com/dogtrax/rhizoplay-master-1