D&T Blog Assignments, Fall 2020

If you don’t already have a blog, the easiest way to set one up is to use NYU Web Publishing. For Site Access permissions, please choose “Not indexed in search engines but still available for public to view” OR “Visible to all of NYU.” 

Phase 2

  • Phase 2, Blog Post #1. Please explore materials linked from the Guest Speaker Calendar and discuss the speaker(s) you’re most curious about. Jot down any questions or thoughts related to upcoming speakers.
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #5. Please discuss the election technologies that most interest you. You can use the Election Tech resources discussed today and/or resources outside of class–just be sure to cite or link to any external resources. How do these election technologies impact issues of diversity?
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #7. Please discuss how performance and gamification can impact D&T issues. Discuss examples from NYU Verbatim Performance Lab (see links above) and from today’s D&T Game Show exercise.
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #8. Discuss what you did in the 2pm hour of class today (attend the conference, watch a movie on Kanopy, or some of both). 
    • Share your thoughts on the conference and/or movie content, in the context of D&T. 
    • What did you think about the conference (EventTitan) and/or streaming movie (Kanopy) interfaces? Do you think they offer useful ways to support D&T and remote learning?
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #9. Finish your data visualization from class and start your post with a picture of this visualization. Discuss the dataset you chose, and the features you chose to visualize. Finally, discuss aspects of David Vintinner’s and Eduardo Molina’s visit that may have influenced your visualization choices. 
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #10. Please discuss Steven G. Fullwood’s visit, and discuss the experience of transcribing the Soul of Reason episode in Konch. What does it have to do with diversity? With technology? Please also make a quick note as to which episode you transcribed. Note that your transcription will count towards credit for this post.
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #11. Please discuss
    • NYU Libraries’ choice of Konch.ai, as discussed by Carol Kassel. Konch is one of the newer technologies we’re discussing and using in class. What are some of the considerations for using such new technology, particularly in the context of diversity? (see links in session 24)
    • Rewant Prakash’s work, including his work with Vihara Innovation Network and The Waste Collective. What might be some important considerations in developing new technologies to encourage responsible family planning in rural India?
  • Phase 2, Blog Post #13
    • Please discuss the Introduction to LGBTQ+ at NYU by Chris Woods. What did you learn? (You can review the shared links from session 26.) What might be some ways that new technologies can better acknowledge and support some of the identities discussed during this session?
    • Please read (through Course Reserves) or listen to the Introduction of The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist.How does Ben Barres’ life and journey reflect concepts from today’s session with Chris Woods?

Phase 1

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #1: Once you set up your blog, write a brief post in which you introduce yourself. Please also discuss briefly:
    • Your SSI(s) and technology background
    • SSI(s) and technologies you want to learn more about
  • Phase 1, Blog Post #2: Exercise in Information Literacy. Continue to write about the blog platform or service you’re using. If you like, you can use the basic Who/What/When/Where/Why model. Please include why you’re using this technology and who’s behind the technology.
  • Phase 1, Blog Post #3: Going back to your Blog Post #1 (where you discuss the SSIs and technologies you want to learn more about), take a look at your classmates’ blogs and discuss or more blogs that might cover your interests. Discuss them in this post. CLARIFICATION: the SSIs should note be your own, and the technologies should not the ones you know.
  • Phase 1, Blog Post #4: Read the following keywords essays, and then discuss the concept of LITERACY in these contexts:

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #5: Please write about
    1. The three reports discussed in Session #5 on Sept. 17 (Mercer, World Economic Forum, Gates). Were there any surprises in the results? Do you notice any hidden biases on the part of the authors?
    2. New strategies you might employ, based on Session #5’s discussion, to address microaggressions you encounter, either as a target and/or as a witness/ally.

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #6: 
    • Please write about strategies you might employ to address microaggressions in the future, when you experience them 1) as a target and 2) as a witness.
    • [If you feel ready, otherwise wait until Post #7] Discuss a piece of fictional pop culture media. See Post #7 below for details.

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #7: 
    • Reflect on Chapter 7 of Medical Apartheid (on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study). What was surprising? What technologies and diversity issues were raised?
    • Discuss a piece of fictional pop culture media that you think propagates (or analyzes) the biases that derived from historical medical discrimination. (Hint: Medical dramas, legal dramas, and superhero stories can be a good place to start.) I will ask you to add it to a spreadsheet next week, and we will screen these clips throughout the semester.

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #8: 
    • Watch Part II of the Democracy Now interview on inequities on COVID-related medical topics. (And re-watch Part I if you need to.) Why do you think Harriet Washington argues that the Tuskegee Syphilis Study is not an appropriate parallel for the current COVID vaccine trials? What does Kaushik Sunder Rajan mean by the term “shell game?”
    • Examine one of the Deep Dive Sites you didn’t already examine in class. Discuss its D&T issues, including SSIs.

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #10: For Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 9 in Diversity and Design, please discuss EITHER
    • The chapter’s “Editor’s Introduction” questions (appears just before the first page of the chapter) OR
    • One of the discussion questions at the end of the chapter.

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #11: Write about your plans to address the “Planning Your Project” section of the Midterm Project Brief:
    • Which technology might you choose? How are you familiar with both the front-end (UI) and back-end (code or hardware components)?
    • Which SSI might you choose? How is the SSI impacted by aspects of your technology?
    • Which 2 people might you interview? Do they have the SSI you chose? Will you interview a classmate? Do they use the tech you chose? 
      • And if you plan to conduct a survey instead of a second interview, what questions might you ask? How will you disseminate the survey to target your SSI?

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #12: Please blog about one of the following prompts:
    • Discuss any midterm questions you’re still working out and might want to ask about on 10/15 (the final class before midterm presentations).
    • Discuss your “social media diet.” Are you an avid user, occasional user, or non-user of social media, and why? What platforms do you use? If you use social media, what issues do you see (either in content or functionality) of the platforms you use?

  • Phase 1, Blog Post #13. Since your midterm is due on Tuesday, Blog Post #13 can be very brief.
    • If you haven’t already, please discuss your “social media diet.” Are you an avid user, occasional user, or non-user of social media, and why? What platforms do you use? If you use social media, what issues do you see (either in content or functionality) of the platforms you use?
    • If you’ve already discussed your social media diet in Blog Post #12, please use post #13 to discuss whatever you’d like, in the domain of Diversity and Technology (e.g. your midterm, what you’d like to do in Phase 2, suggestions for Phase 2, thoughts on current events, etc.)