Task

Explore https://blogs.ubc.ca/webspaces/ and read, absorb, and ponder your classmates’ engagement with the course and the means by which they display this engagement in comparison with your own.

Choose 6 items from 6 different sites that link, in some way, to your experience, and post summaries and reasons (reflections) for the links.

Aside

Someone says to me “…are you finished your assignment yet?” “Why do you leave it to the last minute?!” Yep – mea culpa.

Links

Task 3: Voice to Text Task – by ice8499

I didn’t complete this optional task, but I found ice8499’s Task 3 entry intriguing because their analysis of the differences between oral and textual communication didn’t include an aspect that I thought was important: written – or more accurately, recorded – stories can be iterated upon to perfect the message being delivered. This facet separates any “live” modality from modalities where content is stored in some form, whether textual, aural, or visual.

Task 5: Twine task: A Day with Milo – by Tarana

Tarana’s post is an authentic recount of how the time spent with Milo inspired the development of her Twine cards; her story expressed a human warmth that contrasted with the cold frustration of the technical requirements to add imagery. The reflection about using Twine helped remind me of the importance of designing and developing software for users of all technical abilities, and I wish that the Twine stack had been available to play so that I could have experienced the interactive story. This ties-in with her reflection for the attention economy task, where she points out that “…Norman (2013) argues, design should guide rather than manipulate…” (“Attention economy,” n.d.).

Task 7: Mode-bending: A Desktop Exploration – by Laila Kasim-Parkinson

Laila’s video screen recording wasn’t exactly transmediation, but I appreciated the context it added to her persona and it sparked a reflection that I found curious. At about the 11:40 mark, we hear about aspirations to “…emulate [an] organizational style…”, and “…trying to reach that ideal of ‘structure’…”, and then also hearing acknowledgment that it’s a “work in progress”: I found these statements quite powerful not only because they feel like a trope in my own life, but perhaps more importantly, because I found myself leaning-in and listening more intently to the audio. I perceived these statements to be powerful not only because of the ideas they conveyed, but also because the mode of delivery afforded an ability to replay and re-examine the content in a way that would be impossible in an oral modality.

Task 9: Network Assignment Using Golden Record Curation Quiz Data – by dsteller

I have an interest in learning analytics, and I was surprised to read about dsteller’s comment about Macfadyen & Dawson’s (2012) research that found that it was difficult to derive value from learning management system data. Without having read the paper, I would like to think that the body of knowledge and practices in the Learning Analytics community have matured since 2012, but having recently attended a workshop with Dr. Alyssa Wise, a giant in the analytics space, and heard similar assertions, these findings don’t seem that outlandish.

Task 11: Text-to-Image (Option 2) – by BL

BL’s enthusiasm for AI was very evident in their post “…favourite module so far!” (blimb, 2025), and a strong argument was made for the positive potential of AI. I particularly appreciated the details of how AI is introduced to students in a consistent and methodical set of steps, and I can see the value of each step in ensuring learners are informed and empowered in their adoption of this technology. I would concur with BL’s summary, though, that assessment remains the Achilles Heel for education in the face of AI – we have not yet discerned how to evaluate learning effectively at the scale we are used-to. Paradoxically, AI might end up solving this for us too!

Task 12: Speculative Futures – by Jodee

Two things stood-out for me from Jodee’s post: 1) it was inspiring to be taken on a journey from the lows of a bleak outlook for humanity to the realization that speculative design “… isn’t about predicting a better future; it’s about reminding us that we still have the power to create one.” (Jodee, 2025, para. 4); and 2) I very much appreciated the “old school” twentyten WordPress theme!

References

Attention economy. (n.d.). UBC Blogs. https://blogs.ubc.ca/tarana540/attention-economy/

blimb. (2025, November 16). Task 11: Detain/Release or Text-to-Image – Option 2. ETEC 540. https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540bl/2025/11/16/task-11-detain-release-or-text-to-image-option-2/

Jodee. (2025, November 23). Task 12: Speculative futures. ETEC 540. https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540jskiba/2025/11/23/task-12-speculative-futures/

Norman, D. A. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic Books.