52687 Making Digital Impact Spring 2023
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SUBJECT OUTLINE
52687 Making Digital Impact
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Course area |
UTS: Communication |
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Delivery |
Spring 2023; City |
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Credit points |
6cp |
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Requisite(s) |
32 Credit Points in spk(s): MAJ10050 Digital and Social Media Major OR 36 Credit Points in spk(s): MAJ09479 48cp Digital and Social Media Major OR 36 Credit Points in spk(s): MAJ09487 48cp Digital and Social Media Major |
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Result type |
Grade and marks |
Subject coordinator
Dr. Tisha Dejmanee
Teaching staff
Evangeline Aguas [email protected]
Veronica Alwan [email protected]
Zozan Balci [email protected]
Tisha Dejmanee [email protected]
Jeffrey Millar [email protected]
Subject description
This subject consolidates students’ understanding of how new technologies interact with existing social, economic and political contexts. It aims to equip them with practical skills around designing and promoting new technology using
current production practices such as Agile Methodology and Human-Centred Design within an environment that
simulates the contemporary workplace. Students design and prototype solutions to a problem-based scenario. They gain experience working in teams, producing professional presentations and materials, advocating design solutions, documentation and building a business case.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
a. Understand theories of digital innovation and disruptive technologies and processes
b. Evaluate social problems and design innovative solutions to address them
c. Present to stakeholders to a professional standard
d. Articulate the contribution of digital innovation to social contexts
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
Act in a professional manner appropriate to communication industries (1.1)
Employ appropriate research and inquiry skills to independently gather, organise and analyse information across diverse platforms (2.1)
Act as reflexive critical thinkers and innovative creative practitioners who evaluate their own and others'work (2.2) 
Demonstrate a strong awareness, knowledge of, and sensitivity to, diversity, equity and global contexts (3.1)
Exemplify effective and appropriate communication in different communication industry contexts (6.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject incorporates a pedagogical strategy that integrates contextual and historical knowledge, theories, concepts, scholarly literature, design thinking, and technical skills. Teaching strategies promote interactive,
collaborative learning with a ‘learning by doing’ approach to foster exploration extending beyond the classroom. The
weekly program includes student engagement with online pre-class learning materials, lectures, group discussions and workshops expanding upon selected themes and readings, to convey the theories and concepts of digital
communication technologies and social media. Individual and supervised self-paced activities enable students to
develop the conceptual and digital skills necessary for completion of practical aspects of assignments and are
supported through online drop-in sessions. Students are provided with formative feedback online in the lead up to the census date, and in class in the leadup to A1 and A2.
Content (topics)
In this subject, students situate contemporary media technologies within alternative historical trajectories with
consideration of technological determinism, techno-cultures and sociotechnical systems. Students explore how digital technologies, and the agile methodologies that bring them into existence, appeal as solutions to contemporary
problems. Students learn about key design processes including design thinking, rapid prototyping, design justice, and ethics.
Program
Week/Session Dates Description
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1 7 August |
Introduction We will welcome you to the subject with a live Zoom lecture held at 10.00am on Thursday 10 August 2023, where we will go through our expectations and goals for this capstone subject. You can access the lecture at this link https://zoom.uts.edu.au/j/81003794440 and the recording will be posted after the event. Read Please prepare for this introduction week by reading through the Subject Outline and familiarising yourselves with the Canvas site for this subject. If you have questions after reading through these materials, please bring them to the introduction lecture. Notes: Tutorials do not run in Week 1. |
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2 14 August |
What is Design Thinking? We will explore Design Thinking as: a way of thinking; a way of working; a project approach; and, a toolbox. Embracing the spirit of design thinking as a way of doing and making, this lecture material will involve several activities and exercises which you will complete as a way of exploring your understanding of this key concept and approach to project design. Read den Dekker, T. (2020). Introduction. In T. den Dekker Desigm Thinking, pp. 6-15. Routledge.
Notes: Tutorials commence this week. Please remember that due to the minimum attendance requirements of this subject, having more than two unexplained absences from tutorials this session will mean your A2 will not be assessed. |
3 21 August
Design Thinking for Social Problem Solving
Identifying a problem worth solving is the first and most important step of the
innovation process (and your A1) and yet most people overlook the
importance of defining a feasible and justifiable problem scope. This week, we will build on our understanding of design thinking by exploring den Dekker’s
six stages of design thinking as a way of thinking: think flexibly; work
integrally; empathize; cooperate; imagine; and, experiment. We will apply
these stages of design thinking to think about how to solve complex social
problems. We will also learn about and practice several different methods for identifying a problem scope, complementing some of our previous discussions about design thinking methods with a preview of the “exploring’ and ‘making sense’ steps of Social Design (which we will explore further in Week 5). We
will practice using these methods in class, and these should inform your A1.
Read
den Dekker, T. (2020). Design thinking is a way of thinking. In T. den Dekker Design Thinking, pp. 16-45. Routledge.
“Methods 1-5” from The Social Design Methods Menu by Lucy Kimbell and Joe Julier
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4 28 August |
Engaging Interviews Interviews are one of the key ways to practise the first stages of design thinking and to determine how to centre people in the innovation process. We practise this keyskill in tutorials this week, in preparation for the submission of your interview transcript next week (A1 milestone task). Read Engaging Questions for Public Engagement by Bang the Table Excerpts from The Design Thinking Toolbox |
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5 4 September |
Social Design This week we look at Social Design from this field guide which offers a variety of methods and ideas for how to apply design thinking to solve social problems. This comparative approach to design thinking methods is purposeful – as you read through the materials for this week, think about how the background and purpose of these writers might have shaped their approach to design thinking, as well as the underlying commitments that are similar across these approaches. Read The Social Design Methods Menu by Lucy Kimbell and Joe Julier (NB you already had a sneak peek at some of the methods in Week 3, so no need to reread pages 20-30 unless you want to). Notes: Your A1 milestone task (interview transcript) is due in tutorials this week. This week, Clauda Cowell will run a workshop titled "Career and Life Design" in tutorials 1, 2 and 4 (Tuesdays 9.30, 11.30 and 3.30) to help you apply your design thinking skills to your life and career goals. All in the subject are welcome to join these workshops. |
6 11 September
Independent Work: A1
This is designated as a drop-in week, in order to give you time to focus on
completing your A1. There are no readings or lecture materials assigned for this week. There is no tutorial meeting scheduled, but tutors may be available by appointment if you have questions related to your A1.
Notes:
A1 is due at 11.59pm on 14 September.
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7 18 September |
Design Justice This week we examine some of the dynamics of exclusion (e.g. race, class, gender, bodily ability, mobility, age, neurodiversity) within technology design and consider how certain values are being coded into the objects and sociotechnical systems that become part of our everyday lives. Read Design Justice in Action, Design Justice Issue 3 https://tinyurl.com/y4heyjh8 |
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25 September STUVAC |
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8 2 October |
Gender and Design Drawing on Sasha Costanza-Chock’s experience, we take a look at how binary gender and gendered normativity is often encoded into everyday technologies from airport scanners to self-tracking apps. Applying and building on our discussion of design justice, we explore some of the ways that design can be used to counter gendered limitations and sexist ideologies. Read: Costanza-Chock, S. (2020). Introduction in Design Justice: Community-led practices to build the worlds we need. MIT Press. Eveleth, R. (2014, December 15). How Self-Tracking Apps Exclude Women. The Atlantic. https://tinyurl.com/4a9wrdde |
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9 9 October |
Are Robots Racist? How and why do technologies reinscribe racism? We explore some of the ways that racist ideologies that are embedded into new technologies for instance, in the language master/slave terminology used for |
2023-08-08