Unit Title: Digital Activism
Global Context: Fairness and Development
Key Concept: CommunicationÂ
Related Concept: Adaptation and Innovation
AK Strand: Civil Society and Governance
Statement of Inquiry: Adaptation and innovation in communication contributes to a fair treatment and development within communities.
Here you are presented with a design situation, from which you identify a problem that needs to be solved. You will then analyze the need for a solution by conducting an inquiry into the nature/type of the problem.Â
Digital activism enables information to go past your community and reach similar-minded people all over the world. Today, with sites such as Facebook and Twitter, entire campaigns can be run online with a large audience. Every day, activists hoping to change the world come up with a new technological tactic to do so. Our unit entails taking positive steps towards spreading awareness about pertinent issues that affect us as an individual or as a community/society and that has been neglected by those who are responsible for it.
Your challenge in the unit is to identify an issue of concern that has been neglected and that you are passionate about bringing a positive change through digital activism.
Begin the task with an introduction by highlighting the Global Context, Key Concept and relating it to the Unit Title.
You should explicitly state the client or the target audience and mention some brief background information about the client/target audience.
Explain the problem facing the client/target audience; discuss the problem in detail, the effects of the problem (on the client/target audience), how long (the problem) has persisted, and explain/demonstrate how the client is in a dire need for a solution. Make sure to give examples of challenges arising from the problem. -(the best way to explain the effects of a problem is by giving examples and quoting relevant statistics to support your assertions regarding the problem where possible).
Make sure you have explained in detail the reasons why the problem should be addressed while quoting relevant statistics or facts to support your argument.
To properly explain the client's/target audience problem/need, make sure you have captured the following questions in your description of the problem ( What is the nature (type/features) of the problem?, Who is it a problem for?, Where is the problem occurring?, What is the cause of the problem?, What effect is the problem having on the client/target audience?).
Explain/justify why an IT solution is better placed to solve/address the problem (by discussing the current way the client/target audience uses to solve or address the same problem and weaknesses/failures/limitations of the current way of addressing the problem ).
Mention the benefits the client will obtain if the above problem is solved (N/B You can also address this, in the design brief if the 1 page limit for strand 1 is not enough to do so).
Click on the button/links below for more guidance (resources, examples and information) on the same.
Construct a detailed research plan which identifies and prioritizes the primary and secondary research/resources needed to develop the solution to the problem. Show the what you need to research, how you will gather the info;(primary/secondary) and when the task will be completed (research question). Your research question should focus on the problem in question (client's or Target's audience problem) and the IT solutions that could address the problem.
Independently generate at least 10 detailed SMART and appropriate research questions, which are clearly prioritized ( Must be in a logical order) and identified as the specific type of primary (whether interview, questionnaire, observation etc.) and secondary sources (such as books, websites, surveys etc.) , to help develop the solution focused on client, time, resources, function, technical skills, aesthetics and others.
Follow the research plan to collect your detailed information from primary/secondary sources.
Click on the link below to see the template of a research plan.
In this section you:
Analyze at least four similar existing products that have been created using different IT solutions such as (websites, animations, mobile applications, games, database and others) to solve/address similar problem as yours. Analyze these existing products by explaining their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvements and threats (SWOT Analysis).
State the IT solution you have chosen to create to address the problem you are tackling and explain the reasons why you chose that particular IT solution and not the other possible IT solutions you analyzed.
Describe the inspirations obtained from the analysis of each or all of the products analyzed using SWOT analysis and its usefullness to the product you intend to create to address the client/target audience problem.
Then analyze at least two software that can be used to create the IT solution that you chose for example Sublime text for website, Flimora for video and others. Do this analysis by stating the strengths and weaknesses of the two different software used to create the chosen solution.
State the software that you have chosen to use to create the chosen IT solution from the software you have analyzed and justify why you chose that particular software.
You must provide in text citations in APA format for the each of the existing products and each of the software analyzed.
Click on the link/button below for an example and further resources/guidance on the same.
In this section you are expected to come up with a design brief that summarizes the analysis of your research and then links it to the client/target audience problem/need.
Start the design brief by summarizing in a brief your client's/target audience problem and the justification; the reason why your client or target audience problem should be addressed.
Then summarize the findings obtained from your primary and secondary research (strand 2 and strand 3), only include only the information obtained from your research that is relevant towards addressing your client's /target audience problem and describe how the information obtained is beneficial towards addressing your client's/target audience problem.
Summarize the findings from Strand 2: Research plan in a prose/paragraph format mentioning only relevant information that relates to the client's or target audience problem. (Hint: Summarize the answers to your research questions in a prose/paragraph form and describe how the information obtained is beneficial towards addressing your client's/target audience problem).
State the product (IT solution) that you shall create to address your client's/target audience. problem.
Summarize what you learned from SWOT analysis done that will be helpful to you towards the creation of the chosen solution.
Conclude the design brief by:-
Explaining in a separate paragraph in detail the key features of the product (IT solution) that you will create to solve the client's/ target audience problem and
explain how those key features of the product you intend to create shall help solve/address the client's /target audience problem.
Click on the button/links below for more guidance (resources, examples and information) on the same.
Your work must have bibliography and in text citations. Failure to do so will earn you less marks and it might be considered as academic dishonesty because you have done quite a lot of research.
Put bibliography/references such as interviews, websites and others that you consulted for your work at the end (on its own page). Use APA citation style for your bibliography/references.
The references/sources must be placed on its own page in an alphabetical order.
Any work that is submitted without accompanying bibliography/reference and in text citations will be penalized much. The student who submits such work without any bibliography or reference section cannot get more than 6 regardless of the quality of work done.
Your work must have appendices after bibliography. Appendices can include copies or screenshots of the questionnaires/interview questions and responses or documents that you used to conduct your research/inquiry into the problem.
N/B: These documents act as an evidence that you really did the research and will guard you against an examiner awarding lower marks/grades for your work.
Click on the link below to see an example of Appendices for Criterion A.