Motivation
As everyone keeps saying, these are unprecedented times. In this course, you will conduct original research into one aspect of that - how people's work has changed in response to the covid-19 pandemic and government policies to "shelter in place."
We have witnessed tremendous inequity in work impacts related to employment and family structures; "distancing" works better for people with homes and salaries; jobs that have seemed unimportant are more visibly "essential" to a functioning society. We have also seen incredible innovation and creativity as people have figured out new ways to do their work from home, or new ways to make money using online tools.
What can you learn from all of this about work, technology, and society?
Data collection
You will identify a job or occupation that has been impacted by the move to online work or by the pandemic. You will collect about six hours of original data each. You can work solo or in teams of 2 or 3.
Ideas on how to conduct observation
Ideas on how to structure the data collection and analysis
Deliverables
Research proposal
Bullet points: solo/partner, chosen job, intended data collection due April 13
Check in with data collected to date week of May 3
"Raw" (anonymized) data set, due May 27
Lightning talk, given June 1 or June 3
Final paper, due June 10
Together, we will pick 3 (?) research projects to produce with professional videographers to be featured on MS&E web site and elsewhere. What do you want to learn from this moment, and what message do you want to share more broadly?
The final exam will handed out at start of class on May 27. It will be a not-timed "take (at?) home" exam. It will cover the "facts" and "research" portions of class. The length and structure of the exam should allow you to complete it within the 90-minute class period, if you like. Your exam will not be officially due until June 3 at 11:59pm PST, giving you the flexibility to take it another time.
Each class period will be structured into three parts, with a group or solo deliverable completed at the end of each part.
We will begin with "Facts." You will watch a live presentation (Q&A welcome) and then be put in a group breakout room with one informal prompt and one prompt related to the presentation. As a group you will submit a short informal response through a google form. To get credit for this deliverable, you have to be involved in at least 10 of these responses over the course of the quarter.
Next is "Research." You will have read one scholarly paper in advance of class. You will watch a live presentation (Q&A welcome) and then be put in a group breakout room where you will complete a google slide structured with questions related to the paper and the presentation. Every group's slide will be counted. To get credit for this deliverable, you have to be involved in at least 10 of these responses over the course of the quarter. In each session, two groups will be randomly selected to give a 90-second report out on their response to support larger group discussion and learning.
Final is "Applications." A guest speaker who is currently implementing one of these new work technologies or designs will give a 10-minute lightning talk on their work. Every student will sign up to ask a really good question of one of the guest speakers. Depending on class size, we'll have ~4 questions per guest speaker. To get credit for this deliverable, you will sign up for one question to a guest speaker for the quarter.
As you are well aware, this is an experiment. After two weeks with this structure, we'll collect feedback from you on how much this structure is supporting meaningful learning from the teaching team, your own work, and your peers.