When I took Community Psychology last spring, we talked about how to make spaces that invited use. When considering how I would create the digital space that holds my digital resources, I realized that it would be useful for me to contemplate the same thing. While not all of the same principles applied in community psych for physical spaces apply to digital spaces— there are two that stand out as applicable: aesthetics and purpose.
Duvivier, in the article, “How to ‘future-proof’ the use of space in universities by integrating new digital technologies” contextualizes the application of pedagogy within digital spaces, writing, “Current best-practice approaches to teaching and learning emphasise the importance of student engagement in the form of active, meaningful involvement in the learning process (Graetz 2006). Simultaneously, physical environments ‘are increasingly recognized as the ‘containers’ that give context to group interactions’ (Milne 2007).” (sic.). Considering this information, I think it will be useful to define the ideal “container” in which my resources are located.
To do this, I decided to talk to Professor Genaco, who runs the digispace, and find out more information about what modality my sources should take when digitized and where they would best be located. We discussed a variety of potential formats but ultimately came to the conclusion that the comprehensive use of the digital resource should be prioritized. When considering the digital container to place these resources in, we determined a few different options.
The first option was my own blog. I decided that for the resources with my own branding on them, this would be the best location. Professor Genaco reccomended a less cohesively branded option (though still intellecgtually claimed) for my external container.
The second option, which was an external container, would be along with the other writing resources on the SASC Sharepoint site. I’m not as enthused by this option because I feel as though it would identify my resources as part of SASC, which I feel limits their potential audience. Additionally, Sharepoint is a different server than WordPress, so my resources could potentially have to be edited so they are accessible in the different digital context.
Similarly, the third option would be finding a home as part of the writing fellows page. I stated that this is likely not a great option because the site is focused towards writing fellows and thus only gets the traffic of that community. Additionally writing fellows are a very small portion of my focus population so I didn’t feel like this would be a good option.
The fourth option, is a separate WordPress site for just the resources. I believe that this option makes the most sense, because it would allow the resources to be found on all of the above sites, but have their own specific container. This means the site would generate a variety of traffic because people would be sent there from a variety of different spaces.
Citations:
Robbert J. Duvivier (2019) How to ‘future-proof’ the use of space in universities by integrating new digital technologies, Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 23:1, 18-23, DOI: 10.1080/13603108.2018.1486894
