Congratulations everyone – the remix projects are done, the exegeses have explained (most of!) your creative thinking and the final comments are posted – your iGeneration journey (or, at least, the formal unit-shaped bit) is done! As part of this wrap-up can I just say what a pleasure it has been to be your guide (and I’m deliberately not saying teacher – I’m sure I learnt just as much from you all as you did from me in this course) in this unit; the conversations have been great, your work fun to read, listen to and watch;  and from your final comments on the unit I’m left with the sense that iGeneration was a successful adventure in learning for everyone!

Now, to the marks: your hardcopy exegeses and marks can be collected from me in my office. Your remixes were all great, I should add, but as we agreed, the blog is a place for conversations, not marks, so you’ll need to come and collect them from me in person. 

Beyond that, congratulations to Kiri and Joanne who’ve now finished their Honours year; and good luck to Alex, Chris and Shemila who will be finishing off their no doubt impressive dissertations (and creative projects for some) next semester!

For this unit, though it’s been a pleasure! Thanks for all your contributions and good luck with whatever comes next in life!

PS For those reading this and wondering why this post needed cupcakes as the final photo – well, you need to meet Jo and Alex and then you’ll understand (I’m sure they’re secretly co-writing a fabulous cupcake blog somewhere!).

[Photo: ‘Cupcakes’ by Zesmerelda CC BY SA]

First off, can I just say to everyone: well done, your podcasts are all really engaging; I’ve enjoyed listening to every single one!   Following that line, don’t forget you need to listen and share your thoughts.  To be fair, it would be fantastic if everyone got two comments on their podcasts (it wouldn’t really be fair for one person to get five comments, another person none).  That said, beyond the two critical comments you’re required to make, you’re most welcome to leave comments on the other podcasts, too, if you like!

Secondly, in our next seminar which is on Project planning, discussion and refinement you’ll be pleased to hear there are no set readings.  Instead, you need to bring along your thoughts about the major project you’d like to do for this unit.  Depending on what everyone wants to do, we’ll discuss potential ideas and then refine them into a form which can be equitable (ie things which can actually be marked alongside each other at the end of the day).  Your only major stipulation is that your major project must explore participatory culture and digital communication in a meaningful and focused way.  Also, think about what form you’d like your project to take: a straight-forward essay; a short video piece; a longer podcast; some sort of blogged investigation; and so on.  Think about something that would be of interest and engaging to you. 

Keep in mind, though, that there will be a fair amount of negotiation and refinement needed for each idea, so bring along your thinking caps, and your flexibility!

Let me reiterate, though: your podcasts are all really interesting, and you should all be proud of your efforts!

[Photo: ‘Fireworks at the Taste of Chicago’ by Zesmerelda, CC BY.]

This year’s honours cohort are…

Kiri, Lawrence, Joanne, Alex, Chris and Shemila.