What is Software Fatigue?

By Rachael Bradshaw on November 24, 2020 | Tagged with digital detox, Institutional Software, online learning, working online

I recently wrote about how to combat the software fatigue that many students (including myself) are facing this semester. While many people have been writing about “Zoom fatigue” recently, it wasn’t quite covering what I was feeling. “Software fatigue” is a term that I came up with to describe the broader range of frustrations and emotions I am feeling as an online student, so I thought it might be good to explore how it looks in my life and the lives of my fellow students

Software fatigue is the term that I have been using to describe the exhaustion that comes with being on my computer constantly as an online student. More specifically, I use this term when referring to the frustration of having to deal with some aspects of using my computer as the only way which I can do my work. I am using this term broadly to include everything from technical problems to privacy concerns to general burnout from being on the computer all day every day.

Here are a few scenarios that I have recently seen play out in my own life or the lives of my classmates. As a graduate student, I have unique challenges, and undergraduate students certainly have their own unique challenges too. However, I think that these are things that we can all relate over.

Scenario #1: Technology Troubles

At the beginning of this semester, I was doing all of my work on a laptop that I purchased in 2013. With all of the software that I had to download to take my classes, I noticed that my laptop really started to slow down and started having some strange malfunctions, as well as running out of memory. And on top of all this, my laptop charging cable had a tiny explosion and almost caught on fire. At this point, I was faced with a choice: spend the money for a new laptop, or risk the problems and possibly end up without a working laptop halfway through the semester? I decided not to risk it and bought a new laptop, but I know that I am extremely lucky to have been able to afford it during this pandemic. What do you think that technology access means for education?

What technology related challenges have you been facing in your studies? Have you noticed ways in which UBC, UofT, or other universities are helping students face their internet and hardware limitations?

Scenario #2: Online Proctoring Worries

With the pandemic in full swing students have been unable to take their exams in person. Since professors are now unable to observe their students taking exams in-person, some of them are turning to remote proctoring software described by some as “academic surveillance software” to proctor exams. These programs can monitor webcams, microphones, and even the programs open on their computers. I have not had to download any of this software, but many students that have had to do so have been concerned about their digital privacy and security. It’s a tough situation: professors don’t want to make their students uncomfortable, but they have to find some way to proctor exams, and during a pandemic, options are limited.

What has been your experience using remote exam proctoring software? What approaches have professors been using for exam proctoring without using software that might be perceived as invasive of student privacy?

Scenario #3: Burnout Blues

Everyone from professors to students is working hard to make the best of online schooling. However, it’s impossible to exactly simulate in-person schooling from home, especially when it comes to discussions and in-class group work. It makes sense that professors would turn to discussion to attempt to create dialogue between their students, but for the students, all of this extra work is exhausting and takes a huge amount of time. I personally now spend most of my time sitting at my desk and staring at my computer, which leads to headaches and bad posture. It would be impossible for me to get all of my work done without spending most of my time on the computer.

During this semester, some of my well-meaning professors have encouraged my classmates and I to ensure that we take time for ourselves to take breaks and step away from our technology. While we appreciate the sentiment, some of my classmates have shared with me that they feel a bit frustrated when they receive these messages. Many of us would love to take breaks, but we don’t have time to do so if we want to complete all of our work. It’s hard not to let this frustration build up, especially as end of the semester projects and tests loom large

What workload challenges have you been facing in your courses? Do your courses utilize discussion boards for participation? What do you think of them? What strategies do you have for coping with feeling burnt out?

Have you noticed yourself experiencing any similar frustrations and challenges? If so, please know that you are not alone in this. Online schooling is not easy, and all that can be asked is that you do your best. Even though software fatigue can get us down, there are some solutions that could give you a bit of help in dealing with it. Read our previous blog post for tips for handling software fatigue, and let us know your strategies for handling fatigue in the comments.

Written By: Rachael Bradshaw

Edited By: Samantha Summers

Featured Image: Student Laptop Stressed from HaticeEROL Used Under Pixabay License

Read More | No Comments

Online Resources for Library Access

By Eseohe Ojo on October 29, 2020 | Tagged with COVID-19, library access

This semester has been unlike any others before it. One of the big changes has been limited physical access to the library and its resources. Due to COVID-19, library branches within the UBC and UofT campuses either offer very limited services or remain entirely closed. However, this does not mean that students are left without access to library resources. Here are some quick and easy tips for digital access to your university’s library resources.

Bookmark the library website http://www.library.ubc.ca/ through which the library will continue to provide access to electronic resources. UofT students should bookmark the UofT Library website.
For UBC students, download the library access browser extension. The Library Access browser extension simplifies your access to UBC library materials when you are searching online. The extension will notify you when you’re on a website that the library has a subscription for. With a single click, you can open the website through the library’s systems and get access to all licensed material on that site. The browser extension works with most common browsers and is computer based. A mobile version, however, is not currently available.
Use the on-campus materials pick-up service. The Library launched this to help UBC students, faculty and staff access items in the collection that are not available in electronic formats. As of this publication, requests will be processed within 7 business days, held for up to 2 weeks, and made available for pick-up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.. Library users will be notified that their items are available for pick-up by email. Scanned items are subject to the same processing time and will be emailed to the requestor. Questions about loans, fines, and fees? Get in contact with the Library through our Assistance Form. UofT’s curbside library service can be found here.
Get online librarian support through AskAway. This chat service is staffed by UBC Library but at peak service times or off-hours, you may be connected with a librarian from another academic library. UofT students can similarly turn to Ask Chat.
You can identify and schedule an appointment with subject librarians via email if you need expertise in specific areas. They are available to UBC students and instructors for consultations. Similarly, UofT students can use the library staff search tool, where they can search for reference librarians in their specific areas of inquiry based on their affiliations, libraries, and the languages they speak. Start by searching for “reference.”
Access collections through the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS) for books that HathiTrust has verified as belonging to UBC Library’s print collections. UofT students can access the HathiTrust service here.

For more information about UBC, read the frequently updated library page. For more information about UofT, take a look at their COVID-19 information page.

Written by Eseohe Ojo

Edited by Samantha Summers and Rachael Bradshaw

Featured Image: Education – Creative Commons by NEC Corporation of America (CC-by-2.0)

Read More | No Comments

Guest Post: Fake News! Who Cares!

By Rachael Bradshaw on October 20, 2020 | Tagged with Digital literacy, fake news, media, Social media

Guest Post: Fake News! Who Cares!

by Johnson Huang

After a long day of staring at Zoom lectures and taking notes, you catch up on your social media sites like Twitter and Instagram for some semblance of relaxation, and you are bombarded by news story after news story. The Amazon forest is burning to the ground. Coronavirus deaths have reached an all-time high. Locusts have devastated Africa.

In recent years, I have found it increasingly difficult to separate my entertainment from information about the world. More and more people in my social circle have taken up social activism after seeing movements on social media that spread awareness using Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. While social activism is something to be commended and encouraged, it is also true that negativity runs rampant in social media and even traditional news sources, and this negativity can take a real toll on our mental health. Everywhere you look, it seems to be the end of the world as we know it. I believe that it is through this lack of distinction between entertainment and formal news that fake news has slowly infiltrated our everyday lives. Unfortunately, “fake news” is not exactly a new term, but it is instead a synonym for terms such as “Yellow Journalism”, which was coined back in the mid-1890s. Yellow Journalism is defined by Collins Dictionary as journalism that “relies on sensationalism and… exaggeration to attract readers” (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, n.d.)

Newspaper with headline that states "We're going to die!"

“Clickbait” is not exclusive to this decade. (Dworzak, 2005)

The news was always meant to inform its readers on current events, whether through a newspaper, the radio, or the television. While headlines were always meant to grab attention, headlines with an aim to misdirect and sensationalize have historically been more rare. With the modern emphasis on entertainment, news sites that were once trusted by their readers for their impartial reporting realized the profit potential if they played to their readers’ biases. Angèle Christin, assistant professor at Stanford University’s Department of Sociology, published a study in The American Journal of Sociology which shows that “[as] online advertising became increasingly competitive, news organizations did what they had to do to survive in this new environment” (Witte, 2018).

It is with this profit that comes sensationalism. The more people that pick up a newspaper based on a headline, the more money the newspaper company will make. The more readers that click on a link because of an exaggerated headline, the more profit that news company will make from ads. This exaggeration and sensationalism has lured our attention time and time again, and leaves all of us exhausted at the end of the day, unable to cope with looking through a constant magnifying glass on every part of the world.

Let us take a look at an example. A popular and commonly referenced news source in the U.S stated that, “Ignoring warnings from election officials, [Donald] Trump again suggests supporters should try to vote twice” (Gallagher et al., 2020). This headline prompted outrage from me. How could a sitting president outwardly promote illegal activity and get away with it? Despite my initial reaction, I found that the real story is a bit more complicated than what the headline suggests. A fact check by Snopes.com found that while this headline is true to an extent, the full quote more so indicates that “Trump told people that if they vote by mail, they should also go to polling places to check whether their mailed-in ballot had been tabulated (advice that election officials do not agree with), and if it hadn’t: Vote in person.” (Palma, 2020). We will talk about Snopes.com in more detail a bit later.

One can agree or disagree with what Donald Trump was informing his citizens and followers, but it is clear that, compared to the full context of what Trump said, the headline has been sensationalized to maximize outrage and clicks. Effectively, I was misled. This is only one example from one news source. Fake news is broadcasted often, both intentionally and accidentally, by both trustworthy and untrustworthy news sources.

It seems impossible, then, to avoid fake news. In this blog, I have reduced modern journalism and reporting to a race for the most clicks, and thus the most profit possible. However, this blog is not meant to discourage you. Instead, it is meant to illustrate the dangers of fake news on our mental health and most importantly, show how we can avoid being tricked.

Some resources and sources that I’ve found to be useful are:

1. Digital Tattoo: Fact Checking Tutorial

The fact-checking tutorial is an extremely valuable resource on fact-checking if you want to get started. It offers a short but informative video on fact-checking, a test-yourself quiz, and various links to more information about fake news.

Digital Tattoo Project's fact checking tutorial home page

(Screen capture by Johnson Huang, 2020)

2. Snopes.com

Regarded as one of the most referenced fact-checking websites, Snopes is an independent website that has operated since 1994. Their finances and operations are transparent compared to other news websites, and they are sustained primarily from online ads, not political donors (to reduce possibility of bias). Despite being supported by online ads like the news sites that I talked about, they do not create any headlines. Snopes only takes headlines or statements from other news sites and fact-checks them, thus excluding them from the clickbait practices of other news sources. Additionally, any donation of more than $10,000 is reported to the public. You can read more about their process on their disclosures page.

Their website is easy to navigate to find the topic or headline that you are looking for. Furthermore, if you can’t find something, you can submit the article, social media post, or image in question via their Contact Us page.

(Screen capture by Johnson Huang, 2020)

3. UBC Library

If you are looking for more than a summary of the facts like ones that are found on Snopes.com, the UBC library offers a comprehensive collection of peer reviewed journals and articles. Granted, this collection is much more difficult to sort through compared to Snopes.com, but it gives you a much more in-depth perspective on topics like the effectiveness of preventative measures for COVID-19.

Additionally, if you find the task of sifting through the online database daunting, you can either use the categorized subject guides or reach out to specific subject librarians who can help you find the journal article you need for your research.

(Screen capture by Johnson Huang, 2020)

The title of this blog is “Fake News! Who Cares!”. My answer to that question is that everyone should care. Whether you are purposefully seeking out news to be updated on worldly affairs or not, I believe that we can all be swayed by fake news. You don’t need to be constantly fact-checking, but being aware of fake news and its negative effects should be in the back of your mind any time you read a headline. A common misconception about fake news is that it is only believed and regurgitated by uneducated individuals; that people who are educated in critical thinking and perhaps hold a degree would not be fooled by fake news. However, as we saw earlier, studying and graduating from a university does not prevent you from being tricked into outrage. Thinking that I was immune to fake news only gave me an unwarranted sense of security. Anyone can type in “Snopes.com” in their Google search bar and fact check news headlines, but it is only with awareness and constant doubt that one would even think about fact-checking. Doubt, combined with fact-checking, is the greatest weapon against fake news. By being vigilant and checking the facts, we can still be aware of social injustices that take place around the world without feeling the mind-numbing sense of hopelessness that comes with exaggeration and sensationalism.

References

Dworzak, Thomas. (2005). ENGLAND. London Newspapers. GB. London. July 7-8, 2005. Headlines and details of UK newspapers the day after the multiple attacks on the subway and a bus in London.. Retrieved from https://library.artstor.org/asset/AMAGNUMIG_10311532432

Gallagher, D., Kelly, C., Cohen, M., & Rokus, B. (2020, September 5). Ignoring warnings from election officials, Trump again suggests supporters should try to vote twice. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/05/politics/trump-vote-twice-north-carolina/index.html

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Yellow journalism definition and meaning: Collins English Dictionary. Yellow journalism definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/yellow-journalism.

Palma, B. (2020, September 3). Did Trump Tell People To Vote Twice? Snopes.com. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-vote-twice-north-carolina/.

Witte, M. D. (2018, March 21). What this Stanford scholar learned about clickbait will surprise you. Stanford News. https://news.stanford.edu/2018/03/21/this-stanford-scholar-learned-clickbait-will-surprise/.

Written by Johnson Huang

Edited by Rachael Bradshaw

Featured image Fake Fake News Media, from S. Hermann & F. Richter used under Pixaby License

Students vs. Software Fatigue: Tips for Winning the Fight

By Rachael Bradshaw on October 15, 2020 | Tagged with digital detox, Institutional Software, online learning, working online

As students, many of us are digging in to our online semester and adjusting to online student life. Frankly though, this adjustment can be tough, and from conversations with my friends and reading other students’ social media posts, I have found in my experience that some students are not okay with some of the things that online schooling brings. Do you have any concerns? Are you apprehensive about downloading invasive software that is required for your courses, but causes privacy concerns? Do you have an old computer that is struggling to keep up with all these downloads? I have heard both of these concerns, but mainly, I’m hearing that many students just plain tired and anxious from having to constantly check different websites for assignments. We at Digital Tattoo have taken to calling these feelings software fatigue, and honestly, I think that everyone is feeling it right about now.

Though things may seem tough, don’t despair! There are some actions you can take to combat software fatigue.

For privacy and security concerns about course software:

Reach out to your professors

Preferably in a face-to-face video call, although email works as well. Explain why you feel uncomfortable about the course required software and highlight your security concerns. If you are willing to meet your professors, get to know them a little, and explain yourself in a friendly way, they may be able to offer alternatives to the invasive software.

It is important to remember that decisions on software use may be out of your professors’ hands. In that case, don’t forget to be kind!

Keep a software list

If alternative software isn’t an option, keep a detailed list of all of the software you have to download for your courses. Keep this list in in an easily visible spot, whether that’s on your desk or on the homepage of your Google Drive. Once you are finished with online schooling, you can use this list to easily find and delete all of the software from your computer. Be aware that many courses will be online next semester as well, so be sure not to delete everything immediately.

If you want to learn more, Digital Tattoo has some great, actionable tips for protecting your privacy while working at home and managing your digital student identity.

For students with older computers:

Consider buying an external hard drive

Do you have an old computer that is struggling to keep up with online schooling? Me too! My laptop from 2014 is practically wheezing these days trying to keep up with all the software that I’ve had to download this semester. If you’re running out of space too, I recommend getting an external hard drive. Depending on your needs, they can range from around $40 to more than $150. While yes, this is expensive, it is far cheaper than buying a whole new laptop, and it’s a great way to temporarily clear some space for the required software. You can always re-upload your files to your computer once you delete the schooling-required software.

For those feeling fatigued:

You are not alone in this!

Feeling fatigued from all of the software you have to deal with? You are certainly not the only one. It’s wearying to constantly be checking multiple online spaces for assignments, and the fear of missing assignments only adds to this. I hope that the following tips will help you, but it’s important to start with a quick reminder that we’re all in this together. If you feel up to it, you can even share your experience of fatigue on social media (I’ve personally been reading the r/UBC subreddit a lot these days), or by reaching out to other students in your classes. Camaraderie can be very comforting!

Get it organized

Having your own organizational system in place will help to relieve some of the stress of having assignments located in multiple places. Start by looking for an assignments list from each of your courses. Sometimes these are on the syllabus, and sometimes they’re posted as a separate document, but either way, it can usually be found in Canvas, Blackboard, or wherever your course materials are held. Take the information from this list and write it down in whatever format works best for you. I personally use a paper planner and color code my courses, as well as having an assignment list posted above my desk. Whenever I worry that I missed something, I can look up at that list and quickly make sure I’m on the right track.

Take a minute to breathe

I almost feel hypocritical writing this, as I too am a busy student who understands that people urging you to “take time for yourself” while you’re bombarded with assignments only makes things feel more frustrating. But, if you can take just 5-10 minutes every few hours to stretch, open the window and breathe some fresh air, and not look at a screen, it will help you to avoid burnout in the long run. Digital Tattoo has some great resources for learning to handle the stress of being online, including a tutorial about keeping your online life tranquil and a blog post about digital detoxing.

I hope that these tips can help you to manage your fatigue and have the best semester possible, and from all of us at Digital Tattoo, we hope you stay safe, healthy, and happy.

Do you have any suggestions for managing software fatigue? Let us know in the comments below.

Written By: Rachael Bradshaw

Edited By: Samantha Summers

Featured Image: Laptop Woman Education from Jan Vašek Used Under Pixabay License

The Digital Tattoo Guide to Remote Communication

By samantha summers on October 12, 2020 | Tagged with Building Online Community, COVID-19, remote work, working online

As the world becomes more accustomed to working remotely and from home, it occurred to us here at the Digital Tattoo that we are something like experts in the area of making workplace magic happen from afar. Since our establishment in 2009, our team has worked together while split between Vancouver and Toronto. With all our meetings taking place online and in-person collaboration rare for us, we have ample experience in making cross-country (and cross-institutional) cooperation work for us.

With this in mind, we present to you the Digital Tattoo Guide to Remote Collaboration. Here you will find top tips from the 2019-2020 student contributors that draw on our experiences. We hope you find it helpful!

Samantha

I genuinely enjoy working remotely with the Digital Tattoo team, and a big part of that is the fact that we take time every meeting to chat and catch up with one another. It can be tough to build a convivial relationship with someone you’ve never met on the other side of the country if all your meetings are just about work. We ensure that our meetings are just as human as they are business, which keeps me engaged and always excited for our next meeting.

My top three work-from-home/working online tips are:

Actively make your online meetings human. Create space to talk, laugh, and think about things not directly related to work. This can help keep team members from getting burnt out and ensures your meetings will stay fresh.
Make it clear how your team communicates, and why. There’s nothing worse than getting your wires crossed because one conversation is happening on email, another one on Slack, and a third over text. Make sure your team has a clear understanding of what tools are used for communication, and if you use multiple tools, which tools are used for what. We use email almost exclusively.
Keep a clear to-do list, both personally and as a team. Meeting notes are great for this. Because you won’t be seeing your colleagues every day, it can be tough to remember deadlines or things you have to do to help them out. Keeping your to-do list up-to-date is key to staying on top of your work, both online and off.

Defne

As someone who can sometimes have the concentration skills of a peanut, the idea of working and collaborating online initially scared me. When I joined the Digital Tattoo team, I had some doubt about whether I could be successful at online meetings and work. However, I learned a few key things that really helped me out and set me up to excel in my goals. These tips were a lifesaver when all of my work migrated online (thanks, COVID!).

Write down or input every meeting and deadline into a calendar. Preferably, a calendar that will send you push notifications or email reminders. I had a tendency to blank on work that needed to be done when it was assigned via email or in an online meeting. I thrive person-to-person. Over Zoom, not so much. That’s why I keep my calendar extra detailed with notes and set reminders for myself on my phone.
Be communicative, detailed, and ask questions. Nothing is worse than misinterpreting tasks assigned to you, or tasks you assign to others. Being on top of how well you understand the tasks at hand is crucial in ensuring lines of communication do not go down. During meetings or emails, ask questions to receive clarity. Remain detailed and open with your colleagues.
Organize your email! By keeping emails for different responsibilities in different folders, you will be able to quickly search through and find what you need. This is very important when it comes to following up or pinning important messages.

Ese

Collaborating online through the Digital Tattoo Project was a learning experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to work with people in a different part of the country from me and learn through them, their experiences and the differences in our reality. In addition to our working relationship, it kept me abreast of things going on at our respective cities and institutions. It also taught me a great deal about time and project management. I learnt to keep track of the different things we were working on and tried to ensure that they complemented each other. If you asked me before COVID, I would say working from home was great – productive, quiet and helped me focus, but COVID-19 and everything going on around the world since March taught me a lot and required some relearning.

Planning and coordinating are important but they can also be fun. Whether you favour using digital tools and calendars or paper to plan, you can come up with creative ways to do so. Like Defne and Samantha mention, make sure to note down everything and set reminders for deadlines, but don’t forget to have a little fun with it. You can colour-code your responsibilities or use fun printables to add some personal flair to your organizational process. I like using both paper and digital tools and keep an overall to-do list in addition to my daily and weekly schedules. In all planning, it is important to go with what is intuitive for you, which helps make things easier rather than more complicated or chaotic.
Find dedicated places to work. During the pandemic, I realised I missed having to go to the office, working at my desk and using a bigger screen. This was as much from the structure this provided and getting to interact with others in person as from getting bored or tired of being stuck at home. I found that setting up a desk and area of the house as my office helped. When I grew tired or bored, it also helped to work outside on the grass or on a park bench. Alternating between these and adding in coffee shops when that became an option helped a great deal.
Share what you’re doing with others. The DT team has always been a communicative one – with biweekly check-ins, student team meetings and one-on-ones. It is important to share what you’re doing with other members of the team. They might have ideas that could improve your work and I have definitely been inspired or gotten ideas from hearing about other’s thoughts or what they might be working on. Remembering to communicate can sometimes seem like a chore, but updates help keep teams aligned as well as motivated.

Written by Samantha Summers, Defne Inceoglu, and Eseohe Ojo

Edited by Rachael Bradshaw

Feature Image by Mohamed Hassan, used with CC0 licensing.

Read More | No Comments

COVID-19 Case Study for Undergraduate Students

By Rachael Bradshaw on October 9, 2020 | Tagged with case study, COVID-19, online learning, university

This case study presents a hypothetical situation based on very real circumstances that many undergraduate students are likely experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage you to take a look at this case study and think carefully about what you would do if you were in Kyle’s shoes. Better yet, have a conversation with your friends about the discussion questions! We would love to hear your thoughts and your answers to those questions in the comments below.

Background:

Kyle is beginning his third year at UBC and had lived on campus during his first two years. He has now moved back home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is starting the school year from home. He was able to make it to classes on time easily while living on campus, and with the shift from in-person to online classes, he assumed there would be no problem continuing to do so.

Scenario:

During the first few weeks of school, Kyle had trouble adjusting to the new school system while dealing with new changes that come from living at home, such as having all of his family working and studying in the same household. On one particular occasion, he had stayed up the night before preparing for class, doing assigned readings and making notes for the discussion. He went to bed late and slept past his alarm.

The next morning, he woke up late for class and could not find a suitable room to work in as other members of the family were already set up for their daily activities. He ended up joining the online session late, missing the attendance check and the professor’s earlier announcements, which included the expectations for active participation. Because he was attending from his bedroom and not properly set up for class, he had his video off in addition to being muted.

In an attempt to catch up, he sent a private message to a classmate asking what he had missed but accidentally sent it to the entire class. The professor then asked him to turn on his video and join in the class. In his frazzled state, he responded via the chat function to say that he couldn’t, hoping to explain later, and ended up leaving the class. The professor took his actions as being rude, non-participatory and disruptive.

Discuss:

What issues does this scenario raise for you?
What might Kyle consider in deciding how to manage this situation?
What would be the impact if he does nothing?
Should Kyle argue for the right to participate in any way that is best for him?
What would you advise Kyle to do in this situation and how should he approach the professor?

Resources

Managing Your Time | Chapman Learning Commons | https://learningcommons.ubc.ca/student-toolkits/managing-your-time/
Keep Learning https://keeplearning.ubc.ca/

Written by Eseohe Ojo

Edited by Rachael Bradshaw

Featured image Laptop Screen Desk, from HaticeEROL used under Pixaby License

Read More | No Comments

Welcome to Digital Tattoo!

By defne inceoglu on August 25, 2020 | Tagged with animation, digital tattoo, introduction, Video

Welcome to the Digital Tattoo Project! We are excited to introduce ourselves to our new and existing audiences. 2019-2020 was a busy year for the Digital Tattoo Project – full of amazing content. To ring in the 2020 school year, check out our latest video above. We discuss what the Digital Tattoo Project is, what we do, how we do it, and how you can get involved.

Like, share, and let’s discuss!

Read More | No Comments

The Perils of a Digital Student Identity (and How to Cope)

By samantha summers on July 29, 2020 | Tagged with classes, COVID-19, university

Once upon a time, online courses were a novelty. A department might have offered one online course per year, or perhaps a professor might have decided to offer sessions online when they couldn’t be present in-person. In any case, they were rare, and the majority of students at Canadian universities went their whole lives without taking a single class online. Those days are now gone. This September, students across Canada and the world will flock to their computers to take classes over platforms like Blackboard and Canvas. Students will no longer have the opportunity to get to know their professors and colleagues in-person, and while in some ways home-learning might be a positive (hello, wearing pyjamas in every class) it also will make student life harder.

Students rely on their professors for all kinds of things beyond education. From needing some sympathy (and extensions) when hard times hit to asking for reference letters for another program, students need the help of professors for far more than class material. In pre-COVID times students were often encouraged to meet their professors in person, either by chatting with them after class or going to their office hours. These interactions made students more memorable to their professors, so when they needed any extra help they would be better-equipped to offer it. Students won’t be able to catch their professors after class anymore, or knock on their doors in the same way. Serendipitous conversations won’t be happening in university hallways either this year. So, how can students stand out and make an impression on their professors this year?

As students begin learning online en masse, new standards for digital privacy and for class interactions will have to be set. (Image information below.)

While most university courses usually include some level of online activity, students with serious concerns could generally arrange for some kind of accommodation with their professors. Now, not only is everything going to take place online, lectures are likely to be recorded and stored in perpetuity (or at least until the end of the course). In addition to institutions capturing online classes and lectures, there is an increased likelihood of other students recording classes and—with them—other students. Whereas once upon a time if you said something foolish in a lecture hall it would end up forgotten within a week or two, now students are in a position of having every comment made in class saved for eternity. We are now in a position where your student identity is an entirely digital identity, and all of the security and practical concerns that might plague you on Twitter and TikTok will now be following you to class. From people recording you without your knowledge or consent to the permanence of online material, your digital identity is expanding immensely.

Between trying to make an impression without being able to meet anyone in-person and newfound security concerns, how is a student to cope?

Some of the standard advice does still apply.

Email your professors, attend their virtual office hours (whatever form they make take)
Speak up in class (whatever form that may take)
Participation in class discussion boards is always a good idea, whether or not a class takes place in-person or online

Though there is, of course, new advice to take into consideration.

Another good idea is to upload a photo of yourself to your virtual class platform. While having a live video feed may be uncomfortable for you or even impossible (depending on the speed of your internet), uploading a nice photo of your face will allow your professor and classmates to recognize you more easily without resorting to live video.

As for security concerns, this is where it gets a bit more complicated. The sad truth of the matter is that once something is online, it’s forever. You can’t always erase all embarrassing things online – your early Facebook years is one example of this fact. This might impact you in a number of ways. Using a photo of yourself instead of a live video is a good way to protect your privacy and prevent others from seeing your living arrangements, while still remaining recognizable and visible. Muting your microphone when you aren’t speaking is another way to protect yourself, preventing others from accidentally overhearing other conversations happening around you. Finally, consider using a VPN if your school offers you access to one. VPNs are very difficult to hack, and can provide you with an extremely secure connection in case your online learning platform is targeted by hackers.

As courses become completely digital, as a student you will have to think carefully about how to present yourself digitally. From camera angles to new approaches to security and collaboration with colleagues, you will be creating a digital version of yourself to participate in class.

While this article is just a brief introduction to some of the issues you may be facing and a few solutions, it definitely isn’t exhaustive. What else are you concerned about, or looking forward to, when it comes to being a digital student? Will your digital student identity be similar or different to your digital identity on social media platforms? How so? Let us know in the comments.

Written by Samantha Summers

Edited by Defne Inceoglu

Featured image Student, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 licensing

Read More | No Comments

Why I’m Using More Social Media than Ever

By samantha summers on July 7, 2020 | Tagged with COVID-19, Social media, social presence

Now that quarantine has been going on for over three months, we at Digital Tattoo thought it would be a good idea to look back over the past few weeks and take stock of how quarantine has impacted our digital identities. For me, this has meant increasing my use of social media almost exponentially. Not only that, this increase in social media use has been completely intentional.

Let’s start with the reasons most people are trying to cut down on social media time.

It’s an endless log of terrible news from around the world.
Social media is known to decrease overall happiness.
It is a breeding ground for fights and conflict.
It is often filled with misinformation.
Social media-based interactions are often surface-level, and it does not encourage the deep and meaningful connection that can help people manage feelings of stress and anxiety.
It is emotionally overwhelming to deal with all of the above, all of the time.

These are all very valid concerns, and the reason that a lot of people are trying to cut down on their social media time. Between the endless reports of anti-Black violence coming out from all over the United States and Canada, and the continued stresses of life during a global pandemic, there are many good reasons to try to curate and limit our social media intake in order to minimize all of the above concerns.

And yet, I find myself on Twitter endlessly scrolling, and getting into lengthy discussions with strangers on Facebook comment threads. Why?

Social media keeps me connected to people, and I really need those interactions. (Source.)

In short, it’s keeping me from drowning in boredom. In my pre-quarantine life I regularly engaged in riveting conversations with friends and colleagues. These conversations kept my brain moving. While video chats are a great fill-in for catching up with friends, these hangouts lack the spontaneity of bumping into someone in the hallway and having an unexpected and wonderful discussion. Being on social media allows me to enjoy spontaneous interactions, from learning about something new to sharing a joke with people (often strangers) in a comments section. I didn’t realize how much I valued spontaneous conversations before quarantine made them basically impossible, and I’m very grateful that they’re such an integral component of the social media experience.

It’s true that social media is always filled with terrible news these days, but I have always used social media as a news source, and bad news isn’t particularly new. While keeping up with the news can of course be heavy, it’s personally important to me to keep myself updated as often as possible. It’s a quirk of mine that I am less anxious hearing terrible news than not hearing it and wondering what terrible news is developing, and it means that spending lots of time on social media and getting frequent updates is helpful for me.

Social media can absolutely spread misinformation, but there are lots of resources out there to help you determine what is and isn’t trustworthy news. Check out this one on fact checking from Digital Tattoo! As for the conflict which can breed online, I try to pick my battles and just forget about the other ones. For example, I will absolutely debate with a stranger about something I care about, like reproductive rights. A debate about how my favourite TV show should have ended? I’m less likely to take that on.

I know it’s unusual that I am enjoying and benefiting from increased social media use these days. Lots of people are on social media more than they have been in the past, but aren’t enjoying it at all. What’s most important is that we understand ourselves, our limits, and what we get out of social media use. Being aware of your usage and your goals online can help you determine what level of engagement is best for you.

Perhaps you’re like me, and increased social media usage is helping you during these wild times. Maybe you’re like Ese, who is also has an article up about the importance of digital detoxing. She has decreased her social media engagement these days for her own well-being.

Let us know where on the scale you fall, and what strategies you use for limiting your social media intake (if need be). We’re interested to know!

Written by Samantha Summers

Edited by Eseohe Ojo

Feature Image Social Media Icons With Paint Splash Effect, by Lewis Ogden

Read More | No Comments

Digital Detox: How I’m dealing with the information overload

By Eseohe Ojo on July 7, 2020 | Tagged with covid, COVID-19, digital detox, information overload

One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and having to move to remote work and study is dealing with information overload and increased screen time. On my iPhone alone, I have gone from an average of 3 hours daily in June 2019 to cutting that in half by the end of 2019/beginning of 2020 and in the last few months, it’s spiked back up and doubled, ranging anywhere from 6 to 8 hours daily.

Social media and electronic communications have become even more important than ever before as they are our link to the outside world. However, I (like many others) am also experiencing screen and social media fatigue in various ways because technology and the Internet has become the answer to almost all personal and professional needs.

For the month of June, I said goodbye to all non-work social media – Facebook, my personal Twitter account, Instagram, Snapchat, and even TikTok (no fun dance videos 😢). Dealing with information overload for me usually requires some drastic measures like auditing my digital activities, deactivating and/or deleting several social media accounts and slowly reworking them back where they fit but there are many ways to deal with this.

Here are a few tips to help you manage the information overload. The approach you take is entirely up to you.

One thing I’ve picked up in all of this is the idea of sustainable self care—measures that are easy to implement and continue. This includes making sure you get enough sleep, talk to friends and family, schedule break times from non-essential (yet another Covid-buzzword) screen and technology time, or turn off as many notifications as possible. You can also:

Try a data detox challenge https://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/2018/04/23/the-data-detox-challenge/
Declutter Your Data https://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/2019/01/17/declutter-your-data-2019/
Use email labels, filters or email client software such as Outlook or Thunderbird to categorize your inbox into folders. Even revisiting Gmail’s Settings and using the Categories (Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums) can help make your email look less full and chaotic
Unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe. COVID reminded us of every service we had ever subscribed to as we received tons of what we are doing about COVID emails as well as frequent update emails. This is a great time to unsubscribe from as many of these as you no longer need. Related to this, review the apps and software on your devices and delete the non-essential.
Use technology to help with distractions and being able to focus. For many, the goal is to detox, be able to focus and stay healthy – not necessarily to get away from technology. There are many services that help with this – meditation apps like Calm or those focused on productivity such as Focusmate. Use those best suited to your needs while remaining careful about permissions granted to these apps or services.
Pick up more non-digital activities – crafting, drawing, reading, baking. This has been a great period for finding new hobbies or falling back into old ones
Alongside scheduling your tasks and breaks for the day, schedule how much time you watch or read the news or even how much you discuss the pandemic and related events
Be thoughtful about how you seek information online. There has been a lot of misinformation online so it is very important to visit trusted websites for information, be careful with random searches and verify information you come across
Be a part of the solution – verify and fact check information before sharing. Also, stop to think about what you’re sharing and if it’s essential or contributing to someone else’s information overload.

When faced with information overload, it has been really helpful for me to ask what are my needs and priorities? This helps filter through what is essential to keep and what needs to go.

Samantha’s written about using social media more now. You can read that here. We’d love to know what side you fall on and what strategies you use for dealing with social media. Let us know in the comments!

Related DT Resources

Written By: Eseohe Ojo

Edited By: Samantha Summers

Featured Image: Social Networks from ijmaki Used Under Pixabay License

Read More | No Comments

What is Software Fatigue?