Week's 4 and 5 swapped to fit with guest speaker's schedule.
No Live Session Monday
This week's lecture will be a guest talk from Joe Noteboom on Friday. There will be no Monday session.
Guest Speaker
Joe Noteboom, who researches the use of student data by Universities, will give this guest lecture.
Title: The University of Data: Exploring students’ perspectives on datafication in higher education
Abstract: The University of Edinburgh, like other universities and large organisations, produces a massive amount of digital data as a result of its day-to-day operations. Much of this data relates to students, who are subject to the constant collection of trace data as they move around the campus, access wifi services and use university websites. Recent years have seen repeated attempts to make use of this data to generate insights and solve problems for university stakeholders. ‘Learning analytics’ and ‘smart campus’ initiatives are characteristic of what scholars have termed the ‘datafication’ of higher education, raising transformative possibilities as well as important ethical and political questions. My PhD research has sought to explore the implications of datafication from the perspective of students, to understand what students think of data-driven practices and what datafication means for the relationship between students and the university. In this lecture, I will present an overview of findings from this research, discuss the relationship between university data practices and student agency, and propose alternative models for university data governance that might enhance student agency.
Recommended paper: here
Slides: here
Reading
Required - Data Justice
"What is data justice? The case for connecting digital rights and freedoms globally"
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053951717736335
This paper provides an introduction to some of the disparity different people experience in the gathering or use of their data. It also proposes a solution, which is less critical if you'd rather read one or more of the optional readings.
Optional - The Work Behind Data
"Justice for "Data Janitors""
https://www.publicbooks.org/justice-for-data-janitors/ or https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7312/marc19008-003/html
This chapter discusses the amount of hidden work done behind the scenes by people who get very little credit for enabling the power of Big Data.
If this is particularly interesting to you, check out the book "Ghost Work" by Mary L Gray and Siddharth Suri.
Optional - The Future of Data
"Data as Property"
https://phenomenalworld.org/analysis/data-as-property
A more challenging read talks about possible future directions for data ownership.
Optional - Data Ownership
"It’s time for a Bill of Data Rights"
https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/12/14/138615/its-time-for-a-bill-of-data-rights/
This essay argues that ownership is not only a poor way to solve problems with the use of people's data, but actually introduces new problems.