The web is full of algorithms, often underpinning the social media services, search engines and retailers that we visit online. Ted Striphas (2014) defines ‘algorithmic culture’ as, ‘the ways in which computers, running complex mathematical formulae, engage in what’s often considered to be the traditional work of culture: the sorting, classifying, and hierarchizing of people, places, objects, and ideas.’ For Knox meanwhile, it is a concept which also ‘signals a shift away from exclusively social and human concerns, and the attempt to account for the non-human agency of technology in educational practices’ (2015). What we are particularly interested in during this block of the EDC course is the ways that these practices shape, and are shaped by, educational activities.
Algorithms are meant to give us the exact information we are looking for, make our social interactions better, suggest music or videos we might like, or correct our spelling, but we are not really supposed to see them or how they operate. As Edwards and Carmichael (2012) argue, the digital resources upon which a considerable amount of educational activity depends, are shaped by calculations and code beyond the sight and understanding of the student or teacher. Our approach in this block will be to examine the ways in which large quantities of digital data, and the algorithms that operate across it, are informing contemporary culture within and beyond educational contexts.
References
Edwards, R., and Carmichael, P. (2012). Secret codes: the hidden curriculum of semantic web technologies. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 33(4), 575-590. doi: 10.1080/01596306.2012.692963
Knox, J. 2015. Algorithmic Cultures. Excerpt from Critical Education and Digital Cultures In M. A. Peters (ed.). Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_124-1
Algorithmic culture activities
Across this block you should aim to undertake the following activities
- Do the core reading around Algorithmic culture and familiarise yourself with at least one of the readings introducing speculative research. Please do this at the start of the block as the different ideas and approaches in the readings will help you to complete all the other activities in this part of the course.
- Attend one of the tutorials where we will talk about algorithmic culture in education and the algorithmic play activity (see timings below).
- Collect and add artefacts to your assigned gallery space within our Algorithmic culture exhibition in Miro.
- Complete the algorithmic play activity and add it to your gallery space. Please aim to do this by the end of Week 9 in order to allow time for others to see and comment on your work.
- Visit the gallery spaces of your fellow students to view and comment on their developing work, including their reflections on the algorithmic play activity.
- In the final days of the block produce a catalogue entry where you consider how algorithmic culture has affected the creation and content of your gallery during the EDC course.
Tutorial
During Week 9 we will get together to discuss how education is affected by algorithmic culture. We have scheduled two sessions (UK time) so that you have a better chance of being able to take part.
- 24 November 2021 at 12:00
- 24 November 2021 at 18:00
E-mail michael.s.gallagher@ed.ac.uk to confirm which session you will attend. The venue will be confirmed closer to the time.