Studio Session 3 (4/2)

This week's studio builds on last week's by applying the Delphi Method. The Delphi Method, recall, was discussed by Eric Raymond in the context of Open Source, and refers to a method developed in the 1950s by RAND Corporation to get groups of smart people to both think independently and converge on a common solution. In our case, we are going to apply a simple version of this method to develop our ideas, relating so social media and social movements, a step further.

The process has three basic steps: Review, Rethink, and Redraw. The details of each are listed below. Spend about twenty to thirty minutes on each step. Note also the final part of the last step -- pictures or it didn't happen.

1. Step 1 -- Review
   1. First look at the other groups' diagrams. You can see them on my Flickr album for today's studio.
   2. As a group, discuss each diagram and determine if you think it is helpful to your own project. Each diagram may be helpful in two ways, substantively and structurally. Substantivel they may reference concepts and topics that are relevant to your own work. Structurally, they may organize the material in ways that may different from your group, but nonetheless useful.
   3. Feel free to walk over to another table to ask a question about their diagram.
   4. Designate a scribe keep track of your findings.
2. Step 2 -- Rethink
   1. Now consider how you might improve your own diagram in light of the findings from Step 1. Think about how your diagram may be structured differently or augmented substantively with content from other diagrams.
   2. You may also make suggestions about your diagram based on other factors, such as increased knowledge you have acquired about your topic over the week.
   3. Again, keep track of your ideas proposed alternative designs.
3. Step 3 -- Redraw
   1. Finally, recreate your diagram on your group's whiteboard based on the above steps.
   2. Spend time making sure it represents your group's ideas accurately.
   3. At the end of class, take a picture of your diagram and have the person who took the picture email it to the professor ([email protected])