The Ultimate Challenge - Week 2!

Alas, we are in Week 2 of THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE!

This week, we have a new set of challenges going on. Do as many or as few as you like. You don't have to do Challenge 1 on Day 1 -- it's entirely up to you how (or if) you approach the challenges. 

Here's a list of challenges for the week. Full details below the fold.

1. Digital detox
2. Exquisite corpse story [Easter egg]
3. Create your own story
4. License yourself 
5. Hashtag Ethnography 
6. Collaborative concept map [Team challenge]
7. Blog makeover

CHALLENGE 1: Digital Detox

We have gone past the halfway mark. And we have been online a lot.

It’s intense, isn’t it? Well, now I’d like to challenge you to try the opposite. Go on a digital detox adventure. I don't just mean for this class. I mean in life. Turn off the Internet. Don't check email if you don't have to. Just ... live. 

The challenge:

• Choose a 24-hour period this week when you can do a digital detox. I know that we can’t all shut down our electronics entirely, but see how low you can go. Choose a day when your lifestyle will best allow it.
• Go dark in the online world. No posting. No reading. No looking. Just don’t do it. I know you probably need your phone, you probably need to send a few text messages, you may have to do email and be online for work, but cut off personal email (to the extent possible), social media, news and entertainment browsing.
• Pick up a pen and paper. Read a book. Take a walk. Work in the garden. Paint. Visit with friends. Sleep a little longer. Fill your mind and your time with other activities.
• When you come back to online life, blog about the experience. Did you experience FOMO? Did you find inner peace? Does the online world look different as you return to it?

The reward:

• A refreshed mind
• A new perspective on online life
• A badge? Sure, why not.

CHALLENGE 2: Exquisite Corpse Story Challenge

• This is a hidden one and it's collaborative. It's hidden in a Week 6 tool. Go find it! Don't forget to add your name when you contribute.

CHALLENGE 3: Create Your Own Story

• Full details are in Stories for School. Information on Week 6 Tools page.

CHALLENGE 4: License Yourself

• Pick a creative or intellectual work that belongs to YOU that is hosted online or that you will host online for this challenge. It could be photos, ID work, an essay ... it could even be your blog (yup! that's intellectual work). Choose a Creative Commons License for your work, get it applied to your work (how you do this will depend on the medium, the platform where it was shared, etc.) and follow up with a blog post.

CHALLENGE 5: Hashtag Ethnography

• Pick a platform, pick a hashtag or two. Track them for a few days. Write a blog post about how people use these hashtags. 

CHALLENGE 6: Collaborative Concept Map [Team Challenge]

• Grab a classmate (or 3). Set yourselves up in a collaborative concept mapping tool (check out the Week 6 tool page or find your own). Choose a topic related to the class (e.g., social media concepts, social media tools, ways to use a specific tool in an educational setting ... you get the point?) and develop a collaborative concept map. Feature your finished map in a blog post and write about the collaborative concept mapping process and how you might use it with students.

CHALLENGE 7: Blog Makeover

You set it up in Week 1, but do you really like it? Would you like to add some fancier bits? If so, this challenge is for you. 

1. Grab a BEFORE screenshot of your blog as it is today.
2. Give it a makeover! Do at least 3 things to change the look and feel. Maybe a new banner? Some new widgets? Totally up to you.
3. Grab an AFTER screenshot.
4. Create a before-and-after post, incorporating the screenshots and describing your makeover design journey.

NOTE: If you do them all, you'll end up with multiple blog posts. That's just fine, or if you prefer you can do a badge roundup post for the week and chronicle all of the challenges you chose.

And get ready for next week: The Instagram Days of the Week Challenge!