Place (Year two topic - Autumn 2008)
In this project we're going to create something new about a place. your group will need to start by considering a place on which to focus - this should be a public space which is generally accessible to anyone, i.e. it can't be in a place which the majority couldn't visit. I've been a bit wooly around this part because I'm not looking to generate a discussion about who can or can't visit certain places - let's try to agree what constitutes a place which the majority can visit. And it'll be a place which is within easy travel distance from college. Again we might need to agree what we consider this distance to be because it might vary within the groups, if your group includes people who work at specific times or who have childcare responsibilities these distances might be constrained.
Your group is then going to design and create a web resource which focuses on a particular element or characteristic of that place or something within that place or something which forms part of that place. This is about things rather than (living) people so bear that in mind. We're not setting out to create a history site but the objective is to tell readers something they might not otherwise have known about a place, perhaps by highlighting a specific part of the place which would otherwise not be noticed or known. Maybe by explaining why something is where it is, perhaps by looking at why something is designed as it is. Perhaps we'll look at a number of places which have a connection and we'll investigate that connection. Might we consider the difference that a specific place or building made? Perhaps you can draw together some resources, in a way which they are not currently linked, and add something new in that way. What we will aim to do is tell a story or reinvent or reinterpret something.
I'm just throwing in some ideas of things we might consider - look at my cheap and cheerful gallery page for some more thoughts..
We'll discuss your thoughts in the group sessions but you might also consider some of the practical aspects of this - is it a place you can all visit? Can you take photos, video, sound recordings there? Is the scope of your topic manageable?
While you are creating something new it's certainly going to relate to and, possibly, rely on materials which are already online - your web resource will show how it is positioned with other online resources by linking to them and explaining how those links relate to your work.