Jamie Coles

I'm Jamie, and this is my blog. HEA Fellow & part-time Media Lecturer doing an Action Research PhD in Social Media Storytelling In Higher Education, at The University of Bolton. I do freelance video production and social media work. Please feel free to contact me at: [email protected] Thanks.

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10 Terrifying two-sentence horror stories

part 2 - part 3 - part 4

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Creative Enterprise Day I did some storytelling workshops with groups of 60 Year 8s. We created an 'Offline Social Network' which you can see on the wall. The students created characters and made profiles for them. They then 'made friends' with other characters and wrote elaborate stories of how they met. It was hectic but good fun. I hope that they enjoyed it as much as I did.

[thelaurenproject]

GOOGLE HAS A DESERT STREET VIEW CAMEL

this is not a drill

via CNN

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Book Review: 'The Rum Diary'

I enjoy reading, as some of you may well know, and I frequently rave about books that I have read, yet this book has had something of an impact on my life; firstly, it has driven me to seek out more writings by the author; secondly, it has caused me to feel the need to write a review, which will follow.

This is a short and easy to read book, but one that's hard to put down.

The Rum Diary - Hunter S Thompson (1998)

'The Rum Diary' has its own backstory, a sort of ode to lost writings. It was written, it is thought, in 1959, when Thompson, himself, moved to San Juan to report for El Sportivo, which, much like the fictional San Juan Star in the book, folded not long after. The actual San Juan Star had turned down Thompson when he applied for a job.

The book remained unpublished - and possibly unread - for nearly 40 years, until 1998, when it was uncovered by none other than Johnny Depp - an actor who subsequently forced Bruce Robinson out of retirement to direct the film adaptation which Depp starred in.

The story is a first person narrative documenting the life of journalist, Paul Kemp. It begins the day he sets foot on the plane for San Juan and ends with his departure, back to New York. 

It is a brilliantly written, rum addled, journalistic narrative, with much detail on women, alcohol and breakfast. Kemp's internal dialogue draws you in, and frequently I heard Kemp's pensive voice as my own. He's a brooding character, lacking direction; tired uncertainty but scared to be pinned down.

The other characters in the story are equally tired, drunk and socially unfit; some are greed mongers, others merely passing through and trying to pay for their rum along the way.

As the story progresses, the characters become more sick of the stifling indifference of their lives and path we are following becomes darker and the veneer of society, the vision of the American Dream, crumbles away.

Overall, an engaging and astute read about societal breakdown under tensions such as sex, money and alcohol, written it a colourful and journalistic style with enough Caribbean sun to get you through the winter.

[jamiecoles-blog]

More Physical 'Fun'

Last weekend, along with my brother, I did Men's Health Survival of the Fittest which involved a 12km run, going over and under various obstacles; nets, ropes, walls etc. and crossing open water which was, to say the least, very cold.

For anyone who's remotely interested in doing anything like this, I thoroughly recommend it. I can't wait to sign up for my next one!

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Smashing Goals

This year, I wanted to complete a half marathon and raise some money for charity.

Last weekend, I completed the Robin Hood Half Marathon in 1 hour and 50 minutes, and - along with my friend, Paul - raised over £450 for Nottinghamshire Hospice.

I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the run and I'm keen to do another.

On my birthday, my brother and I are doing Men's Health Survival of The Fittest and I can't wait.

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Not long until the Robin Hood Half Marathon. I'm running for Nottinghamshire Hospice and you can still donate at www.justgiving.com/paulandjamie

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Why this year's freshers are just part of a failed experiment

Aditya Chakrabortty: Higher education is pumping out people with degrees into a jobs market that doesn't need them. It's blighting lives and undermining the university system itself

I have several questions on this:

Is it 'unethical' or immoral for universities to over courses in career paths that are 'saturated'?

What are students doing to make themselves stand out?

Should universities be championing entrepreneurship in order to generate more opportunities?

What is the intended outcome of a university degree for a student? A guaranteed job? A higher wage? Or is there something more to the process of getting a degree?

[virgin-of-babylon]

Marcel Duchamp with his ready-made, Bicycle Wheel. x

Ready-mades are selected utilitarian objects which are raised to the status of works of art simply by dint of being defined as such by the artist and being put on display in an exhibition. Duchamp was not concerned with the Dadaist rejection and destruction of the existing concepts of art, but with removing boundaries and taking this process to its logical conclusion. His ready-mades stand above all for a radical redefinition of what can constitute a work of art, how we can perceive it, and how we deal with it.

Dadaism, Dietmar Elger

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This week, I've been playing with diagram and flow chart tools. I've several that work on my Nexus tablet and plug into Google Docs. Lucid Chart is probably my favourite, it's a click and drag tool and integrates perfectly with Google Drive (Docs) so that I can drop them straight into my thesis work. It also looks pleasing yet professional.

Diagrams are a great way of clearly expressing complex systems. It has augmented my thesis greatly and brings in a nice visual element.

The mind map and diagram tools on my Nexus are great for sketching out quick ideas and linking them together. I also use it as a task manager.

The above diagram shows how Action Research can integrate with Patchwork Media Assessment content. It's exactly how I've been integrating social and digital media into my MPhil research.

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#NowPlaying #ListeningTo Explosions in The Sky. Great #music to write to #AmWriting

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#pedagogy

[guardian]

There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny - they should be setting the example of transparency.

Edward Snowden Q&A just wrapping up - thanks to those who took part (via guardian)

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Due to the nature of my work, I spend a lot of time at a desk. I worry about this for a number of reasons: I worry about being sedentary and the risks that puts upon my health - something I compensate for with exercise; I worry about my posture- sitting down all day cannot be good for my back; I worry about my eyes always looking at a screen; and I worry about my view of the world- both the literal world- locally and globally - and the figurative 'world view'. As far as sensory stimulation; my access to information in my Umwelt is concerned, there is an overload. I have books, television and music. I am connected to the internet, a glut of information and news about the world beyond my desk. I am connected socially on Facebook and Twitter where I can have genuine interactions and connections with real people (for the most part). Yet, behind a desk, I am isolated. Or at least, I have a risk of being. Some days (like today) I have one computer rendering a video, a book on my lap and I'm also connecting with the world on my Phone or Tablet which is also playing music. Is this multitasking? Is this human multimodality or is this an overload? I'm focussing on several things at once, consciously and subconsciously. A number of biological processes, too, are occurring. The coffee I'm drinking is giving me a caffeine rush of alertedness. The food which I ate is being converted to energy. My body renders me with life as my computer renders yet another video. I need a hack on my situation, I need to live as a human, as well as doing my job, pursuing hobbies and maintaining a social life (on and offline). This is a conflict of interests upon my body and my time. This blog doesn't really have a conclusion. In fact, it doesn't really have a purpose (except, maybe, for a bit of venting and thought straightening). But it is something which I am aware of and thinking about and will pursue in subsequent blogs.

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Following on from my last post, here was my A Level Media Studies Practical Submission from 2007.

We had to create an advertising campaign for a new product. I chose a sports drink aimed at active students which could fuel their sports and their studies. 

Somewhere are some print designs which accompany this video.

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A Level Media: 6 Years of Stagnation

How quickly is media changing?

Is the way media is taught keeping up?

Recently, I was talking to friend who is about to start his A2 media course. He was telling me about the syllabus and asking for any advice as I have a media degree and have taught media workshops at both Sixth Form and Undergraduate levels.

I looked up the OCR (the exam board his school is with) GCE AS/A Level Media Specification. What is truly unbelievable is that it has barely changed since I did my Media A Level in 2007. 

Naturally, I was rather shocked!

The course involves creating a promotion and advertising package for either a music CD, DVD, Children's TV show, Documentary, Local Newspaper, Video game or TV channel. Alternatively, they could create a short film. The choice can either be made by the school or college or by the student.

Firstly, I would like to point out that at least two of the briefs are already outdated; The music CD market is on decline and so album covers are changing to suit the iTunes market; Local Newspapers, too, are on the way out and students should be thinking about how newspapers are now published for tablets and mobile devices.

Secondly, these are mostly advertising and marketing briefs. Thinking about how Public Relations is conducted 'now-a-days', there is no mention of 'social' or 'digital' media in these practical briefs. In fact, other than "designing the homepage of a website" there is a serious lack of online and digital technologies and absolutely no mention of Mobile technologies anywhere in the whole specification.

Other than the option for the students to use a blog as a way to present their research and reflections on the practical project, there is nothing about Web 2.0 technologies and, I think, the onus on static web media is unbelievably outdated.

There are a variety of reasons that could be blamed for this lack of development in the way media is taught including financial restraints, outdated knowledge from the teachers and examiners or anxieties about new technologies.

This being said, a majority of students at A Level age are engaging with social and digital media on a daily basis and carry mobile phones that they use to shoot HD video, share and access information and communicate with massive communities and so it would seem to me that any anxieties would lie with the OCR examiners or the teachers.

In the same vein, students are accessing media in new, frequent and sometimes invasive ways. This is a huge cause for concern and surely demands a need for digital media literacy to be taught in school. The fact that OCR aren't encouraging their teaching staff and students to engage with new media is not only an outdated approach, but negligent as they aren't offering their students relevant education.

There is a serious need for media literacy from a young age and if students can't receive that when they've chosen to do a study of the media, there is a serious problem.

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One of the most challenging things, I have found, as I progress deeper into the Academic Research rabbit hole, is talking about my research clearly and concisely.

I hypothesised that this could be the case for a number of academics, especially those who are working on particularly complex ideas, or research involving an awful lot of jargon.

What I attempted was a way for researchers to communicate clearly, visually, and as human beings in a very short space of time: 60 Seconds.

What I did, was provided my filmmaking expertises, put them in between a camera and a green screen and encouraged them to talk about their PhD in 60 seconds. 

Above, is the video that I made of my PhD in 60 Seconds. I had to omit so many of the things that I have achieved over the last 16 months, working toward my MPhil, but, hopefully, caught the essence of what I've done, how I did it, and the benefits of the research.