Assignment: Self-reflection monologue

Evaluation criteria

• Does it adequately explore the personal experience in a self-reflective manner?
• Does it address the key issue(s) and impact(s) they observed through the self-observation?
• Does it draw on the ideas discussed in class or in the reading?

STEP 1: Making a pledge

1. Have students discuss in a small group about how they use mobile phones to interact with people through various social media apps, play games, and do other activities.
2. Based on the above conversation, ask them to think about an experiment in which they do things in a drastically different fashion for 10 days.It can be as simple as 'post a photo of everything I eat on Instagram every day,' 'never use WhatsApp after 5 p.m.,' or 'get the news from Facebook feed only and never look at any other news sources.'Have them submit their 'pledge' that includes a) what they will be doing differently every day; 2) what they would like to observe by doing so.Note: There is no assessment but some students might pledge something that is too easy or practically impossible to achieve, so some guidance is needed.

STEP 2: Video monologue

1. After 10 days, students need to video-record themselves talking about their experience and observation. For an older age group (e.g. university students), this assignment can be tied to theories and concepts. For younger ones, self-reflection is perhaps good enough.
2. The video monologue should be between 60 to 90 seconds.

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