In another one of my classes, we spent the week discussing whether or not technology is bringing us closer together. One classmate shared his experience and it seemed all too familiar to the rest of us, including me:M* said that he is very grateful for email, cell phones, and text messaging, because it allows him to communicate with his friends at any time and from virtually anywhere in the world. Like most of, he uses the three methods to make plans to meet with his friends. There is one friend in particular with whom he meets regularly. They establish a time and place to meet via email or phone. If one of them is going to be late, they use the phone or texting to notify the other. Finally, they can enjoy their time together in piece, thanks to technology.But wait! M* also pointed out that he and his friend spend some of their time together answering phone calls or responding to text messages; essentially, they are having conversations with other people who are not physically present. Sometimes, while meeting with one friend, M* has used text messaging to coordinate a meeting with another friend. Basically, many of his meetings (and many of mine, too) are spent thinking about other people. Has technology brought us together, or has technology provided a way for us to not be alone when contacting others?Oddly enough, the latest issue of Wired Magazine (February 2008) has an essay on this subject, too, with interesting points and study results that may surprise you. I thought this article would fit in nicely with our class theme of Community.If you’ll excuse me, I am going to text Wired to see if they will pay me for these endorsements…
community
Community – Is Technology Helping or Hurting Us Socially?
In another one of my classes, we spent the week discussing whether or not technology is bringing us closer together. One classmate shared his experience and it seemed all too familiar to the rest of us, including me:M* said that he is very grateful for email, cell phones, and text messaging, because it allows him to communicate with his friends at any time and from virtually anywhere in the world. Like most of, he uses the three methods to make plans to meet with his friends. There is one friend in particular with whom he meets regularly. They establish a time and place to meet via email or phone. If one of them is going to be late, they use the phone or texting to notify the other. Finally, they can enjoy their time together in piece, thanks to technology.But wait! M* also pointed out that he and his friend spend some of their time together answering phone calls or responding to text messages; essentially, they are having conversations with other people who are not physically present. Sometimes, while meeting with one friend, M* has used text messaging to coordinate a meeting with another friend. Basically, many of his meetings (and many of mine, too) are spent thinking about other people. Has technology brought us together, or has technology provided a way for us to not be alone when contacting others?Oddly enough, the latest issue of Wired Magazine (February 2008) has an essay on this subject, too, with interesting points and study results that may surprise you. I thought this article would fit in nicely with our class theme of Community.If you’ll excuse me, I am going to text Wired to see if they will pay me for these endorsements…
Readings for 02.07.08
There are two readings for next week.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice : learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.
and
Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York, NY. Touchstone.
These are the introductions to these two books, so not too heavy weight. Please remember that responses are due by 5 pm on Monday 02.04.08 and you need to read and vote by Tuesday 02.05.08 at 5 pm.
Facilitating Discussion
At least one week this semester your group will be asked to take the top vote getters on the Pligg site and facilitate an in-class discussion. To the degree it is possible, you should focus the in-class discussion around the themes of the course (community, identity, and design). How you run the discussion is up to you. You can be as creative as you like, and draw upon technologies (either ones we have discussed in class or not) to help you. You will need to check the Pligg site after 5 pm on Tuesday and then organize your discussion in time for Thursday’s class. If you need things (materials, etc.) from Cole and I make sure to request them ASAP. We will do what we can to accommodate you. You should anticipate approximately one to one and a half hours of discussion, so plan accordingly.
Reading Responses
One of your weekly assignments will be to post responses / reflections on the readings that you are doing. These responses should focus around the three themes of the course: Community, Identity, and Design. Not all readings will address all themes, so it is not a question of commenting on each theme with each reading. The idea is for you to start to build up a strong theoretical foundation for the way technology should be used in teaching and learning and the implications of various technologies. You will also be asked to respond to the responses / reflections of your classmates. Here are the deadlines and details:
- Monday (by 5 pm) – Post your reflection to your blog, it will automagically be posted to our course Pligg site.
- Tuesday (by 5 pm) – Read reflections of your classmates, pick three (3) that you think are interesting / provocative / need more discussion, vote for these three reflections and write a response about why this reflection earned your vote.
Each week one group will be responsible for harvesting the top vote getters and facilitating a discussion about them in Thursday’s class.
Evolution of Communication
There are lots of things interesting about this — the fact that it is a great paper is one of them, but I have to say that the use of the CommentPress plugin from the Future of the Book organization is what caught my attention. This thing lets you provide very granular comments associated with a paper. I can think of dozens of ways we could explore community publishing using a model like this. Any thoughts?
Secret Websites, Coded Messages: The New World of Immersive Games
What do games mean when they play out in the open with hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of real people working together? This article takes about alternate reality games and how they are used in marketing. Fascinating use of web 2.0 technologies.
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_args
if:book: CommentPress 1.0
A very interesting way to use a blog platform as a book author. This is new stuff, but feels like the right thing to think about as an alternative activity in a blog.
http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2007/07/commentpress_10.html
WNYC’s Radio Lab Podcast: Contact
This is a brilliant little podcast out of WNYC. This episode is about technology and its impact on community and social interactions. Seemed appropriate for our class.
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=152249110&s=143441&i=21047153