August 2009 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom
by Radhika Gajjala 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Christian I agree. Its not online vs offline - but difference in pedagogy and engagement. The student has to be active in online discussion to be "present" - likewise the instructor has to be engaged on various levels in order to keep up with "teaching" in an online setting. It also takes much more time and effort on the part of the instructor before - in preparing - and during class ... r On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 4:57 PM, Christian Nelson <xianknelson(a)mac.com>wrote: > Oops, forgot that pesky new policy and responded only to Gerry. > Anyway, here are my concerns about this news. > First, I wonder if the researchers controlled for student ability and > motivation. Online students tend to be the more bright and motivated ones. > Second, I wonder if they controlled for amount of student-teacher > interaction. I suspect that most online teachers are adjuncts and > non-tenured folks from whom much student interaction time can be demanded, > and student-instructor interaction seems unavoidable in online courses, much > as online instructors might seek to limit it. (At least, that was true in > the one I took. My professor vigorously tried to avoid or at least lessen > interaction, but had a hard time doing so.) On the other hand, most > off-line teaching is low in student-teacher interaction. Research indicates > that even most discussion section teaching is lecturing--the same kind of > thing you'd find in a large lecture hall . . . or on a TV delivering > distance ed. courses for that matter. In light of that, it is little wonder > that students might do better online, given that interaction is unavoidable > in online courses. > If amount of interaction is the cause of the difference found here, it is > then misleading to pose this as a difference between online and > "face-to-face" teaching, and unfortunate that it does so, because I'm sure > that truly discussion-focused face-to-face teaching trumps online teaching, > at least as its found in the majority of places today. And there's no > guarantee that online teaching will maintain its level of student-instructor > interaction--soon we'll have teaching via video-conferencing and with it a > likely increased presence of lecturing and its equivalents online. > --Christian Nelson > > > > -- Radhika Gajjala Professor of Communication Studies and Cultural Studies Interim Women's Studies Director 2009-2010 233 Shatzel Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403 http://personal.bgsu.edu/~radhik

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Utopia/Distopia discussions
by Denise N. Rall 30 Aug '09

30 Aug '09

The new issue of Colloquy: text theory critique is now online and freely available for your perusal. Issue 17 contains articles on "Demanding the Impossible; Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction," as well as some creative writing and book reviews. Please feel free to access it at http://www.colloquy.monash.edu.au Denise N. Rall, PhD. Special Projects, Faculty of Arts & Science, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA Mobile +(61) (0)438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/drall/ Join the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Internet Research 10.0, October 7-11, Milwaukee, WI, USA __________________________________________________________________________________ Find local businesses and services in your area with Yahoo!7 Local. Get started: http://local.yahoo.com.au

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Domain Names, Web 2 and Tata Sons
by Mridula 29 Aug '09

29 Aug '09

Tata Sons (owners of the Jaguar and the Land Rover Brands among many others) are objecting to the use of word Tata in a community based web portal (owned by a company makemytrip.com) named Oktatabyebye.con and a newpaper<http://infotech.indiatimes.com/News/Tata-snatches-domain-from-MakeMyTrip/ar…>report says- *In May, Tata Sons had moved the Geneva-based WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center demanding transfer of disputed domain name.* The web portal has made the following appeal-<http://www.oktatabyebye.com/support-us/Appeal.aspx> *Very recently, TATA Sons filed a case against us (oktatabyebye.com) in infringement of their TATA name (as our domain name contains the 'TATA' word!). Tata Sons has contended that it is confusingly similar to its 'Tata' brand and the travel portal runner has no rights or legitimate interests to use it. The company had argued that the site infringed the right of its registered trademark/service mark 'Tata'. And in a decision by a sole panelist, ownership of the domain OkTataByeBye.com has been awarded to TATA by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Arbitration and Mediation Centre. Needless to say we’re alarmed by such claims on our domain name. The Oktatabyebye.com domain name is importantly a representative of the colloquial “OK Ta Ta Bye Bye”, which represents travel, journey and related activities, referring to the generic word “Ta Ta”. We all regularly use the terms for travel & goodbyes in our country and across many others. * ** Regards, Mridula > -- > http://www.gonomad.com/traveltalesfromindia/ >

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looking for a collaborative real-time editor
by Kimberly Silk 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hello, I have 2 researchers who would like to work on the same document simultaneously, with the ability to see each other's edits in real time. Any suggestions out there? Thanks, Kim -- Kimberly Silk, MLS Data Librarian, Martin Prosperity Institute, University of Toronto President-elect, Faculty of Information Alumni Association, University of Toronto M: (416) 721-8955 kimberly.silk(a)gmail.com

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International Children's Digital Library Launches Apple iPhone Application
by McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Colleagues/ A Friday AM/PM Discovery ! /Gerry Children's Book Collection from Apple's iPhone Educational Content for the iPhone November 19 2008 / College Park, MD For immediate release COLLEGE PARK, MD - November 19, 2008 - The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) (http://www.childrenslibrary.org) which is the world's largest collection of children's literature available freely on the Internet, today announced the release of the ICDL for iPhone application. Available free at Apple's iPhone App Store, the ICDL for iPhone application allows users to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the iPhone and iPod Touch user interface to read a selection of books from the ICDL's master collection, which today represents thousands of children's stories from 60 countries. The children's books can be read in their native language and in English. The ICDL for iPhone application features ICDL's ClearText technology which was designed to make it possible for users to read story text clearly in the context of highly illustrated beautiful children's picture books -- even on the small mobile screen. The ICDL for iPhone application will be updated regularly as new books are made available. Additional features of the ICDL iPhone application include: Offline reading -- access the International Children's Library to read on and offline Online reading -- linkage to the full ICDL collection which has over 3,000 titles in 48 languages representing 60 countries Simple navigation -- view books with engaging animations quickly One or two page view -- takes advantage of iPhone's "auto-rotation" feature ClearText -- allowing exceptionally clear text in the context of highly illustrated pages The ICDL iPhone application syncs via Wi-Fi or the user's cellular network and downloads the latest featured children's books directly to the device, giving children and parents access to content offline and in airplane mode. Compatible with any iPhone or iPod Touch with operating system version 2.0, the application was designed by International Children's Digital Library Foundation with support from Zumobi and the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab. [snip] Links To Full News Release And iPhone App Available At [ http://tinyurl.com/lc8njo ] !!! Thanks To Dana Rotman For The HeadsUp !!! eNjoy! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed / Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace

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new reviews in cyberculture studies
by Dr. Rasha Abdulla 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

new reviews in cyberculture studies each month, RCCS Reviews http://rccs.usfca.edu/booklist.asp pumps out free, full-length reviews of books about contemporary media and culture. this month, RCCS Reviews features 9 reviews of 4 books with 3 author responses! books of the month for august 2009 are: Playing the Past: History and Nostalgia in Video Games Editors: Zach Whalen, Laurie N. Taylor Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press, 2008 Review 1: Carly A. Kocurek Author Response: Zach Whalen The Internet in the Arab World: Egypt and Beyond Author: Rasha A. Abdulla Publisher: Peter Lang, 2007 Review 1: Antonio A. Garcia Review 2: Laurence Raw Review 3: Natasha Ritsma Author Response: Rasha A. Abdulla The Pleasures of Computer Gaming: Essays on Cultural History, Theory and Aesthetics Editors: Melanie Swalwell, Jason Wilson Publisher: McFarland, 2008 Review 1: Dave Jones Review 2: Alex Meredith Author Response: Melanie Swalwell Zero Comments: Blogging and Critical Internet Culture Author: Geert Lovink Publisher: Routledge, 2008 Review 1: Liz Ellcessor Review 2: Tricia M. Farwell Review 3: Madeline Yonker enjoy. there's a little bit more where that came from. david silver http://silverinsf.blogspot.com/ -- Rasha A. Abdulla, Ph.D. Assistant Professor and Graduate Director Journalism and Mass Communication The American University in Cairo www.rashaabdulla.com

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'Place & Mobiles¹ cfp (due 1 Nov 2009)
by Gerard Goggin 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

'Place & Mobiles' collection edited by Rowan Wilken (U. of Melbourne) & Gerard Goggin (U. of New South Wales) One of the striking aspects of globalisation is that it has led to a revival of interest in, and a renewed concern for, the concept of place. This renewal of interest in place - which parallels a recent 'geographical turn' in media studies - has direct implications for how we engage with mobile phones. A key reason for this reinvigoration of the idea of place, and why it is considered an important notion, is that it represents a 'weaving together' of social and human-environment interactions. It is this intertwining of social and human-environment interactions that also makes place crucial to how embodied, technologically mediated mobile social practice is understood. Yet, despite its apparent significance, and despite the fact that it enjoys wide currency and use, place nevertheless remains an elusive concept, one that is difficult to encapsulate and define with any accuracy. In addition to a lack of definitional precision, there is a wide range of approaches to conceiving of place, all of which serve to further highlight its complexity. What is more, place is increasingly recognized as important to our understandings of mobile phone use, and the notion of place is widely referenced in the mobile phone literature, yet there is little sustained critical engagement with this concept, or adequate examination of how mobile phone use might impact on our existing conceptions and experiences of place and vice versa. Such an undertaking is all the more important given the extension of mobile phones into media, with vibrant users cultures emerging associated with social networking, camera and video phones and sharing, mobile Internet, Bluetooth, and applications (iPhones, smartphones), and technologies explicitly tied to determining location and responding to place (GPS, location-based technologies). This book collection seeks to respond to these issues by establishing a close, critical dialogue between place theorists and mobiles researchers. Accordingly, we invite proposals for papers that will examine the interrelationship between place and mobile media use. Papers could address (but need not be limited to) any aspect of the following questions: * Is place as conventionally understood - that is, as a 'proper, stable and distinct location' (Morse) - adequate for understanding contemporary mobile media use? * Are conceptual revisions to our understanding of place necessary in order to capture the particular experiences of mobile media use? * Do the shaping of mobile technology, and the particularities of mobile use, lead to altered understandings of place and place experience? * What do different philosophical and disciplinary traditions bring to our understandings of place, especially in relation to mobile media use? * What theoretical and methodological questions and considerations should be driving place-based mobiles research? * What relevance (if any) does Augé's notion of 'non-place' have for the way we encounter urban space via mobiles? * How are new location-based, mapping and sensing technologies reconfiguring place and how we experience and relate to it? For instance, how does location-aware mobile gaming draw upon or change our experiences of space and place? How do GPS, mapping, geoweb, and annotation technologies and cultural practices produce new notions and instantiations of place? * How do the relationships between place and mobiles vary across different cultures, societies, and contexts? What are the emerging international, cosmopolitan perspectives on place and mobiles? How do these help us make sense of the cross-cultural placement of mobiles? Please send proposals of up to 500 words to both editors -- Rowan Wilken (rwilken(a)unimelb.edu.au) and Gerard Goggin (g.goggin(a)unsw.edu.au) -- by 1 November 2009. About the editors: Rowan Wilken (rwilken(a)unimelb.edu.au) is a lecturer in the Cinema & Cultural Studies program at the University of Melbourne. He is author of a number of essays on place and mobile media, and is presently working on a book entitled 'Teletechnologies, Place and Community'. Gerard Goggin (g.goggin(a)unsw.edu.au) is Professor of Digital Communication and deputy-director of the Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney. His books include 'Global Mobile Media' (forthcoming, 2010) and 'Cell Phone Culture' (2006). \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Gerard Goggin Professor of Digital Communication & Deputy Director Journalism and Media Research Centre University of New South Wales Sydney 2052 NSW Australia http://jmrc.arts.unsw.edu.au/ e: g.goggin(a)unsw.edu.au w: +61 2 9385 8532 f: +61 2 9385 8528 m: +61 428 66 88 24

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Re: [Air-L] The Surprise > First Children's Picture Book For A Mobile
by Katy E. Pearce 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hi all. There are actually dozens (if not more) picture book-esque iPhone apps. My son's fave: I Like Elephants http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=315167200& mt=8 and a close second: Wheels on the Bus http://www.cultofmac.com/wheels-on-the-bus-iphone-app-puts-kids-in-drivers-s eat-frees-parents/8654 But here are some reviews of other ones: http://mashable.com/2009/07/05/iphone-apps-kids/ http://www.parentdish.com/2008/11/14/parentwish-best-parenting-iphone-apps/ http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2008/11/baby-monitor-an/ Let's just wait for the Palm Pre kid apps. Thanks, Katy Pearce UC Santa Barbara

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The Surprise > First Children's Picture Book For A Mobile Phone
by McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Colleagues/ >>> Away We Go..... Vroooooom <<< Winged Chariot Press has published The Surprise by Sylvia van Ommen, which tells the story of a sheep which makes a gift for a friend, on the iPhone. [The Book > A story with only two words - the title. A book so delightful and quirky we are sure you'll fall in love with it.] Parents can download The Surprise for 59p ($ .99) direct to their iPhones, and children can follow the illustrations on the touch-sensitive screens. [snip] Martin Salisbury, a children's literature expert and illustrator , said: "Overcoming my innate fear of the screen and lifelong attachment to the turning of the printed page, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease and elegance with which it was translated into this digital form. Rebecca Green, project manager for the National Literacy Trust, said: "New technologies, such as this picture book App for mobile phones, offer interesting and unusual mediums for busy parents to share books together with their children. "Sharing books together is a vital way to foster a love of reading in your child from an early age; and this, in turn, is one of the best ways to ensure their future success when they arrive at primary school and beyond Links TO Source / Preview From/For iPhone And Link To iPhone App Store / Sample Pages From Printed Book / Support Document (Includes B/W Illustrations) Available From [ http://tinyurl.com/lde69c ] BTW: Thanks To Graham Titley For The HeadsUp !!! EnJOY! BTW-2: Are Calculus Textbooks for SmartPhones Not Far Behind ... ? [:-)] /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck(a)iastate.edu There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed / Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace

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Early Bird Registration Extended by 1 week!
by Elizabeth A Buchanan 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Dear Colleagues, Please note that the early bird fees for AoIR registration have been extended by one week! Please take advantage of these lower rates so you have more money for beer and brats in Milwaukee. Best, Elizabeth

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