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Moodle conference
by Derek McMillan 27 Jul '06

27 Jul '06

In the Moodle In the past “Virtual Learning Environments” were regarded with suspicion by teachers as a sci fi concept in which teachers are replaced with computers. After attending Moodlemoot ’06 at the Open University, I can honestly say that Moodle, the open source course management system, is actually whatever the teacher wants it to be. The course seminars included teachers from diverse disciplines from Science to English to Music and of course ICT who all used Moodle to teach in the way which suited them. Although the system is based on a social constructivist model of education, teachers frequently start out using it to replicate traditional classroom activities like essay-writing, feedback and redrafting or quizzes/tests with the slight difference that these are self-marking and pupils get instant feedback. Teachers only then go on to some of the more unusual features of Moodle like Wikis, blogs, asynchronous discussion groups and podcasting. And because it is Open Source free software, teachers can contribute to the future design of Moodle without some acquisitive corporations we could mention seeking to block them under the pretext of “business secrets”. Moodle is now used by over 100000 registered users, including the Open University. It is free to download and use and many schools and local authorities who have poured hundreds of thousands of pounds into the coffers of Microsoft are keen to find free software. If you want to find out more there is a website which talks about the conference and demonstrates the program at the same time. It is called http://moodlemoot.org/ and all of the conference is available as audio or video files. I recommend the audio file because the video quality will depend on the quality of your computer. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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India Rejects One Laptop Per Child
by Wojciech Gryc 27 Jul '06

27 Jul '06

Hi, Keeping in mind the long discussion that was posted a few weeks ago with regards to the merits (or lack thereof) of the One Laptop Per Child project, I thought this may interest subscribers of this list: HRD rubbishes MIT's laptop scheme for kids http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1698603,curpg-1.cms So India has decided against the One Laptop Per Child Project (for now). Two arguments that stood out for me: 1. Poor rural children often have health problems that may be exacerbated by laptop use, especially those affecting eyesight and children's backs. 2. No developed country has universalized laptops for children, so why should India? I must say that the first argument is a perfect example of how people in developed countries often lack the foresight and local knowledge required to adequately decide whether a technology truly is "appropriate". Forget the merits to education or the potential for employability skills -- those are secondary to the potentially negative health effects of the laptops. Thanks, Wojciech Gryc -- Five Minutes to Midnight: Youth on human rights and current affairs http://www.fiveminutestomidnight.org/

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CMC, network of networks
by Barry Wellman 26 Jul '06

26 Jul '06

I believe that Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff were first/early users of "Computer Mediated Communication" (CMC) in the first edition of Hiltz, S. Roxanne, and Murray Turoff. 1978. The Network Nation. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Yup, that's before some list members were born. (But I don't have the book handy.) THeir Network Nation title was consciously adopted from Paul Craven and my "The Network City" paper (1973). Which also introduced "network of networks" well before the Internet. And which may have begat "THe Network Society" (Castells, 1996), and certainly begat Tracy Kennedy and my "The Network Household" (2007; ICS) and my "networked individualism" (2000; IJURR) As far as CMC/ICT, I've been increasingly using ICT because it encompasses information as well as communication. (Of course, info has to be communicated to be useful.) My sense is that the CSCW crowd still uses CMC a fair amount. Talk about anachronisms -- CSCW sure is a misleading one. But yet there is an annual conference. Everything old is new again. Barry _____________________________________________________________________ Barry Wellman Professor of Sociology NetLab Director wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 You're invited to visit & contribute to the new version of "Updating Cybertimes: It's Time to Bring Our Culture into Cyberspace" http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _____________________________________________________________________

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Ph.D. studentship on the World of Uncertainty
by O'Riordan, Kate 26 Jul '06

26 Jul '06

Apologies for x post - may be of interest to some. all the best Kate --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ph.D. studentship on the World of Uncertainty The World of Uncertainty will be an educational computer game. In it decision-makers will learn how to manage scientific uncertainty. No longer will they be forced to make decisions based on simple certain narratives that fit into a TV debate on global warming. In a computer game, players can explore alternatives as they wander through a world of uncertainty. They will practice until they are as good as a bookmaker at estimating uncertainty. The EPSRC is funding QUB, UCL and Brunel University to develop and evaluate this game. The School of Management and Economics in Queen's University Belfast is now offering a postgraduate research studentship to work as part of the project team and complete a Ph.D evaluating the educational effects of the game. Full details of the post, studentship and requirements are online at http://is.mgt.qub.ac.uk/research/uncertainty/phdadvert.html . Or contact Dr. Brian Webb (e-mail: b.webb(a)qub.ac.uk or tel: +44 (0)28 90 27 3592) for further particulars. (Note that decision-makers, or those who try to teach them about uncertainty, are welcome to contact me <d.r.newman(a)qub.ac.uk> to discuss possibilities of evaluating the game when it was ready, or talk about possible scenarios for a computer game in their field. Potential students should contact Brian Webb for further details or send their applications to Sonia O'Hare as mentioned on the web page, since, as I'm on the interview panel, I may not correspond with individual applicants, following Northern Ireland fair employment procedures.) -- Dr. David R. Newman, Queen's University Belfast, School of Management and Economics, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland (UK) Tel. +44 28 9097 3643 FAX: +44 28 9097 5156 mailto:d.r.newman@qub.ac.uk http://www.qub.ac.uk/mgt/

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Crossmedia conference Amsterdam
by A.C.Vandergraaf＠lse.ac.uk 26 Jul '06

26 Jul '06

Apologies for cross-posting --- PICNIC 06 Cross Media Week PICNIC 06 Cross Media Week is Amsterdams new annual event focused on creativity in cross media content and technology, specifically in the fields of entertainment and communication. PICNIC 06 is being organised under the direction of the Cross Media Week Foundation. The Foundation is mandated to bring together top creative professionals from around the world in Amsterdam to create new partnerships and opportunities, as well as to establish international networks. PICNIC 06 will take place from September 26 30 at the Westergasfabriek, a cultural facility located in a former gas factory. For more information, visit www.crossmediaweek.org Speakers Speakers will include top creatives and entrepreneurs such as Michael B. Johnson, Moving Picture Group Lead at Pixar Animation Studios, John de Mol, Co-Founder of Endemol and Founder of Talpa, Craig Newmark, Founder of craigslist, Philip Rosedale, Founder of Linden Lab/Second Life, Jamie Kantrowitz, Senior VP Marketing Europe at MySpace, and many more. Program The PICNIC 06 program will showcase content delivered via TV, the Internet, mobile phones, gaming, virtual reality and music services. Delegates will discuss major trends related to media, art and science, see innovative content, formats and channels, and develop new opportunities. Sessions will include networking picnics, interactive plenary discussions, content showcases, demos and a wide variety of workshops. To view the complete program, please visit www.crossmediaweek.org/program Government Partners City of Amsterdam and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs Corporate Partners MTV Networks, KPN, UPC, Liberty Global, chellomedia, KPMG, KLM, World Directories, Heineken, LB Icon, Sanoma Uitgevers and ilse media Service Partners Amsterdam Partners, Artmiks, KesselsKramer, Media Republic, nomadic | nomadic, Unit Creative Management Amsterdam, Viadesk, the Waag Society, Web Power, the Westergasfabriek and WhizPR Event Partners Association of Dutch Designers (BNO), Berkeley Cybersalon, European Archive, European Journalism Centre, Immovator Cross Media Network, Mediagilde, Mediamatic, Syntens, Virtual Institute for Research into Media Culture Amsterdam (VIRMA), Virtueel Platform, the Utrecht School of the Arts, and the Waag Society To sign up for regular event updates, visit www.crossmediaweek.org/requestinfo

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terminologies and handles
by Bram Dov Abramson 25 Jul '06

25 Jul '06

Jillana Enteen <jillana(a)jillana.net>: > This is not to discourage specific considerations--which should use > terms as specifically as possible. At this point, studying "internet > use" may be too broad--www or IRC or mobile-to-mobile SMS, located in > a particular moment and among specific users speaks more to the point. Indeed, "Internet use" would have to exclude mobile-to-mobile SMS, for most current implementations of "Internet" and "mobile", and so it might not be broad enough. Similarly, the conflation of computers and networks and Internet would probably mean leaving things like non-networked PDAs, and digital books, and things of that ilk behind. Perhaps on that broader stage we are talking about, erm, "media", and especially digital media. I had remembered CMC, on the other hand, as especially about what used to be (still is?) called interpersonal communication. I confess I usually slip into "social software" for that range of the online world, although it doesn't conventionally catch, say, SMS either. ("Conventionally" because, if we thought too much about software on mobile phones, it'd surely lead us into wishing more mobile-service-provider-offered phones were designed to let us load our own software, and that would surely be astray.) Interpersonal media? Person-to-person communication -- a hijacking of P2P? Our terminological future is full of possibilities... Betty Hanson <betty.hanson(a)uconn.edu>: > I am searching for a label for ethnic communities that are created by > either the Internet or satellite television. That -- ethnogenesis as singly or primarily the result of Internet and satellite television participation -- sounds intriguing, and I'd love to hear more. But Stuart Hall talked about "new ethnicities", and a lot of interesting work has been done under that rubric. It doesn't foreground communications medium as you seek, but perhaps it is worth considering, or incorporating. cheers Bram

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Changes to AoIR membership system
by Matthew Allen 25 Jul '06

25 Jul '06

Dear list members I write to inform you that, as from July 1, AoIR will be handling membership in a slightly different way than previously. These changes will assist us in more efficiently managing memberships, more effectively retaining and recruiting members and thus materially aid the financial security of your Association. The changes have been thoroughly debated by the Executive over several months and have been agreed as the best way forward for the Association. I would especially thank Monica Murero, our Treasurer, for all her hard work in getting this new approach together, as well as Alex Halavais, Systems Administrator, for his technical systems work. Both have been assisted by Secretary Irene Berkowitz. There are two key features to the new approach. 1) Membership will now be based on an annual renewal date. In other words, a year's full membership will commence on 1 October each year, and end on 30 September each year. A member's 'annual renewal date' will, therefore, be 30 September every year, regardless of when they join. Every year in October members will be able to renew their membership for another year. New members who join from 1 July 2006 to 31 May 2007 will have an expiry date of 30 September 2007; 1 June 2007 to 31 May 2008 will expire at 30 September 2008 and so on. 2) Membership will now also be included with every AoIR conference registration. If a conference registrant is not a member, they will become one up until 30 September of the following year. If a conference registrant is already a member, they will receive an extension on their current expiry date. People who are not attending the conference will, of course, continue to be able to join or renew their membership in the normal manner through direct payment to AoIR of the relevant membership fee. In the next 2-3 months, leading up to the conference, we will be reviewing and developing our membership benefits. We will also be finalising the automated system by which payments for membership will generate immediate access to the AoIR website for members. I look forward to providing further information about the benefits of AoIR membership (and the benefits that members provide to the Association) at a later date. Yours Matthew Allen President of AoIR Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen(a)curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://smi.curtin.edu…> +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.aoir.org/>

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Re: [Air-l] CMC, ICT, digital communication
by Betty Hanson 25 Jul '06

25 Jul '06

I am searching for a label for ethnic communities that are created by either the Internet or satellite television. Does anybody have any idea what encompassing term I could use here. Virtual ethnic communities would apply only to the Internet. Betty Hanson At 12:00 PM 7/24/2006, Mark Bell wrote: >Folks, > >As far as I have been told, CMC is an outdated term. One professor told me >it was archaic and vague - asking if we should also refer to "pen mediated >communication". There certainly is a lot of research into how we communicate >in the digital, multi-channel, immersive environment, so we should have a >unifying term. > >It sounds like we need a new term but I agree digital communication and ICT >are far too broad. The work I am doing with Wikipedia is definitely >stigmergic in nature (or at least I hope to prove it is) but that is very >different from IM or email. > >M > > >On 7/24/06, Martin Garthwaite <marting(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Jillana, > > > > I would agree, if you look at a time line, I remember reading about CMC > > over > > 15 years ago, and I'll go out on a limb here and say that quite a lot of > > the > > research on CMC was done pre-mass adoption of Internet. So services like > > CompuServe, CIX and AOL that provided walled gardens that were not > > originally part of the Internet. CMC also referred to mailing lists like > > this one, e-mail, usenet groups, all these systems were pre-html > > technologies. > > > > ICT appears to me to be a catch all term, and I find digital communication > > a > > little ambiguous. > > > > Martin. > > m.k.garthwaite(a)lse.ac.uk > > MSc candidate media@lse > > > > On 7/24/06, Jillana Enteen <jillana(a)jillana.net> wrote: > > > > > > Hello all, > > > > > > I'm trying to sort out the differences in etymology and meaning > > > between CMC, ICT and digital communication. I'm having a hard time-- > > > other than recognizing the academic/educational basis for ICT and its > > > roots in IT, it seems to me that these terms are used interchangeably. > > > > > > Any thoughts? > > > > > > best wishes, jillana > > > Jillana Enteen > > > jillana(a)jillana.net > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > The air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > > > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > > > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: > > > http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > > > > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > > > http://www.aoir.org/ > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Martin Garthwaite > > > > +447957 764819 > > +4420 7871 9656 (Skypein - call me and wherever in the world I am I'll > > either talk to you or get a voice mail) > > Skype id mgarthwaite1330 > > MS IM marting(a)gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > > The air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list > > is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org > > Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: > > http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > > > > Join the Association of Internet Researchers: > > http://www.aoir.org/ > > > > > >-- >Mark Bell >MA student in Ball State University's Digital Storytelling program >http://www.storygeek.com >"The future is here...it's just not widely distributed." - Tim O'Reilly >_______________________________________________ >The air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org mailing list >is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org >Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: >http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org > >Join the Association of Internet Researchers: >http://www.aoir.org/

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Re: [Air-l] CMC, ICT, digital communication
by Christopher J. Richter 25 Jul '06

25 Jul '06

Umbrella terms can be useful in certain contexts, but virtually by definition they are also vague, ambiguous and abstract--the more so the bigger the umbrella. Ambiguity is not necessarily a bad thing (it is one basis for the effectiveness of poetry), and in any case is inevitable in communication. We can minimize it by defining how we each use a specific term in our specific writings. But as far as trying to get all the rest of us to agree on the specific correct term, or the precise meaning of such a term . . . . it may make for a good discussion process (or a flame war), but I think is unlikely to yield a product. Christopher J. Richter Assoc. Prof. & Chair, Communication Studies Hollins University P.O. Box 9652 Roanoke VA, 24020 Tel. 5403626358 Fax 5403626286 e-mail crichter(a)hollins.edu web www.hollins.edu -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Ledbetter, Andrew Michael Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 12:25 PM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] CMC, ICT, digital communication I've struggled with the term "CMC" in my own writing. While I wouldn't agree that the term is "archaic" (as many scholars still use the term frequently), it does "feel" dated to me. Of course, that may just be my own subjective feeling. But, in my own writing, I have tried to refer to specific media as much as possible (e-mail, IM, chat, Facebook, etc.) rather than using the term "CMC"... which might be a healthy move on the whole, since we know that there are significant qualitative and quantitative differences in communication across those media, despite their common online nature. Yet, simultaneously, people sometimes seem to think about, and socially construct, online communication channels as a unified whole. Thus, it seems reasonable that we have an umbrella term to refer to such media. Recently, I have tended to use "online communication"---it is less verbose than "computer-mediated communication", seems less intrusive than an acronym, and seems broad enough to include a lot of different technologies (e.g., both Internet and non-Internet interaction, etc.). In short, it seems to get the job done all right, though I'm sure the term has shortcomings too. But of course, I'm sure appropriate terminology varies from discipline to discipline. Andrew M. Ledbetter Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant Department of Communication Studies University of Kansas ________________________________ From: air-l-bounces(a)listserv.aoir.org on behalf of Mark Bell Sent: Mon 7/24/2006 11:00 AM To: air-l(a)listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] CMC, ICT, digital communication Folks, As far as I have been told, CMC is an outdated term. One professor told me it was archaic and vague - asking if we should also refer to "pen mediated communication". There certainly is a lot of research into how we communicate in the digital, multi-channel, immersive environment, so we should have a unifying term. It sounds like we need a new term but I agree digital communication and ICT are far too broad. The work I am doing with Wikipedia is definitely stigmergic in nature (or at least I hope to prove it is) but that is very different from IM or email. M

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MySpace one more time
by J. J. 25 Jul '06

25 Jul '06

By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 24, 3:49 AM ET The Marine Corps MySpace profile featuring streaming video of barking drill sergeants, fresh recruits enduring boot camp and Marines storming beaches underscores the growing importance of the Internet to advertisers as a medium for reaching America's youth. "That's definitely the new wave," said Gunnery Sgt. Brian Lancioni at a Hawaii recruiting event. "Everything's technical with these kids, and the Internet is a great way to show what the Marine Corps has to offer." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060724/ap_on_hi_te/marines_myspace Jarek

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