Posts Tagged: sils

Thoughts — 1 Comment
25
Nov 08

Guest Lectures in Technologies of Friendship

Wayne Sutton, one of my esteemed guest lecturers in last night’s (penultimate) Technologies of Friendship class, streamed and recorded the lectures via Ustream.tv.  If you’d like to check them out, here’s a link – and I’ve embedded the video.

Streaming live video by Ustream

Thank you again to my speakers – Brian, Wayne, Dave and Abe. We had great conversation and I’m pretty sure we could have kept going for a few more hours (which is saying something for being in class on 8:30PM on a Monday). To find out more about the speakers and their projects, check out the following:

Thanks again to my speakers for a great set of talks.

Teaching — No Comments
14
Nov 08

Invitation: Guest Lectures on Work, Organization and Action

On November 24, we’ll be discussing new forms of work, organization and action in INLS490.  We’re lucky have four experts coming in to discuss their first-hand experience with the topic.

Our guests for November 24 will be:

All of these guests are leveraging new media and technologies in their work.  Brian’s work with Carrboro Coworking is addressing a very real new-economy need – creating collaborative spaces for creative work.  Dave works virtually and physically with many different teams, and Wayne is the glue of the Triangle-area technology scene.  Abe is venturing out with his first startup, addressing work patterns and productivity.  Clearly, this is going to be a dynamite class.

If you’re in the area and would like to attend, please do – the class is in Manning Hall 307, Mon Nov. 24 from 6-8:30.  One thing I ask – if you’re not affiliated with UNC, please drop me a line and let me know you’re coming.  I’ll provide cookies and snacks.

Teaching — No Comments
8
Oct 08

Spring 2009 – Social Networks

Even though it feels like the Fall semester has just started, registration for Spring 2009 is underway.  I’ll be teaching Online Social Networks, with the class meeting on Monday evenings from 6-8:30.  If you’re interested in taking the class, you can view the syllabi from previous semesters on my teaching page.

Social networks is a class that gets updated each semester, but the existing syllabi should give you an idea of the form and expectations.  One notable change is the class will no longer require purchased texts (yay!), as all readings will be electronic.  I also hope to integrate my forthcoming work Research and Analysis of Online Social Networks into the course.

Research / Teaching — No Comments
3
Oct 08

Dr. Vance Ricks to visit Technologies of Friendship

On Monday, October 6, We are pleased to welcome the first guest lecturer of the semester to Technologies of Friendship.  Vance Ricks, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Guilford College, will deliver the talk When Philosophers Met Friendship, which “gives an overview of some contemporary philosophical discussions of friendship and examines the contributions philosophers can make to our understanding of technologically mediated relationships.”

Dr. Ricks received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford University, where he explored friendship and shared activity.  We’re very excited to have him lend his perspective to the class.  We’ve explored mediated relationships from a number of perspectives, and to have an expert in the field visit is truly a treat.

Because of this unique opportunity, I’d like to open the class up to visitors during Dr. Ricks’ talk and discussion.  If you’d like to come by, Technologies of Friendship meets Monday, October 6 at 6PM in Manning Hall 307.  Directions to Manning Hall are available on the SILS website.

Hacks / Noticed — No Comments
29
Sep 08

Reminder – Productivity Seminar this Friday

Just a reminder – this Friday we’ll be hosting a productivity seminar in 208 Manning Hall, from 10-11:30AM (Before CRADLE).  All students, faculty and friends are invited.

To find out more information or to propose a 10-minute talk, visit the website:  http://academicproductivity.pbwiki.com/ (password: SILS)

Sessions include:

  • 10:10 – 10:20 – Inbox Zero – Erin White
  • 10:20 – 10:30 – Your Computer’s Desktop is Not a To-Do List – Mike Brown
  • 10:30 – 10:40 – Literature alerts and push-button citations – Fred Stutzman

FULL INFO:

What: Open seminar (unconference style) on academic productivity–methods, tools, tips and tricks

Where: 208 Manning Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill

When: Friday 10/3 from 10 – 11:30am

Are you struggling with information overload, focus and concentration, or the quiet chaos of an unstructured, unscheduled “job” (despite all that ILS training)?  We feel your pain.  Join us to share your ideas
and learn from others.  We’ll discuss productivity methods and systems, tech tips, the latest tools… and just vent.

Noticed / Research / Teaching — 1 Comment
22
Sep 08

Academic Productivity workshop – October 3

Abe Crystal and I are teaming up to bring an academic productivity workshop to UNC.  From 10-11:30 on the morning of Friday, October 3, we’re going to open the floor for ten-minute talks on productivity – particularly the tools and methods we use to get our work done.  I’m probably going to talk about literature searches and alerts, a favorite time-saver of mine.

While this event is SILS-centric, it is open to members of the community.  You can find out more information about the workshop over at the wiki – http://academicproductivity.pbwiki.com/.

Teaching / Thoughts — No Comments
16
Sep 08

Technologies of Friendship – Weeks 1 and 2

Last evening was the third meeting of my Technologies of Friendship class.  While I’ve been meaning to blog about the class each week, this post will have to serve as a catch-up.  We’re actually not that far behind – this was actually only the second teaching class due to Labor Day and the fact our class meets on Monday.

Our first teaching class was designed as an overview of the material.  We read three articles exploring the social impacts of the Internet, the issues surrounding computer-mediated-communication, and the management of relationships with mediating technology.  To accompany the lecture (slides here) we completed two exercises.  The first was a name generator exercise that invited students to reflect on the various types of connections they keep through technology.  The key component of the generator was comparing categories – i.e. why did some friends end up in multiple bins, exploring those stories.  The next exercise was a reflection on social capital and medium, students were asked to think about the types of support they derive from differing mediated relationships.

The second teaching class (lecture slides) began an exploration of historical perspectives.  Our readings explored the history of two communication technologies – the telegraph and the telephone.  We explored the invention, marketing, uses and social framing of the tools, as well as the tools’ evolution of use.  Accepted uses, cultural impacts and the role of gender in technology use were also explored.  We then compared this to the development and marketing of the Internet.  We will continue this theme next week, exploring some of the early tools of Internet communication.

If you wish to follow along, you can follow items we’re bookmarking, prompt readings for the class, and of course check the website on Monday nights for lecture notes and slides.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →