Zombie caterpillars: 'Information Technology and Society' Second Life class transcript on Harvard's virtual island, Origins of Information Technology

'Information Technology and Society' Second Life class transcript, on Harvard's virtual island



[20:08] Aphilo Aarde: And you, Mel, in Belgium?

[20:08] Melchizedek Blauvelt: indeed

[20:08] Aphilo Aarde: And Jonathan?

[20:09] Aphilo Aarde: Which city, Mel?

[20:09] Ju Roussel: yay Jonathan switched from Berry's event to here!

[20:09] Aphilo Aarde: And Jonathan, what city are you in?

[20:09] Melchizedek Blauvelt: A small town between Ghent and Bruges

[20:09] Aphilo Aarde: Great!

[20:09] Aphilo Aarde: OK

[20:09] Aphilo Aarde: I'm sitting in Berkeley, California, and live nearby.

[20:10] Melchizedek Blauvelt: Might know the song "Marieke" by Jacques Brel

[20:10] Melchizedek Blauvelt: She was from here

[20:10] Aphilo Aarde: :)

[20:10] JonathanE Cortes: I Im in UK :-)

[20:10] Aphilo Aarde: I familiar with it ...

[20:10] Aphilo Aarde: Where again, Jonathan?

[20:10] Aphilo Aarde: Near London?

[20:11] Aphilo Aarde: I suspect Sanhya will be here, soon.

[20:11] Aphilo Aarde: Let's start, however ....

[20:11] Melchizedek Blauvelt: Nah San had a RL art gallery opening to attend to unfortunately

[20:11] Ju Roussel: Jonathan is in Manchester I believe

[20:11] Aphilo Aarde: Hello AB ... long time ...

[20:11] Aphilo Aarde: OK ....

[20:11] ArseBringer Simon: Yes hello been busy

[20:11] Aphilo Aarde: Nice to see you!

[20:12] JonathanE Cortes: Manchester UK soz

[20:12] Aphilo Aarde: So here's the course wiki http://socinfotech.pbworks.com

[20:12] Aphilo Aarde: which you also have in the notecard I sent you.

[20:13] Aphilo Aarde: And I'm teaching this course for the open, free, wiki World University & School

[20:13] Aphilo Aarde: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/World_University

[20:13] Aphilo Aarde: which has much material on it.

[20:14] Aphilo Aarde: For general academic courses, MIT Open Course Ware, and Berkeley's http://webcasts.berkeley.edu are two of the best sources

[20:14] Aphilo Aarde: And the open wiki World Univ & Sch builds on these for its approach

[20:14] Aphilo Aarde: youtbue.com/edu aggregates much academic video - too - a remarkable growing site.

[20:15] Aphilo Aarde: So about Information Technology and Society

[20:15] Aphilo Aarde: We've covered, mostly, history and actors

[20:16] Aphilo Aarde: But I'd like to go further with these

[20:16] Aphilo Aarde: to look at teh link between the Information Revolution and social transformations

[20:16] Aphilo Aarde: Information Technology is important because a new kind of society

[20:16] Aphilo Aarde: has already emerged.

[20:17] Aphilo Aarde: What was the social context in which the Information Technology Revolution

[20:17] Aphilo Aarde: helpted to transform the 1970s society into a new society?

[20:18] Aphilo Aarde: There were a number of processes that interacted in the Information Revolution formation.

[20:18] Aphilo Aarde: 1 Information Technologies themselves - so MICROELECTRONICS, COMPUTERS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

[20:19] XiuJuan Ying: hello all sorry i late

[20:19] Aphilo Aarde: 2 a kind of Socioeconomic Restructuring in the U.S. of capitalism -

[20:19] Melchizedek Blauvelt: hi XiuJuan

[20:19] Aphilo Aarde: a kind of periestroika

[20:19] XiuJuan Ying: hi Mel

[20:19] Aphilo Aarde: "exactly"

[20:19] Aphilo Aarde: Hi Xiu

[20:19] Aphilo Aarde: Welcome

[20:19] XiuJuan Ying: hi Aphilo apologies

[20:20] Aphilo Aarde: and 3 a change in the values

[20:20] Aphilo Aarde: as a result of social movements

[20:20] Aphilo Aarde: and alternative cultures

[20:20] Ju Roussel: (thinks to herself: Perestrojka is a brand, it is hardly comparable)

[20:20] Aphilo Aarde: - the mess of the 1960s -

[20:20] JonathanE Cortes: HI Xiu

[20:21] Aphilo Aarde: so 3 is Cultural Change

[20:21] XiuJuan Ying: hi Jona

[20:21] Aphilo Aarde: peresroika, here, was an opening in Russia, that was transforming

[20:22] Aphilo Aarde: in the 80s - and such an opening occurred in the 60s in the U.S.

[20:22] Aphilo Aarde: The result came from a combination of all 3 processes interacting

[20:23] Aphilo Aarde: And in today's talk, I hope to engage this more analytically, building on previous classes' descriptions

[20:23] Aphilo Aarde: So, it's as if technology doesn't come first - to shape society - in my analysis

[20:24] Aphilo Aarde: But also society doesn't create technology, either

[20:24] Aphilo Aarde: It's the interaction of these three processes that is what led to this revolution

[20:24] Aphilo Aarde: So these three processes came together at history in the 1970s

[20:25] Aphilo Aarde: by ACCIDENT

[20:25] Aphilo Aarde: These events were not predetermined

[20:25] Aphilo Aarde: instead, their interaction is what's significant

[20:25] Aphilo Aarde: Again, these 3 factors - mostly in the U.S. and the West -

[20:26] Aphilo Aarde: are 1. the Information Revolution, 2 a kind of economic restructuring, and 3. Culture Change - the 'mess of the 60s;

[20:27] Aphilo Aarde: and it's the interaction that leads to our society which is "The Network Society"

[20:27] Aphilo Aarde: This is the argument of this course, drawing on Prof. Manuel Castell's resarch and trilogy

[20:27] Aphilo Aarde: "The Rise of the Network Society"

[20:28] Aphilo Aarde: By these 3 processes interacting - bumping together -

[20:28] Aphilo Aarde: NEW FORMS OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION EMERGE

[20:28] Aphilo Aarde: a kind of socioeconomic restructuring of the capitalist system

[20:29] Aphilo Aarde: And this restructuring happened at the same time as 'perestroika' in the communist system

[20:30] Aphilo Aarde: As an aside, Castells' wife is Russian and they were following Russia as Castells was at UC Berkeley closely

[20:31] Aphilo Aarde: and while perestroika may not have been occurring throughout the Soviet system, to respond to a point you were making, I think that an argument can be made for a kind of perestroika in Russia, in conjunction with your experiences, Ju.

[20:31] Aphilo Aarde: So a combination of 1 the effects of information technology 2 socioeconomic restructuring and 3 culture change (60s)

[20:31] Aphilo Aarde: leads to the emergence of the NETWORK SOCIETY

[20:32] Aphilo Aarde: What is the process of socio-economic restructuring?

[20:32] Aphilo Aarde: It involves changing the rules of the game, without changing the game.

[20:32] Aphilo Aarde: To clarify:

[20:33] Aphilo Aarde: Social systems are organized around Means and Goals

[20:33] Aphilo Aarde: When a system goes into crisis, some people who want to change the goals

[20:33] Aphilo Aarde: are called revolutionaries, and what occurs are revolutions

[20:34] Aphilo Aarde: When a system goes into crisis and you don't want to change the goals, you change the means.

[20:34] Aphilo Aarde: And in the 1970s in the U.S. and the West (including Communist Russia)

[20:34] Aphilo Aarde: there was quite a substantial crisis

[20:35] Aphilo Aarde: likethe 1930s, which was bigger

[20:35] Aphilo Aarde: and it was characterized by huge inflation

[20:35] Aphilo Aarde: At one point, the system couldn't operate

[20:35] Aphilo Aarde: And inflation become too high,

[20:36] Aphilo Aarde: and companies couldn't calculate the cost of borrowing monies.

[20:36] Aphilo Aarde: Prices were high, too.

[20:36] Aphilo Aarde: In the 1970s, strategies and policies from companies and governments, to set goals in order.

[20:36] Aphilo Aarde: And this RESTRUCTURING worked - within the existing goals of the system.

[20:37] Aphilo Aarde: In a parallel situation,

[20:37] Aphilo Aarde: the socialist system, the "statist" system

[20:37] Aphilo Aarde: with the state is at the center - not markets - the state tried restructuring and decomposed.

[20:38] Aphilo Aarde: This happened in Russia, and China changed to socialism under capitalism.

[20:38] Aphilo Aarde: ... which were mechanisms that challenged the system

[20:39] Aphilo Aarde: So, the ECONOMY is organized in a system around money-making -

[20:39] Aphilo Aarde: by companies, private businesses, especially through investment

[20:40] Aphilo Aarde: No money-making, no hiring

[20:40] Aphilo Aarde: How do you make money out of business?

[20:40] Aphilo Aarde: There are 4 ways.

[20:40] Aphilo Aarde: 1 Increasing productivity

[20:41] Aphilo Aarde: - how much output you generate per unit of input

[20:41] Aphilo Aarde: If you make 10 pairs of shoes for sale, their vlaue should be more than the costs

[20:41] Aphilo Aarde: The output needs to be more valuable than the input

[20:42] Aphilo Aarde: For this process of increasing productivity, you need

[20:42] Aphilo Aarde: brains, technology and organization

[20:42] Aphilo Aarde: Without PROFIT, there is NO ECONOMY

[20:42] Aphilo Aarde: And PRODUCTIVITY is the bottom line

[20:42] Aphilo Aarde: The second thing you need is

[20:43] Aphilo Aarde: 2 More efficient management

[20:43] Aphilo Aarde: and the third key way to make money out of business

[20:43] Aphilo Aarde: is with

[20:44] Aphilo Aarde: 3 lower costs - i.e. the product's price stays the same, with less resources

[20:44] Aphilo Aarde: i.e. same aount of leather, chemicals and all in the shoe example, but for cheap costs - so, less to labor, - less than what one charges,

[20:45] Aphilo Aarde: and lower environmental costs, and all of this has to do with

[20:45] Aphilo Aarde: the POWER OF Management over Labor

[20:45] Aphilo Aarde: And the fourth way you make money out of BUSINESS is

[20:45] Aphilo Aarde: 4 by EXPANDING MARKETS

[20:46] Aphilo Aarde: with more consumers per unity of what one sells, so the product can be cheaper.

[20:46] Aphilo Aarde: ... because you have the advantage of volume.

[20:46] Aphilo Aarde: ... with which to make money.

[20:47] Aphilo Aarde: What happened in the mid 1970s, in the U.S. and the world, is that companies and governments proceeded in ways that, all together,

[20:47] Aphilo Aarde: increased productivity, increased efficiency of management, lowered costs, and expanded markets

[20:48] Aphilo Aarde: How did they do this?

[20:48] Aphilo Aarde: Through 4 mechanisms.

[20:48] Aphilo Aarde: 1 Much better information technology

[20:48] Aphilo Aarde: 2 FLEXIBILITY in magagement, work, distribution systems and in capital markets

[20:49] Aphilo Aarde: This flexibility was largely connected to introducing new forms based on NETWORKING rather than VERTICAL organization.

[20:50] Aphilo Aarde: And this occurred, particularly, through RAPID Feedback loops between management and workers.

[20:51] Aphilo Aarde: Lower costs occurred due to relative low costs of computing and microelectronics and telecommunications, themselves.

[20:52] Aphilo Aarde: Also, if one can extract more work from employees, more work for less money, more money for computers and less for workers, there's a change in the POWERE relationship between

[20:52] Aphilo Aarde: Management and Labor

[20:52] Aphilo Aarde: And this was reflected in the dramatic decline in UNIONIZATION

[20:53] Aphilo Aarde: In the late 1950s, about 34% of the work force in the U.S. was unionized

[20:53] Aphilo Aarde: IN the 2000, that number had declined to about 13.5%

[20:53] Aphilo Aarde: and in the private sector, it was at around 9%

[20:54] Aphilo Aarde: And in FINANCE and HIGH TECH, unionized labor was at less than 2%

[20:55] Aphilo Aarde: And What happened in the mid 1970s, in the U.S. and the world, is that companies and governments proceeded in ways that, all together,

[20:55] Aphilo Aarde: more influence by

[20:55] Aphilo Aarde: 4 the MEDIA via GLOBALIZATION

[20:56] Aphilo Aarde: Globalization includes myth, ideology, politics and an historical process over the last 80 years.

[20:56] Ju Roussel: !

[20:56] Aphilo Aarde: With GLOBALIZATION money could circulate in GLOBAL MARKETS around the world.

[20:57] Aphilo Aarde: Concerning assembly lines, COMPANIES could invest now in a globalized world

[20:57] Aphilo Aarde: in favorable markets.

[20:57] Aphilo Aarde: And companies can SELL EVERYWHERE

[20:58] Aphilo Aarde: but this is an unqual process

[20:58] Aphilo Aarde: For example, HIGH TECH sells in India

[20:58] Aphilo Aarde: but Indian textiles don't sell as well in the U.S.

[20:58] Aphilo Aarde: And in the 1970s, MARKETS expanded dramatically

[20:59] Aphilo Aarde: And this lowered the cost of production relative to price.

[20:59] Aphilo Aarde: Companies were always looking for most favorable conditions.

[21:00] Aphilo Aarde: And INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is critical for

[21:00] Aphilo Aarde: 1 Networking

[21:00] Aphilo Aarde: 2 Globalization

[21:00] Aphilo Aarde: These 2 new conditions wouldn't exist without information technology.

[21:01] Aphilo Aarde: Bot fast computing and telecommuncations are needed for both.

[21:01] Aphilo Aarde: from all stops to all stops

[21:01] Aphilo Aarde: Without advanced information systems, you couldn't have dense networks of AIR transport

[21:02] Aphilo Aarde: on which the global economy is based.

[21:02] Aphilo Aarde: AIR TRANSPORTATION is dependent on information technology.

[21:02] Aphilo Aarde: ... for CARGO shipping

[21:02] Aphilo Aarde: and CONTAINERS

[21:02] Aphilo Aarde: where the system doesn't tolerate miscalculations

[21:03] Aphilo Aarde: It's avery complicated global network based on very precise systems.

[21:03] Aphilo Aarde: About CULTURAL CHANGE

[21:04] Aphilo Aarde: This involves new ideas & new forms of civil life

[21:04] Aphilo Aarde: Many of the things taken for granted

[21:04] Aphilo Aarde: would have caused tremendous problems 30 years ago

[21:04] Aphilo Aarde: And much of this started with FREE SPEECH in Berkeley in 1964.

[21:05] Aphilo Aarde: and the STUDENT in PARIS in May 68

[21:05] Aphilo Aarde: * STUDENT MOVEMENT

[21:05] Aphilo Aarde: And this happend IN ALL western capitals.

[21:05] Aphilo Aarde: What happened?

[21:05] Aphilo Aarde: There were DIverse PROTESTS

[21:06] Aphilo Aarde: What was important was the FREEDOM of the Person, vis-a-vis the SYSTEM

[21:06] Aphilo Aarde: It was somtimes selfish

[21:07] Aphilo Aarde: there was the sentiment, for example, that "Nobody is going to give me orders."

[21:07] Aphilo Aarde: And this BLEW UP an entire system of authority on which all societies are based.

[21:08] Aphilo Aarde: The sheer number of ideas that emerged changed the way society thinks.

[21:08] Aphilo Aarde: And something deeper also happend.

[21:08] Aphilo Aarde: These PEOPLE moved into INSTITUTIONS

[21:08] Aphilo Aarde: and these people became VOTERS

[21:08] Aphilo Aarde: How fundamental was the change?

[21:09] Aphilo Aarde: Well, for one, Women as equals is NOW the standard.

[21:09] Aphilo Aarde: and two, ENVIRONMENTALLY, there was a newly learned respect for the BALANCE OF NATURE

[21:10] Aphilo Aarde: where people, as part of this CULTURAL CHANGE, informing the Information REvolution

[21:10] Aphilo Aarde: begain to think about the use of the car

[21:10] Aphilo Aarde: and the idea that "pollution is a problem" emerged

[21:10] Aphilo Aarde: as well as the idea of the "ozone layer"

[21:10] Aphilo Aarde: These were previously unthinkable!

[21:11] Aphilo Aarde: and thirdly, the idea of INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

[21:11] Aphilo Aarde: emerged significantly

[21:11] Aphilo Aarde: where "I want to develop my own thing" became widespread, in a way which wasn't

[21:11] Aphilo Aarde: previously thinkable.

[21:12] Aphilo Aarde: And the LIBERTARIAN quality now became denatured ... broken down

[21:12] Aphilo Aarde: via the PERSONAL COMPUTER idea

[21:12] Aphilo Aarde: which came from a cultural idea that said

[21:12] Aphilo Aarde: "I want something for me" ... and this

[21:13] Aphilo Aarde: became INDIVIDUAL SOFTWARE - what a radical concept

[21:13] Aphilo Aarde: (As an aside, check out this GREAT, free SOFTWARE at the open, free World University & School -

[21:14] Aphilo Aarde: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Educational_Software)

[21:14] Aphilo Aarde: (WORLD UNIV & SCH is like Wikipedia with MIT Open Course Ware - so open and free in all alngauges, nation states subjects and at all levels).

[21:15] Aphilo Aarde: So the idea of INDIVIDUAL KNOWLEDGE came from a culture

[21:15] Aphilo Aarde: which valued INDIVIDUALISM as a supreme value.

[21:15] Aphilo Aarde: And these CULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS happend in 3-4years

[21:16] Ju Roussel: [a point to the naysayers and all those worried about accreditation more than knowledge and learning]

[21:16] Aphilo Aarde: from 1968-1972

[21:16] Aphilo Aarde: :)

[21:17] Aphilo Aarde: (Societal processes can be compelling, JU, so keeping World Univ & Sch open and free and where people -y ou and I - can teach about anything

[21:17] Aphilo Aarde: is important - WILD even - and in conjunction with degree granting over time.)

[21:18] Aphilo Aarde: So these three factors - 1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2 ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING and 3 CULTURAL CHANGE

[21:18] Aphilo Aarde: all interacted and resulted in the NETWORK SOCIETY

[21:18] Aphilo Aarde: SOCIAL OUTCOME

[21:19] Aphilo Aarde: An analysis of history, culture and the uses of technology that SYMBOLIZES this

[21:19] Aphilo Aarde: transition is the INTERNET

[21:19] Aphilo Aarde: We'll look at economic dimension sof the internet and the WWW later

[21:20] Aphilo Aarde: And the INTERNET makes the the transition between this INFORMATION REVOLUTION which I've been characterizing

[21:20] Aphilo Aarde: and NOW -

[21:20] Aphilo Aarde: For you newcomers -

[21:20] Aphilo Aarde: http://socinfotech.pbworks.com

[21:21] Aphilo Aarde: This is a course about INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

[21:21] Aphilo Aarde: on Harvard's virtual island

[21:21] Aphilo Aarde: It's the first course of WORLD UNIVERSITY AND SCHOOL

[21:21] Aphilo Aarde: like Wikipedia with MIT Open Course Ware

[21:21] 3Helix Frequency: Thank you Aphilo.

[21:21] Aphilo Aarde: which is here: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/World_University

[21:22] Aphilo Aarde: You're welcome

[21:22] 3Helix Frequency: I'm just Ju's trainee,

[21:22] Aphilo Aarde: And please join the Second Life group - Soc & Info Tech - Aphilo on Berkman

[21:22] Aphilo Aarde: for more information.

[21:23] Aphilo Aarde: So, we'll begin next to look at the SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

[21:23] Aphilo Aarde: but before we begin

[21:23] Aphilo Aarde: Are there questions of the INFORMATION REVOLUTION

[21:23] Aphilo Aarde: which we've been talking about

[21:23] Aphilo Aarde: or about this course Information Technology and Society?

[21:24] Aphilo Aarde: or about World University and School?

[21:24] Aphilo Aarde: (I hold office hourse for an hour after this class, from 1-2p SLT here on Harvard's virtual island).

[21:24] Aphilo Aarde: Any questions?

[21:24] Aphilo Aarde: before proceeding with the Social History of the Internet?

[21:24] JonathanE Cortes: no,thx

[21:25] Aphilo Aarde: Yes, Andromeda?

[21:25] Andromeda Mesmer: A general, only somewhat related question -- I have had enquiries from people in Asia about where there are free classes in English in SL.

[21:26] Aphilo Aarde: Good question, Andromeda

[21:26] Andromeda Mesmer: I have suggested attending Raymond Frog's lectures on Racialism on wednesdays, which are in voice stream and typed text -

[21:26] Aphilo Aarde: I'll just point out a few, remarkable resources at World Univ & Sch for open free classes

[21:26] Andromeda Mesmer: But other than that, and recommending your class -- what else might I say?

[21:26] Aphilo Aarde: and teaching and learning material.

[21:27] Aphilo Aarde: Great

[21:27] Aphilo Aarde: Here are some free degree programs linked at World Univ & Sch - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#Free_Degree_Programs

[21:27] Aphilo Aarde: There's a free Harvard Ph.D. in education

[21:29] Aphilo Aarde: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#University_course_listings

[21:29] Aphilo Aarde: lost my connection briefly

[21:29] Aphilo Aarde: So, World Univ and Sch focuses on great Universities' free and open content

[21:29] Aphilo Aarde: listed above

[21:30] Aphilo Aarde: WUaS also aggregates course collections here:

[21:30] Aphilo Aarde: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#University_course_listings

[21:30] Aphilo Aarde: And as an open university and school, if you'd like to teach

[21:30] Aphilo Aarde: a course to your web camera,

[21:31] Aphilo Aarde: you can post it here:

[21:33] Ju Roussel: oups

[21:34] Andromeda Mesmer: Lost connection :(

[21:34] Ju Roussel: It's like in real Harvard :D

[21:34] JonathanE Cortes: is that it ?

[21:34] XiuJuan Ying: toilet break

[21:34] JonathanE Cortes: is it finished for today

[21:35] XiuJuan Ying: no

[21:35] Ju Roussel: Most classes there are furnished to look as classical old New England Mecca of Knowledge, but technologically a tad outdated. Not that I would see it as negative! :)

[21:36] Andromeda Mesmer: The building behind us is as real a replica of a Harvard building as they could do it - except that I am sure the door does not squeak like that :)

[21:37] Ju Roussel: Is it on the Lawers' side?

[21:37] Ju Roussel: It reminds me a halfof another building.

[21:38] XiuJuan Ying: welcom bak

[21:38] Ju Roussel: yay, Aphilo cloud is here.

[21:38] Aphilo Aarde: My apologies ... screen and computer froze ... first time ever

[21:38] Aphilo Aarde: Hello again.

[21:39] JonathanE Cortes: wb

[21:39] Aphilo Aarde: screen and computer froze ... first time ever

[21:39] XiuJuan Ying: lot problrm on sl yetsaday

[21:39] Aphilo Aarde: Well, I was relating

[21:39] Aphilo Aarde: how you could all teach at World Univ & Sch

[21:40] Aphilo Aarde: as an open, free University and School

[21:41] Aphilo Aarde: (And here collections of Courses again: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#Course_listings.27_aggregates)

[21:41] Aphilo Aarde: And here's where you can post an individual course: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#Individual_courses

[21:42] Aphilo Aarde: Andromeda is taking a course posted in this section.

[21:42] Ju Roussel: It's coming Apihlo, at our own pace though... It's good to learn courage from you.

[21:42] Aphilo Aarde: And you'll see this course listed in this same area: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#Individual_courses

[21:42] Aphilo Aarde: What's coming Ju? Free, Open education?

[21:43] Ju Roussel: Us with the teaching ideas (or is it just me, dunno)

[21:43] Ju Roussel: ...of free, open education, of course!

[21:43] Aphilo Aarde: Yes ... agreed ... and World Univ & Sch is just a complementary resource

[21:44] Aphilo Aarde: like Wikipedia which we've all made together - in a kind of group knowledge production process

[21:44] Aphilo Aarde: The open free World Univ & Sch is also group knowledge production.

[21:44] Aphilo Aarde: Hi Geda!

[21:44] Aphilo Aarde: Long time ...

[21:44] Geda Hax: Hello Aphilo !

[21:44] Geda Hax: Yes, indeed ;)

[21:45] Geda Hax: But saturday is a way easier day for me to come to your classes

[21:45] Aphilo Aarde: Since my machine froze, I don't think in the last 15 minutes that we'll proceed with the Social History of the Internet this week

[21:45] Aphilo Aarde: Instead, we'll begin again next week with the Social History of the Internet here from 11a-1p

[21:46] Aphilo Aarde: Let me first ask you how'd you'd build a community for World Univ and Sch?

[21:47] Aphilo Aarde: I'm curious to invite you all to participate in the World Univ & Sch as moderators.

[21:47] Ju Roussel: Teaching side, or student body?

[21:47] Aphilo Aarde: What you are drawn to ...

[21:48] Aphilo Aarde: If you join the Google Group on the notecard for this class

[21:48] Aphilo Aarde: you'll see in the Google Group's Google documents

[21:48] Aphilo Aarde: the moderators' lists

[21:48] Aphilo Aarde: where you can see and choose what you might like to participate in.

[21:49] Aphilo Aarde: There's a budding music school

[21:49] Geda Hax: May I have this notecard too please?

[21:49] Aphilo Aarde: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Music

[21:49] Aphilo Aarde: Yes!

[21:50] Aphilo Aarde: People have taught music to their web cameras, and I've aggregated this to this wiki page

[21:50] Aphilo Aarde: where anyone can add anything

[21:50] Aphilo Aarde: I'm doing it by instrument to start ....

[21:50] Ju Roussel: I have a number of hundreds of management professors and graduate students on my side, it is all a matter of vision, time, and extreme organization...

[21:50] Aphilo Aarde: this is the idea behind World Univ & Sch's wiki

[21:51] Aphilo Aarde: Teach to your web cam and add it to this wiki

[21:51] Aphilo Aarde: all subjects, etc.

[21:51] Aphilo Aarde: interesting JU - World Univ is free and open ... and welcomes free and open content.

[21:52] Aphilo Aarde: Also!

[21:52] Aphilo Aarde: World University has entered a MacARthur competition

[21:52] Andromeda Mesmer: Would an engineering class on a very narrow subject be appropriate? And can that be done with an avatar teaching?

[21:52] Aphilo Aarde: I'd love to get your comments at the Digital Media Learning Competition site.

[21:53] Aphilo Aarde: MacArthur HASTAC Digital Media Learning Competition: http://www.dmlcompetition.net/pligg for http://worlduniversity.wikia.com Request for Comments for World University and School!

[21:53] Aphilo Aarde: Your ideas are very important for generating a conversation

[21:53] Aphilo Aarde: I'd be very grateful if you could go to the dmlcompetition site, log in, and add your thoughts.

[21:54] Aphilo Aarde: Did you get the notecard, Geda?

[21:54] Aphilo Aarde: Who else needs the notecard?

[21:54] Geda Hax: Yes, just did , tks

[21:54] Aphilo Aarde: great

[21:54] Aphilo Aarde: So besides the music school at World Univ & Sch

[21:54] Aphilo Aarde: there's also a lot of Free Educational Software

[21:55] Aphilo Aarde: And there's Second Life learning material - spread throughout

[21:55] Aphilo Aarde: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Educational_Software

[21:55] Geda Hax: What about teaching people about virtual wolds things , like to teach some building in SL , would that be interesting to your project Ap ?

[21:55] Aphilo Aarde: there's a LOT of free sofwtare there

[21:56] Aphilo Aarde: Absolutely, Geda! if it's free and open, please post it to the wiki and I can help

[21:56] Aphilo Aarde: World Univ & Sch is an 'edit this page' free, open school, so like Wikipedia

[21:56] Geda Hax: yes it would be free and open for sure

[21:56] Aphilo Aarde: which I hope will attract much of the world

[21:57] Aphilo Aarde: I'm personally intersted in making a virtual Harbin Hot Springs http://harbin.org as an anthropological field site for virtual studies

[21:57] Aphilo Aarde: for a project I'm working on

[21:57] Aphilo Aarde: but haven't figured out how to find the space. Perhaps we could talk about this.

[21:58] Aphilo Aarde: What might all of you be interested in teaching and learning ...?

[21:58] Ju Roussel: You might want to join different groups of educators here on SL

[21:58] Aphilo Aarde: I've added much of the material at WUaS , so no what's there.

[21:58] Aphilo Aarde: Do you have a link Geda about teaching building in SL?

[21:59] Aphilo Aarde: Yes, Ju, I'm in quite a few related groups.

[21:59] Andromeda Mesmer: How much space do you need?

[22:00] Aphilo Aarde: Well, I'd love to model actual topography 1700 acres at 3:1 or 25:1 - perhaps up in the SL sky somewhere

[22:00] Ju Roussel: There are open platforms now in testing stage that are very promising for educators - which I'm sure you guys are all informed about. Cheaper than SL. Hopefully easier to work with too.\

[22:00] Geda Hax: Nope , I dont as I have never taught building

[22:00] Aphilo Aarde: (I've wanted to do this for a number of years, but haven't found the opportunity).

[22:00] Aphilo Aarde: ok, Geda

[22:01] Aphilo Aarde: Open Simulator and OPen Cobalt are two

[22:01] Aphilo Aarde: but SL has community and a network

[22:01] Aphilo Aarde: that's rich, and around a fairly open platform.

[22:01] Andromeda Mesmer: Aphilo, there are many free schools that teach building in SL, various levels, many times a day. New Citizens Inc. and Mystical Mastery are just two of them.

[22:01] Ju Roussel: (That was to Q about how to find space).

[22:01] Aphilo Aarde: So, we're now in office hours ... and the class is over ... sorry about the crash

[22:01] Ju Roussel: Happy Hippsters!

[22:02] Aphilo Aarde: :)

[22:02] Ju Roussel: the building school - they are intensive there

[22:02] Andromeda Mesmer: Tutorials2Go has screens that you can operate if you join the group - it is free to join the group.

[22:02] Aphilo Aarde: Good to know, Andormeda, Thanks!

[22:03] Aphilo Aarde: So I encourage you to participate in World University and School

[22:03] Andromeda Mesmer: There are too many schools to really count - Happy Hippsters is another -

[22:03] Aphilo Aarde: and please comment at about World University and School at

[22:03] Aphilo Aarde: for the MacArthur HASTAC Digital Media Learning Competition: http://www.dmlcompetition.net/pligg for http://worlduniversity.wikia.com Request for Comments for World University and School!

[22:04] Aphilo Aarde: Agreed, Andromeda ... and I hope to aggregate the best, open free content.

[22:04] Andromeda Mesmer: Oh Aphilo - there is also an "Unseen University" in SL - not sure if they have classes or not - from Terry Pratchett's novels :)

[22:04] Aphilo Aarde: to World Univ & Sch and facilitate this rich resource.

[22:05] Aphilo Aarde: Interesting ... Please add them, as you did before with Frank Sweets' course, to the wiki

[22:05] Ju Roussel: Woow! Slurl for the unseen Uni?

[22:05] Aphilo Aarde: Andromeda has added an individual course to World Univ & Sch! :)

[22:05] Geda Hax: A maybe you can teach about making textures , that would be interesting as well

[22:05] Aphilo Aarde: Very ...

[22:05] Andromeda Mesmer: Well -- I have the simple-minded technique about teaching textures in 15 minutes -- :)

[22:06] Aphilo Aarde: has an education section?

[22:06] Aphilo Aarde: Do people know about the Second Life events calendar which

[22:06] Aphilo Aarde: I've posted this section about Second Life at World University and School: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#Second_Life_Teaching_and_Learning_Opportunities

[22:06] Andromeda Mesmer: Under SEARCH button at the bottom of the window >>>>Events >>>>>>Educational >>>>>you get a flood.

[22:06] Aphilo Aarde: which has the SL events calendar.

[22:07] Aphilo Aarde: There's always a question of quality of teaching and learning materials online. In World Univ & Sch, I'm partly

[22:08] Aphilo Aarde: focusing on great universities' open and free content, as a kind of standard, and screen for quality.

[22:08] Aphilo Aarde: And that informs the Second Life content I post at World Univ & Sch, as well.

[22:08] Andromeda Mesmer: Well, Frank Sweet/Raymond Frog's lectures on the development of the unique US race concept are excellent.

[22:09] Aphilo Aarde: Yes! And thanks for posting that course to World Univ & Sch!

[22:09] Andromeda Mesmer: I recommend those highly - every Wednesday - twice.

[22:09] Aphilo Aarde: Here's the SL calendar: http://secondlife.com/community/events/

[22:10] Aphilo Aarde: Click on the pop down menu and select education for classes in Second Life

[22:10] Aphilo Aarde: That's probably the best avenue into what's available in SL.

[22:11] Aphilo Aarde: ... in terms of education.

[22:11] XiuJuan Ying: i got to go

[22:12] Aphilo Aarde: On the World University & School wiki, there are also other Second Life resources

[22:12] XiuJuan Ying: bye Aphilo and all

[22:12] Aphilo Aarde: By poking around you'll find them

[22:12] Aphilo Aarde: Thanks for coming

[22:12] Ju Roussel: Take care XiuJuan

[22:12] Aphilo Aarde: By Xiu

[22:12] Andromeda Mesmer: Bye Xiujuan

[22:12] Aphilo Aarde: Next wee at 11

[22:12] Geda Hax: ta ta dearie bye

[22:12] Geda Hax: oh sorry , this animation is stuck on me since halloween

[22:13] Aphilo Aarde: We'll talk about the Social History of the Internet next week

[22:13] Geda Hax: interesting material Ap , tks for the links.

[22:13] Aphilo Aarde: I lost this week's transcript in the crash

[22:14] Aphilo Aarde: so I'll try to post a modified version from before.

[22:14] Andromeda Mesmer: I have part of it -

[22:14] Aphilo Aarde: Do you have it Ju?

[22:14] Aphilo Aarde: Could you email it to me, please, since you were here from the beginning.

[22:15] Ju Roussel: Thanks Aphilo, very informative. Yes I will just edit out all the group info I received meanwhile and send it on a notecard

[22:15] Ju Roussel: or sure, email

[22:15] Aphilo Aarde: helianth@gmail.com

[22:15] Aphilo Aarde: Thanks very much!

[22:15] Ju Roussel: OK!

[22:15] Andromeda Mesmer: How often do you come into SL these days, Aphilo?

[22:15] Ju Roussel: Thanks for today, very informative. Back to my thesis and job applications! :))

[22:16] Aphilo Aarde: http://scottmacleod.com has much of this information for this class and a lot of other useful resources

[22:16] Aphilo Aarde: I pop in a couple of times a week

[22:16] Ju Roussel: See you all next week!









*



In this class we'll focus on how the information technology revolution developed, especially vis-a-vis long time Berkeley Professor Manuel Castells' research on the Network Society, as well as webnographers.org - a wiki bibliography on virtual ethnography.



I invite your questions, and I'll post a version of the text from each class to

socinfotech.pbworks.com over the weeks.

There's already a lot of information on this wiki, which will develop with time.



Please join the Google Group for World University and School - like Wikipedia with MIT Open Course Ware -

groups.google.com/group/World-University-and-School


For more information:
scottmacleod.com








(http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2010/02/zombie-caterpillars-information.html - February 20, 2010)