Gila Trout: MIT Media Lab faculty position application, But didn't use the words, Uniqueness, Impact and Magic in my application, and perhaps would use the word open-disciplinary (in all languages) for WUaS, WUaS would like to hire a lot of MIT graduate students, and in many languages, eventually, and needs funding, as well

Hi, Joi (in Quora), 

I applied for a MIT Media Lab faculty position in January 2013, vis-a-vis World University and School, teaching "Society and Information Technology," and my actual / virtual Harbin Hot Springs' books and virtual Harbin research, but didn't use the words, Uniqueness, Impact and Magic in my application, and perhaps would use the word open-disciplinary (in all languages) for WUaS ... WUaS would like to hire a lot of MIT graduate students, and in many languages, eventually, and needs funding, as well. Here's my 500 word application ... 

I’m writing to apply for the MIT Media Lab faculty position focusing on learning and technologies. I concentrate on three main areas in my work:

a) Developing World University and School, which is like Wikipedia with MIT OCW, - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Subjects - with free, online degrees planned, and as wiki-school in all 7,413+ languages and 205+ countries;

b) Writing an actual / virtual Harbin Hot Springs’ ethnography, with 3-4, further, Harbin books planned. I’m writing the eighth of nine chapters presently, and plan to create a virtual Harbin, for ethnographic fieldwork, and for comparison with on-the-ground Harbin, for subsequent books. I’ve written a number of papers about the World Wide Web in other contexts, particularly in terms of actual and online ‘place.’

c) Teaching about the sociology and anthropology of the Internet, particularly a course entitled “Society and Information Technology,” which I’ve taught on Harvard’s virtual island for 7 semesters, and vis-à-vis Manuel Castells’ Network Society research, in a variety of ways.

I’ll focus here now on World University. Wiki World University and School plans to be the MIT / Harvard of the internet in all 7,413+ languages and the 205+ countries, building on MIT OpenCourseWare, and offers not only remarkable, creative, Media Lab opportunities in its making, but also potentially extends MIT into all languages and countries online.

WUaS is also planning MIT OCW-centric, Creative Commons’ licensed, bachelor, Ph.D., International Baccalaureate, law and M.D. degrees, including online Medical (as well as an hospital) and Law Schools, accrediting on MIT OCW where possible, in many languages and countries, especially in the poorest parts of the world.

WUaS is planning an online Media Lab in each language and country, and seeks to grow these with overachieving, creative, MIT Media Lab-like students.

WUaS is also planning a Universal Translator, building on Google Translate, etc., in part, but for voice, and thus creating unique and far-reaching A.I. and programming opportunities over the years ahead.

WUaS is also planning a Music School in all languages, and with all instruments, each a wiki, subject page to begin, with online teaching, learning and jamming possibilities.

WUaS plans to use the Conference Method of teaching and learning (like Reed College uses), but online, and engaging MIT OCW’s 2,142+ courses - e.g. http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Conference_Method_of_Teaching_and_Learning.

WUaS presently has 539 wiki pages, the section headings of which we plan to copy, paste and translate into other languages, as we move from the current, Wikia wiki to the new, Creative Commons’ licensed Wikidata / Wikibase database.

As a concluding statement of my work, WUaS plans to create academic, information technology jobs for students at the Media Lab, for all of MIT, in many, many languages and countries, and also for students at other great universities, especially, where the Media Lab could become the organizational hub for extensive, knowledge-oriented, job generation, worldwide.

MIT OCW-centric degrees for overachievers in many languages and countries, with the MIT Media Lab at the center of all of this, will generate a remarkable, flourishing, STEM-centric, academic conversation.

...