Very good start with session 1--it's difficult to draw a conceptual line around social computing, but many of your blogs and discussions extended my thumbnail definition in interesting and productive ways, and you raised questions that we'll be discussing throughout the course. Since we have so many students, and we're using blog comments as our primary form of interaction, I think it will be easier if you make one blog post each session instead of several, to keep thoughts and conversations together. If you have any other suggestions for conventions you think we should follow as a class, please post them here.
When you push normal human longing for interaction and self-expression through the wild infrastructure of social computing, what you get is...this session's readings. I think you'll enjoy them. The Galston piece will give you a very brief historical overview, and the others will raise social, personal and methodological issues, many of which are unique to the social computing environment. Ideally, this session will be where you begin to ask and investigate questions that are of interest to you, and when you start thinking about the direction you'd like to take for a final project.
Because this session's readings are so critical, I'd like you to read them all, preferably in the order listed, before you post. You may find it helps to take notes on each as you go.
By Sunday Feb 1, 11:59pm, post on your blog:
1) A free-response section with your overall reactions to the readings. Not just "I thought this or that was interesting" (which I of course hope you do), but point out specific connections or mismatches between concepts in the readings, examples and/or counterexamples from your research or experience, and a question raised by the readings that for you remains unanswered.
Example: Albrechtslund mentions "empowering exhibitionism" as one rationale for online information sharing. What are some specific examples of empowerment, and is there a corresponding (or overriding) loss of power when putting personal information online?
2) Join an online community (loosely defined) under a pseudonym, and attempt to investigate your unanswered question. Choose a topic and community that is of genuine interest to you, not something made up. Discuss your experience, and specifically address how the nature of the social computing environment you chose shaped your interaction. Make your comments as data-driven as possible (linked to specific actions and interactions), and relate your experience back to the readings.
Example: You join livestrong.com, post a profile and take the "dare to get more sleep." When (if ever) did you feel empowered? What interactions did you initiate or participate in, and what kinds of feedback did you get? What did this experience allow you to do that you couldn't have done offline?
3) Screenshot or link to your interaction (or relevant portions), and post it on your blog along with your discussion.
By Sunday Feb 8, 11:59pm:
Comment substantively on at least five other students' Session 2 posts. Choose students you didn't engage with during Session 1, and enjoy the discussion.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Session 1--Intro and overview
Welcome to ICS 691: Social Computing, for the Spring 2009 semester. This is an online, asynchronous course, and this space will be our main hub of information exchange. The course will be conducted in a series of two-week sessions--details can be found in the course syllabus, but understand that it is subject to change. Read the syllabus now, then return to this page.
Still interested? Good ;). This course was initially designed for 6-10 students, but we may have as many as 30, so there will be lots of opportunity for productive exchange of ideas.
Session 1, Week 1 (Mon Jan 12-Sun Jan 18)
1) Read the syllabus
2) Create a blog specific to this course, and post a link to it as a comment to this post. You may blog under a handle or pseudonym, but you must use it consistently throughout the course, and email me so I know the name of the student behind it.
3) Choose an RSS feed aggregator to track updates to this blog, and those of the other students.
4) Complete the Session 1 readings
5) By 11:59 pm Sunday Jan 18, post your response to this first assignment on *your* blog, following the guidelines found in the syllabus:
The first sentence of the syllabus contains my thumbnail definition of social computing:
Social computing is an umbrella term for technologies and virtual spaces that allow users to create, describe and share content, and for the communities that arise around them.
Challenge this definition by making reference to the Session 1 readings. How does the term relate to others, such as social software, social networks, online community and Web 2.0? Conclude by crafting your own definition of social computing, and how it relates to topics you hope to explore in this course.
Your blog is also the place for open discussion about the readings--you are not just encouraged, but expected to comment freely on whatever you find interesting.
Session 1, Week 2 (Mon Jan 19-Sun Jan 25)
1) Subscribe to the other students' blogs.
2) Read as many of them as you like, but comment substantively on at least five.
3) Respond to comments on your blog, and those of other students, as appropriate.
4) Toward the end of the session, skim the other students' blogs and see if you can identify any common characteristics of the most engaging and informative blog posts. Use these characteristics as a set of guidelines for your future posts.
That's it for Session 1. Please post any questions about the course as a comment to this blog so all students can view them, but questions about individual situations send to me at (gazan@hawaii.edu).
Still interested? Good ;). This course was initially designed for 6-10 students, but we may have as many as 30, so there will be lots of opportunity for productive exchange of ideas.
Session 1, Week 1 (Mon Jan 12-Sun Jan 18)
1) Read the syllabus
2) Create a blog specific to this course, and post a link to it as a comment to this post. You may blog under a handle or pseudonym, but you must use it consistently throughout the course, and email me so I know the name of the student behind it.
3) Choose an RSS feed aggregator to track updates to this blog, and those of the other students.
4) Complete the Session 1 readings
5) By 11:59 pm Sunday Jan 18, post your response to this first assignment on *your* blog, following the guidelines found in the syllabus:
The first sentence of the syllabus contains my thumbnail definition of social computing:
Social computing is an umbrella term for technologies and virtual spaces that allow users to create, describe and share content, and for the communities that arise around them.
Challenge this definition by making reference to the Session 1 readings. How does the term relate to others, such as social software, social networks, online community and Web 2.0? Conclude by crafting your own definition of social computing, and how it relates to topics you hope to explore in this course.
Your blog is also the place for open discussion about the readings--you are not just encouraged, but expected to comment freely on whatever you find interesting.
Session 1, Week 2 (Mon Jan 19-Sun Jan 25)
1) Subscribe to the other students' blogs.
2) Read as many of them as you like, but comment substantively on at least five.
3) Respond to comments on your blog, and those of other students, as appropriate.
4) Toward the end of the session, skim the other students' blogs and see if you can identify any common characteristics of the most engaging and informative blog posts. Use these characteristics as a set of guidelines for your future posts.
That's it for Session 1. Please post any questions about the course as a comment to this blog so all students can view them, but questions about individual situations send to me at (gazan@hawaii.edu).
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