Thursday, August 28, 2003
Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness
COM 201: Darren Barefoot's Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness has samples of weird, bizzarre, surreal and mostly unintelligible technical documentation. Communicating complex concepts and processes isn't a walk in the park...
Communication Studies Resources from the University of Iowa
Communication Studies Resources is a comprehensive portal site.
CCMS Infobase
CCMS Infobase, a site devoted to communication studies, cultural studies and media studies, was assembled by Mick Underwood, who writes:
"The CCMS Infobase attempts to cover most of the basics of what you're likely to need to know as a student of communication, cultural and media studies in your last couple of years of secondary school or in your first year of university.
British A Level Communication students should be aware that I haven't taught the subject for many years, so, whilst I gather the advice relating to the project is still generally sound, you should certainly ensure you consult your teacher about it.
The material is updated as often as I have time, but there are long periods when nothing changes - my apologies."
"The CCMS Infobase attempts to cover most of the basics of what you're likely to need to know as a student of communication, cultural and media studies in your last couple of years of secondary school or in your first year of university.
British A Level Communication students should be aware that I haven't taught the subject for many years, so, whilst I gather the advice relating to the project is still generally sound, you should certainly ensure you consult your teacher about it.
The material is updated as often as I have time, but there are long periods when nothing changes - my apologies."
Web Tools
Web-quests -- how to...
Calendars Net: Free (or not) Interactive Calendar Hosting
U-Md's ListServ Homepage is home to all sorts of mailing lists, including SRMS.
Calendars Net: Free (or not) Interactive Calendar Hosting
U-Md's ListServ Homepage is home to all sorts of mailing lists, including SRMS.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
The Internet TOURBUS
The Internet TOURBUS offers good information on viruses, hoaxes, search engines, urban legends, cookies, free stuff and cool sites. There's a list you can subscribe to, or you can just visit the site.
Environmental audio
My favorite site so far in this category is World Tune, a large (and growing) online library of environmental sounds. Broadcast the noise you like best, or piece together your own playlist of aural oddities -- cowbells on an austrian mountainside, a jar smashing on the floor on of a Finnish pottery, and water trickling in Hong Kong. Or contribute your own environmental recordings.
Also check out EarthEar.
For other environmental sounds, danish soundscapes may have audio worth checking out for COM 314. Loopsound offers soundscapes on CD. See/hear also NY Arts Magazine.
Also check out EarthEar.
For other environmental sounds, danish soundscapes may have audio worth checking out for COM 314. Loopsound offers soundscapes on CD. See/hear also NY Arts Magazine.
Soundscapes - You've never seen radio like this!
Soundscapes looks like a production house with some stuff I'd like to download and check out. Their slogan: "You've never seen radio like this!"
Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate
Arts & Letters Daily is a daily buffet showcasing the best writing on the web - ideas, criticism, debate.
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Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Speaking of Open Letters...
Sarah Vowell, whose radio stroy Shooting Dad we feature in an early class, also contributed to this online 'zine -- read Sarah's Open Letter American Dream, a letter on patriotism and The Patriot.
And then there is the Canadian (CBC) "Lost and Found Sound" site. This series originated on the CBC's This Morning program, and also aired on American NPR. The series ended several years ago. In the words of the site's producers: "Think of Lost & Found Sound as a quest: a pilgrimage for auditory archives. Throughout the 1999/2000 season, This Morning asked for your help to uncover sounds that had been lost, misplaced, or left for extinct. We heard audio treasures that had never been heard over the public airwaves, and some that had once been broadcast and then forgotten. "
And then there is the Canadian (CBC) "Lost and Found Sound" site. This series originated on the CBC's This Morning program, and also aired on American NPR. The series ended several years ago. In the words of the site's producers: "Think of Lost & Found Sound as a quest: a pilgrimage for auditory archives. Throughout the 1999/2000 season, This Morning asked for your help to uncover sounds that had been lost, misplaced, or left for extinct. We heard audio treasures that had never been heard over the public airwaves, and some that had once been broadcast and then forgotten. "
Dishwasher Pete
Here's a bit of background about Pete Jensen, publisher of the 'zine DISHWASHER, and narrator of the TAL tale about hoodwinking the staff of the David Letterman Show in 1995.
You can pick up a copy of Pete's 'zine Dishwasher for a dollar by writing to:
Dishwasher
PO Box 8213
Portland, OR 97207
Read another piece by Dishwasher Pete in the online 'zine Open Letters.
You can pick up a copy of Pete's 'zine Dishwasher for a dollar by writing to:
Dishwasher
PO Box 8213
Portland, OR 97207
Read another piece by Dishwasher Pete in the online 'zine Open Letters.
Boynton Pro Audio
Boynton ProAudio is a reseller of professional audio equipment. Phone them at 607.263.5695, 9 to 5 eastern time Monday thru Friday, or visit them online.
Monday, August 25, 2003
Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site
The Keirsey Temperament and Character Web Site refines MBTI Type theory in a discussion of the four "temperaments." Links also to related content on temperament, including discussions of the sixteen MBTI types.
Computer-Mediated Communications Networks and the Organizational Life of Schools
Computer-Mediated Communications Networks and the Organizational Life of Schools is an article I wrote in 1996 for CMC Magazine.
From the Introduction:
"The deployment of a computer mediated communications (CMC) network in a school represents a structural change in the organization which has repercussions in many dimensions of school life. Beginning with a descriptive discussion of the salient features of CMC technology, I explore the potential impacts of this new system on the structural, human resource, political and symbolic dimensions of school life.
"I argue that the digital nature of CMC, as well as the way it extends the space/time boundaries of school-related work, can have potentially transformative effects on the nature of school life. I show how CMC is linked to role transformation and decentralization of authority, and how this can in turn lead to specific pressures for change in more tangible features of school life like scheduling, space allocation and student grouping. I demonstrate the adaptive challenge posed for school workers by the introduction of new technology in a fundamental system. I explore the tension between pressures for standardization which are implicit in CMC, and the flexible specialization characteristically demanded in teaching. I discuss the political challenges which are likely to arise, both within the school and between the school and its community environment. I address the politics of system access, the implications of new alliances mobilized by CMC, and the political ascendancy of technologists. Finally, I challenge educators to engage deliberately with the issues raised. I urge the adoption of a principled commitment to the CMC system as a tool for sense-making and community building in which all parties have a rightful stake, and not as a bundle of cabled connections--the arcane domain of a limited constitutency."
From the Introduction:
"The deployment of a computer mediated communications (CMC) network in a school represents a structural change in the organization which has repercussions in many dimensions of school life. Beginning with a descriptive discussion of the salient features of CMC technology, I explore the potential impacts of this new system on the structural, human resource, political and symbolic dimensions of school life.
"I argue that the digital nature of CMC, as well as the way it extends the space/time boundaries of school-related work, can have potentially transformative effects on the nature of school life. I show how CMC is linked to role transformation and decentralization of authority, and how this can in turn lead to specific pressures for change in more tangible features of school life like scheduling, space allocation and student grouping. I demonstrate the adaptive challenge posed for school workers by the introduction of new technology in a fundamental system. I explore the tension between pressures for standardization which are implicit in CMC, and the flexible specialization characteristically demanded in teaching. I discuss the political challenges which are likely to arise, both within the school and between the school and its community environment. I address the politics of system access, the implications of new alliances mobilized by CMC, and the political ascendancy of technologists. Finally, I challenge educators to engage deliberately with the issues raised. I urge the adoption of a principled commitment to the CMC system as a tool for sense-making and community building in which all parties have a rightful stake, and not as a bundle of cabled connections--the arcane domain of a limited constitutency."
Mike May's Perceptions Home Page
Mike May's Perceptions Home Page
"Mike May has regained some sight after being totally blind since the age of three. 43 years later, he is seeing with the curiosity and newness of a child..."
Scientists are studying May's perceptions, and learning that seeing something is not the same thing as interpreting what we see. Mike can see things now, but does not recognize his wife or his children. A cube drawn on a computer screen looked to him like "a square with extra lines" until it rotated. This site includes an account of his surgery and a journal with Mike's first hand account of experiences with his new vision.
"Mike May has regained some sight after being totally blind since the age of three. 43 years later, he is seeing with the curiosity and newness of a child..."
Scientists are studying May's perceptions, and learning that seeing something is not the same thing as interpreting what we see. Mike can see things now, but does not recognize his wife or his children. A cube drawn on a computer screen looked to him like "a square with extra lines" until it rotated. This site includes an account of his surgery and a journal with Mike's first hand account of experiences with his new vision.
The Web Standards Project
The Web Standards Project
"The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards that ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all."
"The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards that ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all."
Meet The Makers - Creative people in a technical world.
Meet The Makers - Creative people in a technical world. News, events and conversations with technical people who do creative work in new media.
Listed recently in LockerGnome, which said, "...Meet the Makers frequently comes up because of its success in hosting one-day events focusing on Web design and development. Even if you don't live near a city where the event is hosted, you can read conversations with designers to get a glimpse of what attendees experience. Click on any of the three cities to get more details on the event, speakers, and topics covered. The speakers are talented individuals in the world of Web design. Web designers and wanna-bes can learn from their interviews and Web sites. ..."
Listed recently in LockerGnome, which said, "...Meet the Makers frequently comes up because of its success in hosting one-day events focusing on Web design and development. Even if you don't live near a city where the event is hosted, you can read conversations with designers to get a glimpse of what attendees experience. Click on any of the three cities to get more details on the event, speakers, and topics covered. The speakers are talented individuals in the world of Web design. Web designers and wanna-bes can learn from their interviews and Web sites. ..."
Shaking Through.net: Pop Culture Reviews: Movies, Music, Books & Comics
Shaking Through.net. Pop Culture Reviews: Movies, Music, Books & Comics.
Read why Meryl wrote in LockerGnome (8/23/03).
"{Pop culture} What's shakin'? Shaking Through.net's cultural
critics tell ya through their funny and insightful commentary on books, movies, music, and comics. In each section, they provide a rating for item reviewed from 0 to 5, with 0 being utter dreck, and 5 being a masterpiece. You can explore the archives by alphabet, date, and rating. Currently, only two movies, three albums, zero books, and zero comics have the honor of receiving a 5. Agree or disagree? Give them a piece of your mind in the forums. The remaining sections provide advice, opinions, and head-to-head competition between comics and books. Go study your pop culture and impress friends and family with your new knowledge."
Read why Meryl wrote in LockerGnome (8/23/03).
"{Pop culture} What's shakin'? Shaking Through.net's cultural
critics tell ya through their funny and insightful commentary on books, movies, music, and comics. In each section, they provide a rating for item reviewed from 0 to 5, with 0 being utter dreck, and 5 being a masterpiece. You can explore the archives by alphabet, date, and rating. Currently, only two movies, three albums, zero books, and zero comics have the honor of receiving a 5. Agree or disagree? Give them a piece of your mind in the forums. The remaining sections provide advice, opinions, and head-to-head competition between comics and books. Go study your pop culture and impress friends and family with your new knowledge."
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Accessibility and Section 508
Accessibility and Section 508 is Jeffrey Zeldman's lecture on web accessibility.
Friday, August 22, 2003
BBC World Service | Home Page
BBC World Service airs on New Hampshire public radio very early in the morning (before 5:00 am). Outlook offers interesting news feature reports, while Off the Shelf broadcasts a daily reading -- sometimes fiction, sometimes not -- often by the author him/herself.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
The Student Radio Association
The Student Radio Association represents student broadcaters in Great Britain. They run an annual awards program in association with Radio One (BBC).
Audible.com (My Library)
Audible.com -- My library. This link takes you to the Audible.com audio products I've purchased.
PREPARING OR REVISING A COURSE
PREPARING OR REVISING A COURSE: These notes from Honolulu Community Collge were reallyhelpful to me when I was trying to organize COM201 for the first time (my first time!).
Page One of the Scratch Pad
Welcome to Scratch Pad...Keep notes here, post URLs here, come back and review your meanderings....
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