9.27.2003

TeachingBlog - interesting new media professor's blog.
Lab Hours Update:

As of tomorrow, the Mac Lab will be open from 12-8pm on Sundays.

The one Mac in the Library has NO software on it, so it will be of no use for you. The two iMacs in Media Services have limited software (they have Photoshop, Indesign, Flash, etc., but no Dreamweaver, Illustrator 10 and so on...). They are available all Media Services hours.

9.24.2003

UPDATE – LAB HOURS

Open Mac Lab Hours:
7-9:20am M-F
11:50am-2pm M-F
4:30-6:30pm M-F
(coming soon! 12-8 Sunday)

Library Mac Hours:
Two in Media Services during their hours
Two in the Library – available library hours

I will check out the Library Macs during lunch tomorrow to make sure they are loaded with all the software, connecting to Tarantula, and functioning as advertised.

If the Library Macs are in good shape, I think that this schedule should work out just fine. That's 6 hours per day M-F and 8 hours on the weekend. Those of you who can't work out your schedule to fit the Mac Lab hours must use the library Macs.
I have updated the Course Weblogs page on the Blogging Across the Curriculum site. Now it has a direct link to this site and links to all of your weblogs.
I am still trying to make this site ad free, but the system still isn't ready yet....
OK. The student blog list should be final now! Please let me know if you find any errors.

9.17.2003

Attention Everyone! A few announcements:

1) This Friday (9/19) we will hold the annual CSC/IDD pizza dinner in CLA2 room 105 from 4:00 to 6:00. Please come and eat pizza with us!

2) The first meeting of the QU Computer Club (QCATS) qill be held in EC 102 on Tuesday the 23rd from 6 to 7. All interested parties are invited. Please come!

3) The second "annual" QU/SCOSUG Linux InstallFest will be held from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM in CLA1 107 on September 28th. This event will be an all-day introduction to the free operating system Linux, with the opportunity for you to get your questions answered, get free Linux software, and get the operating system installed on your computer. Again, all interested parties are encouraged to attend!

9.16.2003

[PurseLipSquareJaw] Anne Galloway is reporting from her recent trip to a design conference in Italy. Rich stuff. Read from the bottom of her blog page to the top.

An excerpt:

"Report from Italia - Convivial Design
According to our morning lecturers, The EU Convivio Network (our host) believes that the open discussion of the purposes of, and underlying values inherent in, our new technologies is of paramount importance for the future of European society. Designing new technologies raises issues of sustainability, aesthetics and quality of life, and successful design respects the diversity of human practice.

Wendy Mackay spoke on the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary design. For example, those trained in the human sciences tend to ask 'How do I understand this?' while designers ask 'How can I create this?' and engineers ask 'How do I create this technically?'. In many ways, the differences between approaches comes down to differences between obtrusive or unobtrusive research operations and universal or particular behavioural interpretations. For example, my research tends toward qualitative understandings of particular contexts, and that sometimes makes it difficult for me to understand and work with quantitative and universal explanations. The challenge is to create shared - but not necessarily common - understandings. What this means is that none of us have all the answers and we can all benefit from different perspectives if we are willing to learn from each other and put each others' expertise to use.

She discussed how the best design is done with empathy for people whose lifestyles, values and experiences we do not necessarily share. Good design then is an expression of solidarity, flowing in and out of others. I like this idea, and it certainly shares much in common with what I understand as a sociologist and anthropologist. I also suspect that designers (in the broadest sense) who have no interest in different perspectives will always design things that have little chance of making the world a better place - and despite all our differences, it seems that all of us are here to do just that, to learn from each other so that we may build beautiful technologies. Wendy went on to explain that the basic design process for this type of collaborative and participatory design moves from observation to brainstorming to prototyping to evaluating - which of course moves us back to observation and begins the process again. Human and natural scientists, designers and engineers all have something to contribute to this process, and each will come to the foreground at different points."

9.13.2003

Ok. I have added the late URLs. Please check that your link is working and that I have your name spelled correctly. Send me an email if something is not working or if you are missing from the list.

Some of you are seriously behind or are producing unacceptable posts - consider this a warning - typos, bad spelling, and bad grammar will count against you. If your post is not about the content of the class, it does not count.

READ>THINK>READ>THINK>THINK>WRITE>EDIT>EDIT>EDIT>PROOF>PROOF>PROOF AGAIN>THEN POST
BLOGGER :: Announcing Several New Features for Free Users
"Good news, folks! The feature wagon just arrived and dropped off a host of bloggity goodness at rock-bottom prices. And we're passing the savings on to you! That is, we're rolling in a bunch of features that will give you more powerful and flexible publishing power (for free)."

9.12.2003

Blogger bucks premium-services trend | CNET News.com

Blogger bucks premium-services trend
"Google-owned Web log-creation site Blogger is eliminating its paid version and folding premium functions into its free service, bucking a trend toward making people pay for Web site extras."

Hey you guys - looks like we will have more free options on our Blogger sites soon.
Oh, and don't forget... for IDD250:

That you should (as of 9:20am and 2pm depending on your section) have the three required posts for the readings for each week we have been in school. Anything submitted after those times will be considered late.
Sorry I'm late... posting the late URLs - I will get them up over the weekend.

9.07.2003

Biography, Volume 26, 2003 - Table of Contents:
Volume 26, Number 1, Winter 2003
Special Issue: Online Lives
Guest Editor: John Zuern