Group items tagged

An article from "Teaching Tolerance" magazine that deals with how social media can be, perhaps, used in the classroom to engender community based learning and social justice.

Using social media to drive social change

Note: this is a rumor, but it's interesting if this service will be lauched: "With Circles, I believe that Google will attempt to accomplish something critics from the blogosphere, academia, SXSW 2010 keynoter danah boyd, privacy watchdogs and others have all called on the social networking world to do: to allow our online communication to respect the same boundaries that our offline social lives do."

nothing has been announced yet. it is interesting that google is so visited and has so many users, but has yet to effectively incorporate social networking... i.e. buzz and wave had huge hyped, but it quickly burned away.

This (long) report discusses the use of ICTs in the medical field, primarily IN the human body

I'm not sure if I would characterize this topic as being part of social informatics. Cochlear implants, insulin pumps, and spinal chord devices, just to name a few of the devises, do have interactive measures with the human body. However, social informatics is the study of how ICTs affect people's relationships and aspects of their social contexts. Although these devises influence the lives of their users, this article mainly discusses the ethical implications of using these technologies and the regulations that need to be developed to standardize use.

Well, interestingly enough, some of my undergrads over the years have been fascinated by RFID implants and the ethical implications of those actions. It is possible that a simple little think like an insulin pump, or any kind of pump would have an impact on one's actions and lifestyle. See this amazing talk by Charity Tillman-Dick: http://www.ted.com/talks/charity_tilleman_dick_singing_after_a_double_lung_transplant.html

OK my favorite thing on this blog is the Norwegian translated term for Social Informatics- "Samfunnsinformatikk". It really made me aware of just how international and not so narrow this field is. I can get caught up in a real American world view and this little tidbit kind of opened my eyes a bit and made me realize that there will be great international sources too!

I was interested in the concept of Bildung, which incorporates many different aspects of knowledge gathering and personal growth such as moral development, generosity, scientific thinking etc. It is relevant to me, as an educator.

Technology aids social people to maintain and sustain more relationships.

Corporate America uses social media for advancing its services. Now organizations need to write policies on appropriate use of it tools to protect the company and its employees.

interesting demographic info on users of top social networking sites

"The Internet doesn't steal our humanity, it reflects it. The Internet doesn't get inside us, it shows what's inside us. And social media isn't cold, it's just complex and hard to define."

A fascinating look "under the hood" of the technology used to collect the massive amounts of personal data that is created via social media. After givng an overview of the companies involved and how they achieve this, the article examines some of the ethical issues involved.

Changing view in anthropology attributes social cooperation/social learning and tools (first as weapons) as characteristics that set humans apart from other primates. See also http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/science/11kin.html

University of Oxford Social Informatics Researcher

This site is the best I've found so far in my search process. It provides tons of links to Social Informatics Highlights, Blogs, Associations, Sources, and Related Fields.

There is a lot of information on this site and it is very helpful.

i've come across this site before in an earlier iteration. I still am up in the air about the perspective and resources. I'll have to give it a more careful read.

The chapters in this volume explore the theoretical, design, learning, and methodological questions with respect to designing for and researching web-based communities to support learning. The authors, coming from diverse academic backgrounds (computer science, information science, instructional systems technology, educational psychology, sociology, and anthropology), are frank in examining what we do and do not know about the processes and practices of designing communities to support learning.

Another ICT article

This brief article about social networking in religious communities contains links to Neo-Pagan, Interfaith, Jewish, Christian, Muslim social networks and further resources to read.

fascinating.

Discussion of our over-use of generalizations when talking about social media's effects.

This is a few years old but it's a slide presentation from Paul Adams, ex-Googler, currently Facebook product manager. His work was influential in the new Facebook "groups," and the rumored Google product "circles."

People used to use the Internet to try on personalities and express themselves freely. Now it may be a corporate trap. Social robots sometimes supplant people. The author comments on "the banalities of electronic interaction" and how we don't interact in meaningful ways. However, some studies have shown than facebook users, for instance, have greater social capital.

we're actually going to read a bunch of Turkle's stuff - I really like her work