[happy canada day!]

Image of fireworks from itroy on flickr.


It's my first time celebrating Canada Day in Canada as a resident in the past nine years!!! And, I'll be celebrating in Edmonton. Canada is now 142 years old. We're going to be checking out the Silly Summer Parade which starts at noon (it goes from Queen Alex School, 7730 106St., heads west on Whyte Ave. to 108 St. and back to Queen Alex School for family activities - sounds great if you have wee ones). Then we're going to do a picnic and in the evening I'm hoping to catch the moment when the city's High Level bridge turns into a waterfall (21:00-23:15). After that there will be the customary fireworks (which take place here). According to the city website, some good viewing locations:

* Alberta Legislature Grounds
* Victoria Park (River Valley Road)
* Ezio Faraone Park (west entrance to High Level Bridge on 109 St. north)
* Dantzer’s Hill (below Queen Elizabeth Park)
* Government House Park (Groat Road & River Valley Road)
Note: No viewing from Kinsmen Park

Viewing Areas Accessible on Foot Only (closed to vehicles):

* River Valley Road
* Walterdale Hill Road & Queen Elizabeth Park Road
* 109 St. (between Saskatchewan Drive & the High Level Bridge)
* Access is restricted in Kinsmen Park, Walterdale Hill, High Level & Menzies Bridges after road closure times. Kinsmen playground and picnic area are closed on Canada Day.

Have a look at this amazing photo taken by labels_30 of the waterfall on Canada Day last year:

If you're local (I know I now have a few Albertans reading this blog) here are some other things you might want to do:

Alberta Legislature Canada Day Celebrations
Various activities 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Borden Park Canada Day Celebrations
Various activities 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Canada Day Road Race 2009
South Ends of Legislature Grounds

Citizenship Ceremony
Legislative Grounds 10:00 am

City Hall Activities
11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Devon Canada Day Celebrations
Centennial Park 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Fort Edmonton Park Dominion Day
Whitemud & Fox Drive 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Fort Saskatchewan Canada Day Celebrations
Breakfast to Fireworks 8:00 am - 11:00 pm

John Walter Museum - "Spirits Of The Past"
Sunday, June 28, 2009 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Louise McKinney Riverfront Park - Canada Day!
2:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Millwoods Celebrates Canada
2:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Muttart Conservatory Canada Day
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Old Strathcona
Silly Summer Parade & Picnic in the Park - Whyte Avenue
12:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Spruce Grove Canada Day & Street Performers Festival
Calahoo Road and Grove Drive 8:00 am - 11:00 pm

St Albert
Lions Park 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Strathcona County's 2009 Canada Day Festival
Broadmoor Lake Park Sherwood Park 9:00 am - 11:00 pm

The Works Art and Design Festival
Churchill Square Edmonton June 24 – July 6

Valley Zoo Canada Day & the Valley Zoo's 50th Birthday Bash!
13315 Buena Vista Rd. 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

More events are listed here.

BTW: the weather is going to be warm and sunny.

[towards information literacy]

This Unesco report (from 2008) has a succinct definition of information literacy that has to do with people's capacity rather than specific rules:

"Recognise their information needs;
Locate and evaluate the quality of information;
Store and retrieve information;
Make effective and ethical use of information, and
Apply information to create and communicate knowledge."

Information literacy (as noted here and in the digital cultures master's module) doesn't just apply to one context, when using a computer for example, it's applicable throughout contexts and I think that's what defines capacity as literacy - readers/users can move through a variety of contexts (much like transliteracy). "IL skills are necessary for people to be effective lifelong learners and to contribute in knowledge societies."

These elements of information literacy say it all - they cross contexts:

"a. Recognise information needs
b. Locate and evaluate the quality of information
c. Store and Retrieve information
d. Make effective and ethical use of information, and
e. Apply information to create and communicate knowledge."

Citation info:

Catts, R. & Lau, J. (2008). Towards Information Literacy Indicators. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved May 07, 2008 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001587/158723e.pdf

via ICTlogy.

Read more of the report here.

[food politics]

I came across this hilarious take on the politics of cuisine via Chris at Eating is the Hard Part:

Flickr image from passiveaggressivenotes which can be found here.

[*becoming* technologically iterate]

On ‘Becoming’ Technologically Literate: A Multiple Literacies Theory Perspective/p>

FRANCIS BANGOU & MONICA WATERHOUSE University of Ottawa, Canada

doi:10.2304/ciec.2008.5.4.445

VIEW FULL TEXT | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST

This article uses a multiple literacies theory framework to explore the processes of ‘becoming’ technologically literate through a year-long ethnographic study of two Master of Education pre-service second language teachers, a Latina woman and an African American woman, who learned how to use computer technology to teach Spanish at a large Midwestern university. The case studies of these two women are analyzed to gain insights into how teacher education programs can support racial minority pre-service teachers in ‘becoming’ technologically literate. First, the authors provide an overview of the multiple literacies theory developed by Masny. Second, the stories of the two pre-service teachers are presented. Finally, curricular and pedagogical recommendations for second language education Master of Education programs are provided.

[interdisciplinary papers]

The online conference on the Future of Scientific Publications resumes with an new paper by Roberto Casati "On Publishing", now available on http://www.interdisciplines.org/liquidpub. In his paper Roberto Casati discusses the social significance of publication in the life of a scientific knowledge object (SKO). The importance of publication is made evident by the complex issue of unpublication (the strong version of retraction whereby a SKO is completely destroyed). Unpublication is a tempting option in the electronic world. He argues against the viability of unpublication, both on practical and on principled grounds related to the cascading entitlements of published paper.

There is also a paper by Eric T. Meyer and Ralph Schroeder of the Oxford Internet Institute on "Sifting through the online web of knowledge" at: http://www.interdisciplines.org/liquidpub. Their essay examines how researchers gain access to knowledge at a time when scholarly communication and materials are increasingly moving online. This topic has so far mainly been discussed in terms of journal publication and readership. Here a broader view is taken, including a variety of areas where knowledge production and dissemination is broader than journal publications and includes data and tools. A second reason to take a broader view extends the horizon still further, since scientific communication and collaboration are not just undergoing change within the research community, but also depend on wider changes such as the use of search engines and how they affect what can be found online generally. New search behaviours are particularly evident among a new generation of scholars and potential scholars. Hence we will look at changes in research as well as in the realm of online knowledge more broadly.

Have a look at the papers: www.interdisciplines.org/liquidpub.




Via an e-mail from the interdisciplines.org list.

[employment: lectureship in new media]

This is an amazing position at the University of Leeds...makes me (almost) wish I was in the U.K.:

Closing Date: 17th July 2009

Lectureship in New Media
(Job reference: 317127)
Faculty of Performance, Visual Arts and Communications
Institute of Communications Studies

The institute of Communication Studies seeks to appoint a Lecturer in New Media from
2 September 2009 or as soon afterward as is mutually convenient.

You will deliver teaching and research primarily in areas related to New Media at
both undergraduate and postgraduate level, but may also be asked to teach more
generally in other areas of media and communications. Essential teaching
requirements are ‘Design for New Media’ and ‘New Media, Planning and Gaming’. You
will also be required to take responsibility for student project work. You will be
expected to play a leading role in the continued development of the programme in New
Media and undertake supervision of undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD projects and
dissertations.

You will possess a PhD, or have such an award pending and be able to demonstrate a
developing research profile with a clear indication of future plans and potential
commensurate with aspirations to an 'international' standard of excellence.

See http://ics.leeds.ac.uk for more information on the Institute of Communications
Studies or http://hr.leeds.ac.uk/jobs/ViewJob.aspx?CId=3&JId=416 for more details
about the post.

University Grade 7 (£32,458 – £35,469 p.a.)
Salary: Lecturer Grade 7 (£32,458 - £35,469)
Apply using: Application form, CV and Equal Opportunities Monitoring form
Download an application form: (pdf version) | (Word version)

Informal enquiries: to Dr Stephen Sobol, New Media Programme Head, email
s.c.sobol@leeds.ac.uk, tel +44 (0)113 343 6247 or Professor Gary Rawnsley, Director
of the ICS, email g.d.rawnsley@leeds.ac.uk , tel +44 (0)113 343 6906.

Send completed applications to:
email vpaempl@leeds.ac.uk, or by post to:

VPAEMPL,
PVAC,
Faculty Office,
Man-Made Fibres Building,
University of Leeds,
LS2 9JT

Closing date: 17 July 2009

[cfp: workshop on academia 2.0]

Academia 2.0 and Beyond – How Social Software Changes Research and Education in Academia

(at the European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work 2009)

Workshop will take place on the 8th of September in Vienna, Austria

Organizers:

• Michael Koch, Bundeswehr University Munich, http://www.kooperationssysteme.de/
• Isa Jahnke, Technische Universität Dortmund, http://www.isa-jahnke.de/

Abstract

The Web 2.0 and Social Software is often attributed with a high potential for addressing today’s challenges in knowledge management and distributed collaboration. This development has already reached industry. Using the term Enterprise 2.0, different possibilities to use Social Software in enterprises are researched. But also in academia, cooperation to generate new knowledge, and to add it to the scientific discourse may radically change under open Web 2.0 conditions. In addition, teaching and learning scenarios might be moved towards technology enhanced lifelong learning communities. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the application of Social Software in academia (research as well as teaching and learning) – and how these new kinds of software might change the whole setting – make new ways of doing research or teaching and learning possible or at least easier to do.

Motivation/Theme

New buzzwords have become part of our daily lexicon: Web 2.0, Social Software and Social Web are often used as synonyms. These concepts focus on new or existing software systems, which are influenced by human communication and collaboration (Jahnke & Koch 2009). Thus, Web 2.0 is heavily reliant on social interaction, and so, social web-based applications generate and require a human-centered design approach. Furthermore, this kind of new media influences the people. A new generation of the “digital natives” are arriving (Prensky, 2001). The number of users of Web 2.0 applications in private settings (e.g., leisure) is very high. However, in organizations and enterprises Web 2.0 concepts or such combined applications are still at an early stage (Koch & Richter 2008). The same is true for universities. Franklin & van Harmelen (2007) show some examples of institutional practices. A potential of Web 2.0 for academia show also Rollet et al. (2007). To conclude, there are some Web 2.0 tools in universities, in particular wikis and blogs (e.g., Hookway, 2008) but the usage of these tools and other Web 2.0 scenarios for supporting teaching, learning or research is not yet fully developed. So, the question how the Web 2.0 can support community-based learning (e.g. Barr & Tagg, 1995) or research processes in academia is not yet satisfactorily answered.

Research questions

The main research question of the workshop is: Are there any innovative research and/or teaching designs or arrangements (e.g., Alexander, 2006; Downes, 2005) using social software and what can we learn from these scenarios? Some derived research questions which we will discuss in our workshop:

• a) What Web 2.0 applications exist in universities, in research or in learning? Do Web 2.0 applications in academia make a difference to existing Internet applications like email, content management systems or newsgroups?
• b) Do you have success stories or success criteria of Web 2.0 usage in academic fields? What changes are observable or essential when introducing Web 2.0 concepts in teaching (e.g. new design/balance of teaching and learning) or research settings?
• c) How can we introduce Web 2.0 applications in the academic world, and support the change management process? How can we successfully distribute the concepts into a university?

Aim

Our aim is to collect proposals for academic practice with Web 2.0, to specify research questions dealing with Web 2.0 in academia (e.g., new forms of interactions, changing research practice, new learning scenarios, organizational change by using new media) or to discuss new research methods (e.g., e-ethnography) and their challenges in this topic. In our workshop, we want to share practical experience or research results about using Web 2.0 in teaching and research, for example, e-learning goes Web 2.0, scientific communities goes Web 2.0, research publications goes Web 2.0 or university goes Web 2.0. Therefore, we strongly invite researchers and practitioners who have ideas or experience of using Web 2.0 applications in academia.

Participation Requirements

Workshop participants are requested to submit a position paper covering practice with Web 2.0 in academia, research focus or research questions, proposals for academic practice with Web 2.0, proposals for new research methods with regard to Web 2.0 in academia or specific case studies (if applicable) and findings to date. Using practical examples the participants should demonstrate how the concepts and developments behind the Web 2.0 and Social Software movement are used in academia, what Web 2.0 characteristics could make a good basis for academia.

Deadline for position papers: June 29, 2009 (new deadline)

There is no size limit or formatting requirement for position papers.

Please send position papers as PDF or document files to the two organizers:

• michael.koch@unibw.de
• isa.jahnke@tu-dortmund.de

Position papers will be presented and discussed during the workshop.

Read more here and here.

[twitter & politics]

Is Twitter now a part of U.S. foreign policy? The Washington Post reports that:

The State Department asked social networking site Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance earlier this week in order to avoid disrupting communications among tech-savvy Iranian citizens as they took to the streets to protest Friday’s reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

That sounds like a wow. Only maybe not. A few grafs down the Post also reports that the White House downplayed the request this way:

“This wasn’t a directive from Secretary of State, but rather was a low-level contact from someone who often talks to Twitter staff.”

But a senior State Department official told the Post that the contacts were quite official.

“One of the areas where people are able to get out the word is through Twitter,” said a senior State Department official in a conversation with reporters, on condition of anonymity. “They announced they were going to shut down their system for maintenance and we asked them not to.”

On the other hand, is this all being blown out of proportion by the Twitter-loving press?

“Twitter’s impact inside Iran is zero,” said Mehdi Yahyanejad, manager of a Farsi-language news site based in Los Angeles. “Here, there is lots of buzz, but once you look . . . you see most of it are Americans tweeting among themselves.”

Re: Twitter's impact inside Iran is zero? Not sure about that. If people are doing something outside of Iran, wouldn't that have an impact within?

See these stories too:

• Iranian Youth Protests Could Outlast Ahmadinejad Rule
  "Since the election, reformist Web sites, as well as Twitter and Facebook, have been cut off in Iran, although Iranians are evading the controls via proxy"
• Iran's Twitter Revolution "Ahmadinejad will twitter to his supporters he will save Iran from the rule of the twitter mobs and the Ayatollahs and mullahs will twitter"
• Dissecting Twitter's Role In Tech, Society, Politics"The Iran situation, where Twitter continued to provide communication resources to Iran residents after the government had shut down other communication"
• Iran's Protests: Why Twitter Is the Medium of the Movement "The U.S. State Department doesn't usually take an interest in the maintenance schedules of dotcom start-ups. But over the weekend, officials there reached out to Twitter and asked them to delay a network upgrade that was scheduled for Monday night. The reason? To protect the interests of Iranians using the service to protest the presidential election that took place on June 12. Twitter moved the upgrade to 2 p.m. P.T. Tuesday afternoon — or 1:30 a.m. Tehran time." (this link via @SteveCadwell)

Article from Richard Koman at ZDNet.

[wedding!!]

I couldn't resist putting a personal note up here on the blog about our wedding which took place on Saturday the 13th of June. We married at Vineland Estates Winery in Vineland, Ontario (in between Toronto and Niagara).

We had an amazing photographer Judy who has already put a few photos up. I've added some to our wedding blog but here are a few tasters too:




This one of us in the car is my favourite!! My idea of a yellow mustang convertible didn't quite work out but Judy saved the day by letting us borrow her own convertible!! What a woman eh?!


***Am loving my bouquet!***



Isn't that background amazing? Tuscany or Vineland?




I love how Judy framed Steve's head in the triangle of the wine boutique:




This was a moment of pure relaxation! Wonderful!



Check out Keith's fab grin!


Judy knows me well....convertible lover AND shoe lover! Great way to bring the two together! (Along with my little piece of England - I got the shoes there!)

[influence of new media]

[digital media & learning]

Re-reading a report on the "digital youth" and how they use/interact with digital media. (Note this is US-based but over 800 "youths and young adults"). Some interesting take-aways:

• Most youth use online networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school, religious organizations, sports, and other local activities
• The majority of youth use new media to “hang out” and extend existing friendships
• Contrary to popular images, geeking out is highly social and engaged, although usually not driven primarily by local friendships
• Geeking out in many respects erases the traditional markers of status and authority
• New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is less apparent in a classroom setting
• Rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, they question what it would mean to think of it as a process guiding youths’ participation in public life more generally.