Impact of Digital Media Symposium
From NMC-Campus
The NMC hosted a 12-day symposium on the NMC Campus in Second Life focusing on the impact of digital media on all aspects of our daily lives. At the intersection of virtual 3-D space and the "flat-web" of the browser, virtual worlds like Second Life are active settings for collaboration and socialization. The Symposium on the Impact of Digital Media explored the ways we encounter and understand digital media -- inside such a setting.
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This virtual symposium was informed by the MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning, a two-year project in which the NMC is helping to explore the impact of digital media on our lives in a variety of ways, and encouraging dialog among experts, visionaries, and thought leaders from around the globe. This unique event brought that dialog to the current residents of Second Life. The symposium was also a precursor to the NMC Online Conference on Digital Media (October 24-25), which reflected some of the same themes.
The event ran from Tuesday, October 10 through Saturday, October 21. The 12 days of activities culminated in a live presentation on the NMC Campus by Howard Rheingold, author of SmartMobs, among many other books and articles, on October 21.
[edit] Theme of the Symposium
Quick Links
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The singular focus of the 12-day symposium was to consider how the applications of digital media are changing our lives, and how they have impacted the ways we work, learn, collaborate, and even socialize. Recurring themes were:
- Identity and self-image
- Credibility and the reliability of Information
- Civic and social involvement
- The arts, creativity, and design
- Social networking
- Pedagogical potentials and implications
Digital media, for this event, was interpreted broadly as anything from the traditional uses of the medium for creating and sharing rich content to the explosion of blogs for self expression, and increasingly, real time interpretation of news and breaking events. Also included is the notion of shared content via sites like Flickr, YouTube, and blip.tv, social sites like FaceBook and MySpace, and more powerful content and media search tools.
A wide range of events and activities took place over the twelve-day symposium, including a photo contest, panels and discussions, a running poster exhibit, and a visit from Henry VIII, just to name a few.
[edit] Ongoing Activities
These activities took place continuously throughout the 12-day symposium.
- Wiki–based Dialog on the Impact of Digital Media Lend your voice to the discussion!
- Impact of Digital Media Photo Contest
- Video interviews and podcasts with editors and advisors from the MacArthur Series on Digital Media and Learning (available throughout the two weeks in various locations)
- Poster Sessions on the Impact of Digital Media through Oct 21 (locations TBD)
- Voices of Youth -- winning essays from the Global Kids Essays on display in the Library
- Digital Stories in Boardroom through Oct 21
- "The Art of Second Life” — New exhibition in the Aho Museum.
- Special links to resources in the impact of digital media in the Brown Library
- Library of Congress Declaration of Independence Exhibit will be displayed as an example of using digital media to make history come alive.
See the full Impact of Digital Media Symposium Schedule also available as a downloadable PDF.
[edit] Wiki Discussions
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Participating In The Wiki |
We have set up a special wiki discussion on the themes of the NMC three volumes in the series: Identity, Credibility, and Civic Engagement. Please join in the conversations!
