Monday, December 27, 2010

Design Meets Disability

In a new book, "Design Meets Disability" Graham Pullen discusses how designing with disability in mind can help all of us. http://www.dwell.com/articles/eight-questions-for-graham-pullin.html In this interview he discusses what has been done and what he would like to see happen.

Information on the book can be found at:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11673

Monday, December 20, 2010

Online asychronous groups successful in

An artcle in the lates issue of JOLT, "Making Online Collaboration Work by Transcending Gender Stereotypes: A Study of Two Mixed Gender Online Groups" http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no4/ritke-jones_1210.pdf reported that postings of two online groups were coded and the researchers found:

"A small online group of mixed genders may be a more fertile environment for women and men to embrace parts of themselves that they cannot in a physical space. In order for a collaborative group to succeed, all group members must take initiative and assert their voices, characteristics attributable to the masculine, while simultaneously negotiating and yielding on issues and nurturing and supporting their group mates, characteristics attributable to the feminine."

Sunday, December 12, 2010

What if we did not use Social Media for one week?

Harriburg University of Science and Technology blocked the use of social media on its college network for one week. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/opinions-mellow-on-social-media-blackout-at-harrisburg-u/28657 In the beginning students and faculty were upset, but, by the end of the week, many students found that they were less stressed, had greater concentration, found lectures more interesting, ate better and exercised more.

Sunday, December 5, 2010