Hi, all. The Technology and Pedagogy Study Group (formerly the Learning Design Book Study community) is ready to start its next round of readings and technology explorations. The topics for our first week will be:
Theory:
Alexander, C. A City is not a Tree. Architectural Forum, Vol 122, No 1, April 1965, pp 58-62 (Part I), Vol 122, No 2, May 1965, pp 58-62 (Part II). We'll read this paper between May 21 and May 27, and discuss it beginning on May 28. Alexander's work has had a seminal influence not only in the design of physical communities, but in the design of virtual communites. He's also one of the founding influences on the Design Patterns movement in computer science.
Technology:
Ning. This system is designed to support rapid prototyping and deployment of social software applications. Much of the overhead involved (dealing with servers, databases, and such) is handled by the Ning system. In addition, you can "clone" an existing application, then quickly add your own modifications to it. We'll look at some Ning apps (and, for the technically-inclined, perhaps build a few simple ones) between May 21 and 27, and display and discuss our finds and/or creations beginning on May 28.
If you have a topic or paper that you'd like for us to discuss, feel free to add it to the Suggested Readings wiki in the course, and perhaps volunteer to lead a discussion.
We hope to see you all there!