The Lab That Fell to Earth. Once the center of the technology research universe, the storied MIT Media Lab is teetering on the brink of breakup -- or worse, irrelevance. By Brendan I. Koerner from Wired magazine. [Wired News]

Wow, does this make me feel old!

8:41:00 AM    

This looks great. A conference about the proliferation and use of Wi-Fi in the academic world. They are streaming some of the sessions. The only problem is that their website is confusing and I can't figure out how to watch archived videos. Maybe they haven't put the videos up yet. I'm definitely planning to return to this conference website. I think that the use of wireless networks in an academic setting points to how wireless networks will be deployed at meetings, conferences and tradeshows.

Academic Wi-Fi Conference. Conference looks at wireless and academia: If you had any question about how much money is being spent at college campuses and elsewhere to install wireless networks (cell and 802.11), just look at the list of sponors on the conference's home page. They're streaming video from the event, which runs through Friday. The topic list is fascinating, as it deals with the social, technical, and security implications of overlaying ubiquitous networks on a campus. [via TechDirt]... [Wi-Fi Networking News]

8:35:25 AM    

Excellent article, "Teaching in the Wireless Cloud: Students with mobile devices are slowly redefining some fundamental campus rules," by Bryan Alexander in TheFeature.

Teaching in the Wireless Cloud. Students equipped with mobile and wireless devices are reshaping the classroom environment. Spaces structured by static rows of computer desks, with screens or bulky monitors blocking views, are increasingly obsolete. Instead students can sit where they like, depending on the instructor's flexibility. A class can change quickly from a lecture to a small group discussion or lab format, while retaining the full powers of computer-mediated communication. Instructors project notes on a wall, talking through a sequence of points, then break the class up to pursue team projects or discussions. In my experience, learners quickly arrange themselves in ways conducive to their comfortable conversation and writing, rather than following the dictates of pre-arranged furniture (which is often hostile to the best learning).

As educational spaces change, so does learning time. The traditional class works on a two-step information access schedule, alternating between an isolated classroom and an out-of-class connection to the full world of information via libraries and the internet. Always-on connectivity allows learners to blur those two modes, hitting the internet on demand or in mid-discussion, texting classmates (and instructors) at any time. [Smart Mobs]

8:33:50 AM    

Webby Award nominees announced. The 7th annual Webby Award nominees were announced late Tuesday. Here's the list of nominees. You can vote in the People's Choice Awards through May 23. Lots of good, obscure sites here. The ceremony -- which has lost much of... [JD's New Media Musings]

[Marc's Voice]

8:32:00 AM