Computer Mediated Communication and the Connection between Virtual Utopias and Actual Realities

People have generally been very ambivalent about the potential future roles of new technologies (and the internet specifically) and their possible effects on human society. Indeed, there has been a tendency for polarization between attitudes or perceptions of naive enthusiasm and cynical resistance towards the use of computers and computer networks, and for such related concepts as ‘the information superhighway’ and ‘cyberspace’. The projection of such ambivalent perceptions into naively utopian (or even ironically dystopian) images and narratives might be seen as the latest and uniquely global permutation of a basic function of human culture - that is, to imagine ‘a better future’ or represent ‘an ideal past’. This paper will consider the extent to which the kinds of virtual utopias made possible by computer-mediated communications are\ud ‘connected’ to the actual individual and social realities of human participants. In other words, how important might it be to recognise a distinction between the use of virtual utopias (and utopian representations in any culture) as merely escapist, self-indulgent fantasy on one hand, and\ud as a useful, transformative media for reinventing the human condition on the other? Whether we live in a Panoptic or democratic Net ten years from now depends, in no small measure, on what you and I know and do now. Howard Rheingold, Afterword to The Virtual Community (1994, p. 310

"Steaming coffee" Mugar 24 hours posters

These posters were created to make BU students aware of BU Libraries' special schedule during exam period

'Being the Teacher': identity and classroom conversation

Recent debate on the standard classroom Initiation–Response–Follow-up pattern has focused particular attention on the final move and the contribution it can make to productive interaction in teacher-fronted situations. This paper suggests that current research in this area has tended to exaggerate the pedagogic impact of changes based on specifiable discourse moves, proposing instead an approach to analysis which takes account of the dynamic nature of identity construction and its relationship to the development of ongoing talk. It challenges the view that the concept of classroom conversation is inherently contradictory and, drawing on the work of Zimmerman (1998) related to the broader field of Membership Categorization Analysis, demonstrates how shifts in the orientation to different aspects of identity produce distinctively different interactional patterns in teacher-fronted talk. Using Zimmerman's distinction between discourse, situated and transportable identities in talk, extracts from classroom exchanges from different educational contexts are analysed as the basis for claiming that conversation involving teacher and students in the classroom is indeed possible. The paper concludes with a discussion of the pedagogical implications of this

BU Libraries "Ice" happy winter break posters

These posters were created to wish students a happy and relaxing winter break from BU Libraries

Computer‐based learning in psychology using interactive laboratories

Traditional approaches to computer‐based learning often focus on the delivery of information. Such applications usually provide large stores of information which can be accessed in a wide variety of ways. Typical access facilities provided within such applications include Boolean search engines and hypermedia (non‐linear) browsing. These types of approach often centre on providing human‐computer dialogues which are relatively low on interaction. The interactive‐laboratory approach, however, aims to limit the quantity of information presented, and instead to provide a highly interactive learning environment. In the field of psychology, users are able interactively to design and deliver a broad range of psychological experiments. This paper details the approach, and describes how it can be used to teach psychology within a university environment. The way in which its effectiveness as a learning tool can be evaluated is also discussed