Social Distancing Can Travel Online So much has been said about how online chats, email and conferencing are filling the void left by social distancing, I thought it would be worth sending a word of caution. Courtesy Arthur Asa Berger Communication online is not a real substitute for person-to-person face-to-face communication. It is most often … Continue reading Social Distancing Can Travel Online
*OIINEWS
Zoom-bombing the Future of Education
Zoom-bombing the Future of Education by Bill Dutton and Arnau Erola based on their discussions with Louise Axon, Mary Bispham, Patricia Esteve-Gonzalez, and Marcel Stolz In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, schools and universities across the globe have moved to online education as a substitute rather than a complement for campus-based instruction. While this … Continue reading Zoom-bombing the Future of Education
How the #Infodemic is being Tackled
The fight against conspiracy theories and other fake news about the coronavirus crisis is receiving more help from the social media and other tech platforms, as a number of thought leaders have argued.[1] However, in my opinion, a more important factor has been more successful outreach by governmental, industry, and academic researchers. Too often, the research … Continue reading How the #Infodemic is being Tackled
Women and the Web
News reports today citing one of the inventors of the Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, as arguing that the Web “is not working for women and girls”. Tim Berners-Lee is a hero of all of us involved in study and use of the Internet, Web, and related information and communication technologies. Clearly, many women and girls … Continue reading Women and the Web
Society and the Internet
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the Internet and related social media and digital technologies to the forefront of societies across the globe. Whether in supporting social distancing, working at home, or online courses, people are increasingly dependent on online media for everyday life and work. If you are teaching courses on the social aspects of … Continue reading Society and the Internet
Good Courses and Programmes Attract Good Students: It is not about saying ‘no’ to other institutions
An engaging but provocative article in the Guardian suggested that a woman's daughter said 'no' to Oxbridge institutions by choosing to join an innovative programme at Leeds University. I simply would like to suggest that her daughter did not reject the Oxbridge universities. Instead, she positively pursued a degree programme she found more attractive and … Continue reading Good Courses and Programmes Attract Good Students: It is not about saying ‘no’ to other institutions
Society and the Internet, 2nd Edition
It is such a pleasure to see the publication today of the second edition of Society and the Internet by Oxford University Press. My co-editor, Mark Graham, and I worked long and hard to assemble a wonderful set of authors to build on the first edition. The success of the original volume led to this … Continue reading Society and the Internet, 2nd Edition
OII – the Institute has reached escape velocity!
I spent a full day at the OII for my first time since being back in Oxford. It was in part enjoying my new affiliation as an OII Senior Fellow and also participation in a meeting of the Advisory Board. But it also included attending the Awards Day ceremonies that featured a conversation with Professor … Continue reading OII – the Institute has reached escape velocity!
Pack Journalism – Digitally Networked
Digitally Networked Pack Journalism Pack journalism is not only alive and well in the digital age, it is arguably more prominent than it could ever be in the analogue era of print journalism. There is clearly a need for multi-disciplinary research on the sociology and politics of digitally enabled pack journalism. The concept of pack … Continue reading Pack Journalism – Digitally Networked
Evidence of Benefits from Opening the White House Press Briefings via Skype Seats
I've argued on this blog that the idea of enabling the press to ask questions from outside the White House Press Office, in fact, outside the Washington DC Beltway, was a good idea. Some anecdotal evidence is being reported that the strategy is working. USA Today reported that over 13 White House press briefings, Sean … Continue reading Evidence of Benefits from Opening the White House Press Briefings via Skype Seats