Full papers for the upcoming New Media Research @ UMN conference are starting to trickle in. You can download them from the conference website at:
http://www.inms.umn.edu/events/past/newresearch_2006/papers.html
We've received a lot of great proposals for the New Media Research at UMN 2006 conference. Propsals are currently getting reviewed and acceptance notices will be sent out soon. Looking at the submitted abstracts, I think this conference is shaping up to be very enlightening and engaging. Thank you to everyone who sent in an abstract. For a schedule and more information about the conference, visit the conference site.
Since last year’s New Media Research at UMN conference was such a success, we’ve
decided to gather again!
For: The University of Minnesota New Media Research Community
When: Thursday, September 14, 2006 – Friday, September 15, 2006
Where: Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006 - 5:00 - 7:30 pm - Digital Technology Center,
Walter Library 4th Floor - Poster exhibition and Conference Kick-off
Friday, Sept. 15, 2006 - 9:00 am - 3:00 pm - Coffman Union, Mississippi
Room - Paper panels, posters, and roundtable discussion
Join us as we continue to:
Download this document [pdf]
Another proof that you only need to wait a little while these days before someone invents what you need. I've created a group for the New Media Research Network on the social mapping site Frappr. You can access the map at:
http://www.frappr.com/newmediaresearchnetworkumn/map
When you add yourself to the map, you can upload a photo and designate your status (faculty, student, staff, other). There's also an RSS feed, so you can see who's on the map. The Frappr team has been making a lot of interesting improvements lately and I'm sure there are more to come.
There are two new features on the Network website.
The first is a del.icio.us tag "inms" that anyone can use to add links that we can all use by subcribing to the feed, or simply looking up the tag on del.icio.us.
The second is a flickr group where you can share photos that may be of interest to the network.
On UMNnews there is a story about using virtual reality immersion therapy to help relieve patients' fobias. From the story:
For nearly a year the clinic has been using virtual reality to desensitize patients to experiences that provoke fear and anxiety. The key is to repeat the exposure many times in a session, which can't be done for real when the anxiety involves things like flying and public speaking, the two major foci of current therapies. Other programs treat fear of storms, heights, closed spaces, and being interviewed.
This morning on MPR's Midmorning with Kerri Miller, there was a good discussion of using games as teaching tools in universities, industry, and government. Guests on the show included:
There was some excellent discussion from the guests, as well as callers in the second half. It's definitely worth a listen if you're interested in educational, or "serious", applications for digital games.
Professors Nora Paul and Kathleen Hansen (School of Journalism and Mass Communication) were featured in UMN News today. They are working with the MMORPG Neverwinter Nights as an evironment for learning. From the story:
Hansen and Paul modified the game-with the technical help of Matt Taylor, a colleague at Dunwoody College of Technology-to provide students with an interactive lesson in researching and writing a breaking news story. In the modified game, the student plays the role of a rookie reporter at the Harperville Gazette newspaper. A train has derailed in town and spilled its load of anhydrous ammonia, and the rookie reporter is assigned to write a context piece to help Gazette readers understand the implications of the accident. In the game, the reporter talks to the paper's editor about a good angle for the story, such as the health effects of anhydrous ammonia, the potential environmental effects, the public safety aspects of the wreck, or issues of railroad safety, for example. Once players choose their story angle, they are free to go anywhere in the newsroom and anywhere in the city of Harperville to research the story.
Find colleagues working with new media around campus with the network map. Powered by Google, you can add yourself to the map to announce your presence to the network.
New Media Research Map