Show 'n Tell

One of the bright ideas we had earlier in the year was a research Show 'n Tell. Each of the course team brought along three examples of original research with which H809'ers might usefully engage and that could illustrate a cutting edge methodology. To discourage bashfulness, one of these examples had to be local (either one's own work or a colleague's). We then talked about each piece of research, and what it had to offer. The discussion proved so enjoyable we had two more of them.

The readings were about...

• research into technologies such as social websites, games consoles, podcasting, Google Maps, Second Life, robotics...
• research using technologies such as ChatBot, eye-tracking, remote observation, audio logs...
• analytical frameworks such as Activity Theory, discourse analysis, network analysis, content analysis...
• issues such as effectiveness, informal learning, interactivity, economics, privacy, personalisation, capacity building...

Of course we can't promise to fit all of this into the course, but the selection of readings for the first presentation of the course does draw heavily on these happy discussions. And the plan is to update the readings annually to keep them at the cutting-edge. We're happy to receive further suggestions.