The North Wing

Last Thursday, the campus was treated to a wonderful presentation by Jill Hurst-Wahl about online communities and tools to network with others.  She told us that it was the online version of the water cooler or a “virtual coffee pot.”  People gather for a variety of reasons including information sharing, problem solving, collaboration, and to support one another regardless of distance and regardles of which device we carry.

 The trend towards online social networking will continue, says Hurst, and there are several trends:

• Social Networking Tools (SNTs) will be everywhere.  In the course management software, in the library catalog, in our office productivity software.
• Everyone will be hyperconnected–connected in multiple ways.  As people find their preferred method of connectivity, they will meet online, learn about each other and then build trust.  After that, they will work together.
• Intellectual property concerns will continue to be prevalent.  Trademarks, copyright, creative commons will all be part of the future.   In the action of sharing, we run the risk of losing something we really want to own.
• Views on privacy will continue to change.  Online, we are willing to disclose more and to live more transparently.  People don’t always consider the unintended consequences and negative impact to such online disclosures.
• Virtual worlds will become more common, specialized to companies/interests; they will be more interoperable–available on more devices.  Online virtual worlds will be less resource intensive, won’t take up a lot of computer memory etc.

Second Life is such a virtual world. 

SUNY Cortland has an island on Second Life and some faculty and students are teaching and learning there.  For more information, please contact Tera Doty-Blance in the Technology Training Center.