Workshop Time Schedule:
- October 26, 2005, 9:15-12:00, 13:00-16:00
- October 27, 2005 9:15-12:00, 13:00-16:00
- The class will meet in room Ada Byron, 3rd Floor, IT-University
Who can enroll: Students enrolled in the Masters and Ph.D. programmes at the IT-University with an interest in human-centered computing can enroll the course. Students in other departments of Göteborg University or other Swedish universities can register as well if space is available. International students are very welcome.
Maximum enrollment is 15 students. To sign up, please email Marisa Ponti, marisa.ponti@ituniv.se, and indicate your name, your Masters Programme and contact information. Students will be admitted on a first come, first served basis. Please sign up by September 30, 2005.
Instruction, discussion, and materials in the course will be in English.
Course Description:
This workshop will explore two senses of pragmatic ICT design. One is the common language notion of how to create ICT that works to meet real human needs, accommodates users, and is situated contextually in time, place, and setting. The second is a conception of ICT design from pragmatist theory, which sees technologies as developed within a community of inquiry and embodying both means of action and forms of understanding. The course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of the American Pragmatism movement, in the work of such leaders as John Dewey (1859-1952) and Jane Addams (1860-1935), whose influence has stretched across the realms of philosophy, education, psychology, aesthetics, ethics, and social and political action. We will also examine recent, related research on the social uses and implications of ICT.
The first session will cover the basic conceptual framework of pragmatism, with its emphasis on: the collaborative creation of knowledge that is connected to ethos and lived experience; open-ended and democratic processes; and integrating theory and action in an experimental and critical manner. The second session will be devoted to tracing connections between pragmatism and the design of ICTs. An example that Bruce will present is the ongoing research and development of a suite of open source software tools known as community inquiry labs (iLabs), which are currently in use around the world in library, classroom, neighborhood, and scientific settings.
