Prof. Michael Gurstein just sent out the word about a new community informatics course he’ll be teaching at through the University of Alberta. I was lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time around Michael through the CRACIN project that ISF participated in.
I’m tempted to take my course myself even though I have a fair amount of experience in the field and have done a lot of additional reading. Must remember that “Strategy is knowing what not to do”.
EXT 597: Community, Communication, and Organization: An Introduction to Community Informatics
An Elective Course developed for Communications and Technology
Instructor: Dr. Michael GursteinCourse Description and Objectives
This course will provide an overview and introduction to the emerging field of Community Informatics (CI) which is concerned with the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to enable and empower local as well as virtual communities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_informatics.
The course will present CI from a variety of perspectives including — social, economic, policy, theoretical and technical. Practical examples and cases will be addressed in the Canadian, OECD and developing world contexts. Topics covered will include CI and community networking in Canada and globally; CI and community practice; CI and the digital divide; CI and virtual communities/social networking; and CI and economic and social development in rural and remote communities. Students completing the course will have an understanding of CI in relation to other areas of communications for development and a good background should they wish to pursue additional studies, research or practical activities in community development or community informatics. The course will interest students pursuing specializations in librarianship in the community, rural development practice and theory, technology policy, and on-line communities, among others.
For more information, contact: Susan Petruszczak at (780) 492-1538 or susan.petruszczak at ualberta.ca