We'll talk a lot about Facebook because that's what comes to mind first. The idea for this course came about in a discussion that took place in Amherst last summer. David Kirkpatrick was talking about his book, The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World
. During the presentation and in a later sidebar chat, I started to wonder if we're seeing something truly new or an extension of our former communities, but just bigger, faster, and virtual.I don't have a crisp answer for that yet and look forward to the class discussion to move the ideas forward. Clay Shirky contends that there is no metaphor for Facebook, implying that it is a new phenomenon.
It's been a while since I've been in front of a classroom. Most of my experience is in business, providing technical training. This is explicitly not technical training. We won't be setting up Facebook or Twitter accounts or learn how to use RSS feed or other firehose-mitigating tools. I am eager for the discussion. The good thing about adult education programs is that the students want to talk. They bring their own questions, their own experiences, and do not just take the teacher's word for anything.
Next week, I'll be leading another course, this time at Mount Wachusett. It's a seven-week non-credit course for legal studies and business students. We'll cover intellectual property law - patents, trademarks, copyrights, and related threads. I'll write more about that course later this week.
And, I'm still taking two courses in the hopes of completing my paralegal studies degree this semester. I realized recently that I've been in college in each of the past six decades. It also means that I'm more than twice the age of the people I people I wasn't supposed to trust. That just might me me sneak around to the back door for another chance.
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