Plenary Sessions

 

Spring 2003 Task Force Meeting
Plenary Sessions

 

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OPENING SESSION
Monday, April 28, at 1:15 PM
The Opening Plenary Session of the Spring 2003 Task Force meeting brings author J. C. Herz to offer her insights on:

Everquest for Knowledge Workers:
What Organizations Can Learn from Online Games and Other Social SoftwareIf you compare today’s “enterprise groupware” with the group coordination found in online games and social software outside the workplace (weblogs, instant messaging, wikis, etc.) there’s no comparison, either in ease of use or in the ability of these so-called “extracurricular” software programs to help groups coordinate and cohere, not to mention the emotional investment of the individuals in these activities. The disparity is not because one is “work” and the other is “play,” but rather, because online games and other social software has co-evolved with real human behavior, as opposed to management-think about sanctioned cubicle behavior. And in fact, the most productive groups in networked organizations are often the ones who pull this “unofficial” technology in from the edges. So, what are the salient design characteristics of online games and other social computing applications, and what are their implications in a professional context? How can organizations apply these lessons to leverage their human capital? And what would networked project space look like if they did?

Herz is the principal of Joystick Nation Inc., a research and design practice that applies the principles of game design to products, services, and learning systems.

Drawing from an understanding of ecology, online social dynamics, complex systems, and information theory, Herz’s focus is human-human interaction design, and systems that leverage the intrinsic characteristics of networked communication. Clients include multinational corporations, high-tech start-ups and military research organizations. She is currently on contract to the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency.

Herz sits on the National Research Council’s Committee on Creativity and Information Technology, and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s study group on patterns of emergent behavior in massively multiplayer persistent worlds. In addition to teaching a graduate course, “The Anthropology of Massively Multiplayer Online Games,” at NYU, she has lectured at Carnegie Mellon University, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, the University of California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, the Annenberg Center for Communications, and Yale. She is the author of two books, Surfing on the Internet (Little Brown, 1994), an ethnography of cyberspace before the Web, and Joystick Nation: How Videogames Ate Our Quarters, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds (Little, Brown 1997).

Some links to Herz’s work:

An index of articles written for the New York Times, 1998-2000 (free, but registration required) “Gaming the System: What Higher Education Can Learn from Multiplayer Online Worlds” (PDF 5.1 format) “Harnessing the Hive: How Online Games Drive Networked Innovation” Edventure, October 2002 “Computer Games and the Military, Two Views” with Michael R. Macedonia, Defense Horizons, April 2002 CLOSING SESSION Tuesday, April 29 at 2:15 PM The Closing Plenary Session of the Spring 2003 Task Force meeting features a talk by Timothy Lance, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NYSERNet and professor of mathematics at the University of Albany, State University of New York. Lance will discuss: Advanced Networks: New Developments and Future Potential Advanced networks are undergoing fundamental changes, driven by a confluence of breakthroughs in technology, ever-increasing penetration of the network into daily lives, the implosion of the telecommunications industry, and evolving national policy. We examine the interplay among these forces, consider the seminal shift in academic networking, and look over the horizon. We close by playing out scenarios for events that can profoundly impact development of the network and its uses, and emphasize the critical role of the academic community in shaping the outcome. Lance has taken a leadership role in information systems at the University of Albany, where he served as Associate Vice President for Information Systems and Technology (1991-94) and as Chair of the Department of Mathematics (1994-present). Among many other projects, Lance helped develop the electronic library, expanded campus-wide information systems, created the College of Arts and Sciences network, and created the campus’s first computer classroom. At NYSERNet, Lance has provided leadership and vision in planning and implementing programs that ensure that the research and educational communities in New York State enjoy the most advanced networking capabilities and tools. Some links to Lance’s work: “A Vision for the Network, a Working Paper Contribution for the Broadband Pricing Group” EDUCAUSE, January 2003 “Ferment and Change”, Bits, Bytes, and Broadcasts NYSERNet News August 2000