The topics and materials in this course vary from semester to semester to reflect varying student interests and the rapid pace of change in this field

Visions of Cyberspace.

1. "The Global Brain," by Peter Russell, a Video released in 1983 based on Russell's book The Global Brain.   We should be able to watch this in class on the first night.  It is probably more powerful viewed in a darkened room than on a screen, but try to see it under the best possible circumstances if you miss it in class.
2. The transcript of the sound track of The Global Brain is available online and in Sakai/Assignments.  It isn't as powerful in that format, but it is helpful to read the transcript after viewing the video.  
   
3. 2001:  A Space Odyssey.  Track to be shown in class.  You can find clips from this on YouTube.
4. George Johnson, "From Two Small Nodes a Mighty Web Has Grown", New York Times, Octobetr 12, 1999.  An historical account of the early development of the Internet.  This is on the New York Times WEB site.  You may need to open an account with them to access it.  The accounts are free and well worth having.  We will have other readings on this site.
5. John Markoff, "Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man."  In Sakai.
   
6. "The Big Questions" a short story by Stephen Vladimir Bugaj and Ben Goertzel published in 2008 in The Journal of Science Fiction in Philosophy. 

The History of Computers and the Internet.

1. Cassidy, "From Memex to the World Wide Web," chapter one from Dot.con:  the greatest story ever sold.  In Sakai/Resources/WeekTwo
2. The Introduction to Fred Turner, From Counterculture to Cyberculture:  Steward Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism.
   
3. Video:  From Counterculture to Valley Zen with Fred Turner. 
   
4. A slide presentation covering these readings is available in powerpoint format in Sakai and on Google documents here. 

Writing About the Future

1.  "Effective Writing" from the Penguin handbook on writing.  In Sakai/Assignments and Materials, or you may already have this book from your writing courses at Rutgers.
2.  Writing Exercises from the Penguin Manual and Writing Exercises from Literature.
3.  Methods and Approaches of Future Studies.
4.  20 Forecasts for 2010-2025 (just read the forecasts and skip the advertising for the future society).

"The Media and the Message"

1. Marshall McLuhan, Author, Dies; Declared 'Medium Is the Message'. 
   
2. Video Clip.McLuhan speaking on futurist thinking.
   
3. Dramatization of the discovery of "the medium is the message"
   
4. Theories of Marshall McLuhan.  Notes by your instructor.  Some of McLuhan's concepts are a bit idiosyncratic, especially his use of "hot" and "cool".  The excerpts in blue are from a Playboy interview.
5. Powerpoint Logic. 
   
6. Is Google Making Us Stupid? 
   
7. E-Books Starting to Take Hold. 
   
8. Japanese Cell-phone novels. 
   
9. Texting?  No, Just Trying to Read Chapter 6
   

Cyberspace and the Market Economy:  The Dot.com Bubble

1. "Preface" to "Dot.Con:  The Real Story of Why the Internet Bubble Burst"
2. "The Dot.con Bubble:  An Overview"  in powerpoint in SAKAI or on Google Docs.
3. Download:  The True Story of the Internet Bubble - Part I.  20 minute video. [if Veoh doesn't work, you can find these on Google Video as well.]
   
4. Download:  The True Story of the Internet Bubble - Part II.  23 minute video.
5. "Twitter Appears Set to Raise $100 Million"
   

Internet Publishing & Blogging

1. Newspapers' Troubles Escalate in Recession.  Christian Science Monitor, March 16, 2006.
2. End Times: Can America’s paper of record survive the death of newsprint? Can journalism?  Atlantic Monthly, January 2009.
3. End Times:  A Response. 
   
4. Google and the Future of Books. 
   
5. "When Stars Twitter,  a Ghost may be Lurking" 
   
6. Blogging for Dollars. 
   
7. The State of the Blogosphere:  Introduction. 
   
8. Blogs to Riches.  (note that this is six pages).  There is a printable version in SAKAI. 
   
9. Linkology.   Printable version in SAKAI.  The Diagram and the Text are in two different files in SAKAI.  You can also access a larger file of the diagram from the original web site.
10. Butler University blog case. 
    

Social Networking

1. The Brave New World of Digital Intimacy
2. Someone to Watch Over Me (on a Google map)
3. The Trolls Among Us.
4. Revolution, Facebook Style    .
5. Online Networks and Teen Sex in Chile.
6. Twitter:  It's what you make it. 
7. Twitters Worldwide Gather for Twestival

Computer Generated Animation  ((topic to be developed)

Pixar Genius

Health Information Technology

1. Future of health information technology - video
   
2.  Information Technology comes to medicine  
   
3. British HS Comp a disaster -  in Sakai
   
4. Interview with Ross Koppel on problems of implementation. 
5. Research Trove:  Patients Online Data.
6. Tech Companies Push to Digitize Patient Records.

"Netroots" and Politics

1. Jonathan Chait, "Netroots:  The Left's New Machine"  This article is from the New Republic.  I reposted it with links to many of the blogs that are mentioned, and also highlighted some of the passages that are most relevant to our course. 
   
2. Presentation on Generational Trends in American Politics with some survey data.  This gives some background for the generational analysis in the Winograd and Hais reading.  There is some overlap with the Generational Cycles, Cyberspace and The Economy.ppt we had in Week Seven, but that seems useful to help tie things together.  Available in powerpoint format in Sakai/Resources/Week Ten.
   
3. Introduction to Morley Winograd and Michael Hais, Millennial Makeover:  My Space, You Tube and the Future of American Politics.  In Sakai/Resources/Week Ten. 
   
4. A critical review  by Fred Barnes of Millennial Makeover from The Weekly Standard.
   

Privacy, Security and Terrorism  (these need to be vetted)

1. web companies keep track of us
2. "Violent Islamist Extremists, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat"   Also at:  http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/IslamistReport.pdf.
3. ACLU skeptical of report. Coalition Memo to Senate.  NY Times Editorial.  Lieberman responds. 
4. Warrior for Jihad Rallies Recruits with Online Fury. 
5. Pedophiles on the Internet. 
6. Terrorists on the Internet. 
7. Public Records on the Internet. 
8. Infrastructure Security Report  - 
9. You're Leaving a Digital Trail:  Should you Care? 
10. NY Times series on Cyberwar:  first article. 
11. US Steps up Efforts on Digital Defense.  
12. LA Police Surveillance Database. 
13. Robot Wars. 
14. U.S. and Russia differ on Cyberspace Treaty.
15. Concern about civilian disruption in cyberspace attacks.
    
16. Filming Crimes on YouTube.
17. Gadget Makers can find Thief but Don't Ask.

Computer Gaming & Children's Web Sites

1. WEB playgrounds of the very young.
2. Video Games:  computer vs console. 
   
3. Gaming Evolves.
4. Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers
5. Warhammer Online vs. World of Warcraft.
   
6. Second Life:  Abridged from Wikipedia Article. 
   
7. Glimpse Inside a Metaverse:  The Virtual World of Second Life:  Video.  This is 58 minutes, but you need watch only the first 14 minutes and 30 seconds where the speaker given an overview.  After that it gets into questions and answers which are more technical.
   
8. Educational Video Games Mix Cool with Purpose. 
   
9. Sad, Lonely?  For a good time call Vivienne.
10. Cellphones, Texts and Lovers. 
    
11. After Mickey's Makeover, Look for a Little Less Mystery. 
    
12. Virtual Goods bring Real Paydays.
    

Cyberspace and the Third World

1. Cyber Rebels in Cuba. 
2. Tech Innovation with a Social Mission.
3. Chinese Student in US Caught in Confrontation.
4. Young Videomakers Try to Alter Islam's Face. 
5. Yemen Blog Written in NJ. 
6. Chinese reactions to Tibet protest, nationalism on WEB. 
7. Russia Georgia Cyberspace War.
8. Evading olympic blackout. 
9. Ilan Greenberg, Changing the Rules of the Game  -  the Genocide Olympics?
10. Protests in Moldova. 
11. Tibetan Blogger.  
12. Tear Down This Cyberwall: getting around Iranian censorship with Falun Gong software.
13. NY Times on Yoani Sanchez. 
    

Online Education

1. The Evidence on Online Education: superior.  The Study Report. NYT blog story and comments
2. In a digital future, textbooks are history.  Connecticut distrivbt throws out algebra textbooks.
3. Online education viewed as peripheral.  
4. What Doomed the Global Campus at U of Illinois?
5. Understanding Students who were "Born Digital"  interview with author
6. Computerized Blue Books for exams. 
7. Video Games Teach Algebra.
8. E-Learning's Third Phase epsilen
   
9. Use of Predictive Modeling in Education.
   

Cyberspace and Your Personal Future  (to be developed)

1. Bright Lights, Big Internet
2. For Him, the Web Was No Safety Net    Movie site.
3. Waking Up from the Economy of Dreams  in Sakai
4. Wired Guide to Personal Scenario Planning.
5. Moving Spanish 101 totally online.
   

Business

1. Future of Microsoft:  post-pc
2.