David J. Gunkel

Strategies for 21st Century Educators & Students

David J. Gunkel, Associate Professor of Communication Technology, Northern Illinois University

New Media Education concerns not whether and how we involve students in the study of the Internet, the World Wide Web, blogs, wikis, computer games, virtual worlds, etc. but also how these technological innovations necessitate new approaches to instruction and learning. New media, Dr. Gunkel will argue, are not just another phenomenon to be incorporated into the current curriculum or accommodated to existing disciplinary approaches. They simultaneously question many of the assumptions and standard operating procedures of liberal arts education, confronting both students and teachers with new challenges and opportunities. In addressing these fundamental transformations, Dr. Gunkel will introduce and detail three strategies for effective new media scholarship, all of which cut across the grain of customary approaches in higher education. First, he will demonstrate how some of the best instruction and learning takes place when educators encourage students to play games and spend time with social networks like Second Life, Facebook, and MySpace. Second, he will argue for the social value of copying and alternative approaches to intellectual property by exploring mash-ups, remixing, and peer-to-peer file sharing. Third, he will encourage us to "watch TV…lots of it," because it is on television and in the movies, especially science fiction and fantasy, that our culture reflects critically about its own technological present. In addressing these three strategies, Dr. Gunkel's presentation will challenge some of the deep-seated assumptions that already influence how we approach new media as both a tool and object of scholarly investigation and will provide practical advice and direction for the future of higher education in an increasingly technological era.

David J. Gunkel is an award-winning educator, web developer, and scholar. Formally trained in philosophy and media studies, his teaching and research applies the rigor and insight of philosophical investigation to the hype surrounding information and communication technology. He is the author of two books, Hacking Cyberspace (Westview Press, 2001) and Thinking Otherwise: Philosophy, Communication, Technology (Purdue University Press, 2007); he has published over twenty scholarly articles in academic journals; and he serves as the managing editor of the International Journal of Zizek Studies. He currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Communication Technology at Northern Illinois University, where he teaches courses in the philosophy of technology, computer ethics, computer-mediated communication, and web design and programming. For more information, check out his website at http://gunkelweb.com/gunkel

2/14/08
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