CTAM Opportunities and Challenges: Mediated Communication as a Sub-Field of Communication Studies

Dann Cronn-Mills, MN State University, Mankato

Convergence Culture, Where old and new cultures collide (?)

Freakanomics Super Freakanomics (people are going into this online environments because theirs incentive to do so)

Melissa Landin, Inver Hills Community College

Noticed a lack of knowledge and ettiquette.

Computer mediated communication started off as a line in a textbook, now has a whole a chapter in most communication textbooks.

Class looks at nettiquette, virtual worlds, technology. Think about pictures posted--she tells them your employers are looking up your names online.

Have had challenges with enrollment. Trouble is getting them there (title).

It's expansive and changing--you do have to stay on top of it.

Darcy Turner St Cloud Technical College

English and Communication for Technology.

How to be professional in your email correspondence.

It does belong in communication studies.

Other notes:

At Mankato

Communicating with and thru technology (based more on technology)

Communication Technology and Culture (nature of tech affecting culture and vice versa) (more philosophy and theory)

At Inver Hills

1000 level (covers a bit of this and that but not at the depth as a upper level course)

Digital Nation- (PBS program)

ecommunication not just about skills but is having a ramifications

Do we have to change our theories? What we teach?

Humm...somebody just rephrased one of the ideas I posed in an early session in that ecommunication is like a "cultural factor/influence, a framework for what we think we are seeing ":

Perceptual lens (technology and ecommunication) We need to develop new theories. As a teacher ask your students, does this theory still apply in this context (an econtext).

The technology is the channel.

"Theory is the only thing that validates our discipline" ??

Communication is about shared meaning (exchanging ideas).

"As a culture we're losing our starting points" 'living in worlds of make believe"

There are some paradigms that have shifted because of ecommunication.

Journal of Computer Mediated Communication

Identity, Privacy, Self--let them

Thurlow Crispin? Teaches CMC He also has links

Hyper Personal Messages Social Processing (Walter ?)

Perception--how does the digital channel transform our interface (??) fragmentation, don't have continuity self-reinforcing messages

1.anonymity (senders and receivers)

2.digital filtering (perception as a filter--recursive messages--)

3.virtual reality

Practice of how we use technology is self-reinforcing

Someone (at MIT?) not allowing computers in the classroom.

Instructor refused electronics in the classroom and then reported "richer discussion"

Act of seeking is the hormonal release not necessarily the finding. Provides you with the "burst" chemically--for self gratification.

Is part of our problem as speech teachers--that we're relying too heavily on classic written style? We write how we speak.

To what extent or how does communication apprehension tie into use of ecommunication?

This field is evolving.

"Are we too early on this?" I saw we're too late on this.

Inver Hills Goal Area 6 MNState University is Goal Area 9. Does there need to be a new Goal Area for "Technology"