Tuesday, October 19, 2010

project two

project two for digital media production.

1. think of something that interests you. it could be a band, a band you're in, a cafe, cooking, dancing, DIY, facebook, family, fashion, film, food, justice, money, music, newspapers, philosophy, photography, poetry, politics, religions, san francisco, science, sports, surfing, tv, video games, or anything else you choose.

2. take many photographs of that thing. select your favorite.

3. upload the photograph to flickr, title and tag it, put it into a new flickr set, and title the set.

4. take some time - a few hours, a day, a few days.

5. then, take some more photographs of this thing that interests you. upload them to your already existing flickr set. title and tag the photographs. at this point in the project, your flickr set should include 3-5 photographs.

6. when finished and before class on wednesday, october 27, tweet it. be sure to include a link to your flickr set.

7. in class on wednesday, october 27, be ready to demo your work.

8. keep in mind that you will be adding new photographs to this flickr set throughout the rest of the semester.

rules and suggestions:

a. follow all directions.

b. be sure to select something that truly interests you. if after a few days you are no longer interested in photographing that thing which days ago fascinated you, start over and select a new topic.

c. if you have no work to demo for wednesday's demo day, do not come to class.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

flickr assignment #3

flickr assignment #3 for digital media production.

today in class, i shared some observations about your photographs of gleeson library, or flickr assignment #2, and briefly discussed some examples that i thought really worked: bryce's Midterm Week; yakuri's UFO?!; evelyn's comment on yakuri's Dizzy Stairs; chris's Great comic book selection at Gleeson!; and quincy's set PR6023.A93 J64. exciting work, folks!

for flickr assignment #3, i want each of you to:

1. do it again.

2. this time, be careful to follow all steps: limit yourself to 3-5 photos, tag them, title them, and add one or some or all of them to the Gleeson Library at USF flickr group.

3. last time, i encouraged you to include human beings in your photographs. this time, i required you to include at least one human in at least one of your photos.

4. consider including librarians and library staff in your photographs.

5. following today's creative commons lecture by shawn calhoun, think about and set your creative commons license on your flickr account (go to "Your Account" and select "Privacy and Permissions"). have questions? use twitter to ask your fellow DMPers, me, or shawn for help.

6. once finished and before class on friday, tweet about it. be sure your tweet includes a link to your flickr set.

rules:

a. follow all directions.

b. if you have no work to demo for friday's demo day, do not come to class.

Monday, October 04, 2010

flickr assignment #2

flickr assignment #2 for digital media production.

1. take photographs of gleeson library. you can take photos of anything - the outside or the inside, in the stacks, in the atrium - just make sure your photos include gleeson. select 3-5 of these photographs and upload them to flickr.

2. make a set. title the set.

3. become a member of the Gleeson Library at USF flickr group. add one or some or all of your photographs to this group. keep in mind: by adding to the group, you are allowing gleeson library to feature your photograph on their web site.

4. tag your photos. be smart and creative with your tags.

5. once finished and before class on friday, tweet your set.


tips:

a. consider including human beings in your photographs.

b. take lots of photographs and decide later which 3-5 pics you'll use.

c. you can use your 3-5 photos to tell a story but you certainly don't have to. just make sure your photographs are interesting.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

project one assignment: transmedia storytelling

project one assignment for digital media production.

we spent most of last week talking about transmedia storytelling. on monday, we discussed the matrix; on wednesday, we discussed henry jenkins' chapter "searching for the oragami unicorn: the matrix and transmedia storytelling"; and on friday, we shared and discussed other forms of matrix-related transmedia. by now, you should have a basic understanding of what transmedia storytelling is and how it works. now's the time to make some.

1. working individually or in groups, design and launch a transmedia story about USF. your story can be about anything as long as it is interesting and relates to USF. you are free to explore - and free not to explore - any of the topics we brainstormed in class on friday.


2. your transmedia story must unfold/be told through at least 5 platforms: twitter, flickr, our class blog, USFPool (which we will learn how to use in class on monday), and 1 other platform of your choice.

3. the 5 platforms must be linked/connected. be creative and thoughtful with your connections.

4. make links from your USF story to the stories of at least 5 other DMP students. be creative and thoughtful with your connections.

5. whenever possible, give your readers opportunities to comment and contribute to your story.

rules:

a. follow all directions.

b. if you have no work to demo for friday's demo day, do not come to class.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

kiva assignment

kiva assignment for digital media production.

1. start an account with kiva.

2. take some time to explore and understand kiva.

3. using kiva, make a $25 micro-loan to an individual or group. do not make a random micro-loan - make one that means something.

4. tweet it. include a link.

5. in class on friday, be prepared to demo your work.

rules:

a. steps 1-4 must be complete prior to class on friday.

b. if you have no work to demo, do not come to class.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

twitter guest panel in DMP

last friday in DMP, we had a twitter guest panel, featuring shawn calhoun (@GleesonLibrary), char lobo soriano (@itweetUSF), and thomas listerman (@usfca).


first up was shawn, head of access services at USF's gleeson library, who shared some of his experiences tweeting for gleeson. shawn talked about using twitter to notify followers about library news and materials, build a broad and diverse community, and share knowledge about free, open-access tools and resources. shawn also raised the fascinating question of whether or not to tweet about the shortcomings or limitations of one's own organization.

next up was charlene, associate director of USF's first year student services, who brings to her presentations the same energy she brings to her tweets. charlene talked about developing your own voice on twitter and suggested the best voice is your true voice. she talked about reaching out to and engaging with USF students in general and first year students in particular and she shared some of her strategies for building community.

the last panelist was thomas, USF's advancement e-communications manager, who approaches twitter as one tool to get across other tools. he talked about using social media to reach out to alumni, students, and parents. he talked about maintaining a somewhat formal voice but linking out to and retweeting less formal material. he also talked about using twitter as a kind of campus calendar and, like shawn and charlene, talked about building community.


"learning how to use twitter," i told my DMP students the first day of class, "is totally easy. developing a voice on twitter - now that's another story." after this excellent panel, i hope they got a good taste of that story.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

twitter assignment #2

twitter assignment #2 for digital media production.

1. by now, you should be on twitter, familiar with the basic functions of twitter, and following all members of our class.

2. also by now, you should be in the habit of searching for and following all people whose work (writings, video, web) is assigned each week. for this week, you should be following @scottros (scott rosenberg) and @jasonpontius (jason pontius). you should also follow this week's guest panelists: @GleesonLibrary (shawn calhoun), @itweetUSF (char lobo soriano), and @usfca (thomas listerman). if after a week you find their tweets less than amusing, by all means unfollow them.

3. reply to at least one tweet. any tweet. make it good.

4. retweet (or RT) at least two tweets that you think are relevant to members of digital media production. re-read that last sentence. although i encourage you to use twitter in any way you see fit, here i am asking you to retweet stuff that relates to what we are discussing and exploring in class. important: one of your RTs must be old school style and the other must be via the way supplied by twitter. be ready to discuss the pros and cons of each RT method - or any other methods you use - in class.

5. learn how to use bit.ly. use it with at least one tweet. be ready to discuss the pros and cons of bit.ly and tinyURL in class.

6. when appropriate, consider using the hashtag #dmp10 in your posts.

7. in order to get credit for this assignment, steps 1-6 must be complete by 9 am on friday, september 10.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

flickr assignment

flickr assignment for digital media production.

1. take some time walking around campus and/or its immediate surroundings. find a place (or places) that has meaning for you - somewhere you find beautiful or miserable, inspiring or daunting, a place that makes your mind soar or makes your heart go boom boom boom. or just find a place you think is cool.

2. take some photographs of this place (or places). before you snap a picture, put some thought into what you are trying to capture. take as many photographs as you want.

3. if you do not already have a flickr account, create one. if you have an interest in photography, seriously consider opening a pro account ($25/year). if not, sign up for a free account.

4. upload 3-5 of your favorite campus photographs from your camera or phone to flickr. make sure you title each photograph.

5. put your photographs into a flickr set. be sure to title your flickr set.

6. once finished - and no later than 9 am on friday, september 3rd - tweet about it. include a link to your flickr set so that your classmates and people who follow you on twitter can see your work.

7. in class on friday, be prepared to demo your work.


rules:

1. follow all directions.

2. give yourself some time with this assignment. flickr is not overly difficult but it's not overly simple.

3. keep in mind that the goal of this assignment is not to take the greatest photograph ever of USF or san francisco - you have a whole semester to accomplish that! instead, the goal of this assignment to get you up and running on flickr.

4. if you have not completed the assignment by friday, do not come to class.

5. finally, if this assignment isn't fun, you're doing something wrong.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

twitter assignment

twitter assignment for digital media production.

1. if you have not yet joined twitter, join twitter.

2. create a profile. in either your user name or bio (or both), use your real name.

3. make your profile public. if you already have a twitter account that is private and wish to keep it that way, create a new account for this class.

4. find and follow all members (students and professor) of our class.

5. search for and follow all people whose work (writings, video, web) is assigned each week. if after a week you find their tweets less than amusing, by all means unfollow them.

6. post at least one tweet!

7. all of this must be complete by midnight on wednesday thursday.

8. please get into the habit of checking twitter at least once a day.

Monday, August 23, 2010

digital media production (fall 2010)

this fall, i'm teaching two classes. one of them is digital media production, or DMP. classes begin august 25, 2010.


digital media production
MWF 10:30-11:35 am
Cowell Hall 313

Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanavitz 141
Office Hours: MW 9-10 am
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu

Digital Media Production is a production course designed around creating, sharing, and collaborating with social media. Using tools and platforms like twitter, flickr, blogs, iPad, kiva, Creative Commons, youtube, yelp, USFPool, and Wikileaks, students will explore participatory media, digital storytelling, transmedia, co-authorship, user-generated content, and collective intelligence. Readings and discussions about digital media culture will accompany and inform our production and participation.

Learning Goals:
1. To learn how to use digital media creatively and effectively;
2. To learn how to use digital media collectively and collaboratively; and
3. To learn how to learn new digital media tools quickly and independently.

Course Texts/Costs:
o All readings are either free and online or free via Gleeson Library.
o Although you will be able to complete your assignments with a free flickr account, you are encouraged to purchase a flickr pro account for $25.
o In early October, we will be field tripping to see The Social Network in a local theater which will cost approximately $10.
o All students are required to make at least one $25 micro-loan, via kiva.org, which will be returned in full.

Calendar:
Week 1:
Wed, August 25
o Introduce ourselves, the course, and course expectations.
Fri, August 27
o Read/Watch: Clive Thompson, Brave New World of Digital Intimacy, New York Times Magazine, September 5, 2008; and Ira Glass, On good taste … (Video: 5:20), This American Life, August 12, 2006.

Week 2:
Mon, August 30
Read: Steven Johnson, How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live, Time, June 5, 2009; Rachel Dry, What Would Warhol Blog? Washington Post, August 16, 2009; and Peggy Orenstein, I Tweet, Therefore I Am, New York Times Magazine, July 30, 2010.
Wed, September 1
o Read: Jennifer Woodard Maderazo, Flickr Changes Lives, Launches Photog Career, MediaShift, August 2, 2007; and Chris Colin, Nasty as they wanna be? Policing Flickr.com, SF Gate, September 29, 2008.
Fri, September 3
o Demo Day

Week 3:
Mon, September 6
o No class: Labor Day
Wed, September 8
o Read: Scott Rosenberg, Putting Everything Out There [Justin Hall], from Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters (2009); and Jason Pontius, On Blog Themes, Dwell, July 12, 2010.
Fri, September 10
o Guest panel: Shawn Calhoun (@GleesonLibrary), Thomas Listerman (@usfca), and Char Lobo Soriano (@itweetUSF).

Week 4:
Mon, September 13
o Read: Ken Auletta, Publish or Perish: Can the iPad topple the Kindle, and save the book business? The New Yorker, April 26, 2010.
Wed, September 15
o Read/Watch: Frontline/World, Uganda - A Little Goes a Long Way, PBS, October 31, 2006; and additional Kiva readings TBA.
Fri, September 17
o Demo Day

Week 5:
Mon, September 20
o Prior to class, watch The Matrix (1999) and be ready to discuss it.
Wed, September 22
o Read: Henry Jenkins, "Searching for the Oragami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling," in Convergence Culture (2006), pp. 95-134.
Fri, September 24
o Read/Watch at least one other piece of Matrix-related transmedia (including but not limited to Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, the web comics, the anime, the computer game, or the massively multiplayer online game) and be ready to share your understanding of it in class.
o Project 1 due.

Week 6:
Mon, September 27
o Student-generated readings on Creative Commons, part 1.
Wed, September 29
o Student-generated readings on Creative Commons, part 2.
Fri, October 1
o Demo Day

Week 7:
Mon, October 4
o Read/Watch: Ethan Zuckerman, Listening to global voices, Ted Talks, July, 2010; and danah boyd, Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace, Apophenia blog, June 24, 2007.
Wed, October 6
o Read: Farhad Manjoo, How Black People Use Twitter: The latest research on race and microblogging, Slate, August 10, 2010; Jessica Faye Carter, A Response to Farhad Manjoo's "How Black People Use Twitter," Jessica Faye Carter blog, August 12, 2010; and Scott Poulson-Bryant, How One Black Person Responds to "How Black People Use Twitter," Scott Topics blog, August 13, 2010.
Fri, October 8
o Field trip to see The Social Network (2010).

Week 8:
Mon, October 11
o No class: Fall Break
Wed, October 13
o Watch: Michael Wesch, An anthropological introduction to YouTube (Video: 55.33), presented at the Library of Congress, June 23, 2008.
Fri, October 15
o Demo Day

Week 9:
Mon, October 18
o Read: Kathleen Richards, Yelp and the Business of Extortion 2.0, East Bay Express, February 18, 2009.
Wed, October 20
o Read: Stephen Baker, Will Work for Praise: The Web's Free-Labor Economy, Business Week, December 28, 2008; Eric Karjaluoto, Is Tim Ferriss acting like an asshole? ideasonideas, August 11, 2009; and Stephanie Clifford, Ads Follow Web Users, and Get More Personal, New York Times, July 30, 2009.
Fri, October 22
o Read: Rob Walker, Handmade 2.0, New York Times Magazine, December 16, 2007.

Week 10:
Mon, October 25
o Brainstorm Know Your Digital Rights exhibit.
Wed, October 27
o Build Know Your Digital Rights exhibit.
Fri, October 29
o No class: David out of town.
o Project 2 due.

Week 11:
Mon, November 1
o Student-generated readings on music and social media, part 1.
Wed, November 3
o Student-generated readings on music and social media, part 2.
Fri, November 5
o Guest lecture: Bennett Grassano, Director of Development, Kiva.org. Readings TBA.

Week 12:
Mon, November 8
o Read: Raffi Khatchadourian, No Secrets: Julian Assange’s mission for total transparency, The New Yorker, June 7, 2010.
Wed, November 10
o Read: Jay Rosen, The Afghanistan War Logs Released by Wikileaks, the World's First Stateless News Organization, PressThink blog, July 26, 2010; also read 2-3 of the links Rosen includes in his blog post and be ready to share your understanding of them in class.
Fri, November 12
o Demo Day

Week 13:
Mon, November 15
o Read/Use/Explore: Everyone Says They Have the Best Pancakes in San Francisco, Gridskipper, October 4, 2007; James Barron, Taking a Walk Through J. D. Salinger's New York and Walking in Holden's Footsteps, New York Times, January 28, 2010; A Peek Into Netflix Queues, New York Times, January 8, 2010; Frank Jacobs, Sense of POPOS: Secret Spaces of San Francisco, Big Think blog, January 27, 2010.
Wed, November 17
o Read: Rob Reed, 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World, tonic, July 31, 2010; and Victor Keegan, Meet the Wikipedia of the mapping world, Guardian, February 4, 2010.
Fri, November 19
o Read/Use/Explore: Kim Severson, Neighbor, Can You Spare A Plum? New York Times, June 10, 2009; Roxanne Webber, New iPhone App Finds You Free Fruit, Chow, January 12, 2010; and Seasonal Ingredient Map, Epicurious.
Week 14:
Mon, November 22
o Read: John Berger, Ways of Seeing (1972), pp. 7-34.
Wed, November 24
o Read: Robert Harrison, "On the Lost Art of Seeing," from Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition (2008), pp. 114-124.
Fri, November 26:
o No class: Thanksgiving Break

Week 15:
Mon, November 29
o Read: Steven Johnson, Yes, People Still Read, but Now It’s Social, New York Times, June 18, 2010; Henry Jenkins, Why Heather Can Write, Technology Review, February 6, 2004; and Tracy Seeley, Slowing Down My Own Monkey Mind, Tracy Seeley's Blog, July 17, 2010.
Wed, December 1
o Read/Watch: Clay Shirky, How cognitive surplus will change the world, Ted Talks, June 2010; Nicholas Carr, Does the Internet Make You Dumber? Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2010; Adrian Higgins, We can't see the forest for the T-Mobiles, Washington Post, December 15, 2009; and The Slow Media Manifesto.
Fri, December 3
o Read/Watch: Jane McGonigal, Gaming can make a better world, Ted Talks, February 2010; and Michael S. Rosenwald, FarmVille, other online social games mean big business, and bonding, Washington Post, August 3, 2010.

Week 16:
Mon, December 6
o Read: Jaron Lanier, World Wide Mush, Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2010; and Caterina Fake, Participatory media and why I love it (and must defend it), Caterina.net blog, January 19, 2010.
Wed, December 8
o Class party
o Project 3 due.

Course Grading:
Reading quizzes - 10%
Homework assignments - 10%
Class participation (this includes student-generated reading exercises) - 20%
Demo Days - 10%
Projects (3) - 30%
Know Your Digital Rights exhibit group project - 20%

Course Rules:
1. No late work accepted.
2. If you have no new work on Demo Day, do not come to class.
3. Whenever possible, publish your work under your own name.
4. Starting Friday, August 27, no drinking out of non-reusable containers in class. Be creative with your thirst-quenching solutions.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

community garden outreach (fall 2010)

i'm teaching two classes this fall. one of them is community garden outreach which i'm co-teaching with melinda stone. classes begin august 25, 2010.


Community Garden Outreach
Environmental Studies 145
Wednesdays 11:45 am - 3:25 pm
Hayes Healy Formal Lounge

Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanovitz 141
Office Hours: Mon and Wed 9 – 10 am & by appointment
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu

Professor Melinda Stone
Office: Kalmanovitz 120
Office Hours: Tues 10 am – noon & by appointment
Contact: stone [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu / 422-5755

Course Description:
Community Garden Outreach introduces students to environmental, cultural, social, political, and philosophical issues that circulate through and around food production, preparation, preservation, and distribution. Through readings, films, and class discussions, students will learn about sustainable and unsustainable systems of food production. Through field trips, homestead workshops, and an on-campus farmstand, students will engaged directly with various food production, preparation, preservation, and distribution practices. This service learning course is offered in tandem with Justin Valone’s Urban Ag I and both are part of USF’s Garden Project living learning community.

Learning Goals:
1. Discuss some of the key contemporary issues revolving around food and food production;
2. Develop practical skills in preparing, preserving, and distributing food;
3. Design, implement, and manage the campus farmstand;
4. Create and distribute farmstand recipes that engage and educate the campus community; and
5. Demonstrate effective and creative collaboration.

Book:
Michael Pollan’s Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, 1991.

Course Calendar:
August 25:
In class we will introduce ourselves, the course, and course expectations. At the end of class, we will field trip to the Upper Haight Farmers Market. Your homework, in addition to your weekly reflection, is to visit the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on either Thursday, August 26 or Saturday, August 28.

September 1:
Discussion about farmers markets and our farmstand. Class guests will include a few past Garden Project students who will share their experiences with running farmstand. Class will also include a visit from Sarah Klein, who will help us assess our kitchen and garden. Keep in mind: On Thursday, September 2, we will have our 1st campus farmstand!

September 8:
Prior to class, read Mollie Katzen's "Useful Tools," from The New Moosewood Cookbook, pp. xvi- xvii; and Joan Dye Gussow, “Is It Worth It?” from This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader, pp. 200-214. Full kitchen/cooking day with Sarah Klein. At the end of class, be ready to commit to particular tasks for this semester's farmstand.

September 15:
Prior to class, watch Food, Inc., which we will discuss in class. We will end class with a discussion and early assessment of our farmstand.

September 22:
Prior to class, read Michael Pollan’s “Introduction” & “Two Gardens,” pp. 1-34, which we will discuss in class.

September 29:
Prior to class, read Joseph Radabaugh's "A History of Solar Cooking," "Designing & Building Your Own Solar Cooker," and "Building the SunStar," from Heaven's Flame: A Guide to Solar Cookers, pp. 1-4, 71-110. Homestead workshop: Solar Ovens and Sour Dough Crackers.

October 6:
Prior to class, read Molly Katzen's “An Illustrated Guide to the Baking of Yeast Bread,” from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, pp. 86-95; Mark Bittman's Making No-Knead Bread (Video – 4:58), New York Times, December 29, 2006; and Brother Rick Curry, S.J., “Making Bread,” from The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, pp. 11-21. Homestead workshop: Baking Bread.

October 13:
We will not have our regular Wednesday class this week in preparation for our field trip to Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC), on Friday and Saturday, October 15-16.

October 20:
Prior to class, read Kim Severson's “Neighbor, Can You Spare A Plum?” New York Times, June 10, 2009; Fallen Fruit, “Take Back the Fruit: Public Space and Community Activism,” from Food, edited by John Knechtel, pp. 94-103; Roxanne Webber's 10 Ways to Barter for Food, Chow, August 6, 2009; and Pollan’s “The Harvest,” pp. 137-149. Homestead workshop: Green Media.

October 27:
Prior to class, read Pollan's “Compost and Its Moral Imperatives,” pp. 66-75. Homestead workshop: Canning.

November 3:
Prior to class, watch Chet Bentley's Elixir of Life, from How-to Homestead (2010); and David Owens, Brittany Rowles and Reece Snyder's Jerusalem Artichokes, from How-to Homestead (2009). Homestead workshop: Gleaning & Preserving.

November 10:
Prior to class, watch Ruth Stout’s Garden (23 minutes); Close to Nature Garden (24 minutes); and Garden Song (28 minutes). Be ready to discuss the three films in class.

November 17:
Prior to class, read Pollan's “Weeds Are Us,” pp. 98-116. (Important: Field trip to GFE has been postponed until spring semester) Field trip to Garden for the Environment.

November 24:
No class: Thanksgiving

December 1:
Prior to class, watch Dirt! which we will discuss in class.

December 8:
Wrap up first semester and prepare for Vision Day, Thursday, December 9.

Grading:

o Weekly 1-page reflection papers - 25%
o Classroom, field trip, and workshop participation - 25%
o Farmstand participation - 25%
o Creating and distributing farmstand recipes (Students enrolled in 2 units will be required to create – either individually or collectively – 2 farmstand recipes; students enrolled in 4 units will be required to create 4.) - 25%

Please note: Students enrolled in 2 units will be expected to work at least 2 hours a week towards our campus farmstand; students enrolled in 4 units will be expected to work at least 4 hours a week towards our campus farmstand.

Course Rules:
1. Starting September 1, no drinking out of non-reusable containers in class and during farmstand. Be creative with your thirst-quenching solutions.
2. In class, on field trips, and during farmstand, try your best to listen to and learn from everyone.
3. No late work accepted.

Monday, June 28, 2010

summer reading list

each year, roy christopher collects summer reading lists from a few friends and publishes them on his blog. this year's a dandy. here's my contribution.

***

for as long as i can remember, nixon-related books have occupied the highest shelf on my parents' book collection - books like john dean's blind ambition and woodward and bernstein's all the president's men and the final days. a few weeks, while visiting my mom, i reached up to the top shelf and plucked down the final days (simon & schuster, 1976). it's the story of a criminal, crooked, crazed, paranoid, and totally incompetent president and the final months, weeks, and days of his reign. great summer reading!


a few months ago, at moe's books in berkeley, i traded three brand new academic books about digital media for one used copy of edward espe brown's the complete tassajara cookbook: recipes, techniques, and reflections from the famed zen kitchen (shambhala, 2009). what a great deal! i started reading and cooking from this book in late spring and will continue through summer and beyond.


as its title suggests, pam peirce's golden gate gardening: the complete guide to year-round food gardening in the san francisco bay area and coastal california (sasquatch books, 2010) tells northern californians what to plant, why, how, and when. it's my bible - especially in summer. i'm also reading gayla trail's grow great grub: organic food from small spaces (clarkson potter, 2010) for some wonderful and creative tricks and techniques.


this summer, i'm working on a new freshmen seminar called "golden gate park" which, if approved, will run next spring. to generate ideas and stimulate the old noggin, i'm reading, skimming, and scanning all kinds of wonderful books like raymond h. clary’s making of golden gate park: the early years: 1865-1906 (don’t call it frisco press, 1984); chris pollock and erica katz’s san francisco's golden gate park: a thousand and seventeen acres of stories (westwinds press, 2001); sally b. woodbridge, john m. woodbridge, and chuck byrne’s san francisco architecture: an illustrated guide to the outstanding buildings, public art works, and parks in the bay area of california (ten speed press, 2005); christopher pollock’s golden gate park: san francisco's urban oasis in vintage postcards (arcadia publishing, 2003); and hosea and nellie a. blair’s monuments and memories of san francisco: golden gate park (calmar printing company, 1955).


most of my summer reading, i suspect, will be read out loud, to siena, our 11-month old daughter, and revolve around stories about clever animals, being kind and curious, and going to sleep.

Monday, April 26, 2010

social media research assistantships (2)

Are you a USF student? Are you social media savvy? Do you want to use your social media skills to reach a wide audience?

We are looking for 2 paid summer undergraduate research assistants to broaden participation in The September Project, a grassroots effort to encourage events about freedom at all libraries in all countries throughout the month of September. Students will be expected to work about 5 hours a week from May 24 - August 24. Pay is based on USF student worker pay scale.


Responsibilities include:

* brainstorming and writing blog posts about participating libraries and librarians (blog);
* maintaining and extending our twitter stream (@septproject);
* maintaining and extending our google map of participants (map); and
* performing general research about local, national, and international libraries and librarians.

Successful candidates will not only have skills and experience with the kinds of social media the September Project currently uses, but also will have creative ideas for and curiosity about new ways to help the project grow and succeed.

To apply:

Submit a resume and cover letter outlining your skills and motivations for applying for this position. Please also include a URL that points to a blog post or other use of social media that you crafted and of which you are particularly proud. Send your application - no later than Monday, May 3rd - to Professor David Silver at the email found on this page. Decisions will be made by May 10.

These social media research assistantships are made possible by USF's Faculty Development Funds (FDF).

Thursday, April 22, 2010

getting students' bodies and ideas into libraries: a talk for minnesotan librarians

tomorrow, i'm giving the opening talk at ARLD Day, sponsored by the academic & research libraries division of the minnesota library association. the title of my talk is "getting students' bodies and ideas into libraries." i plan to limit my talk to a particular nook of gleeson library and what university of san francisco students and librarians do with and within it.


exhibit 1: good food (designed by USF librarian sherise kimura)





exhibit 2: get graphic (designed by USF librarians debbie benrubi and kathy woo)






exhibit 3: election exhibit (designed by students enrolled in two sections of david silver's introduction to media studies in fall 2008)







exhibit 4: the reading fort (designed by students enrolled in david silver's digital literacy class in spring 2008)


exhibit 5: our dinner table (currently being designed by students enrolled in david silver's green media in spring 2010)




Monday, April 19, 2010

two summer paid research assistantships with the garden project

The USF Garden Project is currently seeking two garden research assistants for Summer 2010 (May 24- August 24)


Garden research assistants will be responsible for caring for all Garden Project gardens, including the campus garden and Booker T. Washington garden. Care includes: watering, mulching, weeding, seed saving, harvesting and distributing vegetables; tending to the orchard and fruit vines; managing compost; and hosting any visitors to the garden, which includes scheduling and overseeing a once a week garden workday. 10 hours a week will be split between the two assistants based on their schedules. Pay is based on USF student worker pay scale.


If interested please email David Silver (dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu) and/or Melinda Stone (stone [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu) stating your interest by April 26. Please provide either a narrative and/or resume that reflects your experience related to this position. Decisions will be made by April 30.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

lunch project assignment

lunch project assignment for green media


1. research and prepare a delicious meal for lunch for this friday's class.

2. your meal must include at least one ingredient from USF's organic garden. as we discussed last friday in the garden, seasonal veggies ready for picking include arugula, lettuce greens on the south side of the garden, chard and green onions in the middle of the garden, and beets and beet greens towards the north side of the garden. you are also welcome to use the herbs located in the herb spiral. because the veggies "sold" at thursday's campus farmstand come directly from USF's garden, you are welcome to get your veggies and ingredients there.

3. prepare your delicious meal individually or as a group. pack as much soul as possible into your delicious meal.

4. bring your delicious meal to class on friday (april 16). also bring some kind of serving utensil. share your meal with others. also bring to class your favorite bowl (or plate) and fork (or spoon) so that you can sample other people's meals.

5. make a recipe for your delicious meal and share it online via the platform of your choice. regardless of your platform, your recipe must: a) use multimedia; b) be publicly accessible; and c) allow user comments. your recipes are due no later than sunday at midnight.

6. once finished, tweet your recipe.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

stir it up - a talk @ sfpl

later this evening, melinda stone and i will be giving a presentation at the main branch of san francisco public library. our talk is called stir it up - in the pot and on the web: making media about making food. it's free and open to the public and yer invited!

with luck, i hope to share ideas via a single flickr set:


if time permits, i also hope to share:

Daniele Dominguez's Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze
Kate Greenspan & Sophia Lorenzi's Soph's Loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread
Christina Hammill's No-Knead Bread
Samuel Hernandez & Peter Thoene's rosemary rock salt focaccia
Joel Weston's Blueberry-Lime Poundcake

hope to see you at the library!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

google maps assignment

google maps assignment for digital media production

1. learn google maps.

2. create a google map with at least three pins. the content attached to those pins is entirely up to you. experiment heavily with the design and layout of the pins.

3. when your map is ready, tweet about it.

4. in class on thursday, be ready to demo your map.

5. finally, find a USF student who currently has an internship or service project in san francisco. be ready to discuss the internship/project in class on thursday.


keep in mind:

a. the main thing i am testing is your ability to learn google maps with zero instruction from me.

b. i am also testing your ability to design and deliver digital content in strategic and creative ways. don't settle on your first or second idea.

c. if you have no new content to demo on thursday, do not come to class.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

food person research project assignment

food person research project for green media

1. select a person - local or global; living or non-living - who makes media about making food. your food person can be a celebrity or not.

2. research your food person's history. use at least 3 different sources.

3. analyze your food person's techniques. analyze her/his approach, content, methods, tone, style, experience, and preferred mode/s of media. analyze at least 3 pieces of media made by your food person.

4. consider your food person in relation to your own experience with making media about making food. are there elements of your food person's technique that you wish to emulate? avoid? go beyond?

5. your research can be presented in any media necessary - paper, blog post, video, you name it.

6. edit compulsively. make your project technically and technologically flawless.

7. at least 2 of your sources must be from gleeson library - either from the collection or via link plus. put another way, at least 2 of your sources need to be texts you can hold in your hands that you physically gathered from gleeson library.

8. your project must have a works cited section. you can use any bibliographic style you wish but you must use one.

notes:

a. if this were a traditional paper, double-spaced in word, it would be around 8-10 pages.

b. your research project should interest you and people who are not you.

c. if you are taking green media as a senior seminar, you must do 2 food person research projects. your second project must be turned in no later than the last day of class (may 7). plan wisely.

due: friday, april 2, by sunset.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

novella carpenter visits USF

last friday, urban homesteader and author novella carpenter visited USF. she met with green media and garden project students who are two-thirds finished reading novella's book, farm city: the education of an urban farmer.

novella began the day with my green media class. she asked my students question and they gave answers, and then my students asked novella questions and she gave answers. we talked about farm city, about urban homesteading, about raising, killing, and eating rabbits, about pop up farming, about interacting with the media, and about the role of the internet in today's urban ag.


around noon, we walked out of the education building, across the parking lot, and into USF's organic garden. while green media students showed novella the veggie plot we planted last week, i rounded up a few garden project students to give novella a tour of our campus garden.

after the tour, we surrounded a table full of food that students cooked, baked, and prepared for lunch - two loaves of homemade bread, a delicious soup, a garden quiche, a fresh garden salad, and a tasty rhubarb pie baked with rhubarb from the garden. it was a delicious feast.



with loaded bowls and plates, we took a seat in a circle, ate our food, and talked about farm city, about making homemade cheese and salami, about raising ducks, and about today and tomorrow's directions in urban ag. as novella writes on her own blog, "it made my heart sing to see these good citizens fired up about growing food." indeed.




as a teacher, the best part of the day was when garden project students took novella and green media students on a tour of the garden (captured so well by kate greenspan). it was cool to watch the mostly freshmen garden project students teach novella about our garden, but it was even cooler to watch them teach the mostly seniors in green media. students teaching students.