The Center of Enviromental Science at the University of Maryland freely shares a library with reserach symbols for Adobe Illustrator. The IAN Symbol Libraries contains over 1500 vector symbols in different areas related to science and research. If you do not use Adobe Illustrator they also offer eps and svg versions. “The symbols allow diagrammatic representations of complex processes to be developed easily with minimal graphical skills”.
If you don’t use Adobe Illustrator you can use MS Powerpoint with the eps-files or Inkcscape with the svg-fils and probably the eps-files too. Inkscape is a free Illustrator-like software for Windows, Mac OS X as well as Linux. Inkscape is one of the best applications in the open source family. I recommend it warmly for all kind of vector-based drawings.
The image is a conceptual illustration of my research. ‘Technoscience’ and ‘Web 2.0′ knowledge processes constitute some kind of core areas and ’social epistemology’ establishes a theoretical boundary object between them. The base contains my own concepts ‘long tail epistemology’ and ‘participation literacy’. The atmosphere is filled with subjects, disciplines and approaches influencing my research processes.
Wikiversity is a a “wiki website where you are invited to explore your learning goals and participate in active learning projects. Everyone is welcome to help create and develop learning resources.”
Are collaborative learning communities the future of learning? I checked out Wikiversity, which is quite interesting but feels more cold than hot to me. I fear that traditional structures is transferred into these new possibilities, which probably leads to nothing, because 2.0-minded people are not prepared to invest in old structures. Learning 2.0 is more about non-hierarchical, long-tailish processes than moving the traditional learning structures into a transparent layer of collaboration. Wikiversity is a good effort but it might take some time for it to mature into something really interesting.
Of course, this discussion calls for some kind of action. I should probably join the one of the teams at Wikiversity or create my own, instead of whining about it (well, i’m not really whining… or am I…?). Change needs action.
By the way, as an example of what I am wining about, you could check out the School of Sociology at Wikiversity.
You might find something in this blog if you are interested in knowledge questions in social environments or technology based research methodologies and tools (hmmm… are there other kinds…?). I will share tools and practices I use, write about knowledge processes in web 2.0 and beyond, and share basic thought about doing science and research in a bloggish trans-understandable language.
Who is the author, Peter Giger?
Peter Giger is working and researching at Blekinge Institute of Technology in the southern part of Sweden. The region is called Blekinge and sometimes aspire to be called “The garden of Sweden”. O, and he really likes gardening - though generally without getting his hands dirty (is that really possible?). He loves music and is quite creative in using a camera together with a computer to compose images which generally transends the crude experience of this (sometimes) wonderful world. And he really takes an interest in the art of creating the perfect cafe latte.
What is Long Tail Epistemology?
Long Tail Epistemology is a part of or a subdivision of the subject ’social epistemology’. My own academic location is the field of Technoscience, which is a field of research that starts in the premise that science and technology cannot be separated. The concept ‘Long Tail Epistemology’ is constructed as a boundary object between Epistemology and web 2.0 knowledge processes with a focus on knowledge based relations between the head and tail. Long Tail Epistemology has close relations to Technoscience, STS (Science and Technology Studies), Cultural Studies and gender studies, with special interests in general philosophy, social science and computer science. My perspective of Long Tail Epistemology is that it has to be transdiciplinary if it is going to be true to the practical side of the Long Tail.
This is the brand new research blog of Peter Giger. I blog about social knowledge- and research processes including tips about technology in relation to reserch.
PeterGiger.SE
