Little Summary...

In March of 2007, the Equity and Technology Research Alliance partnered with Ryakuga Communications and hosted a community radio broadcast in the town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia. This broadcast was the second of two radio broadcasts funded by an INE Public Outreach Grant which was conceptualized to allow researchers of the “New Economy” to communicate their findings beyond the traditional academic audience; with the first taking place from the cafeteria of Eastern Shore High School in November 2006.

The Wolfville broadcast was a huge success, both in the eyes of those who organized it, and the members of the community who participated and tuned in for the full 5-days.
Additionally, the event was simulcast over the Internet and allowed the broadcast to be streamed anywhere there was an Internet connection.

One of the ways in which we promoted the event was using the power of social networking on the Internet. We incorporated elements of the new “social media” with traditional broadcast; adding interactive blog and photo sharing elements to enhance and encourage community participation. Indeed, people were tuning in and reading about what the Equity and Technology Project was up to from across the planet. The blog was started on March 20th (the day before the broadcast) in eight very short days the blog was viewed 339 times with 743 page views. We were able to share the experience with visitors from not only Nova Scotia, but all across Canada and seven other countries throughout the world.

Many ideas were shared over the days of the broadcast. The content included discussions related to Dr. Looker’s research and conversations about community issues and organizations. In many cases the two overlapped as a consistent stream of dialogue about sustainable rural development, equity, culture and technology flowed throughout the broadcast day. By the end of the five-day broadcast not only had we created a fine discourse about how technology can enhance equity, we had proved it and turned the broadcast into a demonstration of best practice in itself.

The most important aspect of the whole process of the radio broadcast was a sense collective ownership and collaboration; policy officials, community members and organizations, artists, students, local business owners and academics were all participating together. It is important to keep the dialogue that was started running. Even if we are no longer on the air, continue talking and collaborating and listening.

Andy's Blog...

A link to Andy's (Thugs at Bay) blog about the event here...

http://www.wolfville.org/community-radio-in-wolfville

The day after...

I would just like to extend a formal thank-you to all who have participated and co-operated with us in the Equity and Technology Community Radio Broadcast in Wolfville. The event was a huge success and would not have been possible without the tremendous support and participation of you all.

We will be posting links to some audio in the blog and at Ryakuga's site in the coming weeks. We will also be indexing the recordings and making them available to the community at the local CAP site soon.

If you are interested in receiving follow-up information on the project and what was accomplished in Wolfville these last few days; please let me know by posting a comment here. And please give us feedback on what you liked and what you thought could have been done better.

Fred Campbell fred@ryakuga.org
Ivan Emke iemke@swgc.mun.ca
Dianne Looker dianne.looker@msvu.ca
Chris Cann chris@ryakuga.org
Charlene Croft charlene.croft2@msvu.ca

Cheers all
And Thanks again.

Sunday links

Again I'm here to update the links from some of our guests today.

Jordan Walker and Bill Cruess's Facebook Group and online petition for Africville reparations (you will need a Facebook account to access this link)

Edith Callaghan www.ruralsustainability.org (for your Wolfville Sustainability Survey)

Debbie Reimer Kids Action Program kidsaction@xcountry.tv

Community Media

Well we're on the final day here at Wolfville Community Radio. If you tune in now you can hear a discussion about the importance of community media and thoughts and plans on how to potentially get Wolfville a form of interactive community media (radio and television).

Open Mic

Live Jam down here at the Atlantic Theatre Festival offices on Main Street Wolfville.

If you like what you're hearing check out these wonderful artists online.

www.myspace.com/adambazinet

www.myspace.com/robinsonfactor

www.youtube.com/rocknboyz

more links!!!

We're chuggin' along.

Here are a few more links from today...

www.katimavik.org

www.apwps.ca

Support Marlene George's Joints in Motion Trek

Council of Canadians

More updates to come

And don't forget about OPEN MIC TONIGHT!!!!

if you aren't...

listening to the webcast... you really should be. TAB which stands for Thugs at Bay is playing LIVE in our studios and they are FANTASTIC.

www.tabmusic.ca

More Websites

What a packed day today... the momentum is building. We've had people in and out all afternoon.

We've covered a lot of ground today. We have been diligently working on getting those audio files available from the Intellectual Property discussion; the Broadband Development Discussion and the CAP Site Discussion.

So here are some of the links from our guests today.

Local Midwife Louise MacDonald www.midwife.ca (scotiamidwive@yahoo.com)

Head of the NSTU Ron Brunton www.rbrunton.ca

Jacob Deng Fundraising to build a school in the Sudan and the Goat Campaign
www.wadeng.org

Skylor Petrovich High Tech Teens Program at the Wolfville CAP site
flashworkshop@gmail.com

Pro-wrestling Announcer "Captain" Kirk Starrat
www.mainstreamwrestling.net

That's all for now. There are lots of new photos on the Flickr account. And tab will be coming in and playing for us very shortly... and after that Jack MacDonald.

CAP Site Discussion

We were a little late getting underway... technical issues. But we're underway with it. I know many of you are trying to listen to the webcast... and Fred is getting innundated with Skype-ins. But we have limited bandwidth and can't get everyone in. We will be making this discussion available online as soon as we're done... as well as our discussion this morning with Dan MacDonald of Innova Corp. who was here representing the NS Government regarding Broadband Access to Rural NS. We touched on the future of CAP in that discussion as well.

Dan provided us with this link... http://www.gov.ns.ca/econ/broadband

So we're trying to get this out there... bare with us.

Blog Roll Call...

We are trying to record this whole process and look at the interconnections from a research perspective. It would be great if you could help us out with it and let us know where you are in the world and how you heard about this little community radio project.

We know that there are people tuning in from many communities across Nova Scotia... and thank you to all who are linking to this blog from your site. The CAP Society of Cape Breton has linked to us... so we're going to return the favour and link to them. Tomorrow Colleen Stinson will be joining us via call-in on a discussion about the CAP program... which is appropriately timed on a day of a new budget.

We have heard from people tuning in across the planet; receiving emails and words of encouragement from those geographically near and far. To date we've had people visiting this blog from 5 different provinces (plus Nova Scotia) including some friends in the Yukon. Tomorrow we will be talking to a few teachers from Nunavut via call-in as well.

But there are people looking at what we're doing here in little old Wolfville from the UK; Australia; South Africa; the Netherlands and the United States too.

We're gaining momentum... the weekend is packed.

TAB is coming in to play for us live tomorrow. Get a preview at www.tabmusic.ca

We start in right away in the AM discussing Broadband for Rural Development.

IP Discussion...

Went really well... Did any of you listen? Did you hear it on the webcast? The User Created content segment got cut short... but John and I will revisit it later on.

Thanks to all those who participated

Glen: http://www.glenleck.com/
Angela: http://www.theathonline.ca/
Charlene: http://deliciouswolf.blogspot.com
John: http://www.housser.ca

and Ann Dulhanty and Erin Patterson

check out www.eff.org (Electronic Frontier Foundation) for updates in the world of Intellectual Property

Right now there is a great youth Jazz band playing... Easily Distracted

Thanks for the opportunity for Dick Groot and myself to get our PCN news out to the listeners of Wolfville Radio.

Here are some contact details:
Eastern Valley Prostate Cancer Support Group (also know as the VIP's) meet on the last Wednesday of each month from 7-9 pm in the Board Room of the Eastern Kings Memorial Community Health Center at 23 Earnscliffe Ave in Wolfville.

For more info on community presentations or to attend a meeting please contact
Dick at 542 6125 or Bill at 542 7112.
Listening, Learning and Living with Prostate Cancer.

Links from this morning

A theatre and arts filled morning today...

Nigel Bennet from the Atlantic Theatre Festival about the upcoming season

APRIL 21, 8 pm ONE NIGHT ONLY!! A MAN IN BLACK; A TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY CASH
tickets $20.00 adult and $15.00 student available at the Acadia Box office 542 5500

ATLANTIC THEATRE FESTIVAL 2007 SEASON

After a successful renewal season with their award winning production of Noises Off, the Atlantic Theatre Festival is heading back into production this year with three outstanding shows.

Shirley Valentine; is a story about one woman journey to Greece and to finding herself.

The Drawer Boy; Think Farm life is boring? Think again! Think plays about farm life are boring? You be the judge with this great play written by Canadian play write Michael Healey.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and intrigue, a tale of mistaken identities, of fairies and mortals. An ass’s head, and a play within a play. Chaos and confusion run amok in a moonlit wood, yet all ends well in this dream


Chris and Matt from the Ross Creek Arts Centre talking about the importance of arts education in the Valley and the workshops and camps that they offer for youth and portfolio development.

From their Website:
Welcome to the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, an education and development centre for the arts based in rural Nova Scotia and reaching out to the world. On 186 spectacular acres of farm and forest overlooking the Bay of Fundy, the Centre has facilities and programs designed to serve the artistic and cultural communities of Nova Scotia, of Canada and of the world.

And then Ken Schwartz joined in from Two Planks and A Passion Theatre Company talking about their upcoming OUTDOOR performance of a Canadian adaptation of The Odyssey (Rick Chafe)

Other Media

Ivan did an interview this morning for The West Coast Morning Show on CBC radio... and Friday just before 8am (Atlantic Time) there will be an Interview that I did with some Jr.High Kids on the street on Information Morning (CBC radio again)...

Thursday...

Well I'm fairly pleased with how yesterday went. Everyone who came down really enjoyed themselves. With all the commotion though... I didn't get all the links posted from the guests...
So here are a few:

www.nsnet.org
www.rustbucket.ca
www.mikeaube.com
www.creativeaction.ca

Its too bad that not everyone is so enthusiastic about hyperlinking.

Anyway... let's see what today brings. The Intellectual Discussion Panel is today. I hope there is a LOT of participation in that... and on into the User-Created Content discussion.

I'll have my laptop on my lap while doing the User-created bit... so I can read stuff as it comes in.

Ryakuga has a Skype... it's ryakuga If you don't get anywhere with it...
I have a Skype... it's deliciouswolf

RUST BUCKET!

These guys are rocking!!!!!

Wolfville Radio Signal Report

Wolfville Community Radio 98.7 MHz FM
30WReport of Signal Survey,
done 11am-2pm Wed 21 March 2007
Driving around (about 190km) listening on my car radio.

NORTHWARD (from Wolfville transmitter)
Good signal reception:Canning, Kingsport, Medford, Pereau, Rabbit Square.Good signal reception along the top of North Mountain:Lookoff, Arlington, Glenmont, Brow Mountain.Signal good in central Scotts Bay (from the Fire Station, about half km northward). Otherwise reception very poor to nonexistent on Fundy side of North Mountain.
WESTWARD
Good signal reception:New Minas, Greenwich, Port Williams, Starrs Point, Church Street, Chipmans Corner, Sheffield Mills, Gibson Woods, Centreville, Northville, Billtown, Lakeville, Keddys Corner, Steam Mill.Fairly good in east Kentville, marginal to poor in central and west Kentville.
SOUTHWARD
Good signal reception: Melanson, Gaspereau, Forest Hill.Marginal to poor at White Rock, Lumsden, Davidson Street.
EASTWARD
Good signal reception:Grand Pre, Hortonville, Avonport, Avonport Station, Oak Island, Blue Beach. You may post this in the blog if you choose.Regards,--

truckin' along...

Earlier Corporal Craig Smith gave a fascinating discussion on racism and his struggles in becoming an RCMP officer. He's written a book called "You Better Be White By 6am." Logan gave a great interview! Thanks Logan! He'll be uploading the interview to his website in the next few days. Craig Marshall Smith was actually on CBC's Information Morning this morning and then came here!

And... Information Morning will be doing a spot on Wolfville Radio on Friday!
Stay tuned...

Hey everyone

Hello im Logan Hudak a second year applied arts and new media student at the Nova Scotia Community College in the neighboring community of Kentville nova Scotia.Known for its laid back way of life and apple blossoms Kentville isnt thought of a technilogical center or reasource for the province. I am some what of a technofile myslef in the sence that i am an internet addict as well as a buddign graphic designer and an electronic musician. I think technology can give a lot of youth here the oppurtunity to be nationally or even internationally competative in these technology based fields if they can be exposed to it.I think that historically since the emphasis has been on agriculture in the valley that a lot of youth in the past think they dont have that oppurtunity or the ability to enter other these other work worlds. With high speed internet here now and the schools working hand in had to support and provide training with technilogical advancements its opening a lot of doors. To me its all about looking forward and embracing advancements in industry and technology and to make sure that every student young or old has the oppurtunity and ability and the confidence to put themselves out there and highlight this beautiful part of the country.

thats all my two cents if you want more info on myslef and what im doing stay tuned and check out my website at www.loganhudak.com

cheers
L

about the schedule...

You may have noticed that it's not a fixed schedule. Things are changing all the time. People show up... people don't show up... people reschedule...

It's all really relaxed around here... and the schedule is included in that :)

That's why we encourage people to just show up down here... or email us community announcements and stuff they want to have read on air...

I'll be uploading new pictures momentarily...

From Jen Grant... Healthy Living Week

We are holding boys and girls activity weeks in April and May and I am currently trying to get the word out there aboutit. Please see the attached memo for more information.

Here's the link to the story

From Alexander MacKinnon via email

Apart from a general notice to pet owners, this may be worth an interview with the local Wolfville animal clinc for a local angle/follow up to this story:Pet Owners. An interview on CBC radio's Information Morning program this morning with alocal vet in Halifax stated that the pet food recall is much more serious thanearlier media reports may have indicated. Local pets are being affected andshowing up in Halifax clinics. Owners should be alert to abnormal petbehaviours. Cats in particular have been a problem because when ill they tendto just curl up and sleep, not an unusual cat behavior to begin with, but amore noticeable sign will be abnormal desire to drink large quantities ofwater.A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptionsand production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web site,http://www.menufoods.com/recall. The company also designated two phone numbersthat pet owners could call for information ? (866) 463-6738 and (866)895-2708

empowering barrier free community creativity

Communities who learn how to play creatively together tend to be healthier in a variety of ways. Barrier free creative activities bring people together in a way that celebrates diversity.
And, as we all know, diversity is healthier for all concerned and, when it is embraced whole heartedly, it leads to higher levels of innovation and prosperity.

Here are two innovative programs for fostering creative diversity and shifting from "ME" culture to "WE" culture.

Wolfville Movie Games Saturday March 24 10:00 a.m. - 4:00p.m.
Wolfville Library and locations all over town.
http://www.creativeaction.ca/mgames

Jam Dance Thursday March 29 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
New Minas Civic Centre Commercial Street acrossfrom Canadian Tire.

http://www.alexandersociety.org/jamdance.html

Getting started...

Okay... we're on air now... still working some things out.

Here's the address for the webcast

rtsp://199.60.222.47/wolfville.sdp

This is not a clickable link though... you have to copy and paste it into a Quicktime player.

Call-in Number is 542-1042

Email is wolfvilleradio@gmail.com

long day...

Well the gremlins were back today... but they've yet to win. We even did some test broadcasts playing some of the local music CDs that Ryakuga has gathered from other communities who organized their own community Radio Stations. If you are a musician and have a CD that you'd like us to play (and add to the collection for future broadcasts in other communities) bring them on down! Chris picked up the broadcast in Baxter's Harbour... so we may luck out with range. Please let us know we're you're listening to us on 98.7 FM in Kings County.

Thanks to all of you who popped in today... I look forward to interacting with you more in these coming days. And I apologize... as Ivan pointed out that it's Kipawo not Kipowa. So the old Kipawo Arts Centre is the new headquarters of the Atlantic Theatre Festival. We will be talking to Nigel from the ATF over the broadcast too.

The schedule is still working its way out. There have been a few shuffles and a few additions. But it's filling out. You can send us your community announcements to be read on air between some of the gaps... or if you stumble across an interesting link online and want to share it... email it to us at wolfvilleradio@gmail.com

The call-in number is 542-1062 and the webcast address is going to be here soon. You'll need Quicktime to listen to it. It's a free download here... and you don't have to fill in the registration form for it to work. And if you don't know what itunes is install the version without it (it's the bottom button in the free download section). I think we'll set up a Skype account spefically for it as well. But I'm exhausted now and will do it tomorrow.

Becoming Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a buzzword you'll be hearing a lot over the next few days, and might have heard before. Charlene wrote a great post about Harnessing Web 2.0, and some of the concepts and theories.

I thought it would be appropriate to share some of the things that you can do to become more web 2.0 enabled. This is just a short list of some of the things I do (and know about), so please feel free to contribute your experiences and tips. Here are some to get started with:

• Get a Flickr account to upload your photos to. Tag them, share them with groups, and network with your contacts. See my photos here.
• Share your videos with Vimeo, YouTube, or Google Videos
  
• Bring all your blogs together with an aggregator, like Bloglines, that can collect all the new posts from your subscribed blogs. Most aggregators can also collect RSS feeds from your favourite news web sites, and any other syndicated web site, to show you only new unread content. Just look for the orange icon, or any mention of words like RSS, feeds, or syndication. See what I read here.
  
• Share your bookmarks with Del.icio.us, or Digg, instead of bookmarking a web site in your browser, bookmark them online. You'll be able to access your bookmarks from any web site, and also see how many other people have bookmarked the same sites, and find other popular sites similar to your tags. See my bookmarks here.
• Set up a personalized homepage on Netvibes, that can save tons of personalized, dynamic content, and you can access it from any computer
  
• Do your research on WikiPedia, where the content is created, edited, and censored by the users. Heavy use of cross-referencing and linking strengthens the network and provides virtual references.
• Establish your personal online entity on MySpace or FaceBook.
• Find, post, and sign up for local and interesting upcoming events on Upcoming.org
  
• If you're interested in sharing your work, progress, and day-to-day musings, set up a blog for free with services like Blogger or Wordpress.
  

Like I said, these are just some of the things you can do to be more web 2.0 embedded. If you have other great sites you use, tips, or questions, leave your comments on this post. Check out some of these sites, and then you'll be ready to contribute to our discussions on Intellectual Property, and user-created content web sites and web2.0 Thursday afternoon from 4:30-5:30 and 5:30-6:00pm respectively.

We're almost there...

Today Fred Chris and John got the antenna fastened to the roof and the phone line and high-speed was connected. It was iffy for a while there. Always blips and gremlins when such things have to happen. But, as they often do, things turned out just fine in the end. The infrastructure is in place.... and as soon as we get the equipment hooked in we'll be live.

We'll be setting up and doing some test broadcasts tomorrow... therefore as the day progresses we'll be getting Skype and the webcast straightened away.

I encourage everyone who gets involved in the broadcast to participate in this blog. Listen to the shows and email and phone-in to participate. Or come down and snap some photos to upload to the Ryakuga Flickr Group (there's a link down the page too). Let us know if your reading this blog... let us know what you think.

There are a few pictures there now... getting set up.

Live Photo Blogging

What a world we live in. Here is an example of the technological capabilities we now have.

I have set up a system to make simple things even easier, in fact, does them for you. When I take a photo with my camera, the photo is automatically downloaded to my computer. From there, a program called WatchDirectory... well... watches the directory that the photos get saved to. When it sees a new photo there, it e-mails it to my Flickr photo account, and then Flickr can post it to any blog I have set up.

So, we will have a camera floating around during the broadcasts, and all of the photos from it will be instantly uploaded to an online photoblog. We will be uploading the photos to the Ryakuga Flickr account, and the location of the blog will be published when we decide which one we're using. You'll be able to see who's there, and what's going on, as it happens!

One of the keys to this process is WatchDirectory. I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to automate the uploading of new photos. I looked at several different monitoring and uploading programs, and WatchDirectoryis definitely the best. Many of the others required complex scripting, had difficult interfaces, or simply couldn't do what I wanted. WatchDirectory does everything I want, plus more, in an easy to use, powerful interface. I can configure it to e-mail each photo to as many e-mail addresses as I want, and then perform whatever actions I want (copy, move, delete, whatever). If you are interested in any sort of file monitoring or automation, I suggest you check out WatchDirectory. Also, as a special treat for readers and listeners of the Equity and Technology Community Radio Broadcasts, if you use the coupon code "etrb" you will receive 25% off your purchase. Thanks Gert for all your support of the project and help implementing this!

Harnessing Web 2.0

One thing that we're really going to try to do is use the social networking power of Web 2.0 to promote this Radio Broadcast. Unfamiliar with Web 2.0? Well you are using it right now...

Web 2.0 is catchphrase coined by Tim O'Reilly back in 2002 which refers to the marketing potential of the Internet via social networking. It's the user-created side of things. Institutions of Web 2.0 include Wikipedia Google Flickr Myspace Facebook BitTorrent… pretty much any web based service that allows for user control of it's service.O'Reilly put forth Web 2.0 as a marketing concept for business (one that explains the beta phenomenon on the net)… but much of the "lessons" we learn from Web 2.0… as O'Reilly tries to sell the concept as a new business model… are extremely relevant to the community development context of the web. Web 2.0 is the user-created universe.

One of the biggest tenants of Web 2.0… perhaps the one thing that drives the movement and evolution of the web (and the physical communities of it's users) is trust. It's a new trust… one based on word of mouth (user endorsement through hyperlinking) and one that does not really have any real-world measures (aside from those who use Web 2.0 merely to bring their physical realities online).

Web 2.0 also fosters an environment of collaboration and cooperation. The comment function allows us to interact with the information images and concepts that are being presented to us instantly. We (as users in Web 2.0) are no longer passive receptacles of information… our interaction changes the information we are being presented… whether it is in disagreement or agreement of that information. If we disagree… we question and thereby present different ideas to the topic… if we agree… we reinforce the idea of collective consent towards the topic or idea.

Anyway Web 2.0 has the potential to connect communities and citizens towards progressive social goals... not merely economic ones... and I think that we can exemplify this during the broadcast

Intellectual Property Panel Discussion

We have pulled together a great group of people for our discussion of intellectual property, which will be occurring on Thursday, March 22nd, from 4:30-5:30. It's surrounded by a few other great programs: immediately before (4:00-4:30), I will be discussing my work with VR photography and Virtual Learning Environments, and immediately following, Charlene will be coming in to begin a discussion on user-created content web sites (a la Flickr, WikiPedia, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Digg).

Anyways, back to the topic of IP. Our panel consists of:

• Myself (http://housser.ca/) - Digital photographer and new media producer, psychology student
  
• Charlene Croft (this web site) - Sociologist researching Equity and Technology, self proclaimed "MySpace junkie"
• Erin Patterson (Acadia University) - Acadmic Librarian
• Ann Dulhanty (Fred C Manning School of Business, Acadia U) - Lecturer
• Angela Wilson (The Athenaeum) - Editor in Chief of Acadia's student newspaper
• Glen Leck (http://glenleck.com/) - Musician, graphics artist, business student
  

We'll be doing our best to discuss some of these topics:

• The changing importance of collective information
• User created web sites like Flickr, WikiPedia, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Digg
• New models of, "copyleft," to address these new models
• Creative Commons Licensing
• Open-Source software development
• Changes to profit models
• Declining sales of traditional media like CDs, while artists publish their music online for free to gain exposure
• The ongoing fight with the RIAA/Viacom
  
• Photographic rights and model releases - what if a photo's online before you even have a chance to ask for a model release form?
• What will the future of the online world look like?
• Who will own rights to what, and how will money be made?

These are just some tentative ideas that I have been toying with, and we will be developing a more fleshed out list of topics throughout the next few days.

If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, you can

• Post a comment to this message
• Call in during the last part of the show next week
• E-mail me: john [at] housser [dot] ca
  

Schedule being updated hourly...

The schedule is now available for viewing. As you can see, we still have some space for more.

One thing that this schedule might be lacking is creative writers. Has anyone written a radio play they'd like to perform? What about some poetry and short stories? Any acoustic musicians want to bring down their guitar and pluck out some tunes with the super-talented Ivan Emke (who plays a mean mandolin)? Artists... use this broadcast to get your work out in the community!

from John Housser

Hello everyone,

My name is John Housser, and I am a student in Wolfville at Acadia University. As briefly as I can, I am going to try to tell you a little bit about who I am, how I got involved in this project, and what I will be involved in during the broadcasts next week, as well as a special, "Atmosphere," VR Photography event that will be happening on Thursday.

I have been working with Dr. Cynthia Alexander for several years, working on projects helping address issues in diverse and unique communities, like Mi'kmaq Nova Scotians, African Nova Scotians, and the Inuit of Nunavut. In working with these groups, we have been trying to show how new media technologies and techniques can be leveraged to create more culturally appropriate, progressive, cultural and educational learning materials. One of the major technologies we have been using is Virtual Reality (VR) photography. VR photography involves taking a series of photographs of a location, digitally stitching them together into a 360-degree panoramic photograph, and then projecting them using computers into a virtual reality environment. This can create an incredibly captivating and engaging interaction between the viewer, and any location in the world, no matter where they are. Using VR photography we can capture any environment, and then send an immersive image to anywhere else in the world, all in a very short time.

I will be coming in later next week (Thursday, March 22nd, at 4:00pm) to discuss how I got involved in VR photography and its extension to Virtual Learning Environments as an applied learning tool with the Inuit of Nunavut.

I will also be involved in a panel discussion, on the changing environment of Intellectual Property (IP), in this new digital age of, "web 2.0." This discussion will focus on topics like how user-created content web sites are changing research, news, and media sharing (think: WikiPedia, YouTube, Del.icio.us), how open-source development is changing the models of research and development, new alternative rights management strategies (going from, "All Rights Reserved," to, "Some Rights Reserved") like Creative Commons licensing, and many more contemporary issues in IP. This discussion will be happening immediately following my discussion of VR photography and VLEs on Thursday, March 22 nd from 4:30-5:30pm, and we will be welcoming call-in questions or comments closer to the end of the discussion.

During this panel discussion, I will also be tying a number of these pursuits together… As a VR photographer, I have been involved in an event called the World Wide Panorama which is an event that happens four times a year, where VR photographers around the world have one week to capture a VR photograph on a common theme. This years event is during the same time as the community broadcasts (March 20-25), and the theme is, "Atmosphere." My intentions are to capture a VR photograph during our IP discussion, and present this as an interpretation of the changing atmosphere of IP, communications, and information. The image will be published as part of the WWP, as well as on my personal web site ( http://housser.ca/), and become part of the Equity and Technology project as well as Ryakuga.

I look forward to the events next week, and hope that you will tune in, call in, and check out the online materials that will be created as a result of these broadcasts. Feel free to contact me (john [at] housser [dot] ca) if you have any questions, topics you'd like to see covered in either of my discussions, or anything else.

See you next week!
John

Community Jam Session...

Is scheduled for Saturday night starting at around 6pm and on into the evening. We're inviting all the musicians who have played over the broadcast to return to play with all the other musicians who have played... and telling non-musicians to come down too to bang on hand drums... shake maracas... and sing.

Intellectual Property Panel Discussion...

... is scheduled for Thursday March 22 from 4:30 to 5:30. A student from Acadia is taking the reigns on this one.

Panel discussions organized to date...

I think the panel discussions are going to be valuable to getting a community discourse started (or enhanced) on some of these issues. Here are the scheduled dates and times on the Panel Discussions so far...

Friday March 23rd - 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Why is Access to Broadband Important to Rural Development?

Friday March 23rd - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The Fate of the CAP Program

Saturday March 24th - 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Food Security - Global and Local

Sunday March 25th - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Sustainable Community Development in Kings County

Sunday March 25th - 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Grassroots Media - Why It's Important and How It's Happening

There are a few more panel discussions cooking up regarding Intellectual Property and Digital Democracy.

A full schedule of the Broadcast will be available on Monday March 19th.