EMAC 6V81 – MobileLab 3
Professor Dean Terry  .  Thursday Evenings 7-9:45

Overview
This class is an introduction to the mobile ecosytem, ideas, technology, content, and culture. The browser centric Internet is based upon a desktop computing model that is being challenged by the changes in mobile computing, both at the technological and the sociocultural level. The mobile web moves us beyond the desktop model of computing into a new period of network ubiquity, device intimacy, location awareness, and complex social connections. These changes present an expanded context for media and the arts, with new conceptual and creative challenges.

Currently the most popular applications for mobile are games and social networks. These applications, like those from leading social networks like Facebook and Twitter, were born in the “web 2.0″ era, before the current generation of mobile computing. As developers, designers, creators, and networks change in reaction to the mobile web, new modes of expression, commerce, and communication emerge. This class explores these changes and challenges its students to imagine and create new experiences in the emerging mobile communications space.

This class is recommended for all Emerging Media + Communication students as an introduction to mobile communications and content development.

Areas of investigation may include location/place, social mapping, location based content, mobile film making, augmented reality, psychogeography, hybrid space, digital commons & public space, privacy, and related topics.

Requirements
No technical knowledge or background is needed, though students are required to have a recent app capable mobile device (iPhone preferred, Android, Pre). There are no physical books required. Pdf’s and links will be provided as needed. Rather than books, students will have to purchase a number of applications and should anticipate this expense.

Schedule
This is a hybrid collaborative research and creative studio course with no fixed schedule, though weekly and bi-weekly projects will be developed dynamically during class sessions based on the direction of inquiry.

Final Projects
Final efforts will be publicly available and can be creative projects, research presentations, location based content,performances, events, and related projects.

Class Discussion Site
We will use Friendfeed for class discussion & updates: http://friendfeed.com/mobilelab. Please feel free to post as often as you like. You can post ideas, questions, notes on readings, link to articles and videos, and comment freely on each others posts. Participation is required.

Grading
50% participation in class discussions and interactions with peers. The more quality discussion you generate, the better your grade.
50% final project

Contact
I can be reached on twitter as @therefore ,  at dean [dot] terry (at) utdallas [dot] edu , and via Friendfeed’s messaging system.