Article Topics
My thoughts and the thoughts of talented others on digital strategic communication, digital & media literacy, information design, education & instruction, and the field of human communication.
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Digital Proxemics – Available Now
Fifty years ago, Edward T. Hall’s The Hidden Dimension uncovered proxemics for a generation of scholars and students of human communication. Today, Digital Proxemics: How Technology Shapes the Ways We Move examines the study of proxemics in digital, hybrid, and digitally enhanced spaces. The study of proxemics—the human use of space—is reimagined for the digital…
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Engaging Online Learners
Over the last decade, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about online learning. I took my first online class in 2003, and I started teaching online classes in 2006. Over that time period, online learning has changed – and for the better. Like many educators who teach online, I’ve experienced the gamut of course…
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User Experience Design and Library Spaces: A Pathway for Innovation?
The latest issue of the Journal of Library Innovation features a research article by Dr. John A. McArthur and Valerie Johnson Graham (MA COM Class of 2014). The article – “User Experience Design and Library Space: A Pathway to Innovation” – uses user-experience design theory to reimagine the ways libraries might approach their physical spaces. The abstract…
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Creating a Community Archive: Storing, Citing, and Sharing Visual Data at #NCA15
At the 2015 National Communication Association annual conference, Dr. John A. McArthur presented his paper titled “Creating a community-generated archive: Digital tools for storing, citing, and sharing visual artifacts.” The paper and teaching resource describes the benefits of social bookmarking and social networking for developing an archive of ideas in the classroom. NCA 2015 was held…
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Matching Instructors and Spaces of Learning
The latest issue of Journal of Learning Spaces features a research article by Dr. John A. McArthur. The article – “Matching Instructors and Spaces of Learning: The impact of space on behavioral, affective, and cognitive learning” – examines the role of classroom space in student learning. The abstract reads: This study examined the extent to which…
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Altruism meets Participatory Video: A correlational study of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
The latest issue of the Journal of Digital and Media Literacy features a research article by Dr. John A. McArthur. The article – “Altruism meets Participatory Video: A correlational study of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” – examines the motivations of participants contributing to the viral phenomenon in the summer of 2014. The abstract reads: Digital literacy…
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At a college graduation? This might make it (mildly) more interesting.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably sitting at a graduation ceremony and the announcer is on name number 237 out of 1000. Congratulations. That means there’s only about 700 more names to go. With hundreds of graduations going on this weekend, attendees might need a little light reading to pass the time. But reader beware,…
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Honor Cords
One of my great joys in life is to honor people for their good work. This week, I had the privilege to honor our top students in communication through induction into Lambda Pi Eta, the national undergraduate honor society in communication. Our chapter honored 33 members of the classes of 2015 and 2016. When I…
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Next Generation Learning Spaces
I was honored to be invited to present at the Next Generation Learning Spaces conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Below are some resources for conference attendees and interested onlookers. Practical Lessons from User-Experience Design for Spaces for Learning Download the article now *** Managing Competing Agendas in Learning Spaces – Mastering the Art and Science of…
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Reading Banned Books
What do The Hunger Games, The Color Purple, Captain Underpants, 1984, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban have in common? They are among the thousands of titles that have been challenged or banned at libraries across the nation. Queens University of Charlotte celebrated Banned Books Week 2014 – September 22-27 – with a week-long…