The Informatics Seminar is held on Fridays at 3:00pm in ICS2 136 followed by a social hour at 4:00pm. This week's social hour will also be a chance to meet with faculty candidate Tapan Parikh. Please join us!

This week's Informatics Seminar speaker will be Professor Werner Beuschel.

Abstract: Recent system developments in the realm of Social Software and Web x.0 created high hopes in many application areas. But is there a way from the buzz to concepts? In this talk I will seek an answer focusing on the potenzial of Social Software to support informal learning processes within a curriculum. But before we try to develop new practices of learning through Social Software we should explore our understanding of the terms in order to gain common ground for devising and evaluating concepts. This leads us to the question whether there actually is a research field above and beyond the current collection of applications like Weblogs, Podcasts, Wikis or social networking systems. The answer I want to develop provides a perspective in terms of a media view. With any analytical approach we should also be reminded of the interdependency between theoretical understanding and subsequent findings. Some examples of professional social networking systems, originating in Germany, are used to illustrate the media perspective. A variety of student projects under development then serves to explore issues and dilemmas of informal learning concepts. Among the systems are a Web-based frame for personalizable homepages, a review system for students' homework, and the Europe-wide project "Directly to the Chancellor".

Biography: Werner is professor of information management at the University of Applied Sciences in Brandenburg, Germany. He acquired his Ph.D. in computer science in 1987 from the Technical University of Berlin. Most recently he was on the board of directors for the 5-year federal project "Virtual University of Applied Sciences". More than 600 students are now enrolled in its various online-curricula. Ever since working at ICS as a post-doc, Werner was a regular visitor many times, currently staying with the department of Informatics during winter and spring. His research interests are CSCL, Social Software, and Collaborative Virtual Environments.