Comments on: What is Web Science and its Study

By: Jennifer Welch

Jennifer Welch — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 10:12:03 +0000

Excellent point. Refer to my previous reply on a good reference to look at to start exploring some of these issues. Arguing that the web is not different from other technologies or forms of communication is one way to think critically about it at a time where most herald the radical changes brought about by the web! Hope you enjoy the course.

By: Jennifer Welch

Jennifer Welch — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 10:09:02 +0000

Well a rather interesting aspect of Web Science as a discipline, which the MOOC might touch upon but is definitely explored in more detail in the MSc and undergraduate programmes, is the relationship between science, technology and society. This is too broad a topic to discuss in a blog – but if you are interested read some work from authors belonging to the Science and Technologies Studies tradition – http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-Introduction-Science-Technology-Studies/dp/1405187654 is a good place to start.

By: Jennifer Welch

Jennifer Welch — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 10:06:13 +0000

There have been many changes that’s true. Importantly however these changes do not occur in a vacuum. People are responsible for some of them. This course provides a better understanding of how society can effect changes to the Web and is in turns affected by it!

By: Toju Ejegi

Toju Ejegi — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 00:05:39 +0000

Hello everyone

I think everyone has a view of the web: not least, the things we do while connected to the web. It is possible by studying the way users from various backgrounds interact with the web, we could discover new models by which to developed better interactions, contents and others designs for technologies not hitherto thought of.

By: Magomu Daniel William

Magomu Daniel William — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 16:00:31 +0000

l am a biotechnology student in Makerere University and this is one a technology which can not only raise my CV
but makes me a better profession. thanks

By: Tony Dobbs

Tony Dobbs — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 17:30:24 +0000

I am a scientist by training though retired now. I am looking forward to the course but It would help me to have some structure to the subject area. For me “Thinking critically about it as a piece of technology that shapes and is shaped by social forces allows us to understand what differentiates the web from other communication technologies.” does not help me “to understand what differentiates it” or to focus on what we are studying. I wonder if the web is such a novel technology. In some ways, I think, it might be compared with language and the printed word with the technical and social developments that flowed from that.

By: John Evans

John Evans — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 08:29:14 +0000

This is all going to be very interesting – I should be retired, but it doesn’t feel like it as I keep getting work thrown at me…..the question for me here is: Is it science? It’s good to see that there is an interdisciplinary element, because we ought to be sure that what we are discussion is repeatable, verifiable, testable, stable in all variables and the rest….as that is what science is….but, the web is full of weird and wonderful possibilities……it’s a bit like cosmology….
So much of it is also on the other side of the divide……and “Webart” would have been just as useful a title?
How do I know I am doing science here?

By: David Wake

David Wake — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 23:49:43 +0000

Would love to think that I have the openness of mind and the enthusiasm to seek understanding of the relationships between us all – it’s the patience that, historically, has not been my strong point!
I simply wonder how the internet is going to develop and the impact it will have on us all in the future – we’ve already seen many paradigm shifts in the few short years past.

By: Neil Tomlinson

Neil Tomlinson — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 16:48:07 +0000

I am the training manager for a global Helicopter operator and Maintainer and I am looking forward to learning more about how the web works and how we can use it to enhance learning experiences

By: Bongani Mathe

Bongani Mathe — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 15:48:18 +0000

This is one of the exiting courses, it will help people to understand web science and its relevance to the internet. We also need to understand its social effects