Media Science , clues please

getting ready for IPEX definitely hits drift phase

Story so far, tried to find out how the London College of Communication will connect with IPEX, print show in London quite soon now. Not much info but might be part of an emphasis on Design and Media as main subject headings. LCC now part of the University of the Arts London so some say that Design and Media may become themes over more than one campus. Source Dubious has suggested that the Elephant and Castle is the new dynamo for property development. The LCC site is only twelve stories and could easily be thirty. Maybe everything Media or Design could be fitted in or maybe LCC would move somewhere else. Of course Source Dubious talks a lot of speculation. But this sort of conversation indicates where the identity for print and publishing has more or less vanished in the mix.

IPEX is the context for Cross Media Production. I had thought that the main print message would still be strong, based on the displays in the open space between the halls, but the courses students seem prepared to study show things are much more complex. The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) will be represented at IPEX but when I look at the website it seems they are in a similar phase to LCC.

Start with this webpage

http://print.rit.edu/School_of_Printmedia

Looks like something to do with print. But actually about the “Cross Media Innovation Center” . “ We emulate the evolution of graphic communications from conventional print and publishing into cross-media technologies.”

The School of Media Sciences (originally named the School of Printing Management & Sciences) is the current iteration of one of the original schools on campus, and, through its history, still boasts more alumni than any other school within RIT.

So what is Media Science? It used to be clear enough that the study of print and publishing had some relation to study. Now the technology seems to disappear and generic academic theory is required. Just my impression, will check this out during IPEX or meanwhile online.

I have come across Design Science. It is used in management studies as a way to relate to practice. But I don’t find many examples of this. Seems similar to Mode 1 and Mode 2 where only the people who understand Mode 1 talk about it. The actual connection with Mode 2 is quite weak. More on this another time. See posts on UK critique of the MOOC and Peter Scott in the Guardian. Design Science is being used for learning. Here is a link to a review of Teaching as a Design Science, book by Diana Laurillard.

So what is Media Science about? I will try to find out. Search on Google shows it is not just at RIT. There are courses in Pakistan and Kenya. It turns out that in Kenya the School of Information Sciences started in 1988 and soon establishged the Desktop Publishing Unit which is now the Moi University Press. So there is still something that people at IPEX would understand.

I am trying to look at Design Science for radio. I am part of the Wild Show on Phonic FM in Exeter, Thursday mornings 10 -12. We found a clip about the Science DJ on YouTube so are trying out the idea of a Design Science DJ. I thought this was about compiling clips to do with Design Science but my colleague JD has mostly been interested in how to do a better music show.

IPEX will involve a lot of video. Cross media if only because the equipment manufacturers have a budget for video production. Sound quality is a major part of this so there should be some clips that would work on FM. Maybe some clips could explain what Media Science is about. Five minutes would work best, twenty minute chunks is the max.