Berkman Center Events & Webcasts

Berkman Center Luncheon Series

Tuesday, May 22, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center Conference Room
23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge, MA

Guest: Gene Koo
Topic: New Skills, New Learning: Legal Education and the Promise of Technology

Recently, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society released Gene Koo’s study of legal education and technology, New Skills, New Learning: Legal Education and the Promise of Technology. Gene will be presenting his findings and facilitating discussion about their implications at this upcoming luncheon.

New Skills, New Learning, produced in collaboration with our partners from LexisNexis, makes the case that new technology has changed the skills that attorneys need to work effectively, and that new lawyers don’t feel they are adequately prepared for practice. The report also finds that law students and law firms have yet to figure out how to leverage information technology in preparing these young lawyers for practice. These issues appear most acute for solo practitioners and smaller firms, who may stand to benefit the most from the use of new technologies in legal practice.

This luncheon will provide the opportunity to identify concrete steps we can take to help students transition to successful legal careers.

This event will be webcast live. Webcast viewers can join the discussion through IRC text chat or in the virtual world Second Life. If you miss the live chat, catch the podcast audio & video at MediaBerkman. Lunch is provided to those who RSVP. Please email rsvp at cyber.law.harvard.edu

Tuesday, May 15, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center Conference Room

23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge, MA

Guest: Corinna di Gennaro
Topic: Digital Natives: Participatory Culture or Self-Representation?

The growing diffusion of internet adoption and use and the popularity of internet applications from blogs to social networking sites which allow people to actively create content online has sparkled a revolution in the way people gather and share information leading to utopian visions of a new participatory culture.

But is the euphoria surrounding Web 2.0 backed up by actual changes in social practices? Are these changes bringing about a new participatory culture or are they just furthering self-representation? And are digital natives leading the revolution? This talk will look at these questions with a particular focus on how the Internet is reshaping notions of citizenship and people’s participation in the democratic process.

About Corinna

Corinna di Gennaro is a sociologist working on the social implications of Internet adoption and use for civic engagement and political participation. She is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California.

Corinna received a PhD in Sociology from the University of Oxford (2004). Prior to joining USC she was a fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, where she worked on the design and analysis of the Oxford Internet Surveys.

Corinna’s Blog

This event will be webcast live. Webcast viewers can join the discussion through IRC text chat or in the virtual world Second Life. If you miss the live chat, catch the podcast audio & video at MediaBerkman. Lunch is provided to those who RSVP. Please email rsvp at cyber.law.harvard.edu

Tuesday, May 8, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center Conference Room
23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge, MA

Guest: Ken Freedman of WFMU
Topic: WFMU’s Free Music Archive: An Open Source Marriage of Audio Art, Music and Radio.

New Jersey freeform radio station WFMU has been a leader in non-commercial radio’s use of web technologies and social media. General Manager Ken Freedman will talk about WFMU’s latest project, an open source audio library to be known as the Free Music Archive. Ken will discuss how WFMU’s experience with forums, blogs, metadata and download libraries and online radio are informing the planning and development of the Free Music Archive.

Ken Freedman is General Manager of WFMU, a listener sponsored radio station broadcasting on the internet and the New York City area. WFMU has been one of the earliest and most aggressive users of web-based radio and social technologies. Freedman also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, a coalition of American non-commercial community-based radio stations.

This event will be webcast live. Webcast viewers can join the discussion through IRC text chat or in the virtual world Second Life. If you miss the live chat, catch the podcast audio & video at MediaBerkman. Lunch is provided to those who RSVP. Please email rsvp at cyber.law.harvard.edu