center for future of civic media
Posted by KatrinVerclas on Feb 11, 2009
MIT is the first university to offer a graduate class exclusively focused on how mobile phones are used for social action. Call4Action!, the brand-new seminar, asks: How can mobile networked devices be used for social change, politics, and expression? From the course description:
Each week we will review existing tools for social change, cover techniques for mobile hacking, and piece together new experiments. International speakers ranging from Zimbabwean activists to telecommunication experts will discuss the problems with existing ICTs, and suggest parameters for new systems. We'll review protocols, systems, and packages like VOIP, GSM, SMS, and PBX to look at how they may be reused or reconfigured, and explore handset development and alternative communications systems. We will learn to set up, develop for, and hack with systems and open source packages like Symbian Series 60, Android, Openmoko, Django, Asterisk. Through hacking and technical exercises, we will demystify the field and build springboards for future work. By the end of the class, we hope to collaboratively create new repertoires for social change and technical activism.
