Syracuse University School of Information Studies Professor of Practice Anthony Rotolo invited StarTrek.com for a look inside his “Trek Class,” through a guest blog at the official web site of the long-running television and move franchise.
“Star Trek has inspired generations of learners to pursue careers in science and technology,” wrote Rotolo for his first blog post. “As a professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and an avid fan, I have always appreciated Star Trek for this quality and often found great value in using Trek examples to illustrate concepts in class. It was this practice that led me to develop my new course, ‘Star Trek and the Information Age,’ which launched just a few weeks ago.”
In the blog, Rotolo mentions a number of class discussions, including one on super-soldiers, government control over the Internet, the similarities between Borg and smart grid technologies, and the culture clash between Baby Boomers and “Millenials.”
“These discussions have laid the groundwork for a semester of exploration that has already proven both valuable and sometimes unpredictable,” Rotolo wrote, adding that he hopes the community at StarTrek.com will join in on the class discussions on Twitter (with the hash tag #TrekClass) and on the class blog “The Collective” where students continue the discussion outside of class.
Rotolo holds a B.S. in Information Management and Technology and a M.S. in Information Management, both from the Syracuse University iSchool. In May 2009, he received the iSchool Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award, and in December, he received the Web-based Information Science Education Consortium’s 2009 Excellence in Online Education Award. He is also the co-founder of Enormo.us, a creative agency specializing in social media, animation and interactive content.