http://projectinfolit.org/ Smart Talks is an occasional series produced by Project Information Literacy (PIL). PIL hosts interviews with leading experts about PIL's findings and their thoughts about the challenges of finding information and conducting research in the digital age. Smart Talks are open-source; no permission is required from PIL for re-use. en-us Fri, Apr 20 2012 01:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/weinberger.asp David Weinberger, a senior researcher and Co-Director of Library Innovation Lab at Harvard, is a leading thinker about the impact of the Internet on society, markets, and the production of knowledge. In this PIL interview, we talked to David about his latest book, Too Big to Know (Basic Books, 2012), and what the rise of networked knowledge means for educators, librarians, print publishing and the very act of knowing, itself. Wed, Jan 18 2012 01:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/schnapp.asp Jeffrey Schnapp, a cultural historian and pioneer in digital humanities who is faculty at Harvard, co-teaches a seminar in the architecture school on the past, present, and future of libraries. In this PIL interview, we talked to Jeffrey about what we can learn from the design of libraries from a course talk to in the architecture school about libraries, the "physicality of space," and the tangible elements, as envisioned by design students and librarians, that could be central to the library of the future. Wed, Oct 12 2011 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/poldrack.asp Dr. Russell Poldrack, a renowned neuroscientist, who heads the Imaging Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin where he and his team use MRI scanners with the inordinate power to study the human brain, multitasking, learning ability, and the effects of information overload. In this PIL Interview, we talked to Russ about new discoveries about the effects of multitasking on the human brain and the capacity for “deep learning.” Tue, Aug 16 2011 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/howard-jamieson.asp Sandra Jamieson and Rebecca Moore Howard direct The Citation Project, a national study providing open access empirical data about how college students use sources when writing papers for composition courses. In PIL's interview, the researchers say of their latest results: "If your focus is on procedure and correct format, these papers are a great success. But if you look at this another way and remember for most of us, 'research' is about the discovery of new information and ideas, and synthesis of those ideas into deeper understanding, the majority of the papers failed." Wed, 8 Jun 2011 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/rainie.asp Lee Rainie has headed up the Pew's Internet & American Life Project since it's inception in 2000. He and his colleagues conduct large-scale periodic surveys, which both scholars and the press often rely on to stay current and monitor the impact of the Internet and other new media on life in America.In this PIL interview, Lee talks about the impact of new media on "collaborative learning" in the academy, which studies Lee has always wanted to do at Pew, but has not, and the seismic changes to social order caused by what he calls the "new operating system." (PIL interview conducted by Michele Van Hoeck, Librarian at The California Maritime Academy, California State University and a PIL Research Liaison.) Mon, 4 Apr 2011 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/carr.asp Nick Carr is an author and blogger who has written three books about the impact of technology on society, culture and business. In this PIL Interview, Nick discusses what the "intellectual ethic" of the screen is, and how much it differs from the intellectual ethic of the book. He also discusses an incipient anti-Net backlash, which is a "tiny eddy in the broader cultural current." Mon, 3 Jan 2011 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/rheingold.asp Howard Rheingold has been a chronicler of the political, cultural, and social impact of new technologies for almost two decades. In this PIL interview, Howard discusses what he calls "the myth of the digital native," the use of social media in learning environments, and what digital literacy has come to mean for preparing students in the 21st century. Mon, 1 Nov 2010 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/dougherty.asp Dale Dougherty, co-founder of O'Reilly Media, first coined the phrase "Web 2.0" in 2004. In this PIL interview, Dale discusses the impact of Web 2.0 capabilities on education, especially how information is shared, knowledge is created, and learning occurs and what it means to educators, students, and publishers. Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/palfrey.asp John Palfrey, co-director of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, is the co-author of 'Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives' (2008). In this PIL interview, John discusses the changing nature of plagiarism, policy implications, and the rise of the "copy and paste culture" on campuses. Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/lunsford.asp Andrea Lunsford, the diretor of Stanford University's Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR), is the force behind the 'Stanford Study of Writing', a longitudinal study that investigates how today's students write, including everything in-class assignments, formal essays, and journal entries to emails, blog posts, and chat sessions. In this PIL interviews, Andrea discusses how college students integrate writing with research and learn the process of critical inquiry Tue, 1 Jun 2010 13:08:30 -0800 http://projectinfolit.org/st/morville.asp Peter Morville co-authored the IA Bible--'Information Architecture for the World Web' (1998) back when most of us were still learning HTML. In this PIL interview, Peter discusses "the relationship between search, learning, and decision making," and why difficulties arise with the search process.