GMU:(In)visible Networks 2016

Freenetproject network visualisation

Lecturer: Mindaugas Gapševičius
Tutors: Hasibullah Sahibzada, Marco Schröder, Azucena Sanchez Credits: 6 ECTS, 4 SWS
Date: Mondays/flexible 17:00 - 20:00
Venue: Marienstraße 7b, Room 204
First meeting: Monday, 11th of April 17:00 - 20:00

Although we all use computers and the Internet on a daily basis, we act in most cases as consumers. This is valid for creative people who work with computers, especially visual artists and designers. With the "(In) visible Networks" we will question other side of the networks: How data is transferred between computers? Why does the Internet require different types of machines? What is the role of servers and personal computers within the networks? What makes our data or our networks insecure? How to structure the website so visitors find the information?

The conceptual goals of this project include the comparison and reflection of different network structures (e.g. hierarchical structures, decentralized structures, oriented to Web 2.0, etc.).

The aim of the course is to redesign and to update the website of the GMU. This includes discussion on structuring the content and work on the new content. Students in the course will be introduced to server side systems/applications (Unix, Apache, MySQL), "front end" programming/CMS (Typo 3, HTML, PHP, Java Script) and content (website structure, writing). The work on content and programming will be supervised by tutors.

Tutors

Hasibullah Sahibzada (server side and back end), hasibullah.sahibzada [ät] uni-weimar.de
Marco Schröder (content), cramo.erst [ät] yahoo.com
Azucena Sanchez (web structure, CMS), azucena.sanchez [ät] uni-weimar.de

Syllabus

1 Seminar. Internet. 11.04.2016

Computer Networks and Routing Systems (LAN, WAN, P2P; TCP/IP, DNS)
CMS
GMU website and wiki
Planing work (GMU website and wiki)

2 Seminar. Self-organisation. 02.05.2016

Vulnerability of Networks
Alternative networks P2P (Baobaxia, Freenet, tor, BitTorrent, YaCy)
Update on work (GMU website and wiki)

3 Seminar. Social networks. 23.05.2016

Concepts (Bruno Latour, Graham Harman, Karen Barad)
Internet of things
Update on work (GMU website and wiki)

MediaWiki Server Side

Supervised by Hasibullah Sahibzada

  Progress Status

Small tutorials on languages (Done)
Web tutorials (Done)
Installing new wiki (Done)
Upgrading wiki database(Done)
Merging database with latest MediaWiki version(Done)
Implementing University Namespaces (Done)
Implementing new template (In progress)
- Template decision (in progress)
- Template customization (in progress)
- Mobile version adaptivity (in progress)
Implementing new plugins (In progress)
- Installing New advanced Editor (Done)
- Installing multi-picture drag and drop feature (Done)
- Integrating Picture licensing mechanisim (in progress)
Showcasing the final version