University of Mary Washington gives domain names and web hosting

Map of a domain name, ru.wikipedia.orgThe University of Mary Washington has started a project called Domain of One’s Own. Now before you jump to the conclusion that each student will get a domain name this year, read a little about this pilot project after the break:

So, yes, if successful, incoming UMW students will all get their own domain names next year. Instead of a little web space, students can get an entire domain name. The Chronicle of Higher Ed’s Tech Therapy podcast has a podcast episode about it, the project blog is at umwdomains.com. Here’s one class who that a domain name and is having his students participate in the project, too.

What an interesting way to learn about online identity, information sharing and presence. I’m sure many students are already familiar with the perils of posting to facebook, but this puts a much larger spin on it.

Participants this year agree to attend bi-monthly workshops to support domain development and creations and to construct a digital e-portfolio which complies with Digital Pedagogy & Scholarship Fellowship guidelines.

Of course, students could just go buy their own domains and hosting or even start their own sites with a myriad of free tools, but this project, couched in the academic realm, will be more interesting to watch.

I can’t wait to see if they do indeed give all incoming freshman next year domain names!

 

One reply on “University of Mary Washington gives domain names and web hosting”

  1. Thanks for the post, and we are interested to watch how it plays out. We’ll be sharing it regularly, and for me the idea of critically examining the space of th web as one of the primary markers of identity in the 21st century is a fascinating phenomenon that I hope Domain of One’s Own is just one of many experiments across universities world wide.

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