Jeff Ginger

Last Updated 09.2010

Phone Numbers 630.464.0047 (cell)
217.333.3280 (department office)
Electronic Address ginger@illinois.edu
Website 

www.jag85.com (personal, portfolio)
www.thefacebookproject.com (research)
www.communityinformaticsProjects.com (research)

Mailing Address Graduate School of Library and Information Science
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
501 E. Daniel Street, Room 112
Champaign, IL 61820-6211


Education

Ph.D., Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, expected 12.2012

  • Area of Interest: Social and Community Informatics
  • Dissertation proposal in process, plan to defend in 01.2011
  • Field examination completed on 04.2010
  • Course work included history and foundations of information science, additional research methods experience (qualitative) and various individual topics of study in social and community informatics: distributed knowledge, ubiquitous learning, IT and the black experience, community engagement, human-computer interaction, geographic information systems, and digital literacy

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 08.2006 to 08.2008, transferred

  • Course work equivalent to a masters with emphasis on science and technology studies, race and ethnicity
  • Classes included social science research methods (ethnography, interviews, surveys, intermediate statistics), classical sociology theory, exploration into individual topics of identity and racism, art interactivity and interface design
  • Masters paper: The Facebook Project: Performance and Construction of Digital Identity

B.A., Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 05.2006

  • Graduation with honors, minor in computer science
  • Course work and senior projects included seminar research on Facebook, designing accessible web resources, black leadership and ICTs, community history and racism in Illinois and initial teaching assistant experience
  • Helped to found, lead or participate in over a dozen student and community organizations


Academic Employment

Teaching Assistant, MLIS program, GSLIS, UIUC

Libraries, Information and Society (Summer 2010 - Leigh Estabrook)
Syllabus (limited access) available at jag-wire.net/files/502syllabus.html

Teaching Assistant, Informatics Minor, GSLIS, UIUC

Social Aspects of Information Systems (Fall 2009 - Gail Taylor, Spring 2010 - Lori Kendall)
Syllabus, lesson plans and instructor references upon request

Research Assistant, Community Informatics Initiative, GSLIS, UIUC

Charged with IMLS grant and program evaluation research (Fall 2008-Spring 2009 - Ann Bishop)
Provided advanced technical skills and multimedia support

Teaching Assistant, Department of Sociology, UIUC

Introduction to Sociology (Fall 2007-Spring 2008 - Heather Downs),
Social Perceptions of the Family (Spring 2007 - Ray Muhammad)
Social Research Methods
(Spring 2007 - Assata Zerai)
Syllabuses, websites, lesson plans and instructor references upon request

Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator, Program on Intergroup Relations, UIUC

Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity (Spring 2007 - Joe Minarik, Joycelyn Landrum-Brown)
Cofacilitated with Andre Bean
www.eol199ig5.blogspot.com


Awards and Honors

List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (Spring 2008, Fall 2007, top 10% Spring 2007)


Service

Community Informatics Club, UIUC, 2008-present

  • Founded and helped to lead the CI club, a social-service organization for students interested in meeting other people and helping their local community
  • Conducted numerous volunteer and education projects in collaboration with community groups in Champaign County, East St. Louis, and Chicago
  • www.communityinformaticsclub.com

Association of Undergraduate Sociologists, UIUC, 2003-2008

  • Helped to found and lead the University’s only Sociology registered student organization
  • Planned and participated in a variety of professional development and volunteer activities

Beckwith Hall Training and Web Accessibility, UIUC, Spring 2006

  • Constructed a new accessible training web site for Beckwith Hall, the assisted living residence hall on campus.  Helped to integrate accessibility for people with disabilities into numerous web resources

Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, UIUC, 2005-2008

  • Served as an executive officer and coordinated the Faces of Feminism discussion panel as well as helped to represent the group at the Midwest Feminist Majority Conference

Sexual Health Peers, UIUC, 2005-2006

  • Volunteered as a Sexual Health coordinator and workshop presenter for the Peer Education Unit of the McKinley Health Foundation

Avalanche, UIUC, 2004-5

  • Founded and led the Housing Student Organization Avalanche – A program intensive community based solution to the social problem of college age drinking

I made websites for most of these organizations as a way of helping us to promote ourselves, communicate with members and coordinate operations. You can see demos of many of them in my web portfolio.


Posters

Enabling Spatial Data Infrastructure Development: Collaboration, Supportive Web Technologies and São Tomé, GSLIS Research Showcase 2010, UIUC, 04.2010

Exploring Methods in Community Informatics, iSchools iConference 2010, UIUC, 04.2009


Presentations

The São Tomé Map Project: Empowering People Through Geographic Information Systems, GIS Fair 2009, UIUC, 12.2009

Uncovering Racism on Facebook, a follow-up, a presentation to Dene Grigar’s class, DTC 475, Washington State University, Vancouver, 07.2009

Facebook and Ubiquitous Learning, HASTAC conference 2009, UIUC, 04.2009

Web2.0 Resources and the Digital Divide: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, presentation to the Mortenson Associates, UIUC, 10.2008

The Facebook Project: Social Capital and the Chief, Ethnography of the University Initiative Student Conference, UIUC, 11.2007


Publications

Ginger, Jeff. (2008). "The Facebook Project - The Missing Box: The Racial Politics Behind the Facebook Interface." Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS. http://www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/8816

Ginger, Jeff. (2008). " The Facebook Project - Social Capital and the Chief." Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS. http://www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/3669

Ginger, Jeff. " (2008). Digital Divide 2.0 : African American Communities and Library Resources in Illinois" Available online at the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, IDEALS. http://www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/8817

LoDolce, K., Ayad, M., Ginger, J., McCauley, S., Thompson, A., Williams, K., & Jamali, B. (2008). "Prairienet and community networking: An annotated bibliography." Community Informatics Lab Notes (University of Illinois GSLIS). http://www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/8863

A recent course paper listing is available online at http://www.communityinformaticsprojects.com/scholarship.html


Work Experience and Technical Skills

Computer/Network Technician, UIUC, Housing Division, 2003-2007

  • Extensive computer technician experience, also includes work for CDW (intern) during the summer

Web Designer/Developer, ROC Group Chicago (intern) and numerous University groups, 2002-2007

  • Comprehensive web design, development and deployment experience for student, professional and academic organizations


Academic Portfolio

A collection of my teaching, research, and academic service credentials is available online.

www.jag-wire.net/academic.html