Data, Value, and Privacy

We live in an age where data is constantly being collected—from which products you purchase on retail websites, to where you go with your phone in your pocket, to how you perform in school or on the job, and which TV shows you watch on streaming services. But who is collecting this data and what are they doing with it? What does it tell businesses and educational institutions about you, are they using it to benefit you, and are they handling this knowledge responsibly? Join us and others tackling these questions about data for a lively day and a half exchange of information and ideas.

We've invited experts from various industires - social media, libraries, non-profits, research institutions - to come and speak to how they're using data and why it's important. 

The Next Wave is the evolution of ITHAKA’s conference, Sustainable Scholarship. Since 2009, ITHAKA has brought together publishers, librarians, administrators, association directors, media, and those at artistic institutions to discuss the issues facing those in higher education and technology. Past topics have included innovation, new roles and responsiblities in higher education, and new methods of learning.

Agenda

Monday, October 26

11:00 am - 12:30 pm     

Registration and Lunch (lunch is included with registration)

12:30 - 1:00 pm      

Welcome and Introduction, Kevin Guthrie, President, ITHAKA

1:00  - 2:00 pm        

Hilary Mason, CEO and founder, Fast Forward Labs

How we’re collecting and using data

Organizations are collecting more and more data, offering a corresponding opportunity to use that data as a resource for innovation. This talk explores the history and current context of data science, with case studies from several industries.

2:00 - 3:00 pm

Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor at University of North Carolina and contributing opinion writer at The New York Times

Big data and its implications

Big data crunching is increasingly used to make crucial decisions, which signifies a shift to a new kind of gate-keeping and decision-making—for good or bad. Zeynep Tufekci will explore these decisions, and discuss how understand the challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities that come from the availability of data and advanced computation. This talk will explore questions of ethics, accountability, and methods of big data, and consider both ways of building better tools and enhancing our understanding of existing ones.

3:00 - 3:30 pm

Break and networking

3:30 - 4:30 pm

Jaron Lanier, author of Who Owns the Future?, scholar, technologist and musician

Our Digital Future

Join Jaron Lanier – who coined the term “virtual reality” – as he explores our digital future. He’ll explore the topics covered in his book Who Owns the Future?, including the power and wealth imbalances in the digital world.

4:30 - 4:45 pm

Wrap up and preview for day two

5:00 - 7:00 pm

Reception at The New Yorker Hotel (included in registration)

Tuesday, October 27

8:30 - 9:00 am

Registration and breakfast (breakfast is included with registration)

9:00 - 9:15 am

Welcome and introduction to day to day two

9:15 - 9:45 am

Rupinder Paul, PhD student and researcher,EMBERS Project, Virginia Tech

Beating the News with EMBERS: Forecasting significant societal events using open source indicators

Early Model Based Event Recognition using Surrogates (EMBERS) is a project from Virginia Tech that uses open source indicators to monitor and predict societal events around the world. In this talk, Rupinder Paul will provide an overview of the project, their strategy, the use cases, and impact of predicting events.

9:45 - 10:15 am

Neil Rambo, Department Chair and Dierector, NYU Health Science Library, NYU Langone Medical Center

The library’s role in managing and curating open data

What kinds of services do libraries need to provide in the age of big data? What is the role of the library in managing data and privacy, especially for those in health services, where the data is sensitive in nature. Join Neil Rambo as he explores these topics.

10:15 - 10:45 am

Helen Cullyer, Program Officer, Scholarly Communications, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Privacy in scholarly communication and publishing

In this talk, Helen Cullyer will address how privacy is addressed in the scholarly ecosystem, and the implications it has for libraries, publishers, and administrators in higher education.

10:45 - 11:15 am

Break and networking

11:15 am - noon

Conrad Rushing, Director of Engineering, Tumblr

How privacy influences design

Tumblr is a social media platform that allows users to easily post photos, text, videos, quotes, music and links from anywhere, on any device. But how does user privacy affect design choices? Join Conrad Rushing as he explores the nexus of privacy and design.

noon - 1:00 pm

Lunch (included with registration)

1:00 - 2:00 pm

Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, Director, MDRC

Data and education policy

Everyone is talking about big data as if the use of data to inform decision-making is new. Education policy makers and researchers have been dependent on large datasets for decades. Still the tools and data available today offer new opportunities to inform and improve education. In this talk, Lashawn Richburg-Hayes will explore the use of big data in education policy.

2:00 - 2:30 pm

Jason Aston, technology artist

Pay to play: how much do those clicks actually cost?

Presentation on interactive arts display 

2:30 - 3:00 pm

Break and networking

3:00 - 3:45 pm

Elizabeth Green, Co-founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief, Chalkbeat

Using data to track journalistic impact

As Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering educational change, grew it faced the challenge of better defining its purpose and measuring its impact. In this talk, Elizabeth Green discusses Chalkbeat’s creation of MORI (Measures of Our Reporting’s Influence), a WordPress plugin, to track and visualize the journalistic impact of its stories, learn what approaches are most successful, and plan future reporting.

3:45 - 4:15 pm

Adam Freed, CEO, Teachers Pay Teachers

Using technology to empower teachers

Many argue that education is an industry immune from network forces. Teachers Pay Teachers has paid more than $175 million to teachers for lesson plans, assessments, PowerPoint presentations, and many other teaching resources. Adam Freed will describe how an enabling platform can unleash the collective desire among teachers to help and learn from each other, and thereby improve the quality of education. What’s next for Teachers Pay Teachers?

4:15 - 4:30 pm

Thank you and final thoughts: Kevin Guthrie, President, ITHAKA

Housing

We've reserved a block of hotels at The New Yorker Hotel for the conference. The rate is $289 per night and guests can make reservations by calling 800-764-4860 and referencing ITHAKA when speaking with a hotel representative. All reservations must be made by September 26, 2015 in order to get the group rate. 

Registration includes all meals and breaks during the conference, plus an opening reception on October 26.

Featured Speakers 

More speakers coming soon! Check back often.

Elizabeth Green

Chalkbeat

Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief

Lashawn Richburg-Hayes

mdrc

Director

Helen Cullyer

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Program Officer, Scholarly Communications

Adam Freed

Teachers Pay Teachers

CEO

Jaron Lanier

 

Scientist, Musician, Digital Artist, & Author

Hilary Mason

Fast Forward Labs

Founder

Rupinder Paul

Virginia Tech

EMBERS Project

Neil Rambo

New York University

Director, Health Sciences Library and Knowledge Informatics

Conrad Rushing

Tumblr

Director of Engineering

Zeynep Tufekci

The New York Times

Contributing Writer