SFU Surrey began life in the late 1990s as The Technical University of British Columbia. Its mandate was to try innovative methods of education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. This invention carries forward into our reincarnation as Simon Fraser University's newest branch campus. Courses are part of an interdisciplinary mix of leading edge art and science, both in content and method of delivery. Yet, we attempt to blend with the extensive and more traditional offerings of a major, internationally respected university.

Most of SFU Surrey's courses are delivered through the Internet. Listening to long talks in classrooms is displaced to readings delivered on-line. Instead, face-to-face classes are reserved for discussion, debate and special presentations.  Of special interest is our first year "Tech One", a cohort-based interdisciplinary programme where all have a common course base of science, technology and art.

In the past three years since coming to SFU, I have been central to efforts in building the graduate programme in Computing Arts and Design Sciences as well as key interdisciplinary undergraduate courses. These include:

History of Technology and Culture: This foundation course in Tech One takes students from the beginnings of written history to the recent development of highly tech computer-based media. Along the way, we learn about the interplay of expression and mediation - where technology both shapes and extends human art and expression. This course is given completely on-line through SFU-Surrey's innovative course management system.

Critical and Creative Thinking: This course serves many needs, from how to think clearly in confusing situations, to organising written work for technology and art. As well, we give practice with oral presentation of both individual and team-built projects. We pay some attention to media techniques that can - variously - clarify issues or propagandise an audience.  As well, we consider the problems and methods in transferring high technology information to lay or untrained audiences.

Digital Communities: This third year course asks if on-line groups really can be "communities" and in what sense. We examine some of the tenants of real, geopolitical communities, then compare this to the mediated environment of the Internet. We begin as well to sort through the problems that arise - from anonymous spammers to child predators and privacy. The end product is the effort of several teams to build working virtual communities on a variety of software platforms.

Research Methods: This course is a fairly demanding introduction to graduate-level research. While we are inclusive of a broad range of observational methodologies, the focus is on logical-deductive reasoning and controlled observation. As many students find, the seemingly easy steps - such as asking a workable research question - are the most challenging. We look both at successful research as well as work that is foundationally illogical or deceptive, able to lead even expert researchers astray. Most come to appreciate that good research is in good part a kind or art as well as a more expected scientific or technical practice.

Courses in Development: Looking ahead to new topics is both necessity and challenge in a programme like ours - where new technology and new uses for it are a constant. Here are some possibilities I have under consideration:

Digital Media and Social Policy: This is an introductory course in the social, economic and regulatory issues implied in new media forms such as the Internet. I developed the basis of this course over 20 years ago, when I taught it at the National Institutes in Dublin, Ireland. Then it was called "social inforatics", an appellation familiar in Europe, but not North America. Primarly directed to third or fourth year undergraduates, I have offered the course as as popular elective to graduate students - in beefed-up form - at the University of Washington. Hopefully, before too long, it can work into the SFU curricular offerings.

Fatal Filters and Hidden Blocks in Digital Media: This course, likely a specialised upper division undergrad and/or grad course, examines systemic and organisational bias in the kinds of expression encouraged or blocked on the Internet by governments, international associations and commercial content providers. Increasingly, content and signals carriage are commingled in the same decreasing pool of providers as the once chaotic internet consolidates in large providers as have previous media forms. There is particular attention to expression by political and social minorities in a digital media age.