I rarely check the stats of my YouTube videos. Today when I checked the stats, I was surprised to see that I have a nice following, without really trying.
I started uploading video clips to YouTube in 2006, to share vacation videos with family and friends. This was before YouTube was bought out by Google. Nearly everything that I've "produced" myself was not done in HD. There were strict guidelines about the size of video uploads during the earlier years of YouTube, so my videos look pretty low-tech. Most are lightly edited, if at all.
I used YouTube to store a few video clips I made when I was taking computer courses (HCI, Ubicomp, etc.). Again, most of my video clips were less-than polished.
One of my secrets is that I do know how to produce/shoot/edit video. This summer, I plan to re-do my most popular videos, and add some new ones that I'm sure my YouTube viewers will enjoy.
I have lots of HD video of vacations that I'd love to share! For now, take a look at my mostly low-def, low-tech "showcase":
Cute Kitty Video: My daughter's pets. I uploaded this for fun, and now it has over 210,000 views!
Monet's Gardens (no-music version)
Monet's Gardens, With Music (I added music from iMovie to the video after a request from a viewer.)
The following video one was taken by my younger daughter as we were driving to NYC in July of 2001, just two months before the 9/11/2001 tragedy. I was trying to figure out my route, my daughter was trying to capture video of the Twin Towers in the distance, and in the middle of it all, a huge plane flew across the highway.
My first attempt at a "travel" video clip:
Beach at St. Lucia
I have much better footage of this beach.
Cute Kitty Video: "Very Happy"
This is the "cute kitty" grown up a bit. The music is something that came with my Yamaha Motif keyboard. The "Very Happy" part of the music is a sampling from a voicemail message left to me by my daughter. This sample, among others, found a home in some music I composed/created but never quite finished.
This video was taken in Cozumel, just after the region experienced a devastating hurricane. I loved this music! The video was shot with my low-tech point-and shoot camera, and not edited, as you can see by the last frame of the video...
Labadie, Haiti: We were on a cruise and Labadie was one of the ports. This was taken before the earthquake.
I'm experimenting with "monetizing" some of my most popular YouTube videos. If you happen to see an ad related to any of my video clips on YouTube that is objectionable, please let me know.
May 31, 2010
May 30, 2010
2010 International Computer Music Conference in NY. I wish I could go!
I'm usually too busy during the last month or so of the school year to attend conferences. One I'd really like to attend is the 2010 International Computer Music Conference in N.Y. Music is an important component of interactive multimedia content, and new technologies have made things a lot easier for musicians who are technologically inclined. Conferences like ICMC are a great way to see - and hear - what is going on.
Links:
ICMC Paper Schedule
ICMC 2010 Poster/Demo Schedule
Thomas Erbe's ICMC Workshop: Pure Data Object Programming
(see bio and plug below)
Intriguing Topics:
"Gestural Shaping and Transformation in a Universal Space of Structure and Sound"
"SoundCatcher: explorations in audio-looping and time-freezing using an open-air gestural controller"
"Sense/Stage - low cost, open source wireless sensor infrastructure for live performance and interactive, real-time environments"
"The Four M's: Music, Mind, Motion, Machines"
"A Wireless, Real-time Social Music Performance System for Mobile Phones"
"Because we are all falling down: Physics, Gestures, and Relative Realities"
"Argos: An open-source application for building multi-touch musical interfaces"
"Peacock: a non-haptic 3D performance interface"
"Head Tracking for 3D Audio using the Nintendo WII"
"The Avatar Initiative- An Interdisciplinary Approach to Digital Media Research and Education"
"Computer Controlled Video as a Multi-modal Interface in Live Acousmatic Music"
"The Machine Orchestra"
"Eye. Breathe. Music"
"Combining audiovisual mappings for 3D musical interaction"
ICMC Unconference Categories
PdBarCamp
Sensory Interaction in Composition and Performance
Language, Neurology, and Acoustics
Open Scores and Accessible, Consumer Devices
Issues in Computer Music Performance
Computer Music and Society: Questions of Dissemination
Realistically, I'd be happy with a bit more time to play my keyboard!
(The very first class I took when I decided to return to school to take computer classes was computer music technology.)
My plug for Tom Erbe, from the ICMC website
SOMEWHAT RELATED
When I get a moment, I'm reading my latest issue of IEEE Multimedia cover-to-cover:
Special Issue: Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia
(The second class I took after I returned to school to take computer classes was Computer and Internet Multimedia.)
Links:
ICMC Paper Schedule
ICMC 2010 Poster/Demo Schedule
Thomas Erbe's ICMC Workshop: Pure Data Object Programming
(see bio and plug below)
Intriguing Topics:
"Gestural Shaping and Transformation in a Universal Space of Structure and Sound"
"SoundCatcher: explorations in audio-looping and time-freezing using an open-air gestural controller"
"Sense/Stage - low cost, open source wireless sensor infrastructure for live performance and interactive, real-time environments"
"The Four M's: Music, Mind, Motion, Machines"
"A Wireless, Real-time Social Music Performance System for Mobile Phones"
"Because we are all falling down: Physics, Gestures, and Relative Realities"
"Argos: An open-source application for building multi-touch musical interfaces"
"Peacock: a non-haptic 3D performance interface"
"Head Tracking for 3D Audio using the Nintendo WII"
"The Avatar Initiative- An Interdisciplinary Approach to Digital Media Research and Education"
"Computer Controlled Video as a Multi-modal Interface in Live Acousmatic Music"
"The Machine Orchestra"
"Eye. Breathe. Music"
"Combining audiovisual mappings for 3D musical interaction"
ICMC Unconference Categories
PdBarCamp
Sensory Interaction in Composition and Performance
Language, Neurology, and Acoustics
Open Scores and Accessible, Consumer Devices
Issues in Computer Music Performance
Computer Music and Society: Questions of Dissemination
Realistically, I'd be happy with a bit more time to play my keyboard!
(The very first class I took when I decided to return to school to take computer classes was computer music technology.)
My plug for Tom Erbe, from the ICMC website
Instructor Bios:
"Tom Erbe has had an important role in American experimental and electronic music of the last 20 years. In addition to his pioneering and widely used program SoundHack, he has become one of the most sought after and respected sound engineers for contemporary music. In 2004 he rejoined the faculty of UCSD in the Department of Music and serves as Studio Director. Most recently Tom has released SoundHack Spectral Shapers, the first of a planned set of three plugin bundles to bring extreme spectral processing to the VST, AU and RTAS formats."
If you are thinking about experimenting with sound, Tom Erbe's SoundHack freeware is awesome. His spectral shapers are worth every penny. (I used the +binaural filter to create a 3D effect of racing car sounds for one of the students I work with who has autism and loves racing cars.)
+binaural
This filter places a sound at a specific position around the listener's head. Use it with a reverb to create a virtual environment. When used with it's LFO, +binaural can place various beats or parts of a loop in specific repeatable positions.
SOMEWHAT RELATED
When I get a moment, I'm reading my latest issue of IEEE Multimedia cover-to-cover:
Special Issue: Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia
(The second class I took after I returned to school to take computer classes was Computer and Internet Multimedia.)
May 29, 2010
Preview: Update on Touch & Multitouch Technologies, Websites, and Touch-Interactive Multimedia Apps
It is about time for an update about touch/gesture- interactive technologies.
I've been researching the latest in "touch" screens and new developments in interactive multi-media content. In just one year, a multitude of websites have been transformed from static to interactive.
Although the initial objective for some of these websites was to optimize the interface and navigation for people accessing websites via touch-screen cell phones, some are ideal for use on touch-enabled slates, the iPad, and even larger touch screen displays and surfaces.
Convergence seems to be the buzz word of the day. Interactive TV. Game sets with Internet access. Movies on your cell phone. Touch screen Coke machines displaying movie trailers. What's happening now, and what is next?
I welcome input from my readers in the form of links to websites, university labs with grad students and professors who are obsessed with emerging interactive technologies, proof-of-concept video clips, video clips of related technologies that are new-to-market, etc.
I will add video clips to the following playlist:
FYI: I'm also in the middle of writing a series of posts about 3D television technologies for the Innovative Interactivity blog, and welcome input from my readers about this topic.
RELATED (Previous posts)
(the above post includes links to various multi-touch developer kits and resources)
Multi-touch Linux on a Stantum Slate PC & More (links to a nice overview about multi-touch interaction from ENAC)
Multimedia, Multi-touch, Gesture, and Interaction Resources (needs a little updating)
Labels:
display,
interactive,
interactive website,
multi-touch,
post-WIMP,
research,
resources,
technology,
touch,
update
No comments:
No comments:
May 28, 2010
CNN's Interactive Map and Timeline of Iraq and Afghanistan Casualties "Home and Away"
Via Flowing Data and CNN
Nathan Yau, of Flowing Data, posted information and a link to CNN's interactive Casualties: Home and Away website. This website allows you to visually explore the casualty statistics of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, beginning with the first of the fallen in 2001. You can zoom into a region and see pictures and names of people. The website provides a way for friends and family to share memories about their loved ones.
Home and Away also provides a "list view" option, shown in one of the pictures below. Visitors to the site can sort by name or year of death. Sliders on the map view provide a way of looking at the pattern of deaths over time. It is sad, but this website makes us remember that war is real. Deaths are not simply statistics.
Flowing Data
Home and Away
Labels:
afghanistan,
blog,
casualties,
CNN,
crossoads,
flowing data,
home and away,
interactive map,
interactive media,
iraq,
map,
multimedia,
timeline,
war,
website,
year
No comments:
No comments:
May 25, 2010
May 24, 2010
Quick Post: Video- Electroactive Polymers (EAP) for a Robot Head; link to OpenMaterials.org
Electroactive Polymer Robot Head
For more information:
Electroactive Polymers (EAP) as Artificial Muscles (EPAM) for Robotic Applications
Wikipedia: Electroactive Polymers
Electroactive Polymers Robot "Flying Fish" Transparent Blimp
"The worldwide first EAP propelled airship was made at Empa in collaboration with aeroix GmbH and the Technical University of Berlin. This lighter-than-air vehicle with 8 m in length consists of a slightly pressurized Helium filled body of a biologically inspired form with Dielectric Elastomer (DE) actuators acting as muscles and deforming the body and tail fin in a fish-like manner."
I wonder if the Blimp's surface could be transformed for interactive ads....I'm sure someone is working on this now!
RELATED
OpenMaterials.org (This is a rabbit hole I'll need to explore further.)
Smart & Adaptive Polymer Lab, University of Toronto
SOMEWHAT RELATED
Last night I dreamt about haptic touch-screen overlays... (IMT post from about a year ago that focuses on haptic/tactile feedback, electroactive polymers, and nano-materials.)
For a smile: "Musical Heads" Watch the Neurosonics Audiomedical" video (via Chris O'Shea)
For more information:
Electroactive Polymers (EAP) as Artificial Muscles (EPAM) for Robotic Applications
Wikipedia: Electroactive Polymers
Electroactive Polymers Robot "Flying Fish" Transparent Blimp
"The worldwide first EAP propelled airship was made at Empa in collaboration with aeroix GmbH and the Technical University of Berlin. This lighter-than-air vehicle with 8 m in length consists of a slightly pressurized Helium filled body of a biologically inspired form with Dielectric Elastomer (DE) actuators acting as muscles and deforming the body and tail fin in a fish-like manner."
I wonder if the Blimp's surface could be transformed for interactive ads....I'm sure someone is working on this now!
RELATED
OpenMaterials.org (This is a rabbit hole I'll need to explore further.)
"OpenMaterials is a research group dedicated to open investigation and experimentation with DIY production methods and uses of materials.
In the spirit of the open source software and hardware movements, we hope to promote materials to be researched and developed in a public, collaborative manner. We see materials as an open resource, and wish to establish an open process for exploring and sharing knowledge, techniques and applications related to materials science."
Smart & Adaptive Polymer Lab, University of Toronto
SOMEWHAT RELATED
Last night I dreamt about haptic touch-screen overlays... (IMT post from about a year ago that focuses on haptic/tactile feedback, electroactive polymers, and nano-materials.)
For a smile: "Musical Heads" Watch the Neurosonics Audiomedical" video (via Chris O'Shea)
May 23, 2010
Quick post: 3D and the Future of TV during Display Week in Seatle, WA May 26-27
Here is the link to the press release about 3D TV at Display Week/Society of Information Display Conference:
RELATED
Conference Press Kit page
Here is an example of some of the news linked to the page:
Touch Screen Shipments Pass 600 Million in 2009, Up 29% Y/Y
May 22, 2010
Video and Links about Google TV : Another Flavor of Android - "Google TV brings everything you love about the web to your television"
"Google TV brings everything you love about the web to your television"
INTRODUCING GOOGLE TV
Transcript of the Google TV video:
"Back when there were only a few networks, watching TV was pretty simple. You turned on the TV, and if you didn't like what was playing, you changed the channel. But these days, TV can be pretty complicated. Figuring out what you want to watch is hard enough, and that's only the beginning. Once you've chosen a program, you have to figure out when it's playing, and which of hundreds of channels it's on. It's like you have to change your schedule to fit your TV's schedule. In fact, many of us end up watching videos on the web, because it is easier to find things that you want. I mean think about it, more and more of our favorite shows and videos are showing up online these days, and you can get to them really easily, whenever you want, just by typing in what you're looking for."
"The problem is, these smaller screens don't really compare to our home entertainment systems. Which leads us to a pretty big question: If the web is so smart, and our TVs are so fun to watch, why do we have to choose? Why can't they work together?
"Well, now they can. Introducing Google TV. Google TV brings everything you love about the web to your television. Some new TVs will come with it built-in, or you can get a separate box for the TV you already own. Either way, the way it works is very simple. Right on your TV screen, you simply type in what you're looking for...anything you're looking for, and Google TV will find it."
"It's basically an entertainment hub that searches all of your channels, recorded shows, YouTube, and other web sites. If you find something you like, you can add it to your home screen where you will always see your favorite channels, shows, websites, even music playlists and photo albums. That way, you can get to things really quick. And with a full web browser, you get unlimited access to the entire Internet, so you can do stuff like browse photos or update your status. And that's just scratching the surface."
"By opening up your TV to all of the improvements and innovation that the web has to offer, Google TV will make your TV smarter and easier to use. So you'll be able to spend a lot less time finding what you want, and a lot more time watching what you want."
Here is some information from the Google TV website:
Google TV is a new experience made for television that combines the TV you know and love with the freedom and power of the Internet. Watch an overview video below, sign up for updates, and learn more about how to develop for Google TV.
More Information about Google TV from Google
"Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet. With Google Chrome built in, you can access all of your favorite websites and easily move between television and the web. This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more."
Related Google TV News and Links
Tom Krazit, CNET News 5/20/2010
Tom Krazit, CNET News 5/20/2010
Google tries where others failed: shaking up TV biz
Yinka Adegoke and Jennifer Saba, Reuters 5/21/10
Google Introduces Google TV, New Android OS
Priya Ganapati, Gadget Lab, Wired 5/20/10
Sony Internet TV
Logitec and Google TV
Logitec Google TV Box Will Have Special Powers
Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo, 5/20/10
Google Combines TV, Android, and All of the Internet
Jason Chen, Gizmodo, 5/20/10
Picture of Google TV Box, from Gizmodo:
SOMEWHAT RELATED
I wonder what the user interface will be for navigating around Google TV. This just might be the opportunity for a next-gen universal remote control to emerge. I hope so, because I've had usability issues with the current state of my remote controls and my DVR + HDTV viewing experiences.
FYI: A few of my previous posts related to remote controls, web-browsing on HD TV's, and so on:
Usability of a Remote Control
The UX of ITV: The User Experience and Interactive TV (or Let's STamp Out Bad Remote Controls)
WebTaps HDTV and Touch-Screen Web Browser: Share the view of the web on your couch!
Silverpac's Multi-touch website, by Ciplex features Evolution 5500, a user-freindly universal remote control, using Wiindows 7 SlideShow
Jonathan Kessler's Hand Eye Technologies: Coordinating your cell phone with Interactive TV
An Example of Convergence: Interactive TV: uxTV 2008
UPDATE:
Maybe a something like the iPad app below will be created for a slate-application for Google TV?
Remote Control News: Comcast Shows Off Sweet iPad Remote Control Prototype
This application supports socializing remotely via your remote....watch the video to see how it works:
Xfinity Remote Powered by Comcast (on an iPad)
May 21, 2010
Short Post: Google Search "Wonder Wheel": What I found when I Googled my name + fun
The picture shows it all!
May 20, 2010
The 3D Evolution: Part I, Introduction
The 3D Evolution: Part I, Introduction
I will be featuring topics related to 3D technologies in a series of future posts on the Innovative Interactivity blog. Look forward to discussions on topics related to the history of 3D in films, virtual reality, and games. I'll also touch on the history of 3D, including films, the evolution of 3D technologies, and the role of the virtual reality and gaming fields in this development. I will also discuss how 3D technologies might impact the future of interactive multimedia, in education, in the home, and the web.
I will be featuring topics related to 3D technologies in a series of future posts on the Innovative Interactivity blog. Look forward to discussions on topics related to the history of 3D in films, virtual reality, and games. I'll also touch on the history of 3D, including films, the evolution of 3D technologies, and the role of the virtual reality and gaming fields in this development. I will also discuss how 3D technologies might impact the future of interactive multimedia, in education, in the home, and the web.
3D movies have been around for a very long time, but until the movie Avatar was released a few months ago, there was little to suggest that 3D would be a hot topic of discussion. Part of the reason is that we now have a variety of newer technologies that support the creation and viewing of 3D content. The most important change is that 3D displays are on the market for use in the home, opening up a new vista for multi-media advertisers and content developers, including educational programming.
Samsung and Panasonic recently unveiled 3D displays for home viewing of films such as Avatar. Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic now offer Blu-ray disc players. Very soon, there will be broadcasts of sports events in 3D. 3D projectors and glasses are making some headway into K-12 classrooms.
Before I dive into this topic, I want to share that I am one of the small percentage of people who do not tolerate immersive 3D experiences very well. In the past, all of my attempts at viewing anything in 3D has resulted in headaches and nausea. Fortunately, there are some solutions to this problem that I am willing to try. I will share them in a future post.
-CrunchGear (Panasonic 3D gear)
If you'd like to jump-start your journey into the topic of 3D technologies, I encourage you to take a look at some of the links below!
3D Projectors in the Classroom: The kids are ready, but -- but what about the textbook-bound curriculum?
The Truth About 3D TV (Raising Digital Kids blog)
3D TV and Movies Look to Attract Viewers But Not Everyone Can ‘See’ What All the Hype is About (This article discusses stereoscopic vision deficiencies that prohibit some people from viewing 3D content, and how these deficiencies can be treated.)
Before I dive into this topic, I want to share that I am one of the small percentage of people who do not tolerate immersive 3D experiences very well. In the past, all of my attempts at viewing anything in 3D has resulted in headaches and nausea. Fortunately, there are some solutions to this problem that I am willing to try. I will share them in a future post.
-CrunchGear (Panasonic 3D gear)
If you'd like to jump-start your journey into the topic of 3D technologies, I encourage you to take a look at some of the links below!
RELATED
RELATED BLOGS AND POSTS
Almont Green's Blog (Stereoscopic Photographer)
3D Projectors in the Classroom: The kids are ready, but -- but what about the textbook-bound curriculum?
The Truth About 3D TV (Raising Digital Kids blog)
3D TV and Movies Look to Attract Viewers But Not Everyone Can ‘See’ What All the Hype is About (This article discusses stereoscopic vision deficiencies that prohibit some people from viewing 3D content, and how these deficiencies can be treated.)
May 14, 2010
Google Street View captured more than a shot of your house - it captured your wireless data "by mistake"!
Via Reuters:
Google says mistakenly got wireless data
Alexei Oreskovic, 5/14/10
"Google Inc said its fleet of cars responsible for photographing streets around the world have for several years accidentally collected personal information -- which a security expert said could include email messages and passwords -- sent by consumers over wireless networks....Google did not specify what kind of data the high-tech cars collected, but a security expert said that email content and passwords for many users, as well as general Web surfing activity, could easily have been caught in Google's dragnet."
Blog post from Google:
WiFi data collection: An Update 5/14/10
Time to make sure your home WiFi network is secure - and don't forget to check your Facebook privacy settings!
RELATED
How to Password-Protect Your WiFi Network
https://ssd.eff.org/tech/wifi
Google Says It Collected Private Data By Mistake
Brad Stone, New York Times, 5/14/10
Please explain: why Google wants your Wi-Fi data
Louisa Hearn, The Sydney Morning Herald 5/13/10
Facebook and Privacy Issues: Reflections about the ever-changing interfaces of Facebook and the growing number of Facebook-connected websites (IMT)
Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook: Security Expert on Big Risks You Should Be Aware You're Taking When You Use the Site (CBS)
Managing your privacy on Facebook;
Facebook downplays privacy criticism (Maggie Shiels)
BBC News, 5/14/10
Google says mistakenly got wireless data
Alexei Oreskovic, 5/14/10
"Google Inc said its fleet of cars responsible for photographing streets around the world have for several years accidentally collected personal information -- which a security expert said could include email messages and passwords -- sent by consumers over wireless networks....Google did not specify what kind of data the high-tech cars collected, but a security expert said that email content and passwords for many users, as well as general Web surfing activity, could easily have been caught in Google's dragnet."
Blog post from Google:
WiFi data collection: An Update 5/14/10
Time to make sure your home WiFi network is secure - and don't forget to check your Facebook privacy settings!
RELATED
How to Password-Protect Your WiFi Network
https://ssd.eff.org/tech/wifi
Google Says It Collected Private Data By Mistake
Brad Stone, New York Times, 5/14/10
Please explain: why Google wants your Wi-Fi data
Louisa Hearn, The Sydney Morning Herald 5/13/10
Facebook and Privacy Issues: Reflections about the ever-changing interfaces of Facebook and the growing number of Facebook-connected websites (IMT)
Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook: Security Expert on Big Risks You Should Be Aware You're Taking When You Use the Site (CBS)
Managing your privacy on Facebook;
Facebook downplays privacy criticism (Maggie Shiels)
BBC News, 5/14/10
Post Wimp Links (Link to Links)
| Post Wimp Link to Links | (Leads to a post on The World Is My Interface blog) | |||||||
May 13, 2010
Digital Media & Learning Competition Awards
2010 Digital Media and Learning Competition Winners (pdf)
"The Digital Media and Learning Competition, now in its third year, is an annual effort designed to find — and to inspire — the most novel uses of new media in support of learning. In May 2010, the Competition recognized 10 projects that employ games, mobile phone applications, virtual worlds, and social networks to create learning labs for the 21st Century — environments that help young people learn through exploration, interaction and sharing."
-MacArthur Foundation/HASTAC
2010 Winners, 21st Century Learning Lab
CLICK! The Online Spy School: Engaging Girls in STEM Activities, Peer Networking, and Gaming- Emily Sturman, Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, PA.
ECOBUGS- Stephen Sayers, Futurelab Education, Bristol, UK.
FAB@SCHOOL: A Digital Laboratory for the Classroom- Glen Bull, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Hole-in-the-Wall: Activity Based e-Learning for Improving Elementary Education in India - Hole-in-the Wall Education Limited, New Delhi, India
Metrovoice: About/In/By Los Angeles - Ann Bray, LA Freewaves, Los Angeles, CA
Mobile Action Lab: Programming Apps for Collaborative Community Change- Elisabeth Soep, Youth Radio-Youth Media International, Oalkand, CA
NOX No More: Connecting Travel Logs with Simulation, Gaming, and Environmental Education- Rosanna Garcia, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Conservation Connection: From the West Side to the West Pacific-Joshua Drew, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL
Scratch & Share: Collaborating with Youth to Develop the Next Generation of Creative Software- Mitchel Resnick, MIT Media LAb, Cambridge, MA
Youth Applab- Leshell Hately, Uplift, Inc. Washington, DC
About the Competition
RELATED
Press Release Via Serious Games Market and the MacArthur Foundation
Global Competition Selects 10 Innovative Digital Media & Learning Projects to Share $1.7 Million (Digital Media & Learning, Press Releases- May 12, 2010)
Washington, DC) — Ten winners of the MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition were announced today at a celebration of National Lab Day in Washington, DC, to promote science, technology, engineering and math across the country. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and administered by the virtual network of learning institutions HASTAC, the competition winners will share $1.7 million in funding to use games, mobile phone applications, virtual worlds, and social networks to create the learning labs of the 21st century. Winners include a project to show youth-produced videos on 2,200 Los Angeles city buses; the next generation of a graphical programming language that allows young people to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations; and an online game that teaches kids the environmental impact of their personal choices.
“Digital technologies are helping us to re-imagine learning,” said Connie Yowell, MacArthur’s Director of Education. “In the digital age, the learning environment is turned on its head — it’s no longer just the dynamic of the student, the teacher and the curriculum. Today, kids learn and interact with others — even from around the world — every time they go online, or play a video game, or engage through a social networking site. This Competition is helping us to identify and nurture the creation of learning environments that are relevant for kids today and will prepare them for a 21st century workforce.”
Now in its third year, the Competition is an annual effort to find — and to inspire — the most novel uses of new media in support of learning. This year it was launched in collaboration with President Obama’s Educate to Innovate initiative, challenging designers, inventors, entrepreneurs, and researchers to create learning labs for the 21st century, digital environments that promote building and tinkering in new and innovative ways.
Other winners of the global Digital Media and Learning Competition include:
•Conservation Connection: Using webcasting, video blogging and social networking sites, this project connects kids from Chicago’s West Side with kids in Fiji to work together to protect Fijian coral reefs;
•Mobile Action Lab: Combining the expertise of social entrepreneurs and technologists and the knowledge and ideas of Oakland, CA-based teens, this project helps develop mobile phone applications that serve Oakland communities.
•Click! The Online Spy School: Designed to encourage girls engagement in the sciences, Click!Online is a web-based, augmented reality game for teen girls to solve mysteries in biomedical science, environmental protection, and expressive technology.
•Download a complete list of the competition winners (PDF, 12 pages) »
This year’s application process included an opportunity for public comment, which allowed applicants to collaborate with others and improve their submissions prior to final review. Of the more than 800 applications from 32 countries, 67 finalists were asked to submit videos of their projects for a final round of judging. Winners were selected from this pool by a panel of expert judges that included scholars, educators, entrepreneurs, journalists, and other digital media specialists.
The Competition is funded by a MacArthur grant to the University of California, Irvine, and to Duke University and is administered by the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC). The Competition is part of MacArthur’s digital media and learning initiative designed to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. Answers are critical to education and other social institutions that must meet the needs of this and future generations.
"The winning projects exhibit a wonderful creativity in developing learning platforms and environments that promote participatory and collaborative engagements for kids to learn with and from each other in their everyday engagements,” said Cathy N. Davidson, of Duke University, Co-founder of HASTAC along with David Theo Goldberg, of the University of California Humanities Research Institute. “We are witnessing the profound transformation in how young people will be learning in the future, and these projects are helping to lead the way," noted Goldberg.
Winners of the Competition were drawn from two categories: 21st Century Learning Lab Designers ($30,000 to $200,000) and Game Changers ($5,000 to $50,000). Learning Lab Designer award winners, which were announced today, will share $1.7 million for learning environments and digital media-based experiences that allow young people to grapple with social challenges through activities based on the social nature, contexts, and ideas of science, technology, engineering and math. Game Changers awards, which are to be announced on May 25th at the 2010 Games for Change festival, will share $250,000 for creative levels designed with either LittleBigPlanet™ or Spore™ Galactic Adventures. The games offer young people learning opportunities as well as engaging play. Each category includes several Best in Class awards selected by expert judges, as well as a People’s Choice Award to be selected by the general public in late May.
Detailed information about the winning projects and the Competition is available at http://www.dmlcompetition.net.
Gesture Vocabulary from N-Trig: "N-act Hands-on"
N-Trig is a company founded in 1999 that provides pen and multi-touch solutions that integrate into LCDs and other devices, and provides opportunities for independent software vendors (ISVs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to create new interactive and hands-on computing experiences, according to the company's profile. The latest news about N-Trig's interactive capabilities was outlined in a recent article by DanaWollman, in Laptop:
The N-act Gesture Set (depicted in the video below)
N-act3SideSweep for browsing, use fingers together for browsing
N-act2+1 - select from a displayed menu
N-act3Tap- displays open windows in a 3D carousel
N-act3Hold-rotates the 3D carousel
N-act2Scroll- scroll through a document
N-act2Tap-minimizes the open window, displays the desktop
N-act1Touch- select an item on the screen
N-act4Tap-displays customized, relevant list of web page icons; selected text/item is pasted into the chosen app.
N-act4Zoom-magnifies a movable selected area of the screen
N-act4Select-selects an area and opens a context sensitive menu
avitalntrig
Here is the promotional information from the YouTube video:
"This video demonstrates the N-trig N-act Gesture Vocabulary, a set of true multi-touch gestures for two plus one, three- and four-fingers, enabling users to perform an action directly on the screen, and providing a rich set of hand movements that enhance the overall user experience, enabling a whole new approach to how we interact with our computing devices, for a true Hands-on computing experience."
RELATED
www.n-trig.com
N-trig DuoSense Technology
The Future is Now: Creating and Developing a Touch-Enabled World (pdf)
N-trig N-act Hands-On Gesture Vocabulary (N-Trig website)
Better Multi-Touch Displays Coming
Mike Miller, Forward Thinking Blog, PC Mag (3/3/10)
DuoSense: Creating a Multi-touch Enabled World (November 2009)
I found the following video from N-Trig on YouTube, released on 5/11/10, that shows the new gesture set that is supported by N-Trig:
The N-act Gesture Set (depicted in the video below)
N-act3SideSweep for browsing, use fingers together for browsing
N-act2+1 - select from a displayed menu
N-act3Tap- displays open windows in a 3D carousel
N-act3Hold-rotates the 3D carousel
N-act2Scroll- scroll through a document
N-act2Tap-minimizes the open window, displays the desktop
N-act1Touch- select an item on the screen
N-act4Tap-displays customized, relevant list of web page icons; selected text/item is pasted into the chosen app.
N-act4Zoom-magnifies a movable selected area of the screen
N-act4Select-selects an area and opens a context sensitive menu
avitalntrig
Here is the promotional information from the YouTube video:
"This video demonstrates the N-trig N-act Gesture Vocabulary, a set of true multi-touch gestures for two plus one, three- and four-fingers, enabling users to perform an action directly on the screen, and providing a rich set of hand movements that enhance the overall user experience, enabling a whole new approach to how we interact with our computing devices, for a true Hands-on computing experience."
RELATED
Dana Wollman, 5/1/10, Laptop
www.n-trig.com
N-trig DuoSense Technology
The Future is Now: Creating and Developing a Touch-Enabled World (pdf)
N-trig N-act Hands-On Gesture Vocabulary (N-Trig website)
Better Multi-Touch Displays Coming
Mike Miller, Forward Thinking Blog, PC Mag (3/3/10)
DuoSense: Creating a Multi-touch Enabled World (November 2009)
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