Repost: UPDATE: NUITEQ's Snowflake: Updated, improved, and retitled-- Snowflake MultiTeach®

I wrote a post published on October 13, 2013 about Snowflake ABC, a software suite of entertaining educational apps developed by NUITEQ®.

Fast forward to 2016, and I now work with NUITEQ® as a K-12 technology specialist, and realized that the post needed some updating.  So here's the update!

Many great improvements have been made by the NUITEQ® team since Snowflake ABC was released. Along with the changes came a new name, Snowflake MultiTeach®. 

Snowflake MultiTeach® was designed for multi-touch, multi-user displays and tables, but can be used on single-touch displays or traditional computers/laptops with a mouse. It works well for "front-of-class" presentations and has many features that support collaborative group work.



So what is new?

The Lessons app was added to the suite of applications, along with Nodes, a concept-mapping and presentation application that supports project and problem based learning, STEM, and STEAM.

The Lessons app is a powerful addition to Snowflake MultiTeach®.  Within this app,  teachers (and students) can build a variety of interactive, engaging lessons, learning games, and quizzes, with little effort. 

Snowflake MultiTeach® can support several lessons and apps running at the same time, using the Zones feature, which makes it ideal for students working in pairs or small groups.

To compliment the Lessons app, the online MultiTeach® Lessons Community  was developed to provide a way for teachers to share lessons they've created.  The lessons posted on the MultiTeach® Lessons Community can be accessed from within the Lessons home screen.  Lessons can be searched by subject and level and imported directly into the Lessons home screen.  

Lessons created with Snowflake MultiTeach® can be exported directly from the Lessons home screen to the MultiTeach® Lessons Community so they can be shared with others. Snowflake MultiTeach® and sign-up to the MultiTeach® Lessons Community is required for access.

To support teachers as they make the transition from single-touch whiteboards to multi-user displays, the MultiTeach® Pinterest site was created.  There you can find curated and regularly updated information about how to use Snowflake MultiTeach®, 21st century teaching and learning, free digital resources for the classroom, and much more.

For information about how teachers can integrate Snowflake MultiTeach® into their classrooms, take some time to read the following blog posts. Share with your peers!

Infuse Arts into STEM Projects Using Collaborative Touch Screen Technology

Collaborative STEM Education and Careers Exploration

How to MultiTeach®: Introduction to Snowflake MultiTeach® Nodes App

Differentiated instruction through Snowflake MultiTeach®

Like what you see?

If you are interested in replacing your current single-touch interactive whiteboard with a multi-touch display, contact a representative fromNUITEQ® by following the email link on the website, and you will be connected to someone in your region who can assist you. 

(Here is the old post for reference, scroll down to see information about ABC.)

Blast from the Past: My 2006 Post on Virtual Reality and Convergence with Gaming Technologies.

I started this blog in 2006-- and I do plan to get into the routine of blogging more more frequently.  

I'd love to update the posts that were the most popular in the past,  and add links and resources that reflect what is going on with interactive multimedia technology in 2016.

So much has evolved since I started this blog!

2006:  Virtual Reality & Convergence with Game Technology

Note:  Some of the links are broken.

FYI:

I still write blog posts from time to time.

Here are links to the blog post I've written for NUITEQ® about collaborative interactive technologies:

COLLABORATIVE TECHNOLOGY IN A 1:1 WORLD

HOW TO USE TOUCH SCREEN TECHNOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM

HOW TO MULTITEACH®:  INTRODUCTION TO SNOWFLAKE MULTITEACH® Nodes APP

Highlights from UIST 2015 - Animatronics + Digital Storytelling and More!

I recently attended the 28th ACM User Interface Software and Technology Symposium (UIST2015), held in Charlotte, N.C.   Although the focus of the conference was not on educational interfaces, a good number of the presentations and demos were related to education in some way.


I've been looking at ways newer technologies can take a bigger role in education, something that is important, given the spread of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) in K-12 settings.  The STEM/STEAM approach requires students to work collaboratively through project-based learning activities designed to support a variety of skills that they will need as university students-- and beyond.

The focus of this year's UIST Student Innovation Contest  session was storytelling and animatronics!

According to info from the UIST website: "Schools and museums are starting to offer experimental Animatronics classes where kids build furry robotic animals and use them to tell amazing stories. These courses blur traditional lines - between art and engineering, between the virtual and physical worlds - all while demonstrating the universality of creativity across disciplines. Everybody learns how to write stories, build mechanisms, program motions, provide voice performances, etc. In this way, kids see how it all works together, and it has a way of inspiring kids to see new career possibilities."

I was delighted to see so many kid-friendly interfaces.  The first one that caught my eye was "ZOOO".

The ZOOO platform supports digital storytelling through the creation and use of electronic stage, computer-assisted animated puppets, and an a easy-to-use visual software programming environment.  ZOOO would appeal to teachers who are implementing project-based STEAM activities with their students.

I liked the visual design of the programming interface, which can be accessed through a touch-screen.  ZOOO was created by a team of students at the IInterdisciplinary Program of Information Art & Design, Academy of Arts & Design,Tsinghua University, China.

Another demo that caught my eye was Show-Flow. Show-Flow is a software tool designed to create a non-linear animatronic puppet show.  In the following video, the story is entitled "Zee's Mystery": 


The Show-Flow software was created by Nuirit Kirshenbaum, and is available for download on github.

So where is all of this headed?

In today's K-12 classrooms following the Common Core Standards, STEM/STEAM subjects are often integrated into the English/Language Arts curriculum.  Reading instruction is very important, but new ways of teaching and learning are taking hold, such as project-based learning.   Projects are interdisciplinary in nature and require careful planning on the part of teachers---and also require plenty of space for students to communicate, collaborate, brainstorm, design, and share ideas.   

In some schools, teachers are finding that laptops, productivity software, and multimedia resources on the web are good for supporting project based learning activities, but there are limitations. Teachers can't always see what is going on with the students, and laptop screens don't allow for more than two children, at best, to easily see content and collaborate. 

What is exciting is that many schools are thinking beyond 2015.  Tired of the cost of replacing projector bulbs and "touchy" interactive whiteboards, some schools are embracing solutions that are likely to support authentic collaboration -- for example, the picture below shows young children on a Clear Touch display running NUITEQ's Snowflake MultiTeach software.  

In a classroom setting, NUITEQ's Snowflake MultiTeach software can support students working individually or in collaborative groups.  Teachers can create a variety of game-like lessons using the versatile Lessons App.    With the multi-touch, multi-user  Clear Touch display, teachers can orient the screen to meet the needs of the students - upright in an interactive presentation mode, at an angle for design and brainstorming activities, or horizontally, in a table mode.  

All of this is great for supporting science lab activities-- and also student collaboration and planning for STEAM projects. 

I'll be posting more about UIST 2015 highlights soon!

REFERENCES/RESOURCES

UIST 2015
Conference Website

ZOOO

毛成鹏 Chengpeng Mao

清华大学美术学院 信息艺术设计系
Interdisciplinary Program of Information Art & Design, Academy of Arts & Design,Tsinghua University
Mobile  (+86)155-011-21372
Beijing• China  100084
Email  adrainmao@gmail.com

SHOW-FLOW
Nuirit Kirshenbaum

NUITEQ 

Snowflake MultiTeach

MultiTeach Pinterest
MultiTeach Lessons Community

CLEAR TOUCH
Clear Touch Interactive Experience




Disclosure: I am a K-12 Technology Specialist with NUITEQ.

Looking forward to attending UIST in Charlotte NC!

I am happy to share that I will be attending the UIST 15, the 28th ACM User Interface Software and Technology Symposium, from November 8-11. It will be held in my hometown, Charlotte, N.C. 

I look forward to sharing what I learn with my colleagues at NUITEQ and with educators who are interested in learning more about the technologies that have the potential to impact the future.

According to the conference website, "The ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) is the premier forum for innovations in human-computer interfaces. Sponsored by ACM special interest groups on computer-human interaction (SIGCHI) and computer graphics (SIGGRAPH), UIST brings together people from diverse areas including graphical & web user interfaces, tangible & ubiquitous computing, virtual & augmented reality, multimedia, new input & output devices, and CSCW. The intimate size and intensive program make UIST an ideal opportunity to exchange research results and ideas."

I am exited to see what new technologies are making way into K-12 educational settings-- for example, the following video from the UIST 15 conference website highlights software and hardware innovations for animatronics. High school students work on creative projects that support storytelling, while learning about technology and engineering concepts.

There are many opportunities for young children to gain a range of skills.  In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,  Oakhurst Elementary School was renovated and re-envisioned as a STEAM magnet program. 

What is STEAM?   

Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.

The following video provides an overview of the exciting things happening at Oakhurst:

Working with NUITEQ as a K-12 Tech Specialist

I'm happy to announce that I am working with NUITEQ as a K-12 Technology Specialist. NUITEQ has made a commitment to developing educational solutions to meet the needs of students and teachers in today's technology-rich classrooms.

Take a look at a recent post I wrote for the NUITEQ blog:

The 21st Century Classroom and Multi-touch Technology


You might also be interested in the new Pinterest site I created as resource for teachers who will be using NUITEQ's multi-touch software, MultiTeach. The Pinterest boards will be regularly updated:

MultiTeach Resources on Pinterest

Below are some pictures of a little guy I know and love, happily exploring what MultiTeach has to offer:

What I like about the NUITEQ team is that it aims to put users front and center at each phase of development.  For education, this means teachers and students.  

Note:  I will continue to share my interactive multimedia and emerging technology discoveries in future Interactive Multimedia Technology posts!

Back-to-School Reads For Innovative Teaching and Learning

It is that time of year.  

Teachers, students, and parents know that in a few days or weeks, school will begin for the 2015-16 academic year... 

The good news?  

Some teachers have been busy sharing their ideas, strategies, and resources as they plan ahead.  Here are a just a few good links to get started:

8 things every teacher can do to create an innovative classroom
Trevor Shaw, eSchool News, 8/3/15

Elementary Classroom Hacks:  Big Ideas at Little Cost
Samantha McBurney, Edutopia, 8/3/15

The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning
Ki Sung, Mind/Shift, 11/18/14


Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
University of Houston, 2015

15 Characteristics of a 21st-Century Teacher
Tsisana Palmer, Edutopia, 6/20/15

Engage NY (Common Core Lessons)
New York State Education Department Website

Fractions are hard
David Wee, The Reflective Educator

Seeing Struggling Math Learners as 'Sense Makers', Not 'Mistake Makers'
Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift, 8/4/15

Mistake Makers or Sense Makers, David Wees

More to come!

Rock the World Interaction with Guitars at Discovery Place, Charlotte!

Interactivity, Hands-on Fun!

I recently visited Discovery Place, Charlotte with my 4 1/2 year-old grandson. Discovery places is one of his favorite museums because he loves the interactive exhibits.  I have a family pass, so he knows that if there is a special exhibit coming up, he'll be sure to go.

The special exhibit, "Guitar: The Instrument that Rocked the World", runs from May 30, 2015 through September 7, 2015.  It is part of a touring exhibition of the National GUITAR museum.  

One of the first thing that caught my grandson's attention was an interactive display created by [i]cell Interactive.  The display provides an easy way to select a guitar, listen to the music it produces, and learn more about the guitar.  It was built into a tour road case for the exhibit, which was appealing, consistent with the exhibit's "road tour" theme.  The following clip shows my grandson's initial reaction when he came across the display:

There were loads of schoolchildren at the exhibit, so we couldn't get the full experience.  We will be visiting it soon when it is less crowded, and I will follow up with a related post.

RELATED
Discovery Place Museum: The Instrument that Rocked the World
The Instrument that Rocked the World is About To Rock Charlotte
National Guitar Museum
[i] Cell Interactive

SOMEWHAT RELATED
Hard Rock Cafe Interactive Memorabilia Website

Planning to resurface!

I will resume blogging within the next few months.  My father recently passed away after many years of declining health --- and I've been busy winding up my main career as I plan my early retirement as a (tech-savvy) school psychologist.

I've had the opportunity to work in two elementary schools where all of the students have small netbook/laptops.  It has been exciting to see how they work in groups for project-based learning activities.   They are engaged, learning, creative, and most of the time, smiling!   All of the classrooms have interactive whiteboards, and the teachers make great use of interactive resources.

In the meantime, I have collected a number of photos and video clips of interactive multimedia technology "out and about".   Much of my focus looks at ways people access and use various technologies in public spaces.  My nearly four-year-old  grandson is my side kick, and following in my footsteps, he is a very good critic!

Day at Discovery Place!

RELATED
Discovery Place

Vodafone's "Firsts" Campaign: 2 Grandmas take their first flight; Neil Harbisson's Color Conducted Concert

Vodafone, a telecommunications company, was off of my radar until an endearing video crossed my path on Facebook today.  Vodafone Firsts is part of a global brand program, led by social media, that aims to inspire people to do things for the very first time. Vodafone's strategy seems to be working.

In the following video, An and Ria, two elderly women, take their very first plane trip together to Barcelona.  It is well worth taking 10 minutes to watch it!   The video also does a good job of showing how the women approach using newer technologies, such as a tablet/video phone -- and a VR flight simulator to prepare for the flight.

An & Ria's First Flight  



In the following video, Neil Harbisson uses technology to create a concert that is based on the transformation of color into music. The interesting thing is that Neil is color-blind and has a "cyborg" apparatus that interprets colors for him by converting them into music/sounds. Vodafone provided him with an amazing creative opportunity.  

For more videos and behind-the-scenes information, see the full story on the Vodafone Firsts site, and also the TED Talk video on this post.

Neil Harbisson's First Color Conducted Concert Trailer


Neil Harbisson's TED Talk:  I listen to color

RELATED
Vodafone Firsts
Vodafone Corporate Site

Vodafone Americas Foundation:  "Mobile for Good"
Vodafone's 2013 Wireless Innovation Project's competition winners pushed the envelope to create new ways of using mobile technology and sensors for health and environmental monitoring.
ColdTrace: Wireless Vaccine Monitoring
MoboSens: Mobile Water Sensor
G-Frensel Cellphone Spectrometer (optical spectroscopy)

A New Twist to Infoviz: iPad Magic and Card Tricks to Convey Positive Stats About Stockholm

I came across a new twist to information visualization, featuring the creativity of magicians.  They were called to create short videos to promote the city of Stockholm, Sweden.  The use of magicians to convey the "magic" of Stockholm and the economic climate in Sweden was brilliant!  

It might be difficult for "pure" capitalists to understand how Sweden, with such high taxes, can provide an economic environment that supports innovation, capitalistic ventures, and a high standard of living while maintaining an efficient "welfare state".   

For those who live in Sweden, it just might be to the "magic" of the Nordic Model, an economic approach that combines capitalism with social welfare and good stewardship among government officials.   

If everone is healthy, the economy is healthy, right?   Swedish citizens feel that their high tax dollars are well-spent, and also well-managed, which is not always the case in other countries, especially in highly populated regions.

Not all is rosy in Sweden - there were riots last by "disaffected" youth last year, as the youth unemployment rate is high.  Despite the problems, there are are a number of countries who are considering the adoption of the Nordic Model.   The Economist's special report about the Nordic model has an interesting quote:  

Goran Persson, a former Swedish prime minister, once compared Sweden's economy with a bumblebee---"with its overly heavy body and little wings, supposedly it should not be able to fly--but it does."

The following video features Charlie Caper and Erik Rosales, of D1Gits, using iPads and creative magic to convey the positive economic statistics related to doing business in Stockholm:




In their most recent video to promote Stockhomlm,Charlie and Erik take it one step further, by using visualizations that seamlessly interact between iPads and a whiteboard:


In the video below, a magician spouts out interesting facts about the multiple benefits of living in Stockholm, Sweden while performing a number of card tricks to illustrate his points.


When I think about information and data visualization and Sweden, the first person that comes to mind is Hans Rosling, of Gapminder, and his talent at telling stories through interactive, animated data visualization.  As you can see from the video, an entertaining, story-telling approach to information visualization is effective!


RELATED AND SOMEWHAT RELATED
The secret of their success:  The Nordic countries are probably the best-governed in the world     2/2/13, Special Report, The Economist
Practical lessons for business from the Nordic Model
Anne Lise Kjaer, Futurist - 9/2013, SME Magazine
The Nordic Model (pdf) 
2007 MIT Department of Economics
What Can the United States Learn from the Nordic Model?
Daniel J. Mitchell, 11/5/07, The CATO Institute
Charlie Caper and Erick Rosales: Using Magic to Introduce Stockholm
The World By Road Collective, 3/2012
Charlie Caper, Magician
Hans Rosling's TED-talk videos 
Gapminder

MindHabits' Happy Games Paired with Pharrell William's "Happy" Music!

We all could use more smiling people and happy music!

If you are looking for a short burst of happiness, try playing the free MindHabits demo games. I recommend the Matrix Trainer for starters. You can uncheck the "email" box if you don't want to sign up for the newsletter.

The games have upbeat music playing in the background, but you can listen to your own music. In the Matrix game, the objective is to tap as many happy faces that you can find, out of a number of frowny or sad faces.   The research shows that this is an effective way of reducing stress.  I have used the on-line version for years with students who have autism, and it is a fun and effective way of "training" them to focus on facial features and expressions.

The desktop version of the suite of games is just under $20.00, and is available for Windows and Macs.   The desktop version tracks data and and allows users to customize the games with their own photos.   

I am about to explore MindHabit's new mobile apps: Psych Me Up PRO! and Happy Cat! 

If you work with young people - special needs or otherwise, try playing the on-line demo with Pharrell William's "Happy" song in the background (see music video embedded below). 

 This is something that wouldn't hurt to try at home!  

You are playing the MindHabits Trainer online demo. Your progress will not be logged beyond this session. Copyright © 2008 MindHabits inc. inc l rights Reserved.

Note: 
I am sharing information about MindHabits because I have been following this company since 2005, when Dr. Mark Baldwin, the lead creator of the suite of games, gave a presentation.   Dr. Baldwin is a psychology professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has devoted his career to the study of social intelligence, and more recently, how technology can help people reduce stress, build self-confidence, and development, and maintain positive states of mind.



According to the MindHabits website, the Psych Me Up Pro!   ($.99) and PsychMeUp! (free) mobile apps were developed to help people focus attention on positive social feedback. A quiz is included with the application, as well as information about the research that supports the use of the games.  The "pro" version has more options.

The children's version of PsychMeUp! is Happy Cat.  The objective is to find the happy cats and ignore the grumpy cats.  The smiling cat will meow.

HOW MINDHABITS WORKS

RELATED

MindHabits Game Tips

MindHabits FAQ

MindHabits Update
Lynn Marentette, Interactive Multimedia Technology, 2/24/08

McEwan, K., Gilbert, P., Dandeneau, S., Lipka, S., Maratos, F., Paterson, K.B., Baldwin, M. (2014) Facial Expressions Depicting Compassionate and Critical Emotions: The Development and Validation of a New Emotional Face Stimulus Set. PLOS One DOI: 10.1317/journal.pone.0088783

Dandeneau, S. D., Baldwin, M. W. (2009) The buffering effects of rejection-inhibiting training against social and performance threats in adult students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 34, 42-50

Stephane D. Dandeneau, Mark W. Baldwin, Jodene R. Baccus, and Maya Sakellaropoulo, Jens C. Pruessner (2007), Cutting Stress Off at the Pass: Reducing Vigilance and Responsiveness to Social Threat by Manipulation of Attention (pdf) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2007, Vol. 93, No. 4, 651–666 American Psychological Association 0022-3514/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.4.651

Graphene, Nanotechnology, and Programmable Interfaces; Samsung Galaxy Demo

I've been intrigued by graphene's multiple possibilities for the future. It is a flexible, programmable material that harness nano-technology to create flexible touch screens, "wearables", efficient energy storage systems, and more.  The following videos provide just two examples of graphene's potential.  

The details?  If you are curious, follow the links at the end of this post.  




Here is a short clip of a demo of a graphene touch screen on a Samsung Galaxy:


RELATED
Graphene nanoribbons could be the savior of Moore's Law
Ryan Whitwam, Extreme Tech, 2/17/14
High-Performance Multifunctional Graphene Yarns: Toward Wearable All-Carbon Engery Storage Textiles
ACS NANO, 2/11/14
Hydrogenation-Assisted Graphene Origami and Its Application in Programmable Molecular Mass Uptake, Storage, and Release
Shuze Zhu and Teng Li, University of Maryland, ACS Nano, 2/24/14
Teng Li Group, Harvard University
Chemically and structurally functionalized graphene for real-world applications
Marko Spasenovic, Graphenea, 3/06/14
Nanoscale graphene origami cages set world record for densest hydrogen storage
Kurzweil Newsletter, 3/14/14
Auto-switchable graphene bio-interface with a 'zipper' nanoarchitecture
Onur Parlak, Anthony P.F. Turner, Ashutosh Tiwari, Nano Werk 10/31/13
Samsung files patent for graphene-based touch screen
Marko Spasenovic, Graphene Tracker, 3/7/14
Graphene: Wikipedia
Grahpene:  Flexible touch screen, made from a sheet of carbon the thickness of one atom!   
Lynn Marentette, Interactive Multimedia Technology blog, 6/23/10

Interactive Ear: A Guide to Human Hearing, by Amplifon, link to Pearltrees site.

The Interactive Ear: A Guide to Human Hearing

This interactive ear was created by Amplifon, a hearing aid company based in the UK and in 20 other countries.  Until recently, interactive "learning modules" were designed with Flash, and out quick reach of people with iPads.  After playing around with the Interactive Ear using my iPad, I'm pretty sure that it was designed for use with touch-tablets in mind.

If you are an educator looking for something effective to use for a unit on the senses, the Interactive Ear looks like it would be great on an interactive whiteboard or large touch-screen display.   It provides ways to explore the workings of the outer, middle, and inner ear.

The Interactive Ear is presented by Amplifon

Thanks to e-Learning Examples for sharing this link! 

At the time of this post, I had not discovered who worked on the development of the Interactive Ear.  I'll post the information here in an update.

RELATED
While looking up information about the Interactive Ear, I came across the Pearltrees website.  It is sort of like Pinterest, but in a much more interactive and playful format. Information is represented by small icons called "Pearls", which are navigational tools that designed to support organization and sharing of information. It

I think the Pearltrees interface is also a good way to support memory of the "stuff" we have come across online!  Like any free site, if you sign up, the folks at Pearltrees will have access to some of your information, most likely for future advertising purposes. Pearltrees also can be accessed via apps for the iPad/iOS  and Android.  Pearltrees is recruiting, btw.

Below is a screenshot from the someone's Pearltree page that had the Interactive Ear in as a pearl inside of a pearl:

NOTE TO FOLLOWERS
For a number of reasons, including my work obligations-I have a consuming "day" job as a school psychologist- I have had less time to post blogs and have a huge backlog of content, ideas, and thoughts I have yet to share.  Here are some of the topics that you are likely see in the future.  

I appreciate your support and patience!

Future Topics:

Update on interactive multimedia learning modules
Update on latest interactive display technology, systems, and software, across the spectrum of uses
Interactive mobile technology in the wild and in the home 
eTextiles in art, music, and dance
Interesting conferences 
Update on human-computer interaction research and innovative technologies
Update on games for learning, serious games, and new technologies for gaming
Usability (or lack of) of systems, applications, devices across all spectrums, including education, government, health care, automobiles, mobile, etc.
Update on my own technology experiments --- I still haven't finished that interactive multimedia timeline!

MIT's Opera of the Future Lab and "Death and the Powers": Opera Meets Matrix

MIT's Opera of the Future Lab, part of MIT's Media Lab, has been preparing a new version of a performance of "Death and the Powers", an interactive, collaborative opera that is set to be performed on Sunday, February 16th at 2:00 PM (Central Time) at the Dallas Opera, and simulcast world-wide.  

Innovative interactive technology plays a huge role in this performance, connected to the opera's theme, singing, moving robots, sensors, and displays.

Although "Death and the Powers" opera was first performed several years ago, it has evolved and integrated new technologies over the years. What is really exciting about this upcoming performance will be simulcast in a way that will let the audience/viewers interact with the main performance through the use of cell phones or tablets, in real time.  The audience will have the opportunity to experience the opera through the points of view of different characters, including the perspective of the robots.

Video: Humanizing technology with opera-singing robots




RELATED
Opera of the Future Blog
(Lots of pictures, videos, cast interviews, and information about the technologies involved in the opera's performance.)
Death and the Powers
Death and the Powers Image Gallery
Singing robots show humanity of technology in opera of the future
PBS Newshour, 2/10/14
Sci-fi opera 'Death and the Powers' is doing things differently...with robots
Ann Davenport, PBS Newshour Art Beat, 2/10/14
FYI:  The above link has several video clips about the opera as well as the innovative interactive technology t
The Dallas Opera Global Simulcast of "Death and the Powers"
Susan Calvin, The Dallas Opera News and Features, 10/1/14

Excerpts from the above press release:

DEATH AND THE POWERS, scheduled to take place in Dallas on Sunday, February 16th at 2:00 p.m. Central Time, originating in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center and being simulcast to as many as ten locations in Europe and the U.S.

The Dallas Opera is currently in negotiations with a wide-range of venues and organizations located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Bing Concert Hall at Stanford University, New York City and its boroughs, Philadelphia, Paris, Los Angeles, London and Stockholm—as well as the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in the Dallas Arts District, which has already shown a keen interest in the questions raised by Machover’s “robot pageant” opera and has partnered with both the Dallas Opera and the MIT Media Lab’s “Opera of the Future” program to support this innovative approach to the art form and attract new generations to opera.

DEATH AND THE POWERS, with music by composer/inventor Tod Machover and text by librettist Robert Pinsky (one of America’s foremost living poets) received rave reviews at its sold-out 2010 Monte Carlo world premiere and subsequent engagements in Boston and Chicago.

However, this unprecedented Dallas Opera Global Simulcast offers far more than a mere stage production; patrons will experience Simon Powers’ perspective from within “The System,” as well as a “robot’s eye view” of the opera, while tapping into a variety of interactive features. Those attending the simulcast anywhere in the world will have an opportunity to interact with the main performance onstage—through cellphones, tablets and other handheld devices—in order to influence the visual elements in the Winspear Opera House in real time, as they unfold.

With the cooperation of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and The Moody Foundation, this production will incorporate the state-of-the-art Moody Chandelier as an important element of the visual and auditory experience.

“The Dallas Opera is thrilled to be collaborating with the brilliant composer and technologist, Tod Machover, on bringing this important work to Dallas,” says Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, “and presenting an unprecedented interactive global simulcast of the work. In this ‘Brave New World’ of high-tech opera, nothing is off-limits, and we are working closely and intensely with the composer, MIT and leading opera companies in the U.S., U.K. and continental Europe to add these new interactive and creative elements to an already outstanding twenty-first century masterpiece.

“All of us at the Dallas Opera are tremendously grateful to Bob Ellis and Jane Bernstein—whose generosity has brought this dream to life.”

Leading a team from the MIT Media Lab, Tod Machover produced “a challenging opera that questioned how far the human race can push technological development toward immortality.” The action centers on a terminally ill billionaire who downloads his consciousness into an artificial construct and then attempts to persuade his loved ones to join him there.
Andrew Porter of Opera magazine described Death and the Powers as “A grand, rich, deeply serious new opera.”

At the same time, critic Stephen J. Mudge of Opera News noted: “Any worry that the opera might be taking itself too seriously is answered by Pinsky’s witty and at times lighthearted libretto, which treats the situation with respect but levity.”

“It is so exciting to be bringing Death and the Powers to The Dallas Opera, and equally exciting to be collaborating with TDO – under the guidance of Keith Cerny and with the generous support of Bob Ellis and Jane Bernstein – to create an interactive streaming experience so that audiences around the world can be connected to the live Dallas performance,” says composer Tod Machover.
“Our challenge is to create extra layers and interactions for this remote viewing so that being ‘there’ will be just as compelling and powerful as being physically in the Winspear, while revealing new aspects of the opera – such as what it feels like to be ‘in The System’ with Simon Powers – for the very first time.”