TEI '10: Fourth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction

I am really excited about TEI '10, which will be held in Cambridge, MA on January 25-27, 2010. If you are not familiar with tangible and embedded computing/interaction/interfaces, it is worth taking some time exploring this field.

Hiroshi Ishii, of the MIT Media Lab, is one of the TEI '10 conference chairs, and is known as the father of tangible computing. His scholarly publications have influenced the direction of human-computer interaction research, and as a consequence, the direction of emerging technologies.

Two of Ishii's articles, in my opinion, are "must-reads":

Tangible Bits: Towards Seamless Interfaces between People, Bits, and Atoms pdf (CHI 1997)

Tangible Bits: Beyond Pixels pdf (TEI 2008)

Additional Information:
"TEI, the conference on tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, is about HCI, design, interactive art, user experience, tools and technologies, with a strong focus on how computing can bridge atoms and bits into cohesive interactive systems."

You can follow TEI '10 on Twitter.

Here is more from the TEI '10 website:

About TEI

"TEI'10 is the fourth international conference dedicated to presenting the latest results in tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction."

"The work presented at TEI addresses HCI issues, design, interactive art, user experience, tools and technologies, with a strong focus on how computing can finally bridge atoms and bits into cohesive interactive systems. The intimate size of this single-track conference provides a unique forum for exchanging ideas and presenting innovative work through talks, interactive exhibits, demos, hands-on studios, posters, art installations and performances"

Digital Photography - off topic

This picture was taken in the mountains of Norway, not too far from Flam and the nearby fjords with my digital camera. Peaceful.

I've been observing people of all ages using technology durng my trip, within the context of wayfinding, communication, usability, and user experience, and I'll be posting more when I return.

Human Media Lab's Organic User Interfaces and Interactive Sphere

The following video is of an interactive sphere prototype created by Josh Marble and John Bolton (members of NUI Group), from Human Media Lab at Queens University in Canada:

"DYI Multi-Touch Spherical Display"


I shared some information about the Human Media Lab's emerging technology in a previous post,
My Summer Emerging Technology "Wish to Play" List. Here is some more information about the lab:

"The Human Media Lab is Canada's premier media laboratory. Its mandate is to develop disruptive technologies and new ways of working with computers that are viable 10 to 20 years from now. We are currently working on the design of Organic User Interfaces (Oui!), an exciting new paradigm that allows computers to have any shape or form."

I would love to visit this lab. Perhaps they are working on flexible haptic interfaces, or other stuff of dreams.

(I'm on a cruise ship with limited Internet access, so I'll post more when I have the opportunity!)

NECC 2009 Conference June 28-July 1st: Technology in Education

If you are interested in virtual worlds, serious games, interactive multimedia technology, and emerging technologies in education, the 2009 NECC conference is the place to be!

NECC 2009 Conference Website

ISTE Website

Live Streaming from the NECC conference

CITEd (Center for Implementing Technology in Education) will be at NECC at the end of this month, where CITEd staffers will be keeping in touch via Twitter and Facebook.

The following information about virtual worlds and learning is from CITEd-e-News:

"Follow CITEd as we attend NECC 2009, the largest educational computing conference of the year. If you're attending this year, check out the agenda to see where we'll be; if you can't make it, we'll be Twittering the conference at TechnologyinEd. New to Twitter? Check out The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter or Twitter in Plain English. "

Source: NMC Second Life Flicker Photostream

Virtual Worlds for Teaching and Learning

Virtual worlds, particularly Second Life and Teen Second Life, are a hot topic in education as schools and universities around the world begin to make use of virtual learning environments. With a wide variety of educational projects, Second Life is home to virtual conferences, professional development workshops, "field trips" to exotic locales, in-world classrooms and collaborative learning activities. In this issue of eNews, we take a look at some of the ways educators are using Second Life to enhance learning and teaching. Learn more at www.cited.org.

	Avatars Teach Teens about Self-Image Read about how one health teacher used avatars (alter egos) in Second Life to teach students about body image issues, media representations of beauty, and self-image.
	ICT for the Non-Specialist - Virtual Worlds If you've ever wondered about using virtual worlds with your students, but don't know where to start, check out this short video highlighting several schools as they explore using Second Life in their teaching.
	Teen Second Life Guide for Schools Suffern Middle School in Suffern, NY has maintained a virtual presence in Teen Second Life since 2006, with a focus on standards-based curriculum. Based on their experiences, teachers have created an in-depth guide for moving your school or classroom into the virtual world.
	Global Kids Second Life Project Thinking about using virtual worlds in your school? Global Kids has used Second Life to work with urban youth since 2006 and offers free sample curriculum materials and professional development opportunities. Be sure to visit the blog written by teens in the project!

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Whatever your technology need, CITEd's web site offers unbiased, reliable and timely resources and information for implementing technology in the classroom, school, and district. Want to know more? Visit our home page!

www.CITEd.org

(I'm on a cruise vacation, otherwise I'd be at NECC!)

A visit to Trinity College: The Elektra Project and 80Days Games for Learning

Today I visited Trinity College in Dublin and had an opportunity to discuss some educational gaming with Dr. Owen Conlan. Dr. Conlan has been involved in some interesting projects which I'll discuss further in an update of this post.

For now, you can visit the following links. The Elecktra project was recently completed, and 80Days is a newer project. Both projects were collaborative efforts between several universities.

ELEKTRA: "Enhanced Learning Experience and Knowledge TRAnsfer"

80Days Project Overview (pdf)

80Days Goes Public:

"80Days International Open Workshop on Intelligent Personalization and Adaptation in Digital Educational Games is organized by the 80Days Project (www.eightydays.eu), a cutting-edge research initiative of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7). The project’s goal is to explore new frontiers in DEGs by combining effective learning with fun and pleasure. Core objectives of the project are intelligent mechanisms for non-invasive knowledge assessment and the establishment of a higher-level adaptation framework that merges educational adaptation and interactive storytelling. '

My Summer Emerging Technology "Wish to Play" List!

Yes, it is summer, and I need new sunglasses. But not the usual kind.

I just had to post this picture from the Optical Vision Site. Too bad "iShades" are just in the prototype level of development.



There are other fashionable options:



Maybe this prototype would look better:

Photo from the Wired Gadget Lab

Or perhaps this pair?

Human Media Lab at Queen's University

I guess the glasses will help me interact with the next in emerging technology: the organic user interface!

Twp guys and their flexible "gummi".

And here is the next-gen version of Readius, a flexible pocket e-book from Polymer Vision. (I posted a video clip of the earlier version of "Readius" on YouTube two years ago.)













(Photo from Engaget: "Polymer Vision has Readius ready to go, needs case to get it out of the door".)

You can learn more about organic and flexible user interfaces from a video on the Daily Planet Discovery Channel. Organic user interfaces allows computers to take any shape or form. The concept reminds me of the flexible haptic interfaces I've dreamt about.

So what what else is emerging?

Here are a couple of pictures of a Google Earth browser on a spherical screen:



And here is a smaller, collapsible multi-touch sphere from Moxia:









More to come!