CHI 2012 SlideShow (quick)

Here are some pictures from CHI 2012:


 I'll be sharing about innovative, interesting interactive technologies in some of my future posts.

Looking forward to CHI 2012: Child Computer Interaction, Educational Interfaces, Health, Special Needs, and Much More!

I am looking forward to attending the ACM-CHI 2012 conference!


On Saturday and Sunday I'll be at the Educational Interfaces, Software, and Technology (EIST) workshop, which is part of the Child Computer Interaction/HCI and Kids community.  I've selected a few papers/presentations/panels that I hope to attend during the remainder of the conference below.


If you are curious about other topics that will be presented at CHI 2012, take a look at the short video previews on the CHIMadness2012 YouTube channel.  

VocSyl


VocSyl: Designing Visualizations to Facilitate Multisyllabic Speech with Children with Autism and Speech Delay (pdf)
Joshua Hailpern, Andrew Harris, Reed LaBotz, Brianna Birman, Karrie Karahalios, Laura DeThorne, Jim Halle (Social Spaces Research Group, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign)

Social Scripts
 
Fatima Bourjarwah: Facilitating the Authoring of Multimedia Social Skills Instructional Modules for Adolescents with High-Functioning Autism

Autism and Maths Tutor
Research Showcase - Autism & Maths tutor - CHI 2012 from George Chan on Vimeo.

ShoeSense


Giles Bailly, Joerg Mueller, Michael Rohs, Daniel Wigdor, Sven Kratz
ShoeSense: A New Perspective on Hand Gestures and Wearable Applications


Escobedo, L., Nguyen, D.H., Boyd, L., Hirano, S.H., Rangel, A., Garcia, D., Tentori, M., & Hayes, G.R. (2012). MOSOCO: A Mobile Assistive Tool to Support Children with Autism Practicing Social Skills in Real-Life Situations. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2012). Austin, Texas (May 5-10, 2012). New York: ACM Press. To appear

Design of an Exergaming Station for Children with Cerebral Palsy

(Research team from Queen's University, Canada, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital)


Illumishare


Paper: IllumiShare: Sharing Any Surface

Sasa Junuzovic, Kori Inkpen, Tom Blank, Anoop Gupta, Microsoft Research

Panel: Tangible Interfaces for Children: Cognitive, Social & Physical Benefits and Challenges
Shuili Gilutz, Sandra Calvert, Kathleen Kremer, Barbara Chamberline, Geri Gay

Paper: Improving Literacy in Developing Countries Using Speech-Recognition-Supported Games on Mobile Devices 
Anuj Kumar, Pooja Reddy, Anuj Tewari, Rajat Agrawal, Matthew Kam


Tap & Play: And End-User Toolkit for Authoring Interactive Pen and Paper Language Activities (pdf) Ann Marie Piper, Nadir Weibel, James D. Hollan


RELATED
About the CHI Conference (from the CHI 2012 Conference Preview)
"Originally a small conference for psychologists interested in user interface design, the annual CHI conference has grown to include a very diverse participant group (such as interaction designers, computer scientists, engineering psychologists, developers, performing artists and more). It has also grown to deal with larger problems such as the organizational integration of technology and the use of technology in the home rather than only office settings. This year's conference marks 30 years of research, innovation and development in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and is expected to draw more than 2500 professionals from over 40 countries. The experience at CHI 2012 offers innovative opportunities for interacting with future technologies. The following areas represent a small portion of the total conference. For complete information about this year's conference, consult the Advance Program."


"Featuring over 900 works, the CHI conference is the premier worldwide forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of human-computer interaction. Typically the works presented address the concerns of design, engineering, management and user experience professionals. This year's conference also features works that focus on: Digital Arts, Games and Entertainment, Human-Computer Interaction for Kids, Health and Sustainability. Works are presented in several different venues. After two days of intimate pre-conference workshops, the main conference includes panel discussions, courses that provide leading-edge HCI knowledge, paper sessions, case studies, works-in-progress, student competitions (involving design, research and games), interactive demonstrations, special interest groups, and a Tuesday evening video night (popcorn included)." 



SIG-CHI is the Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, and is part of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery


Child Computer Interaction/HCI for Kids Chairs:
Janet C Read, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Panos Markopoulos, Eindhoven University of Technology
Allison Druin, University of Maryland


Educational Interfaces, Software, and Technology workshop organizers
CHI 2012 Facebook Page
EIST 2012 Facebook Page


SOMEWHAT RELATED 
The Autism Experience in Ubiquitous Computing (pdf)
Monica Tenority, Ph.D., UZBC, Ensenada, BC


Gillian Hayes:  Assistant Professor in Informatics, School of Information and Computer Sciences; Department of Education, University of California, Irvine.
Social and Technological Action Research (STAR), 

Interactive Technologies for Children with Special Needs IDC 2012 
(11th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children)

As special themes, IDC 2012 would like to discuss children's needs under the perspectives of "pedagogical aspects in theory and practise" as well as "children from diverse cultural backgrounds".


Grawemeyer, B., Johnson, H., Brosnan, M., Ashwin, E., Benton, L. (2012) Developing an Embodied Pedagogical Agent With and For Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Accepted for presentation at the 11th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, ITS 2012.

Creating Responsive HTML5 Touch Interfaces (Stephen Woods -Video and Slides)

Here is an interesting video I came across during my HTML5 explorations - Stephen Woods, from Flickr, shares his words of wisdom about HTML5 and touch interfaces:


Stephen Woods (Flickr): Creating Responsive HTML5 Touch Interfaces




Here are a few links from the presentation:


Slides:  Creating Responsive HTML5 Touch Interfaces
http://www.slideshare.net/ysaw/creating-responsive-html5-touch-interfaces

Responsive Web Design 
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/

Keepin' It Real: Organic, Natural, or Reality-Based Interactions? Video of TEI'12 panel discussion: Bill Buxton, Rob Jacob, Mili John Tharakan, and Roel Vertegaal (and more from TEI '12)

TEI '12 is finishing up in Kingston, Ontario.  If you missed it, like I did, don't worry.  Many of the presentations were streamed live, and are available to watch at your convenience.  
(The panel gets started at about 1: 48 on the timeline)


Keepin' It Real: Organic, Natural or Reality-Based Interactions?
Video streaming by Ustream Moderator: Amanda Parkes, Columbia University 
Panelists
William Buxton, Microsoft Research
Rob Jacob, Tufts University 
Mili John Tharakan, The Swedish School of Textiles 
Roel Vertegaal, Queen's University


RELATED
Here are some TEI '12 presentations interest me!
Process Pad: A Low-Cost Multi-Touch Platform to Facilitate Multimodal Documentation of Complex Learning
Shima Salehi, Stanford University
Jain Kim, Stanford University
Colin Meltzer, Stanford University
Paulo Blikstein, Stanford University
Process Pad project website


Exploring peripheral interaction design for primary school teachers
Saskia Bakker Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands 
Elise van den Hoven Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands 
Berry Eggen Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands 
Kees Overbeeke Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands 


Others:
Exploring Tabletops as an Effective Tool to Foster Creativity Traits
Mobile Lorm Glove - Introducing a communication device for deaf-blind people
Mobile Lorm Glove project website
The HapticTouch Toolkit: Enabling Exploration of Haptic Interactions

HapticTouch Toolkit from Haptic Touch on Vimeo.

Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction: TEI 2012, Queens Human Media Lab, Ontario, Canada. Now.

The video below provides a nice one-hour overview of the creative works presented at the 6th International Conference of Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI'12). The focus of this conference is OUI - Organic User Interfaces.  (TEI is sponsored by the ACM SIGCHI.)


During the day, you can view live video and slides online.  There are a number of pictures on the TEI '12 Flickr site. Take a look! 



TEI_2012 from TEI_2012 on Vimeo.


#tei_2012 
TEI 2012 on Facebook

TEI'12 Program (pdf)

Below is the description of TEI 2012 from the conference website:

"TEI 2012 is the sixth international conference dedicated to presenting the latest results in tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction. It is being held 19th to 22nd February 2012 at Queen's Human Media Lab in Kingston, Ontario, Canada."

"The work presented at TEI addresses HCI issues, design, interactive art, user experience, tools and technologies, with a strong focus on how computing can 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."

"This year's conference features submissions in the area of Organic User Interfaces (OUI). Reflecting this, the theme of this year's conference is "fold unfold"."

I would love to attend TEI someday!

Makego: Turn your iPhone into a vehicle, by creative digital artist Chris O'Shea

Chris O'Shea is an artist and designer who uses technology in creative and innovative ways. He's known for his "Hand from Above" outdoor installations.  His latest creation is Makego, is an app for the iPhone that bridges the digital with the real world.  Children can create a small vehicle out of Legos that can serve as a place to set an iPhone, running the app, and move the vehicle about a larger space.  In the examples below, the children have created scenes using crayons, paper, and colored art foam.

"Makego turns your iPhone / iPod Touch into a toy vehicle. It encourages fun, open ended collaborative play between parent and child. Combining creativity and imagination with the virtual world on screen. Select your vehicle within Makego, then interact with the drivers and their world through animations and sound. This release has 3 vehicles to play with: a race car, ice-cream truck, and river boat. More vehicle are coming later". -Chris O'Shea


The application is now available for $1.99 on the App Store. 

Makego from Chris O'Shea on Vimeo.





RELATED
Chris O'Shea's Website

Off-topic: "Communication technology for human-dog interaction" and "The secret life of my dog: design and evaluation of paw tracker concept"...and my dog.

I was reading an article about interactive mobile video and along the way came across a couple of articles about "human-dog interaction" (see references and links below).  Maybe the research will lead to a solution regarding my dog, Tilly.  She does not want me to read or do anything related to technology!

Tilly's a quirky dog who always drops her chew toys on my lap when I am using my iPad or iPhone.  She likes to drop her bone on my iPad, too.

If I am doing something on my laptop, she will close it with her nose or paw.  If she doesn't close it, she will try to put her whole head on the keyboard. The following picture was taken while I was trying to write this post:

If I can find the time, I enjoy reading technical journals, but Tilly doesn't like it one bit. Here she's trying to take an issue of Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing from me!

She chewed up the latest issue of IEEE Spectrum before I could read it:


In the picture below, she's chewing a chew-stick and making sure I don't get anywhere near my short stack of Communications of the ACM journals.  You can tell by her expression that she is probably thinking that the journals might make a tasty snack!



Tilly has NEVER chewed up a fashion or home decor magazine, and she NEVER bothers me when I am cooking or doing household chores.  


Articles:

Paasovaara, S., Paldanius, M., Saarinen, P., Häkkilä, J.,  and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, K.  The secret life of my dog: design and evaluation of paw tracker concept.  In Proceedings of Mobile HCI. 2011, 231-240.


Paldanius, M., Kärkkäinen, T., Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, K., Juhlin, O.,  and Häkkilä, J.  Communication technology for human-dog interaction: exploration of dog owners' experiences and expectations.  In Proceedings of CHI. 2011, 2641-2650. 

UPDATE POST: Educational Interfaces, Software, and Technology: 2012 ACM-CHI Workshop Call for Papers/Presentations

There is still time left to submit your paper!

CALL FOR PAPERS

EDUCATIONAL INTERFACES, SOFTWARE, AND TECHNOLOGY 2012

3rd Workshop on UI Technologies and Educational Pedagogy

May 5-6 2012

in conjunction with ACM-CHI 2012, Austin, Texas

This will be our third annual workshop in conjunction with CHI 2012.

One of the primary goals of teaching is to prepare learners for life in the real world. In this ever changing world of technologies such as mobile interaction, cloud computing, natural user interfaces, and gestural interfaces like the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect, people have a greater selection of tools for the task at hand. Teachers and students can leverage these tools to improve learning outcomes. Educational interfaces and software are needed to ensure that new technologies serve a clear purpose in the classrooms and homes of the future.

Since teachers are always looking for creative ways to engage 21st century learners, there needs to be an academic venue for researchers to discuss novel educational tools and their role in improving learning outcomes. This workshop aims at filling this void: combining the pedagogical expertise of the cooperative learning, and learning sciences communities with the technical creativity of the CHI, UIST and interactive surface communities. The objective of this workshop is to become a conference within two years

We invite authors to present position papers about potential design challenges and perspectives on how the community should handle the next generation of HCI in education. 

Topics of interest include:

• Gestural input, multitouch, large displays
• Mobile Devices, response systems (clickers)
• Tangible, VR, AR & MR, Multimodal interfaces
• Console gaming, 3D input devices
• Co-located interaction, presentations
• Educational Pedagogy, learner-centric, Child Computer Interaction
• Empirical methods, case studies
• Multi-display interaction
• Wearable educational media

Submission:  The deadline for workshop paper submissions is Dec 20, 2011. Interested researchers should submit a 4-page position paper in the ACM CHI adjunct proceedings style to the workshop management system. Acceptance notifications will be sent out February 20, 2012. The workshop will be held May 5-6, 2012 in Austin, Texas. Please note that at least one author of an accepted position paper must register for the workshop and for one or more days of the CHI 2012 conference.

Website: http://smarttech.com/eist2012
Contact: Edward Tse, SMART Technologies, edwardtse@smarttech.com


RELATED
Educational Interfaces, Software, and Technology Workshop Organizers

	Edward Tse, SMART Technologies
	Lynn V. Marentette, Union County Public Schools
	Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Cornell University
	Alex Thayer, University of Washington
	Jochen Huber, Technische Universität Darmstadt
	Max Mühlhäuser, Technische Universität Darmstadt
	Si Jung “Jun” Kim, University of Central Florida
	Quincy Brown, Bowie State University

GOOGLE CHROME WEB STORE: All sorts of apps, educational and more!

 I'll have to admit, I no longer consider myself an early adopter.  I put off exploring the Google Chrome Web Store until.... today.  Most of my recent explorations have centered on discovering great apps for my iDevices, but since I'm a cross-platform, cross-device, transmedia type of person, I could not neglect the world of interactive web apps!


Here is a screen shot of the educational web apps from the Google Chrome Web Store:


























After you select a few web apps, you can access them from your Chrome browser by selecting a new tab or new window.  The screen shot below shows the apps I've currently chosen to explore:

I have an HP TouchSmart, and I found that many of the web app worked out OK with touch interaction, even 3D  "rotate and pan".  My hunch is that many of the web apps will work fine on an interactive whiteboard. 


I took a quick look at the MeeGenius! Children's Books interactive web app and was pleasantly surprised.  This web app is a talking book that highlights each word as it is spoken. A human voice is used for the narration.

I'm looking forward to getting into work early on Monday to see what web apps work well on the SMARTboard!

RELATED and SOMEWHAT RELATED
Free Education Apps from Google's New Chrome Web Store
The Yellin Center for Mind, Brain, and Education, 2/9/11
Below is a list of educational Chrome apps recommended in the above linked post:

• Planetarium –an interactive star map for kids (or adults!) interested in astronomy
• Google Books – millions of free e-books in a plethora of subjects
• 3DTin – A realistic 3D model-maker
• MathBoard – a math learning tool appropriate for elementary and kindergarten students
• MeeGenuis! Children’s Books – personalized, “enhanced” web books for younger students
• LucidChart – a collaborative diagramming tool, not unlike Inspiration or MindManager
• Picnik Photo Editor – web-based photo manipulation a la Photoshop
• 20 Things I Learned about Browsers & the Web – a great introduction to how the internet works
• Springpad – note-taking tool that can incorporate assignments, photos, to-do lists, etc.
• Bomomo – an innovative illustration and drawing tool
• A variety of flashcard-based apps which can aid memory, vocabulary, math skills and more

Plinks and Tonecraft - two music tools for Chrome
Danny Nicholson, The Whiteboard Blog  10/11/11
Dinahmoe Labs  (creators of Plink and Tonecraft)
The Whiteboard Blog

Le Chal: Smart shoes for the visually impaired, with haptic//vibrational feedback, sensors and GPS

Le Chal is a haptic/vibrational feedback shoe designed for the blind and visually impaired, on of the projects of Anirudh Sharma, a member of the NUI Group (Natural User Interface).  Le Chal was conceptualized at the 2011 MIT Media Lab Design and Innovation Workshop at COEP.
Take me there Shoe/ Le Chal

Shoe for visually impaired - Le Chal Himanshu Khanna, 10/31/11

RELATED
touchaddict blog

T(ether): Next-Gen Data Gloves + iPad - just what I need for the colder weather! (quick post)

"T(ether) is a novel spatial aware display that supports intuitive interaction with volumetric data. The display acts as a window affording users a perspective view of three- dimensional data through tracking of head position and orientation. T(ether) creates a 1:1 mapping between real and virtual coordinate space allowing immersive exploration of the joint domain. Our system creates a shared workspace in which co-located or remote users can collaborate in both the real and virtual worlds. The system allows input through capacitive touch on the display and a motion-tracked glove. When placed behind the display, the user’s hand extends into the virtual world, enabling the user to interact with objects directly." -Vimeo

For more pictures and information, see the following post on the Creative Applications Network website: 
T(ether) [Cinder]
Filip Visnjic

Link: Google updating Chrome for Apple's Lion Multi-touch

Here are two quick links related to the Chrome update for Apple's latest operating system, Lion:

Google Updating Chrome for Lion Multi-touch
Stephen Shankland, CNET News, 7/27/11


RELATED
Chrome Dev Channel Release
7/26/11

Emerging Interactive Multimedia, New Models of HCI for Museum Exhibits (Course offered by Ideum's Jim Spadaccini, plus info about the MT55 multi-touch table)

Jim Spadaccini, the director and founder of Ideum, will be teaching a course on exhibit development through the University of Victoria, "Emerging Exhibits: Exploring New Models of Human Computer Interaction (HCI).  The excerpt from the course description provides a glimpse of how emerging technologies are beginning to change the museum experience:


"Computer-based interactive exhibits are undergoing a major transformation. The lone, single-user kiosk is now being replaced by multitouch tables and walls, motion-capture spaces, networked installations, and RFID-based exhibits. Advances in augmented reality, voice recognition, eye tracking, and other technologies promise even more radical change for exhibits in the near future."


I've been following Jim's journey with Ideum, a multimedia design firm that collaborates with museums and related non-profits, for many years, and I am impressed with the work of this company.  In addition to his work at Ideum,  Jim serves as the Principal Investigator of a National-Science Foundation sponsored open-source exhibit software project, Open Exhibits, which provides a free software development kit that supports the creation of multi-touch and multi-user software applications for museums and educational settings.


I'm happy to put in a plug for Ideum's latest product, the MT55 Platform Multi-Touch Table. It incorporates a range of features that I'm sure will meet the needs of museum visitors.  In my opinion, this table would be a fantastic resource for all types of libraries, including those in K-12 settings.

The MT55 Platform Multi-touch Table, from Ideum

The MT55 Platform Multitouch Table from Ideum on Vimeo.  (Note: This video features music by Moby, the track "Sevastopol" on his current album, Destroyed. The music was used with the artists' permission. Learn more at: moby.com") - Ideum

"The thinnest, largest, most powerful multitouch table available.The MT55 Platform multitouch table houses a powerful computer and a 55-inch interactive LCD display that responds to 32 touch-points, inside a rugged aluminum body."

"The bright 55″ 1920×1080 HD display has a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio. A wide 178-degree viewing angle accommodates multiple users around the table. The optical multitouch system supports 32 simultaneous touch points for collaborative interaction. The system is multitouch-enabled from start-up, and runs Windows 7 64-bit professional edition."


"The integrated computer is packed with power. It contains an Intel® Hyper-Threaded DualCore i5® which runs at 2.66 GHz, 8GB of RAM, and a 128 GB solid-state drive (upgradeable to an i7®)."


"The table comes complete with WIFI, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity. It also has multiple HDMI outputs that allow you to easily mirror the table's display, extend the desktop, or connect to and display from another computer or HDMI device."

"Convenient, but secure ports: CAT5, HDMI, and USB 2.0 are available on both the side on bottom the table."

"The MT55 Platform includes blue LED under-lights to illuminate the area beneath the interactive surface (custom LED colors are available). Every MT table includes a sophisticated internal cooling cell to maintain operating conditions that exceed the optimum environmental specifications for the internal components."

"The interactive surface of the MT55 Platform protected by a sheet of hardened, crystal clear, low-iron 5mm tempered glass surface...As an option, we offer Sevasa HapticGlas®, produced exclusively for Ideum. Micro-etched HapticGlas® provides tactile feedback, reduces fingerprints, increases scratch resistance, and directs user focus." -Ideum
 
RELATED
High-res photos of the MT55 Platform

GestureWorks Software
Open Exhibits
Ideum
Open Exhibits Tuio Kinect

Multi-touch Update from Stantum

The people at Stantum have been working hard to improve multi-touch technology, focusing on smaller tablet-sized systems.  Stantum is a company I've been following for several years, from the time it was known as Jazz Mutant.  I have been impressed by Stantum's focus on the needs of people as well as the company's careful attention to important details.


I'm pleased to see that the company has an idea of how its multi-modal technology can support multi-touch in education:   "Ambidexterity and multi-modality are the two pillars of Stantum's core project – making the use of touch-enabled devices more creative and productive. Amongst others, there is one field of application where we truly see a soaring need for ambidexterity and multi-modality – augmented textbooks." -Guillaume Largillier


At the Society for Information Display's Display Week exhibition this past May, Stantum introduced a new palm rejection feature for its Interpolated Voltage Sensitivity technology. This technology provides users with a more natural way to interact with the interface and application content on tablets.   The technology supports Android's multi-touch framework and is also Windows 7 certified.  The palm rejection feature will be a welcome improvement for future multi-touch applications designed for education settings, where it is likely that  more than one hand - or person, might be interacting with content on the screen at the same time.


Below are two videos that provide a glimpse of Stantum's innovations:




Stantum's technology can enable ten simultaneous touches, is highly responsive, and supports high-resolution content. According to a May press release, "Palm rejection is available as an API (application programming interface) to Windows and Android operating systems on x86 and ARM platforms. IVSM touch modules are offered to OEMs through the company’s Qualified Manufacturers Partners, comprising tier-one touch-screen manufacturers with high-volume production capabilities. More information is available at info@stantum.com"


RELATED
Stantum's TouchPoints Newsletter (July 2011)


Stantum Whitepapers:
How to Evaluate Multi-Touch While Standing in a Store (pdf) - a great source of information.
Jim Meador, Pascal Auriel, Gauthier Chastan, Stantum
Specifying and Characterizing Tactile Performances for Multi-touch Panels: Toward a User-Centric Metrology (pdf) - outlines some important points!
Guillaume Largillier, Pascal Joguet, Cyril Recoquillon, Pascal Auriel, Axel Balley, Jim Meador, Julien Olivier, Gauthier Chastan

News from the HCI lab at UNC-Charlotte - Creative Interactions (Videos)

In the video below, Nathan Nifong, discusses and demonstrates his independent study work through the HCI LAB (Human-Computer Interaction) at UNC-Charlotte. He focused his work on creating a motion-responsive musical instrument that integrated movement, sounds, and graphics.


"We're trying to research anything and everything that will help to make computers easier to use." -Nathan Nifong


Thanks to Celine LaTulipe, for the link!


RELATED
To get a better idea about the HCI lab, a small, yet sparkling gem on the UNC-Charlotte campus, take a look at the following video:




"I get to create things, and to me, you just can't beat that!"- Celine Latulipe


Dr. Latulipe is known for her work with the Dance.Draw project, Interactive Surveillance, and tools that support things like bimanual interaction, collaboration, and creativity.

Summer Break: Music Apps, Multimedia, Kinect, My New iPad2, Tech-reading, Google+, Dancing...

I'm on summer break, which for me, means that I spend an increased amount playing/creating music and doing all of the other fun stuff I don't have much time for during the school year. I'm still exploring what I can do with my new iPad2 - there are so many music apps!  My favorite at this moment is Garage Band. It keeps me engaged for hours, and I can take it with me anywhere I go.  I'm also exploring iPad apps for education and students with special needs, since many of the young people I work with have autism spectrum disorders.  They all really love music.


Today, I came across turntable.fm, a "social-djing" website, from a link shared by Dimitri Diakopoulos.  I think it would be fun to play with.

Turntable.FM, The Fastest-Growing Music Service You're Not Using
William Fenton, PC Magazine, 6/23/11
Social DJing with Turntable.FM
Andrew Mager, 5/28/11

I'm still plowing through technology journals and zines from previous months - I had to skip over my stack to read the cover article of the most recent Communications of the ACM:

Algorithmic Composition: Computational Thinking in Music

Michael Edwards, University of Edinburgh, 2011

I LOVE the design of this cover. It would make for a nice interactive interface for an iPad music app. Or a larger touch-screen display. Or even a SMARTBoard! (BTW, My first computer-related course was Computer Music Technology, in 2003. My undergraduate honors research (psychology), years ago, focused on constructive cognition and music recognition/memory. This topic is dear to my heart.)

I've spent some quality time with my first grand-baby this summer.  Although his "screen time" is limited, given his age of 7 1/2 months, he enjoys playing with music on my iPad.  He likes the drums found in the iPad GarageBand application.  Here he is playing with NodeBeat, an app created by Seth Sandler and Justin Windle:

Most of his time is spent off-screen:





Over the last few months, there has been a surge of interactive touch-enabled apps for education, including some for young people with special needs.  This will be the topic of a few of my future posts.

Revisiting CHI 2011: Videos of Interactive Touch, Gesture, Large Surface, and Mobile Apps with Potential for Use in Education (CHI = Computer Human Interaction)

One of my interests is how the power and potential post-WIMP interactive technologies can be harnessed for use for formal and informal education purposes, including life-long collaborative learning.  


In May, I had a chance to meet with a number of like-minded people during the CHI 2011 conference at the 2nd Workshop on UI Technologies and Impact on Educational Pedagogy.  I was impressed with the depth and breadth of the presentations at the workshop.   Since then, I've been looking through other papers and videos from CHI 2011 to find interesting applications that hold potential for use in educational settings.  


I've come across a good number of interesting applications and prototypes, so be sure to check back for future posts on this topic.  For now, here are a few applications that I'd like to share.  


Below are a few videos from Phillip Chi-Wing Fu.  (He doesn't know it yet, but I've admitted his videos into the Post-WIMP Explorers' Club.)


Interactive Multi-touch Sketching Interface for Diffusion Curves

"A novel multi-touch sketching interface enabling interactive and practical design with 2D diffusion curves is proposed; featured interaction techniques include simultaneous sketching of multiple diffusion curves and at-the-spot colors tuning."


Distinguishing Multiple Smart-Phone Interactions on a Multi-touch Wall Display using Tilt Correlation

"This paper proposes a novel matching technique, called tilt correlation, which employs the built-in tilt sensor on smart-phones to identify their concurrent contacts on a common multi-touch wall display."


WYSIWYF: Exploring and Annotating Volume Data with a Tangible Handheld Device (CHI 2011)


"Integration of a multi-touch wall display with a tangible handheld device with multi-touch and tilt sensing capabilities to provide intuitive what-you-see-is-what-you-feel visual exploration and annotation of volume data."


The following videos were uploaded by alucero:


Pass-Them-Around: Collaborative Use of Mobile Phones for Photo Sharing (CHI 2011)

"Pass-Them-Around is a phone-based application that allows a small group of collocated people to share photos using the metaphor of passing paper photos around. The prototype encourages people to share their devices and use them interchangeably while discussing photos face-to-face. The prototype supports ad-hoc photo sharing in different contexts by taking into account the spatial arrangement of users around a table, measured with sensors embedded in their mobile phones."


The next video was part of MobileHCI '10:
MindMap: Collaborative Use of Mobile Phones for Brainstorming

A few interesting tech links from Experienta/Putting People First and HCI 596 Blog

No time for reflective blogging today, so here are a few interesting links!


The future of the TV Experience 
(Article discusses Blink, a media industry magazine)


Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces Conference (DPPI 11)

Cambridge Consultants: Patients Want More User-Friendly Medical Devices
Levent Ozler, Dexinger, 6/3/11

Internet of things blurs the lines of bits and atoms
Katia Moskvitch, BBC News, 6/2/11


NESTA: Hot Topics: Digital You-Discussion about Telepresence

Hot Topics - Digital You from NESTA UK on Vimeo.


NESTA is the UK's National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts


RELATED
The following links provide a wealth of resources related to emerging technologies and human-computer interaction:
Experientia - Putting People First blog
HCI  596 blog 
"This blog is for the HCI 596 course being taught at Iowa State University through it's Human-Computer Interaction program."
NESTA