Jan 23, 2010

Ubice = Multi-touch On Ice at the Nokia Research Center in Finland (Video + Pic via Albrecht Schmidt)

Albrecht Schmidt posted a link to the following video on his User Interface Engineering blog -
watch how the multi-touch surface is built from ice blocks:



The following pictures are from Albrecht Schmidt's User Interface Engineering blog:
[multitouc-on-ice.jpg]

What a great idea for a "Winterfest"!    They should take it to the next level:  Multi-touch ice sculpture.


(Cross-posted on The World Is My Interface blog.)

Jan 22, 2010

Classroom of the Future: Orchestrating Collaborative Spaces (Interesting book!)


I'd like to share a link to a new book that looks worth reading:  "Classroom of the Future:  Orchestrating Collaborative Spaces".


I follow the blogs of two of the book's authors.   Stefano Baraldi is  a researcher and consultant in the field of HCI, and  Albrecht Schmidt, a professor and chair of pervasive computing and User Interface Engineering at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.



"The future of the classroom is an issue that essentially concerns many of us as students, parents, taxpayers, policymakers, teachers, design professionals, or researchers. A glance at the history of pedagogical practice reveals, however, that despite rapid developments in the outside world, classrooms have evolved very little over the years. While our understanding of learning and favourable learning environments has substantially improved and technological innovations are offering a variety of new possibilities, it still seems that most of today’s schools and universities remain more or less unaffected by these developments.

This book brings together the perspectives of researchers, architects, technical designers, and teachers on emerging theoretical and technological developments pertaining to the classroom of the future.

Innovative ideas are offered on how new technologies and learning approaches can be integrated into schools. It challenges us to think of learning spaces in a new way. Classroom of the Future is of interest to researchers and students, designers and educators across various disciplines including education, cognitive, social and educational psychology, didactics, computer science and design as well as to parents and policymakers." (Publisher's description)
Free preview of the book (1st chapter)






For your convenience, the book's table of contents:




1. The Classroom of the future - an introduction ......................................................1
Kati Mäkitalo-Siegl, Jan Zottmann, Frederic Kaplan and Frank Fischer

Part I: Learning Spaces Shaped by Instructional, Classroom, and School Building Design
2. The classroom of the past .................................................................................15
Andreas Schratzenstaller
3. Spaces for learning — schools for the future?     ...................................................41
Joanna Sutherland and Rosamund Sutherland

Part II: Facilitating Learning Using Technology-Enhanced Objects and Furniture
4. Taking teaching beyond the classroom: Pervasive computing technologies
for the classroom of the future    ..........................................................................63
Paul Holleis, Albrecht Schmidt, Heiko Drewes, Richard Atterer and Petra Dollinger
5. Making the classroom a play-ground for knowledge         ................. .....................87
Stefano Baraldi
6. Computer support for children’s collaborative story-making in the classroom...........115
Giulia Gelmini Hornsby
7. Scriptable classrooms ......................................................................................141
Frederic Kaplan and Pierre Dillenbourg

Part III: Knowledge Building in Virtual and Physical Learning Spaces
8. Knowledge communities in the classroom of the future........................................163
Nicolae Nistor
9. Digital cultural heritage to support novel activities in the classroom of the future...181
Lily Díaz and Lotta Partanen

Part IV: Joint Efforts for Designing and Implementing Future Spaces of Learning
10. Designing tomorrow’s classroom with today’s teachers ........................................199
Andreas Lingnau
11. Evolving the classrooms of the future: The interplay of pedagogy, technology
and community ...................................................................................................215
Jim Slotta

Part V: Discussion
12. Turning the classroom of the future into the classroom of the present..................245
Ingo Kollar
List of contributors..............................................................................................257
Author index.......................................................................................................259
Subject index......................................................................................................267

Stefano Baraldi's blog:  On the Tabletop
Albrecht Schmidt's blog:  User Interface Engineering


Pushing the Envelope of our Gadgets: e-Readers, using the Wii to play iPhone games, etc.

Via Wired Gadget Lab:

"E-readers, as we know them now, are at a crossroads. Next week, Apple is expected to announce a new tabletlike device that could also be used to read digital books. It’s expected to have a color screen, not the monochrome E Ink display found on most e-readers. Apple is reportedly talking to publishers to bring e-books and magazines to the device." Read More



Wii Hacks:


Hack a Wii
Wii Hacks Hack-a-Day


Update: I'm working on a future post that will flesh out this topic.

Jan 21, 2010

Ideum's GestureWorks vs Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 1.0 comparison of multitouch and gesture support

Jim Spadaccini, of Ideum, shared information about his company's product, Gestureworks, highlighting how it provides better multi-touch and gesture support than Adobe AIR2 and Flash Player 10.1. Gestureworks supports multiple-point drag, rotate, and scale at the same time. In the video, the application is demonstrated on an HP Touchsmart 600 and a 3M multitouch screen.

Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 10.1  vs Gestureworks 1.0: A direct comparison of multitouch and gesture support


"A direct comparison between the built-in support for multitouch found in Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta / Adobe AIR 2 and that of the Gestureworks multitouch framework for Flash. More about this comparison can be found on the Gestureworks website (http://www.gestureworks.com) and the Ideum website (http://www.ideum.com)  There is a blog post with more about this comparison and links to all of the example files at: www.ideum.com/2010/01/true-multitouch-wi th-adobe-flash/ "

True Multitouch with Adobe Flash - Jim Spadaccini


GestureWorks Supported Gestures

Example of Ideum's GestureWorks multi-touch, multi-user design for an exhibit a the Vancouver Aquarium:

Slightly off-topic: The UX of Laundry Washing Update, with Videos of Gain Detergent Fans

The post can be found by following the link below:

THE UX OF LAUNDRY WASHING:  RESPONSE TO COMMENTS & VIDEOS OF GAIN DETERGENT FANS.

Jan 20, 2010

SMART Technologies Multitouch Application Contest Announced!

The SMART Multitouch Application Contest was recently announced. The SMART Table is a multitouch, multiuser interactive learning center designed for early education which supports hands-on collaborative play and learning activities.  I think that this would be a great project for an after-school technology club at a high school.

If you haven't seen a SMART Table, the following videos will give you an idea of what they are all about:

The SMART Table in a multi-age Montessori classroom at an elementary school:


Video from 2008 about the SMART Table:


Below is information about the contest prizes from the SMART Technologies website:

  • Grand prize – One SMART Table, valued at US$6,499. Plus, the winning application will be promoted on the SMART website for one year, providing you with the opportunity to establish a revenue stream if users purchase your application.
  • First runner-up – The second-place application will be promoted on the SMART website for one year.
  • Second runner-up – The third-place application will be promoted on the SMART website for six months
RELATED

Here you can review the contest guidelines, terms and conditions, review the FAQ's and find out how to enter the contest.  There are two categories.  The Commercial category is for professional and amateur developers, and the Academic is for students and educators affiliated with an educational institution.