For Techies and the Tech Curious: A Few Links - IEEE Multimedia Innovations, Surface Computing, Usability, and Computer Education Research

IEEE Multimedia magazine online  
July-September 2010 Issue:  Multimedia Innovations
"This special issue addresses the notion that multimedia is a compelling field that provides a driving force behind most of today's technology innovations."
Games Only Scratch the Surface:  A Challenge for Developers Lou Silverstein, Identity Mine
In this article, Lou Silverstein discusses the latest news about Microsoft Surface and encourages developers to think about joining a dialogue on this topic.

10 things non-technical users don't understand about your software Andy Bryce, Successful Software

This article is a gentle reminder, written for developers of traditional productivity software,  about the importance of usability and understanding non-technical users.

Why does the UK and Sweden take Computing Education Research more seriously than US? Mark Guzdial, Blog@cacm (Communications of the ACM)
In this article, Mark Guzdial discusses some of the trends in computer education research outside of the US and shares his discovery of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Computer Science


Thanks to Nat Torkington, of O'Reilly Radar,  for some of the links!


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Two years ago I wrote a post about touch-screen & surface computing - were still not there yet, although interactive tables are showing up in more places:
Interactive Touch-Screen Technology, Participatory Design, and "Getting It"

A few interesting links - Innovative Interactivity on Google's "Life In A Day"; rb.trends "Mind Music"; Strombergs Blog "The Future of TV, Augmented and Social"

"Life In A Day" documentary aggregates user submitted videos via YouTube (Innovative Interactivity)


Mind Music   (rb.trends)


The Future of TV, Augmented and Social   (Strombergs Blog)




(Lots of stuff to blog about, little time to write!)

iPad Apps: Supporting Communication for Young People with Autism (& Links to Moms with Apps)

Have you ever watched a kid pick up an iPad for the first time and just go with it? 


Some parents have found that the same is true for their of children who have autism.  The  iPad is a great way to support learning and communication in that it is user-friendly and easy for children- and parents- to understand. 


Here are two videos that were shared with my by Liz Ditz,  author of the "I Speak of Dreams" blog.  The first video is of a boy with autism. The second video is of his little sister, interacting with the iPad to watch a "home-made" social story about a family trip to a coffee shop, created in the "Stories to Learn" app.



YOUTUBE INFO:

"Another too-cool app for his iPad, this one all about writing as well as spelling (http://itunes.apple.com/app/iwritewords-handwriting-game/id307025309?mt=8). For each letter in the word, the app says the letter, has him trace it in super-easy guided steps, and his written letter replaces the original letter in the word (at top of screen). When he finishes, the word appears in his handwriting. The program then spells it and pronounces it, displays a kid's illustration of the word -- and Leo gets to shake the original letters into a hole in the corner of the screen. LOVE IT."

STORIES TO LEARN

YOUTUBE INFO:
"Our family (and a friend) worked together to make this social story about visiting our local coffee shop for my son with autism. We used Stories2Learn (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stories2learn/id348576875?mt=8), on our iPad. It was so easy! And he loves it. In fact he loves it so much I had to have his sister demo it, as he loves to play the voiceovers over and over again. :)"


RESOURCES
Moms with Apps
Moms with Apps for Special Needs
Moms with Apps:  Characteristics of great apps for kids with autism

Planet in Action's 3D Sound in Google Earth: Part of the Interactive, Touchable 3D Picture (and thoughts about how this might play out on interactive whiteboards in education)

I came across a link to Planet in Action's video demonstration of 3D sound in Google Earth, thanks to a post by Nate Torkington in O'Reilly Radar.  WOW!   


The company shows that a 3D sound engine works nicely within the Google Earth environment.  Planet in Action tweaked the Soundmanager2 library from schillmania.com, resulting in a sound3D javascript object that can be used to program geo-located sounds in Google Earth.


The 3D sound concept, in my opinion, will be useful in creating immersive interactive educational experiences, especially if students have access to newer interactive whiteboards with decent sound systems.    


Below is the video from Planet in Action, along with a bit of promotional information:

The video is of a port in San Sabastian, Spain.  The "sound landscape" is realistic, and a range of sounds, from various spots in the scene, can be heard during the exploration.  


"Google Earth is a highly detailed 3D representation of our entire planet.  Rather than just looking at it, why not play on it!  PlanetInAction.com brings you top quality ideas, applications and concepts that will let you experience your planet in a whole new way." -Planet in Action


Thoughts:

My bet is that this concept will play out very well in the future in family rooms outfitted with large displays and decent surround sound systems. 

Why?  No need to explain.  Just take a look at what is going on with 3D TV and film,  3D HD gaming, interactive TV, internet-enabled large HD TVs, Google's "Lean Back" concept, and the "Slow Media" movement.

By the way, Planet in Action's work strikes a chord in me.  One of my HCI team travel planning projects that used Google Earth in the demonstration prototype.  We focused on cruise travel planning, mostly because I had lots of pictures and video clips from my cruise trips vacations and other travels.  I even worked on part of the project while I was ON a cruise ship.  (That was before the economic downturn.)   Below is a video of a cruise ship model that Planet in Action created for a cruise line, for use in Google Earth:

Celebrity Constellation Virtual Fly-by


SOMEWHAT RELATED

As I mentioned in my previous post, "Video Experiments: Sea Life Medley - Extended version with music",  I'm experimenting with some ideas to create interactive educational video clips for future use on higher-resolution interactive whiteboards and other large touch-screen surfaces.   


Part of my motivation stems from an immediate need for "touchable" content for the students I work with who have more significant disabilities, including autism- and of course, my colleagues. All of the classrooms in the program have IWBs- mostly brand-new SMARTBoards - - we also have a SMARTTable that is begging for more content.


As I worked with students using my video clips and a new SMARTboard, I noticed that students have a strong desire to touch what they see on the screen.  If they could stop the video and further explore item of interest, for example, the jellyfish in the above picture, it would be great.  


Imagine putting your hand on the jellyfish, and having the power to explore it as a 3D model! If you are a grad student or researcher who is working on this concept, or something related, please let me know.


Getting back to the 3D landscapes/soundscapes in Google Earth- this is something that I'd like to try at school.  I'm wonder if PlanetinAction allows for touch-screen interaction so that students who are at the SMARTBoard can easily explore the 3D-sound enabled scenes in Google Earth.

Video Experiments: Sea Life Medley: Extended version with music

I'm playing around with my sea life video clips to get ideas for creating interactive educational videos in the future for use on interactive whiteboards and other large touch-screen surfaces.

Here's my YouTube description:
This is a medley of several video clips taken of sea life, mostly living in aquariums. Awesome jellyfish can be viewed from 1:34- 3:45. The music consists of clips from iMovie, and then William Orbit's "Sea Green" and "Surfin". I created this video for students I work with who have more complex disabilities, such as severe autism.

Interactive: Mirror Fun and Diamonds Alchemy Game by Playbat

MIRROR FUN

The Mirror Fun application, along with the source code, can be downloaded from the TECHSPARKED website.  You might need to join Techsparked.)

Info about Mirror Fun from Playbat:
"This application shows you in a "rubber mirror" - when you move, the mirror deforms accordingly. Also, you can run application in "mesh mode", then you will see virtual mesh, which deforms when you move."


DIAMONDS ALCHEMY GAME


DIAMONDS ALCHEMY Tech Behind the Scene