This is a good review of a few interactive screen options for educators. If you are just dipping your toe into the ocean of interactive screen choices, don't feel overwhelmed. Know that the decisions you make will focus on hardware as well as interactive digital content. The article below provides screen shots, a comparison chart, and information about interactive tabletops in addition to whiteboards.
TechLAB Shoutout: 5 Interactive Whiteboards Brian Nadel, Scholastic Tech Tools, 11/7/12 Note: Although I enjoy sharing news related to interactive technologies and applications, I often dig in deep, and include links to primary sources, research, and related scholarly articles when I can. I view my blog as a repository or archive. If you do a search on this blog, you will likely find yourself pleasantly surprised, even if the post was written a few months - or years ago.
I've been reflecting on how much I do things differently, now that I'm surrounded by digital devices throughout the day - and also surrounded by other people, who are also linked to more than one device or screen. More often than not, we are all connected to the web, or at least one person/device away! I don't think we've figured out the "seamless digital lives" part!
Smartphones, iPads, tablets, and other gadgets will be given as gifts to spread the holiday cheer, putting more computational power in the hands of people of all ages and walks of life than ever before. Walk into any toy section, and you'll see tablets, games, and accessories designed for toddlers. Many little ones have not known a world without a "computing device". Although not all children will grow up to be computer scientists, they will need to be prepared during their school years for an increasingly technology-infused society. One of the things teachers (and parents) will need to know more about is the concept of computational thinking. Credit: wordle.net; Center for Computational Thinking, Carnegie Mellon No longer limited to mathematicians or computer scientists, computational thinking something that is essential to all disciplines. For this reason, representatives from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) and CSTA (Computer Science Teacher's Association) have developed the Computational Thinking Tookit, available on-line, "to prepare young learners to become computational thinkers who understand how today's digital tools can help solve tomorrow's problems."
To help spread the word, I'd like to share a few videos and resources on this topic. The first one was created by ISTE, CSTA, and NSF, and provides a short overview of ways technologies have changed the way people do things, and how computational thinking is an essential skill for all:
In the next video, various people who work at Google discuss the importance of computational thinking and how it is applied in their work to solve problems. One interesting example is how Pegman, the little yellow figure in Google's Street View in Google Maps became "smarter" through the development team's use of computational thinking. K-12 resources are available on Google's Exploring Computational Thinking website, and a list of links to additional web-based resources can be found on the Web Resources page. Solving Problems at Google Using Computational Thinking (Google)
Jeannette M. Wing, a professor at Carnegie Mellon, believes that computational thinking is not just for computer scientists - it is important for people from all disciplines and walks of life. She discusses the concept in the video below: Computational Thinking and Thinking About Computing
Luke Wroblewski is a digital product/interaction/interface designer who has written about mobile computing and web design. His presentations provide a good summary of how smartphones are functioning in today's world, how they might be used in the very near future, and what designers/developers need to consider. "The tools are in our hands to really design experiences in a different way."
Presentation: First Person User Interfaces (pdf) "The design challenges and opportunities of interfaces that allow people to interact with the real world as they are currently experiencing "
The following video is a presentation by Dale Herigstad, Chief Interaction Officer at Possible Worldwide, from the 2012 TV of Tomorrow Show. If you are interested in interactivity and UX across screens and spaces, it is worth taking the time to watch! WHO OWNS THE NEW SCREEN EXPERIENCES?
The "new world" combines TV and the internet, and poses new opportunities for design. Dale encourages flexibility and fearlessness, and setting goals for the long term. This means that organizations must move away from the "silo" approach, and create teams that can integrate across screens, platforms, content, and input methods, moving from flat-space to interactive, dynamic,layered, 3D, and augmented space. BTW, Dale Herigstad was one of the people commissioned by Steven Spielberg to work on the interface design for Minority Report.
I haven't had the chance to play around with a tablet or PC running Windows 8, but from the screenshots and thoughtful comments posted on Jakob Nielson's Alertbox , I might be in store for some user confusion. Windows 8 -- Disappointing Usability for both Novice and Power Users "Hidden features, reduced discoverability, cognitive overhead fro dual environments, and reduced power from a single-window UI and low information density. Too bad." -Jakob Nielsen I wonder how this will play out in the future, especially for people who often rely on two large monitors with several windows up at the same time to complete tasks efficiently, alone, or with a colleague. RELATED Take the time to read the following article, and if you have the time, skim through the over 200 comments: Why Jakob Nielsen's Windows 8 critique is old-school thinking. Jay Green, c|net, 11/21/12
