EpiCollect: A mobile app, useful for photo + data-collection "in the wild".

EpiCollect is an open-source project developed at Imperial College London, funded by the Wellcome Trust.  According to information posted on the project's website, "EpiCollect is a generic data collection tool that allows you to collect and submit geotagged data forms (along with photos) to a central project website (hosted using Google's App Engine) from suitable mobile phones (Android or iPhone). For example, questionnaires, surveys, etc.  All data synchronised (ie a copy sent from the phone) from multiple phones can then be viewed/charted/filtered at the project website using Google Maps/Earth or downloaded. Furthermore, data can be requested and viewed/filtered from the project website directly on your phone using Google Maps." -EpiCollect


(Credit:  EpiCollect Website)

EpiCollect makes use of web API's such as Google Maps, Google Charts, Google Talk, and KML Specifiction, and JavaScript Libraries such as JQuery, script.aculo.us, ExtJS, and Mapstraction.  It runs on the Google AppEngine server, and is available for Android and iPhone.

I think that EpiCollect would be a useful interactive tool for use in education, K-12 and above.  It would be ideal for students working on group projects, such as environmental study.  For young children, a simple assignment might include taking pictures and data about  birds, animals, trees, cloud formations, or even litter, as part of a class project.  Since the data includes photographs, the students could create an end product in the form of an interactive multimedia presentation, available for other students - as well as parents- to view on the web, accessed from any web-enabled device.

HCI research teams could use these tools when observing people using various technologies in public spaces, such as malls, airports, special events, as well as in stores, eateries, and entertainment settings.  

I would be interested in learning more about the use of this application in HCI and K-12 education!

RELATED
EpiCollect Website
EpiCollect Instructions
EpiCollect Instructions (pdf)
The Sight of Road Kill Makes a Pretty, Data-Rich Picture (NPR All Tech Considered)
Note: Audio from the above December 2, 2012 episode can be found on the NPR Weekend Edition Sunday website after 12:00 PM ET on 12/2/12
Mobile app sees science go global  (BBC article)
App for Android Puts Laboratories on Your Phone (Tree Hugger article)
Scientific Data Collection Goes Mobile (Discovery News article)

Paper: EpiCollect: Linking Smartphones to Web Applications for Epidemiology, Ecology and Community Data Collection (PLos One 4(9), 2009)

David M. Aanensen, Derek M. Huntley, Edward J. Feil, Fada'a al-Own, Brian G. Spratt

Conclusion from the above paper:

"Data collection frameworks utilising mobile phones with data submission to and from central databases are widely applicable and can give a field worker similar display and analysis tools on their mobile phone that they would have if viewing the data in their laboratory via the web. We demonstrate their utility for epidemiological data collection and display, and briefly discuss their application in ecological and community data collection. Furthermore, such frameworks offer great potential for recruiting ‘citizen scientists’ to contribute data easily to central databases through their mobile phone."

Quick Link: Comparison of Interactive Whiteboards

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.  

LINK: Mobile's Role in a Consumer's Media Day: Smartphones and Tablets Enable Seamless Digtal Lives -Study by ABIresearch (IAB Mobile)

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!

MOBILE'S ROLE IN A CONSUMER'S MEDIA DAY: Smartphones and Tablets Enable Seamless Digital Lives (pdf)
(An IAB Mobile Center of Excellence Research Project)

Web Version

Press Release:
Tablets & Smarphones Generate Strong Ad Engagement, According to IAB Mobile Research
IAB Media Contact:  Laura Goldberg  7/16/12



Credit:  IAB, via Flat World Business

Computational Thinking in the 21st Century: Videos and Links (ISTE, CSTA, Google)

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

RELATED
Center for Children and Technology

The Curiosity Cycle:  Preparing Your Child for the Ongoing Technological Explosion
Author: Jonathan Mugan

10 Emerging Education and Instructional Technologies that All Educators Should Know About 
K. Walsh, 9/9/12

First-Person User Interface; Mobile to the Future; Mobile Experience Design Strategy: Presentations by Luke Wroblewski

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 "

Luke Wroblewski | Mobile to the future from IxDA Oslo on Vimeo.
Presentation: Mobile to the Future (pdf)

Mobile Experience Design Strategy with Luke Wroblewski 
(Presented at Cascade SF Meetup)

(At about 45:30, Luke discusses the problem of "checkout" on a mobile phone, giving an example from Dell.)

Interactive TV Design Discussion - David Herigstad: Surface Space, Content Space, and Interactive Space

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?

Special Presentation: Who Owns the New Screen Experiences? from TV of Tomorrow Show on Vimeo.

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.  

RELATED
Possible Worldwide
Tutorials: Dale Herigstad & Schematic, Interactive Design Agency
The Minority Report Interface
Luke Wroblewski, 9/23/04