Instructional Technology

Jill Brady at the HelpDesk sent over this excellent stop motion video from Today’s BIG Thing.  It’s an interesting take on the classic cooking show formula.  All of you stop motion fans out there will LOVE this (Christina, I’m looking squarely at you):

…I have absolutely no idea how this is working, really.  It seems simple enough, from the description, but actually making it happen in practice seems a bit difficult.  However, I guarantee that we’ll be seeing it in music videos, movies and the like as a new “it” effect soon.  And then it will trickle down to Final Cut, iMovie and the like.  

Anyway, this new video effect I’m talking about is called (by the creator) “chronotopic anamorphosis” and is incredibly fun to watch.  Take a look:

Chronotopic Anamorphosis from Marginalia Project on Vimeo.

Thoughts?  Practical applications?  Too trippy for use?

(Brian:  You’ll love this one.)

A German artist, Julius von Bismarck, has invented a weapon that he calls the “Image Fulgrator.”  The device, ominously shaped like a sawed off shot gun, is responsible for disrupting the lives of countless tourists all over Berlin.  What does it do?  Bismarck’s invention inserts images and text into real world scenes just as tourists are snapping photographs.  The Image Fulgrator is made up of an old SLR and some other photography components and essentially senses when a flash has gone off in order to add Bismarck’s art into the intended photo - just in time.

The official Image Fulgrator web page is very informative, giving detailed instructions about the device’s construction and function.  There’s also a great video of the device in action, which I’ve included with this post.

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Check out the July 2008 issue of Vanity Fair for How the Web Was Won: An Oral History of the Internet. It traces the development of the web from the perspective of many of the key players. It gives you a peek into some of the thoughts that went into decision-making at pivotal moments.

A new article in The Atlantic asks the question:  Is Google Making Us Stupid?

After reading what writer Nicholas Carr has to say on the question - combined with my own observations of self and others - I have to say that I agree with his tentative “yes.”

If you’ve been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on that quarterly report, journal article or email from your coworker, Google could be to blame!

Recently, Radiohead initiated a fan video contest in conjunction with Aniboom.  The stakes are nearly $20,000 worth of prizes and a chance to have your work reviewed by Radiohead themselves.  Many great entries poured in over the last few weeks, but one has stood out.

A submission from James Houston entitled “Big Ideas (Don’t Get Any)” tackled the most difficult track on the In Rainbows release that fans were allowed to pull from, “Nude.”  Written in 6/8 time and at 63 bpm, mixing was not easy for any entrant.  Even Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, admits that including “Nude” as part of the contest was cruel and unusual.

However, Mr. Houston rose to the challenge.  His homage to forgotten technology strips the song down and revels in the equipments’ almost human shortcomings.  The video is simple, elegant and to the point.  Really, it’s breathtaking.

Without further ado, “Big Ideas (Don’t Get Any)” and Mr. Houston’s explanation of his work.

Big Ideas (Don’t get any) from 1030 on Vimeo.

Instructional Technology has been diligently working on Washington College’s own public iTunes U site over the last few months. Today, we are pleased to announce that we will be launching our initial content during the Fall 2008 semester.

In order to make the iTunes U launch as successful as possible, we would like to ask all faculty, staff and students for their audio and video content. We’ve created a special iTunes U information minisite which you can visit at:

oit.washcoll.edu/itunesu

There you can learn more about what iTunes U is, who is using it, what content is available and how you can get involved.

Speakers are ugly, be-wired things that park themselves on your desk and generally look like dull black blocks of boring plastic.  If you are an aesthetics freak like me, you are deeply offended by such bold sweeps of mundanity on an otherwise attractive work surface.

Personally, I found flat panel speakers that I could mount to my wall at home - and hide my more conventional speakers under my desk here at work.  It frees up deskspace for actually spreading papers out but it also keeps me sane and clutter-free.

Two design companies are putting art and play into speakers again - without breaking the bank (because, frankly, I could just buy B&O speakers and be done with it, but I’d have to take out a mortgage.)

Art Lebedev Studio - Sonicum: Shaped like the ubiquitous speaker volume icon, these flat panel, 2.1 speakers really add a bit of kitchy flair to the desk.  And they sound great, according to reviews.  All for only $105.

Sherwood Forlee - Speak-er: What did you say?  These clever speech bubbles give your computer a voice and may even make you chuckle every time you see them.  Price is not set yet, but should be under $100.

By now, we’ve all seen at least the advertisements for the iPhone and its compelling, almost addictive multitouch interface.  Simply point and gesture with your fingers on the glass and the device completes natural actions like rotating photos, zooming in on web pages and more.  Why isn’t such an interface incorporated into our more traditional computing environments?  Apple is clearly moving in this direction with the inclusion of multitouch trackpads on its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but let’s skip a few more years into the future. What would using a multitouch Mac akin to the iPhone really be like?

Luckily, Christian Moore of NUI has created a prototype device called Lux that demonstrates just this concept.  Gizmodo provided today a video tour of Lux and a brief interview with Moore himself.  While still a young project, the interactions and gestures are exceptionally well executed for being the work of a tinkerer and not a team of professional engineers, programmers and researchers.

From my perspective, as an Instructional Technologist, the educational impact of something like this is huge.  Removing the keyboard and mouse from the physical hardware equation lowers the formality of using a computer and disconnection from our tactile reality.  It is so much more natural to sort a stack of photos by manually sifting through them than by using various scrollbars, sliders and a mouse.  Think of how much more accessible reading on a digital screen could be if you could simply turn pages, dog ear and “tear” like with print.  The possibilities are really limitless - and completely exciting.

What would you do with a multitouch Mac like Lux?

A wide and varied crowd turned out today for Dr. Barry Adams and his presentation “21st Century Learning.”  From new language faculty to retiring education professors, the liberal arts education community was well represented and eager to learn about the changes afoot in higher learning.

Dr. Adams presented on behalf of Apple - and with support from OIT - and covered topics ranging from the media ecosystem to faculty adoption of new technologies.  Dr. Adams has traveled the country speaking with the digital educators at numerous colleges and universities.  His unique survey perspective on the state of the change pedagogy was both insightful and inspiring.

We hope that Dr. Adams and Apple have created a drive in you to explore the new technologies and techniques that will shape the classroom of tomorrow.  Know that OIT is here to support you as you begin to take steps in this direction!