Category Archives

Work

Missing the Point?

Books, Technology, Work by

I know, I know:  some people love the feel of a real, printed book in their hands and prefer the act of reading words on a printed page.  I completely understand that they are out there.  Many of my good friends (and family members) are librarians!

But this just seems like a massive waste of resources.  This being the Espresso Book Machine, that is.  Basically, it’s the exact opposite of the future that I had hoped for when the iPad (not the new one or the former new one, but the original) was announced.  That future being a world where only the most masterful, artistic books would make it to print.  The books that celebrate the art of bookmaking or truly take advantage of the affordances of paper.  Books as only a vehicle for knowledge delivery would be absorbed into the digital publishing realm and many a forest would rejoice!

Instead, this machine seems poised to make very physical digitally stored versions of books for potentially single-purpose use and on demand at that.  Perhaps it’s cheaper than a fleet of iPads or other e-readers, but it sure does seem silly, doesn’t it?

At a Loss for Words

Work by

A lot has been said about SXSW, calling it both one of the coolest gatherings of creative folks and one of the most loathsome.  As I’ve never attended, I really have no idea what to say about the conference.  Similarly, I have no idea what to make of the Homeless Hotspots that you’ve surely seen trending around the web.  Launched as an idea to turn homeless Austin residents into “MiFi managers” who can charge conference attendees for access to the wireless internet they carry on their persons, the entire program has drawn a bit of breathless befuddlement, anger and (far less so) support from the internet at large.

Wired has the (“damning” – so we know where they fall) backstory if you’d like to know something/more about what this is all about.

Plastering homeless people with t-shirts that essentially turn their names into the completely forgettable monikers of your neighbors’ WiFi base stations?  Really dehumanizing.  Giving homeless people and conference attendees reason to interact when they’d otherwise ignore one another?  Admirable.  Leaving the MiFi managers to their own devices after this effort has ended?  Smacks of stunt.  Way to keep this going?  Possibly…maybe.

Drive-In

Work by

This find from the web today combines two of my loves:  cars and storytelling.  This find being Subaru’s sponsored “First Car Story” web app.  You can use the site to create a custom-animated telling of something that happened to you in your first set of wheels.  The goal is clearly to make your next ride Subaru’s new Impreza (not a bad car, just not really one I’m interested in) and the creativity certainly will win this arm of Fuji Heavy Industries a few points in quite a few shoppers’ books.

Caulk the wagon and float it across

Cars, Unexplained, Work by
  • Comments Off on Caulk the wagon and float it across

6941560679_39a69b6b59_b

Imagine this scene, but much, much darker.

You’d then have an approximation of what I encountered on my way down to Mont Alto in the Fleet car this morning.  As I wound through the dark of 5:30 am, unable to turn on my high beams in the rain owing to a truck in front of me, I accidentally miscalculated where I was and turned about .5 miles too soon for the logging road I’d normally take.  Unperturbed, my GPS merrily plotted a new course on some rather rough tracks past camps, a mere .8 miles extra distance.

Harried and still slightly groggy, I kept trudging along, though I did notice what seemed to be an increased amount of puddles as I made my way.  By the .3 miles to left turn part of my journey, I looked ahead to discover that the road I should have been traveling over was more suited to small watercraft.  As my lane of travel had narrowed to just wider than a Ford, I endeavored to back up away from the deluge, using a chained off driveway a bit up the way I had come as an awkward launching point for a truly spectacular multipoint turn around.

Of course I had to make my way back in the “daylight” to snap a photo to accompany my adventure tale!

Update:  Hannah astutely pointed out that this comic from CaptchArt accurately, well, captures my experience.

MC Forum 2012 at Berks

Work by

Carla Rapp, my Eastern campuses colleague, just did a remarkable job of pulling off the 2012 installment of Media Commons’ Spring Forum.  Held at Berks, the event brought together faculty, staff and even a student or two from the region in order to have a dialogue about the state of technologies in the classroom.  The Gaige building was an awesome venue:  having just been completed this past semester, it features a lot of the latest innovations in space planning, learning furniture and classroom technology.  A great spot, for sure, to talk about the kinds of topics MC holds dear.

Here are the photos from the event.  You can read more about it in Carla’s wrap up post, too!

Engaging Résumés – and Making the Workshop More Engaging

Work by
  • Comments Off on Engaging Résumés – and Making the Workshop More Engaging

Last night, I had the opportunity to present three sessions of the Engaging Résumés with QR Codes workshop that I’ve been refining over the last few months.

I offered the training as a co-presentation with Career Services director, Rebecca Maguda who had been asked to teach first year English students about résumé writing and building.  By packaging our two training sessions together – hers a hands-on session where an actual document was taken home, mine an exploration of ways to add a living layer of information to the flat document – we seemed to really get the participants thinking about ways in which they might be able to present themselves as a cohesive “product.”

An interesting note about the construction of the actual session:  during the first class slot, we went with me first and Rebecca second, as we thought showing them something flashy first might grab their attention.  Now, this was at 4:00 pm, so it’s possible that all they were hearing were dinner bells, but the students were far less engaged than when we found them to be in the 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm iterations when we flipped it around.  If not a hunger-haze, perhaps the act of building a résumé helped to put them in the correct mindspace and allowed them to see just what fits well in that format – and what could be expanded upon to help set them apart from the crowd?

Watch This: “Still Alive” with Found Footage

Work by

At the Media Commons, we are big fans of good examples of using Public Domain and other free/legal media sources to produce outstanding reworked masterpieces. We are also big fans of nerdy things like Portal’s GLaDOS so this excellent “Still Alive” music video made from The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is absolutely up my alley.

(io9)

A Day Made of Glass 2: Return of the Glass

Work by

Around this time last year, I found a video from Corning entitled “A Day Made of Glass.”  Filled with shiny surfaces, transparent dividers and sci-fi technology of the first order (and theorized for “the near future”), the video encapsulated everything that is hopeful, wonderful – and painfully naïve about futurism.  However, it was still a fascinating experiment in interfaces, smart information overlays and product design.

Well, they are at it again with “A Day Made of Glass 2.”  

Just as stunning as the original, there are many new concepts worth noting.  I love the interactive presentation screen/whiteboard/chalkboard in the classroom as well as the gather-round-and-touch surface that the students use to explore the spectrum.  However, I’m hoping I’m not the only one that was appalled by the use of a giant glass screen to divide the redwood forest into halves.  I get what they were going for, but that was a bit weird.  Great for digital dinosaurs, maybe not so great for the deer that will invariable smash into/through it!

Still, a fun “what if” experiment and some pretty to flavor the start of Monday afternoon!

Don’t Feed The Animals

Internet, Technology, Work by
  • Comments Off on Don’t Feed The Animals

Wired profiles what it is calling the documentary about the internet generation in a recent web post. The film in question is Me @the Zoo and – while an interesting look at online celebrity – does not, at least to me, seem to live up to the description.

While it’s certainly true that the story of Chris(sy) Crocker makes for a nearly perfect exploration of fifteen minutes of YouTube fame, I’m not so sure that the subject or the circumstances necessarily speak to all those in the same cohort. Case in point: many students at the Commonwealth campuses that I work with – in the same age range – have never posted a video to YouTube before and are downright uncomfortable with their own images being online and in the public. So while it’s true that we have created a fantastic platform for micro celebrity (and further true that many young people are exploiting it), I don’t think it’s fair to say that all internet generation individuals will connect with the Chrissy Crocker story.

As I round out this post that was originally intended to point to a cool documentary about the students that we teach about media I find myself instead somewhat annoyed that Wired has falsely advertised a film that is more a Chris Crocker vehicle. Perhaps smart on Crocker’s part to get involved with the project, but not exactly hard-hitting. However, I’m not at Sundance and haven’t yet seen more than the trailer above so I guess the jury can stay out to lunch for the time being.