tech-ed collisions

another great touch screen interface

Even though the CES is on the other side of the world, thanks to the proliferation of bloggers. tech reviewers (and of course, their own website) etc we can still get an idea of what's new and exciting at this years show. Touch screen and other innovative interfaces and the use of gestures are really interesting for me at the moment so if was with interest that I read this review of PQ Labs iTable on CrunchGear. Check out the following review/demo by CrunchGear at the CES to see just how impressive the multi-touch interface is: It's inevitable that this product will be compared with (and compete with) Microsoft surface and I am guessing that there are some things missing like object recognition but all the same, this is pretty impressive. More demos of it are available here. I am looking forward to the time when we don't have to physically touch the screen for it to interpret our gestures (or need a WiiMote type of wand) so that I can interact with the system from a distance - kind of like the EyeToy but with much more precision of course.

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bend me, shake me, anywhere you want me

...As long as its online, we're alright. Apologies to the American Breed for the remix! However, this is not about one hit wonders from years gone by, it's about technology - screens that bend, input devices you can shake, anywhere and anytime. What's over the horizon for us with new technologies and how will they be used in education? Lets start with screens - have a look at what Sony is up to - video courtesy of break.com.
Sony Flexible screen - Watch more Entertainment As I commented in a previous post, I am really interested in interfaces where I don't have to use a keyboard and the Nintendo Wii just keeps going from strength to strength. I can't believe it was so long ago now that I first posted about it. Using the whole body rather than just fingertips and eyes has got to have merit in all sorts of applications. How about gestures, not simply those we make with a mouse, but potentially the body, as in Minority Report. There is a fantastic scene in this film showing one particular vision of how interfaces may evolve. Its great to look at science fiction for ideas on future technologies but these types of interfaces are almost with us (eg Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch interfaces). Then there's this demo from Cebit 2008. We are running an online discussion thread over the next month on future technologies and if you are interested in this area and would like to join the discussion, feel free to join the Edna group on Future Technologies (the invitation key is FT2012). We hope to wrap it up with a panel discussion from a small group of experts which we will then publish and feed into further work on emerging technologies for education.

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the fifth screen

In his post 'The fourth screen and counting' Wayne Hodgins links to a great ad by Nokia on the evolution of screens, not just how they have evolved technologically but to the way in which they contribute to how we see in, and how we interact with, our world. The ad shows how screens have evolved from the cinematic screen through to the mobile technologies we see today. Wayne goes on to postulate what screens of the future might be like. Immediately I started thinking of 3d / holographic technologies but there is a whole lot more to it than just that. In another post from Wayne, linked to in the previously mentioned article, he discusses senses and the use of bi-directional feedback. If you want to see a really interesting human/computer interaction (HCI), check out Microsoft's Surface. If you want to see what some great innovators in education are doing by mashing up the technologies available to them, check out this fantastic use of interactive whiteboards and virtual worlds. At the recent ECTEL 2008 Conference, there was a fantastic keynote address by Kristina Hook entitled "Mind, mouse and body: designing engaging technologies". Supposedly ECTEL are publishing the video of this and if and when it becomes available, I encourage anyone to take the time to view this speech. We need to get away from the paradigm of fingertips and eyeballs when interacting with computers. Kristina Hook works on projects that engage 'the body'. Have a look at the phenomenal success of the Nintendo Wii for an example of a much more interesting HCI. I am really looking forward to what the next generations of interfaces may look, feel, sound, smell or taste like! Cheers, Jerry

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