Category: Innovative Technology

Categories
Innovative Technology

Possible Uses for Google+ in the Classroom

A recent blog post from the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses the differences between social networking sites Facebook and Google+, and some of the potential uses for Google+ in the classroom:

Facebook does allow some selective sharing, but doing so is difficult to comprehend. As a result, many professors have decided to reserve Facebook for personal communications rather than use it for teaching and research… In Google Plus, users can assign each new contact to a “circle” and can create as many circles as they like. Each time they post an update, they can easily select which circles get to see it.

See also an article from journalism professor Jeremy Littau on “Why Lehigh (and every other) University needs to be on Gplus. Now.” His explanation includes a plan to hold virtual office hours using the Google+ Hangout feature.

 

 

Categories
Innovative Technology

Science and Art in 3-D

A recent profile in the New York Times showcases two artists, working inside and outside academia, who both believe that “better visualization leads to better thinking.” Sculptor Nathalie Miebach “translates weather data and other scientific measurements into three-dimensional objects that accurately display temperature variations, barometric pressure and moon phases, among other things.” Matthew McCrory uses 3-D display to help scientists at Northwestern University visualize their data:

“Undergrads in front of a big 3-D display? They’re going to be pulled in.” But that’s just the beginning. “We are translating computational theoretical data that could not be seen in any other way,” he continued. “Astronomy, chemistry, biology — there isn’t any place we can’t touch.”

 

Categories
Innovative Technology Photography

Shoot Now, Focus Later: The New Lytro Camera

Start-up company Lytro is causing a buzz with their so-called light field camera, the first to allow users to shoot first and focus later.

While viewing a picture taken with a Lytro camera on a computer screen, you can, for example, click to bring people in the foreground into sharp relief, or switch the focus to the mountains behind them.

The camera will be released to the consumer market later this year. Via The New York Times.

Categories
Ancient Images on the Web Innovative Technology Museums

CLAROS Search Interface Launched

Last week CLAROS launched its first public web-based search interface, allowing users to discover digital resources from multiple collections of international art at once. Emphasis is placed on the art of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Based at the e-Research Centre in Oxford, CLAROS is an international research collaboration to allow simultaneous searching of major collections of digital material about archaeology and art in university research institutes and museums. It contains material from a wide range of data partners, including the Beazley Archive, various digital archives in the Ashmolean Museum, the Arachne archive, the Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, and the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, recording over 2 million objects, places, photographs, and people.

CLAROS provides keyword searching as well as browsing based on category, place, period, text and collection. It also performs reverse image searches of pottery and sculpture. This means users can upload an image or point to an image on the web and CLAROS will try to match it with those in the collections.

Via CLAROS: The World of Art on the Semantic Web

Categories
Exhibitions Innovative Technology Modern - Contemporary Museums

Soviet Arts Experience

The Soviet Arts Experience is a 16-month-long collaborative showcase of artistic work created under the Politburo of the Soviet Union, from 1917 to 1991. This series of programs includes works of art, dance, concerts, lectures, and classes. Twenty-six of Chicago’s prominent arts institutions will present events through 2012.

A Soviet Arts Experience iPhone app has been created to help navigate the showcase’s many events. It includes embedded Google Maps and is available for free to download through the iTunes store.

 

Categories
American Images on the Web Innovative Technology

Biblion: Free iPad Application from NYPL

The New York Public Library has released the first in a series of free iPad applications which will highlight various aspects of the library’s collections and services. The series is called Biblion: The Boundless Library and the first app showcases the library’s 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair holdings. As the Apple iTunes description of Biblion: World’s Fair states:

In this free app you will hold documents, images, films, audio, and essays directly from the collections right in your hands.

Via INFOdocket.

Categories
Images on the Web Innovative Technology Modern - Contemporary Moving Images

Using GIS to Turn Movement into Art

Many of us have heard recent revelations about the kinds of geographic information stored on our mobile devices, including iPhones and iPads. On the lighter side of location tracking, some artists are using this kind of data to create art based on people’s movements and interactions. One such example is Maria Scileppi’s Living Brushstroke project. Her video Anthem includes visualizations from events like Burning Man and the 2010 Chicago Marathon. According to the project’s blog, a Living Brushstroke iPhone app will be available soon.

Via O’Reilly Radar.

Categories
Innovative Technology Presentation Tech Support VRC

Teaching with the iPad: Presentation Tomorrow!

Where: CSL — 2nd Floor Cobb — Room C 210

When: Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Time: 1:30 to 2:30

Steven Clancy, Senior Lecturer in Slavic Languages and Literatures and Academic Director of the Center for the Study of Languages, will explore how the iPad can be used in the classroom. If you teach using a laptop computer and you are interested in using an iPad instead, you are encouraged to attend.

Unable to attend? Steven Clancy’s PowerPoint is available for download: Teaching with the iPad.

Via ġeðēode.

Categories
American Images on the Web Innovative Technology

PhilaPlace: Explore the City of Neighborhoods

 

PhilaPlace is an interactive Web site, created by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, that connects stories to places across time in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. PhilaPlace weaves stories shared by ordinary people of all backgrounds with historical records to present an interpretive picture of the rich history, culture, and architecture of our neighborhoods, past and present. The PhilaPlace Web site uses a multimedia format – including text, pictures, audio and video clips, and podcasts – and allows visitors to map their own stories in place and time.

PhilaPlace creates a dynamic virtual view of a city, browse-able via maps, topics, and collection groupings. For example, clicking on the map view and then selecting “Verbal and Artistic Expression” from the left menu will bring up artistic sites throughout the city, plotted on a map. Click on each point of interest for more information including images.

Categories
Images on the Web Innovative Technology Modern - Contemporary Museums Renaissance - Baroque

Discover, Experience, and Share Art with Artfinder

Artfinder has partnered with over 400 museums worldwide to provide online access to hundreds of thousands of artworks. After creating a free account, Artfinder users can start building profiles in order to receive personalized recommendations. Users can “collect” favorite works and then share their virtual collections on Facebook or Twitter.

Right now Artfinder includes many Renaissance, Impressionism, and Baroque images. The selection continues to grow.

Via Deep Focus.