FTRC Technology Innovations
by Michael Lively
UCit's Faculty Technology Resources Center (FTRC) began a number of new technology initiatives during Fall Quarter and hopes to release a number of finished innovations during Winter Quarter. These innovations include multimedia chat rooms, 3D educational role-playing games, enhanced image processing applications, lock and key e-portfolios, smart phone web-push courses, and an audio/whiteboard application.
Multimedia Chat Rooms
The FTRC works with instructors to develop unique multimedia designs that meet instructional needs.
During Fall Quarter, the FTRC worked closely with Angela Garcia of the Sociology Department, Sandy Ogden of the Math Department, and Heather Smith of the English Department, to develop a unique chat room that includes live audio, document editing, and a new web-push group participation function. The web-push function, which the FTRC developed in conjunction with Warren Huff of the Geology Department, gives instructors the ability to push students into different chat rooms during a live session and then recall them and display their work on the web to the entire online class.
During Winter Quarter, we plan to start incorporating this new technology into a number of our online course endeavors.
3D Educational Role-Playing Games
Teaching content using educational games is the goal of UC librarians, Debbie Tenofsky, Stephena Harmony, Heather Maloney, Olga Hart, Toby Heidtmann, Elizabeth Meyer, Ted Baldwin, and Rosemary Franklin. These innovators have teamed up with the FTRC, Mike Bidwell, a UC Bio-Engineering PhD student, and a local design group to create a Maya/Flash 3D role-playing game. The design group has already begun creating 3D Maya elements for the game. Nick Molen, one of our student programmers, will be developing the isometric view for this game.
Michelle Gibson, of the English Department, is working on a similar game which teaches the basics of poetry.
Prepare for super fun as we do our first game character photo shoot the third week in January. Librarian Heather Maloney will be transformed into a 3D character who learns her subject material by interacting with other characters in a 3D, virtual world.
Enhanced Image Processing Applications
The FTRC has created a new approach to image processing. To functionalize image space, we use a multidimensional algorithm for an (all-possibilities) "knowledge space."
Michael Howles, one of our student programmers, has just completed the first test program of the "Picasso Project" algorithm. Several of Picasso's images where placed in the program and used as marker points in a multidimensional framework. We were then able to use these marker points to search for new images in our functionalized image space. The CET&L and the FTRC presented some of these phantasmagoric images at a recent "Lunch and Learn" session.
During Winter Quarter, we plan to extend this algorithm to include both image processing and video compression.
Lock and Key E-Portfolios
Unlocking the power of UC|21 may require a lock and key programming approach when it comes to e-portfolios. The FTRC has been working with Angela Arndt and Susan Winters of the Center for Access and Transition (CAT) to produce a dynamic e-portfolio based upon the Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Flash platform. Now in our third iteration of this project, we have solved a number of technical problems which plague e-portfolios. Using our present program, students can drag and drop images, videos, and documents into folders, and have e-portfolios automatically created for them by a preprogrammed multimedia "skin" (i.e., style). In the future, we hope to create a lock and key program that will give students control over the look of their multimedia skins, and some time-event leverage. When the two programs are put together (key inserted) the student can modify the e-portfolio style (multimedia skin). When the programs are separated (key program removed), the user can put the locked e-portfolio on the web or DVD for distribution.
The lock and key approach adds security to an e-portfolio, since only the student possesses the key, which is not stored on a centralized data base.
Smart Phone Web-push Courses
Soon, an instructor at UC may be able to use a mobile device to teach distance learning courses.
The FTRC has been writing a number of mobile phone programs and testing them on different smart phone models. We hope to have our first smart phone course up sometime during Winter Quarter. We are working with Karen Lankisch of Clermont College to produce a national certificate in medical coding. Our goal is for her to be able to control and conduct her course, live on the web, from her smart phone device. Students will still see a full PC version of the course when they log into Blackboard on their personal computers, but Karen will control what they see and hear from her smart phone, using the FTRC web-push approach.
In addition, we are working with Molly Burns of the Anthropology Department, and Kevin Corcoran of the Psychology Department, to create smart phone courses with an additional MP3 podcasting component. We expect to release the courses during this academic year.
Audio/Whiteboard application
Launching non-traditional web courses into the distance learning environment requires technology innovation. The Math and Engineering Departments have asked the FTRC to help in this process by producing an audio/whiteboard application.
This application allows an instructor to do a live audio lecture in conjunction with an interactive whiteboard or an annotated slide show to illustrate how one might solve a particular equation or to bring out important points. This program is in beta testing and we hope to release it in Winter Quarter.
For more information about any of these projects, please contact the FTRC in 410 Zimmer Hall.
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