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ASTC 2010: Ho’okele – Navigating to our Future

By Greg Gallimore
October 21, 2010
STEM + Learning

The 2010 conference of the Association of Science and Technology Centers was held this year in Honolulu.  Ahhh…. Hawaii!  The beaches, the sunshine, the abundance of both single and double rainbows… sounds great, right?  With the particularly poor turnout of attendees this year, many folks I spoke to wondered how great this conference really was.  The exhibit hall was rather small with what seemed like a fraction of the exhibitors in past years, some sessions were spotty with attendees and there just weren’t the new faces and international showing that many were hoping would arrive.    

Putting these observations aside, in a way the conference was great. The educational sessions were quite informative, the special programs and receptions were well planned, and the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony was one of the most impactful and inspiring hour-long speech I may have ever experienced.  His name was Charles ‘Nainoa’ Thompson and he shared with the audience the story of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s development and journeys to Tahiti and beyond using non-instrument wayfinding.  This was a story of excitement, joy, loss, discovery, and dismay; but ultimately a story of inspiration – a powerful affirmation of the importance of informal education.

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Enabling the Novice Musician to Become a Virtuoso

By JoAna Swan
June 14, 2010
Technology and Media

In 2010 we're seeing more instruments and applications that encourage experimentalism through touch-sensitive controls, wearable performance interfaces, and laser beams. Today, a novice keyboard player can sound like a virtuoso within a matter of minutes using highly responsive touch screens/pads to manipulate sounds.  As innovations in music technology transfer from complex systems to more user-friendly interactive platforms, music can become easier to play for those who never thought they could.

Ocarina ($1) is a perfect example of a highly innovative and social iPhone music app that works for both trained musicians and ordinary people as an instrument. Through movement, touch, and breath, Ocarina’s “tap and play” interface allows users to create music on the go so that they can share with other users around the globe. Ocarina users are instructed to blow into their iPhone microphone port while tapping the four holes on the screen to manipulate the instrument’s pitch, add vibrato by tilting the iPhone down, and change the volume by blowing harder or softer into the port. Ge Wang, a founder at Smule which created Ocarina explains, “The iPhone will never replace a physical instrument like a violin, but these new instruments are only possible on the phone, and it’s something people always have with them.”  

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Thoughts on Angles

Pete Vigeant
By Pete Vigeant
April 4, 2010
Technology and Media
Image of people using an iPad together.

The iPad allows more than one person to use the device together for games, brainstorming, watching video and other activities.

On March 31, David Pogue wrote a review of the iPad called "Looking at the iPad from Two Angles" discussing the new Apple device from the perspective of Tech People versus that of Everyone Else. The review summed up many of the arguments for and against owning the device but left out one seemingly obvious point: Angles.

I went to Connecticut for Easter and reunited with my hometown friends. I proudly started the evening with the pronouncement that I had, in fact, played with an iPad at Best Buy. The tone of the room went dark and the Apple bashing began. I knew that I needed a concise statement that would sum up the potential of the device, but it was out of my grasp. I had one friend tell me that she did not want to carry a computer around — that's why she had a Kindle. Another chimed in about how dirty the screen would get. Another about the superiority of netbooks. I wanted to stop the discussion and address each point separately, but that would require more than a couple sentences and the room lacked that kind of commitment when it came to technology discussions. Instead they talked about wedding photos.

I lacked a key discussion point that I desperately needed and then I reread "Looking at the iPad from Two Angles" — well, more specifically, I reread the title.

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