interactivity

Transmedia and education: How transmedia is changing the way we learn

On 06/12/2014, in creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, ideas, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, story, storytelling, by Daniel Christian

Transmedia and education: How transmedia is changing the way we learn — from thedigitalshift.com by Carolyn Sun

From

Transmedia -Illustration By Oanh Le

Excerpt:

Transmedia, a broad descriptive word that literally translated means “across media” and encompasses many strategies that transverse industries, is generally regarded as the use of multiple media platforms to tell a story or story experience. Though the word “transmedia” is thought to have entertainment franchise origins, its adaptation for education purposes is both valuable and becoming more and more common. While teachers like Sansing are using coding and programming in their language arts instruction, others are taking advantage of increasingly sophisticated apps and interactive media for classroom use.

Also see:

The Science of Storytelling [Infographic] — from socialtimes.com by Christie Barakat
The chemical and psychological makeup of our minds affects how we consume content: Our brains are wired to connect with compelling stories.

Internet Trends 2014 — Mary Meeker [KPCB]

On 05/29/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Asia, business, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, data related items, disruption, emerging technologies, Europe, global / globalization, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, innovation, interactivity, internet, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, pace of change, platforms, social media, society, strategy, streams of content, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, television, trends, TVs, UK, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Example slides:

Also see:

Where the Internet of Things could take society by 2025 — from centerdigitaled.com by Tanya Roscorla

Excerpt:

The Pew Research Center Internet Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center released the report on Wednesday, May 14, as part of an ongoing future of the Internet series inspired by the Web’s 25th anniversary. Eighty-three percent of these experts, which included education leaders, agreed that the Internet of Things would have “widespread and beneficial effects on the everyday lives of the public by 2025.” The remaining 17 percent said it would not, and both camps elaborated on their answers in paragraph form.

Their explanations fall under six major points:

The Internet of Things and wearable computing will take major steps forward in the next 11 years.
Increased data from connected things will cause privacy concerns to come to the forefront and encourage the growth of profiling and targeting people, which will greatly inflame conflicts in various arenas.
Despite advancement in information interfaces, most people won’t be connecting their brains to the network.
Complicated, unintended consequences will arise.
A digital divide could deepen and disenfranchise people who don’t choose to connect to the network.
Relationships will change depending on people’s response to the Internet of Things.

From DSC:
As with most technologies, there will be positives and negatives about the Internet of Things. To me, the technologies are tools — neutral, not value-laden — and it’s how we use them that adds moral, political, legal, ethical, or social perspectives/elements to them. With that said, I’m quite sure that the IoT will have unintended consequences (#4 above). Also, item #5 — “A digital divide could deepen and disenfranchise people who don’t choose to connect to the network” — is especially troublesome to me, along with the topic of privacy concerns as mentioned in #2.

From DSC:
Last spring, I saw the following graphic from Sparks & Honey’s presentation entitled, “8 Exponential Trends That Will Shape Humanity“:

If today’s changes are truly exponential — and I agree with Sparks & Honey that they are, especially as they relate to technological changes — how soon will it be before each of us is interacting with a robot?

This is not an idle idea or question, nor is it a joke. It will be here sooner than most of us think! The science fiction of the past is here (at least in part). Some recent items I’ve run across come to my mind, such as:

Hitachi’s EMIEW Robot Learns to Navigate Around the Office — from spectrum.ieee.org by Jason Falconer

Photo: Hitachi

Excerpt:

Now EMIEW 2 still relies on maps of its surroundings, but its navigation software has a new feature: It uses designated zones that make the robot change its speed and direction.

iRpobot Ava 500

Excerpt:

Ava 500 enables this new dimension in telepresence with:

autonomous navigation and mobility – remote users simply specify a destination and the robot automatically navigates to the desired location without any human intervention.
standards-based videoconferencing – built-in Cisco Telepresence® solutions deliver enterprise-class security and reliability.
an easy-to-use client application – an iPad mini™ tablet enables remote users to schedule and control the robot.
scheduling and management -seamlessly handled through an iRobot managed cloud service.

Also see:

Chinese city aims to have 80% of production done by Robots by 2020 — from robohub.org
Robohub Digest March 2014 — — from robohub.org
With Farm Robotics, the Cows Decide When It’s Milking Time — from the New York Times by Jesse McKinley

A helpful video in learning more about iBeacon [from 3months.com]; why educators should care about this technology

On 04/24/2014, in Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, interactivity, machine-to-machine communications, programming, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Everything you need to know about iBeacon— from 3months.com

From DSC:
I’m posting this because:

The video on that page is helpful in learning more about iBeacon
.
It’s important for those involved with education to be in the loop on beacon-related technologies — as such devices will help us bridge the physical world with the digital world.

Also see:

Developing iOS 7 Applications with iBeacons Tutorial — by Ray Wenderlich

Hypermedia storytelling — from kirkbowe.com
Museum exhibitions as dynamic storytelling experiences using the latest technology

Excerpt:

The secret of many great storytellers lies in their ability to adapt delivery to their audiences, even as they speak. Storytelling is at its best when it is not a one-way monologue but rather an experience which is shaped by the teller and the listener together. Underpinning this is the notion of real-time mutual discovery.

Great museum exhibitions tell great stories. But for practical reasons they lack a dynamic edge, unable to see the faces and hear the thoughts of the people walking around them. This is because many exhibitions are, to some extent, static place-holders for the mind and soul of the curator or curation team.

One of my passions is researching into how to use technology to bring a vibrant storytelling relationship to the fore. Recently, advances in certain areas of mobile technology have begun to show me that the potential is now there for the cultural heritage sector to take advantage of it.

…

But how about the cultural sector? Many museums have already experimented with mobile interaction through the use of printed codes, such as QR codes, which visitors must scan with their devices. Bluetooth Smart removes that cumbersome step: visitors need only be with proximity of a beacon in order for your app to provide them with the contextual information you wish to deliver. The technology has many different potential applications:

– Place a beacon in each room of the exhibition. Your app then triggers a screen of scene-setting background information for the room as the visitor enters. No need to have congestion points around wall-mounted text at the door.

– Place a beacon under selected objects or cases. As visitors walk up to the object, your app detects the beacon and provides commentary, video, or a three-dimensional representation of the object. No need for visitors to type in an object number to a traditional electronic guide.

From DSC:
This has major implications — and applications — for teaching and learning spaces! For blended/hybrid learning experiments. Such technologies can bridge the physical and virtual/digital worlds!

Another interesting application, providing access to published content from a specific location only:

Imaginative use of iBeacon gives bar patrons free access to Newsstand magazines

As you read, the app adds music/sound effects, based on where you are in the story & the tone of your voice. It’s the future of children’s books.

On 04/19/2014, in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, innovation, interactivity, multimedia, reading, story, storytelling, tools, by Daniel Christian

New children’s book combines modern technology and storytelling — from iwantpop.com by

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

MONTREAL, April 15, 2014 /IWANTPOP.COM/ — Jonathan Belisle, a Montreal teacher, script writer and web entrepreneur, has developed the ultimate storytelling system. It’s a combination of old and new, traditional mythology and modern technology, a mixture of fantasy and reality.

Wuxia the Fox is a transmedia project that comes as an illustrated book paired with an iPad app. “The app reacts to what it hears and sees,” explained Belisle. “As you read the story, the app adds the music and sound effects, based on where you are in the story and the tone of your voice. It’s the future of children’s books.”

The iPad app triggers new scenes of content using image recognition, and transforms into a musical instrument when interacting with small wooden blocks provided with the book.

Also see:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathanbelisle/wuxia-the-fox-augmented-book-and-ipad-app

Also, another interesting item:

Predicting the future of cinema: No limits — and the web wins — from variety.com by David Cohen

Excerpt:

He said today’s tech already offers hints of what the future will bring: screens large and small that can duplicate nearly anything the eye can perceive; cameras that let filmmakers choose framing, depth of field, focus and brightness in post, rather than on the day of shooting; fast networks that permit “collaboration at the speed of thought” and allow people to work together regardless of how far apart they are.

There will be many, many more of these applications of the iBeacon technology!

On 04/17/2014, in 21st century, Apple, art, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education technology, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, platforms, smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

New iBeacon App Stations of the Cross at St. Thomas — from mrspepe.com by Courtney Pepe

Excerpt:

This app was developed by a fellow ADE Jay Anderson. It uses iBeacon technology to sense how close you are to different pieces of art related to the 14 Stations of the Cross in a church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The app has three different settings: meditation for children, meditation for adults, and the comments of the artists. Great use of the iBeacon technology.

Addendum on 4/19:

iBeacon at the National Slate Museum is a world-first mobile link for tourists — from walesonline.co.uk by Martin Shipton

The National Slate Museum in Llanberis which is operating an iBeacon smartphone information point.

What educationally-related affordances might we enjoy from these TV-related developments?

On 04/09/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, lifelong learning, media/film, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, trends, TVs, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

CONTENTS

Content discovery and synchronization
With access to rich data about their subscribers and what they do, operators can improve recommendation, encourage social TV and exploit second screen synchronization.
Recordings get more personal
One of the next big steps in multiscreen TV is giving people access to their personal recordings on every screen. This is the moment for nPVR to finally make its entrance.
Evolving the User Experience
As service providers go beyond household level and address individuals, the role of log-ins or context will become important. There is a place for social TV and big data.
The role of audio in personalization
Audio has a huge impact on how much we enjoy video services. Now it can help to personalize them. ‘Allegiance’ based audio choices are one possibility.
Making advertising more targeted
Addressable advertising is in its infancy but has a bright future, helping to fund the growth of on-demand and multiscreen viewing.

Some excerpts from this report:

Good content should be matched by good content discovery , including recommendations. The current state-of -the-art is defined by Netflix.

…

Today’s TV experience is worlds apart from the one we were talking about even five years ago. We’ve witnessed exponential growth in services such as HD and have moved from a model in which one screen is watched by many, to many screens (and devices) being available to the individual viewer, what is today called TV Everywhere. Having multiscreen access to content is driving the demand for a more personalised experience, in which the viewer can expect to see what they want, where, and when. While video on-demand (VOD) has been a great method for delivering compelling content to viewers, it is not always a truly seamless TV-like experience, and traditionally has been limited to the living room. The growing demand for the personalised experience is driving seismic change within the TV industry, and we’ve seen great strides made already, with time-shifted TV and nPVR as just two examples of how we in the industry can deliver content in the ways viewers want to watch. The next step is to move towards more advanced content discovery, effectively creating a personalised channel or playlist for the individual user.

…

As the tools become available to deliver personalized experiences to consumers, content owners can better create experiences that leverage their content. For example, for sports with multiple points of action, like motor racing, multiple camera angles and audio feeds will allow fans to follow the action that is relevant to their favourite racing team. And for movies, access to additional elements such as director’s commentaries, which have been available on Blu-ray discs for some time, can be made available over broadcast networks.

From DSC:
Some words and phrases that come to my mind:

Personalization.
Data driven.
Content discovery and recommendation engines (which could easily relate to educational playlists)
Training on demand
Learning agents
Web-based learner profiles
Learning hubs
What MOOCs morph into
More choice. More control.
Virtual tutoring
Interactivity and participation
Learning preferences
Lifelong learning
Reinventing oneself
Streams of content
Learning from The Living [Class] Room

Interlude CEO Yoni Bloch to showcase the power of interactive video at the Future of Kids’ TV Summit at MIPTV 2014 [businesswire.com]

On 04/08/2014, in digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, Europe, interactivity, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, platforms, play, second screen apps, smart classrooms, story, storytelling, TVs, user experience (UX), writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Interlude CEO Yoni Bloch to showcase the power of interactive video at the Future of Kids’ TV Summit at MIPTV 2014 — from businesswire.com

Excerpt:

“Interactive videos that respond to children’s preferences can transform TV and educational programming from a passive experience to an active one that is fun and engaging. With kids today growing up with interactive devices, they have an appetite to do more with content than sit back and have it delivered to them in a one-way stream,” Bloch said. “With the potential to create wonderful learning experiences for children, The Summit provides a global stage for attendees to make meaningful changes in the technologies used for entertainment and education.”

Also see:

MIPTV: “Future of Kids TV Summit” announced — from
80 senior programming execs to map out digital strategies for kids entertainment.

Excerpt:

“I’m thrilled to be present at the Future of Kids’ TV Summit to discuss how content creators can create a digital playground for children,” said Bloch. “Interactive videos invite kids to continually engage and shape the story differently each time. I look forward to exploring new ways for the entertainment industry to help kids become active participants instead of passive viewers.”

The Future of Kids’ TV Summit is the latest in MIPTV’s established line-up of forward-looking events, following on the heels of the International Drama Coproduction Summit and the Digital Minds Summit. These forums are now recognised by key industry executives as must-attend events in their business agenda.

Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices (part 1) — from worlds-of-learning.com by Laura Fleming

Excerpt:

The proliferation of digital and networking technologies enables us to rethink, restructure, and redefine teaching and learning. Transmedia storytelling takes advantage of the rapid convergence of media and allows teachers and learners to participate in rich virtual (and physical) environments that have been shown to foster students’ real emotional engagement with the process of learning. Transmedia learning applies storytelling techniques across multiple platforms to create immersive educational experiences that enable multiple entry and exit points for learning and teaching. By utilizing constructivist and connectivist precepts in the application of these techniques, we can create pedagogies that are transformative on many levels. Encapsulating these notions in the concept of the Transmedia LearningWorld (TLW) allows educators to combine the exciting affordances of the digital technologies with real-life experiences and truly learner-focused pedagogies to produce profoundly productive and powerful learning experiences.

Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices (part 2) — from worlds-of-learning.com by Laura Fleming

Excerpt:

Transmedia storytelling exemplifies learning in the twenty-first century by merging the concept of storytelling with that of the listener-learner and the resulting emotional engagement with the pervasiveness of media. We might define transmedia learning as: the application of storytelling techniques combined with the use of multiple platforms to create an immersive learning landscape which enables multivarious entry and exit points for learning and teaching.

Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices (part 3) — from worlds-of-learning.com by Laura Fleming

Excerpt:

None of this is easy though. Teachers must be given the support they will need to prepare for the concomitant shift in instruction; they will need help to make sense of the new kinds of content that will make their way into the classroom; they will need encouragement to change their approach to teaching and to learning accordingly; and they will need support in how to effectively weave and integrate technology into their practice. The effective use of digital learning can help school districts meet these educational challenges, including, as we have noted, implementing college and career-ready standards for all students, as outlined in the Common Core. Educators need to come to see technology as intrinsic to their instructional practices. Rather than envisaging a process in which technology is merely embedded into the curriculum, an attitude that so often relegates the technology to an afterthought or just one amongst a range of motivating techniques, it should be about the seamless integration of technology into every aspect of teaching and learning through transmedia practices. Technology tools should be so much a part of learning that the friction is removed because of educators and learners do not waste energy thinking about how it works, instead becoming an essential component of all that goes on in the classroom.

Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices (part 4) — from worlds-of-learning.com by Laura Fleming

Excerpt:

The paradox lies in the fact that, at the same time that political and economic forces are pushing the agenda of standardization with some determination, the social-technological environment that we now inhabit is pushing education in the opposite direction. In a real sense, learning is breaking free from the tradition model of education—with school as the central paradigm in that model—simply because the walls of the school can no longer contain all the knowledge and content and desire to learn that is now flowing freely across the ether and intermingling across borders without constraint.

Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices (part 5) — from worlds-of-learning.com by Laura Fleming

Excerpt:

The power of Inanimate Alice lies in the organic connection that is made between the story and the medium along with the innovative use of design and structure. The story unfolds in a game-like world that makes readers direct participants in helping the story to unfold across multiple platforms. With hours of interactive audio-visual experience built in, a gripping mesh of games, puzzles, sights, and sounds embellish and enhance the storyline. The interactivity and narrative are not distinct from one another. In the case of Inanimate Alice, the interactive elements simply cannot be separated from the story. Whether it is controlling Alice’s Baxi (her handheld gaming device) or communicating with Brad (her virtual friend on the Baxi), the embedded technology enhances the narrative and helps it to unfold in manifold directions under the reader’s impulse. It is this that makes Alice a truly unique digital reading experience.

Expanding Learning Opportunities with Transmedia Practices (part 6) — from worlds-of-learning.com by Laura Fleming

Excerpt:

As co-creators of content, our students actively participate in and take control of their own learning. As echoed by the United States Department of Education, the rich, fictional worlds of transmedia tend to create a greater level of social interaction that can inspire children to create their own stories and media products and to share them with each other. The experience of reading is changing. In a transmedia learning experience, reading is now simultaneously an individual act and a social act. Similarly, students can be individual producers but are also able to engage on collaborative sharing, joint creativity, and proliferation of knowledge across the globe.

Transmedia & interactive reading list #10 — including Racontr’s Guide to Interactive Storytelling [Hoguet]

On 04/04/2014, in A/V -- audio/visual, animation, Augmented Reality (AR), collaboration, creativity, digital learning, digital storytelling, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, immersion, innovation, interactivity, interface design, story, storytelling, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Transmedia & interactive reading list #10 — from benhoguet.com

Excerpt of slides from one of the items Ben mentions:

Reflections on “iBeacons aren’t just for retail” [Etherington]

On 03/21/2014, in Apple, Daniel S. Christian, ideas, innovation, interactivity, machine-to-machine communications, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, by Daniel Christian

iBeacons aren’t just for retail: Placed lets you use them as iPhone quick launchers at home — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington

Excerpt (emphasis and addition by DSC):

There has been a lot of talk about iBeacons since they launched with iOS 7 last fall, but much of the focus has been on how they benefit retailers and add to the in-store shopping experience. They have a much broader range of potential use, however, and part of that is consumer-focused (and education-focused), too. Placed is a new app that shows you how iBeacons might benefit anyone at home, by tying iBeacons to specific apps and offering quick-launch capabilities.

Also see:

From DSC:
Thinking out loud…again, we can see applications for this type of technology in the classroom. Say, for example, the topic you are teaching this week is photosynthesis. You set up your room with some iBeacons and props. One corner has a large plant in it with an iBeacon attached to it; when a student approaches that plant/iBeacon with their iPad or iPhone in hand, a video demonstration of photosynthesis is automatically launched. The student views the demo then moves over to another corner of the room where another webpage is automatically brought up on their device — perhaps to take a quiz on what they just reviewed. Another corner has another iBeacon that launches a certain app that provides information for further exploration.

The wonderful, powerful world of storytelling!

On 03/13/2014, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital storytelling, interactivity, marketing/social marketing, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, story, storytelling, teaching & learning, tools, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The items below speak to the wonderful, powerful world of storytelling. I see storytelling becoming more interactive/participatory — offering more choice and more control to the viewers. There are applications in education, training, marketing, advertising, and more. Finally, I’ve also included some interesting tools/sites for folks to create their own digitally-based stories.

How storytelling can do wonders in blogging — by Kumail Hemani

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Why then was my history class one of the best classes I had? We never had to learn by heart any of the history notes in spite of all the dates, events, places and names. What we heard in that class got imprinted in our mind word by word as soon as they reached my ears.

Reason?

It was in the art of my teacher’s style of speaking and style of lectures. She never took our lessons as lectures, instead she choose to tell them through stories.

My teacher knew the art of true speaking. She spoke in such a style that we students felt everything happening around us. The lectures used to start forming an image in students mind, creating a flow, making everything seem like it is happening in the present. In such style of lectures, it only took us moments before everything made an impact on us and we understood everything word by word.

5 apps for making movies on mobile devices — from edutopia.org by Monica Burns

Excerpt:

Every year at Hollywood award shows, we see fantastic movies celebrated for their rich storytelling and dynamic performances. Your students can become moviemakers, too, thanks to some powerful apps for mobile devices. With these tools, your children can take videos and edit their work to make professional quality movies using iOS devices (iPads and iPhones) and Android tablets.

One good thing about this easy-to-use technology is that students can still use important English language arts skills like writing a narrative, planning a sequential story, and including key details when getting ready to make a movie. These apps can enhance the work that you are doing with children in the classroom and give them room to be creative storytellers.

Visual storytelling: Why data visualization is a content marketing fairytale — from searchenginejournal.com by Shane Jones

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Humans are scientifically designed to love stories.
More of our brain is engaged when we listen to stories. They cause our neurons to act as if we were actually doing the actions we hear in the story. Stories also have that human element we were talking about earlier, which makes them more entertaining and engaging.

If you do it right, you can use your data to tell the human story – and how it can be improved through the use of your product or service. In fact, the best content visuals do just that. They introduce viewers to a concept or situation (the problem you address), walk them through the main information about that concept or situation (how you’ll address it), and then provide a conclusion in the form of CTA (converting).

In summary, people are interested in learning about themselves, but they’re sick of learning through plain copy, and they’re programmed to desire visual content that tells a tale. Visualizing data is an effective strategy for giving them exactly what they want – information that is more visible and less difficult to digest.

Crowdsourced storytelling: How can you make the most of user-generated content? — from latd.com by Kim Gaskins

Excerpt:

Connect with people on an emotional level.
This may sound obvious, but there are countless ways to frame a particular project or issue to people you’re hoping to entice—so make sure to think like a good marketer. For example, Israel Mirsky is the founder of Uncoverage, a crowd-funding platform for investigative journalism, who has decided to focus his message on the issues that are most emotionally accessible to his audience. There’s a compelling business case backing Mirsky’s efforts; namely, there’s no longer any business model to support important but resource-intensive journalism that may bring in fewer advertising dollars than simple, click-worthy headlines. It’s a powerful argument, but it’s not the one Mirsky is taking to potential contributors: “I suspect that talking about the problem with investigative journalism isn’t the right value proposition to bring to the table here. The right one is the one that individuals care about: the people and the issues that matter to them.”

6 great examples of digital storytelling — from 8ms.com by Simon Heyes

Excerpt:

In the socially connected world, the attention span of an audience becomes shorter as more and more mundane content is thrust in front of their eyes. Digital storytelling allows a brand to evoke emotion, and become more connected with consumers.

If content is at the heart of digital marketing, then we believe audiences are at the heart of digital storytelling. By creating a story that is authentic to your brand and to your audience, and then building content around that story, you will connect your brand to the lives of your consumers.

Here are six handpicked examples where we believe great writing is combined with great imagery to create authentic content, and a brilliant digital story.

5 steps for successful transmedia storytelling — from 8ms.com by Simon Heyes

From DSC:
I see storytelling becoming more interactive/participatory — offering more choice and more control to the viewers. As such, here are some interesting tools/sites:

Also see:

5 reasons why you should be using storytelling in training — from dashe.com by Ben Nesvig

Excerpt:

Storytelling has been a popular tool for learning since the dawn of civilization, but thanks to technology bringing new mediums for storytelling, it has been on the rise in training in the workplace. Despite the fact that storytelling is a powerful vehicle for teaching, some still prefer to do a “data dump” because it’s easier than constructing a narrative, though not more effective. Below I provide 5 reasons why storytelling should be used more frequently in the workplace.

Digital storytelling: an efficient and engaging learning activity — from elearningindustry.com

Storehouse
“The easiest way to create, share, and discover beautiful stories.”

Reflections on “Bye bye second screen? The InAIR lets you browse the web and watch TV all in one place.” [Taylor]

On 03/08/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, innovation, interactivity, interface design, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, platforms, second screen apps, television, TVs, by Daniel Christian

Bye bye second screen? The InAIR lets you browse the web and watch TV all in one place — from techcrunch.com by Colleen Taylor (@loyalelectron)

Excerpt:

Nowadays, many people browse the web at the same time that they’re watching TV — the phenomenon is called the “second screen.” But a new gadget called InAIR from a startup called SeeSpace wants to bring our attention back to just one screen by putting the best of the laptop, the smart phone, and the TV all together in one place.

From DSC:
I like what Nam Do, the CEO of InAir is saying about one’s attention and how it’s divided when you are using a second screen. That is, when you are trying to process some information from the large screen and some information from the smaller/more mobile screen on your lap or desk. You keep looking up…then looking down. Looking up…then looking down. By putting information in closer proximity in one’s visual channel, perhaps processing information will be more intuitive and less mentally taxing.

This fits with an app I saw yesterday called Spritz.

spritz-march2014

In this posting, it said:

To understand Spritz, you must understand Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP). RSVP is a common speed-reading technique used today. However, RSVP was originally developed for psychological experiments to measure human reactions to content being read. When RSVP was created, there wasn’t much digital content and most people didn’t have access to it anyway. The internet didn’t even exist yet. With traditional RSVP, words are displayed either left-aligned or centered. Figure 1 shows an example of a center-aligned RSVP, with a dashed line on the center axis.

When you read a word, your eyes naturally fixate at one point in that word, which visually triggers the brain to recognize the word and process its meaning. In Figure 1, the preferred fixation point (character) is indicated in red. In this figure, the Optimal Recognition Position (ORP) is different for each word. For example, the ORP is only in the middle of a 3-letter word. As the length of a word increases, the percentage that the ORP shifts to the left of center also increases. The longer the word, the farther to the left of center your eyes must move to locate the ORP.

In the Science behind this app, it says (emphasis DSC):

Reading Basics
Traditional reading involves publishing text in lines and moving your eyes sequentially from word to word. For each word, the eye seeks a certain point within the word, which we call the “Optimal Recognition Point” or ORP. After your eyes find the ORP, your brain starts to process the meaning of the word that you’re viewing. With each new word, your eyes move, called a “saccade”, and then your eyes seek out the ORP for that word. Once the ORP is found, processing the word for meaning and context occurs and your eyes move to the next word. When your eyes encounter punctuation within and between sentences, your brain is prompted to assemble all of the words that you have read and processes them into a coherent thought.

When reading, only around 20% of your time is spent processing content. The remaining 80% is spent physically moving your eyes from word to word and scanning for the next ORP. With Spritz we help you get all that time back.

So, if the convergence of the television, the telephone, and the computer continues, I think Nam Do’s take on things might be very useful. If I were watching a lecture on the large screen for example, I could get some additional information in closer proximity to the professor. If the content I wanted to see was more closely aligned with each other, perhaps my mind could take in more things…more efficiently.

Learning Ecosystems

The Internet of Things will thrive by 2025 [Pew Research; Anderson & Rainie]

A helpful video in learning more about iBeacon [from 3months.com]; why educators should care about this technology

As you read, the app adds music/sound effects, based on where you are in the story & the tone of your voice. It’s the future of children’s books.

Interlude CEO Yoni Bloch to showcase the power of interactive video at the Future of Kids’ TV Summit at MIPTV 2014 [businesswire.com]

Transmedia & interactive reading list #10 — including Racontr’s Guide to Interactive Storytelling [Hoguet]

Reflections on “iBeacons aren’t just for retail” [Etherington]

The wonderful, powerful world of storytelling!

Reflections on “Bye bye second screen? The InAIR lets you browse the web and watch TV all in one place.” [Taylor]

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