JW in @ryersonu @ReLabRye using our 3D printed joystick jig & handmade cable to use @proloquo2go via @get_tecla
Jig and joystick hack
originally tweeted.
Here are some close ups of the joystick and the 3d printed jig to turn the 8 way switch into a 4 way switch so it could be used with the @proloquo2go & @get_tecla
side view
4 way joystick hack with jig
8way joystick viewed from bottom
Ryerson’s eyeopener features RE/Lab director in Ryerson prof’s project remodels the world to fit your life focusing on our project in Bolivia.
I’m quoted in the @OttawaCitizen re: Is tech overpowering the classroom?. And of course it is.
I was asked a series of questions:
Here’s my response that didn’t make it in:
I’m very skeptical of the need for children to be using digital technology at a young age. Children should be engaged in physical, active, multisensory exploration of the world around them, in a manner that is open ended and full of unknowable outcomes. There is no digital technology that can provide children with as rich a learning experience as their own interaction with the world around them. Of course, there are instances where digital technology can provide children with opportunities that they can’t engage in on their own, but these are specific and rather limited. Cell phones and iPads can be used to allow children to document their explorations and creations. Taking a picture of a sand castle or snow angel, or recording a special event is a wonderful way to document children’s experiences in a way that they can explore and reflect on a later date. Sometimes children are so engaged that they do not end up with a clear memory of what was going on. Digital technology can help with that. And even before an experience or an event, digital technology, in the form of videos, can help a child understand an upcoming experience and gain a form of mental preparedness of what is going to happen. Whether this is a doctor’s visit, or going camping, or going to a new school, being mentally prepared for new event can help a child to avoid being overwhelmed, and also be able to make the most of experience. Another very important use of digital technology comes in the form of its ability to help disabled children engage more fully in the world around them; a world that is rarely designed with their needs in mind. Any form of technology, digital or mechanical, this can help extend a disabled child’s ability to move, explore, communicate, or share their experiences helps to ameliorate, even in a small way, the challenges they face in everyday life. And the better these tools are in helping children engage in communicate, the greater the chance that the able-bodied community will see them as valued members of our community. Finally, digital technology is a great way to maintain and nurture family bonds when the child is growing up far away from grandparents and extended family members. It can help in the maintenance of first languages and cultures that could quickly become dim memories if there wasn’t videos and web chats to help maintain the ties. The use of digital technologies by young children should never be about the age of the child. Every child’s developmental path and individual needs and curiosities are different. Parents and teachers must take responsibility in carefully observing each child in order to decide to the best of their ability whether digital technology is increasing a child’s opportunities for exploration and learning about the world around them, or distraction that merely keeps quiet and occupied.
Kenneth’s installation
Public art by Kenneth Emig installed on Adàwe crossing
Public art was installed this past weekend on Adàwe crossing, the new pedestrian and cycling bridge spanning the Rideau River between Donald Street and Somerset Street East. The artwork entitled A View from Two Sides created by local artist Kenneth Emig is an integral part of the bridge design.
The artwork features two reflective stainless steel spheres, each 1.5 metres in diameter suspended at eye level on the extended observation areas of the bridge. Each sphere presents the observer with an ever-changing panoramic view that includes the sky, river, shores, bridge, pedestrians and cyclists.
The result is an unlimited variation of visual possibilities, providing residents and visitors with the perfect place to pause and take in the natural beauty of the area.
Kenneth Emig’s art practice intersects form, light, sound, movement and technology. He aims to provoke awareness of our own perceptions and understandings of our world. He is currently Artist in Residence at the Responsive Ecologies Laboratory at Ryerson University. In 2004, Emig was awarded a City of Ottawa public art commission for his light-based installation entitled The Second Story, on permanent display at the Eva James Memorial Community Centre.
This artwork and other commissions were made possible by the City of Ottawa’s Public Art Policy, which allows for one percent of funds from municipal projects to be set aside for public art to enhance the space and make art accessible to everyone.
Adàwe crossing was officially opened on December 4, 2015 and was named for the Algonquin term meaning “to trade”. The name is also symbolic of the history of the river, the indigenous heritage of the area and the bridge’s ability to link the communities on either side.
For more information:
613-244-4261
publicartprogram@ottawa.ca
Public art for Rideau River Crossing
Installation d’une œuvre d’art public de Kenneth Emig sur la passerelle Adàwe
Une œuvre d’art public a été installée en fin de semaine dernière sur la passerelle Adàwe, le nouveau pont pour piétons et cyclistes qui enjambe la rivière Rideau entre la rue Donald et la rue Somerset Est. Cette œuvre, intitulée Une vue de deux côtés, créée par Kenneth Emig, artiste local, fait partie intégrante de la conception du pont.
L’œuvre se compose de deux sphères réfléchissantes en acier inoxydable, dont chacune fait 1,5 mètre de diamètre, suspendues au niveau des yeux sur les aires d’observation du pont. Chaque sphère présente à l’observateur une vue panoramique en perpétuel changement qui embrasse le ciel, la rivière, les berges, le pont, les piétons et les cyclistes.
Il en résulte une gamme illimitée de possibilités visuelles, qui offre aux résidents et aux visiteurs un endroit parfait pour faire une pause et contempler la beauté naturelle du lieu.
L’art de Kenneth Emig combine forme, lumière, son, mouvement et technologie. Cet artiste vise à nous faire prendre conscience de nos propres perceptions et de la manière dont nous comprenons notre univers. Il est actuellement artiste en résidence au Responsive Ecologies Laboratory de l’Université Ryerson. En 2004, Emig a créé une œuvre d’art public commandée par la Ville d’Ottawa, une installation lumineuse intitulée The Second Story, maintenant exposée en permanence au Centre commémoratif Eva-James.
Une vue de deux côtés ainsi que d’autres œuvres d’art commandées ont été réalisées grâce à la Politique d’art public de la Ville d’Ottawa. Cette politique prévoit l’affectation de un pour cent des fonds liés aux projets municipaux à des œuvres d’art public, afin d’embellir l’espace public et de mettre l’art à la portée de tous.
La passerelle Adàwe a été officiellement inaugurée le 4 décembre 2015. Son nom vient du terme algonquin qui signifie « échanger ». Ce nom symbolise aussi l’histoire de la rivière, l’héritage autochtone de cette région et la capacité du pont à relier les milieux de vie situés de chaque côté.
Renseignements :
613‑244‑4261
programmedartpublic@ottawa.ca
Œuvre d’art public pour la passerelle sur la rivière Rideau
On Monday November 9th, Responsive Ecologies Lab (RE/Lab) RA Melanie McBride will facilitate an inter-sensory talk and walk focused on the urban ambiances and ecologies in and around the RE/Lab with special guest Dr Milena Droumeva of Simon Fraser University. Drawing on applied and critical perspectives from sensory studies, acoustic ecology, critical pedagogy and smell walking/mapping, this workshop introduces practices of ‘sensory inquiry’ and ‘DIY sense making’ as a means of relating with, representing and constructing inter-sensory ambiances. Through a short inter-sensory walk involving listening, smelling, touching and (maybe) tasting different ambiances of place and (urban) space, participants will gain an understanding of more embodied, critical, inclusive and socioculturally situated approaches to studying the senses. Participants will be introduced to transdisciplinary techniques of engaging with and representing sensory, spatial, material and sociocultural ambiances that exceed traditional ethnographic methods, through an emphasis on non-visual stimuli such as smell, sound, touch, temperature, movement and bodily state.
Workshop facilitators
Dr. Milena 
Droumeva is the Glenfraser Professor in Sound Studies at Simon Fraser University. An experienced sound researcher, multimodal ethnographer and soundwalking enthusiast, Milena has been recording and listening for over 14 years in Vancouver and Europe as part of her urban soundscapes and mobile media cultures research. You can find her musings on sound and other material goodies at http://natuaural.com follow @ambientfluff
Melanie McBride is a doctoral candidate in Communications and Culture at York University where she is researching inter-sensory learning and communications practices involving smell (and, increasingly, taste). Melanie’s developing practices of ‘sensory inquiry‘ are informed by her sensory ethnographic field work in Canada and France and her background as an inner city educator. Melanie is also a researcher with Ryerson’s RE/Lab, where she has created a DIY smell lab. Find her online at:
melaniemcbride.net
https://www.flickr.com/photos/multisensorymel/ https://soundcloud.com/multisensorymel
@multisensorymel
Co-Facilitator: Daniel Harley
Daniel Harley is a Research Assistant at the Synaesthetic Media Lab (SynLab) at Ryerson University, studying interactive narratives for tangible and embodied technologies. He also has a background in music, with over ten years of experience working as a violinist in the Greater Toronto Area.
