Post by sam1 on Jul 24, 2019 15:17:25 GMT 5
EARTH STUDIOS (interactive education program)
These two words can easily relate to two detaching
realities, and can from there, in a symbolic way, point towards
bringing them together as a way of hope for our future.
And I need to go on a little prologue rant, before I get on with
describing the idea itself:
I think this is time where our collective conscience is more detached
from "our mother" than ever, under the overwhelming influence of
technology and artificial concepts.
And while this is also the time where there's already a clear trend of
raised awareness towards "protecting" the environment, where the term
actually is being accepted and assimilated into this social structure
and collective, the fact is those are basically just a bunch of half
hearted written laws.
They're the product of the same culture of not REALLY feeling it, not
caring about the environment and understanding it, hence understanding
ourselves also.
Saddest part of it is that majority of urban children are just
hopelessly cut off from the opportunity of even starting to learn
about it.
Instead they are bombed with artificial concepts of how to play, how
to learn etc.
So if we don't really see, don't really care, feel and understand this
world, and if our children don't get any better on that part - on
contrary - can we really ever feel as a part of it?
Can we ever live in balance with it?
My point is, we need to change our conscience, to make it in this world.
We need to see, understand, feel, care.
Yet, we can't run out from the realities of where technology is getting us.
We must accept them, but not in the way that will make us even more detached.
So, my little contribution to that would be in bringing information
about the world to kids(and everyone else, yeah) in a better way,
through the means of technology, the existing cyber reality and it's
future trends.
It could start with simple, straightforward, intuitive, interactive,
enchanting apps. Take one:
"Earth Studios: The Humpback whale, (vol.1)"
You open up the app, and there's our galaxy spinning inside.
The view zooms in, going through clouds of stars and nebulae, reaching
our solar system, passing around the sun until our tiny blue planet
pops up from the vast darkness, and it gets bigger until we finally
enter its atmosphere and all that. ( a standard ten second intro for
all ES apps)
And then after encircling the beautiful sphere, we come down all the
way to the ocean surface.
And here comes our meticulously animated 3-D whale, swimming in to meet us.
Now we can use UI and interaction: observe how it looks and moves from
all angles; we can compare his size with us(via a simple customizable
human 3-D model), and with other whales, other sea creatures, and many
other animals and objects in simpler 3D also.
We can get a visual grasp of his mobility and speed - passing by
static objects, or even an animated human swimmer.
We can watch how it started his life, his development from the embryo,
through birth over breastfeeding, to his first solo chunk of fish. We
see how his size multiplies hundred times, as the days accelerate into
months, and months accelerate into years.
The animation could then show us his adult lugs and blood filling with
oxygen on the surface, and the oxygen burns as he dives holding his
breath, while lungs collapse under pressure. Next to him there's a
human diver giving up on about hundred feet of depth, while the whale
continues to descend. At the same time the view is framed around him
and the surface above, so it continuously increases, giving a visual
idea of space and length of the dive.
Then we can pick a lengthy size and shape and color change slideshow
between individuals and sexes, we can listen all the different sounds
they can make, all the patterns of moving and twisting and breaching
out.
Or we might click on the food chain - a spectacular, huge web of links
connecting the whale with all of his prey species(with extensive info
offered for each of them), and the species who live thanks to whale,
during his life and after.
We get the rough representation of how much he can consume in a single
meal, and per day, and per year, and during his life.
And for how many creatures can feed off his dead body, after his life.
And then we turn on the narration! Clicking on all the interesting
things and stories the pleasant voice could explain and tell about the
creature and his life.
And then..we zoom out and turn the whale into a dot.
We can now see all his travels plotted, realizing the distances he
crosses during the seasons.
Finally, we add dots for all other whales of his species to it,
getting a visual representation of the whole population.
And then we click on spreading it around the world, showing their distribution.
AND NOW THE "BEST" PART - We click on historic population, and
compare it to current one. Realize the shockingly huge difference.
We go to the "RELATION TO US" menu. Animation describes the harpoon
killing technique.
Other animation shows the whale being hit and injured by a boat propeller.
Third one shows how PCB molecules ended up inside the tissue.
And we can also get a glimpse on the whole path of plastic bag, from
the store to the ocean, and how it can affect the whale.
...aand that could almost be it, a rough sketch done.
Of one app about one Earth's creature.
Now, can you imagine the whale family app?
The sea mammals in general? An app about krill, or even individual
plankton species..about moles, nightingales..?
How about the giant redwood app..(actually, I was going to describe
that one too but then realized the description would just be too
long..anyway, that one would be EPIC)
About creatures inside our houses and gardens.
An app about domestic pig and cattle!
The possibilities are limitless..as there's just almost no limit on
how technology and imagination can shape up the information and
present it.
I think offering such approach to kids would make a difference.
And it's all but not doable - even elementary schools are in fact
considering tablets as a replacement for printed books in the not so
far future(it will actually be cheaper for a country to introduce such
technology than to pay for paper books)
p.s. I actually stumbled upon this old piece written by me 7 years ago.
These two words can easily relate to two detaching
realities, and can from there, in a symbolic way, point towards
bringing them together as a way of hope for our future.
And I need to go on a little prologue rant, before I get on with
describing the idea itself:
I think this is time where our collective conscience is more detached
from "our mother" than ever, under the overwhelming influence of
technology and artificial concepts.
And while this is also the time where there's already a clear trend of
raised awareness towards "protecting" the environment, where the term
actually is being accepted and assimilated into this social structure
and collective, the fact is those are basically just a bunch of half
hearted written laws.
They're the product of the same culture of not REALLY feeling it, not
caring about the environment and understanding it, hence understanding
ourselves also.
Saddest part of it is that majority of urban children are just
hopelessly cut off from the opportunity of even starting to learn
about it.
Instead they are bombed with artificial concepts of how to play, how
to learn etc.
So if we don't really see, don't really care, feel and understand this
world, and if our children don't get any better on that part - on
contrary - can we really ever feel as a part of it?
Can we ever live in balance with it?
My point is, we need to change our conscience, to make it in this world.
We need to see, understand, feel, care.
Yet, we can't run out from the realities of where technology is getting us.
We must accept them, but not in the way that will make us even more detached.
So, my little contribution to that would be in bringing information
about the world to kids(and everyone else, yeah) in a better way,
through the means of technology, the existing cyber reality and it's
future trends.
It could start with simple, straightforward, intuitive, interactive,
enchanting apps. Take one:
"Earth Studios: The Humpback whale, (vol.1)"
You open up the app, and there's our galaxy spinning inside.
The view zooms in, going through clouds of stars and nebulae, reaching
our solar system, passing around the sun until our tiny blue planet
pops up from the vast darkness, and it gets bigger until we finally
enter its atmosphere and all that. ( a standard ten second intro for
all ES apps)
And then after encircling the beautiful sphere, we come down all the
way to the ocean surface.
And here comes our meticulously animated 3-D whale, swimming in to meet us.
Now we can use UI and interaction: observe how it looks and moves from
all angles; we can compare his size with us(via a simple customizable
human 3-D model), and with other whales, other sea creatures, and many
other animals and objects in simpler 3D also.
We can get a visual grasp of his mobility and speed - passing by
static objects, or even an animated human swimmer.
We can watch how it started his life, his development from the embryo,
through birth over breastfeeding, to his first solo chunk of fish. We
see how his size multiplies hundred times, as the days accelerate into
months, and months accelerate into years.
The animation could then show us his adult lugs and blood filling with
oxygen on the surface, and the oxygen burns as he dives holding his
breath, while lungs collapse under pressure. Next to him there's a
human diver giving up on about hundred feet of depth, while the whale
continues to descend. At the same time the view is framed around him
and the surface above, so it continuously increases, giving a visual
idea of space and length of the dive.
Then we can pick a lengthy size and shape and color change slideshow
between individuals and sexes, we can listen all the different sounds
they can make, all the patterns of moving and twisting and breaching
out.
Or we might click on the food chain - a spectacular, huge web of links
connecting the whale with all of his prey species(with extensive info
offered for each of them), and the species who live thanks to whale,
during his life and after.
We get the rough representation of how much he can consume in a single
meal, and per day, and per year, and during his life.
And for how many creatures can feed off his dead body, after his life.
And then we turn on the narration! Clicking on all the interesting
things and stories the pleasant voice could explain and tell about the
creature and his life.
And then..we zoom out and turn the whale into a dot.
We can now see all his travels plotted, realizing the distances he
crosses during the seasons.
Finally, we add dots for all other whales of his species to it,
getting a visual representation of the whole population.
And then we click on spreading it around the world, showing their distribution.
AND NOW THE "BEST" PART - We click on historic population, and
compare it to current one. Realize the shockingly huge difference.
We go to the "RELATION TO US" menu. Animation describes the harpoon
killing technique.
Other animation shows the whale being hit and injured by a boat propeller.
Third one shows how PCB molecules ended up inside the tissue.
And we can also get a glimpse on the whole path of plastic bag, from
the store to the ocean, and how it can affect the whale.
...aand that could almost be it, a rough sketch done.
Of one app about one Earth's creature.
Now, can you imagine the whale family app?
The sea mammals in general? An app about krill, or even individual
plankton species..about moles, nightingales..?
How about the giant redwood app..(actually, I was going to describe
that one too but then realized the description would just be too
long..anyway, that one would be EPIC)
About creatures inside our houses and gardens.
An app about domestic pig and cattle!
The possibilities are limitless..as there's just almost no limit on
how technology and imagination can shape up the information and
present it.
I think offering such approach to kids would make a difference.
And it's all but not doable - even elementary schools are in fact
considering tablets as a replacement for printed books in the not so
far future(it will actually be cheaper for a country to introduce such
technology than to pay for paper books)
p.s. I actually stumbled upon this old piece written by me 7 years ago.
