Activities:
1. Record your experiences with Flutter below.
2. Present any examples or links that you have seen or ideas you may have generated where education could benefit from this quickly emerging technology.
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manny 2:18 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
1. My initial experience with Flutter was a positive one. Upon downloading the software, it is really user friendly and easy to use. However, when I used it with my music library in iTunes, I realized that it does take a while to learn all the commands. Furthermore, you have to frequently repeat the gestures as the camera doesn’t always pick them up (this could be a result of camera angle). Another limitation is that you need to be within 1 to 6 feet of your computer and I am beginning to wonder whether this will truly take off given this limitation. There seems to be a few wrinkles that need to be ironed out and I guess this is why the NMC Horizon report has suggested a few years before its successful inception.
2. Upon my initial experimentation with this technology, I could see it being used in education in a myriad of ways. Apart from simply using gestures for controlling your PC/Mac, I think the gesture recognition aspect of the software could prove to be very helpful in education. It would be great to teach sign language in which it could perhaps decipher whether the students are learning the correct methods. I also think it could have a place in courses such as Drama and Physical Education in which body movement represents a huge portion of the curriculum. Although I don’t have specifics right now, I look forward to seeing what our cohort comes up with and adding more specific examples throughout our discussion this week.
Suhayl Patel 5:30 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I totally agree with everything you said Manny, but what instantaneously came to mind for me was the idea of collaboartion in a classroom with a large output. Students would be able to contribute to class learning more actively and everyone could see the contributions as they’re recognized and displayed. Students don’t have to come to the IWB to write.
While helping specific individuals/groups, the teacher could show the entire class soemthing that is worth mentioning, from their present location instead of from the front of the class.
The possibilities are really endless, and it’s innovative technology like this that makes me miss that I’m not in a classroom anymore.
jkotler 2:12 am on November 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Suhayl,
Like you and Manny, I too believe gesture technology can be used for a variety of subjects and collaboration among students. Building on those ideas though, I also think it could be a great way to make a classroom that much more inclusive wherein students with physical or learning disabilities can use it to participate alongside their classmates.
tomwhyte1 9:18 am on November 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I myself did not have such great luck with this program, however that is besides the point. I like many of you, envision this technology to help many students, either at home or at school learning various activities. The original idea presented was sign language, however, imagine a coaching program embedded with Gesture Technology for Dance Classes, Hockey Practices, etc. Yes I realize that major sports utilize similar technologies, but would not Gesture Technology allow an affordable option for schools and potentially the home.
As well, if we extrapolate this technology say inside of a pencil. I could imagine the new Pencil 2.0 (combination of gesture technology, and maybe a light signal mechanism) as being a great resource learning how to print for young students, to even handwriting for older students.
In a traditional learning environment, I believe some thinking would have to occur. In regards to the physical layout of the class, line of sights to students, proximity between students (for I would not want someone gesturing and accidentally hitting a fellow classmate).
Lastly, I would be interested in how this technology could be used on a regular basis to combat health problems, such as excess weight and the issues associated with that.
Thoughts?
Doug Connery 7:46 pm on November 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Manny:
Great points that you have made about Flutter and gesture. I wonder though with the 1-6 foot distances that you mention as limitations to Flutter, if they are reasonable for an App on a mobile device. How often would you be more than 6 feet from your iPhone? I can see six feet as a limitation for larger applications such as were given as examples by the larger players.
Doug.
joeltremblay 10:10 am on November 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think possibly, the 1-6 foot limitation coule be an issue for people who want to sit on their couch and use the computer to watch movies etc. I have a friend who uses his TV as the screen and sits on the couch with a wireless keyboard and mouse and flutter seems to be the next evolution in that direction.
Pat A Son 9:53 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Even before trying flutter I am so impressed by the potential of this technology I will like to share my thoughts here.
I believe that this along with voice have the greatest potential of enriching the learners experience as far as NUIs are concerned. I consider gesture based computing a form of “extended reality” in that the learner is able to interact with a computer based environment in an almost tactile way. As such the only thing between the user and the environment is the display screen however it “transparent” to the experience and the user for all useful purposes is a part of the environment in the computer. A learner is in fact in the matrix 😉 and just like Neo in the hit movie series is now empowered to do thing that is not possible and that has limitless potential as far as education is concerned. The keystone of this technology is the new level interactivity it brings to the teaching/learning experience. This can enable one to passively explore a CG environment by walking and navigating the landscapes and architecture there. This could be anything from an ancient world to an alien civilization, through the body of an organism or some man made technology. Like Neo the power of this technology is that is that one can not only see but they are now able to affect the world in such a way that the world in turn is able to affect them in a profound way. In other words their interaction with the environment provides learning opportunities that is not possible by any other means.
BTW why is it that game developers are some of the first ones to exploit this technology?
Jonathan 10:28 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Flutter was a lot of fun! Totally enjoyed the experience. I’ve been eagerly looking around for people to show this to. The only problem with this great program is that it has just a few gestures. Doesn’t it give you a craving for more gestures?
To answer/add on to Patason’s response: I think game developers are putting a lot of research and development into this technology because their is a financial reward to it. Their only requirement is that it has to be entertaining. This is much different than education sector which is responsible for making the technology engaging and educational. Two hurdles compared to the video game industry.
I remember a while back when there was a video game that first had this technology in a Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat type of a game that allowed players to kick and punch and the character would respond to their physical actions.
Now we are into the later stages where the Kinect is doing this in homes.
Kinect’s obvious implications is the promise of teaching dance in a natural way. Of course you are relying on the input device of the camera to read when you are a successful and unsuccessful dancer which may not be the greatest judge but it still has an opportunity to flourish.
In the classroom — i see the physical nature being great for students that need to move and interact to learn. Amazing to think of a great big display that students can gesture and interact with for information.
Pat A Son 6:55 am on November 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Yes Jonathan I agree that that game developers are prepared to invest in their game because of the financial rewards it can bring. However don’t you think that the kid who is willing to plunk out ????$ for a video game will be willing to do the same for a lesson, unit or module that leverages video game technology. As and example to this I remember downloading and playing wolf quest (http://www.wolfquest.org/) for another MET course. In this game you are wolf who has to survive, find a mate and raise a family in a semi-realistic real world environment that essentially teaches ecology from gaming standpoint. All of my children(3) and nieces and nephews were all hooked on the game before that summer was out. They saw this game in the light as any other video game and am sure they would prefer learning about ecology this way as against the traditional textbook mode.
That being said I agree with you that the video game industry is different to that of education but I believe the difference the education is not seen as a for profit endeavor by educators. The textbook industry is the biggest exception to this. In addition in my opinion we are still grappling with how to leverage new affordances such as gesture in our ‘game’ while gamers are light years ahead of us in this respect. In essence we educators have to start to see education as more than just a prerequisite for the members of a society but as money making enterprise in its own right.
teacherben 6:50 am on November 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
For those people with an interest in programming, i just discovered a library called OpenCV that works with Processing (and most major languages and platforms) that allows you to use input from your camera in your programs. It focuses on what is called ‘real time image processing’ which uses live input through a camera to do stuff. It can do things like compare one frame to the next. So, for example, if it sees the same background (no one there) for a long time, then suddenly sees a big change in the colour of the pixels (because someone walks into the frame) then this could be used to trigger an event, like music playing, or a message being put on a screen or power being turned on for some other device. Hopefully I will get a chance to play around with it this week but it looks promising for yet another option for some DIY gesture fun.
avninder 4:29 pm on November 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Using Flutter was interesting but as it has already been mentioned, it takes awhile to learn all of the functions. I have used Kinect before and unfortunately the gesture commands were different. In Kinect the ‘go left’ function can be completed by a swipe not a thumb pointing in the direction like in Flutter.
If gesture software were to become mainstream I think it would be important that some standards are followed, similar to how ‘x’ always means exit in a window.
Like most touch/gesture technology I think there is a huge opportunity to leverage this capability for visually impaired or otherwise challenged students. To use on a large scale in a regular classroom however, one would have to consider design and the value that is added. I think gesture based technology will make certain tasks easier but not necessarily better for learning on a large scale. So once again it comes back to cost.
teacherben 4:50 pm on November 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think there’s no question that it will become mainstream and costs are already coming down. As you saw with Flutter, it can already be done with a single webcam, although it uses a fairly rudimentary system of what is called ‘blob tracking’ which is based on the computer recognizing ‘blobs’, blocks of darker pixels on the screen, and then compares one frame with the next to see if the blob moved. But to do more advanced tracking of movements, you just need two cameras. The cameras on our laptops, when purchased in bulk, cost about two dollars (can you believe it?) So it won’t be a big deal for the to install two of them on a laptop. Look out for the upcoming Microsoft Xbox Surface gaming tablet that will certainly set a new trend with gesture-based input. (We will probably see a proliferation of gaming tablets for a while, so companies can try to make money on two fronts, but then sooner or later, there will be a convergence and all tablets will be equipped with this sort of stuff.)
In the meantime, you can pre-order the Leap, which has similar functionality to the Kinect, but is supposedly 200 times more sensitive, works on multiple platforms and will only cost $70USD. It comes out in a couple of months:
https://leapmotion.com/
Pat A Son 8:50 pm on November 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I could not use flutter because it doesn’t work with AMD processors
visramn 6:10 pm on November 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I also found this to be a very interesting program but struggled with it initially. Like any new technological feature, it took me some time to learn now to use it properly. I actually could not even get it to work on my computer initially and I began to become very frustrated because it looked so easy in the videos.
I think this type of tool could creates many opportunities in an educational setting. The very first thing that came to my mind was special needs students who do not have the manual dexterity to work with keyboards and touch screens. This type of tool can open up so many doors for individuals who have such disabilities. Thus, allowing for them to become more active in their learning. I also think this type of tool is great for group work and collaboration.
One concern I had with this is that gestures have different meaning in different cultures. Hence, a technology like this may have different gestures in different areas and my not be able to be applied cross culturally. For example, some cultures may find certain gestures to be rude or they may have an inappropriate meaning or some cultures may use a gesture for a different purpose in everyday life and may find it difficult to adapt to the one used in software such as this. Thus, resulting in gestures having to be changed for different societies.
Nureen
Peggy Lawson 7:52 pm on November 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Late to the discussion party, and not much new I have to offer but agree that gesture has great potential in computing – for special needs students, phys ed, etc. Flutter was a neat little experiment that gave a simple taste of the great potential.
kstackhouse 2:26 pm on November 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As others mentioned it take a few minutes to get used to using Flutter. I did not get a chance yet to try it with Quicktime or Keynote. I think those might be areas that would be great for everyday use and in presentations.
One area that I think this type of technology could really have an impact is in coaching. It would be great to have a player take a slap shot, pitch a curve ball, or shoot a 3-pointer with a system monitoring their movements. It could then be used to analyze their form, offer suggestions for maximum efficiency and correct technique. I could see golfers to be the first to really adapt to this since there are already so many golf simulation games and places to “drive” a ball indoors. As a coach I would love to be able to use this technology.
jhodi 8:25 pm on November 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
One area where gesture-based computing could provide educational benefits is in the realm of virtual field trips. Some virtual field trips such as those set up with a museum are designed to feel like walking through a museum. It would help with the immersive feeling for students to be able to use their body to navigate around the museum like they would if they were actually there. Using an app such as LookBackMaps could allow students to intuitively navigate around Google maps and locate historical sites and research information.
Jhodi
jenbarker 12:33 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I tried out Flutter and really enjoyed it. Not a gamer myself, I think I found its novelty more exciting than anything else. I also found it took awhile to learn the gestures and don’t really find it any easier to use than clicking the mouse. The fact that you need to be within a short distance range from the computer is a limitation when using Flutter with iTunes. Thinking of the scenario of a party, I personally would find an remote easier to use to switch songs than I would gestures. I like the affordances it provides for people with unique needs such as the woman who had the stroke. In terms of use in an educational environment, I think it there is great possibility here. I have never liked that the Smartboard allows only one child/person at a time to move or change the screen. Gesturing might improve this technology to engage more learning in action.
rebeccaharrison 12:41 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I also couldn’t get it to work with my “at home” systems (and I have no music/videos on my computer). Alas! However, I get the gist of it. I like the point of it being useful for teachers who could access the board from any point in the room. Also, allowing for mulitple contributions would give some great opportunities. What if students could use it to collaboratively build models from different eras? Like a really educational/interactive version of Age of Empires. I can see this eliminating a lot of technology as well (which is more to the landfill), but if I’m correct, this could move us towards less “stuff”? Is there any information in this field for environmental impacts?
C. Ranson 3:10 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I downloaded flutter and currently using it with my iTunes library. I am having no difficulty with the hand gestures, you just have to ensure your hand is being captured by the camera and not moving too fast.
The videos capturing how gesture applications can be utilized for communication with stroke victims, individuals with syndromes and the elderly are brillant and I would anticipate that this area will continue to advance in the future.
Thanks of the Learning.
Catherine
Lisa Nevoral 4:14 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey All,
I wasn’t able to use Flutter, but I have used Kinect to play games such as bowling and target shooting practice. Gesture technology is truly amazing. I can see the benefits of this technology in an entertainment aspect (such as gaming or turning on your TV and browsing through the channels), to helping people with disabilities. On the educational front, not only do I see the benefit of being able to project or move things around without having to physically use a computer or mouse, but also the ability gesture technology has for teachers to create interactive assignments for students. I think it would be relevant in science classes where students would be able to use gesture-based computing to do experiments or dissections. Students would be able to do the actual procedures of cutting into or opening up a specimen (if having a real specimen was not possible). They could also rotate the object around to see the specimen from all angles. I could also see this technology being used in a physics class.
This technology allows students to be actively involved in their learning, instead of passively receiving information. It lends itself towards student-centered activities, therefore taking the focus off of the teacher and onto what is trying to be taught and learned. Students can explore, simulate situations, find answers, and collaborate with others. But as with always, if this technology is introduced into a classroom, teachers must make a shift on how they teach that leads their students to this type of active learning.
Lisa
jenniferschubertubc 7:30 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I do not have access to a computer that I can try out Flutter on, but I did want to mention some advantages I have come across with gesture technology. In both my elementary Life Skills classroom and my Profound Mentally Handicapped High School classroom, we often used the Nintendo Wii system for adaptive Physical Education. Regardless of mental ability to understand the game or physical capability (most PMH students needed hand over hand assistance), all students were exposed to the idea of cause and effect. (Their own physical actions were creating something “fun” to happen on the screen.) As I discussed in the touch screen forum, it was hard to determine if the PMH students actually made this connection, but the life skills students certainly did and had a ball. (It also helped that we created Mii avatars for each one of them. They were so excited to see cartoons of themselves and took such pride in making themselves to things on the screen.) Since a big part of our Life Skills curriculum was working on gross motor skills, Wii “play” fit in perfectly. Now with advancements, like the Kinect system, making remotes obsolete, this technology will only continue to enhance students’ experiences and access to interactive activities.
Doug Connery 10:07 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks everyone for contributing with your experiences with flutter and for your ideas of how gesture based technology can be used in education. Here is a summary of your observations and comments to date. Fell free to keep commenting to end of day Sunday.
In summary, flutter was a great introductory experience using gesture technology. According to the gesture poll, five of you have at least one gesture based app on a device and 14 have none. In general, your observations were positive that the program worked and has potential. some of the problems were: recognition of limited gestures, it takes time to learn functions and sometimes it did not recognize gestures. Also, several people mentioned that they did not have the technology to support the App. Advisability is always an issue with newer technology.
Here is a list of suggestions you provided where you think gesture could be used in education: sign language, drama, physical education, science – biology, dance, coaching and sports – hockey, golf, ect, health education, ecology, and computer programming, printing and writing. I am sure I missed a few. Several mentioned how gesture could be used to improve education by increasing collaboration and interaction, virtual field trips, improved interactivity of SMART Boards.
Many of you saw a real need to use gesture based computing to help students, adults and the elderly with disabilities (mental, physical visual), syndromes by allowing them to be included in classroom and everyday activities.
For me, I learned tons about gesture, voice and touch while working on this module with my mentors Ben, Stuart, Frank and Joel. It was almost embarrassing how little I knew about these technologies when I started this project. Now like after going through the other modules in this course I am much more knowledgeable and a little wiser.
Doug.
Eva Ziemsen 10:07 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I was unable to use Flutter due to (once again) my OS being out of date and still not having an update. However, after reading more about it, I was completely sold by this technology. I believe it would be highly useful, as many have mentioned, for those with special needs and also the elderly. I started to envision what would happen if you combine gesture technology with virtual reality. I believe York University has a lab wherein you exist and gesture and you are also in a virtual reality, however, I do not have details on this. I am sure gesture will become part of the norm and will eventually replace many input devices (such as a mouse).
One other idea I had related to gesture and my field, filmmaking, is that it would be great to incorporate gesture recognition into cameras. For example, when filming a documentary, most often the subject moves in ways you cannot predict. Of course there are already things like auto focus or exposure, but perhaps cameras will be able to respond to the director’s hand while the filming is taking place. What is often done is that the director and camera operator have a code (similar to baseball) and 1 means, close up, 2 means medium shot and 3 means wide shot. They have a silent secret code, because they do not want to interrupt the flow of the interview. If the director could gesture this with their hand, and a device near the director’s hand could read this, it would result in a more streamlined mode of working. Of course, it will also lead to machine errors, but it should be interesting where this takes us.
teacherben 6:28 am on November 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Here’s a cool new thing.. This company has found a way to use acoustic sensors to recognize the different sound signatures of different touches–so your cell phone would know the different if you were touching the screen by sliding a finger or sliding a knuckle across the screen. It could tell the different between different paterials, so you could have a stylus with a ‘pen’ end and an ‘eraser’ end.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/18/qeexos-fingersense-lets-touchscreens-listen/
melissaayers 3:17 pm on November 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Like others mentioned I also find the best application of gesture is for students with disabilities. I like flutter and think its great on a PC/laptop for finding and/or closing applications, increasing/decreasing volume and iterating though music tracks etc.
I echo the concerns of others about the cultural and usability significance of gestures. I agree with their being a need to come up with a set of standard gestures and their meanings. This will make applications much easier to use as does it now when web designers adhere to defacto standards such as using blue for hyperlinks etc, search box placement and home buttons/links on websites.