Special Projects
There have been so many special projects with which I've been involved over the years. These are a few that seem particularly interesting.
Digital Media Innovation Studio (DMIS)
A first-of-its-kind facility within the University of South Florida System, the DMIS is a mentored, open-use, multimedia lab wherein students collaboratively create dynamic, digital content for course assignments and portfolio projects. Based upon an initiative by Dr. Naomi Boyer, I developed the grant proposal for this project which was awarded $100,000 from the Student Tech Fee, and then with the help of Scott Johnson, worked for nearly a year to secure a space, get it rennovated, get it set up, and to get it launched with a grand opening event. Since then, the availability of DMIS and its resources has encouraged many of the USFP faculty to incorporate digital media project deliverables into their course curricula.
Website & Video Presentation: "What is the DMIS?" (wmv, 4 min)
News Release: "New Digital Media Studio Off to a Strong Start" (pdf)
Article: "Innovative Video Project Helps Poly Students Bridge Classroom to Business World" (pdf)
Form: DMIS Pilot Assignment Proposal Form (pdf)
Schematic: DMIS Final Floorplan (pdf)
3D CLASSTime: Virtual 3D Classrooms on the Web
Way back in 1999, I embarked upon an venture to start up an Internet company called Imaginology, Inc. with the primary goal of building a Web-based infrastructure for online "3D Classrooms"'. In simpler terms, its objective was to merge the capabilities of LMS (Learning Management Systems e.g. Blackboard, Moodle, etc) with technology akin to that used for 3D online gaming, in order to dramatically enhance the instructional capabilities of the LMS. This was based upon the recognition (and significant research) that showed that the essential instructional content in many fields of study simply cannot be adequately conveyed through a purely two-dimensional delivery system.
While I think the concept is still a strong potential for the future, at the time, it became clear that the venture suffered from being both under-capitalized and ahead of its time. While the company was on verge of strong venture capital funding, the bottom dropped out of the Internet market and our V.C.s bailed shortly before signing on the dotted line.
Nevertheless, great strides were made through collaboration of some remarkably talented contributors, and I feel that there is still value to be found in much of the work that was done.
The artifacts below comprise only a fraction of those which I generated in support of our Imaginology venture.
Concept Overview: 3D Classrooms on the Web