Four fairytale short-films

This year's Masters students in Interactive Media were given four fairytale stories by Stephen Ross (thanks!). After a few weeks hard work, learning the craft of video-making, the students presented their short-films in Dr.John's Bar in Limerick City, where they also put up a photographic exhibition. The place was packed with people on the night and a collection was made in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

Here are the four films:

The shoemaker


The Shoemaker from studentiMedia on Vimeo.

The library of shadows


The Library of Shadows from UL iMedia 2012/2013 on Vimeo.

The last songbird


Short film: The Last Songbird from Rianne Links on Vimeo.

The sailor who drank the sea


The Sailor Who Drank The Sea from The_Sailor_Who_Drank_The_Sea on Vimeo.

First 7 Weeks app

The University of Limerick’s First 7 Weeks orientation programme has this year launched a new Android app and mobile website for first year students. The app and website were created by Daryl Feehely who is a research MSc student in the IDC.

Both the app and website deliver all the information about each week of the First Seven Weeks programme to students. The Android app has the additional feature of indoor maps, which provide users with floor maps of the undergraduate buildings on campus, which they can use to navigate their way inside each building. QR codes are placed in each building also, allowing the user to view their position and plot a route on the indoor map by scanning a QR code with the app.

The app and website were developed as part of a collaborative research project between the Centre for Teaching & Learning and the IDC. The research being carried out by Daryl is in the area of information delivery using mobile technology, and focuses in particular on the analysis of lightweight, self-contained, low-fidelity indoor mapping solutions. The deployment of the First 7 Weeks app will be used to gather anonymous data on how users interact with 2D indoor map interfaces, in the context of imprecision when the maps are being used to guide a user to a location rather than pinpoint a location to a user.

"This new application for first years has a dual purpose providing a service to newcomers to the campus as well as giving us the opportunity to analyse the most effective ways to deliver information using mobile devices and especially testing to see if a low-fidelity indoor map delivers sufficient information to direct a user to their destination. The First 7 Weeks programme is a natural partner to test this research with, given its goal to deliver information to first year students and help them get acquainted with the UL campus. We developed the First Seven Weeks Android app and mobile website to that end, in the hope of making the transition from school to college easier for incoming UL students, by giving them easy access to the information and campus maps on their smartphones. In conjunction with the Buildings & Estates Department we've placed QR codes around the buildings on campus. Users of the Android app can scan these QR codes with the app to view their location on a map, which will help them get to where they are going,” said Daryl Feehely

The Android App is available to download on the Google Play store, and all the First 7 Weeks information is also available on the mobile website http://first7weeks.ul.ie

More information on how to use the Android app can be view in this demo video:

 

Success for "Magic Is Might 2012"

An international conference on the cultural influence of the Harry Potter books and films, "Magic Is Might 2012", was held at the University of Limerick last week. IDC's Luigina Ciolfi was one of the co-organisers together with Gráinne O'Brien of the Department of Sociology. The conference saw 20 presentations by academics from 10 countries on various aspects of how the story of the boy wizard has led to different analyses and reflections, from how it has inspired technology design and transmedia storytelling, to education, gender studies and literary theory.

The keynote presentation was delivered by Abbot Mark Patrick Hederman of Glenstal Abbey on the theme "Harry Potter: Archetype of the Child as our Future in the 21st Century". Coverage of the event can also be found online on The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Examiner, The Limerick Leader, and RTE News.

A very interesting exhibition opening this afternoon in the Hunt Museum, with works from our Masters students in Interactive Media and in Music Technology.

DESIGN@UL Exhibition - Franciscan Church, Henry Street, Limerick


The entrance of the exhibition...

The beautiful space is packed with design material of all sort...

The Digital and Interactive design area a.k.a. 'The Silicon Alley' (with a not so digital and interactive sign...:)...)

BIT - The Interactive Bin (click here)

The Digital Hiker (in a confessional...)

"Magic is Might 2012" Programme & Registration Available!

Magic is Might 2012: An International Academic Conference Exploring the Cultural Influences of the Harry Potter Books and Films

Hosted by the University of Limerick Department of Sociology and by the UL Interaction Design Centre.

University of Limerick, Ireland

July 23-24 2012

Full Program now available

Registration now open!

The Harry Potter series has become a publishing phenomenon that has captured the imagination of children and adults all over the world. The stories created by J.K. Rowling have inspired extensive multidisciplinary academic discussion, ranging from cultural and literary analyses, sociological and philosophical interpretations, design practices, to recognised medical publications. Conferences have taken place that focused on the impact that the novels have had on the world and their educational contribution and edited collections have been produced centering on themes of philosophy, religion, sociology, and critical analysis, to name just a few. The characters' relationships, the political and social systems, and cultural commentaries woven into Rowling’s writing are just some examples of what makes the Harry Potter series an exciting framework for academic discourse in a number of areas. This two-day event will feature twenty 15-20 minute presentations on papers relating to popular culture and the Harry Potter series. We will encourage intensive and lively discussion and debate around the papers over the two days in this intimate setting. The conference will feature opening remarks by Dr. Eoin Devereux, author of "Understanding the Media", Head of the UL Dept. of Sociology and a world-renowned expert on fandom, and a keynote presentation by Dom Mark Patrick Hederman, OSB, Abbott of Glenstal Abbey, lecturer and writer, on "Harry Potter" Archetype of the Child as our future in the 21st Century".

Wizards, Muggles, established academics and postgraduate students are invited to join the conference!

Conference organisers:

Gráinne O’Brien (University of Limerick, Ireland) Dr. Luigina Ciolfi (University of Limerick, Ireland) Jadwiga O’Brien (National University of Galway, Ireland) Lette Moloney (MoloneyMedia and Interaction Design Centre, UL)

Our Facebook page

To Register: http://magicismight2012.eventbrite.com/?ebtv=C

Follow us on twitter @magicismight12

This conference is NOT authorized by J.K. Rowling, her US or UK publishers, WB, Universal Studios or any other official Harry Potter related or trademarked entity.

Faculty of Science and Engineering Scholarship

This year, two of the students currently enrolled in the Master program in Interactive Media have been awarded the Faculty of Science and Engineering Scholarship. The awarding ceremony took place in the Millstream Common Room on the 26th of January.

Congratulation to Xiaonan Gao and Yefan Wang.

Xiaonan Gao (left) and Yefan Wang (right) receive the award from Prof. Paul McCutcheon - Vice President Academic & Registrar

Xiaonan Gao and Yefan Wang with course leader Dr. Cristiano Storni