The keynote is from Professor Lizabeth Goodman who is Prof of Creative Technology Innovation at the University of East London and Director of SMARTlab Digital Media Institute and MAGIC Multimedia and Games Innovation Centre – and also now involved in FutureLab (not sure what capacity)

In the current economic environment Lizabeth has found she is being asked to talk more at conferences about ‘forget the money, think about the people’ type stuff.

The keynote dotted through a lot of the work and projects from SMARTLab, and probably the best place to direct you is http://www.smartlab.uk.com/2projects/index.htm – it all sounds really interesting, but I didn’t find the presentation that engaging I’m afraid – too much reliance on a video and talking over it – anyway here are some brief notes.

Lizabeth playing a video about the work at SMARTLab –  one motto is “JUST MAKE IT” – the money always follows!

Now showing a clip from an early project – the Interactive Shakespeare – on CD-ROM  allowing the viewers to recut the film – participants people like Fiona Shaw, RSC etc. Had to work out how to engage 6000 Open University students and many more casual viewers.

I’m not sure I’m getting this – Lizabeth talking about our relationship to the material and ‘kinaesthetic’ experience – but I feel like I’m coming into a lecture half way through – I don’t understand half of what she is say I’m afraid.

Lizabeth is saying is that people who move in different ways (e.g. those with severe physical disability) learn in different ways – I think. Some work on using motion tracking to provide animated representations of the participants – allowing them to create different versions of themselves – an Avatar before there were virtual worlds such as Second Life readily available.

The Trust Game – allowing children to interact with the game by changing the form of the characters etc.

A project at the Stephen Hawking school in East London. Wanted to learn about the learning of severely disabled children. Which has informed the next project ‘Interfaces’. This uses a (large) screen that tracks eye movement (MyToby) – originally developed in the commercial sector for selling, was adapted to create an interface where you use your eyes to control the interface to create music.

Now relating how abused women were able to tell stories through pictures when they would never been able to tell the stories through speech – Safetynet project.

Chick2Go – where women with disabilities are mapping the streets of East London for the 2012 Olympics and Paraolympics – looking at safety and accessibility issues – where are there wheelchair ramps etc.

Some work in SecondLife – Wheelies – a wheelchair danceclub – everyone in the virtual space has to use a wheelchair

Stressing the importance of interacting with things and people that are close by, rather than remote (dissing Twitter – this is silly, it is just a technology, it is neutral on location – and since it contains location information, it can be used to identify and interact with local resources and people)

Project with Microsoft called ‘ClubTech’ – providing technology to US childrens clubs.

Bits and pieces – Fizzy, MobiMissions