setembro 24, 2009

Slactions, primeiro dia

Acabou o primeiro dia da conferência internacional SLACTIONS 2009 e posso dizer que correu muito bem. A abertura realizada pelo anfitrião no Babbage Amphiteatre, Andabata Mandelbrot, parecia tirada de um filme sobre as missões Apolo, em que vemos o posto de comando na Terra a comunicar com os viajantes do espaço, neste caso do ciberespaço, dando as as boas-vindas e esperando pelo feedback de todos.

Os quatro continentes estiveram ligados em simultaneamente das 15h00 às 21h00 horas portuguesas, de Hong-Kong a Berkeley, passando por Braga, Manchester, São Paulo, São Leopoldo e Tel Aviv. Os conferencistas puderam apresentar as suas comunicações com voz, slides e avatar em 15 minutos com direito a 5 minutos de perguntas. Para se poder ter uma melhor noção do dia de hoje aconselha-se uma visita ao blog do evento.


Amanhã teremos o segundo dia, para ver o programa vejam o site do evento.

setembro 15, 2009

encenando ideias



Julgo que vale a pena ser visto e avaliado, não pelo conteúdo do que é dito, ou melhor, colado sobre o que é dito, mas pela ideia em si e o espírito criativo ainda que o texto poderia e deveria ser mais focado e aprofundado. Principalmente a parte final está já a queimar o que resta da ideia, faltando-lhe um evidente desenlace, isto no texto colado claro. Aliás este tipo de trabalho não é nada de novo, temos visto centenas de objectos destes. No entanto a ideia do uso desta dramatização genial de Bruno Ganz, sobre um dos episódios mais especulados na nossa história recente para entre aspas encenar um episódio de novela mexicana da política nacional actual, cria a maravilha deste objecto.
Este é um objecto que representa a essência das novas literacias, a capacidade do criador para fazer uso de diferentes suportes, media e artes para dar corpo à sua mensagem. Neste caso escolheu-se um tom humorístico, mas não deve ser por isso menos interessante. Aliás quantas são as rábulas que fazem o mesmo fazendo uso da oralidade sobre um figurino de linguagem corporal conhecido pelo público. O que aqui temos é isso mesmo, mas mais do que isso porque se socorre e trabalha conteúdos dispersos, e completamente desconexos, atribuindo-lhe todo um novo sentido.

Nota: Caso o espectador perceba o alemão, o objecto perde toda a sua graça, nesse caso teria sido bom alguma distorção do som, ainda que os actores não o merecessem.

setembro 13, 2009

Formação em Media Digitais


Muitas são as questões que vou recebendo sobre as ofertas em Portugal e no estrangeiro sobre formação intensiva nas áreas de criação e produção de conteúdos digitais. Como tal e porque sinto alterações no cenário nacional, nos últimos dois anos não foram apenas as ofertas da Universidade que devido a Bolonha se multiplicaram e se aproximaram do mercado de trabalho, resolvi fazer uma breve análise e expô-la aqui.


A oferta de formação extra-curricular vem sofrendo um crescimento exponencial, tanto a nível do número de escolas como de cursos e áreas. Já não existe praticamente área dos media interactivos, design ou arte digital que fique de fora, desde escolas creditadas com uma década de serviço a escolas criadas este ano. Desde a aposta no software open source à aposta em acreditação pelas grandes marcas da área. Aquilo que em tempos parecia ser uma necessidade absoluta, sair do país, para quem pretendesse ou necessitasse de se especializar ou melhorar determinadas vertentes das suas valências é agora algo pouco determinante.


E o que dizer quando estas ofertas concorrem directamente com as ofertas tradicionais do sistema escolar, nomeadamente do Ensino Superior, com cursos de formação abrangente e com a duração de 12 meses. O que podemos dizer é que são muito bem-vindos e benéficos para todos. Para quem não foi para a Universidade, mas também para quem já foi estudante e quer agora especializar-se num determinado nicho do multimédia. E é aqui que se inicia a diferenciação, a especialização. A Universidade já não o era, mas o Paradigma de Bolonha veio incrementar ainda mais a necessidade de largura de banda nos conteúdos transmitidos aos alunos. As licenciaturas já não são versadas em criar especialistas, mas antes em criar competências polivalentes. É isto que o mercado exige e é isto que o futuro nos reserva. A especialização tout court já não chega, até porque o tipo de trabalho que se executa no ambiente industrial é cada vez mais multidisciplinar.


A Universidade não pretende, não só formar especialistas, assim como não pretende formar pessoas em ferramentas ou técnicas. O objectivo de uma formação universitária é bem mais ampla, mas acima de tudo profunda, nas mudanças de paradigma cognitivo que exige a quem se sujeita a ser aluno. Um licenciado ou mestre em determinado assunto recebe uma formação num leque variado de competências capaz de lhe permitir, acima de tudo, em face de qualquer problema, encontrar uma solução. Ou seja aprende a pensar, a reflectir, a conjugar as várias competências, a distingui-las e dar-lhes novas valências se assim a tarefa o exigir. Procurar informação, procurar competências laterais, paralelas e externas que o levem à resolução de modo eficaz do problema. No fundo o lema do ensino universitário continua a ser, o ensino de "aprender a aprender".


E é por isso que a base do docente universitário é a investigação, porque é aqui na sua capacidade para trabalhar tópicos do estado-da-arte e avançar esses mesmos tópicos que este vai buscar os conteúdos a leccionar assim como o espírito pela busca da inovação e avanço científico das soluções. Neste sentido é necessário por parte de quem procura formação Universitária, informar-se muito bem sobre as avaliações obtidas na Investigação, assim como o reconhecimento internacional que os docentes e a Instituição escolhida possuem.


Já os cursos intensivos de multimédia, não têm, nem devem ter esta perspectiva do ensino, por várias razões, sendo a principal a duração da formação, mas também o objectivo muito prático dos formandos que pretendem apenas dominar muito rapidamente uma qualquer ferramenta. O seu objectivo passa assim por formatar as competências do formando num sentido prático. Enquadrar o formando no seio das ferramentas em questão, e abrir-lhe o caminho para o domínio das mesmas através da simulação, exercitação e repetição com vista à criação de memória. Sendo o principal objectivo, alargar a memória de forma a permitir uma rápida operacionalização de métodos e técnicas para dar reposta a questões estandardizadas, específicas e práticas.


Segue a listagem de escolas de media digitais nacionais. A nível internacional em vez de listar escolas deixo a ligação para o index colectado pela SIGGRAPH.
www.alquimiadacor.pt
www.restart.pt
www.flag.pt
www.odd-school.com
www.workshops.com.pt
www.arqui300.com/academy
www.animotic.com
www.the-edge.com.pt
Para ver as actuais formações do Ensino Superior na área, o ideal será procurar nas listas da DGES . No sítio da DGES é possível obter muita informação, nomeadamente a Avaliação das Instituições enquanto locais de acolhimento. Para informação sobre as suas capacidades de produzir Investigação, será necessário ver as avaliações realizadas pela FCT no seu sítio.

Finalmente para quem está a ler este texto e se questiona sobre o real valor do investimento em formação nestas áreas deixo-o com a grelha actual do impactos das actividades culturais na sociedade ocidental. Este diagrama foi desenhado pela equipa de Philipe Kern para um estudo encomendado pela Comissão Europeia "The Economy of Culture in Europe - A strategy for a creative Europe".

setembro 10, 2009

para que serve a Escola?


Discurso proferido por Barack Obama a 8 de Setembro 2009 e emitido para todas as escolas, desde a pré-escola ao liceu, dos Estados Unidos.


Para ver o discurso abaixo, avançar o vídeo directamente para os 3:20.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.

Now, as you might imagine, I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'd say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster." (Laughter.)

So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now, I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility a lot.

I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working, where students aren't getting the opportunities that they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that English paper -- that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice -- but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now, I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what it's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was -- I was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to Brown University -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. He's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In some cases they've got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, I hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are you're not going to be any of those things.

The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's -- who wrote Harry Potter -- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask all of you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?

Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud.

Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. Thank you.

setembro 07, 2009

SLACTIONS 2009, 24 e 25 Setembro 2009

Estamos na recta final para mais um encontro científico desta vez sobre o metaverso. Decorre dia 24 e 25 na Universidade do Minho, o chapter nacional do evento SLACTIONS 2009.

Estão todos convidados a aparecer. A inscrição para estudantes é de 35 euros e normal 55 euros. A inscrição dá direito a participar na conferência, a coffee-breaks e ao cd-rom das actas. A inscrição no chapter é mais barata, já que a online apenas custa 175 euros.

Os tópicos abordados serão:

* Behavioral studies in the metaverse
* Combination of metaverse platforms with external systems (e-learning, e-business, etc.)
* Communication paradigms in the metaverse
* Content management
* Creativity, design, and arts on the metaverse
* E-business and e-commerce applications
* Educational research, applications, and case studies
* Social Sciences studies in or through metaverse platforms
* Space representation, use, and management in metaverses
* Using metaverse platforms for cooperation

A conferência decorre inWorld a partir do New Media Consortium nos Estados Unidos - NMC Conference Center, Babbage Amphiteatre, mas é coordenada a partir do Chapter nacional em Braga.