Curing Creative Block

This ebook is published under a Creative Commons licence which means
you are free to copy and share it, provided you:

• keep it intact in its original format
• credit Mark McGuinness and Marelisa Fábrega as authors
• do not use it for commercial purposes

So if you know anyone who could do with some help with a creative block,
please pass it on! Here’s the link to the download page: http://lateralaction.com/

The Beginning of Infinity

The search for hard to vary explanations is the origin of all progress. Its the basic regulating principle of the enlightenment. That the truth consists of hard to vary assertions about reality is the most important fact about the physical world. It is a fact itself unseen, yet impossible to vary.



The Beginning of Infinity: David Deutsch Explains the World | Brain Pickings

The future of Occupy: a historical comparison

1 in 5 teenagers will experiment with art

via Threyda on Facebook

iPads for Learning

21 steps for 1-on-1 success in this PDF from the folks at http://www.ipadsforeducation.vic.edu.au/

Data Visualization: 20+ Useful Tools and Resources

Great list of resources at Rods Web Design

Internet overtakes TV in Aus

The inevitable has occurred – Internet use has eclipsed TV use in Australia. Could this be an explanation for local TV station Imparja turning up in my letterbox with a DVD and on vimeo?

Tools to Understand & Influence Decision Making

www.brainsbehavioranddesign.com/pdf/Introduction_BBD_v1.0.pdf

PirateBox

Inspired by pirate radio and the free culture movement, PirateBox is a self-contained mobile communication and file sharing device. PirateBox utilizes Free, Libre and Open Source software (FLOSS) to create mobile wireless file sharing networks where users can anonymously chat and share images, video, audio, documents, and other digital content.

Read more by /// David Darts ///

What Consumer Culture Will Look Like In 2020 (And How Brands Can Adapt)

Chances are, the real 2020 will fall somewhere in the middle of these scenarios. But for what it’s worth, our money is on a combination of "My Way" and "From Me To You"--smaller, local economies with an emphasis on decreasing waste and maximizing resources.

Read all about it at Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

Bluebrain’s App Central Park

As you walk, new musical themes hit you every 20 or 30 steps, as if they were emanating from statues, playgrounds, open spaces and landmarks. The themes layer over one another, growing in volume as you approach certain points on the map and fading out as you move away. It’s a musical Venn diagram placed over the landscape, and at any time you might have two dozen tracks playing in your ears, all meshing and colliding in surprising ways. The path you take determines what you hear, and the biggest problem with what the composers call a “location-aware album” is that you may get blisters on your feet trying to hear it all.

Read more at NYTimes.com

See also Best Audio Guide Ever

How might we restore vibrancy in cities and regions facing economic decline?

People are more likely to kickstart positive change in their communities when their voices are heard and their opinions are validated. By creating dialogue and offering feedback opportunities, we enable the feedback loops that are an important first step toward positive change. How might we create tools that enable and amplify these feedback loops? How might we help people vocalise their community’s needs, opportunities, shortcomings and potential? How might we ensure that all members of a community have access to opportunities to vocalise what they want for their area?

Many cities and regions in need of revitalisation are dealing with issues of space. Rather than seeing empty lots, vacant buildings and abandoned neighborhoods as indicators of decline, let’s consider how we can re-purpose, remix and reuse space to add vibrancy to neighborhoods. How might we encourage the remixing or hybrid usage of spaces, buildings and locations to infuse vibrancy in communities? How might we create tools to help communities navigate complex issues related to re-purposing space, including publicly- vs privately-owned space, legal uses of specific spaces and others?

Answers available at OpenIDEO

Empowering Teachers with Video via Mobile Phones

The Bridgeit program involves an innovative process of disseminating educational programming directly to the classroom via a mobile phone. Read about it at Educational Technology Debate

Five Factors in Good Software Game Design for the Developing World

"...that you have found this message means that it is your destiny to join us"

Games for the developing world try to bring about positive behavioural changes among developing populations. Game design for this space comes involves working with a number of unique constraints and nuances. The following are some factors that merit consideration in designing better game-based ICTD solutions for the developing world....


Read more at ICTWorks

How to engage the disengaged

About Inanimate Alice:

What I've learned from dipping my toe into the world of digital literacy this year is that it may not be a panacea for all but in my never-ending quest to engage the disengaged it has been amazing. It is not and should never be a replacement for reading quality literature – I still feel it is my duty to open this world up to them – but as an aid to writing I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Read more at Teacher Network Blog | Guardian Professional

Building mobile applications for social good

A PDF of the Building mobile applications for social good article is available at the kiwanja website (2 Mb)

Using iPads for Kiosks

To run in a kiosk mode, we want to set up the iPad to do a few things such as automatically starting our specific application and to keep it running if someone tries to quit the app or restart the app if it crashes for some reason. You can get part of the way there by getting an enclosure that restricts access to the hardware buttons. However, because iOS is unix-based, you can go further.

Read more at Studio Blog | Art, Technology, Design | Second Story

Alternatively, see KioskPro app for iPad

For hardware, see also: Gallery pedestal for iPad