[From Campus Technology] [Image: From “4 Ways to Use Video Conferencing Technology in the Classroom,” available at SecurEdge Network] Maximizing the Instructional Impact of Videoconferencing The spread of cheap and powerful videoconferencing tools had led to widespread adoption of the technology in an effort to lower costs and put resources to better use. But Education Consultant and Executive Director of Academic Programs and Faculty at Daymar Colleges Group Ruth Reynard argues that it can improve teaching and learning as well. By Ruth Reynard 10/04/12 As videoconferencing technology has improved and become ubiquitous, the financial and technological barriers to using it…

For a change of pace today, links to three short videos that relate in at least a peripheral way to presence: 1. Aimee Mann’s video for “Charmer” (4:06) featuring actress Laura Linney as a robot doppelganger (for more see NPR’s All Songs Considered blog). 2. Actress Kristin Bell featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live in a mock ad for MoMi on the iPhone 5 (2:10). 3. The well-known Simpsons theme recreated with ‘real life’ actors (1:00).…

[From The Guardian’s Architecture and Design blog] Like-A-Hug? The Facebook vest that gives you a hug from your friends MIT students have designed a ‘wearable social media vest’ that translates every virtual Facebook ‘like’ into a real hug Posted by Oliver Wainwright 9 October 2012 Ever wanted more from your social media? Is all that clicking and typing not quite hitting the spot? When the momentary excitement from that vibrating alert in your pocket fades, are you left empty, hollow, wanting more? No, probably not. But if you did, then fret no longer, because some crafty MIT students have developed…

[From Ben Lang’s Road to Virtual Reality blog] YEI Creates First Person Virtual Reality Demo With Full Body Tracking in Unreal Engine Posted on 07 October 2012 By Ben Lang The ultimate goal of virtual reality gaming is to convince players that they are actually the inhabitants of another world. A number of components are needed to make this a reality. While head mounted displays like the Oculus Rift bring us one step closer to feeling like we’re inside another world, there are yet more pieces to the puzzle; being able to naturally control the player-character — also referred to as body…

[Halloween approaches! From The Daily Mail, where the article includes many more pictures; more information and a 2:52 minute video is available on the artist’s blog] Invasion of the giant spiders – Seattle ‘under attack’ from creatures painted on to buildings By Kerry Mcqueeney 14 September 2012 It’s the stuff of nightmares for arachnophobes: Giant eight-legged creatures, crawling over the rooftop of a building, seemingly waiting to pounce on their next victim. But this is no arachnid invasion. It’s an optical illusion so realistic it’s enough to make the bravest soul’s skin crawl. These images painted on top of a…

[From The WCF Courier, where the story includes images] After-school program exposes local students to virtual reality October 7, 2012 By Emily Christensen CEDAR FALLS — The teeth of a John Deere combine poke out into a dark theater. Students raise their arms and try to touch the behemoth as it floats what seems like inches from their faces. But their efforts are futile. Their hands can’t grasp the 3-D image on the screen in front of them. But their imaginations can. Nearly 50 Cedar Falls elementary and junior high students recently traveled to Iowa State University in Ames to…