#mozilla ignite

[openpathme]

More Code Please

Since we began building OpenPath, there have been some notable improvements to WebRTC. Originally we were using webrtc.io as our WebRTC framework. However, PeerJS has gained momentum, and is simple, stable, and supported. It interoperates amongst browsers and browser versions, and is open source and free. This framework is helping us clean up our API calls and rationalize the backend. This will make the app faster, and also easier for us to build on and other coders to understand. 

Recently, Mozilla also made the announcement that Persona, its simple sign-on service, would not be supported with developers in the future. One of the reasons for the move was that it didn't have a big enough footprint. We have to agree; further, people we tested with were confused by it. Sometimes it didn't work (often the user's email provider wasn't supported for instance). They didn't understand how it worked, who was asking for their personal info, and how their data would be stored (though Persona is designed to give users the freedom to decide what they share with services).

We think other authentication methods will present less friction; so we are migrating to passport.js. It is an authentication middleware for Node.js. It supports all common authentication strategies; we will look for input on which ones we implement as we go along. In case you are wondering, we have been working on a different branch of the code, which we have not deployed to the prod server. Of course, this is all in an effort to be able to pilot OpenPath and help people learn face to place!

[openpathme]

Mozilla PopcornMaker and Glass

One of the first prototype paths we constructed was a very literal one, the Fort Greene Tree Trail in Brooklyn. 39 varieties of trees live along the trail, which undulates along the hill that once supported forts for the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

With most field trips, learners get some background information before they arrive at the site. Often, a teacher or facilitator will link that information to curriculum they are currently studying. While at the site, the experience is structured and facilitated with combinations of open-ended prompts, worksheets and writing activities, group work, and free exploration. After a field trip, reflection, and the development of each learner's personal take on the experience, makes it more meaningful.

We think Mozilla PopcornMaker is a fun tool for reflecting and building upon experiences documented in video: learners can take snippets of a video tour and remix them to answer a question, go deeper into the content presented, restructure an experience, or synthesize experiences and compare them.

So without further ado, here is a prototype Fort Greene Tree Trail "make" using Glass--Gabriel Willow wore the Google Glass device, and we only did the beginning of the trail (we have a lot more video).

[mozillawebmaker-blog]

This last week we announced the 22 final round winners of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge in Chicago. Here’s a few of the winning projects we wanted to share:

Check out Mozilla Ignite Winner Remote Process Control

Ultra-reliable remote control

“The Internet lacks facilities for reliable, assured, real-time communication. This communication is needed for tasks like remote medical procedures, controling robots used to clean up after a  chemical or nuclear accident, and controlling manufacturing processes.

Our work will provide ultra-high reliability for critical  applications.  Rather than incorporating reliability into a single  application, we are building a fundamentally new communication  technology that can be used by any application.”

Connecting universities, gigabit communities and partners

“The Mozilla Ignite challenge was the catalyst that caused us to act. We were stimulated by the challenge to form a team. We engaged students to  help develop the underlying technology. More important, the challenge  connected universities, a gigabit city, and industrial partners to build  construct a practical and effective demonstration that spans the country.”

Routing around bottlenecks

“Our work started in the lab, and we  were very pleased the first time we saw packets traveling along multiple  paths.  Then we used the National Science Foundation GENI platform for network experimentation to create multiple paths spanning the US. It was  satisfying to see communication continue when one of the paths through  the Internet became congested.

The real excitement started when  we could disable one of the paths and see our software select an  alternative route, and when we controlled a 3D printer remotely and monitored  the correctness of its behavior in detail with HD video.”

[mozillawebmaker-blog]

This last week we announced the 22 final round winners of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge in Chicago. Here’s a few of the winning projects we wanted to share:

Check out Mozilla Ignite Winners Software Lending Library

Democratizing software access

“The Software Lending Library would use a remote desktop solution to deliver  software applications from library servers to patrons across our service area.

Hardware without software doesn’t get you very far. Cloud-based software applications may be the future — but for the present, if you aren’t familiar with basic software like the Microsoft Office suite, you’re going to be uncomfortable in a lot of work environments.

So the opportunity for us to provide that familiarity is huge. Beyond software basics, there are a ton of cool things you can do  and learn on programs that are expensive on a stand-alone basis, especially if you’re just interested in learning and exploring.

We would not be working on this project without the Mozilla Ignite  challenge. We had discussed versions of this idea with US Ignite  previously, and found it very appealing, especially due to our strong  library systems–but we’d never taken it farther than the conversation  stage. Just being apart of a team that’s  creating software for the betterment of our students is life-changing  for the team and students.”

[mozillawebmaker-blog]

This last week we announced the 22 final round winners of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge in Chicago. Here’s a few of the winning projects we wanted to share:

Check out Mozilla Ignite Winners Big Blue Button: A video Conferencing System for Online Learning

Quality education access for every web user

“Students need every advantage to succeed in today’s global market.  At a minimum, they  need an education system that provides them with access to the best teachers, the best course materials, and the best learning environments.

An on-line education has the potential to provide these benefits, but  there are barriers.  While the availability of high speed networks has  increased, for many educational institutions the technology costs  associated with delivering on-line courses have also increased at a time when their funding has not.

As an open source project, BigBlueButton is freely available to all educational institutions.”

Using WebRTC

“Mozilla Ignite has supported the development of an open source project designed  to help educational institutions provide remote students with a high  quality on-line learning experience. Our open source project, BigBlueButton, enables the real-time sharing of audio, video, slides, desktops, and chat.

It’s designed to deliver one-on-one sessions (like virtual office hours), small group collaboration (like group  collaboration amongst students) and on-line courses of up to 50  students.

The  funding and support from Mozilla Ignite enabled us to prototype both the integration of WebRTC for improving  the audio quality and the creation of an HTML5 client for reaching  remote students on mobile devices and tablets. The  funding also supported trials at Dearborn Michigan Public Schools.”

[mozillawebmaker-blog]

This last week we announced the 22 final round winners of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge in Chicago. Here’s a few of the winning projects we wanted to share:

Check out Mozilla Ignite Winners rtER - Real Time Emergency Response

Situational awareness for first responders

“Real-Time Emergency Response (rtER) addresses the need for better situational   awareness in a crisis situation.

With extremely fast networks, real-time video can be   streamed from an enormous number of mobile devices already in the hands of not only emergency personnel, but the general public. Harnessing  this torrent of video to make better decisions requires collaboration  among  responders who might be scattered around the state, country, or  world.”

Crowdsourcing emergency video

“rtER provides two key pieces: 1) a mobile client application for streaming live video and  allowing response coordinators  to  direct smartphone users to re-orient their camera in real-time. 2) a  web-based tool for multiple users to collaboratively analyze,  prioritize  and distribute that live and stored video.”

Testing with emergency response teams

“The Mozilla Ignite app challenge provided not only the funding, but also the spark to create rtER from scratch over the past 9 months. Even more critical was the Ignite team’s   assistance with connecting to public safety and emergency response personnel in cities like Chicago, Red Wing and Quebec City. Their feedback and ideas for the ongoing development of rtER were invaluable.

A key moment for the project was  visiting  an emergency operations center where we demonstrated rtER — and  then saw the excitement of their development team about potentially  integrating parts of rtER into their own toolset.”

[mozillawebmaker-blog]

This last week we announced the 22 final round winners of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge in Chicago. Here’s a few of the winning projects we wanted to share:

Check out Mozilla Ignite Winners Engage3D: A real-time 3D Telepresence System

3D videoconferencing in the browser

“Our 3D  video conferencing application brings the Microsoft Kinect’s three dimensional capabilities to the web, streaming content in three dimensions right in the browser. It brings live, interactive and 3D educational content into classrooms at no additional cost  to schools.

Unlike traditional video, our application  allows students to really interact with the content — moving, seeing  and exploring — in an immersive way that has not been seen before.

We  had the opportunity to showcase an early version of our application  for  a crowd of more than 1200 last March at the Chattanooga  Downtown Public Library.  Children and teens (and even a  few senior  citizens!) were mesmerized.

We initially assumed  that the  best application for our technology would be in healthcare or  business, but the fascination we saw at that event made us realize that 3D video  conferencing could become a powerful educational tool.”

New open web tools pushing the envelope

“Through three rounds of pitches and development, our team  has learned  so much about the exciting possibilities and challenges of  gigabit  application development.  We’ve also gained new expertise in  web tools  such as websockets and Three.js.  And without the funding of this program, our organization  would  never have come to life.

The first frame of 3D video rendered from Chattanooga to Toronto was extremely   exciting. Our trip to Kansas City to participate in  the  hackathon there also really opened our eyes to  other possibilies  for  gigabit  application development — in particular the in-browser representation of scientific and simulation content now possible thanks to webGL and HTML5.”

[mozillawebmaker-blog]

This last week we announced the 22 final round winners of the Mozilla Ignite Challenge in Chicago. Here’s a few of the winning projects we wanted to share:

Check out Mozilla Ignite Winner CIZZLE: Next Generation User Experiences

Making learning an immersive experience

“We strive to create experiences that make learning fun and allow you to bring it home with you — all at the same level of quality as a fast video game. These experiences allow learners to visualize complex problems in a very different way, and enable each user to create simulations for themselves. We hope this can spark more interest in science learning and computer science.”

From idea to prototype

“We found a forum and resources to take CIZZLE from an idea to a prototype, and get our work in front of critical thinkers to help push in the right direction — and hopefully find the resources to get this into a real field test soon.”

Kid-tested

“Educational experts from the Stanford and Berkeley School of Education told us that if we can engage a student for 5 to 8 minutes with a digital learning experience, we have a winner. A month ago, my 10-year-old-daughter and her friends had to removed from the screens after playing with the 3D solar system for 20 full minutes — a pretty great sign!”

More about the team