Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak

By Dot Cannon: Public Speaker & New-Media ReporterSociety & Culture Education Arts

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak episodes

August 04, 2017 Making…Everyday Life Easier
Jim Ryan demonstrates the use of the LipSync device. (Photo courtesy of Chad Leaman, of Neil Squire Society, and used with permission.

Makers Making Change wants to involve you in a creative collaboration.

By connecting makers to people with disabilities, Makers Making Change starts the process of creating new, affordable assistive technologies.   Designs become open-source, so makers can easily evolve new devices.

(Here's a link to one of their inventions: the LipSync, a mouth-controlled input device.)

Chad Leaman is the Director of Development at the Neil Squire Society, Canada's only national nonprofit to research, develop and use computer-based assistive technologies. He's also co-founder of the Makers Making Change initiative, which is a relatively new program.

Since its inception in 2016, Makers Making Change has hosted a number of "Buildathons" in Canada.   In June, they also hosted dual Stateside Buildathons. Makers in both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Seattle, Washington spent Father's Day creating LipSyncs.

AND--Makers Making Change is planning another "Stateside Buildathon" in early autumn, in Tacoma, Washington.   The date will be posted on Makers Making Change's website as soon as it's definite.

The Neil Squire Society has been serving Canadians with disabilities for more than three decades.   They're unique, as Canada's only national nonprofit to research, develop and use computer-based assistive technologies. They also offer numerous employment programs.

Chad talked about the Neil Squire Society, the creation of Makers Making Change, and made a generous offer to makers who'd like to host a "Lipsync Buildathon" in their areas. He also issued an creative challenge for makers!
31 min
August 04, 2017 Making…Everyday Life Easier
Jim Ryan demonstrates the use of the LipSync device. (Photo courtesy of Chad Leaman, of Neil Squire Society, and used with permission.

Makers Making Change wants to involve you in a creative collaboration.

By connecting makers to people with disabilities, Makers Making Change starts the process of creating new, affordable assistive technologies.   Designs become open-source, so makers can easily evolve new devices.

(Here's a link to one of their inventions: the LipSync, a mouth-controlled input device.)

Chad Leaman is the Director of Development at the Neil Squire Society, Canada's only national nonprofit to research, develop and use computer-based assistive technologies. He's also co-founder of the Makers Making Change initiative, which is a relatively new program.

Since its inception in 2016, Makers Making Change has hosted a number of "Buildathons" in Canada.   In June, they also hosted dual Stateside Buildathons. Makers in both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Seattle, Washington spent Father's Day creating LipSyncs.

AND--Makers Making Change is planning another "Stateside Buildathon" in early autumn, in Tacoma, Washington.   The date will be posted on Makers Making Change's website as soon as it's definite.

The Neil Squire Society has been serving Canadians with disabilities for more than three decades.   They're unique, as Canada's only national nonprofit to research, develop and use computer-based assistive technologies. They also offer numerous employment programs.

Chad talked about the Neil Squire Society, the creation of Makers Making Change, and made a generous offer to makers who'd like to host a "Lipsync Buildathon" in their areas. He also issued an creative challenge for makers!
31 min
August 02, 2017 Art + Science = Exciting
An Over Coffee® special-edition podcast

One fact, at the core of the maker movement, can come as a surprise.

"Art and science are inseparable," says electrical engineer, educational advocate, author and speaker Sylvia Libow Martinez (l)

That's both a statement from her book, and a principle which artists like Audrey Lee Love (r) are proving on a daily basis.

And on Saturday, July 29th, Over Coffee® had the honor of live-hosting a discussion panel: "The Intersection of Art and Science", with both Audrey and Sylvia as our special guests.

Our panel happened at Southern California's first-ever bookstore to carry all independent authors: Pipe & Thimble Publishing, in the city of Lomita.

Audrey's career as a professional aritst has included five years as a full-time DIY content creator on Instructables.com, and ten years of installing art at Burning Man.

Meanwhile, Sylvia is the co-author (with Gary Stager) of Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering and Engineering in the Classroom, and one of the creators of our current GPS system!

Our discussion centered on the ways the maker movement can change education for the better, and how creativity is enhanced by, rather than isolated from, science, technology, engineering and math.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear:

*
How Audrey and Sylvia first became interested in their respective fields;

*
What schools can do differently, to effectively present subjects like math and science to arts-oriented students;

*
How Audrey's work with Burning Man led to her work with Instructables.com;

*
Sylvia's perspective on the "fun" element in science;

*
How Sylvia and Gary came to write their book;

*
Sylvia's advice to parents, on getting schools to teach STEM principles by teaching maker skills in the classroom;

*
How teachers can implement the use of project-based learning in the classroom;

*
Ideas to interest arts-oriented students in science or math;

*
A simple, everyday kids'activity, that will teach math;

*
How a makers' stance, throughout school, can reach students, based on their own individual interests and experiences;

*
How we can get more girls interested in STEM subjects;

*
Some LED wearable project ideas that could intrigue young girls;

*
A look at some "very simples", safe and conductive technologies, for creating light-up art;

*
How maker skills can validate, rather than discourage, students;

*
Some of the trends Audrey and Sylvia are seeing with the maker movement in relation to education;

*
Resources for parents and teachers, for teaching maker skills;

*
Future skills schools need to teach students, to become effective members of a future workforce;

*
How to overcome perfectionism when teaching project-based learning;

*
How to use skills from the maker movement to get ready for Halloween;

*
Where you can see the current projects in which Audrey and Sylvia are involved;
AND all the excellent questions our audience asked!

1 hr 12 min
August 02, 2017 Art + Science = Exciting
An Over Coffee® special-edition podcast

One fact, at the core of the maker movement, can come as a surprise.

"Art and science are inseparable," says electrical engineer, educational advocate, author and speaker Sylvia Libow Martinez (l)

That's both a statement from her book, and a principle which artists like Audrey Lee Love (r) are proving on a daily basis.

And on Saturday, July 29th, Over Coffee® had the honor of live-hosting a discussion panel: "The Intersection of Art and Science", with both Audrey and Sylvia as our special guests.

Our panel happened at Southern California's first-ever bookstore to carry all independent authors: Pipe & Thimble Publishing, in the city of Lomita.

Audrey's career as a professional aritst has included five years as a full-time DIY content creator on Instructables.com, and ten years of installing art at Burning Man.

Meanwhile, Sylvia is the co-author (with Gary Stager) of Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering and Engineering in the Classroom, and one of the creators of our current GPS system!

Our discussion centered on the ways the maker movement can change education for the better, and how creativity is enhanced by, rather than isolated from, science, technology, engineering and math.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear:

*
How Audrey and Sylvia first became interested in their respective fields;

*
What schools can do differently, to effectively present subjects like math and science to arts-oriented students;

*
How Audrey's work with Burning Man led to her work with Instructables.com;

*
Sylvia's perspective on the "fun" element in science;

*
How Sylvia and Gary came to write their book;

*
Sylvia's advice to parents, on getting schools to teach STEM principles by teaching maker skills in the classroom;

*
How teachers can implement the use of project-based learning in the classroom;

*
Ideas to interest arts-oriented students in science or math;

*
A simple, everyday kids'activity, that will teach math;

*
How a makers' stance, throughout school, can reach students, based on their own individual interests and experiences;

*
How we can get more girls interested in STEM subjects;

*
Some LED wearable project ideas that could intrigue young girls;

*
A look at some "very simples", safe and conductive technologies, for creating light-up art;

*
How maker skills can validate, rather than discourage, students;

*
Some of the trends Audrey and Sylvia are seeing with the maker movement in relation to education;

*
Resources for parents and teachers, for teaching maker skills;

*
Future skills schools need to teach students, to become effective members of a future workforce;

*
How to overcome perfectionism when teaching project-based learning;

*
How to use skills from the maker movement to get ready for Halloween;

*
Where you can see the current projects in which Audrey and Sylvia are involved;
AND all the excellent questions our audience asked!

1 hr 12 min
July 22, 2017 ScareLA™: New Facets of Fear–and Fun
ScareLA founder Lora Ivanova. (photograph courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)

Halloween is just two weeks away, and counting--courtesy of ScareLA founder Lora Ivanova.

And the 2017 edition of the world's first summertime Halloween convention is going to be dark, spooky,futuristic, and fun. This year's "monsters" get to creep, crawl and scream through an immersive environment, with AR and VR-enhanced haunt experiences.

For 2017, ScareLA: the Los Angeles Summer Halloween Convention materializes in a brand-new venue: the Los Angeles Convention Center! The darkness descends on Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and 6th.

Workshops with horror-industry professionals, discussion panels, horror films, a Saturday night costume party and haunts will be just a few of the features that will have you spellbound. And, of course, major Halloween attractions like Universal Studios will be doing "reveals" of the mazes they'll have lying in wait for unsuspecting (or maybe anticipating!) monsters this year.

(Graphic courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)

ScareLA brews up a scary good time every year--but never does the same thing twice. Their 2017 cauldron is bubbling with interactive experiences and spine-tingling ways to express your creepy creativity. AND--this is their fifth anniversary, so it's going to be especially goosebump-inducing!

We've had the privilege of covering every show since they started, and watching them grow. So we can't wait to see this one. (Incidentally, if you would like a look back, here is our 2014 interview with Lora, in which she talks about the origins of ScareLA and the process of creating that first 2013 show.)

Lora talked about her experiences creating ScareLA, offered a preview of this year's delightfully chilling Halloween offerings and conjured up some advice for fellow creative entrepreneurs.
In this edition of Over Coffee® you'll hear:

*
What some of the major highs and lows have been, in the past five years of creating ScareLA differently each time;

*
How Lora and her team came up with this year's ScareLA theme;

*
How ScareLA is supporting the National Wildlife Federation, as they work to #SaveLACougars;

*
An imaginary "tour" of the 2017 show;

*
A preview of two brand-new experiences that incorporate VR and AR;

*
Lora's advice for keeping an annual event fresh and exciting

*
The biggest challenge with which she deals, as an artist/entrepreneur.
"Monsters Come Together" at ScareLA's fifth summertime Halloween convention, Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and 6th, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Witching hours are 11 am to 7 pm, both days. Here's the link for more information.

*

(Graphic courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)
18 min
July 22, 2017 ScareLA™: New Facets of Fear–and Fun
ScareLA founder Lora Ivanova. (photograph courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)

Halloween is just two weeks away, and counting--courtesy of ScareLA founder Lora Ivanova.

And the 2017 edition of the world's first summertime Halloween convention is going to be dark, spooky,futuristic, and fun. This year's "monsters" get to creep, crawl and scream through an immersive environment, with AR and VR-enhanced haunt experiences.

For 2017, ScareLA: the Los Angeles Summer Halloween Convention materializes in a brand-new venue: the Los Angeles Convention Center! The darkness descends on Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and 6th.

Workshops with horror-industry professionals, discussion panels, horror films, a Saturday night costume party and haunts will be just a few of the features that will have you spellbound. And, of course, major Halloween attractions like Universal Studios will be doing "reveals" of the mazes they'll have lying in wait for unsuspecting (or maybe anticipating!) monsters this year.

(Graphic courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)

ScareLA brews up a scary good time every year--but never does the same thing twice. Their 2017 cauldron is bubbling with interactive experiences and spine-tingling ways to express your creepy creativity. AND--this is their fifth anniversary, so it's going to be especially goosebump-inducing!

We've had the privilege of covering every show since they started, and watching them grow. So we can't wait to see this one. (Incidentally, if you would like a look back, here is our 2014 interview with Lora, in which she talks about the origins of ScareLA and the process of creating that first 2013 show.)

Lora talked about her experiences creating ScareLA, offered a preview of this year's delightfully chilling Halloween offerings and conjured up some advice for fellow creative entrepreneurs.
In this edition of Over Coffee® you'll hear:

*
What some of the major highs and lows have been, in the past five years of creating ScareLA differently each time;

*
How Lora and her team came up with this year's ScareLA theme;

*
How ScareLA is supporting the National Wildlife Federation, as they work to #SaveLACougars;

*
An imaginary "tour" of the 2017 show;

*
A preview of two brand-new experiences that incorporate VR and AR;

*
Lora's advice for keeping an annual event fresh and exciting

*
The biggest challenge with which she deals, as an artist/entrepreneur.
"Monsters Come Together" at ScareLA's fifth summertime Halloween convention, Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and 6th, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Witching hours are 11 am to 7 pm, both days. Here's the link for more information.

*

(Graphic courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)
18 min
July 15, 2017 Earny: An App for Keeping Your Money
.

Earny founder and serial entrepreneur Dori Yona has a lot of shopping savvy.

And he's putting it to use for your benefit, with his "Earny" app. This is an app that serves as a virtual watchdog, when you buy something. If the price on an item drops after a purchase, "Earny" automatically seeks a rebate for its user.

Dori, who launched his Earny, Inc. startup in 2015, recently shared the story of his successful funding and launch at Ideas Immersion California's "The Funding Lifecycle of Start-Ups" meetup event

But Dori is no stranger to the launch process. In 2014, he co-founded the "Hashsnap" dating app. And his leadership experience is unique among U.S. entrepreneurs: he served as a commander and course leader in the Israeli navy!

Dori talked about the process of creating "Earny", how the app works and the entrepreneurial lessons he learned from his experience.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear:

*
How Dori's growing-up experiences built his entrepreneurial skills;

*
The leadership lessons Dori learned, as a commander in the Israeli navy, which he finds invaluable as an entrepreneur;

*
Dori's entrepreneurial experience, back in the U.S., following his service in the navy;

*
The shopping experience that ultimately led Dori to design his "Earny" app;

*
The serendipitous event that brought Dori and his co-founder past the prototype stage

*
Their next steps, getting their product on the market;

*
How "Earny" works, for the consumer;

*
This particular business model (they do NOT divulge or sell user information!)

*
An entrepreneurial lesson Dori learned, from a previous venture he considers a "failure";

*
Which resources Dori has found most helpful, as a start-up entrepreneur.

Stand by for IDEAS Immersion's upcoming Chicago event! They'll be connecting entrepreneurs and investors in an immersive multi-week program, August 27th through September 5th. As soon as we know the times and places of their open-to-the-public community events, we'll let you know!
23 min
July 15, 2017 Earny: An App for Keeping Your Money
.

Earny founder and serial entrepreneur Dori Yona has a lot of shopping savvy.

And he's putting it to use for your benefit, with his "Earny" app. This is an app that serves as a virtual watchdog, when you buy something. If the price on an item drops after a purchase, "Earny" automatically seeks a rebate for its user.

Dori, who launched his Earny, Inc. startup in 2015, recently shared the story of his successful funding and launch at Ideas Immersion California's "The Funding Lifecycle of Start-Ups" meetup event

But Dori is no stranger to the launch process. In 2014, he co-founded the "Hashsnap" dating app. And his leadership experience is unique among U.S. entrepreneurs: he served as a commander and course leader in the Israeli navy!

Dori talked about the process of creating "Earny", how the app works and the entrepreneurial lessons he learned from his experience.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear:

*
How Dori's growing-up experiences built his entrepreneurial skills;

*
The leadership lessons Dori learned, as a commander in the Israeli navy, which he finds invaluable as an entrepreneur;

*
Dori's entrepreneurial experience, back in the U.S., following his service in the navy;

*
The shopping experience that ultimately led Dori to design his "Earny" app;

*
The serendipitous event that brought Dori and his co-founder past the prototype stage

*
Their next steps, getting their product on the market;

*
How "Earny" works, for the consumer;

*
This particular business model (they do NOT divulge or sell user information!)

*
An entrepreneurial lesson Dori learned, from a previous venture he considers a "failure";

*
Which resources Dori has found most helpful, as a start-up entrepreneur.

Stand by for IDEAS Immersion's upcoming Chicago event! They'll be connecting entrepreneurs and investors in an immersive multi-week program, August 27th through September 5th. As soon as we know the times and places of their open-to-the-public community events, we'll let you know!
23 min
July 09, 2017 In Search of the Human Element
(Photograph courtesy of Wayne Lawrence, and used with permission.)

Max Aguilera-Hellweg's new book, Humanoid, is all about robots.

And the themes: what is our connection to them, as humans? Where are we headed, with robots? And, what does it mean to be human, anyway?

In Humanoid, Max, who is a physician as well as an award-winning National Geographic photojournalist and filmmaker, incorporates his expertise and a sense of wonder. He explores not only different types of robots from all over the world, but the ways we interact with them. You'll find robots designed for defense, health research, and sometimes purely for fun--as is the case with Robocup, whose stated goal is to have a fully-humanoid robotic soccer team win the World Cup by 2050!

(While not currently practicing medicine, Max earned his M.D. in 2004--after becoming fascinated with human anatomy during a series of photo shoots. He was struck, he says, by the beauty of human anatomy--and you'll see a parallel to his scientific and forensic photographs in the way he's documented his robots in Humanoid.)

Max talked about his background as a photographer, the creation of Humanoid, which is his third book, and some of the experiences he had while photographing and documenting robots for the project.
On this edition of Over Coffee® you'll hear:

*
How Max was first drawn to photography;

*
How curiosity led him to become an M.D;

*
The genesis of the Humanoid project;

*
The difference between android and humanoid robots (do you know what it is?);

*
How the social robot, Bina-48, was created;

*
Max's experiences photographing Bina-48, and a surprising conversation he heard (and recorded!)

*
His observations about humans' response to the robots;

*
How the "fun" element entered robot innovation in the academic world;

*
Some of the considerations as we move into the issues of robots' rights and autonomy.

34 min
July 09, 2017 In Search of the Human Element
(Photograph courtesy of Wayne Lawrence, and used with permission.)

Max Aguilera-Hellweg's new book, Humanoid, is all about robots.

And the themes: what is our connection to them, as humans? Where are we headed, with robots? And, what does it mean to be human, anyway?

In Humanoid, Max, who is a physician as well as an award-winning National Geographic photojournalist and filmmaker, incorporates his expertise and a sense of wonder. He explores not only different types of robots from all over the world, but the ways we interact with them. You'll find robots designed for defense, health research, and sometimes purely for fun--as is the case with Robocup, whose stated goal is to have a fully-humanoid robotic soccer team win the World Cup by 2050!

(While not currently practicing medicine, Max earned his M.D. in 2004--after becoming fascinated with human anatomy during a series of photo shoots. He was struck, he says, by the beauty of human anatomy--and you'll see a parallel to his scientific and forensic photographs in the way he's documented his robots in Humanoid.)

Max talked about his background as a photographer, the creation of Humanoid, which is his third book, and some of the experiences he had while photographing and documenting robots for the project.
On this edition of Over Coffee® you'll hear:

*
How Max was first drawn to photography;

*
How curiosity led him to become an M.D;

*
The genesis of the Humanoid project;

*
The difference between android and humanoid robots (do you know what it is?);

*
How the social robot, Bina-48, was created;

*
Max's experiences photographing Bina-48, and a surprising conversation he heard (and recorded!)

*
His observations about humans' response to the robots;

*
How the "fun" element entered robot innovation in the academic world;

*
Some of the considerations as we move into the issues of robots' rights and autonomy.

34 min

About Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak

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Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak episodes

About Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak