mobile

by <span class='p-author h-card'>gpotter</span> on Work

Phraselator

I have been out walking in the woods lately – really long walks.  I load up my mobile with some podcasts for my treks and recently had some familiar voices pass through my headphones.  Freelance journalist Philippe Morin in Inuvik, Northwest Territories put together a story for CBC Spark back in March 2011 about the use of weatherproof, handheld military translation devices called Phraselators and how they are being used to assist Inuvialuktun language education in the Canadian High Arctic.

As I have mentioned before, I spent 4 wonderful years as a community school administrator and teacher in Aklavik, NWT.  I often reflect and remember the people I had the good fortune of living and working beside.  I landed in Aklavik just before Nunavut became a new Canadian territory and just as the federal government became involved in funding initiatives to bring internet connectivity to the Arctic.

As an educator with a background in programming, I became the network/systems administrator for the school and was tapped for work with the NWT Ministry of Education, Culture, and Employment to explore and develop curricula for this newly arrived medium.  It was an exciting time to live and work in the Arctic.

Many of the voices in this interview are of people I worked with – it was so good to hear their voices again.

[audio:http://networkeffects.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/cbc_report_machinetranslation.mp3]

Arctic Translation [MP3]

 
by <span class='p-author h-card'>gpotter</span> on Work

Papaya Broadcaster Settings

As D’Arcy Norman noted, mobile broadcasting audio is adding an quality to online social presence that lots of folks are having a blast exploring and experimenting with in :

… it’s a happening.

Lots of interesting things are growing out of this sonic experiment .. like the twitterbot notification from @galagonwagon. If you put your TwitterID in the Stream Name (pictured above) the twitterbot will send you a notification on your mobile to let you know that you are live.  No guessing if you are on the air – twitterbot tells you.

A bunch of folks have been playing with Papaya Broadcaster broadcasting to – it works very well as a mobile, roving mic.  It isn’t free ($2.99), but I have yet to find a mobile application that does the same thing. If you have found one – let me know by leaving a comment with a link below.  If you want to give Papaya a run with iTouch or iPhone drop me a DM @grantpotter – I’ll help you get your voice on the air.