HP Labs – The National Museum of Computing mscape competition
1) How to enter: teachers should fill in the entry form [URL here]and send it with the team’s idea and plan (max 1000 words) and possible images, drawings, paintings and designs, to: Vanessa@mscapers.com or Vanessa Bellaar Spruijt, Mailstop M67, HP Labs, Long Down Avenue, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8QZ. *
2) The closing date for entries is TBD
3) Judging, by members of HP Labs and TNMOC, will take place during the …
4) Two winning entries (one each from a primay school and a secondary school) will be announced on… TBD.
5) HP Labs and professional designers will take the winning groups’ entry material and have the ideas turned into a real, working mscape that can be downloaded and used by visitors to TNMOC at Bletchley Park.
*Please note that HP Labs and TNMOC cannot undertake to return your material, so do make sure you have made copies.
Why your school should enter
As well as standing a chance of winning 30 advanced HP iPAQ PDAs (approximate value £215,00 each), plus an HP laptop, for your school, this is a great opportunity for you and your class to investigate the power and possibilities of pervasive computing. Read more about Pervasive Computing. You also have the opportunity to learn more about TNMOC, and the great work it does in supporting and protecting the UK’s computing heritage. This is also a great opportunity to incorporate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in lessons, for all of the Key Stages, with the opportunity to learn about the history of computing and how our technology got to where it is today, and also where ICT is heading in the future, through the pervasive computing theme. And of course if it wins your school team will have its ideas for a super mscape location-based game or service turned into the real thing so that hundreds of visitors to TNMOC will be able to try them out. We will post the completed mscapes on our site – www.mscapers.com – where they can be downloaded by anyone.
HP has worked with a number of schools on mscapes, to read more about that click on HP mediascape and schools. A good source of information about mscapes in schools can also be found on http://www.createascape.org.uk
Mediascapes used in schools in Northern Ireland
What is Pervasive Computing
Pervasive computing is a rapidly developing area of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The term refers to the increasing integration of ICT into people’s lives and environments, made possible by the growing availability of microprocessors with inbuilt communications facilities.
Pervasive computing goes beyond the realm of personal computers: it is the idea that almost any device, from clothing to tools to appliances to cars to homes to the human body to your coffee mug, can be imbedded with chips to connect the device to an infinite network of other devices. The goal of pervasive computing, which combines current network technologies with wireless computing, voice recognition, Internet capability and artificial intelligence, is to create an environment where the connectivity of devices is embedded in such a way that the connectivity is unobtrusive and always available.
An mscape is an example of pervasive media. Mscapes overlay digital sight, sounds and interactions onto the physical world to create immersive and interactive experiences. Users equipped with a mobile device running the mscape player can move through the physical world, triggering digital media - including images, text, sounds, audio and video - in response to physical events such as location, proximity, time and movement, making for experiences that are unpredictable, memorable and entertaining. The most commonly used trigger is GPS, but a range of sensors can be used and combined, such as Bluetooth, wifi, Active RF Beacons and 2D Barcodes. Mscapes can be anchored to a specific location or work in a generic space, like a large playing field.
