Journal8_vanDuijn

Many-To-Many prompts and solutions

by Claudio Van Duijn

PROBLEM: A DISAPPEARING LANGUAGE

Ian Larson wanted to help preserve the Passamaquoddy language from extinction.

SOLUTION A

Create a task force from a select group of Native American language experts, and ask them to write down a dictionary of words and their definitions. Enter these definitions into a database and build a Web site that allows anyone to search for terms and hear their pronunciation. Hire a high-profile Web designer and marketing firm to ensure that as many people as possible learn about this resource.

SOLUTION B

Distribute laptops with video cameras to school kids in the Passamaquoddy community, and ask them to record their grandparents telling stories in Passamaquoddy. Upload these to a Web site along with the grandparents’ definitions of particular words used in the story, and make these words searchable via a tag cloud.

Answer

From my understanding of many-to-many solutions, they both fit the requirements but solution B is more relevant to the idea of many-to-many. By participating in the activity of taking videos of there grandparents the students are taking the issue into there own lives. By providing these videos to the public they are information a larger population of there experiences. So the students as a group (many) are working together to provide these stories and definitions to the public (many). By having there individual grandparents define the words they are creating a larger group mentality, as well as creating a diverse collection of words and definitions. They are also amplifying the culture and connection between the kids and their grandparents, essentially bolstering the language and community they hope to save. How the many interact to create and provide a resource for others is the way it works better than other methods, they are pulling on a larger pool, thus creating a more dynamic, diverse final outcome.

PROBLEM: NEGLECTED RUINS

Evan Habeeb wanted to make people aware of the beauty of abandoned buildings.

SOLUTION A

Assemble a film crew and visit abandoned homes, factories, and other buildings. Bring lights to illuminate these spaces dramatically, and record ambient sounds like dripping water. Edit the footage onto a DVD to create a compelling account that documents these relics for posterity, and distribute copies to historical societies across the state for their collections.

SOLUTION B

Build a Web site that allows adventurers to print stickers they can leave behind in abandoned buildings they explore. Create the stickers so they can be scanned by a mobile phone to reveal a Web site built to feature photographs taken by those explorers.

Answer

While I think solution A would provide a more educational experience by showing the beauty of the buildings to people who have no idea about the subject, project B is the many-to-many solution. Project A is the accounts of a couple of filmmakers distributing a video to the many, this could be defined as few-to-many. While solution B creates a crowdsourced accumulation of footage and photos. This, in turn, could inspire more adventurers to explore these types of buildings. The idea of creating custom stickers people can use to tag buildings and spots is very relevant in today’s media climate, an app has much more power to reach people than a DVD.

PROBLEM: MISUNDERSTANDING COMPUTER ANIMATION

Ryan Schaller and Jason Walker wanted to help people understand the many layers required to create a computer-animated film, including wireframe, textures, and light effects. As a case study, they created an animation depicting a cartoon archeologist digging for ancient artifacts.

SOLUTION A

Design and build a touch-screen interface that allows viewers to “rub” away layers of the film with their hands to reveal previous stages of the animation as it plays.

SOLUTION B

Create an iPad application that documents each stage of the animation process, using stills from the archeologist film as illustrations. Explain techniques such as ray tracing, motion capture, and morphing. Include links to companies that create animation software such as Autodesk.

Answer

I think both these solutions are one-to-many, neither of them involves a group or a collaboration, rather they both focus on an individual creating something for a larger group. While solution B does have the aspect of including “links to companies that create animation software” which could be considered a many-to-many solution, I still think the over arching idea is one-to-many.

PROBLEM: A BROKEN FOUNTAIN

Danielle Gagner wanted to renovate the waterfall fountain under the skylight in the middle of the University Union, which had fallen into disrepair.

SOLUTION A

Repurpose the existing plumbing to irrigate a garden planted in the former fountain. Research the types of plants that would grow well together at different levels of the fountain, and meet with dining hall staff to find out what herbs or vegetables they might add to salads and other offerings. Then plant these in collaboration with the sustainable agriculture club on campus, and invite students to pick the resulting parsley, strawberries, and other fare from the garden for their lunch.

SOLUTION B

Use Google Image Search to download photographs of natural bodies of water such as streams, rivers, and the ocean. Combine these with nature footage from sources like National Geographic and the Discovery Channel to create a multichannel video installation that projects images of flowing water and rippling waves onto the fountain, which has been covered with theatrical screening. Supplement the moving images with the sound of a babbling brook emanating from surround-sound speakers mounted on the ceiling.

Answer

Solution A has many-to-many aspects included in the core of the idea. By taking contributions from the dining hall staff and the sustainable agriculture club in creating the fountain they are crowdsourcing the whole project. By providing the greens back to the students they are including them in the outcome of the fountain garden. Essentially the garden is created by the students and staff, for the students and staff. This is a great example of a many-to-many solution.

EXERCISE 2: Many-to-Many

Pick one of the following problems and brainstorm a solution that embodies a many-to-many approach. Describe your solution in two or more paragraphs and be prepared to read it aloud in the next class.

NEWSPAPERS ARE LOSING SUBSCRIBERS AND ADS

How can you help the Bangor Daily News attract more eyeballs?

Solution A: Talk to local high schools and colleges and create a monthly contest where students compete to have their stories featured in the paper. Students could compete for a multitude of categories or prompts provided by the newspaper. This would bring the students stories to the public, and give an interesting insight on local communities. The student’s relatives would also purchase more papers in order to see their kin featured, this would expand sales and increase the overall popularity of the paper. This project is many-to-many because it focuses on connecting students with the community, while also providing the necessary benefits to the newspaper.