April 11, 2006 Source: :
http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/news_releases/archives/news04110601.htm Website Explores Our Relationships with Technology Contact
Andrew Azrahimi, aazrahim@sfu.ca
Terry Lavender, media/public relations, 604.268.7408, terry_lavender@sfu.ca April 11, 2006
Students in a fourth-year class at Simon Fraser University have created a multimedia interactive website to explore how people relate to technology. Digital Nowhere (www.digitalnowhere.org) is "multimedia poetry that explores what is meant by the notion of ‘meaningful experience’ and what this means in a virtual context," says student Andrew Azrahimi. "Increasingly, our possessions don’t have or require a physical presence, instead they exist as a digital substance. Through poetry and visual compositions, we comment on the seemingly transient nature of today's technology and how the lack of considerate design perpetuates the dullness of digital experiences. We don’t hate technology; rather we love it," Azrahimi says. The course, called Immersive Environments, is taught by Steve DiPaola of the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at SFU Surrey. The student project uses poetry, animation, painting, video, and comics to explore relationships with technology. The website has four floating islands representing various aspects of technology. Clicking on the islands calls up various scenarios, including an animated billboard that tells about a must-have new gadget; a vignette about a boy and girl fighting about the amount of time he spends on his computer, and a student complaining about how his puppy destroyed the data on his computer, among others. "Our goal is to make our audience question the way technology affects their lives," says Azrahimi. - 30 -
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