R.I.S.K. program incorporates creative use of technology with kids

By Sonya Davidson

After more than 20 years of devising multi-disciplinary performance in Toronto, Theatre Gargantua, led by Artistic Director Jacquie Thomas and a team of local artists recently opened their stage to host a free creative theatre program that engaged underserved youth in the city. The hands-on all day workshop gave the kids the opportunity to explore and create original performance pieces in a contemporary way that embraces the use of technology.

R.I.S.K. (Resources Innovation Skills and Knowledge) Program began with in-school workshops at high schools across Toronto in which students develop original performance and text. They looked at their daily habits, such as constant texting, to uncover the characters, situations and dramas, and their natural creative writing skills.

Click to read more ...

New study reveals Canadians are rapidly adopting smart home technology

 

By Sonya Davidson

Interesting findings have been revealed recently on how Canadians expect smart home technology to become commonplace in their homes within the next two years. The study conducted by MARU/VCR&C*, and commissioned by TELUS, found a significant gap between those that believe that smart home technology will benefit their lives (61%) and those who currently own a smart home device (34%). 

But that's about to change quickly! Of those 63% of people have reported that they will own at least one smart home device by 2018 - such as a smart TV, thermostat, lighting, appliance, entry and security system etc.. Half of them also reported they will own at least three or more. 

Click to read more ...

Evernote for Android introduces new ways to scan and edit documents, plus other new features

Looking to make it easier for Android users to scan documents and upload it on Evernote. The app now lets you simply take a photo of said document. The app has two photo-capturing modes: automatic and manual. With automatic, it can detect the size of the document and allow you to edit it later. The images you take will be added to a gallery where you can pick which ones to keep. For manual, you can select the format in which you want to save your scans. Annotations have also been added to the Android app, you can mark up images directly in Evernote with things like arrows, shapes, stamps, and text. Images on the screen are now optimized for mobile, so you get a consistent look of your notes, no matter what device you’re using. There are also new formatting styles, including strikethrough, subscript, and superscript, as well as the ability to select multiple notes. The Trash can within the app can also now be emptied as well.

For Evernote Premium users, the in-app camera can now detect business cards and pull these information into a Business Card note that you can preview and edit before you save them. Premium users can also annotate PDF documents that are attached to notes.

Source: Evernote

Facebook tries out temporary reactions starting with a flower for Mother’s Day

We’re not sure if this’ll show up on your feed but if you suddenly find a flower there, that’s Facebook way of helping you commemorate Mother’s Day. The social network giant is supposedly testing out temporary reactions to add to the six existing ones just for Mother’s Day. These digital flower reactions are said to be coming to a few markets in time for the special occasion. Facebook won’t say though which markets will be seeing the feature. But better keep your eye out on the 8^th and also if you can, please buy actual flowers for your mom or at least something she’d appreciate.

Source: Sreedev Sharma @ Twitter | Via: The Verge