Democracy 2.0

I had the pleasure to be invited and speak on a panel at the Creative Commons AU forum, "Democracy 2.0: YouTube + Myspace as tools for political engagement”. Held at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane's Valley precinct, the event was timely and charged, especially with the Federal election on the horizon, we saw some entertaining, often puzzling examples of on-line migration by our political leaders. Also some terrific mash-ups and social commentary from communities around the country.

You can head over to CCau if you want to register and get more involved. Thanks to Elliott Bledsoe (Vibewire Inc.) and Professor Brian Fitzgerald (Faculty of Law, QUT) for a great event.

Musicians Genesis

Apple Inc. are running a case study and overview of our work here at the Queensland Conservatorium. Entitled "Profiles in Success: Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University", the feature examines how we use Apple technology on-campus, to encourage creativity and streamline our workflow.


Overall, Apple technology has been a pleasure to use and maintain and it would be fair to say that it makes for an essential core element of our approach to learning environment design - not an easy ask when you consider that recording studios are usually operated and designed by a small number of experienced specialists in highly customised environments. In our case, we need to scale this for around 100 or so undergraduates. The full case study can be accessed on Apple's Higher Education site here.


Apart from MacPros, iMacs and Laptops, being a music institution we also make fair use of iPods, but also now Apple TV. We have three units around the Conservatorium main building, which sync to iTunes from one of our Mac Pros in IMERSD. Here we subscribe to and keep copies of all of our movies and podcasts, which are then automatically distributed to the Apple TVs in various student tutorial locations. For more about how we've been using Apple TV, the AUC's Wheels For the Mind recently ran a feature in the Winter 2007 issue, available here as a PDF.

National Music and Film Conferences on South Bank

A great Conference season, here at Brisbane's South Bank in July. The national conference of The Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) was held at the Queensland College of Art from 27-28 June.

And the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre hosted the national NACTMUS (National Council of Tertiary Music Schools) Conference, 'Music in Australian Tertiary Institutions - Issues for the 21st Century' shortly after, from 29 June-1 July 2007). The papers and proceeding of the conference are available here at the NACTMUS site.

I enjoyed writing and presenting papers at the events, both the examining aspects of how our music technology students use technology as social networking and learning tools. The paper from the NACTMUS conference is available as a PDF, Students doing the driving: How undergraduates use ICT to enhance reflective practice, peer review and collaborative learning. 

iOrpheus (the iPod Opera)

I'm looking forward to the arrival of William Duckworth, in collaboration with the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre as a prelude to the iOrpheus; Art among us digital arts project – a public opera based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and written for and with South Bank Precinct in Brisbane, Australia. William is a New York-based composer and internet music pioneer who will be a visiting scholar with Griffith University from the beginning of a June on a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant awarded specifically for this project. He is a Professor of Music at Bucknell University and one of the leading composers of web-based music.

Performed on iPods, mobile phones, and laptops, along with interactive installations and live performers, iOrpheus will take place on Friday, August 31, 2007 in the streets, parks, and promenades of South Bank. All sounds—iPod, mobile phone, and laptop, as well as live performers and interactive installations—are broadcast live into the park, either with portable speakers, fm transmitters (with appropriate receivers and amplification), or, in the case of fixed locations, plugged into a common board with its own sound system.

Thanks to Griifth's DVC-Academic, Prof John Dewar for his support of this project. I look forward to working with our partners who will be centrally involved in the technical aspects of this production: thanks to Apple Computer Australia for their MacBook Pros, MusicLab for their portable audio systems, Acoustic Technologies Electronics for their 5.1 surround PA as to be featured in the Sound Garden, and to Griffith Research Computing Services for the networking and wireless systems on South Bank – roll on August.