OK. Do you have an presentation prepared? I've put the one with the photographs<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12838403/20120311/photo-slide-en.htm>onto Dropbox.
On Tue, Mar 13, 2012 at 5:06 PM, John Graves <jg07...@gmail.com> wrote: > The warning from Google should be fixed by now. A server outside my > control had been infected with malware, so I shifted servers, but the > warning message remained attached to the domain name. The address > http://slidespeech.org leads to http://code.google.com/p/slidespeech/ the > source code repository. > > > On Sat, Mar 10, 2012 at 3:11 AM, John Graves <jg07...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Dear Python-List: >> >> If you find Wikipedia useful and can see the value of collaborating on a >> project which could make learning material as freely and spectacularly >> available as Wikipedia does reference material[1], please read on. >> >> Background: >> >> In November 2009, I began learning Python with the objective of trying to >> understand the following research question in my PhD research study of open >> source software development: "We have built Wikipedia and other big, >> successful open source projects. How can we do it again (and again)?" The >> critical issue for me was how to start a project which would grow to >> self-sustainability. So for over two years now, my research method has been >> to try to actually start such a project. I failed. Over and over. The data >> collection period for my study ended. >> >> Before I could start writing up my PhD, however, I saw an answer provided >> in February 2012 by the founder of Craigslist, on Quora. When asked, "How >> did Craigslist gain its initial traction?"[2], Craig Newmark, Customer >> Service Rep & Founder wrote: >> >> - from beginning, did something simple and useful >> - from beginning, began cycle: >> -- asked for community feedback >> -- did something about it >> -- repeat, forever >> -- got lucky with simple site design >> >> So I have now tried to take what started as a horribly over ambitious >> desktop application[3], combined with an equally inept Android mobile >> application (done in Java)[4] and boiled down the core text-to-speech >> functionality into something "simple and useful" which runs on the web. The >> project is now called SlideSpeech[5] and it does a couple of pretty >> interesting things. Interesting enough to attract venture capital. >> >> The Future: >> >> As of 23 February 2012, SlideSpeech Limited is a company. But it is still >> an open source software development research project with a Pythonic heart. >> I can now pay for development of some professional quality software by >> people who know much more Java and Python than I do. Perhaps this will help >> the project reach self-sustainability, although, as Derek Sivers points out >> in a memorable TED talk[6], just initiating or leading a project like this >> is not what makes it a success: there must be joiners and followers for a >> project with a plausible promise to grow to realise its potential. The >> followers are the real heroes. >> >> Now Peter Diamandis just gave a TED talk entitled, "Abundance is our >> future"[7] which everyone should watch. He talks of 3 billion people coming >> on-line this decade. I want SlideSpeech to be useful and helpful to those >> people. Not to make money from them but to help foster a global >> conversation and global distribution of knowledge. We should all share in >> Educational Abundance. Diamandis says, "we're going to hit 70 percent >> penetration of cellphones in the developing world by the end of 2013." >> SlideSpeech can plausibly promise to deliver free, interactive learning >> material to smart phones anywhere on the planet this year. The current >> working prototype does this today. >> >> In its simplest form, the system works like this: >> 1) you start in your presentation software, adding a voice over script in >> the speaker notes of each slide >> 2) you upload your presentation to SlideSpeech >> 3) on the SlideSpeech server (which can be your own PC, running Python, >> made viewable to the world using PageKite[8]), the presentation is >> "decomposed" into slide images and text scripts. The scripts are fed into a >> text-to-speech engine. The resulting audio files are wrapped in HTML with >> their corresponding slide image files. Finally, a link to access the HTML >> is e-mailed back to you >> 4) you open the link on your mobile phone's web browser and the >> presentation you were writing just moments before "delivers itself" on your >> phone ... or on any smart phone, tablet or web browser, anywhere. No need >> to organise a venue, send invitations or get people to actually physically >> show up to see and hear your talk. You can just forward the e-mail. >> >> Cooler still, >> 5) if you have a native application play the script using the phone's >> text-to-speech engine, you don't have to download audio (or video), so you >> save 75% of the bandwidth. Multiplied by billions of people, multiplied by >> the number of downloads[9], that is a huge savings. >> >> The compression of content into the simple combination of images and >> text-to-speech scripts allows SlideSpeech to realise part of the One Laptop >> Per Child vision using "talking" smart phones and tablets. Students can >> learn on their own. Current prices on the cheapest Android 2.2 gear which >> can deliver SlideSpeech content here in Auckland, New Zealand are under >> NZ$150. >> >> A Revolution in Learning: >> >> Think of SlideSpeech as a platform like Khan Academy[10] with the >> exercises integrated into the presentation. The scripts can be created and >> improved collaboratively, like Wikipedia articles, or cloned and customised >> for particular audiences. Unlike Khan Academy videos, the text of >> SlideSpeech presentations is search-able and machine-translatable. >> >> With presentation feedback built into the system[11], a newly created >> presentation can be distributed and then dynamically critiqued and revised, >> so later viewers see the corrected and improved version. It is remarkable >> how quickly changes can be made, especially in contrast to the feedback >> cycle a typical instructor goes through to improve their teaching. >> >> These ideas and technologies are not new. Text-to-speech, in particular, >> has been around for a long time. Lately, however, the voices have become >> "Avatar-quality"[12]. >> >> These ideas are disruptive. The current working prototypes of SlideSpeech >> may appear to work poorly, underperforming relative to established >> products, but as Clayton Christensen explains[13], having the ability to >> meet an underlying need in a radically different way transforms industries. >> I like to make an analogy with trains and cars. Current educational systems >> are like trains: everyone has to go between the same fixed destinations at >> the same fixed times, like it or not. SlideSpeech-based learning is like >> having a car: you get to go learn whatever you want, whenever you want, >> wherever you are, at your own pace (which is sometimes very, very fast!). >> >> Content is King: >> >> Having lots of content available will accelerate the adoption of >> SlideSpeech above all else. Over the coming weeks, as the system matures, >> you can start preparing by authoring presentations with speaker notes. Once >> the system is fully available on-line, or downloadable to your PC, you can >> drop your presentations in and get out "self-delivering" talks in HTML or >> even video format, voiced by a wide selection of computer voices in English >> and in many other languages. >> >> Please feel free to jump in with suggestions, contributions or forks of >> the code repositories listed below. >> >> Let's make Educational Abundance happen with Python this year. >> >> Exponentially yours, >> >> John Graves >> PhD Student >> AUT University >> Auckland, New Zealand >> >> Founder and CEO >> SlideSpeech >> >> [1] The English language version of Wikipedia has 50 times as many words >> as *Encyclopædia >> Britannica<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica> >> * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Size_comparisons >> >> [2] http://www.quora.com/How-did-Craigslist-gain-its-initial-traction >> >> [3] http://code.google.com/p/open-allure-ds/ >> >> [4] http://code.google.com/p/wiki-to-speech/ >> >> [5] http://code.google.com/p/slidespeech/ >> >> [6] http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html >> >> [7] http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html >> >> [8] http://pagekite.net >> >> [9] average for Wikipedia is about one article per person per day (18.1 >> billion pages / 482 million unique visitors in January 2012) >> http://stats.wikimedia.org/reportcard/ >> >> [10] http://khanacademy.org >> >> [11] http://code.google.com/p/slidespeech/wiki/WorkflowDiagrams >> >> [12] I particularly like Loquendo's Veena, Indian English voice >> http://www.loquendo.com/en/demo-center/tts-demo/english/ >> >> [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology >> > >
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