Using Augmented Reality to Tell Stories about ‘Meeting Culture’ in St. Thomas – Newsroom | University of St. Thomas

In the magical world of Harry Potter, readers are delighted to discover that the walls of the Hogwarts buildings are covered in magical images, which capture the essence of the characters that come to life when one stands in front of them. That method requires magic and sorcery and things that cannot happen in the real world (Harry Potter is, after all, fiction!).

At the University of St. Thomas, in preparation for our Culture of Encounter exhibition opening at 5pm on Sept. 12 In the O’Shaughnessy Education Center Department of Art History Gallery, we used virtual technology instead of magic to bring images to. life. Using real-time programming as well as photographs of community members, we have created an exhibition where visitors can view images of students, faculty, and staff, and learn about their experiences with the culture of meeting on our campuses. .

University President Rob Vischer said that through a culture of encounter, “we care, we listen, we encourage, and we are present with everyone we meet.” It is best shown when “we reject the way we interact with the people around us, instead we aim to create meaningful relationships.”

Even though we didn’t know what anyone would say when they walked through the studio doors for our photo shoot, we heard and captured the sweet and sad stories from members of the public about and moments they felt seen, heard, inspired, ​​​​​​and connected to. professors, advisors, colleagues, coaches and peers on campus.

Among more than 20 images, we hear the story of Branden Smith, the defensive back on the football team of St. Thomas who said he felt he saw it when coach Glenn Caruso invited him to share his dreams of the highest level with those who came to the game that day. And Patty Pontemayor, a second-year major at Dougherty Family College, who shares her feelings that she listened to her DFC peers help her through some problems. American Culture and Diversity and Assistant Professor of English Dr. David Todd Lawrence shares a personal story about the community that came together to help him after a medical emergency.

The digital storytelling method we developed at St. Thomas was inspired by the work of Will Wilson, a Diné/Navajo artist who created what he called Talking Tintypes. Visitors to his facilities are encouraged to download the Talking Tintypes app and point their phones at the large, sepia-toned images, which evoke photos of tribal members that appear to have been taken in the 1900s. The act of not needing to use your smartphones to find the story behind the images creates more connection to the art, and the stories told.

Although the three of us are part of the ITS Academic Technology and Innovation team and the exhibition was the result of our time as Faculty and Staff Innovation Fellows, we would love to see this method used for other purposes. tell a digital story. Our hope is to use this approach to increase campus visits, and more, next year.

The exhibition of St. Thomas Culture of Encounter will be on display in the Department of Art History Gallery at the O’Shaughnessy Education Center, first floor near the lobby, through Oct. 18. To experience the art live, visitors will need to bring their smartphones (and earbuds or headphones), as well as download the Artivive app before stopping by the show.

This post was written by three Faculty & Staff Innovation Fellows: Lisa Burke, executive director, STELAR; Peter Monahan, educational content producer; and Eric Tornoe, associate director, research computing and emerging technologies. The Fellows Program seeks to engage the university community in developing St. Thomas to take the lead in innovation. The first recipients of this year’s class were selected from a wide variety of outstanding proposals received from across the institution.