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Capstone project recreates Cuban Freedom Flights
A virtual reality project recreates the Cuban Freedom Flights. By Barbara Gutierrez Noel Nuñez grew up listening to his Cuban-born parents talk about their emotional exodus from Cuba aboard the Freedom Flights, a refugee airlift that transported Cubans from the island to Miami from 1965 to 1973. Nuñez, who this month received a Master of Fine Arts in interactive media from the University of Miami School of Communication, decided to turn his parents’ memories into a virtual reality capstone project called “The Cuban Freedom Flights—A Mixed Reality Experience.” “I was [...]
Fulbright Fellow from Egypt is Learning All About VR
By Barbara Gutierrez During her time at the University of Miami School of Communication, Shaimaa Elrefaei Ber is exploring virtual reality, so she can integrate what she discovers into a program to help draw tourists to her homeland. When you think of Egypt what comes to mind? Pyramids, camels, and pharaohs. Shaimaa Elrefaei Ber, an Egyptian professor, is spending an academic year as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Miami. She wants to broaden people’s perspective on her home country. “Egypt has a lot of historical tourism but it [...]
Game Hopes to Tackle Tough Talks and Tout Tolerance
By Janette Neuwahl Tannen A new video game crafted by students and faculty members at the University of Miami delves into difficult conversations about identity and discrimination to illustrate more accepting responses. Throughout her educational experiences, University of Miami alumna Phidela Cheng often felt that some of her classmates could not look beyond her Asian heritage. There were jokes about the shape of her eyes, what her family ate for dinner, and insinuations that her ancestors created the COVID-19 virus. Fabrizio Darby, an alumnus who hails from Jamaica, will never [...]
VR Offers Teens a Glimpse into the Future of Coastal Cities
By Janette Neuwahl Tannen Created by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Miami, the Mangrove City app aims to give students an up-close lesson about the importance of ecosystems. With sea levels rising at increasing rates worldwide, University of Miami interactive media professor, Kim Grinfeder, wondered: could he create a virtual experience that teaches students how they might navigate a coastal city like Miami 100 years from now?About two years ago, he formed a small interdisciplinary group of students and faculty and staff members with expertise in virtual reality, [...]
Class Seams Fashion and Technology
By Jenny Hudak A new special topics class in the School of Communication teaches students how to bring clothes to life by integrating them with wearable technology. The clock struck 10:45 a.m. during Lorena Lopez’s “Wearable Technologies” class last week. Though the period had concluded for the day, not a single student enrolled in the new course budged from their seats. So enthralled with the work they were doing, the time continued to pass as students intricately sewed coded circuit boards into their fabrics, preparing for their final projects. Among [...]
Can You Spot a Deepfake?
By Barbara Gutierrez University of Miami researchers familiar with artificial intelligence technology offer their opinions about a phenomenon—the posting of images or videos that have been manipulated—that is becoming more prevalent online. If you surf the internet—and who doesn’t—you have seen a video that has caught your attention. Tom Cruise performing magic tricks and eating a lollipop. Former President Barack Obama spouting offensive words. Kim Kardashian rapping. These videos were not real. They were deepfakes. A deepfake is an image or video of someone’s likeness that looks realistic; when in [...]
Instructor Uses Video Games to Promote Social Change
By Barbara Gutierrez School of Communication associate professor Lindsay Grace creates video games that will challenge people’s perceptions and biases, one player at a time. Students enrolled in School of Communication associate professor Lindsay Grace’s classes spend a great deal of time playing video games. Also the Knight Chair in Interactive Media, Grace is a kind of celebrity in the video game world. He creates games to promote social change, and that is what he teaches in his classes. Through his work, both at the University of Miami and outside [...]
Interactive Media Offers New M.F.A. Scholarship for STEAM Educators
By Karina Valdes With the rising need for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) educators, the University of Miami School of Communication is tackling this need head-on. Prospective students interested in earning a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Interactive Media now have the opportunity to apply for a new scholarship. The South Florida Educator Opportunity Award is presented to an M.F.A. student who commits to remaining in South Florida and teaching in a community college or public school (K-12) for a minimum of three years after graduation. "Our [...]
Lindsay Grace to Share Insights at Games for Change Summit
By Karina Valdes World leaders in gaming are converging in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in Oct. for the Games for Change Summit to share their insights on games for social impact. The summit will connect experts in gaming for two days of discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities to globally expand the games for social change arena. Through various programs and non-profits, Lindsay Grace, Knight Chair and director of the MFA in Interactive Media, has been assisting the U.S. Department of State with its initiatives in [...]