Sara Franca / en Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp celebrates its digital media pioneers /news/u-t-celebrates-its-digital-media-pioneers <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp celebrates its digital media pioneers</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2013-06-10T08:52:14-04:00" title="Monday, June 10, 2013 - 08:52" class="datetime">Mon, 06/10/2013 - 08:52</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">William Buxton and William Reeves in conversation with Eugene Fiume of Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp's Department of Computer Science (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sara-franca" hreflang="en">Sara Franca</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Sara Franca</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/convocation" hreflang="en">Convocation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">MaRS hosts "double bill" of Buxton and Reeves</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>William Reeves </strong>holds a leading technical role at Pixar Animation; <strong>William Buxton</strong> is a principal scientist at Microsoft Research.</p> <p>Both are Computer Science graduates from the University of Toronto and now honorary degree recipients.</p> <p><a href="http://www.news.utoronto.ca/honorary-graduate-william-reeves">Reeves</a> and <a href="http://www.news.utoronto.ca/honorary-graduate-william-buxton">Buxton</a> took time out from Convocation to share the stage at the MaRS Discovery District June 5 for an unforgettable afternoon of conversation with 200 Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp students, faculty, staff and community members.</p> <p>Acknowledged as visionaries in their fields, the pair have imagined and created technologies that affect everyday lives – in Reeves’ case, beautiful, award-winning films, and in Buxton’s case, mobile tools used on tablet computers and smartphones.</p> <p>“It’s important to have world-class innovators like Buxton and Reeves come back to campus,” said <strong>Kimberly Silk</strong>&nbsp;of Rotman’s Martin Prosperity Institute. “Their discussion about their early days in the computer science department helps students understand that every great achiever began somewhere rather ordinary, and through nurturing environments like the Dynamic Graphics Project they were able to hone their curiosity to create great things throughout their careers.”</p> <p>Audience members called the conversation, moderated by Computer Science faculty member <strong>Eugene Fiume</strong>, inspiring and engaging, with clear differences between the two luminaries: Reeves was more soft-spoken, modest; Buxton was the energetic, more outgoing of the two.</p> <p>“[I] don’t stop talking, and [Reeves] doesn’t say a word,” said Buxton, eliciting laughter from the crowd.</p> <p>Apparent throughout the discussion, however, was the great professional respect the two have for each other, and a mutual fondness for their time at Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp, particularly in the Department of Computer Science’s Dynamic Graphics Lab.</p> <p>“None of us thought we were doing anything extraordinary,” Buxton said. “No one ever said what we were doing was hard, so it was the best possible climate in which to learn and experiment [without being overwhelmed or intimidated].”</p> <p>It was an environment that nurtured creativity, Reeves said.</p> <p>“We would just show up [at the lab], and then stay, and stay, and stay, and have fun, and learn,” said Reeves. “I still try to recreate that environment at Pixar, when I have the opportunity.”</p> <p>Recalling that relaxed, stimulating environment encouraged Buxton to reflect upon government’s efforts to support education.</p> <p>“You can’t predict where the great ideas are going to come from,” Buxton said. “The university needs to cultivate smart people with imagination.”</p> <p>Computer science undergraduate student <strong>Mary Malit</strong> was encouraged by Buxton’s advice about pursuing passions, but making sure to do some things that force you to be a beginner, so you stay on that uncomfortable edge of learning something new.</p> <p>“He probably thought this was a small thing he said, but I’m pretty sure that I will remember it for the rest of my life,” said Malit.</p> <p>Reeves received his Doctor of Science, <em>honoris causa</em>, on Wednesday, June 5. Buxton received his Doctor of Science, <em>honoris causa</em>, on Thursday, June 6.</p> <p><em>Sara Franca is a writer with the University of Toronto's Department of Computer Science.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Buxton-Reeves-event-1.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:52:14 +0000 sgupta 5416 at Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp undergraduate entrepreneurs sell web services startup /news/u-t-undergraduate-entrepreneurs-sell-web-services-startup <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp undergraduate entrepreneurs sell web services startup</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2013-03-28T06:22:46-04:00" title="Thursday, March 28, 2013 - 06:22" class="datetime">Thu, 03/28/2013 - 06:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Undergraduate students Fahd Ananta, Guru Mahendran and Thariq Shihipar have sold their web services aggregator startup to Hubspot (photo by Ben Ouyang)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sara-franca" hreflang="en">Sara Franca</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Sara Franca</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneur" hreflang="en">Entrepreneur</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/commercialization" hreflang="en">Commercialization</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Chime aggregates tweets, Facebook notifications, emails</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Three University of Toronto undergraduate students with a passion for entrepreneurship are packing their bags for Cambridge, Massachusetts after selling their&nbsp;startup company for an undisclosed sum.</p> <p>About a year ago, <strong>Fahd Ananta</strong> (Computer Science), <strong>Guru Mahendran </strong>(Engineering: Aerospace), and <strong>Thariq Shihipar </strong>(Engineering: Electrical &amp; Computer Engineering), began developing a web services aggregator, <a href="http://chimeapp.com/">Chime</a>.</p> <p>Officially launched in January of this year and available on the Google Chrome browser, Chime offers users one place where they can access all of their Facebook notifications, e-mails, Tweets, etc., in a stream of real time updates.</p> <p>The product&nbsp;has been met with a great deal of excitement, gaining almost 30,000 users since it first launched. <a href="http://www.hubspot.com/" target="_blank">Hubspot</a>, which describes itself as an inbound marketing software company, took notice. On&nbsp;March 28, Hubspot&nbsp;announced it had acquired Chime&nbsp;and another early-stage technology company based in New Haven, PrepWork.</p> <p>"We sought out innovative companies who could help us continue to transform the marketing landscape," said HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan, "and both Chime and PrepWork embody those characteristics."</p> <p>Fahd, Guru and Thariq will move to the Hubspot headquarters in Cambridge by the end of spring. The trio,who met at a DemoCamp event on Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp’s St. George campus,&nbsp;cited the growing climate of entrepreneurship at Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp and &nbsp;the general atmosphere of the university as supporting factors for their success.</p> <p>“The student environment and culture were probably the most influential,” said Fahd, who encouraged young entrepreneurs to have confidence in&nbsp;their own concepts.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s always the right time to get started," Fahd said. "If you have an idea, build it now and sweat the details later. Get involved with the Toronto startup community and make connections… If you have no idea where to start, get a Github account to start hacking away on side projects - and follow Hacker News.”</p> <p>Thariq echoed the sentiment.</p> <p>“The talent, innovation, and drive to succeed at the university [creates] an amazing place to grow ideas and stay motivated.” Thariq said, “Guru and I took the [Engineering] entrepreneurship course, 488 series, and that was very helpful.”</p> <p>While the group wasn’t able to use Engineering’s recently launched <a href="http://hatchery.engineering.utoronto.ca/">Hatchery</a> incubator, Thariq said, “If it had been around when we were in second or third year, we would have definitely made use of it; it’s going to be a great resource for current undergrads!”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Chime_13_03_28.jpg</div> </div> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:22:46 +0000 sgupta 5247 at Google acquires Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp neural networks company /news/google-acquires-u-t-neural-networks-company <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Google acquires Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp neural networks company</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2013-03-12T15:10:42-04:00" title="Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - 15:10" class="datetime">Tue, 03/12/2013 - 15:10</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Ilya Sutskever, Alex Krizhevsky and University Professor Geoffrey Hinton of the University of Toronto's Department of Computer Science (photo by John Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sara-franca" hreflang="en">Sara Franca</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Sara Franca</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneur" hreflang="en">Entrepreneur</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teaching" hreflang="en">Teaching</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mooc" hreflang="en">MOOC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/coursera" hreflang="en">Coursera</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/commercialization" hreflang="en">Commercialization</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>University Professor <strong>Geoffrey Hinton</strong> and two of his graduate students from the Department of Computer Science have sold their startup company to Google Inc.</p> <p>Google acquired the company, incorporated by <strong>Alex Krizhevsky</strong>, <strong>Ilya Sutskever</strong> and Hinton in 2012, for its research on deep neural networks. Also known as “deep learning” for computers, this research involves helping machines understand context.</p> <p><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/u-ts-geoffrey-hinton-wins-killam-prize">Hinton</a> is world-renowned for his work with machine learning and artificial intelligence. His neural networks research has profound implications for areas such as speech recognition, computer vision and language understanding.</p> <p>“Geoffrey Hinton’s research is a magnificent example of disruptive innovation with roots in basic research,” said Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp’s president, Professor <strong>David Naylor</strong>.“The discoveries of brilliant researchers, guided freely <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="by:0" grmarkguid="25e39711-076c-45e1-bb5e-1242f019a669" gruiphraseguid="d23d6be5-fa7d-402b-86a2-313c1b445949">by</span> their expertise, curiosity, and intuition, lead eventually to practical applications no one could have imagined, much less requisitioned.</p> <p>“I extend my congratulations to Professor Hinton for this latest achievement.”</p> <p><span class="GRnoSuggestion GRcorrect" grcontextid="Krizhevsky:0" grmarkguid="160b464a-b7c4-451c-bddd-b925ccf9fa55" gruiphraseguid="fd293ccf-5ada-48b7-b449-0ddc23ed36a0">Krizhevsky</span> and <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/u-t-phd-student-first-canadian-student-receive-google-fellowship">Sutskever</a>, who <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="will both be moving:1" grmarkguid="b9a9d28a-a494-47f9-b663-a8c16968ae09" gruiphraseguid="fd293ccf-5ada-48b7-b449-0ddc23ed36a0">will both be moving</span> to Google, developed a system that dramatically improved the state of the art in object recognition.</p> <p>“This is a wonderful opportunity for Geoff, and a great opportunity for the department,” said Computer Science Chair <strong>Sven Dickinson</strong>. “In recent years, we have been expanding our industrial relations, and this acquisition represents a wonderful opportunity to strengthen our existing ties with Google, one of the world’s most innovative IT companies.”</p> <p>The Google deal will support Hinton’s graduate students housed in the department’s machine learning group, while protecting their research autonomy under academic freedom. It will also allow Hinton <span class="GRcorrect" grcontextid="himself:0" grmarkguid="52bdbd1b-afc5-4731-af97-b9f095b2d007" gruiphraseguid="c09aafc8-56c4-4304-9fca-0d252422ca25">himself</span> to divide his time between his university research and his work at Google.</p> <p>“I am extremely excited about this fantastic opportunity to keep my research here in Toronto and, at the same time, help Google apply new developments in deep learning to make systems that help people,” said Hinton.</p> <p>Hinton will spend time at Google’s Toronto office and several months of the year at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA.</p> <p>This announcement comes on the heels of a $600,000 gift Google awarded Professor Hinton’s research group to support further work in the area of neural networks.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.research.utoronto.ca/innovations-partnerships/">Innovations and Partnerships Office</a> at&nbsp;Â鶹ֱ˛Ąapp &nbsp;worked in concert with the startup to complete the transaction with Google. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.</p> <p>Renowned for his teaching as well as his world-leading research, Hinton taught one of the university’s inaugural <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/online-computer-science-courses-attract-85000-students">Coursera</a> courses last fall and is currently teaching a graduate course. He is also co-teaching a course for undergraduate students based on the course he taught for Coursera which follows the “inverted classroom” model, where students watch videos and professors use the lecture period for discussions with students.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/13-03-12-Google-Hinton_0.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:10:42 +0000 sgupta 5182 at Where entrepreneurship meets technology /news/where-entrepreneurship-meets-technology <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Where entrepreneurship meets technology</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2012-10-30T07:00:33-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - 07:00" class="datetime">Tue, 10/30/2012 - 07:00</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Red Loop)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sara-franca" hreflang="en">Sara Franca</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Sara Franca</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">The professional masters of computer science program</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Hamza Javed</strong> zeroed in on the master of science in applied computing (MScAC) program at the University of Toronto because it was a “perfect blend of the two things I love – entrepreneurship and computer science.”</p> <p>With a personal interest in software development and web/mobile-based startups,&nbsp;Javed is enthusiastic about the vast potential of the field.</p> <p>“I have several ideas of my own, and the freedom and market reach of web and mobile platforms is very enticing," he says.</p> <p>Launched&nbsp;in 2010, the MScAC program welcomed 14 new students this fall. Like his classmates,&nbsp;Javed was selected for the unique program because of his track record for making an impact and showing extraordinary initiative.</p> <p>“I’ve often indulged in side projects,” says Javed. “By the end of [my second year in university] I had a firm grasp of fundamental programming concepts and I started freelancing as a programmer and graphic designer on mostly international projects I found online.”</p> <p>Carrying this further,&nbsp;Javed found himself taking on new and different technology challenges, finally starting his own company while still an undergrad, and creating a name for himself in the industry.</p> <p>Originally from Pakistan,&nbsp;Javed used his skills to help that country in&nbsp;2010, when Pakistan was hit by the worst flood it had ever seen. Having&nbsp;volunteered&nbsp;previously in relief efforts,&nbsp;Javed brought his growing computer skills to this challenge.</p> <p>“Having enough experience with the Google Maps API, I created a simple web and mobile interface where users could upload various data like their GPS co-ordinates, population stats, damage information, and support requirements, and that would automatically show up on a map – so relief workers could view the maps and plan their distribution strategies accordingly.”</p> <p>With such a broad background, it’s not surprising to hear why&nbsp;Javed chose to apply to the MScAC program.</p> <p>“I would like to better my business skills, and have a successful startup accelerator in this part of the hemisphere, and this program is the perfect funnel into that market,” he explains. “I think the MScAC draws applicants who want to be effective leaders in the CS field. The program attracts… eventual CEOs, CTOs, and directors.”</p> <p>The MScAC combines 8 months of in-class course work, and 8 months of an internship, where the student works directly on exploratory research projects; when asked about his ideal placement for the program’s 8-month internship component,&nbsp;Javed expresses interest in “maybe a startup accelerator or an incubator… web and mobile startup development.”</p> <p>He is also busy soaking up the coursework.</p> <p>“So far, it is very interesting… I especially enjoy the business and communications-related courses I am taking," Javed says. "It’s an essential education that is very different from a regular CS master’s program.”</p> <p>While Javed’s own story is that of an international entrepreneur,the professional master’s&nbsp;program appeals to candidates with a broad range of interests and backgrounds.His classmates include graduate students from other academic fields, mothers who were once IT professionals and are now returning to the workplace after raising a family,&nbsp;and&nbsp;those looking to brush up on their technical knowledge and make a career change.</p> <p>It is this diversity that makes the MScAC both unique and challenging,&nbsp;and the department puts a strong focus on maintaining the quality of the program, both in the classroom and in the value of internships offered. The first class of program graduates were all offered jobs from their internship companies&nbsp;— although one graduate declined, choosing to start his own company instead.</p> <p>“This speaks to the calibre of the students in this program," says Professor <strong>Eugene Fiume</strong>, academic director of the program, "people who are inspired and passionate about technology, and are excited to bring their knowledge into industry.”</p> <p>Like his fellow MScAC candidates,&nbsp;Javed is thrilled to be in Toronto at the department of computer science.</p> <p>“It is host to some of the most brilliant minds in the world, students and teachers alike… I believe that by interacting and exchanging ideas with said minds, be it in lectures, labs or the coffee shop, they can benefit and improve me…”</p> <p>With a smile, he adds, “And I might do the same for them.”<br> &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Hamza-Javed-12_10_30.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:00:33 +0000 sgupta 4678 at Understanding understoodit.com /news/understanding-understooditcom <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Understanding understoodit.com</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2012-05-08T07:53:59-04:00" title="Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - 07:53" class="datetime">Tue, 05/08/2012 - 07:53</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Liam Kaufman had more than 400 educators sign up for his app in 48 hours (Photo by Orbelina Cortez)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sara-franca" hreflang="en">Sara Franca</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Sara Franca</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Alumnus explains his popular app</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><em>Drawing on a broad educational background that includes a psychology degree, a master's in medical sciences and his most recent bachelor's degree in computer science, alumnus <strong>Liam Kaufman</strong> has created a web app, Understoodit.com, which allows students to anonymously indicate to the instructor if they are confused during a lecture.</em></p> <p><em>Writer <strong>Sara Franca</strong> asked Kaufman about&nbsp; the initial response to the app, and his plans for the future.</em></p> <p><strong>In a nutshell, what does Understoodit do?</strong></p> <p>It runs in a browser on your phone, tablet or notebook and allows students to either click 'confused' or 'understood' and the professor can see, in real-time, what proportion of the class is confused or understands the material being taught.</p> <p><strong>Where did you get the idea?</strong></p> <p>As a student in large classes, I noticed that students weren't putting up their hands. Either they were embarrassed to say they were confused, or they were shy. Likewise, ESL students would rarely put up their hands, either for linguistic or cultural reasons. I was convinced that technology could be used to ameliorate that issue and allow students to communicate their understanding.</p> <p><strong>What kind of response have you gotten in your test classes (from professors and students)?</strong><br> &nbsp;<br> The response from testing in three different first-year computer science classes was quite positive and acted as a catalyst for me to focus on Understoodit full time. Since then, the interest in Understoodit has been amazing. Over 400 educators signed up in 48 hours, including those from UBC, Stanford, Harvard, Columbia and CMU.</p> <p>On @understoodit, hundreds of people have tweeted a sentiment similar to 'I wish I had this when I was in school'.</p> <p><strong>Can anyone download it now (and use it)?</strong></p> <p>It runs in your browser, so there's nothing to download. The prof simply has to direct their students to a URL for it to work.</p> <p>For the summer, signing up for understoodit will be by invitation only, but I'm giving priority to Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener/Waterloo-based educators at both the secondary and post-secondary level. My plan is to work with educators over the next three months and add features that will make Understoodit even more useful in lectures. After the summer, the plan is to further expand the list of users.</p> <p><strong>On a personal note, what is currently the most-used app on your phone/iPad?</strong></p> <p>My favourite app is <em>The Economist</em>, it provides a word-for-word, actor-read, audio version of each issue. It allows me to listen to <em>The Economist</em> while taking the subway or doing dishes!<br> &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/understoodit_12_05_08.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 08 May 2012 11:53:59 +0000 sgupta 4071 at