Last week we experienced a hot air balloon ride that took us horizontally from Carleton University in Ottawa, across the Ottawa River to Aylmer in Quebec, and vertically through the troposphere to about 3,500 feet. more →
A friend said the aerial view reminded her of Google Earth. While it’s certainly true that in both cases, one in front of a computer, the other at the speed of the wind, you feel no breeze while taking in the view, the similarity ends there. For one, to get somewhere specific on Google Earth, you simply type in the coordinates, and are taken there with almost nausea-inducing speed. In a hot air balloon you can go nowhere specifically, and only somewhere generally, and that only as fast as the wind blows. In aerial travel, as in learning, it seems there is genuine tension between the task at hand and technology in interface design. See more pictures of our balloon trip across the Ottawa River
Photograph by Shanta Rohse.
Hot Air Balloon Over Ottawa
Last week we experienced a hot air balloon ride that took us horizontally from Carleton University in Ottawa, across the Ottawa River to Aylmer in Quebec, and vertically through the troposphere to about 3,500 feet. more →
Tags
learning design, Ottawa, postcards
A friend said the aerial view reminded her of Google Earth. While it’s certainly true that in both cases, one in front of a computer, the other at the speed of the wind, you feel no breeze while taking in the view, the similarity ends there. For one, to get somewhere specific on Google Earth, you simply type in the coordinates, and are taken there with almost nausea-inducing speed. In a hot air balloon you can go nowhere specifically, and only somewhere generally, and that only as fast as the wind blows. In aerial travel, as in learning, it seems there is genuine tension between the task at hand and technology in interface design. See more pictures of our balloon trip across the Ottawa River