Join River Campus Libraries and Studio X to create your own augmented reality (AR) effects for Instagram and Facebook and send a unique message to that special someone. Attendees will learn how to create and publish AR effects with Spark AR Studio. All learning levels are welcome. No experience necessary.
Note: Attendees will need a Facebook account and to download Spark AR studio (Mac and PC) as well as the Spark AR app (iOS and Android) for testing ahead of time.
The current social distancing guidelines mean there aren’t as many opportunities to casually interact with people you pass on campus, less time to catch-up with friends after a club meeting, fewer of the informal interactions that help us build shared experiences and community.
Join the Dream University Challenge to imagine, design, and build virtual university spaces that can provide opportunities to connect with your friends.
Learn design thinking and hands-on technical skills. Work in teams to build your dream space using Mozilla Hubs, a user-friendly virtual reality platform. Submit your space for a chance to win a prize.
The challenge is co-hosted by Studio X and Barbara J. Burger iZone with the support of River Campus Libraries and Hajim School of Engineering.
You are welcome to register as an individual (we will have a workshop to find teammates) or as a full or partial team (max four people). We look forward to seeing you at the challenge! All participants who complete the challenge will receive a certificate indicating the skills learned, and there will be prizes in different categories at the end of the challenge that will be given after the voting phase.
There will be Zoom Open Hours and a Slack Channel for you to ask questions and get help throughout the Challenge. No experience with virtual reality is necessary, just bring your creativity and your dreams for a virtual University.
Rules
Any Undergraduate or Graduate student of the University of Rochester is eligible to participate
The Dream University Challenge begins on Thursday, January 7th and ends on Thursday, January 14th, with the Celebration and Announcement of Winners event being held on Wednesday, January 20th.
Teams may contain up to four team members.
By submitting a virtual room in Mozilla Hubs, participants agree to all of the submission requirements, including confidentiality, selection, and voting process.
All submissions must include a virtual space in Mozilla Hubs and a written statement that describes your concept and acknowledges any sources used to create your virtual space.
Studio X will have access to all ideas at the end of the challenge, including those that didn’t receive an award.
You may use outside expertise or incorporate ready-made assets in creating your virtual room. However, we expect that the majority of the room will be of your creation. In other words, the concept and design should be yours, and we ask that you acknowledge your sources in your final presentation.
All designs will be shared on Mozilla Hubs.
Teams are expected to abide by the University’s Code of Conduct at all times.
Schedule
All times are EST. All events are via Zoom. Let the organizers know if you have time conflicts with mandatory workshops (emails are at the bottom of the package). You do not need to tell us if you are going to miss the optional workshops, or the virtual office hours.
Step 1: Design Phase (Jan 7). Participate in a workshop facilitated by the iZone to help you imagine and design your ideal university space.
iZone and Studio X will be hosting mentor hours throughout the challenge to provide you 1:1 mentoring time about your ideas, designs, prototypes and answer any questions you may have. A schedule will be posted here soon.
iZone consultants specialize in areas of idea development, project management, early stage brainstorming and problem solving
Studio X consultants specialize in areas of prototype development, Mozilla Hubs, virtual reality and spaces, and design consulting
If you have any technical or logistical questions about the Challenge, please contact the organizers listed at the bottom of this document and do not schedule 1:1 time through the mentor hours.
There will be five categories with awards. A panel of judges will vote on the top prize. The other four categories will be open for public voting. All submissions will automatically be considered for each category.
Judges (panel to be announced soon!) will vote on:
Best Overall Virtual Space
Public will vote on:
Most Creative Concept
Most Desirable Campus Space
Most Out of the Box
Most Likely to Facilitate Connections
Who is eligible to vote:
Anyone!
All teams will receive:
A certificate in Virtual World Design that shows you participated in resume building learning opportunities in Design Thinking, Project Management Skills, Prototyping, and creation of a Virtual Space to foster community.
Winning Teams will receive:
UR branded Google Cardboard for each team member, which will let you view your creation in Virtual Reality using your mobile phone
Cash prize of $100 for each team member for the Best Overall Virtual Space category voted on by the panel of judges
Judging rubric / Public voting rules
Clarity of concept
Execution of concept
Opportunities for connection and collaboration
Originality of concept
Success tips
Be creative. If you could imagine your ideal space for collaborating, learning, and connecting with your friends, what type of space would you create?
Be welcoming. Create a space that is safe and student-friendly.
Be realistic. While this is a virtual space–so anything is possible–remember that you have a relatively short time to build. Creating a well designed and complete space is better than trying to do too much.
Be a team. You might be great at imagining a space, or designing, or technology, or writing a rationale for your team’s concept. What are you good at? How can you contribute to the team?
Be UR. Remember that this is intended as a fun learning experience to help build our community.
November 19 & 20 | @MAGIC Spell Studios, Rochester Institute of Technology framelesslabs.rit.edu
The Frameless Symposium is an interdisciplinary symposium focused on research, innovation, and artistic creation in the fields of virtual and augmented reality. The Symposium Committee invites contributions from users and creators of immersive technologies and experiences involved in academia, non-profit and educational organizations, and industry.
Participation is virtual this year! View the full call for participation and learn more about presentation formats, topic of interests, and deadlines at framelesslabs.rit.edu.
Five thematic workshops included a showcase of assignments, potential tools, and exercises designed to help faculty think about how they might incorporate similar approaches in their classes. The series culminated in a 2-day workshop held in June 2020 where faculty worked with staff from River Campus Libraries to design and test an assignment for implementation in a future course.
Check out the XR session here, which includes the workshop slides, the recorded introduction, two UR faculty presentations, and many resources!
