ABOUT THE AGENDA

Creativity thrives on structure. Dust or Magic agendas provide a shell within which we pour the latest apps, demos and talks from around the world; all in a unique setting designed to maximize new ideas in minimal time — about 36 hours spread over three days. We work hard to remove distractions so you can focus on factors associated with “magic” aka child engagement. Come prepared to see new products, talk to young children, debate and share your own definition of magic.  

WHAT TO BRING: Pack relaxed, casual clothing (layers are best) and arrive well rested with charged batteries. Remember that AppCamp is an academic exercise in design and trends.

NO SELLING: Dust or Magic is self funded and strictly independent, with no affiliation with Apple, Google, sponsors. Turn off your “selling mode” and turn on your “sharing mode.” We reserve a table where you can share a flyers, white papers, flyers or business cards, or information about an app or a new book. This is a free exchange area. Plan on 80 copies. If you plan on doing a 5 minute demo, read this.

CHILDREN’S APPFEST IN SAN FRANCISCO:  This event is designed for small, cash-strapped publishers who can’t afford the time or money to come to AppCamp. Learn more about the Children’s AppFest in San Francisco on Saturday May 30 (Co.lab,  650 Townsend Street, Suite 225, San Francisco, CA 94103). Tickets are $20 each, free for registered Dust or Magic AppCamp attendees), and children are welcome (no cost for kids).

 

[highlight]Sunday May 31, 2015[/highlight]

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1:00 Check in to your room (Phoebe Snow Social Hall)
3:00 Check in to Dust or Magic (Fred Farr Forum)
Find Barbara Chase to pick up your materials. It will contain your name tag, handouts and so on. Fred Farr Forum is Asilomar’s second biggest meeting space; locate in the wooded area of the Asilomar.

5:00 Essential Knowledge: Key examples of dust and magic from 2015  (In Fred Farr)

We’ll set the stage for our next 36 hours together, so all the presenters can contextualize their talks. We’ll begin by naming the key trend setting apps; including lessons learned from judging the 2015 KAPi prize and the BolognaRagazzi Digital Award. These will include:

• The “flipped app” concept — perhaps the fastest way to magic, and why something so simple can make such a big difference. .
• State of the “non-iOS.” Any better than last year?
• Software news: nominations with discussion for Magic and Dust of 2015 — Unity and other essential tools, examples of innovation and excellence; biggest train wrecks — what went wrong, why and how to learn from other people’s mistakes.
• Hardware news: larger tablets, wearables, watches and augmented reality (especially Oculus 3 and Google cardboard). How interactive media is moving beyond the touch screen.
• Market news: libraries, schools and the international POV (with a quick update from the Breteau Foundation).

 

6:00 PM Dinner

Welcome to AppCamp 6  by Warren Buckleitner and Daren Carstens

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7:40 Pacific Beach (mandatory for New Yorkers).

8:00 Annual State of the Children’s App Panel  (In Fred Farr)

Don’t miss this amazing conversation as we review 2015 with some of the best brains in the world. We’ll have an unstructured conversation about ROI, hardware, watches, augmented reality goggles, localization tips, Google Play, app store tricks and trends.

The “State of the Children’s App” Panel for 2015 will feature Harley Baldwin, Pierre Abel, Michel Kripalani, Mark Schlichting, Dan Russell-Pinson, Bjørn Jefferey, John Cromie and Barry O’Neill; and will be moderated by Warren Buckleitner and Scott Traylor.

9:00 In the Chapel With Björn.  Few people connect the dots of the children’s app space better than the leader of Toca Boca, Björn Jefferey.

He’ll be speaking in one of the most beautiful settings in the world: the wood and glass Chapel at Asilomar (where Max Whitby spoke two years before).

This time the topic will be “A Toca Deep Dive: How Toca Boca Came to Be and Where It Is Headed Next” although this might change.  His talk will be followed by a free-form discussion on the state of the app.

9:30 Demos & Discussion

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[highlight]Monday June 1, 2015[/highlight]

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7:00-8:15  am Breakfast Buffet (dining hall)

8:30 Critics Panel. Updated for 2016. An open invitation to any published children’s app reviewer to come and tell us what 5 stars looks like. 

• How to submit products for review
• What do you do when you get a bad rating?
• Nice touches — Concrete examples of noteworthy design techniques.

9:30 Michel Kripalani, Oceanhouse Media. Five Stars or No Stars: Tips for Young Interactive Designers

No one studio has done more to change the modern definition of “eBook”, through the careful adaptation of traditional children’s classics (including Dr. Seuss) for modern tablets. Michel doesn’t waste words when it comes to making quality, and while he may look like he’s 25, he’s been doing this for a very long time. Don’t miss this talk.

10:15 Nice Touch — 60 second demos. An informal exploration with show and tell of some of the latest HCI “best practice” applied to multi-touch settings for children (and adults).

11:00

1. Daren Carstens — A pep talk for early stage app designers. Daren Carstens is a Chicago-based veteran illustrator/designer/mathematician who has also left an indelible mark on Dust or Magic over the years. His most recent app shows what he’s learned.
2. Harley Baldwin, Schell Games — Report from Independence Rock. The journey thus far, whether certain routes were brash, foolhardy, or both, and a preview of routes ahead. Harley Baldwin is the VP of Design at Schell Games of Pittsburgh PA, (the home of Jesse Schell).

12:00 Lunch

1:00  Case Study: The Wild and Crazy Story of My Very Hungry Caterpillar by Emmet O’Neill with commentary from Barry O’Neill.

Good art + legacy + marketing + good interactive design = magic, and $. Of the 193 entries of the 2015 BolognaRagazzi Digital Award, just one was selected…. an amazing accomplishment considering the crowded field. Come and learn the attributes of magic that led to the victory. Hint: it’s not that complicated.

2:00 Dust…. What goes wrong and why? Demonstrations of one reviewer’s opinion of low rated products, and the most common errors (aka “see seven kisses of death“) when designing children’s interactive media. This is your chance to learn from someone else’s mistakes.

3:00 Demos

3:30 How to make an app appeal to an African home, library or classroom, with Mona Ewees, Instructional Specialist at the Breteau Foundation. 

4:00 Case studies  (15 minutes each, plus Q & A)

1. Making Off the Rails by Dan Russell-Pinson
2. Making Crazy Gears by Sara Vitale of Seven Academy

6:00-7:30 Dinner

7:40 Group photo (optional)

7:50 Marshmallow Roast, Beach

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[highlight]Monday Evening[/highlight]

8:30  “AppCraft” by John Cromie of TouchPress.

You’ve heard of Disney Animated and The Elements… now meet the head programmer.  See John’s talk at last year’s Bologna Masterclass where he gave some ideas on the process of bringing crisp images to the screen.

9:30 Discussion and demos

10-Midnight Free play

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[highlight]Tuesday, June 2, 2015[/highlight]

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Room checkout by 10 AM.

7:00-8:15 am Breakfast (Dining Hall)

8:30 Spotlight Talks — 15 minutes each

Short, TED-style high impact talks in 17 minutes or less with a few Q/A.

1. Barbara Chamberlin, NMSU  “The High Cost of Giving it Away for Free” Barbara will talk about the elephant in the room.
2. Valérie Touze, Edoki. “Montessori is More Than a Brand“
3. Luca Prasso, Curious Hat “Spotlight Stories: Exploring New Storytelling Tools on Mobile”  Luca has been working with some new storytelling technology at Google, and he’ll do a demo for us (video)
4. “Mining China: How to Make an App That Chinese Parents Want” by Angell Liao and  John Fairley. A discussion about how the cultural revolution has created an insatiable hunger for educational apps in China, with a brief history along with a description on what parents in China are looking for in apps. Note — this one might go a bit longer than 15 minutes due to the Q/A and discussion.

10:30 Demos

Laser guided feedback from a rare and expert audience.

11:00  Review Panel

Let’s think back on the past 36 hours. What did we learn? What are the key “nice touches?” How will these affect what we do in 2016?

1:30 Lunch

 

1:30 Final farewell

 

[highlight]2015 AppCamp Speaker Details[/highlight]

 

[speakers presentation_id=3471/]