(Hopefully) an Original Idea for a Hack

Personally, I would love to find a hack that could allow for the to creation of a unique telephone number. In doing so would allow multitudinous possibilities; specifically being allowing people to create musical phone tones. I don't mean the ringtones you hear when someone calls you. The series of tones that make up the ten digits on a phone keypad (0-9) each have a distinctive note and thus, various musical tunes can be created.

Now that we have technologies such as caller ID and cellphones, no one need remember the actual physical telephone number anymore. With one press of a button you can call a friend or family member while not even remembering the phone number you’ve just dialed. I feel that allowing people to design their own numbers would add a sense of excitement in the dialing process, especially if your contact’s number sounds like “Carry On Wayward Son” and so forth.

Of course in conjunction, there would need to be a hack that extends the length of the possible number of tones so there is no overlap of an existing number. Also, the number of tunes are slightly limited due to the nature of the pre-existing tones on the phone keypad. Therefore as part of the original hack, there could be a program that allows you to select the note each number represents. That way, the variety of tunes one can create is increased exponentially.

Obviously this hack would not change the world of telephoning. But it would definitely give a few igneous hackers a fun way to feel like they’ve surpassed the system.

Observations About the University Classroom

In all my years of education, I have come to realize that the effectiveness of a class comes down to the interest and enthusiasm of the class environment.

• If the students around me show signs of boredom or sleepiness, I'm inclined to emanate those feelings as well. However, the same goes for if I observe a student who is trying his or her best to hang onto every word. I will in turn feel horribly guilty and immediately try to imitate.

• If a connection between student and teacher does NOT exist, it is nearly impossible to effectively teach. Interest in the material at hand is important, but so is how it is conveyed. Lively yet assertive mannerisms tend to help not only keep interest, but enforce the obligation to pay attention.

• The teacher can only do so much to nudge you towards being interested in the class material. This is no longer high school where everything is spoon-fed to you. In order to get the best experience (and best worth for your or your parent's money) it is in your best interest to find the best way to retain information.

E.g: Being a visually-oriented person, I love to doodle and sometimes make cartoons to personify the information and process it in a visual manner.

• On speaking out in class: Students I think shouldn't feel pressured or obligated to say something for the sake of participation. Otherwise it's just empty air with no real purpose at all. As the semester goes on, students will gain comfortability speaking in front of their peers. Working in smaller groups, then progressing to sharing with the rest of the class helps students to feel more confident in what is being said; that it can be understood and agreed upon by other students as well.

Digital Art 1 Blog Link

Hi!

If you'd like to see some work from my Digital Art 1 class, here is the Blog.

My work is in the January-April 2010 archives.

^_^