Lab Notes

A profile of Shapiro Design Lab Resident Connor Lockman.

Have you ever sat before your computer late at night and giggled in glee as you blended layers in an imaging editing software? If not, that is probably a good thing. However, as of this week, I can proudly say that I have.

Through my job at the Shapiro Design Lab, I have access to Lynda.com, a professional training service . A subsidiary of Linkedin, Lynda contains a plethora of training materials, including an introductory course to GIMP (General Image Manipulation Program). GIMP is an open source, free image editing software that allows for high quality photo editing and image creation. Although Adobe suite programs like Photoshop are more powerful, GIMP is an excellent option for dabblers, such as myself. Moreover, many of the functions in GIMP have analogues in Photoshop, making the software great for individuals who are trying to learn but aren’t quite ready to shell out the cash. Taking the Lynda training course on GIMP was an enlightening experience—one I would suggest to others.

One would be hard pressed to avoid hearing about artificial intelligence (AI) in the news. It’s everywhere: from AlphaGo, the new world champion of the board game Go, to Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on framing AI as the core technology of Facebook. With all of this buzz, what actually is artificial intelligence?

An overview of the Shapiro Design Lab's themes, student positions, and spaces for 2018-19.

The U-M Library’s Shapiro Design Lab and the U-M Museum of Natural History are happy to announce a new Community and Citizen Science Project Incubator program for University of Michigan faculty, staff, and students! Community and citizen science projects can help scientists conduct extensive, quality research while engaging with members of their community. The program will explore questions about project design, ethics, learning goals, and data management. Participants will create project prototypes for their own research and community engagement, and develop the skills needed for successful projects.

The University of Michigan Library's Shapiro Design Lab (SDL) seeks two Masters'-level students to become Program Assistants and help direct this ever-evolving experimental space founded on peer learning, engaged learning, and interdisciplinarity. The Lab encompasses a variety of learning opportunities and projects within three different spaces, all located on the first floor of the Shapiro Undergraduate Library:

We are seeking undergraduate and graduate students to help pilot a new program focused on engaged learning experiences through software project development. Student Developers will be expected to work 10-15 hours per week, at a rate of $15/hour.

Announcing the 2018-19 Shapiro Design Lab Residency

In light of the growth of podcasting as a medium, the bloom of podcasts as texts that merit study, and recent interest from faculty in tasking students with the creation of audio essays, the Shapiro Design Lab is pleased to present its new Podcasting and Audio Storytelling Guide.

This year, I primarily worked on the Awesomebox/Awesomizer project. Through this project I learned about web design and got to do some work with a database and the Myrlin API. Additionally, I had the chance to work with other students on the volunteer-based LibriVox project to record public domain audiobooks. I got to work with the other Student Developers on the library’s instance of the Measure the Future project and got to attend a talk by the project’s creator -- Jason Griffey.