Archives for June 2015

Dave Neufeld

June 18, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

In 2013, Brendan Iribe introduced Oculus Rift to the world via kickstarter, made virtual reality a reality and in 2014 it was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion.

This past week Microsoft announced that the Xbox One will support Xbox 360 game streaming to Windows 10… and the Oculus Rift.

But what does this all have to do with Dave Neufeld?

Dave, along with local developer Carson Book and the support of VIATEC, hosted their first Virtual Reality (VR) Meetup at Fort Tectoria on March 2nd. VR meetups are popular in Vancouver and Dave saw a gap here in Victoria.

“Since that meetup, the conversations and projects have begun to blossom. We are completing UI/UX experiments and hacking together hardware to build interesting experiments,” commented Dave. “I had a chance to try the Oculus at a friend’s house a few months back and I was blown away. I immediately purchased my own (and a laptop with enough graphics power to drive it) and started experimenting.”

Dave was inspired to build a Virtual Racing Car platform to help demonstrate what it’s like to use the Oculus Rift with Car Racing Software. It’s off to a great start and it will be available for demos next month. Or, as soon as Dave is done playing with it.

Dave is a software engineer (B.Sc. Comp. Sci. From the University Of Calgary), who has been fortunate enough to have worked with a lot of innovative companies. When he’s not working as a Software Development Manager or Quality Assurance Lead, he’s building projects like this in his home workshop.

“Victoria is a fantastic city (I spent most of my life in Calgary, just for context). The weather is amazing and the local tech community is great. Having a chance to use the Fort Tectoria space during my last parental leave has been a real blessing.”

The next VR Meetup is in the works and details will be announced in the fall. The hope is to meet every 8 weeks and build the VR community.

“Life is short. If you have an idea that you want to try, or a technology you want to play with, give it a go. And, if you have the chance, give back to others by sharing your knowledge and skills. Oh, and have fun.”

If you are interested in joining the local Oculus Rift/ VR community, contact oculus@daveneufeld.com

Josh Elsdon

June 11, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

Josh Elsdon was recently named the 2015 VIATEC Awards’ Education Champion for his innovative teaching skills at Monterey Middle School. He accepts his robot trophy on June 26, 2015 at the Victoria Conference Centre, one night before his wedding day!

Josh began teaching in Victoria in 2006, and he’s spent the last 3 school years experimenting with tech programs with his students.

“I was excited at how enthusiastically my students responded, and when I talked to my friends who work in programming, they all said ‘I would have killed to do that in middle school!’” commented Mr. Elsdon. “I felt like I was on to something, so last year I asked my administration if I could expand the scope into a class dedicated to tech exploration.”

Mr. Elsdon followed through and started the first tech-based program at Monterey Middle School where students now learn programming, app design, robotics and 3D design.

They recently received a grant to buy a 3D printer, so his students are working furiously on designing stuff on TinkerCad and Blender.

“I am in awe sometimes. I love how meaningful the learning is to them… so solution-focused and relevant to what they are trying to accomplish.It gives them such a sense of independence and self-reliance.”

When Mr. Elsdon isn’t busy shaping minds, he enjoys Victoria’s art and music scenes and going up island to surf.

Congrats on your marriage Josh!
Love,

Tectoria.

Tanya Gadsby: Drawing Out Ideas

June 4, 2015 by Tessa Bousfield

Tanya Gadsby is a Graphic Recorder with specialties in infographics and creative videos through her company, Drawing Out Ideas.

Where most would flock to modern, online graphic design, Tanya whips out the markers and pays attention to detail for her clients.

One of her masterpieces was seen at last week’s Spring into Startup event hosted by Pretio, Tutela Technologies, Referral SaaSquatch and Echosec. It was the perfect visual to show guests the startup activity happening in our city.

As a graphic recorder, Tanya helps strategic planners connect ideas and “see the big picture” in order to find solutions. This is done through live graphic recording during meetings or planning sessions. Her area of expertise is health care (She was a Project Analyst with VIHA for 5.5 years), and strategic planning / visioning with boards and executives.

Her whiteboard videos are another great tool for companies to get a point across. She’s always eager to chat about ideas for videos, but they’re so popular that they’re being booked 2 months in advance!

To Tanya, a successful meeting is one where graphic recording isn’t just an “add on” but a key component to the discussion and planning process. It’s not about creating a pretty piece of art, but rather synthesizing the discussion into key themes and making connections between ideas to achieve greater understanding.

To find out more about Drawing Out Ideas, please visit www.drawingoutideas.ca