Florida State University College of Communication & Information (FSU CCI) students showcased innovative projects at DIGITECH, an annual exhibition that recognizes achievement in digital technology and promotes collaboration between disciplines.  This event took place on March 28, 2014, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the FSU William Johnston Building.

“I enjoyed walking around and seeing what the students have accomplished in the last year,” Gary Ostrander, FSU Vice President of Research, said.  “It really is impressive.  DIGITECH is becoming a recognized word and event on campus and since I heard someone already talking about next year, I can truthfully say it is now an anticipated event on campus.”

Two of CCI’s student projects garnered awards at the conclusion of the event, which is presented by the Program for Interdisciplinary Computing (PIC).

“Several of our past exhibitors have gotten work out of showing their products at DIGITECH,” Ken Baldauf, director of PIC, said.   “It also gives students a chance to connect with other students and brings together people from all the different colleges.”

Information technology students Jon Gluesenkamp, Tyler Kalarchian, Joe Rainer and Connor Widergren won DIGITECH’s Campus Choice Award for their submission “iVisit – Doctor in Your Pocket.”  Event attendees voted on the award via text message.

The group developed the concepts, services, and wireframes for an iOS application which allows users to meet with doctors using video or text, with the purpose of saving time in determining if an in-person doctor’s visit is needed.

“It’s based on health informatics,” Gluesenkamp said.  “We found an idea that we realized could help a lot of people and so when our professor suggested we show it at DIGITECH we saw a great opportunity to let everyone know about the idea we developed.  It is a mobile app that would allow doctors and patients to connect virtually to save time so people don’t have to go to the doctor as often as they usually do.  DIGITECH is really cool because it’s hard to find places like this with so much innovation in one room.”

Sophomore Sean Daniels, an Information, Communication & Technology major, received DIGITECH’s Contribution Award for his submission “Who We Play For,” which is a non-profit organization helping to save lives and inspire others.  Who We Play For’s website allows visitors to donate, sponsor, and volunteer to help prevent sudden cardiac arrest, especially in student-athletes.  The site provides information on their many events and heart screenings.

To kick off DIGITECH, a panel discussion titled, “Learning, Innovating and Monetizing,” was held on March 27, 2014.  Timothy Kinney of the Jim Moran Institute facilitated the discussion, which featured distinguished panelists:

• David Brightbill, Florida Virtual Campus and Making Awesome
• Trish Hanson, MoLab, Inc.
• Vincent Hunt, MASSIVE, Corp.
• Dr. Paul Marty, FSU College of Communication & Information
• Micah Widen, DOMI Ventures

“I had a chance to go to the “Learning, Innovating and Monetizing,” panel discussion,” Dr. Larry Dennis, dean of the College of Communication & Information (CCI), said.  “I asked them, what should we be doing at FSU to help encourage this?  The first thing they said was to celebrate risk-takers – those people who have the courage to turn their ideas into real products, tool and services that others can use.”

During his remarks at the DIGITECH awards ceremony, Dennis congratulated students for “starting with your inspiration, building enthusiasm for it, having the dedication to see it through, finding collaborators and all of the hard work you needed to get here today.”

Other DIGITECH entrants from the College of Communication & Information:

Rx Tracker by Trang Huynh (IT) and Melissa Esther (ICT)
This will provide updates about the status of a patient’s prescription order so that s/he does not have to constantly wonder about the status of their prescription.

CPE Digital Zine Library by Chealsye Bowley (Library and Information Studies)
The CPE Digital Zine Library is a curated digitized collection of self-published alternative media resources from the Center for Participant Education, a Florida State University student organization.  The collection digitally preserves zines that are from CPE’s community zine library, which were created by CPE member authors and external authors.  The exhibit aims to educate viewers on zines, and how they can be used for activism and education.

The Visual Census by Tom Tricarico (IT grad), Georgianna Strode (Geography grad), William Strode (International Affairs)
The Visual Census redesigns population data to achieve a higher resolution.  The online mapping format is an easy-to-use planning tool where researchers can ask questions in order to identify target demographics.

Let us Dorm, Michael Iglesias (IT)
Description: A Resident Management System that increases the comfort of living for residents through the use of technology.  Existing Property Management Systems lack a simple to use tenant-facing interface that allows residents to easily handle any property related tasks.