Last week’s presentation of Digital Artifact number one was very interesting, and I thought it showed a good example of some of the work already going on to help underserved communities through technology.

My project was on the use of technology to help homeless adults become recognized and assisted with food and housing and, subsequently, assist them in gaining the skills to get a job. I had identified two services that help with visibility, and two that help with job training.

I was definitely most impressed by two presentations: the one of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, and the presentation on ADD/ADHD.

The presentation on the Israeli and Palestinian conflict was a video, well done and narrated by Jacob Klein. He covered some of the technologies used to facilitate communication between the two sides of the conflict, including a site that positions two videos side by side, to make each side’s position easily comparable to the other.

The second technology though, a game on how to solve the conflict, was even more intriguing. The game insisted that a two-state solution was the only acceptable option, and it was intended to get past a lot of the propaganda that had interrupted the process of peace for so long. The company even handed out free copies through the newspaper in the two countries.

The presentation on ADD/ADHD was a PowerPoint with narrated dialogue, and it used the idea of a journey through the daily life of a person with ADD/ADHD as a method to present the technological innovations that people of that community can use. Most surprising was that there was a belt that was intended to resolve some of the affects of the disorder because it corrected the physiological aspects that happen when ADD/ADHD take effect.

Overall, the presentations were both entertaining and informative, and I look forward to the 2^nd round in a couple weeks, when we’re designing our own.