Participants: JD Pirtle

OCTOBER 22, 2018 - UIC EVL/MFA graduate JD Pirtle recently started his own company, Depth and Light which is an education, technology, and design studio+consultancy. Its mission is to help students, teachers, and learners of all ages feel confident using traditional and emerging technology for research, inquiry, and creativity.

JD, as an EVL/MFA student, helped develop both the “20 Foot Virtual Canvas” multi-touch paint system and the “Mega Tenori-on” virtual sound instrument for EVL’s large-scale tiled display wall, called Cyber-Commons.

After graduating UIC, EVL retained JD to complete development of the CAVE2 sound library. He was then hired by Chicago’s Catherine Cook School (preschool - 8th grade) as Director of Innovation, and promptly created IDEA (Innovation, Design, Engineering, Art) Lab, a school-wide, cross-divisional program that included 3D printers, a laser cutter/engraver, a large interactive display wall running EVL/LAVA’s SAGE2 software, robotics, sewing equipment, and traditional shop tools. He ran several successful IDEA:TE Transforming Education workshops, too, targeted for preschool - 12th grade educators to discuss how best to integrate traditional and emerging technologies into their curriculum.

Now JD brings us Depth and Light. As the website says “Technology is magical, but it's not magic.” JD is certainly a wizard behind the curtain, and we wish him luck in his new venture!

Date: October 22, 2018

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