Canadian bright lights at SXSW, Space Apps 2014

A recent study by Microsoft suggests Canadians are willing to take wearable technology to a whole new level. The study shows that 27 per cent of Canadians would be open to wearing implantable devices; but ask 18-24-year-olds, and that number rises to 53 per cent. No wonder wearables have been such a hot topic at SXSW 2014.

A second spotlight at SXSW has been on education, with Canadian companies taking center stage. Montreal’s Learning Bird focused its talk on the power of the web to match teacher expertise with student learning styles. Meanwhile, Toronto’s Planboard focused on strategies that engage professional learning communities to build online resources and tools for students and educators.

Speaking of education, real-time publishing platform, ImgZine, has released a white paper on increasing employee engagement through a mobile first strategy. And Toronto’s Dx3 conference recently offered us lessons on why the future of work is play, with companies like PHD interested in how game mechanics can improve their business. Here, for example, is how the company is gamifying its approach to media planning.

And in education for interactive display readers, on March 25, Omnivex CEO and Director of Software Development Doug Bannister will be hosting a webinar on “Breaking Through the Digital Signage Hype.” Bannister plans to help set aside the current fixation with what digital signage “could” offer and turn our focus to what it can do now, covering the pros and cons of a wide range of offerings.

This week also saw the University of Waterloo announce the ten finalists of VeloCity‘s incubator, all of whom are vying for a slice of the $100,000 startup pie. Finalists who win the pitch competition will receive $25,000 and a chance to work in the VeloCity garage in downtown Waterloo. Check here for a full list of finalists.

And in news that’s simply out of this world, Toronto hosts the Space Apps 2014 hackathon in April. The competition is all about lacing up your moonboots and hacking out an app for space – with NASA’s assistance, of course. It’s an international event with entries of all sorts, from “silly to serious, fantastical to feasible.” Space App entrants will get to lay hands on NASA’s vast troves of data and work with a selection of its scientists and mentors.