Seneca College and Mozilla behind online feature for State of the Union address

PBS makes the call to synchronize commentary to U.S. President Obama’s address

Toronto, February 10, 2011 – Commentary from political pundits was available to online viewers of U. S. President Obama’s State of the Union address simultaneously for the first time this year as a result of work done by Seneca College faculty and students, Mozilla Corporation and Bocoup.

American broadcasting station PBS asked Mozilla to help them offer this new feature and as a result of Seneca’s on-going partnership with Mozilla, staff and faculty in the School of Computer Studies were asked to help make it happen.

“The call came just hours before the address was set to begin and some people worked through the night to finish writing the code,” said Evan Weaver, Chair of the School of Computer Studies.

To create this feature, staff and faculty used Popcorn.js, a JavaScript library that takes advantage of HTML5 features to allow web developers to embed video that interacts with the rest of the webpage.

“Partnerships with industry, ground-breaking open source research, applied learning opportunities and superb faculty have all made Seneca’s School of Computer Studies a resource that is called upon for its expertise,” said Seneca College President David Agnew. "We are proud to have their work and talents showcased in such a high-profile way."

More information on the use of this technology for the State of the Union address.

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