The Slickest Things Google Debuted [on 5/17/17] at Its Big Event — from wired.com by Arielle Pardes

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

At this year’s Google I/O, the company’s annual developer conference and showcase, CEO Sundar Pichai made one thing very clear: Google is moving toward an AI-first approach in its products, which means pretty soon, everything you do on Google will be powered by machine learning. During Wednesday’s keynote speech, we saw that approach seep into all of Google’s platforms, from Android to Gmail to Google Assistant, each of which are getting spruced up with new capabilities thanks to AI. Here’s our list of the coolest things Google announced today.

 

 

Google Lens Turns Your Camera Into a Search Box — from wired.com by David Pierce

Excerpt:

Google is remaking itself as an AI company, a virtual assistant company, a classroom-tools company, a VR company, and a gadget maker, but it’s still primarily a search company. And [on 5/17/17] at Google I/O, its annual gathering of developers, CEO Sundar Pichai announced a new product called Google Lens that amounts to an entirely new way of searching the internet: through your camera.

Lens is essentially image search in reverse: you take a picture, Google figures out what’s in it. This AI-powered computer vision has been around for some time, but Lens takes it much further. If you take a photo of a restaurant, Lens can do more than just say “it’s a restaurant,” which you know, or “it’s called Golden Corral,” which you also know. It can automatically find you the hours, or call up the menu, or see if there’s a table open tonight. If you take a picture of a flower, rather than getting unneeded confirmation of its flower-ness, you’ll learn that it’s an Elatior Begonia, and that it really needs indirect, bright light to survive. It’s a full-fledged search engine, starting with your camera instead of a text box.

 

 

Google’s AI Chief On Teaching Computers To Learn–And The Challenges Ahead — from fastcompany.com by Harry McCracken
When it comes to AI technologies such as machine learning, Google’s aspirations are too big for it to accomplish them all itself.

Excerpt:

“Last year, we talked about becoming an AI-first company and people weren’t entirely sure what we meant,” he told me. With this year’s announcements, it’s not only understandable but tangible.

“We see our job as evangelizing this new shift in computing,” Giannandrea says.


Matching people with jobs
Pichai concluded the I/O keynote by previewing Google for Jobs, an upcoming career search engine that uses machine learning to understand job listings–a new approach that is valuable, Giannandrea says, even though looking for a job has been a largely digital activity for years. “They don’t do a very good job of classifying the jobs,” Giannandrea says. “It’s not just that I’m looking for part-time work within five miles of my house–I’m looking for an accounting job that involves bookkeeping.”

 

 

Google Assistant Comes to Your iPhone to Take on Siri — from wired.com by David Pierce

 

 

Google rattles the tech world with a new AI chip for all — from wired.com by Cade Metz

 

 

I/O 2017 Recap — from Google.com

 

 

The most important announcements from Google I/O 2017! — from androidcentral.com by Alex Dobie

 

 

Google IO 2017: All the announcements in one place! — from androidauthority.com by Kris Carlon

 

 

 

 

From DSC:
Below is a great quote from David Koetje, Professor of Biology at Calvin College:

I think teaching and learning are a bit like dancing: We can say that one has to lead and the other has to follow. But in reality, each has to constantly pay close attention to the other. For the dance to be beautiful, both have to practice together diligently. If one dancer tries to do it all, then there’s no dance. It takes two to tango.

 

A question/reflection from DSC:


Will #MOOCs provide the necessary data for #AI-based intelligent agents/algorithms? Reminds me of Socratic.org:


 

 


Somewhat related:

 

16 Voice Control Terms You Need To Know  — from medium.com by Josh.AI

Excerpt:

Voice control is now becoming a popular interface with hands-free capabilities making daily tasks easier and quicker. How exactly does this innovative technology work for your home to magically respond to your every command? Here are 16 voice control keywords that will help explain how it all works.

 

2017 is the year of artificial intelligence. Here’s why. — from weforum.org

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A recent acceleration of innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made it a hot topic in boardrooms, government, and the media. But it is still early, and everyone seems to have a different view of what AI is.

I have investigated the space over the last few years as a technologist and active investor. What is remarkable now is that things that haven’t worked for decades in the space are starting to work; and we are going beyond just tools and embedded functions.

We are starting to redefine how software and systems are built, what can be programmed, and how users interact. We are creating a world where machines are starting to understand and anticipate what we want to do – and, in the future, will do it for us. In short, we are on the cusp of a completely new computing paradigm. But how did we get here and why now?

 

 

 

Online Learning—from Innovation to Adoption: Introducing the CHLOE Survey   — from eduventures.com by Richard Garrett & Ron Legon

Excerpt:

It’s now more than 20 years since online learning came on the scene. At the outset, many skeptics questioned its quality and reliability. Online learning faced widespread resistance among faculty conditioned by centuries-old, classroom-based education and lacking in computer skills. There were substantial start-up costs, technical deficiencies, and regulatory uncertainty to overcome.

With all these obstacles, many doubted whether online learning would gain a permanent foothold in U.S. higher education. The former Babson Survey Research Group/Sloan-C survey of chief academic officers focused on the fundamental issues of counting online students and attitudes for or against its adoption.

Today, the number of online students is no longer a mystery, and there is wide acceptance of the delivery mode among administrators and faculty. This innovation, in the means of delivering higher education, is here to stay. It is no longer experimental, but a fixture in mainstream institutions, accounting for a large and still growing proportion of total postsecondary enrollment.

Online learning has changed higher education, but higher education has also shaped online learning. There is no doubt that online learning is here to stay, but what is far less clear is the balance between innovation and consolidation, transformation and integration within institutions and across the field as a whole going forward. The planned series of annual CHLOE Surveys will provide much-needed insight.

 

 

 

Signs of a Ceiling in Online Ed Market — from insidehighered.com by Carl Straumsheim
Report on online education landscape suggests potentially leaner times ahead for colleges hoping to profit in the market. Community colleges are already seeing it.

Excerpt:

Is the community college sector the canary in the coal mine for the online education market?

A new survey of online education administrators at 104 colleges and universities released today shows — as other studies have suggested — that public and private four-year institutions saw healthy enrollment growth in their fully online programs in spring 2016 compared to the year before, and that they are showing few signs of slowing their investments in the space.

The situation is not the same at two-year colleges. Online programs at all institutions grew on average by 9 percent year over year, but at community colleges, growth typically registered 1 to 2 percent. And while only a handful of the public or private four-year institutions surveyed said their online enrollments shrank from 2015 to 2016, findings at community colleges were mixed: 33 percent saw growth, 27 percent decline and 40 percent stability.

 

 

 

From DSC:
It appears that the concept of “windows of opportunity” is also true with online learning; and the key thing for all community colleges, colleges and universities to reflect upon is that these windows don’t stay open forever. 

But another thing is that the world is going increasingly digital/virtual — especially in regards to the increasingly common usage of automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Our forms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) continue to morph (AR, VR, Alexa and other personal assistants, etc.)

So some questions come to my mind:

  1. If one’s institution doesn’t offer a healthy assortment of online/virtually-based courses in the future, how might that situation impact the public’s perception of that particular institution? How might that situation impact recruitment and retention?
    .
  2. What’s going to happen when online-based learning experiences provide far more personalization, customization, and efficiency than our face-to-face courses can provide? Ask any faculty member speaking to 40-250+ students if they truly know the learning preferences, academic goals, and career goals of any given student — and I’ll bet you they have no idea. There’s simply not enough time to get to that level of information in many cases, and this situation is only getting tougher to do so. Don’t get me wrong. Many people will always prefer to learn in a physical environment, surrounded by other learners. But if the innovations continue to take place in the online learning-based environments, then Clayton Christensen’s theories of disruption could prove to be spot on — especially if the most innovative institutions of the future will be able to offer degrees at significantly reduced prices.

 

 

 

Deep learning-based bionic hand grasps objects automatically — from kurzweilai.net
“Hands with eyes” offer new hope to amputees

Excerpt:

The hand’s camera takes a picture of the object in front of it, assesses its shape and size, picks the most appropriate grasp, and triggers a series of movements in the hand — all within milliseconds.

 

 

 

From DSC:
Going in a slightly different direction…what might this mean for robots that can begin to “see” things and take action based upon what they “see?”

Again, I can picture where this type of application could be useful and positive…and I can see how certain applications of these technologies could be used negatively/destructively as well.

 

 

 

 

 

From DSC:
There are now more than 12,000+ skills on Amazon’s new platform — Alexa.  I continue to wonder…what will this new platform mean/deliver to societies throughout the globe?


 

From this Alexa Skills Kit page:

What Is an Alexa Skill?
Alexa is Amazon’s voice service and the brain behind millions of devices including Amazon Echo. Alexa provides capabilities, or skills, that enable customers to create a more personalized experience. There are now more than 12,000 skills from companies like Starbucks, Uber, and Capital One as well as innovative designers and developers.

What Is the Alexa Skills Kit?
With the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), designers, developers, and brands can build engaging skills and reach millions of customers. ASK is a collection of self-service APIs, tools, documentation, and code samples that makes it fast and easy for you to add skills to Alexa. With ASK, you can leverage Amazon’s knowledge and pioneering work in the field of voice design.

You can build and host most skills for free using Amazon Web Services (AWS).

 

 

 


 

 

2017 Best Cities for Summer Internships — from goodcall.com

Excerpt:

Landing an internship is one of the best ways to get a head start on your career. In fact, a recent study from iCIMS showed that 70% of employers and recruiters say an internship is more important than a high GPA on a new grad’s resume.

But some places are definitely better than others when it comes to finding an internship. Students might find cities with more access to public transportation useful. And it’s hard to justify moving for an unpaid or low-pay internship to a city where rent is astronomical.

Those are just two of the metrics GoodCall analysts used to rank the 2017 Best Cities for Summer Internships. These are cities that have a high number of available internships per capita, where cost of living is reasonable and crime isn’t rampant. They’re also generally nice places to live, with abundant restaurants, bars and other amenities.

The top 10 Best Cities for Summer Internships were…

 

 

Complete Guide to Virtual Reality Careers — from vudream.com by Mark Metry

Excerpt:

So you want to jump in the illustrious intricate pool of Virtual Reality?

Come on in my friend. The water is warm with confusion and camaraderie. To be honest, few people have any idea what’s going on in the industry.

VR is a brand new industry, hardly anyone has experience.

That’s a good thing for you.

Marxent Labs reports that there are 5 virtual reality jobs.
UX/UI Designers:
UX/UI Designers create roadmaps demonstrating how the app should flow and design the look and feel of the app, in order to ensure user-friendly experiences.
Unity Developers:
Specializing in Unity 3D software, Unity Developers create the foundation of the experience.
3D Modelers:
3D artists render lifelike digital imagery.
Animators:
Animators bring the 3D models to life. Many 3D modelers are cross-trained in animation, which is a highly recommended combination a 3D candidate to possess.
Project Manager:
The Project Manager is responsible for communicating deadlines, budgets, requirements, roadblocks, and more between the client and the internal team.
Videographer:
Each project is captured and edited into clips to make showcase videos for marketing and entertainment.

 

 

Virtual Reality (VR) jobs jump in the job market — from forbes.com by Karsten Strauss

Excerpt:

One of the more vibrant, up-and-coming sectors of the tech industry these days is virtual reality. From the added dimension it brings to gaming and media consumption to the level of immersion the technology can bring to marketing, VR is expected to see a bump in the near future.

And major players have not been blind to that potential. Most famously, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg laid down a $2 billion bet on the technology in the spring of 2014 when his company acquired virtual reality firm, Oculus Rift. That investment put a stamp of confidence on the space and it’s grown ever since.

So it makes sense, then, that tech-facing companies are scanning for developers and coders who can help them build out their VR capabilities. Though still early, some in the job-search industry are noticing a trend in the hiring market.

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Dept. Names Finalists for Virtual and Augmented Reality Competition — from campustechnology.com by Sri Ravipati

Excerpt:

The finalists are:

  • Case Western Reserve University, which developed “Holographic Anatomy to Transform Healthcare,” a simulation that provides an alternative to using cadavers to teach medical anatomy. Combining the Microsoft HoloLens and the VR experience, medical students can practice dissection techniques in a virtual environment.
  • Embodied Labs for a series of VR patient experiences called “The Alfred Lab,” designed to teach students how to take better care of elderly populations.
  • Octothorpe, the creator behind “The Irregular: Sherlock Holmes,” which challenges students to work together on chemistry and psychology problems.
  • Osso VR, for its realistic, hands-on orthopaedic surgical training platform; and
  • Smart Sparrow, an education company that created “LifeCraft,” which explores life on Earth through various archaeology, biology and astronomy expeditions.

 

 

From DSC:
Though slightly older, this article has some solid advice that I think we in higher education need to heed as well.


 

The Importance of Continuing Education for Digital Leaders — from strategy-business.com by Chris Curran — with thanks to tweets by Cathryn Marsh and G Athanasakopoulos

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Whether you’re a newly minted MBA or an experienced leader, you’re always honing your skills and navigating change. And technology is one discipline in which you really can’t afford to stagnate. With digital transformation so central to strategy for most companies, all executives — especially CEOs — must embrace a learning mind-set. Gone are the days you can delegate the job of keeping up with technology to the IT staff.

Chief information officers (CIOs), of course, should regularly brief the management team and the board on new developments, demoing exciting new technology, bringing in external speakers and vendors, and using other tactics that promote tech learning and engagement. But keeping up on technology trends is also the responsibility of every executive. And while that can be daunting given the vast tech landscape and seemingly limitless avenues for learning, it’s also incredibly exciting.

 

 

Indeed, the art of continuous learning itself may be the most sought-after skill for tomorrow’s workforce as well as the key to solving tomorrow’s problems. 

 

 


From DSC:
Tapping into streams of content (via RSS feeds and/or with tools like Google Alerts) is key here. Developing your personal learning networks and your communities of practice are key here. The article also mentions MOOCs and online learning. which I would also add to the list of helpful tools/avenues to pursue.


 

 

New graduates: These are the unspoken rules of the workplace no one tells you — from fastcompany.com by Anisa Purbasari Horton
Entering the workforce for the first time can be a shock to the system. Here’s what you need to know.

Excerpt:

Graduation is an exciting (and scary) time; you’re leaving a world where you know all the rules and entering into a world where what’s expected of you often isn’t so clear cut. The rules that truly matter in the workplace are often not written anywhere–they’re simply things that those who have been in it for a while consider to be obvious.

Many learn these unspoken rules through trial and error, and some do it by observing others’ mistakes. But if you’re a recent graduate, there’s no reason why you can’t get a head start on day one of your entry-level job.

 

 

EON CREATOR AVR

The EON Creator AVR Enterprise and Education content builder empowers non-technical users to create compelling AR and VR applications in minutes, not weeks.

ENTERPRISE
With no programming required, EON Creator AVR Enterprise empowers workers to accelerate learning and improve performance, safety, and efficiency in the workplace.

EDUCATION
Teachers and students can create, experience, and share AVR learning applications with EON Creator AVR and quickly add them to their current classroom, seamlessly.

 

 

 

 

Also see:

 

 

 

Also see:

 

 

 

7 things you should know about artificial intelligence in teaching and learning — from Educause Learning Initiative (ELI)

Abstract:

The term artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that undertake tasks usually thought to require human cognitive processes and decision-making capabilities. To exhibit intelligence, computers apply algorithms to find patterns in large amounts of data—a process called machine learning, which plays a key role in a number of AI applications. AI learning agents have the potential to function like adaptive learning but at a much more sophisticated and nuanced level, potentially giving every student a computer-simulated personal mentor. Many colleges and universities are developing AI projects that aid teaching and learning.

 

7 things you should know about the evolution of teaching and learning professions — from Educause Learning Initiative (ELI)

Abstract

For this issue of the 7 Things, we asked a set of seven community leaders—who come from different walks of life in the community—to offer a short meditation on the evolution of the profession. In this issue you will find comments from professionals such as an instructional designer, a CIO, an accessibility expert, and a librarian. We hope that this issue and the spotlight it casts on the evolution of our profession will encourage us to begin further conversations about where we are headed and how we can help one another to achieve our professional goals.

 

Chief information officers are fast becoming chief innovation officers. It is increasingly critical for the CIO to be an advocate and leader of transformational change on campus rather than a director and manager of IT operations.

A key “big picture” area is the mission of teaching and learning. How do the systems we select today enable improved learning opportunities over the next three years? Will this solution empower students and faculty for years to come or merely meet a tactical need today?
There are increasing opportunities for librarians to work as partners with faculty to develop challenging assignments that encourage students to create a project with an output of a video, podcast, website, data visualization, blog, or other format.
“Support” connotes a hierarchy that doesn’t recognize that staff are valuable assets who play an important role in postsecondary education. We need to find a new language that promotes the ethos of service and servant leadership, within the context of describing ourselves as non-faculty educators and alternative academics.
Once, we thought the faculty role was expanding such that instructors would become learning designers and proto-technologists. Instead, an increasingly competitive and austere landscape is putting competing pressures on faculty, either around research expectations or expanded teaching responsibilities, preventing most from expanding their roles. 
 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian