2017 June

Some upcoming events from EDUCAUSE

On 06/30/2017, in active learning, adjunct faculty, career development, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, community colleges, faculty, higher education, IT in HE, pedagogy, platforms, teaching & learning, tools, universities, by Daniel Christian

Some upcoming events from EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is offering a variety of online webinars exploring key topics within the future of higher ed in the coming months:

7/27/17 Webinar – Navigate Your Career with Effective Communication
8/7/17 Webinar – Student Success Analytics in the Next Generation Learning Environment
8/9/17 Online event – Using Metrics to Bolster Your Higher Education Information Security Program
8/16, 8/23, 8/30 ELI Course – Designing a Comprehensive Support and Faculty Development Program for Active and Collaborative Learning Spaces
- ^ All live content is recorded and may be viewed asynchronously at your convenience. See course agenda for live session dates.

Augmented reality ‘is virtually unlimited’ for Apple [Griffith]

On 06/30/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), Australia, business, career development, computer science, corporate / business world, human-computer interaction (HCI), platforms, programming, tools, trends, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Augmented reality ‘is virtually unlimited’ for Apple — from theaustralian.com.au by Chris Griffith

Excerpt:

Apple’s entry into augmented reality is gathering pace at an amazing rate, says one of its vice-presidents visiting Australia.

In an interview with The Australian yesterday, Apple vice-president of product marketing Greg “Joz” Joswiak said the enthusiasm of Apple’s development community building augmented reality (AR) applications had been “unbelievable”.

“They’ve built everything from virtual tape measures (to) ballerinas made out of wood dancing on floors. It’s absolutely incredible what people are doing in so little time.”

He said in the commercial space, AR applications would evolve for shopping, furniture placement, education, training and services.

Also see:

Five Augmented Reality Experiences That Bring Museum Exhibits to Life — from smithsonianmag.com by Jennifer Billock
AR features allow visitors to explore historical spaces and artifacts in new ways

Excerpt:
Imagine being surrounded by a world of ghosts, things that aren’t there unless you look hard enough, and in the right way. With augmented reality technology, that’s possible—and museums are using it to their advantage. With augmented reality, museums are superimposing ther virtual world right over what’s actually in front of you, bringing exhibits and artifacts to life in new ways.

These five spots are great examples of how augmented reality is enhancing the museum experience.

Also see:

University Of Michigan Deploys Augmented Reality System To Aid Testing Of Automated Vehicles — from forbes.com by Sam Abuelsamid

EdTech magazine’s coverage of ISTE 2017

On 06/29/2017, in digital learning, education, education technology, innovation, K-12 related, learning, learning spaces, new media literacies, STEAM-related, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

EdTech magazine covers the latest news and discussions, live from ISTE 2017 in San Antonio, Texas.

ISTE 2017: 6 New Products Unveiled on the Show Floor — from edtechmagazine.com by Jena Passut
New offerings from big tech companies highlight this year’s megaconference in San Antonio.

Excerpt:

With more than 18,000 attendees and plenty of press coverage, the annual ISTE’s 2017 Conference & Expo has become a prime place for vendors to launch new products and announce updates. This year is no different. Check out some of the latest offerings announced at the 2017 event, and then head over to EdTech’s coverage page to read and see more news from ISTE.

Also see:

10 New & Innovative EdTech Products Announced at ISTE 2017 — from gettingsmart.com by Catherine Wedgwood

Realizing the Potential of Blockchain: A Multistakeholder Approach to the Stewardship of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies — from the World Economic Forum

Excerpts:

Like the first generation of the internet, this second generation promises to disrupt business models and transform industries. Blockchain (also called distributed ledger), the technology enabling cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum, is pulling us into a new era of openness, decentralization and global inclusion. It leverages the resources of a global peer-to-peer network to ensure the integrity of the value exchanged among billions of devices without going through a trusted third party. Unlike the internet alone, blockchains are distributed, not centralized; open, not hidden; inclusive, not exclusive; immutable, not alterable; and secure. Blockchain gives us unprecedented capabilities to create and trade value in society. As the foundational platform of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it enables such innovations as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), robotics and even technology in our bodies, so that more people can participate in the economy, create wealth and improve the state of the world.

However, this extraordinary technology may be stalled, sidetracked, captured or otherwise suboptimized depending on how all the stakeholders behave in stewarding this set of resources – i.e. how it is governed.
…
At the overall ecosystem level, we look at the need for a proper legal structure, regulatory restraint, diversity of viewpoints and scientific research in tandem with business development. We introduce each of the eight stakeholders in the ecosystem: innovators, venture capitalists, banks and financial services, developers, academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government bodies, and users or citizens.
…

The internet is entering a second era that’s based on blockchain. The last few decades brought us the internet of information. We are now witnessing the rise of the internet of value. Where the first era was sparked by a convergence of computing and communications technologies, this second era will be powered by a clever combination of cryptography, mathematics, software engineering and behavioural economics. It is blockchain technology, also called distributed ledger technology. Like the internet before it, the blockchain promises to upend business models and disrupt industries. It is pushing us to challenge how we have structured society, defined value and rewarded participation.

From DSC:
Institutions of higher education need to put the topic of blockchain-based technologies on their radars, as blockchain could impact how people get their credentials in the future. It could easily turn out to be the case that community colleges, colleges, and universities will join other organizations in terms of being able to offer credentials to their learners.

Augmented Reality in Education: An infographic (& more) from NJIT

On 06/28/2017, in attention, Augmented Reality (AR), computer science, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, human-computer interaction (HCI), student-related, tools, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

Augmented Reality in Education — from graduatedegrees.online.njit.edu

Excerpt:

Augmented reality has become a field with limitless possibilities. It holds huge promise for improving educational systems across the globe. In the last 2 to 3 years, augmented reality (AR) has grown into a technology that is set to revolutionize numerous sectors, most importantly education. To learn more, check out the infographic created by the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Online Masters in Computer Science program.

Four futurists weigh in on the jobs of the future — from impactlab.com by Thomas Frey

In today’s tech world, often it’s a “winner takes all” situation

On 06/27/2017, in Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Asia, Augmented Reality (AR), Australia, Blockchain, bots, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, computer science, corporate / business world, data related items, disruption, education, education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, Europe, Facebook / Meta Platforms, global / globalization, Google, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, innovation, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, music, Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, reinvent, robotics, social media, staying relevant, surviving, technology (general), trends, United States, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Winner takes all — from by Michael Moe, Luben Pampoulov, Li Jiang, Nick Franco, & Suzee Han

We did a lot of things that seemed crazy at the time. Many of those crazy things now have over a billion users, like Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and Android.

— Larry Page, CEO, Alphabet

Excerpt:

An alphabet is a collection of letters that represent language. Alphabet, accordingly, is a collection of companies that represent the many bets Larry Page is making to ensure his platform is built to not only survive, but to thrive in a future defined by accelerating digital disruption. It’s an “Alpha” bet on a diversified platform of assets.

If you look closely, the world’s top technology companies are making similar bets.

Technology in general and the Internet in particular is all about a disproportionate gains to the leader in a category. Accordingly, as technology leaders like Facebook, Alphabet, and Amazon survey the competitive landscape, they have increasingly aimed to develop and acquire emerging technology capabilities across a broad range of complementary categories.

Accenture and Microsoft Create Blockchain Prototype for Identity [which-50.com]

On 06/26/2017, in Blockchain, global / globalization, Microsoft, platforms, society, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Accenture and Microsoft Create Blockchain Prototype for Identity — from which-50.com

Excerpt:

Accenture and Microsoft have created a prototype based on blockchain technology with the aim of creating a digital identity for 1.1 billion people around the world who don’t have a formal ID.

Approximately one-sixth of the world’s population cannot participate in cultural, political, economic and social life because they lack the most basic information: documented proof of their existence.

Establishing identity is critical to accessing a wide range of activities, including education, healthcare, voting, banking, mobile communications, housing, and family and childcare benefits.

The ID prototype, which builds on Accenture’s capabilities in blockchain and its experience developing and deploying large-scale biometric systems, runs on Microsoft Azure’s cloud platform.

Accenture and Microsoft demonstrated the prototype this week at the ID2020 Summit at the UN.

Australian Library Design Awards 2017 [designinglibraries.org.uk]

On 06/26/2017, in architecture, Australia, ideas, learning spaces, library / librarians, UK, by Daniel Christian

Australian Library Design Awards 2017 — from
The Australian Library and Information Association has announced the five winners of its inaugural Library Design Awards at its conference in Melbourne.

Excerpt:

Thirty-three stunning libraries were entered in the awards and there is a winner in each category: public, school, academic and special libraries all feature in the entries.

The Australian Library Design Awards were created to showcase the best in contemporary library interiors and exteriors in Australia, and to celebrate the investment in libraries made by Australia’s institutions, corporations, local, state and territory governments.

Introducing Deep Learning and Neural Networks — Deep Learning for Rookies [Kang]

On 06/26/2017, in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, career development, computer science, human-computer interaction (HCI), languages and translation, Natural Language Processing (NLP), professional development, programming, trends, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

Introducing Deep Learning and Neural Networks — Deep Learning for Rookies — from medium.com by Nahua Kang

Excerpts:

Here’s a short list of general tasks that deep learning can perform in real situations:

Identify faces (or more generally image categorization)
Read handwritten digits and texts
Recognize speech (no more transcribing interviews yourself)
Translate languages
Play computer games
Control self-driving cars (and other types of robots)

And there’s more. Just pause for a second and imagine all the things that deep learning could achieve. It’s amazing and perhaps a bit scary!

…

Currently there are already many great courses, tutorials, and books on the internet covering this topic, such as (not exhaustive or in specific order):

Michael Nielsen’s Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Geoffrey Hinton’s Neural Networks for Machine Learning
Goodfellow, Bengio, & Courville’s Deep Learning
Ian Trask’s Grokking Deep Learning,
Francois Chollet’s Deep Learning with Python
Udacity’s Deep Learning Nanodegree (not free but high quality)
Udemy’s Deep Learning A-Z ($10–$15)
Stanford’s CS231n and CS224n
Siraj Raval’s YouTube channel

The list goes on and on. David Venturi has a post for freeCodeCamp that lists many more resources. Check it out here.

Virtual Reality Coursework Provides Rich Training Ground [Doucette]

On 06/25/2017, in career development, colleges, community colleges, computer science, emerging technologies, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, programming, tools, universities, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Virtual Reality Coursework Provides Rich Training Ground — from edtechmagazine.com by Dave Doucette
Colleges embrace VR to develop students’ technical skills and expand their experiences.

Excerpt:

IDC forecasts that global sales of VR headsets will jump to 61 million by 2020, up from 10.1 million in 2016. As adoption ramps up, demand for applications will be fast on its heels, and professionals trained in all aspects of VR will be in hot demand. Institutions across the country are stepping up to help students get ready.
…
VR also expands the realm of possibility for students interested in creativity and problem solving. Colleges are already offering courses dedicated to VR technology, in which students create films, interactive games, campus tours and even customized projects for real-world clients. As one educator has noted, VR amounts to a new art form: both a new way to tell stories and an entirely new professional field.

Top trends from InfoComm 2017 [Milligan]

On 06/24/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, innovation, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, television, tools, vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

Top trends from InfoComm 2017 — from inavateonthenet.net
AV over IP and huddle rooms are two key takeaways from InfoComm as Paul Milligan wraps up the 2017 show.

How Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods highlights the hybrid, ‘omnichannel’ future of higher ed — from edsurge.com by Sean Gallagher

Excerpt:

The expectation that students can integrate their learning experiences across channels is now arriving in higher education. Online education has reached a tipping point where almost 30 percent of all students in U.S. higher education are enrolled in at least one online college course. A significant number of students are already blending their experience across online and offline channels—and numerous data points speak to the evolving value of blending online delivery with physical presence, as suggested by Amazon.

In national surveys of prospective adult students that we have conducted regularly at Northeastern University over recent years, we have consistently found that 60 percent of students prefer a blended or hybrid learning experience. In other words, the majority of the higher education student market is neglected by today’s dominant approach that focuses on offering either online or in-person programs.
…
Like Amazon, the colleges and universities that are able to deliver across channels—leveraging the combination of physical presence and online algorithms—will be uniquely positioned to take advantage of the in-demand, destination nature of studying in certain cities; the local sourcing of faculty; and proximity to key employers, industries, and job opportunities.

Over the next decade, growth and competitive success in higher education will not be a function of who is able to offer online programs. Instead, the successful institutions will be those who can symbiotically integrate their placed-based educational operations and experiences with software-driven analytics, learning science, and machine learning to create a more personalized experience. A more Amazon-like experience.

From DSC:
A few side comments here:

The future won’t be kind to those institutions who haven’t built up their “street cred” in the digital/virtual space. For example, if you are working at a traditional institution of higher education that doesn’t have online-based programs — nor does it have plans to create such programs in the future — you should get your resume up-to-date and start looking…now.
.
For data/analytics to have a significant impact and inform strategic or pedagogical decisions, one needs to collect the data. This is not hard to do online. But it’s very difficult — at least at a granular level — to do in a face-to-face environment.
.
Coursera’s MeetUps around the world — where their learners are encouraged to join study and discussion groups related to their online-only courses — make me wonder about the future of learning spaces and whether your local Starbucks might morph into a learning hub.

EdTech Magazine’s 2017 Dean’s List: Check out other “Must Read Higher Ed IT Blogs” as well

On 06/23/2017, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, adult learning, blended learning, blogs / blogging / vlogging, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, liberal arts, lifelong learning, Michigan, microlearning, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, professional development, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

With a passion for helping #highered leverage #edtech, @dchristian5 is a 2017 Must-Read! https://t.co/e7cqFqynBW

— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) June 22, 2017

Should technical communicators, trainers, & help desk personnel get trained on developing “workbots?”

On 06/23/2017, in bots, business, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, experimentation, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, tools, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
After reading the item below, I wondered:

Should technical communicators, trainers, and help desk personnel get trained on how to design and develop “workbots?”

Forget chatbots — you should create a workbot instead — from venturebeat.com by Oren Ariel; with thanks to Thomas Frey for his tweet on this

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

But what about employee-to-company interaction through bots? Chatbots designed for the work environment, or workbots, could become the next step function in work productivity.
…
Workbots could be the cure for what’s often called “app fatigue.”

They work within the corporate messenger environment (such as Jabber, Skype for Business, Slack, and others) and respond to commands and questions in natural language, whether typed or dictated. They have access to all the corporate information needed to get the job done and can perform complex tasks across multiple systems. The workbot knows what tasks are executed in which back-end system, so the user doesn’t have to know. Because bots rely on natural language processing (NLP) — the ability of humans to interact with computers using free-form language — workbots can help an employee get to the starting point quickly and without any training, in the same way a search engine would, and then help guide the user through the task in a step-by-step fashion.

Chat is no longer just about communication, it’s about bringing the user information.

Learning Ecosystems

Some upcoming events from EDUCAUSE

Augmented reality ‘is virtually unlimited’ for Apple [Griffith]

Realizing the Potential of Blockchain — A white paper from the World Economic Forum

Accenture and Microsoft Create Blockchain Prototype for Identity [which-50.com]

Australian Library Design Awards 2017 [designinglibraries.org.uk]

Introducing Deep Learning and Neural Networks — Deep Learning for Rookies [Kang]

Virtual Reality Coursework Provides Rich Training Ground [Doucette]

Top trends from InfoComm 2017 [Milligan]

How Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods highlights the hybrid, ‘omnichannel’ future of higher ed [Gallagher]

Should technical communicators, trainers, & help desk personnel get trained on developing “workbots?”

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