Augmented Reality (AR)

What might our learning ecosystems look like by 2025? [Christian]

On 07/31/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, business side of he, career development, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, expectations, experimentation, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, liberal arts, lifelong learning, marketplaces, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, social learning / networks, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, training / L&D, trends, TVs, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

This posting can also be seen out at evoLLLution.com (where LLL stands for lifelong learning):

From DSC:
What might our learning ecosystems look like by 2025?

In the future, learning “channels” will offer more choice, more control. They will be far more sophisticated than what we have today.

That said, what the most important aspects of online course design end up being 10 years from now depends upon what types of “channels” I think there will be and what might be offered via those channels. By channels, I mean forms, methods, and avenues of learning that a person could pursue and use. In 2015, some example channels might be:

Attending a community college, a college or a university to obtain a degree
Obtaining informal learning during an internship
Using social media such as Twitter or LinkedIn
Reading blogs, books, periodicals, etc.

In 2025, there will likely be new and powerful channels for learning that will be enabled by innovative forms of communications along with new software, hardware, technologies, and other advancements. For examples, one could easily imagine:

That the trajectory of deep learning and artificial intelligence will continue, opening up new methods of how we might learn in the future
That augmented and virtual reality will allow for mobile learning to the Nth degree
That the trend of Competency Based Education (CBE) and microcredentials may be catapulted into the mainstream via the use of big data-related affordances

Due to time and space limitations, I’ll focus here on the more formal learning channels that will likely be available online in 2025. In that environment, I think we’ll continue to see different needs and demands – thus we’ll still need a menu of options. However, the learning menu of 2025 will be more personalized, powerful, responsive, sophisticated, flexible, granular, modularized, and mobile.

Highly responsive, career-focused track

One part of the menu of options will focus on addressing the demand for more career-focused information and learning that is available online (24×7). Even in 2015, with the U.S. government saying that 40% of today’s workers now have ‘contingent’ jobs and others saying that percentage will continue climbing to 50% or more, people will be forced to learn quickly in order to stay marketable. Also, the 1/2 lives of information may not last very long, especially if we continue on our current trajectory of exponential change (vs. linear change).

However, keeping up with that pace of change is currently proving to be out of reach for most institutions of higher education, especially given the current state of accreditation and governance structures throughout higher education as well as how our current teaching and learning environment is set up (i.e., the use of credit hours, 4 year degrees, etc.). By 2025, accreditation will have been forced to change to allow for alternative forms of learning and for methods of obtaining credentials. Organizations that offer channels with a more vocational bent to them will need to be extremely responsive, as they attempt to offer up-to-date, highly-relevant information that will immediately help people be more employable and marketable. Being nimble will be the name of the game in this arena. Streams of content will be especially important here. There may not be enough time to merit creating formal, sophisticated courses on many career-focused topics.

With streams of content, the key value provided by institutions will be to curate the most relevant, effective, reliable, up-to-date content…so one doesn’t have to drink from the Internet’s firehose of information. Such streams of content will also offer constant potential, game-changing scenarios and will provide a pulse check on a variety of trends that could affect an industry. Social-based learning will be key here, as learners contribute to each other’s learning. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will need to be knowledgeable facilitators of learning; but given the pace of change, true experts will be rare indeed.

Microcredentials, nanodegrees, competency-based education, and learning from one’s living room will be standard channels in 2025. Each person may have a web-based learner profile by then and the use of big data will keep that profile up-to-date regarding what any given individual has been learning about and what skills they have mastered.

For example, even currently in 2015, a company called StackUp creates their StackUp Report to add to one’s resume or grades, asserting that their services can give “employers and schools new metrics to evaluate your passion, interests, and intellectual curiosity.” Stackup captures, categorizes, and scores everything you read and study online. So they can track your engagement on a given website, for example, and then score the time spent doing so. This type of information can then provide insights into the time you spend learning.

Project teams and employers could create digital playlists that prospective employees or contractors will have to advance through; and such teams and employers will be watching to see how the learners perform in proving their competencies.

However, not all learning will be in the fast lane and many people won’t want all of their learning to be constantly in the high gears. In fact, the same learner could be pursuing avenues in multiple tracks, traveling through their learning-related journeys at multiple speeds.

The more traditional liberal arts track

To address these varied learning preferences, another part of the menu will focus on channels that don’t need to change as frequently. The focus here won’t be on quickly-moving streams of content, but the course designers in this track can take a bit more time to offer far more sophisticated options and activities that people will enjoy going through.

Along these lines, some areas of the liberal arts* will fit in nicely here.

*Speaking of the liberal arts, a brief but important tangent needs to be addressed, for strategic purposes. While the following statement will likely be highly controversial, I’m going to say it anyway. Online learning could be the very thing that saves the liberal arts.

Why do I say this? Because as the price of higher education continues to increase, the dynamics and expectations of learners continue to change. As the prices continue to increase, so do peoples’ expectations and perspectives. So it may turn out that people are willing to pay a dollar range that ends up being a fraction of today’s prices. But such greatly reduced prices won’t likely be available in face-to-face environments, as offering these types of learning environment is expensive. However, such discounted prices can and could be offered via online-based environments. So, much to the chagrin of many in academia, online learning could be the very thing that provides the type of learning, growth, and some of the experiences that liberal arts programs have been about for centuries. Online learning can offer a lifelong supply of the liberal arts.

But I digress…
By 2025, a Subject Matter Expert (SME) will be able to offer excellent, engaging courses chocked full of the use of:

Engaging story/narrative
Powerful collaboration and communication tools
Sophisticated tracking and reporting
Personalized learning, tech-enabled scaffolding, and digital learning playlists
Game elements or even, in some cases, multiplayer games
Highly interactive digital videos with built-in learning activities
Transmedia-based outlets and channels
Mobile-based learning using AR, VR, real-world assignments, objects, and events
…and more.

However, such courses won’t be able to be created by one person. Their sophistication will require a team of specialists – and likely a list of vendors, algorithms, and/or open source-based tools – to design and deliver this type of learning track.

Final reflections

The marketplaces involving education-related content and technologies will likely look different. There could be marketplaces for algorithms as well as for very granular learning modules. In fact, it could be that modularization will be huge by 2025, allowing digital learning playlists to be built by an SME, a Provost, and/or a Dean (in addition to the aforementioned employer or project team). Any assistance that may be required by a learner will be provided either via technology (likely via an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled resource) and/or via a SME.

We will likely either have moved away from using Learning Management Systems (LMSs) or those LMSs will allow for access to far larger, integrated learning ecosystems.

Functionality wise, collaboration tools will still be important, but they might be mind-blowing to us living in 2015. For example, holographic-based communications could easily be commonplace by 2025. Where tools like IBM’s Watson, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google’s Deepmind, and Apple’s Siri end up in our future learning ecosystems is hard to tell, but will likely be there. New forms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will likely be mainstream by 2025.

While the exact menu of learning options is unclear, what is clear is that change is here today and will likely be here tomorrow. Those willing to experiment, to adapt, and to change have a far greater likelihood of surviving and thriving in our future learning ecosystems.

ScopeAR beams an expert to you through augmented reality [Greg Kumparak]

On 07/30/2015, in assistive technologies, Augmented Reality (AR), business, corporate universities / corporate training, telecommunications, telepresence, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

ScopeAR beams an expert to you through augmented reality — from techcrunch.com by Greg Kumparak

Excerpt:

Everyone needs an expert sometimes; a helping hand to point you in the right direction so you can get the job done.

Maybe you’re a mechanic working on an exotic car. You know everything there is to know about cars in general — but only a handful of people really know this car. Alas, they’re all on the other side of the planet.

Maybe you’re working on an oil rig, and one of the panels is throwing out errors. “REPLACE VALVE 6B”, reads the screen. You know how to replace a valve! You… just don’t know where said valve is. Your company has experts for this — but they’ve all been called off to other rigs.

Maybe you’re just at home trying to figure out which of the zillion poorly labeled ports on that shiny new A/V receiver is the one that can support a 4k resolution. All you need is someone to point out the right one, and you’re set.

ScopeAR, a company from YC’s Summer 2015 class, wants to help experts be anywhere they need to be via the magic of augmented reality.

Some great applications of AR: “How Blippar Education supports special needs students to improve learning”

On 07/28/2015, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, history, ideas, machine-to-machine communications, neurodivergent/special needs, science, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

How Blippar Education supports special needs students to improve learning — from blippar.com

Excerpts:

Firstly, high school teacher Katrine Pinkpank’s class made individual, blippable posters for their Earth Day projects in April. When passers-by blipped these posters – all of which were hung in beautiful frames in the hallways – they were taken to a video of the students doing their Earth Day presentation in front of the class. One student in the class is legally blind, so the braille on his poster was used to trigger the blipp. These hallway boards have become living, breathing, 3D tributes to the work of our students.

In Room 407, students used Blippar in many different ways. Wendy Thompson, an early adopter of the technology, used it for a Women’s History Month project where students created an app-smash between Blippar and Trading Cards. The students created trading cards about famous women in history – such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frida Kahlo, and Mary Shelley – then used Blippar to add photo galleries, hyperlinks, and videos so people passing the bulletin board could scan the cards and view pop-up content about these remarkable women.

Secondly, the class made the school newsletter blippable.
…
Using Blippar and Tellagami, the students created talking digital avatar videos that illustrated their post-secondary and transition goals.

From DSC:
Though this posting focuses on the use of Blippar, an augmented reality app, I also think beacons (such as from Estimote), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and apps like locly could be used to relay information from students, teachers, and faculty members who could record and provide presentations concerning their work — with pieces of their work being located out in the hallways or actually anywhere on a campus. When someone approaches a piece in the hallway, a pre-loaded application on that person’s mobile device — such as locly — would be activated to display a “card”/link to the video describing that piece. The author, creator, designer doesn’t need to be physically present in order to tell people about their work.

Also see:

4 Great Augmented Reality Apps for teaching Science
Excerpts:

Elements 4D
ZooKazam
NASA’s Spacecraft 3D
Anatomy 4D

“Choose your reality: Virtual, Augmented or Mixed” [A basic primer in 3 future-looking technologies by Eric Johnson]

On 07/27/2015, in attention, Augmented Reality (AR), corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, K-12 related, Mixed Reality (MR), user experience (UX), user interface design, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Choose Your Reality: Virtual, Augmented or Mixed — from recode.net by Eric Johnson; with thanks to Woontack Woo for his posting on this

Excerpts:

[For VR] The key buzzword here is presence, shorthand for technology and content that can trick the brain into believing it is somewhere it’s not.

The key term for AR is utility…AR takes your view of the real world and adds digital information and/or data on top of it.

The key term for mixed reality, or MR, is flexibility…It tries to combine the best aspects of both VR and AR…In theory, mixed reality lets the user see the real world (like AR) while also seeing believable, virtual objects (like VR). And then it anchors those virtual objects to a point in real space, making it possible to treat them as “real,” at least from the perspective of the person who can see the MR experience.

So, to borrow an example from Microsoft’s presentation at the gaming trade show E3, you might be looking at an ordinary table, but see an interactive virtual world from the video game Minecraft sitting on top of it. As you walk around, the virtual landscape holds its position, and when you lean in close, it gets closer in the way a real object would.

See this example.

5 augmented reality startups to watch this year [Tsao]

On 07/22/2015, in Augmented Reality (AR), business, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, by Daniel Christian

5 augmented reality startups to watch this year — from huffingtonpost.com by Clara Tsao; with thanks to Woontack Woo for his paper.li posting on this

Excerpts:

Sayduck: “Test trial furniture, no assembly required.”
ResolutionTube: “Product service in the palm of your hand.”
Waygo: “Menu translations, instantly.”
Layar: “Helping magazine publishers learn how to innovate.”
Innovega: “The world’s smartest contact lens.”

New tools, emerging technologies, HCI, & resources to check out

On 07/13/2015, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), chemistry, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, computer science, digital learning, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, Microsoft, user experience (UX), user interface design, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, wearables, by Daniel Christian

Augmented Reality Chemistry Experiments with Elements 4D — from whiteboardblog.co.uk

Excerpt:

Elements 4D is a neat Augmented Reality chemistry app for iOS and Android devices which provides a fun way to look at various different chemical reactions.

The app uses blocks that are inscribed with the symbols of 36 elements from the periodic table. The site will eventually sell ready-made cubes, but you can download paper templates for free here.

When viewed through the app, these blocks instantly transform a simple, inanimate object into dynamic, dimensional, 4D representations of each element.

Also see:

elements4d’s website

Toss your manual overboard—augmented reality aims at big industry — from arstechnica.com by Lee Hutchinson
Papers, diagrams, and checklists would be replaced with intuitive visual tools.

Excerpt:

GE is focusing efforts on constructing an extensible “field maintenance manual” intended to be used for industrial equipment. The use case being tested in the labs is with oil and gas; researchers in GE’s Research Center in Brazil are building software that they hope will replace the need to deal with bulky printed maintenance manuals—manuals which have to be kept up to date and which lack any kind of interactivity.

New Microsoft Tool Takes the Pulse of Higher Education
Bing Pulse in the Classroom, a new student response system designed for higher education, launched this week.

Excerpt:

A new student response tool designed by a team at Microsoft will soon be giving teachers instant feedback on how their lessons are going.

Bing Pulse in the Classroom, a free online tool designed to make higher education lectures more dynamic, was released Thursday. The technology lets teachers ask students questions to get a real-time “pulse” of the lesson to ensure a teacher isn’t getting too far ahead of the class.
…
A feature not included in Pulse in the Classroom’s first iteration was live video streaming. Nesho says this capability will soon be added, and it could be a game changer for higher education classes that incorporate distance learning. Using a live video stream along with the Pulse feature set, the platform comes closer to an all-inclusive classroom experience.

Microsoft pioneers new ‘machine teaching’ technology to bring machine learning to the masses — from winbeta.org by Joseph Finney

Excerpt:

Tech companies are constantly building and testing technology which could cause the next paradigm shift in how the world communicates, creates, and consumes. Many big names including Google, IBM and Microsoft are investing in machine intelligence and machine learning. Now Microsoft believes they have created the next generation of machine learning which they call machine teaching. While the name ‘machine teaching’ does not instantly communicate the purpose or intent of the new tech the underlying concept is simple.

Essentially, like Henry Ford brought the automobile to the masses, Microsoft wants to bring machine learning to everyone. Many companies are focused on making their machine learning algorithms more accurate, but Patrice Simard believes more advances can be driven by bringing machine learning to the masses.

Also relevant here/see:
What Every Manager Should Know About Machine Learning — from hbr.org by Mike Yeomans
A primer on machine learning — from loop.ai
A tour of Machine Learning Algorithms #BigData #MachineLearning — from mo-data.com
In this post we take a tour of the most popular machine learning algorithms.

Microsoft launches site for teachers taking Minecraft into the classroom — from theguardian.com
Minecraft in Education portal aims to get educators sharing tips on how Mojang’s popular game can be used to teach children

The Scoop on Periscope: Broadcast Live Video to the World — from learninginhand.com by Tony Vincent
[Tony includes a nice infographic in this posting.]

First Look: Jaunt’s VR Camera Codenamed NEO — from by Jonathan Nafarrete

Excerpt:

Jaunt has announced the launch of a new professional grade VR camera series codenamed “NEO” that will enable the next generation of filmmakers to produce the highest quality VR experiences.

Industrial Design by LUNAR.

Leap Motion’s Augmented-Reality Computing Looks Stupid Cool — from wired.com

Excerpt:

This demo, in which a standard desktop computer is reimagined as a three-dimensional workstation of the future, offers a glimpse of what that might look like.

The project came out of a hackathon at Leap Motion, whose nifty gesture-recognizing sensor acts as a sort of finger-scale Kinect for desktop software. Using a prototype Leap sensor, a developer-kit Oculus Rift, a team of engineers built an augmented-reality work environment in which regular desktop applications jump out of the computer and into 3-D space. It’s a new computing interface hovering in front of a traditional personal computer sitting on a wood table—three generations of the “desktop,” one on top of another.

Apps That Rise to the Top: Tested and Approved By Teachers — from kqed.org by Katrina Schwartz

EdTech 2015: What’s Coming Down the Innovation Pipeline — from medium.com by Daniel Rezac
Brace Yourselves for a New Wave of Classroom Integration

Office 365 Open Source plugins for Moodle: getting better all the time — from msopentech.com

Excerpt:

[On June 26th, 2015] we shared the news that the upcoming Cypress release of Open edX, the most popular open source MOOC (massive open online course), will include new features for tighter integration with Office 365. Those features are the result of our open source collaboration with members of the Open edX community.

In addition to the new work we’re doing with Open edX, we continue to work with Remote-Learner (a leading Moodle partner) to make improvements and additions to the open source Office 365 plugins for Moodle. Moodle is the most popular open source learning management system (LMS), and the Office 365 plugins were released in January of this year. In this post, we’d like to share a few details about the great work Remote-Learner is doing to evolve the plugins.

New math app turns 2-D problems into 3-D solutions for Nova Scotia students — from trurodaily.com by Zane Woodford, Metro Halifax

Excerpt:

HALIFAX – A new augmented reality application for iPhones, iPads and Android devices brings math problems off the page for Nova Scotia students – illustrating angles, curves and the dreaded Pythagorean theorem in three dimensions.

© Metro Halifax/Jeff Harper
Grade 9 student Nathaniel Jarmash uses an augmented reality app
to work on his math problems at Sir Robert Borden Junior High School.

Augmented Reality – hype, or the future? [mybroadband.co.za]

On 06/29/2015, in 21st century, Augmented Reality (AR), corporate / business world, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, marketing/social marketing, technologies for your home, wearables, by Daniel Christian

Augmented Reality – hype, or the future? — from mybroadband.co.za by EE Publishers
The concept of Augmented Reality has existed for many years now – and commentators have remained rigidly sceptical about whether it will truly materialise in our everyday lives.

Excerpts:

Essentially, AR describes the way in which a device (such as a smartphone camera, wearables like Google Glasses, or a videogame motion sensor) uses an application to “see” the real world around us, and overlay augmented features onto that view.

These augmented features are aimed at adding value to the user’s experience of their physical environment.
…
We predict there will be three primary areas in which we will initially engage with AR:

The way we consume information: Imagine going to a library or museum and being able to have a “conversation” with key people throughout history, or instantly transform the world around to you resemble a bygone era.

The fields of product development, marketing and customer engagement: Overlaying new digital services into retail environments opens up a host of new possibilities for organisations to tailor products to their consumers.

Back office/operational functions within the organisation: Companies are already finding ways to use AR in their supply chain, logistics and warehousing environments. Find out, for example, if a particular unit is missing from a shelf.

From DSC:
I wonder how Machine-to-Machine communications, beacons, GPS, and more will come into play here…? The end result, I think is a connection between the physical world and the digital world:

DanielChristian-Combining-Digital-Physical-Worlds-Oct2014

“A whole new trend is about to explode in the educational app world.” [Clare]

On 06/26/2015, in active learning, Augmented Reality (AR), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, creativity, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, K-12 related, play, teachers, teaching & learning, trends, youth, by Daniel Christian

Tech Toys (and Tools) for Learning – from edutopia.org by Jayne Clare

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A whole new trend is about to explode in the educational app world. You may be familiar with the new tech that allows for apps to interact with tangible objects. This enhanced interactive technology is undoubtedly one that will change educational apps as we know them. Soon, the pairing of augmented reality with extensive curriculum guides will be commonplace in the classroom. Indie developers are producing a wide range of products that focus on spatial awareness, language development, number sense, problem solving, and motor skills, as well as an introduction to literacy, math, and the sciences.

What I find most exciting about this trend is the ability to get manipulatives back in the hands of children while simultaneously allowing them to interact with digital tools. As an educator, I’m relieved to know that learning through virtual technologies is able to occur in conjunction with physical play, all while fostering creativity. Suddenly there has emerged a balance between digital play and physical, imaginative, and cognitively engaging play. Kids have always learned best when they have the ability to engage all of their senses during play. The most powerful learning happens when the integration of body, mind, and brain are incorporated simultaneously. Promoting active learning can teach and model concepts and skills; children can then generalize those skills into real-time experiences and their daily routines off-screen.

Will VR allow us to raise cultural intelligence, promote empathy, & reduce racism? It’s very likely.

On 06/19/2015, in Africa, Augmented Reality (AR), education technology, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, learning ecosystem, psychology, relationships, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
After reviewing the two items below, I think you will agree that there is great potential in the future of virtual reality — and the new affordances it will bring with it. For example, if we use it wisely, virtual reality could help us raise cultural intelligence, promote empathy, and reduce racism.

How might virtual reality change the world? Stanford lab peers into future — from CBS News by Ines Novacic

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Beyond playing entertaining tricks on people’s perceptions, VR has the potential to promote a better understanding of what it’s like to be someone else – a refugee in a war zone, for example. Studying the effects of those uses, and the psychological effects of VR use in general, has always been the main focus of the lab. Bailenson listed how several of his studies that focused on empathy – for example, making someone visually impaired through VR– yielded results that demonstrated the VR experience made participants more altruistic in real life.
…
“The idea is, I truly believe VR is a good tool to teach you about yourself and to teach you empathy,” said Bailenson. “We want to know how robust that effect is, how long-lasting, because I can see this becoming a tool we all use.”

Also see:

Using virtual reality to overcome fear, reduce prejudice — from usatoday.com by Edward C. Baig

A somewhat related posting:

Virtual reality, augmented reality theme park being built in China — from fortune.com by John Gaudiosi

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Fusing art, culture, and retail with virtual reality, augmented reality, and themed architecture and design, each complex will include an interactive museum, a virtual zoo and aquarium, a digital art gallery, a live entertainment stage, an immersive movie theater, and themed experience retail.
…
“With virtual reality we can put you in the African savannah or fly you into outer space,” Christopher says. “This completely changes the idea of an old-fashioned museum by allowing kids to experience prehistoric dinosaurs or legendary creatures as we develop new experiences that keep them coming back for more. We’ll combine education and entertainment into one destination that’s always evolving.”

An AR-related posting:

From DSC:
This is very sharp Human Computer Interaction (HCI)! This should unleash some serious creativity. Microsoft is bringing Minecraft to Augmented Reality. Check out this clip!

Do you see what I see? Smart glasses, VR, and telepresence robots — from arstechnica.com by Megan Geuss
Heightened reality will hit industry and gaming before it changes anyone’s day-to-day.

Oculus VR unveils the version of Oculus Rift you’ll actually buy — from mashable.com by JP Mangalindan

Excerpt:

Oculus VR finally debuted the long-awaited consumer version of Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset, at a media event in San Francisco on Thursday [6/11/15].

“For the first time we’ll finally be on the inside of the game,” Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said onstage. “Gamers have been dreaming of this. We’ve all been dreaming of this for decades.”

Oculus Touch

Virtual reality apps market set to explode — from netguide.co.nz by Catherine Knowles

Excerpt:

Augmented Reality (AR) apps in the mobile games market will generate 420 million downloads annually by 2019, up from 30 million in 2014, according to Juniper Research’s research titled Augmented Reality: Consumer, Enterprise and Vehicles 2015-2019.

The emergence of Head Mounted Devices (HMDs) used in the home, such as Microsoft’s Hololens, will bring a surge in interest for AR games over the next five years, according to Juniper.

For the time being however, most AR downloads will occur via smartphones and tablets.

What the Surreal Vision acquisition means for Oculus — from fortune.com by John Gaudiosi
Oculus now has the technology to blend augmented reality with virtual reality.

Excerpt:

Oculus VR last week acquired Surreal Vision, a company creating real-time 3D scene reconstruction technology that will allow users to move around the room and interact with real-world objects while immersed in VR.

Microsoft pulls back curtain on Surface hub collaboration screen — from by Shira Ovide

Excerpt:

Microsoft announced on Wednesday [6/10/15] the price tag for a piece of audio-visual equipment that it first showed off in January. Surface Hub, which will cost up to $20,000 for a model with an 84-inch screen, is like the merger of a high-end video conference system, electronic whiteboard and Xbox.

The product plunges Microsoft headlong into competition with Cisco and other traditional providers of conference room audio-visual systems.

Microsoft is pitching Surface Hub as the best audio-video conference
equipment and collaboration tool a company can buy. It costs up to $20,000.
[From DSC: There will also be a $7,000, 55-inch version].

Bluescape launches new hardware program with MultiTaction, Planar Systems, and 3M — from Bluescape
Bluescape Showcases MultiTaction’s and Planar’s Interactive Displays Running Its Visual Collaboration Software at Booth #1690 at InfoComm 2015

Excerpt:

SAN CARLOS, CA–(Jun 15, 2015) – Bluescape, a persistent cloud-based platform for real-time visual collaboration, today announced the new Bluescape Hardware Program. Companies in the program offer hardware that complements the Bluescape experience and has been extensively tested and validated to work well with Bluescape’s platform. As collaboration spans across an entire enterprise, Bluescape strives to support a range of hardware options to allow an organization’s choice in hardware to fit different workspaces. The first three companies are market-leading interactive display vendors MultiTaction, Planar, and 3M.
…

MultiTaction, a leading developer of interactive display systems, offers advanced tracking performance that identifies fingers, hands, objects, 2D bar codes and IR pens. The unparalleled responsiveness of MultiTaction’s systems scales to an unlimited number of concurrent users and the displays are highly customizable to fit any existing corporate space. MultiTaction’s advanced interactive hardware combined with Bluescape’s software allows teams to connect content and people in one place, enabling deeper insights, meaningful innovation, and simultaneous collaboration across global time zones.

The classroom of the future: We went on a virtual field trip with Google Cardboard [Shanklin]

On 06/01/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, Google, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

The classroom of the future: We went on a virtual field trip with Google Cardboard — from gizmag.com by Will Shanklin

Excerpt:

Google’s Cardboard Expeditions is the company’s plan to get Cardboard VR headsets in the hands of teachers, for use in classrooms. While most companies start with AAA consumer products, and eventually find a way to get said products into the educational market, Google is jumping straight to that point – letting teachers use the cheap headsets to take students on virtual field trips.

I went on one of those field trips today, during a demo session at Google I/O. We may have been a group full of developers and other members of the press, but for a few minutes we played the roles of kids taking a field trip to the Natural History Museum. It was a fascinating glimpse into the classroom of the future.

This “trip” consisted of 360-degree photos of various points in the museum: T-Rex skeletons, Alaskan Moose and the like. Our “teacher” (in this case, a Googler) talked to us through our headphones, indicating points in our virtual environments that she was talking about – through circles and arrows that popped up to nudge us in the right direction.

@Jisc just featured you on my @RebelMouse http://t.co/H1PE6caX1j

— David Shindler (@David_Shindler) May 12, 2015

Also see:

Augmented and Virtual Reality get real: A look at media applications happening now — from digitalcontentnext.org by Michelle Manafy

Excerpt:

Here are some examples of the ways in which media outlets are leveraging AR:

National Geographic was early to experiment with AR—notably with its 2011 shopping mall experience that allowed shoppers to interact with dinosaurs. More recently, National Geographic has begun to leverage AR for educational experiences that enhance explorations of natural places.
Disney also offers an “edutainment” application of AR with its Disneynature Explore app, which offers kids a way to take adventures in their own backyards while learning more about nature along the way.
Conde Nast Traveler uses GPS data location and augmented reality in its iPhone Apps to allow travelers to find things and learn more simply by pointing their phone in a given direction.
Conde Nast is also among several media outlets—including Time Inc., The Wall Street Journal and Warner Brothers Interactive—that are working with Shazam, which can scan physical objects for augmented reality and other enhanced content.

Virtual reality headsets and content will be “the next mega tech theme” and a market worth more than $60 billion in a decade, according to investment bank, Piper Jaffray Cos. And as we increasingly see, mega tech themes quickly become mega media themes, as the two are intertwined in the minds—and devices—of consumers.

Here’s how you build an augmented reality game for HoloLens — from theverge.com by Adi Robertson

Excerpt:

Programming a hologram sounds like something that should be done with some kind of special cybergloves on a computer the size of a ‘60s IBM mainframe. But at Build 2015, Microsoft has been quietly taking developers through the “Holographic Academy,” a 90-minute training session that teaches them the basics of building projects for its HoloLens augmented reality headset. I’m not a developer, but Microsoft let me and some other journalists go through it as well — and it turns out that basic hologram creation is, if not exactly straightforward, at least pretty understandable.

From DSC:
Will designing learning-related games for augmented reality and virtual reality become an area of specialty within Instructional Design? Within Programming/Computer Studies-related programs? Within Human Computer Interface design programs or User Experience Design programs? Will we need a team-based approach to deliver such products and services?

I wonder how one would go about getting trained in this area in the future if you wanted to create games for education or for the corporate training/L&D world? Will institutions of higher education respond to this sort of emerging opportunity or will we leave it up to the bootcamps/etc. to offer?

Also see:

MINI Reveals Augmented Reality Concept With X-Ray View — from wtvox.com by Ana Alves

Also see:

New Demo of Microsoft HoloLens Unveils the Future of Holographic Computing — from seriouswonder.com by B.J. Murphy
Excerpt:
What happens when you combine holographic technology with augmented reality and the Internet of Things (IoT)? Well, it would appear that you’ll soon be getting a hands-on experience of just that, all thanks to the Microsoft HoloLens. At the Build Developers Conference, Microsoft had unveiled the HoloLens and shocked the world on just how far we’ve come in developing legitimate, functional augmented reality and holographic computing.

Will you be able to overlay an AR layer when you go to the theatre in the future?

On 04/29/2015, in 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, drama/theater, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, K-12 related, UK, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
First of all, I saw the following article:

Globe Theatre launch new augmented reality app — from standard.co.uk by Anna Davis
Take a look at Shakespeare’s theatre wherever you are

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A new “augmented reality” app will allow children from across the world to stand inside Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in Southwark.

The free app, released to mark the Bard’s 451st birthday, lets users create a 3D version of the theatre in the palm of their hands and explore inside.

It is one of the first uses of the latest augmented reality technology for schools and the first app of its kind created by a theatre.

From DSC:
The article got me to thinking…it made me wonder about taking things a step further with the application of augmented reality (AR) as it pertains to the theatre.

Pretend that you are at a play or an opera. You could turn your mobile device towards the stage and zoom in on various objects, people, places. Image/object/facial recognition software could allow you to get more information about who is on stage at any given time (I’m not a fan of facial recognition, but this might be an exception for me).

Perhaps such an app could even provide language translation for you. Listening to an aria in Italian but want to know what the words are? Who is that villain over there in the corner of the stage and what’s his role in this story? What village or town is this act in? What’s the year?

Or perhaps one could find “Easter Eggs” within the app that might unlock further meaning for the story.

Hmm….very interesting indeed.

Leeds College of Music educates students with Junaio [metaio.com]

On 04/24/2015, in Augmented Reality (AR), innovation, instructional design, mobile learning, music, productivity / tips and tricks, student-related, training / L&D, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Leeds College of Music educates students with Junaio — from blog.metaio.com

Excerpt:

If you’ve ever seen a mixing console before, then you already know what I’m talking about. Those consoles can be a headache to prospective sound engineers in the industry, and to the laymen, it’s nearly impossible to figure out how to maneuver all the knobs and buttons. It’s no wonder that Ruth Clark and Craig Golding of Leeds College of Music set out to come up with a better solution to make audio equipment approachable for their undergraduate students.

First of all, using an e-learning software package called Articulate Storyline, they provided the students with an interactive manual that taught them how to use audio mixing equipment. But this application alone didn’t satisfy Clark and Golding. They also reached out to Matt Ramirez, Senior Augmented Reality Developer at Jisc, the charity offering digital services and solutions to UK education and research, to create something that was far beyond the original scope of the project. The manual was enhanced with Augmented Reality – deployed in Junaio – giving students an easy and innovative way to visualize the various panels and buttons on the mixer console with color-coded overlays: by tapping on the colored parts, students were then able to get additional information for each panel in real time.

Trends and resources re: mobile learning

On 04/14/2015, in Augmented Reality (AR), educational games / serious games, future, mobile learning, mobile technologies, second screen apps, social media, trends, wearables, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

New eBook: Mobile Learning in Context — from learningsolutionsmag.com, Janet Clarey, & others; with thanks to Mayra Aixa Villar for this item

Excerpt:

Mobile learning is here to stay: Why be tied to a computer when you can spend the day where you want and learn at the same time? But mLearning isn’t just eLearning on a smaller screen. It has specific demands and offers unique opportunities. Are you making the most of your mLearning? The eLearning Guild’s free eBook, Mobile Learning in Context, might inspire you to rethink your approach.

Rethink your approach
For Mobile Learning in Context, contributing editor Janet Clarey assembled a group of mobile learning thought leaders and asked for their take on the range of mLearning topics. Each of the essays will make you consider the possibilities of mobile learning in a whole new light. Among the eBook’s highlights:

Watch out for these trends in mobile learning: 2015 and beyond — from blog.originlearning.com

Excerpt:

Global mobile data traffic grew 69 percent in 2014 and was nearly 30 times the size of the entire global Internet in 2000
Mobile video traffic exceeded 50 percent of total mobile data traffic for the first time in 2012
Mobile network (cellular) connection speeds grew 20 percent in 2014
In 2014, on an average, a smart device generated 22 times more traffic than a non-smart device.

These are just some excerpts from Cisco’s Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update for 2014 to 2019, but they clearly prove a point. That, the usage of mobiles is growing faster than ever before, backed by the rolling out of quicker internet speeds and smarter phones at affordable prices.

The research has also made important forecasts for the next 5 years, such as:
The number of mobile-connected devices exceeded the world’s population in 2014.
4G traffic will be more than half of the total mobile traffic by 2017.
Because of increased usage on smartphones, smartphones will reach three-quarters of mobile data traffic by 2019.

Now against the backdrop of such information, it is interesting to explore what role mobiles are playing in shaping up the workplace learning scenario. These trends with mobile learning are evidence to the fact that we are on the brink of a new era of learning – through the mobile device.

Learning in a Multi-device World (Infographic) — from upsidelearning.com by Pranjalee Thanekar; with thanks to Mayra Aixa Villar for this item

Excerpt:

According to the Verto Analytics’ Device Ecosystem US 2014 report, the average number of smartphones, tablets and computers used by an average US adult is 2.8 devices. Further, consumers show an increasingly polarised preference towards a particular device and platform as technology evolves. This indicates the increasing dependency on devices, generated by the ease in switching between tasks and the leverage it provides.

Learning Ecosystems

ScopeAR beams an expert to you through augmented reality [Greg Kumparak]

5 augmented reality startups to watch this year [Tsao]

Augmented Reality – hype, or the future? [mybroadband.co.za]

Will VR allow us to raise cultural intelligence, promote empathy, & reduce racism? It’s very likely.

Virtual reality, augmented reality, telepresence robots, & collaboration hubs

The classroom of the future: We went on a virtual field trip with Google Cardboard [Shanklin]

Reflections on “Here’s how you build an augmented reality game for HoloLens” [Robertson]

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