A/V — audio/visual

Heads-up higher ed! These vendors can help us bring remote learners into our face-to-face based classrooms! [Christian]

On 04/20/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, blended learning, change, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, formal learning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, geography / geology, global / globalization, Google, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, informal learning, innovation, internet, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, microlearning, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, participation, platforms, professional development, reinvent, student-related, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telepresence, tools, training / L&D, trends, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In terms of learning, having to be in the same physical place as others continues to not be a requirement nearly as much as it used to be. But I’m not just talking about online learning here. I’m talking about a new type of learning environment that involves both hardware and software to facilitate collaboration (and it was designed that way from day 1). These new types of setups can provide us with new opportunities and affordances that we should begin experimenting with immediately.

Check out the following products — all of which allow a person to contribute to a discussion or conversation from anywhere they can get Internet access:

When you go to those sites, you will see words and phrase such as:

Visual collaboration software
Virtual workspace
Develop
Share
Inspire
Design
Global teams
A visual collaboration solution that links locations, teams, content, and devices in an immersive, shared workspace
Teamwork
Create and brainstorm with others
Digital workplace platform
Eliminate the distance between in-office and remote employees
Jumpstart spontaneous brainstorms and working sessions

So using these types of software and hardware setups, I can contribute regardless of where I’m located. Remote learning — from anywhere in the world — being combined with our face-to-face based classrooms.

Also, the push for Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) continues across higher education. Such hands-on, project-learning based, student-centered approaches fit extremely well with the collaboration setups mentioned above.

Then, there’s the insight from Simon Dudley in this article:

“…video conferencing is increasingly an application within in a larger workflow…”

Lastly, if colleges and universities don’t have the funds to maintain their physical plants, look for higher education to move increasingly online — and these types of solutions could play a significant role in that environment. Plus, for working adults who need to reinvent themselves, this is an extremely efficient means of picking up some new skills and competencies.

So the growth of these types of setups — where the software and hardware work together to support worldwide collaboration — will likely create a powerful, new, emerging piece of our learning ecosystems.

Remote learning — from anywhere in the world — being combined with our face-to-face based classrooms.

As our population gets older, providing these types of devices to employees would create WIN-WIN situations!

On 04/11/2017, in A/V -- audio/visual, health, ideas, innovation, parents/guardians, society, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As our population gets older, providing the types of devices (as listed below) to employees would create WIN-WIN situations for all involved — employees, employers, and the aging parents or loved ones. Doing so could:

Reduce time away from work — i.e., less travel, less overnights, etc.
Reduce stress and ease the employees’ minds — i.e., have the peace of mind that one’s parent(s) is (are) doing ok
Allow some mobility around the apartment, home, or nursing home to see that everything is ok
Allow for some limited conversations with employees and their parents if the parents needed something

http://www.doublerobotics.com/

http://anybots.com/

http://www.mantarobot.com/

http://www.vgocom.com/

https://www.suitabletech.com/beam/

New from Apple: Clips

On 04/10/2017, in A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, digital audio, digital storytelling, digital video, media/film, mobile learning, multimedia, new media literacies, story, storytelling, tools, by Daniel Christian

2 items re: Lifeliqe and Mixed Reality (MR) in the classroom

On 04/08/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, health, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), science, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Lifeliqe Piloting Mixed Reality on Microsoft HoloLens for Grade 6-12 Classrooms — from thejournal.com by Richard Chang

Excerpt:

Using interactive 3D models and lesson plans from its app, Lifeliqe (pronounced “life like”) is now delivering educational content on two major immersive hardware platforms (Microsoft HoloLens and HTC Vive) as well as software platforms (Windows and iOS).

Students and teachers at Renton Prep Christian School in Washington state and Castro Valley Unified College in California participated in the pilot and were the first ever to try out Lifeliqe’s educational content on HoloLens during a science lesson (see video).

“The excitement we witnessed during the pilot shows us the great potential mixed reality has in sparking lightbulb moments.”

Lifeliqe is introducing pilots of mixed reality applications on Microsoft HoloLens — from lifeliqe.com

Excerpt:

Lifeliqe is thrilled to start piloting mixed reality educational scenarios for Microsoft HoloLens in grade 6-12 classrooms! The first two schools we are working with are Renton Prep in Seattle, WA and Castro Valley Unified College, CA. The students and teachers there were the first ever to try out Lifeliqe’s educational content on HoloLens during a Science lesson.

From DSC:
After reviewing the article and video (below), it will be interesting to see how machine-to-machine (M2M) communications will be used in combination with augmented reality — and perhaps with virtual reality and mixed reality as well. That is, get to within a certain range of an object, and something automatically happens on your mobile device or your head mounted device. Perhaps that’s the sort of thing Apple is building into their next smart phone. It would sure open up some interesting learning and entertainment-related experiences — as such new affordances could help foster anticipation and curiosity, while grabbing someone’s attention.

This type of thing could easily become a piece of the future of art and creativity.

Mini-Mirages Emerge in an Augmented Reality Art Exhibition — from creators.vice.com by Nathaniel Ainley
Adrien M and Claire B’s latest series of installations basically looks like Harry Potter magic come to life.

Excerpt:

Even in its early beta stages, the new live exhibition from digital artists Adrien M and Claire B will have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief. Throughout their Mirages & Miracles display, the artist duo uses wondrous applications of augmented reality to create an orchestra of new installations, both small and large. Much like their live dance performance work at BAM, the new bundle merges the digital with the material, blurring the lines between what is real and what is fake. The multi-pronged ensemble uses augmented drawings, holographic illusions, virtual-reality headsets, and large-scale projections to create a number of unbelievable scenarios “that take root in both the mirage and the miracle,” according to the duo.

Mirages & miracles, premier aperçu… from Adrien M & Claire B on Vimeo.

“The Best Amazon Alexa Skills” [Griffith] & “5 Alexa skills to try this week” [Johnson]

On 04/03/2017, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, human-computer interaction (HCI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

The Best Amazon Alexa Skills — from in.pcmag.com by Eric Griffith

Example skills:

5 Alexa skills to try this week — from venturebeat.com by Khari Johnson

Excerpt:

Below are five noteworthy Amazon Alexa skills worth trying, chosen from New, Most Enabled Skills, Food and Drink, and Customer Favorites categories in the Alexa Skills Marketplace.

From DSC:
I’d like to see how the Verse of the Day skill performs.

Also see:

From DSC:
This topic reminds me of a slide from my NGLS 2017 Conference presentation:

(Below emphasis via DSC)

IBM and Ricoh have partnered for a cognitive-enabled interactive whiteboard which uses IBM’s Watson intelligence and voice technologies to support voice commands, taking notes and actions and even translating into other languages.

The Intelligent Workplace Solution leverages IBM Watson and Ricoh’s interactive whiteboards to allow to access features via using voice. It makes sure that Watson doesn’t just listen, but is an active meeting participant, using real-time analytics to help guide discussions.

Features of the new cognitive-enabled whiteboard solution include:

Global voice control of meetings: Once a meeting begins, any employee, whether in-person or located remotely in another country, can easily control what’s on the screen, including advancing slides, all through simple voice commands using Watson’s Natural Language API.
Translation of the meeting into another language: The Intelligent Workplace Solution can translate speakers’ words into several other languages and display them on screen or in transcript.
Easy-to-join meetings: With the swipe of a badge the Intelligent Workplace Solution can log attendance and track key agenda items to ensure all key topics are discussed.
Ability to capture side discussions: During a meeting, team members can also hold side conversations that are displayed on the same whiteboard.

From DSC:

Holy smokes!

If you combine the technologies that Ricoh and IBM are using with their new cognitive-enabled interactive whiteboard with what Bluescape is doing — by providing 160 acres of digital workspace that’s used to foster collaboration (and to do so whether you are working remotely or working with others in the same physical space) — and you have one incredibly powerful platform!

VR, AR, & MR: A free PowerPoint from me to you [Christian]

On 03/17/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, design, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), mobile technologies, multimedia, platforms, play, student-related, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As I was putting together a PowerPoint slideshow for our Teaching & Learning Digital Studio, I figured I might as well make it available for others to see and use as well. So here it is as a PowerPoint slideshow (.ppsx file). Alternatively, if this works better for you on that end, here’s a PDF file of that information.

Daniel Christian: My PowerPoint slideshow (.ppsx file) on Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, & Mixed Reality

A smorgasboard of ideas to put on your organization’s radar! [Christian]

On 03/15/2017, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, Amazon, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), Blockchain, bots, business side of he, career development, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online tutoring, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, robotics, RSS, social learning / networks, society, staying relevant, strategy, streams of content, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, trends, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
At the Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference, held recently in San Diego, CA, I moderated a panel discussion re: AR, VR, and MR. I started off our panel discussion with some introductory ideas and remarks — meant to make sure that numerous ideas were on the radars at attendees’ organizations. Then Vinay and Carrie did a super job of addressing several topics and questions (Mary was unable to make it that day, as she got stuck in the UK due to transportation-related issues).

That said, I didn’t get a chance to finish the second part of the presentation which I’ve listed below in both 4:3 and 16:9 formats. So I made a recording of these ideas, and I’m relaying it to you in the hopes that it can help you and your organization.

Presentations/recordings:

Audio/video recording (187 MB MP4 file)

Again, I hope you find this information helpful.

Thanks,
Daniel

Stryker is using Microsoft’s HoloLens to design operating rooms of the future [Coppock]

On 02/28/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, interactivity, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Stryker is using Microsoft’s HoloLens to design operating rooms of the future — from digitaltrends.com by Mark Coppock

Excerpt:

Augmented reality has a number of increasingly important applications in a variety of industries, from engineering to retail to interior design. One of the most exciting applications of AR, and the one that promises perhaps the most immediate impact on our lives, is in medicine, where AR can help educate, diagnose, and even treat disease in new and innovative ways.

Microsoft’s HoloLens AR solution is perhaps the most advanced today in terms of becoming a part of the real world, even while it’s not yet a retail option aimed at consumers. Global medical technology company Stryker, which is using HoloLens to redesign the operating room, provides a clear example of the potential of AR in this setting.

From DSC:
Microsoft uses the term “mixed reality” when they are discussing their Hololens product:

Using HoloLens and Stryker’s new By Design solution, hospital stakeholders are now able to envision the ideal operating room configuration with the power of holograms and the benefit of mixed reality.

Want assistance on an AR-related project? Perhaps one of these companies can help you out!

On 02/23/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), business, collaboration, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

The 10 Best Augmented Reality (AR) App Development Companies in the World

Excerpt:

Finding the best way to position and utilise your business when you’re dealing with future technologies like AR can be a difficult proposition. The skill set required is a relatively new thing, and the mobile developers who can do it, and are good at it, are likely to already be seeing offers from other companies. All of this adds up to mean that finding new talent to drive your AR business forward isn’t easy, and this is compounded if you’re new to the game and haven’t established a foothold. In an attempt to make it easier for you, we’ve already covered the top 10 IoT (Internet of Things) developers – and 3 ways to overcome your app backlog before that – and this week we’re looking at AR developers. Using our number crunching based on Alexa rankings, here’s who came out on top.

The example images below were taken from this video clip from eonreality.com

VR headsets: Which one is for you?; 12 AR apps for students; VR is helping the prison system; & more

On 02/10/2017, in A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), education, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, history, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, society, tools, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Part 2: Virtual Reality Headsets: Which One Is For You? — from 900lbs.com

steven_vr

Excerpt:

It’s 2017, a new year, and another tremendous growth opportunity for VR and AR. With advancements in eye-tracking technology, inside-out camera-based positional tracking, the implementation of add-on wireless capabilities for tethered headsets, and a push for lower price points, just like the preceding year, 2017 will continue to be a time of growth and technological innovation for virtual and augmented reality headsets.

As mentioned before, VR/AR headsets are still in the introduction stage of the product cycle while steadily creeping into its second iteration as investment in R&D is being poured into the industry. Here at 900lbs, we’re researching all we can to stay on frontier of the emerging market, making sure we’re using the greatest, if not latest, hardware and software for our projects.

We compiled a list of the coolest, mind-blowing headsets last year (Part 1), but much has changed and will change. Here’s an updated list of the coolest (still mind-blowing) headsets available or soon-to-be-available on the market now. Note: we included some of the headsets we covered in our original post.

12 augmented reality apps students can use today — from ecampusnews.com by Laura Ascione
As augmented reality’s classroom potential grows, apps are becoming more relevant and targeted

Excerpt:

Augmented reality–a technology that uses a trigger image to superimpose digital content over a user’s view of the real world–is growing in popularity and accessibility, and it holds a wealth of potential for education.
…
“If you can captivate those kids when you introduce the lesson, you know they’re going to pay attention throughout the lesson,” Peterson said. “This is a great way to grab kids and get them involved.”

How VR is Helping the Broken Prison System — from vudream.com by Mark Metry

Excerpt:

Virtual Rehab focuses on 4 areas:

Formal Education
Virtual Rehab will develop an interactive formal education tool, where inmates can strengthen their knowledge of English, Business, Mathematics, Sciences, Technology, and other courses, as deemed appropriate
Vocational Job Training
Leveraging Virtual Rehab’s interactive tool, inmates will be able to acquire new vocational job training skills including car mechanic, plumbing, welding, carpentry, and others, as deemed appropriate
Psychological Rehabilitation
Virtual Rehab’s interactive tool will assist in treating inmates psychological challenges including mental & emotional disorders, co-existing disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and others, as deemed appropriate
Correctional Services Rehabilitation
The real-life scenarios and interactivity of Virtual Rehab’s tool will allow inmates to undergo correctional services rehabilitation across sex offending, family violence, alcoholism, and others, as deemed appropriate.

Outline of a VR History App — from medium.com by Robson Beaudry

Companies Creating AR Smart Glasses — from thearea.org

“Your Next Personal Robot Could Be Professor Einstein”

On 02/04/2017, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, computer science, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, engineering, Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, robotics, technologies for your home, user experience (UX), vendors, by Daniel Christian

Your Next Personal Robot Could Be Professor Einstein

From DSC:
By the way, I’m not posting this to suggest that professors/teachers/trainers/etc. are going away due to AI-based technologies. Humans like to learn with other humans (and we are decades away from a general AI anyway).

That said, I do think there’s a place for technologies to be used as beneficial tools. In this case, such an AI-backed robot could help with some of the heavy lifting of learning about a new subject or topic. This interesting piece — currently out at Kickstarter — is a good example of the combination of a variety of technologies such as AI/speech recognition/natural language processing (NLP), robotics, and other technologies.

Notice that you can download more interactive apps from the cloud with Professor Einstein. In other words, this is like a platform. (Along these lines…developers gave Alexa 4000 new skills last quarter — Amazon is creating a platform as well.)

Bottom line: AI needs to be on our radars.

Alexa got 4,000 new skills in just the last quarter! | DC: What are the teaching & learning ramifications of this?

On 02/03/2017, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, career development, change, communications, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, microlearning, platforms, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, user experience (UX), vendors, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from Amazon fumbles earnings amidst high expectations (emphasis DSC):

Aside from AWS, Amazon Alexa-enabled devices were the top-selling products across all categories on Amazon.com throughout the holiday season and the company is reporting that Echo family sales are up over 9x compared to last season. Amazon aims to brand Alexa as a platform, something that has helped the product to gain capabilities faster than its competition. Developers and corporates released 4,000 new skills for the voice assistant in just the last quarter.

Alexa got 4,000 new skills in just the last quarter!

From DSC:
What are the teaching & learning ramifications of this?

By the way, I’m not saying for professors, teachers, & trainers to run for the hills (i.e., that they’ll be replaced by AI-based tools). But rather, I would like to suggest that we not only put this type of thing on our radars, but we should begin to actively experiment with such technologies to see if they might be able to help us do some heavy lifting for students learning about new topics.

VR First: Democratizing VR/AR Innovation

On 02/03/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, Asia, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), Canada, change, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, consortiums, convergence, creativity, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Europe, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, health, higher education, history, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, India, innovation, interaction design, interactivity, media/film, Mixed Reality (MR), online learning, platforms, play, psychology, social learning / networks, social media, tools, UK, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, wearables, by Daniel Christian

Some excerpts of this infographic:

Learning Ecosystems

As our population gets older, providing these types of devices to employees would create WIN-WIN situations!

New from Apple: Clips

After watching this, it will be interesting to see how machine-to-machine communications will be used in combination with AR/VR/MR

Stryker is using Microsoft’s HoloLens to design operating rooms of the future [Coppock]

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