communications

Methods and tools to develop future-ready skills — from blog.neolms.com by Rachelle Dene Poth

Excerpt:

Because of the changes that we experienced in the past year, I believe that it is important to have various options, whether teaching in-person, hybrid, or virtually. Choosing methods like Genius hour or project-based learning, activities such as scavenger hunts or learning stations, or selecting digital tools that promote more interaction with and between students will help foster the development of essential future-ready and SEL skills.

There are many methods and tools to explore, but it’s important to focus on the why behind the choices we make for our students. The use of digital tools promotes collaboration, communication, creativity and many more essential skills while also promoting the power of choice for students to share what they have learned.

More choice. More control.

Also see:

What is Breakout EDU and How Can It Be Used for Teaching? Tips and Tricks — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
Breakout EDU is a puzzle game based in the real world and digitally that’s great for team-based learning

Escape rooms have become very popular as a place teams can go to work out how to get free from the room in which they are “trapped.” It’s like a real-world version of a computer game that makes you work together to solve puzzles to escape from somewhere.

Breakout EDU helps to bring that experience to educators so as to better engage students and help them learn while having fun.

Animation Trends 2022: Experimental and Open-Minded [Boicheva]

On 01/14/2022, in animation, art, communications, creativity, design, experimentation, graphics, innovation, media/film, trends, by Daniel Christian

Animation Trends 2022: Experimental and Open-Minded — from graphicmama.com by Al Boicheva

Excerpt:

Just barely kicking off the new year, the Graphic Design trends are already in full power raising the game in all graphic design fields. With a wonderful mix of nostalgia, movement, and open-mindedness, the trends bring more excitement for animation as well. Do you love complex hyper-realistic CGI or do you prefer classic animation on the Lo-Fi end? What about dynamic typography or old school? Whatever the case, get ready for the Animation trends 2022 because this year is all about going fully experimental.

Get ready for…

Here’s a nice moderator checklist, courtesy of Eva Keiffenheim

On 01/13/2022, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, biology, business, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, distance education, education, education technology, faculty/staff, health, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, learning theories, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Here’s a nice moderator checklist, courtesy of Eva Keiffenheim — from her Learn Letter, dated 1/12/22

Also see the following item from Eva Keiffenheim:

Four Brain and Energy Hacks for Better Learning — from medium.com
Use these mental and physical shortcuts to increase learning efficiency.

But how does exercise transform your brain? She shares the three main changes…

Interesting: Samsung builds NFT viewers right into their new TVs.

On 01/06/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, art, communications, copyright/ownership/NFTs, innovation, television, tools, TVs, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Why Samsung built an NFT aggregator into its new TVs — from digitaltrends.com by Phil Nickinson

Excerpt:

Or, perhaps, it’s the idea of an “NFT aggregation platform” being built into the television. It sounds insane — baking something that most people don’t understand, let alone engage in — into a TV. Most of us can’t even describe what a non-fungible token is, let alone tell someone how to go get one. It’s a multi-layered process that’s far more difficult than taking a screenshot of something you saw on Instagram and then sticking it up on your TV.

But that’s also not the point.
…
“In 2022, Samsung is introducing the world’s first TV screen-based NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator,” reads the press release, “a groundbreaking platform that lets you browse, purchase, and display your favorite art — all in one place.”

28 Website Accessibility Terms to Know in 2022 [Juviler]

On 12/29/2021, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, business, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Metaverse, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, online media, online tutoring, society, student-related, teaching & learning, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, web design and production, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

28 Website Accessibility Terms to Know in 2022 — from blog.hubspot.com by Jamie Juviler

Excerpt:

No matter the type of website you run or the industry that you’re in, prioritizing web accessibility is key to your success.
…
To ensure your website meets today’s standards for web accessibility, you’ll first need to understand the terminology. Accessibility is a big, dense area with a lot of jargon, acronyms, and codes — enough to steer a new website owner away from the topic altogether.

That’s why we’ve put together this glossary of 28 essential web accessibility terms any website owners should be aware of. By knowing the language, you’ll find it much easier to adopt accessibility principles on your own site and better serve visitors with disabilities.

Addendum on 12/31/21:

Accessibility awareness is on the rise, but is it turning into action? — from techcrunch.com by Joe Devon

Excerpts:

A Harris Poll reveals that more than half of American adults increased their online activities because of the pandemic. That number grows to 60% for people with disabilities.

The increase in online activities does not mean that everyone is able to achieve their goals. So, what kind of impact is the crisis having on accessibility? Are organizations finally getting the message on the importance of accessibility?
…

With that, here are the key results from the Alexa top 100 website testing:

- Out of the websites tested, 62% were accessible to screen readers, up from 40% in 2020.
- Every single page passed for having the valid document “lang” attribute.
- Only 11% of websites tested had errors in input field labels.
- The most common error was the use of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications specification)
- The second most common error was color contrast.

From DSC:
That last article linked to:

The 2021 State of Accessibility Report (SOAR) report

Appvent Calendar 2021 — from ICT Evangelist

On 12/21/2021, in animation, art, attention, Canada, communications, creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, Google, graphics, mathematics, media/film, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multimedia, music, online learning, online media, participation, pedagogy, platforms, play, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, science, society, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from this posting:

Welcome to day 21 of the 2021 Appvent Calendar. It’s been so much fun sharing all of these amazing tools each day across the month so far. With Google featuring twice already on the calendar, it’s great to share again the awe and wonder of human history in the arts and within our cultures with the sharing of this amazing free app. Thanks to Gustavo Calderón De Anda for suggesting it!

Also see:

14 measurement apps for teaching math & science — from teachthought and Glenda Stewart-Smith
Glenda Stewart-Smith of Surrey School District #36 in Canada, along with TeachThought staff, helped put together this collection of iPhone and iPad apps that offer all of these measuring abilities and more.

Web 3.0 vs Metaverse: What’s the difference? — from homo-digitalis.net by Fabian Schmidt

Excerpt:

So what is Web 3.0?

On Twitter, a user asked if someone could explain the term in baby talk. I thought one answer was good:

- Web 1.0 = Read
- Web 2.0 = Read/Write
- Web 3.0 = Read/Write/Own

This is a sufficient simplification to gain an initial understanding. Yet a bit more information is still important.

Let’s get one thing straight right away. As with all things in the making, there is not yet a clear-cut definition of Web 3.0. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the classic web, thinks of the semantic web as the next big step.
…
Since 2020/2021, there is another idea of Web3, and it is inspired by a new form of technology: Blockchains. At its core is a new wave of decentralization.

Besides decentralization, other key topics related to Web 3.0 include Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO), Non-fungible-tokens (NFT), and Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

The metaverse is a digital world that is meant to feel as real as possible and can represent all concerns of human existence. From leisure to work.

Fabian Schmidt, Homo Digitalis, 2021

Bill Gates: Most Work Meetings Will Happen In The Metaverse In 3 Years — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

Excerpt:

“Within the next two or three years, I predict most virtual meetings will move from 2D camera image grids—which I call the Hollywood Squares model, although I know that probably dates me—to the metaverse, a 3D space with digital avatars,” said Gates in the post. “Both Facebook and Microsoft recently unveiled their visions for this, which gave most people their first view of what it will look like”.

Adidas to enter the metaverse with first NFT products — from dezeen.com by Rima Sabina Aouf

Excerpt:

Adidas has announced its next collection will be a mix of digital and physical items, and will be sold as NFTs produced with collaborators such as Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Titled Into the Metaverse, the collection will comprise virtual wearables that buyers can use in online platforms, but also the physical clothing to match.

It is Adidas’ first collection of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens – essentially, digital collectibles with proven authenticity. NFTs act as a blockchain-based certificate of ownership, allowing pieces to be authenticated, bought and collected.

How Coinbase thinks about the Metaverse — from blog.coinbase.com by Brian Armstrong & Alex Reeve

Excerpt:

Primitive Metaverse platforms are selling virtual land for millions of dollars. Billions more are being invested in Metaverse startups. And Mark Zuckerberg recently renamed his entire company to reflect a focus on building the Metaverse.
…
Recently, our team put together an internal presentation about the Metaverse, who’s working on it, and how crypto will help make it real. I thought the presentation was well done, so I’m sharing most of the slides here.
…
Like Matt[hew Ball], we define the Metaverse as:

The future of the internet: A massively-scaled, persistent, interactive, and interoperable real-time platform comprised of interconnected virtual worlds where people can socialize, work, transact, play, and create.
…
The Metaverse is the distant evolution of Web3. In its most complete form, it will be a series of decentralized, interconnected virtual worlds with a fully functioning economy where people can do just about anything they can do in the physical world.

How augmented books should be? [Ori Inbar]

On 12/17/2021, in art, Augmented Reality (AR), communications, creativity, design, digital learning, digital storytelling, experimentation, graphics, reading, story, storytelling, tools, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

How Augmented Books should be? #JingleJangle pic.twitter.com/OfzECdbsuY

— Ori Inbar (@comogard) December 14, 2021

Four resources relating to legaltech — from Zach Abramowitz

On 12/17/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), change, changing business models, collaboration, communications, disruption, entrepreneurship, game-changing environment, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The following items are from a recent presentation by Zach Abramowitz entitled “Legal Disruption: Key Trends to Watch in 2022.” By the way, you can sign up for Zach’s legal newsletter at zachabramowitz.substack.com/

Marble Law

Darrow raises $20 million to uncover corporate legal violations and bring justice to all — from calcalistech.com by Meir Orbach
The Israeli startup is focused on locating violations that have caused damage to millions of people on average – the threshold for a potential class-action lawsuit

Excerpt:

Darrow has developed a machine learning-based platform which discovers legal violations by some of the biggest corporations in the world. Operating chiefly in the U.S., the company is focused on locating violations that have caused damage to millions of people on average – the threshold for a potential class-action lawsuit.

TermScout

Why school might look a little different these days — from dangerouslyirrelevant.org by Scott McLeod

A provocative claim from DeepMind!

On 12/14/2021, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, communications, computer science, emerging technologies, Google, innovation, languages and translation, vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

DeepMind Says Its New AI Has Almost the Reading Comprehension of a High Schooler — from futurism.com by Victor Tangermann
A provocative claim!

Excerpt:

Alphabet’s AI research company DeepMind has released the next generation of its language model, and it says that it has close to the reading comprehension of a high schooler — a startling claim.

It says the language model, called Gopher, was able to significantly improve its reading comprehension by ingesting massive repositories of texts online.

Antonio Sacre on the Power of Storytelling in Education [Spencer & Sacre]

On 12/13/2021, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital storytelling, education, experimentation, faculty/staff, story, storytelling, universities, youth, by Daniel Christian

Antonio Sacre on the Power of Storytelling in Education — from spencerauthor.com by John Spencer

Per John:

I had the honor of interviewing celebrated author Antonio Sacre on the power of storytelling in education. Check out the podcast below.

Born in Boston to a Cuban father and Irish-American mother, Sacre is an internationally touring storyteller, author, and solo performance artist, based in Los Angeles. He has performed at the National Book Festival at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the National Storytelling Festival, as well as museums, schools, libraries, and festivals. Deemed “a charismatic, empathetic presence” by the Chicago Tribune, his stories have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and on National Public Radio.

DC: What would it look like if the VRJAM metaverse platform were available for teaching and learning-based applications/offerings?

On 12/02/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Blockchain, business, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, cryptocurrencies, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, drama/theater, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, media/film, Metaverse, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, participation, platforms, play, society, streams of content, technologies for your home, tools, UK, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, web-based collaboration, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

The VRJAM metaverse platform is coming to transform the world of live entertainment

VRJAM, the UK’s leading creator of live music experiences in virtual reality, today teased the launch of the VRJAM platform, a revolutionary new metaverse events platform and NFT creation solution.

To bring the VRJAM metaverse platform to life, VRJAM has partnered with market leading NFT software developer Enjin.io to launch a rich virtual reality world that offers a host of new solutions for artists to render and monetize their music and live shows in amazing new ways using NFT’s, blockchain and immersive technology.

The VRJAM platform promises to open up completely new ways for both fans and artist to experience live music events and represents the next step in the evolution of live music.

Ownership of this virtual world will be shared by a guild of globally recognised artists and record labels who will cooperate to create value and define new possibilities for music inside the metaverse.

VRJAM’s metaverse platform offers solutions for true live performance using technology that is years ahead of other similar platforms. It provides unsurpassed user experience and offers fans, artists and labels an array of unique features:

At the heart of the VRJAM metaverse platform is a blockchain based trading and finance system, VRJAM Coin. This revolutionary new cryptocurrency will create ways for both artists and fans to earn money inside the metaverse and promises to create entirely new business models for artists, venues and labels at a time when their traditional ways of making money have been turned upside down by the Covid 19 pandemic.

The VRJAM cryptocurrency is backed by investment from 5 of the world’s leading blockchain specialist investment and venture capital firms, demonstrating the exciting potential of VRJAM’s tech.

The VRJAM platform is scheduled to go live in early 2022, follow on social media to stay up to date.

From DSC:
Hmmmmm….might this type of thing spill over into the worlds of teaching and learning? More direct-to-consumer (learner) types of offerings? Will this open up the doors for new methods of earning a living or for those interested in building a teaching & learning-based brand?

Alternatively, will this impact what actors, actresses, and comedians will be able to do?

Addendum on 12/2/21:

Got Teacher Burnout? Launch A Microschool — from forbes.com by Kerry McDonald

EduMAX 2021 recap: Together for student success around the globe [Distefano]

On 12/02/2021, in 21st century, Adobe, Africa, animation, Asia, Australia, Canada, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education technology, Europe, experimentation, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, journalism, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, liberal arts, lifelong learning, media/film, multimedia, music, online learning, online media, passions, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, simulations, skills, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, universities, vendors, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

EduMAX 2021 recap: Together for student success around the globe — from blog.adobe.com by Sebastian Distefano

Excerpt:

University CIOs, deans, provosts, faculty and staff from more than 100 institutions convened online for the Adobe EduMAX 2021 conference, where academic leaders shared how they are transforming teaching and learning practices across their campuses. Key discussion points included:

How digital literacy increases engagement to bring faculty and students together, whether they are in-person, online or in a hybrid environment.
How digital literacy closes the skills gap in higher education and industry by fostering critical essential skills that employers value.
How faculty can integrate digital literacy across the curriculum for all students.

The State of Student Success & Engagement in Higher Education [Instructure]

On 12/01/2021, in adjunct faculty, Africa, Asia, Australia, blended learning, Canada, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, career development, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, digital learning, education technology, engagement / engaging students, Europe, expectations, experimentation, faculty/staff, health, higher education, hybrid learning, India, instructional design, leadership, learning ecosystem, online learning, pedagogy, skills, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, teaching & learning, trends, UK, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

The State of Student Success & Engagement in Higher Education — from instructure.com (authors of the Canvas LMS)
Our 2021 Global Student engagement and success study uncovers vital stats and key trends to help education institutions thrive through today’s education challenges.

Excerpt:

Connect students with alumni and potential employers through virtual networking, internships/externships, mentorship programs, and strategic partnerships.
Align curriculum with workforce outcomes and offer opportunities for students to showcase skill sets.
Close the perceived awareness gap of work/career readiness programs on campus with alumni programming highlighting the success of campus career resources.
Embed career exploration throughout the higher education experience and provide actionable insights into employment trends.

Learning Ecosystems

Animation Trends 2022: Experimental and Open-Minded [Boicheva]

Interesting: Samsung builds NFT viewers right into their new TVs.

Some items re: Web3 and the Metaverse

How augmented books should be? [Ori Inbar]

Four resources relating to legaltech — from Zach Abramowitz

Antonio Sacre on the Power of Storytelling in Education [Spencer & Sacre]

DC: What would it look like if the VRJAM metaverse platform were available for teaching and learning-based applications/offerings?

Categories

Tags