design

“Wall Street jobs won’t be spared from automation” + 22 other resources containing predictions for our future

On 12/22/2016, in Amazon, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, biology, bots, business, career development, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, data related items, design, emerging technologies, engineering, future, game-changing environment, Google, graphics, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, internet, IT in HE, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, multimedia, platforms, play, robotics, tools, trends, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, web design and production, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Wall Street Jobs Won’t Be Spared from Automation — from hbr.stfi.re by Thomas H. Davenport

Excerpt:

Some conference participants were concerned that this beleaguered region might grow. In fact, one attendee — an old friend who strategizes about technology for a big New York bank — commented that perhaps Wall Street would become “the new Rust Belt.” His concern was that automation of the finance industry would hollow out jobs in that field in the same way that robotics and other technologies have reduced manufacturing employment.

This is a sobering prospect, but there is plenty of evidence that it’s a real possibility. Key aspects of the finance industry have already been automated to a substantial degree. Jobs in the New York finance field have been declining for several years. According to data from research firm Coalition Ltd., more than 10,000 “front-office producer” jobs have been lost within the top 10 banks since 2011. Coalition also suggests that global fixed-income headcount has fallen 31% since 2011.

Predictions for 2017: How Will the Digital World of Work Transform HR? — from hrdailyadvisor.blr.com

Excerpt:

According to a new report, organizations are moving away from hierarchies, focusing on improving the employee experience, redesigning training, and reinventing the role of HR.

Business and HR leaders should rethink almost all of their management and HR practices as the proliferation of digital technologies transform the way organizations work, according to predictions for 2017 from Bersin by Deloitte, Deloitte Consulting LLP.

This year’s report includes 11 predictions about rapid technological, structural, and cultural changes that will reshape the world of work, including management, HR, and the markets for HR and workplace technology.

Artificial intelligence has a big year ahead — from cnet.com by Stepehn Shankland
In 2017, AI won’t just be for the nerdy companies. Machine learning can help with mortgage applications and bridge safety, too.

Excerpt:

Get ready for AI to show up where you’d least expect it.

In 2016, tech companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft launched dozens of products and services powered by artificial intelligence. Next year will be all about the rest of the business world embracing AI.

Artificial intelligence is a 60-year-old term, and its promise has long seemed like it was forever over the horizon. But new hardware, software, services and expertise means it’s finally real — even though companies will still need plenty of human brain power to get it working.

AI was one of the hottest trends in tech this year, and it’s only poised to get bigger. You’ve already brushed up against AI: It screens out spam, organizes your digital photos and transcribes your spoken text messages. In 2017, it will spread beyond digital doodads to mainstream businesses.

2017 Design Trends: Predictions from Top Creatives — howdesign.com by Callie Budrick

Excerpt:

The design world has seen its own changes and updates as well. And as we know, change is the only constant. We’ve asked some of the top creatives to share what 2017 design trends they think will be headed our way.

MapR Executive Chairman and Founder John Schroeder Identifies 6 Big Data Predictions for 2017 — from businesswire.com

Excerpt:

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The market has evolved from technologists looking to learn and understand new big data technologies to customers who want to learn about new projects, new companies and most importantly, how organizations are actually benefitting from the technology. According to John Schroeder, executive chairman and founder of MapR Technologies, Inc., the acceleration in big data deployments has shifted the focus to the value of the data. John has crystallized his view of market trends into these six major predictions for 2017…

The Most Exciting Medical Technologies of 2017 — from medicalfuturist.com

Excerpt:

2016 was a rich year for medical technology. Virtual Reality. Augmented Reality. Smart algorithms analysing wearable data. Amazing technologies arrived in our lives and on the market almost every day. And it will not stop in the coming year. The role of a futurist is certainly not making bold predictions about the future. No such big bet has taken humanity forward. Instead, our job is constantly analysing the trends shaping the future and trying to build bridges between them and what we have today. Still, people expect me to come up with predictions about medical technologies every year, and thus here they are.

2017 Predictions For AI, Big Data, IoT, Cybersecurity, And Jobs From Senior Tech Executives — from forbes.com by Gil Press

Excerpt:

Artificial intelligence (and machine/deep learning) is the hottest trend, eclipsing, but building on, the accumulated hype for the previous “new big thing,” big data. The new catalyst for the data explosion is the Internet of Things, bringing with it new cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The rapid fluctuations in the relative temperature of these trends also create new dislocations and opportunities in the tech job market.

The hottest segment of the hottest trend—artificial intelligence—is the market for chatbots. “The movement towards conversational interfaces will accelerate,” says Stuart Frankel, CEO, Narrative Science. “The recent, combined efforts of a number of innovative tech giants point to a coming year when interacting with technology through conversation becomes the norm. Are conversational interfaces really a big deal? They’re game-changing. Since the advent of computers, we have been forced to speak the language of computers in order to communicate with them and now we’re teaching them to communicate in our language.”

Allen Institute for AI Eyes the Future of Scientific Search — from wired.com by Cade Metz

Excerpt:

Google changed the world with its PageRank algorithm, creating a new kind of internet search engine that could instantly sift through the world’s online information and, in many cases, show us just what we wanted to see. But that was a long time ago. As the volume of online documents continues to increase, we need still newer ways of finding what we want.

That’s why Google is now running its search engine with help from machine learning, augmenting its predetermined search rules with deep neural networks that can learn to identify the best search results by analyzing vast amounts of existing search data. And it’s not just Google. Microsoft is pushing its Bing search engine in the same direction, and so are others beyond the biggest names in tech.

3 Forces Shaping Ed Tech in 2017 — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser
Ovum’s latest report examines the key trends that are expected to impact higher education in the new year.

Excerpts:

Institutions Will Support the Use of More Innovative Tech in Teaching and Learning
Schools Will Leverage Technology for Improving the Student Experience
The Next-Generation IT Strategy Will Focus More on IT Agility

Virtual Reality, AI Top Predictions for 2017 — from techzone360.com by Alicia Young

Excerpt:

We’ve seen a lot of exciting new innovations take place over the course of 2016. This year has introduced interesting new uses for virtual reality—like using VR to help burn victims in hospitals mentally escape from the pain during procedures—and even saw the world’s first revolutionary augmented reality game in the form of Pokémon Go. The iPhone 7 was also introduced, leaving millions of people uncertain of their feelings regarding Apple, while Samsung loyalists just prayed that their smartphones would stay in one piece.

Undoubtedly, there have been quite a few ups and downs in technology over the past year. With any luck, 2017 will provide us with even more new innovations and advancements in tech. But what exactly do we have to look forward to? TMC recently caught up with Jordan Edelson, CEO of Appetizer Mobile, to discuss his thoughts on 2016 and his predictions for what’s to come in the future. You can find the entire exchange below.

The Fourth Transformation: Augmented Reality & Artificial Intelligence — from forbes.com by John Koetsier

Excerpt:

Since then, we’ve seen three transformations. The latest, augmented reality plus artificial intelligence, will change more than the previous three combined. At least, that’s what tech evangelist Robert Scoble and author Shel Israel say in their new book: The Fourth Transformation: How Augmented Reality & Artificial Intelligence Will Change Everything.

15 Virtual Reality Trends We’re Predicting for 2017 — from appreal-vr.com by Yariv Levski

Excerpt:

2016 is fast drawing to a close. And while many will be glad to see the back of it, for those of us who work and play with Virtual Reality, it has been a most exciting year. By the time the bells ring out signalling the start of a new year, the total number of VR users will exceed 43 million. This is a market on the move, projected to be worth $30bn by 2020. If it’s to meet that valuation, then we believe 2017 will be an incredibly important year in the lifecycle of VR hardware and software development. VR will be enjoyed by an increasingly mainstream audience very soon, and here we take a quick look at some of the trends we expect to develop over the next 12 months for that to happen.

Our Tech Predictions for 2017 — from medium.com

Excerpts:

Every December, we take a look back at big ideas from the past twelve months that promise to gain momentum in the new year. With more than eleven thousand projects launched between our Design and Tech categories in 2016, we have a nice sample to draw from. More importantly, we have a community of forward-thinking backers who help creators figure out which versions of the future to pursue. Here are some of the emerging trends we expect to see more of in 2017.

Everyday artificial intelligence
Whether chatting with a device as if it’s a virtual assistant strikes you as a sci-fi dream come true or a dystopian nightmare, we’re going to see an increasing number of products that use voice-controlled artificial intelligence interfaces to fit into users’ lives more seamlessly. Among the projects leading the way in this arena are Vi, wireless earphones that double as a personal trainer; Bonjour, an alarm clock that wakes you up with a personalized daily briefing; and Dashbot, a talking car accessory that recalls Kit, David Hasselhoff’s buddy from Knight Rider. One of the factors driving this talking AI boom is the emergence of platforms like Microsoft’s Cognitive Service, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google’s Speech API, which allow product developers to focus on user experience rather than low-level speech processing. For the DIY set, Seeed’s ReSpeaker offers a turnkey devkit for working with these services, and we’ll surely see more tools for integrating AI voice interfaces into all manner of products.

3 reasons 2017 is the year to develop a company chatbot — from thenextweb.com by Ellie Martin

Excerpt:

During Microsoft’s Build Conference earlier this year, CEO Satya Nadella delivered the three-hour keynote address, in which he highlighted his belief that the future of technology lies in human language. In this new wave of technology, conversation is the new interface, and “bots are the new apps.” While not as flashy as virtual reality nor as immediately practical as 3D printing, chatbots are nevertheless gaining major traction this year, with support coming from across the entire tech industry. The big tech enterprises are all entering the chatbot space, and many startups are too.

Out with the apps, in with the chatbots. The reason for the attention is simple: The power of the natural language processor, software that processes and parses human language, creating a simple and universal means of interacting with technology.

When kids toys come to life: How AR is transforming play — from thememo.com by Kitty Knowles
We asked three entrepreneurs to explain why AR toys are going to be the next big trend.

By 2030, this is what computers will be able to do — from medium.com by the World Economic Forum

Excerpt:

Developments in computing are driving the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance. In this interview Justine Cassell, Associate Dean, Technology, Strategy and Impact, at the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, and co-chair of the Global Future Council on Computing, says we must ensure that these developments benefit all society, not just the wealthy or those participating in the “new economy”.

Artificial Intelligence will drive innovation and development in 2017, says Ericsson — from tech.firstpost.com

Excerpt:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an important development and consumers globally will see it playing a much more prominent role — both in society and at work — next year, a new report said on Tuesday. Ericsson ConsumerLab, in its annual trend report titled “The 10 Hot Consumer Trends for 2017 and beyond”, said that 35 percent of advanced internet users want an AI advisor at work and one in four would like AI as their manager.At the same time, almost half of the respondents were concerned that AI robots will soon make a lot of people lose their jobs.

21 technology tipping points we will reach by 2030 — from businessinsider.com by Cadie Thompson

Excerpt:

From driverless cars to robotic workers, the future is going to be here before you know it. Many emerging technologies you hear about today will reach a tipping point by 2025, according to a report from The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software & Society. The council surveyed more than 800 executives and experts from the technology sector to share their respective timelines for when technologies would become mainstream. From the survey results, the council identified 21 defining moments, all of which they predict will occur by 2030. Here’s a look at the technological shifts you can expect during the next 14 years.
…
The first robotic pharmacist will arrive in the US 2021.

The Chatbot Revolution: Rise of the Conversational User Interface — from tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com by Aakrit Vaish

Excerpt:

At Haptik, we have now been working on chatbots for over 3 years, and this post will attempt to make some sense of where we are as an industry.

AI, VR, Chatbots to Take Off in 2017 Microsoft Researchers Predict — from eweek.com by Pedro Hernandez
Prominent Microsoft researchers share their tech predictions for an AI-enabled future that blurs the line between physical and virtual experiences.

Excerpt:

A new year is quickly approaching and Microsoft Research is offering a glimpse at what the tech scene has in store for 2017 along with some hints at the Redmond, Wash., tech giant’s own priorities for the coming year. This year, the company gathered prominent women researchers to share their thoughts on what to expect next year. Surprising nobody’s who’s been following Microsoft’s software and cloud computing strategy of late, the company is betting big on artificial intelligence (AI).

11 IoT Predictions for 2017 — from ioti.com by Brian Buntz

Excerpt:

It’s still early days for the Internet of Things. As recently as 2014, 87 percent of consumers had never heard of the technology, according to Accenture. In 2016, and 19% of business and government professionals reported that they had never heard of the Internet of Things while 18% were only vaguely familiar with it, according to research from the Internet of Things Institute. Although the technology is getting the most traction in the industrial space, the most promising use cases for the technology are just starting to come to light. To get a sense of what to expect as we head into 2017, we spoke with Stanford lecturer and IoT author Timothy Chou, Ph.D.; Thulium.co CEO Tamara McCleary; industry observer and influencer Evan Kirstel; and Sandy Carter, CEO and founder of Silicon-Blitz.

Addendums:

The future of robotics: 10 predictions for 2017 and beyond — from zdnet.com by Bob Violino
DC: One of the items mentioned here was the emergence of the chief robotics officer…interesting.
.
15 tech trends in autonomous cars, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for 2017 — from venturebeat.com by John Brandon
Tech is about to change dramatically next year. Want to stay up to date? These predictions from the famed design firm frog spell things out for you. In each section, a designer explains all of the details. Which one is already on your radar?

The freelance economy: Top trends to watch in 2017 — from blog.linkedin.com

Excerpt:

Freelancers now account for nearly 35% of the U.S. workforce and the trend is only picking up speed with more professionals opting to create their own jobs in lieu of more traditional full-time employment.

As we head into the new year, we want to shed a bit more light on this burgeoning sector of the workforce. What kind of location, industry and demographic trends are surfacing among the freelance professionals of 2016? You might not know, for example, that a whopping 40% of our freelancers are concentrated in just four states: California, Texas, Florida and New York. Or that more senior men are most likely to take the leap into freelancing.

The time is ripe to be a freelancer in America so we’re revealing insider insights like these to help you learn more about this trending profession. Check out the report below – gleaned from a survey of more than 9,500 of our ProFinder professionals – to see what we discovered.

From DSC:
Besides the workforce moving towards the increased use of freelancers, the pace of change has moved from being more linear in nature to more of an exponential trajectory.

Some important questions, therefore, to ask are:

Are our students ready to enter this type of workplace?
Can they pivot quickly?
Do they know how to learn and are they ready to be lifelong learners? (Do they like learning enough to continue to pursue it? Peoples’ overall quality of life would be much higher if they enjoyed learning, rather than be forced to do so in order to keep the bread and butter on their tables.)
Are they able to communicate in a variety of ways?
How are their customer service skills coming along?
How are their problem-solving skills coming along?
Do they know how to maintain their businesses’ books and do their taxes?
Are they digitally literate and do they have an appreciation for the pluses and minuses of technology?

I sure hope so…but I have my serious doubts. That said, many institutions/organizations representing K-12 and higher education are not doing a great job of innovating either. Though there certainly exists some strong pockets of innovation in some of our institutions out there — and the ability to pivot — taken as a whole, our institutions and organizations haven’t been as responsive, nimble, and innovative as our students need them to be.

After all, we are trying to prepare students for their futures (with the externality effect being that we, too, will also be better prepared for that future).

From DSC:
After seeing the sharp interface out at Adobe (see image below), I’ve often thought that there should exist a similar interface and a similar database for educators, trainers, and learners to use — but the database would address a far greater breadth of topics to teach and/or learn about. You could even select beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels (grade levels might work here as well).

Perhaps this is where artificial intelligence will come in…not sure.

In the future, I’d like to see holograms provide stunning visual centerpieces for libraries, classrooms, & more. [Christian]

On 12/02/2016, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, art, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, design, digital learning, drama/theater, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, Mixed Reality (MR), multimedia, music, platforms, simulations, smart classrooms, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In the future, I’d like to see holograms provide stunning visual centerpieces for the entrance ways into libraries, or in our classrooms, or in our art galleries, recital halls, and more. The object(s), person(s), scene(s) could change into something else, providing a visually engaging experience that sets a tone for that space, time, and/or event.

Eventually, perhaps these types of technologies/setups will even be a way to display artwork within our homes and apartments.

Image from 900lbs.com

For you designers/artists out there, some sharp work to check out!

On 11/14/2016, in art, creativity, design, graphics, higher education, ideas, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Smart Home Design Inspiration III — from medium.com by Josh

From DSC:
The animated gifs on this posting are incredible — very well done. Here’s a still shot of one of them:

dribbble.com — “show and tell for designers”

Art & Design Students Produce Virtual Reality Musical — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

Students in a Georgia institution that were among the first to experiment with virtual reality have just had a premier of their first VR musical. The project undertaken at the Savannah College of Art and Design brought together 116 people from 14 different programs over the course of 20 weeks to create a 360-degree narrative, “Say It With Music.”

The movie was shown during the recent Savannah Film Festival, as part of a VR showcase, which allowed participants to experience VR gear from four vendors.

Last year the college allowed students to visit its campus virtually by shipping out 10,000 pairs of Google Cardboard to those who had already been accepted to the school as well as those being recruited.

Stunning Curved Glass Sculptures — from fubiz.net by K. William LeQuier i

Microsoft introduces a new desktop machine called the “Surface Studio” plus a new “Surface Dial”, open sources their Cognitive Toolkit to bring machine learning into the mainstream.

On 10/26/2016, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, design, digital photography, digital video, Microsoft, platforms, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Introducing the new Surface family — from microsoft.com
To do great things, you need powerful tools that deliver an ideal balance of craftsmanship, performance, and versatility. Every Surface device is engineered with these things in mind, and you at the center. And that’s how the Surface family does more. Just like you.

Also see the new Surface Dial:

Microsoft ‘Surface Studio’ and ‘Dial’ Up Close — from blogs.barrons.com by Tiernan Ray

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Microsoft (MSFT) this morning held an event in downtown Manhattan that included both an update to Windows, the “Creators” edition, and also new versions of the company’s Surface tablet computer, including a revamp of the “Surface Book” laptop and tablet combo device, and a new desktop machine called the “Surface Studio” that has the thinnest display ever made, the company claims.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing at the event was something called “Dial,” a rotating puck device that can function like a wireless mouse with the Studio, but can also be placed right on top of the display itself to bring up a context-specific menu of functions, or to perform actions like cut and paste.

Microsoft announces its first desktop PC, the $3,000 Surface Studio — from businessinsider.com by Steve Kovach

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Microsoft on Wednesday announced its first desktop PC, the Surface Studio.

It’s an all-in-one computer, designed to compete with Apple’s iMac. The PC is geared toward professionals, and it has high-end specs designed for tasks like video or photo editing.
…
But the real surprises are the adjustable display and a new accessory called the Surface Dial. The display can lie nearly flat on the table, giving graphics artists the ability to draw and work. The Surface Dial can be placed on the screen to bring up color palettes and other options. The Surface Dial will work with other Surface products — the Surface Pro and Surface Book — but you won’t be able to use it on the screens.

Microsoft wants to bring machine learning into the mainstream — from networkworld.com by Steven Max Patterson
Microsoft released the beta of the Cognitive Toolkit with machine learning models, infrastructure and development tools, enabling customers to start building

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Microsoft just released the open-source licensed beta release of the Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit on Github. This announcement represents a shift in Microsoft’s customer focus from research to implementation. It is an update to the Computational Network Toolkit (CNTK). The toolkit is a supervised machine learning system in the same category of other open-source projects such as Tensorflow, Caffe and Torch.

Microsoft is one of the leading investors in and contributors to the open machine learning software and research community. A glance at the Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) conference reveals that there are just four major technology companies committed to moving the field of neural networks forward: Microsoft, Google, Facebook and IBM.

This announcement signals Microsoft interest to bring machine learning into the mainstream. The open source license reveals Microsoft’s continued collaboration with the machine learning community.

Microsoft just democratized virtual reality with $299 headsets — from pcworld.com by Gordon Mah Ung

Excerpt:

VR just got a lot cheaper.

Microsoft on Wednesday morning said PC OEMs will soon be shipping VR headsets that enable virtual reality and mixed reality starting at $299.

Details of the hardware and how it works were sparse, but Microsoft said HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer will be shipping the headsets timed with its upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update, due in spring 2017.

Despite the relatively low price, the upcoming headsets may have a big advantage over HTC and Valve’s Vive and Facebook’s Oculus Rift: no need for separate calibration hardware to function. Both Vive and Oculus require multiple emitters on stands to be placed around a room for the positioning to function.

The 10 Coolest Features Coming to Windows 10 — from wired.com by Michael Calore

Excerpt:

Microsoft is gearing up for a Windows refresh. The Windows 10 Creators Update will arrive on all Windows 10 devices for free in the spring of 2017. Today, Microsoft showed off all the new features coming to the multi-mode OS. Here’s the best of what will be coming to your Windows PC or Surface device.

The Surface Studio Story: How Microsoft Reimagined The Desktop PC For Creativity — from fastcompany.com by Mark Sullivan
A 28-inch screen, a very special hinge, and a new type of input device add up to an experience conceived with artists and designers in mind.

The New Media Consortium (NMC) has released Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief in conjunction with the 2016 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.
…
In analyzing the progress and gaps in this area, the NMC’s report has identified a need for higher education leaders and technology companies to prioritize students as makers, learning through the act of content creation rather than mere consumption. Additionally, the publication recommends that colleges and universities establish productive collaborations with industry, government, and libraries to provide students with access to the latest technologies and tools.
…
Based on the variety and complexity of these results, NMC cannot identify just one model of digital literacy. Instead three different digital literacies are now evident, each with distinct standards, potential curriculum, and implications for creative educators.

The aim of this publication is to establish a shared vision of digital literacy for higher education leaders by illuminating key definitions and models along with best practices and recommendations for implementing successful digital literacy initiatives.

To be digitally literate, you need to be:
fluent at critical thinking, collaborating,
being creative, and problem-solving in
digital environments.

Computer science and digital media classes can instruct on everything from office productivity applications to programming and video editing, for example. Sociology courses can teach interpersonal actions online, such as the ethics and politics of social network interaction, while psychology and business classes can focus on computer-mediated human interaction. Government and political science classes are clearly well equipped to explore the intersection of digital technology and citizenship mentioned above. Communication, writing, and literature classes have the capacity to instruct students on producing digital content in the form of stories, arguments, personal expression, posters, and more.

From DSC:
If faculty members aren’t asking students to create multimedia in their assignments and/or take part in online/digitally-based means of communications and learning, the vast majority of the students won’t (and don’t) care about digital literacy…it’s simply not relevant to them: “Whatever gets me the grade, that’s what I’ll do. But no more.”

This type of situation/perspective is quite costly. Because once students graduate from college, had they built up some solid digital literacy — especially the “creative literacy” mentioned above — they would be in much better shape to get solid jobs, and prosper at those jobs. They would be much better able to craft powerful communications — and reach a global audience in doing so. They would have honed their creativity, something increasingly important as the onward march of AI, robotics, algorithms, automation, and such continues to eat away at many types of jobs (that don’t really need creative people working in them).

This is an important topic, especially as digitally-based means of communication continue to grow in their usage and impact.

Part of digital literacy is not just understanding how a tool works but also why it is useful in the real world and when to use it.

For those who like typography & art, you’ll be interested to see this mixed-reality-based installation!

On 10/11/2016, in A/V -- audio/visual, art, creativity, design, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
For those who like typography & art, you’ll be interested to see this mixed-reality-based installation!

Holographic Type Sculpture with Typography Insight for HoloLens — from medium.com by DongYoon Park

Excerpt:

Recently, I visited Bellevue Arts Museum http://www.bellevuearts.org/ and conceived of a ‘Holographic art sculpture’ for installation in the museum’s beautiful atrium. Using my app Typography Insight for HoloLens, http://typeinsight.org/hololens.html, I created a ‘Holographic Type Sculpture’ and placed it in Bellevue Arts Museum’s atrium and rooftop sculpture garden (coincidentally, its name is ‘Court of Light’). You can experience the Mixed Reality Capture below.

See also:

Announcing the “Top 200 Tools for Learning 2016” — plus Jane’s “Best of Breed 2016” [Jane Hart]

On 10/03/2016, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, animation, blended learning, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, global / globalization, Google, graphics, hybrid learning, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, microlearning, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, productivity / tips and tricks, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, UK, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Top 200 Tools for Learning 2016: Overview — from c4lpt.co.uk by Jane Hart

Also see Jane’s:

TOP 100 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING (for formal/informal learning and personal productivity)
TOP 100 TOOLS FOR WORKPLACE LEARNING (for training, e-learning, performance support and social collaboration
TOP 100 TOOLS FOR EDUCATION (for use in primary and secondary (K12) schools, colleges, universities and adult education.)

Also see Jane’s “Best of Breed 2016” where she breaks things down into:

Instructional tools
Content development tools
Social tools
Personal tools

THIS is what interactive video can look like! Excellent [team] work from Heineken!

On 09/16/2016, in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, blended learning, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, drama/theater, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, interaction design, interactivity, online learning, pedagogy, play, story, storytelling, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Interactive video — a potentially very powerful medium to use, especially for blended and online-based courses or training-related materials! This interactive piece from Heineken is very well done, even remembering how you answered and coming up with their evaluation of you from their 12-question “interview.”

But notice again, a TEAM of specialists are needed to create such a piece. Neither a faculty member, a trainer, nor an instructional designer can do something like this all on their own. Some of the positions I could imagine here are:

Script writer(s)
Editor(s)
Actors and actresses
Those skilled in stage lighting and sound / audio recording
Digital video editors
Programmers
Graphic designers
Web designers
Producers
Product marketers
…and perhaps others

This is the kind of work that I wish we saw more of in the world of online and blended courses! Also, I appreciated their use of humor. Overall, a very engaging, fun, and informative piece!

Evidence linking classroom design to improved learning mounts; study finds impact can be as much as 25%/year [Fabris; UK]

On 09/15/2016, in architecture, design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, smart classrooms, student-related, UK, by Daniel Christian

Evidence linking classroom design to improved learning mounts — from bdcnetwork.com by Peter Fabris
A study finds the impact can be as much as 25% per year.

Excerpt:

A new study backs up the notion that classroom design has a significant impact on the academic performance of primary school children.

Researchers at the University of Salford in the U.K., and architects, Nightingale Associates, found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress by as much as 25% in a year. The year-long study took place in seven Blackpool, England primary schools in 34 classrooms. The rooms had differing learning environments and several age groups were represented.

Also see:

Study proves classroom design really does matter — from salford.ac.uk

Excepts:

New research reveals that classroom design has significant impact on the academic performance of primary school children. In a pilot study by the University of Salford and architects, Nightingale Associates, it was found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress over a year by as much as 25%.

The year-long pilot study was carried out in seven Blackpool LEA primary schools. 34 classrooms with differing learning environments and age groups took part.

Also see:

Back to school: Design lessons from the world’s smartest education centers — from cnn.com by Georgia McCafferty

“50 beautiful examples of paper art” — plus 3 other items re: art, creativity, play, emotion

On 09/09/2016, in art, creativity, design, play, by Daniel Christian

The Lovely Frescos of Vera Bugati — from fubiz.net

50 beautiful examples of paper art — from creativebloq.com

paper art

New Quilled Paper Portraits That Highlight the Beauty of Old Age by Yulia Brodskaya — from thisiscolossal.com

Graphic and Colorful Illustrations by Ray Oranges — from fubiz.net

Future proof yourselves — from Microsoft & The Future Laboratory

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Executive Summary
Explore the world of work in 2025 in a revealing evidence-based report by future consultants The Future Laboratory and Microsoft, which identifies and investigates ten exciting, inspiring and astounding jobs for the graduates of tomorrow – but that don’t exist yet.

Introduction
Tomorrow’s university graduates will be taking a journey into the professional unknown guided by a single, mind-blowing statistic: 65% of today’s students will be doing jobs that don’t even exist yet.

Technological change, economic turbulence and societal transformation are disrupting old career certainties and it is increasingly difficult to judge which degrees and qualifications will be a passport to a well-paid and fulfilling job in the decades ahead.

A new wave of automation, with the advent of true artificial intelligence, robots and driverless cars, threatens the future of traditional jobs, from truck drivers to lawyers and bankers.

But, by 2025, this same technological revolution will open up inspiring and exciting new career opportunities in sectors that are only in their infancy today.

The trick for graduates is to start to develop the necessary skills today in order to ensure they future proof their careers.

This report by future consultants The Future Laboratory attempts to show them how to do just that in a research collaboration with Microsoft, whose Surface technology deploys the precision and versatility of pen and touch to power creative industries ranging from graphic design and photography to architecture and engineering.

In this study, we use extensive desk research and in-depth interviews with technologists, academics, industry commentators and analysts to unveil 10 new creative job categories that will be recruiting tomorrow’s university students.

These future jobs demonstrate a whole new world of potential applications for the technology of today, as we design astonishing virtual habitats and cure deadly diseases from the comfort of our own sofas. It is a world that will need a new approach to training and career planning.

Welcome to tomorrow’s jobs…

65% of today’s students will be doing jobs that don’t even exist yet.

One of the jobs mentioned was the Ethical Technology Advocate — check out this video clip:

“Over the next decade, the long-awaited era of robots will dawn and become part of everyday life. It will be important to set out the moral and ethical rules under which they operate…”

LinkedIn ProFinder expands nationwide to help you hire freelancers — from blog.linkedin.com

Excerpt:

The freelance economy is on the rise. In fact, the number of freelancers on LinkedIn has grown by nearly 50% in just the past five years. As the workforce evolves, we, too, are evolving to ensure we’re creating opportunity for the expanding sector of professionals looking for independent, project-based work in place of the typical 9 to 5 profession.

Last October, we began piloting a brand new platform in support of this very endeavor and today, we’re excited to announce its nationwide availability. Introducing LinkedIn ProFinder, a LinkedIn marketplace that connects consumers and small businesses looking for professional services – think Design, Writing and Editing, Accounting, Real Estate, Career Coaching – with top quality freelance professionals best suited for the job.

Also see:

The school of the future has opened in Finland [brightside.me]

On 08/09/2016, in architecture, design, education, education reform, Europe, future, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, smart classrooms, usability, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

The school of the future has opened in Finland — from brightside.me

Excerpt:

Child psychologists have long argued that changing the approach we take to education would help many children learn to love school rather than hate it. We’ve all heard pre-schoolers talk about how they can’t wait to sit at their school desk and run to their next lesson with their rucksack over their shoulder. In fact, we probably remember that feeling of excitement ourselves the first time we went. But right from the first days of school, many children feel a huge sense of disappointment with what they encounter.

At the Saunalahti school in the city of Espoo, Finland, they’ve found a brilliant way to overcome this problem. Starting just with the school building itself, you’d look at it and never think it was a school. Instead, it’s more a like modern art museum – wonderfully light and airy. Experts from VERSTAS Architects made sure they moved well away from the typical dour design for a public school which we all can’t stand…

Learning Ecosystems

For you designers/artists out there, some sharp work to check out!

For those who like typography & art, you’ll be interested to see this mixed-reality-based installation!

THIS is what interactive video can look like! Excellent [team] work from Heineken!

“50 beautiful examples of paper art” — plus 3 other items re: art, creativity, play, emotion

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