Blackboard Partners with IBM and Amazon Web Services (AWS) – North America Customer Announcement

Date Published: Jun 27,2016
Product: Collaborate, ANGEL, Learn, CE/Vista, Xythos, Moodlerooms, Analytics, Open Content
Article No.: 000042385

Announcement Details:
We are excited to share some news with you about Blackboard’s new partnership with IBM and Amazon Web Services (AWS) which will have far-reaching and lasting impacts for the education technology industry.  This communication will provide details on how this will benefit our customers and other business partners.

This partnership will enable us to accelerate our focus on developing innovative educational products and services that serve the needs of our customers. And it will open the door for us to develop novel solutions benefiting the education ecosystem.  There are two parts to this partnership that will benefit you:

Selection of AWS as our strategic cloud platform and partnership with IBM for operations and infrastructure management

We will partner with IBM in the operations and infrastructure management of Blackboard’s data centers.  We have also selected AWS as our cloud services provider and entered into an agreement with IBM to manage our cloud services environments. This partnership will enable Blackboard to focus on what we do best – developing innovative educational products and services – while relying on the world-class data hosting and operational capabilities of IBM and AWS.

This partnership does not affect our Transact customers.

This partnership offers customers many benefits. It will enable us to accelerate our focus on developing innovative educational products and services that serve the needs of our customers. Furthermore, we will leverage IBM’s experience, scale, and tools with the goal of  delivering the highest quality of service possible to our customers. This includes stringent service level agreements intended to ensure that Blackboard customers receive the most reliable and resilient hosting services available in the marketplace.  In addition, this partnership allows for enhanced technical, organizational and physical security measures to safeguard Blackboard customer data.  We will also leverage the power of the AWS ecosystem to accelerate product development and deployment; further improving customer experience in the future.

Our relationship with Amazon and IBM is integrated. There are no gaps in accountability for delivering reliable services to our clients.  And its backed by a comprehensive and robust set of service level commitments to deliver highly available and responsive services for you.

Exclusive partnership to co-develop cognitive education solutions utilizing Watson

Blackboard and IBM have entered into an exclusive agreement to develop cognitive educational solutions for the K-12 and higher education markets.  The partnership will combine Blackboard’s expertise in developing innovative education products in use by millions around the world, with the power of IBM Watson’s cognitive computing technology to create exclusive solutions to address some of the most pressing problems in education.

IBM Watson is a technology platform that uses natural language processing and machine learning to reveal insights from large amounts of unstructured data. In short, it can help to ‘hyper personalize’ the educational experience.

To sum it up, we’re tremendously excited about partnering with IBM and Amazon to deliver extraordinary capability to our customers. And we’re excited by what’s on the horizon for Blackboard and our customers as we continue to focus on delivering innovative products that address some of the most pressing challenges in education.

To learn more about our partnership, check out our press release on Blackboard.com. We’ll also provide further details in the weeks ahead through webinars and at BbWorld.

 


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


1.  Why did Blackboard select IBM and AWS as their partners?
We spent considerable time selecting our partners, and we’re confident in what both IBM and Amazon will deliver for our customers. IBM is one of the world’s top infrastructure management organizations, and is uniquely positioned because of its experience and work in the education space. AWS is the clear leader in cloud services, with the largest global cloud infrastructure footprint, the most well-developed ecosystem, tremendous momentum and rate of innovation.Both companies share our values and dedication to maintaining the privacy of customer data, and both have invested heavily in world-class security programs to keep your data safe in accordance with global standards and regulations.

2.  Will the partnership extend to infrastructure provision and management for Blackboard’s Transact customers?
No.  Transact will continue to operate as today with no changes.

3.  How can I learn more about this partnership between Blackboard and IBM and the benefits to me?
In order to provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about this partnership and how it will benefit you, we have planned for several sessions at BbWorld, and have scheduled a series of customer webinars.  BbWorld is scheduled for July 12-14 and the webinars will be scheduled  in July and August.

4.  Will this change in responsibility affect who I call if I have a question or issue?
No.  Your support will continue to be handled by the same Blackboard team that exists today.

5.  Will I see any changes as a result of the partnership?  Yes.  We expect that you will see operational improvements starting in the 3-6 month timeframe.  These include improved system availability and accelerated response time to issues.

6.  What does this mean for Security and Privacy?
IBM and AWS share our focus on providing highly secure environments and experiences. This partnership will provide an enhanced data security program and robust technical, organizational and physical security measures to protect customer data, including student data.  Further, our agreement with IBM and AWS contains detailed provisions intended to safeguard data in North American markets in specific consideration of applicable privacy laws and regulations.   These provisions include geographic restrictions on the location and transfer of customer data, and encryption standards, to comply with applicable law.

7.  Does this partnership mean that I will need to move out of my existing Learn hosted environment?
No.  While in time many customers are planning to transition their Learn deployment to our cloud environment, customers who are currently running Learn 9.1 in our managed hosting datacenters will not be required to move.

8.  What about other Blackboard applications besides Learn?
Many other Blackboard applications are already delivered in a software-as-a-service model using Blackboard-managed datacenters. Over the coming years, IBM and Blackboard will work together to move these applications from Blackboard datacenters to AWS. Any migration plan will be developed in full consideration of giving customers an uninterrupted service and user experience.

9.  What about the current SaaS deployment for Blackboard Learn?
There is no impact.  Learn SaaS already runs on AWS.

10.  What is IBM Watson?
IBM Watson is a technology platform that uses natural language processing and machine learning to reveal insights from large amounts of unstructured data. In short, it can help to ‘hyper personalize’ the educational experience.

Watson gained a level of fame in 2011 when the team put their technology up against two of Jeopardy’s greatest champions in the history of the game. It was an exciting two-day match that resulted in Watson beating out the competition – not just from right answers, but also from using the right strategy for wagers to win the game.

See how Watson beat the Jeopardy leaders in this short video.

How does Watson work? Watch this educational video.

11.  Are there any definitive plans for the cognitive education solutions developed with Watson that I need to plan for at my institution?
We are in the early stages of this relationship. Blackboard and the Watson Education team are starting the process of scoping out the solutions that will bring the most value to K-12 and higher education.  We plan to communicate our progress and solicit your input as we move forward.

12.  What if I have more questions about this partnership?
There are three ways you can get answers to your questions:

  • Attend one of the multiple sessions planned for BbWorld.
  • Attend one of the online webinars will be schedule in the coming weeks.
  • Contact your Account Executive or Customer Success Advocate.

 


Addendum on 6/29/16:

  • Blackboard Inc. and IBM Enter Strategic Relationship to Develop Cognitive Solutions and Manage Infrastructure Operations
    Excerpt:
    IBM and Blackboard will work collaboratively to develop cognitive educational solutions utilizing the capabilities of both companies to advance learner success. The companies will combine Blackboard’s expertise in developing innovative education products used by millions of people around the world with the power of IBM Watson’s cognitive computing technology. The new solutions will offer greater support for teachers and students to address their collaborative needs in the classroom and help students complete and achieve their educational goals.

 

 

ISTE 2016 Monday highlights: Monarch to newspapers, Soundtrap teams up with Google, and Google releases Google Cast — from jeadigitalmedia.org

 

ISTE 2016: Michio Kaku says education needs a revolution — from by Jena Passut
The theoretical physicist says a fourth wave of technology is about to begin, and educators must prepare students to thrive in the new landscape.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

There have been three major waves of technology: steam power and locomotive, electricity and automobile, and high tech, Kaku said. We are about to enter a fourth wave — biotechnology, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence — that will drive the economy, he said.

How should educators respond when computers become part of the wallpaper and Internet-enabled contact lenses make information accessible at the blink of an eye?

 

“I don’t just want my students to learn,” she said. “I want them to want to learn.”

— Kerry Gallagher

 

ISTE and Microsoft collaborate to provide new school planning and professional learning resources — from iste.org
ISTE and Microsoft collaborate to provide new school planning and professional learning resources; multi-project initiative to include first of its kind blueprint for school transformation, leadership courses, school development tools.

Excerpt:

DENVER -June 26, 2016 -At today’s ISTE 2016 opening general session, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) and Microsoft Corp. announced they plan to combine and expand a host of their world-class initiatives to ensure educators and school leaders around the world have access to school planning and professional development resources. This collaboration stems from a shared belief that technology has the power to transform learning, and can do so most effectively when it’s embedded in how a school or educator thinks about and drives new learning opportunities.

 

Innovation is more than creating new things — iste.org

 

8 questions to ask before creating a makerspace — iste.org

 

Amazon unveils online education service for teachers — from nytimes.com by Natasha Singer

 

 

 

 

The top 10 companies working on education in virtual reality & augmented reality — from touchstoneresearch.com by Drew Lewis

Excerpt:

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are new technologies which have been making all kinds of waves recently; but VR and AR are not only going to be used for gaming, several companies are exploring applications for VR and AR to be used in education. Around 90% of what we see and do is retained, which is something that has always been missing from education; students do not retain as much information if they are just reading a textbook compared to having more real applications of what they’re learning. Which is why VR and AR in education are so beneficial; these technologies engage students in a completely new way which is more fun and engaging for them, and it increases retention. Several companies are currently working on innovations in this space; and the work we’ve seen so far is surely a good sign of things to come.

 

 

 

 

UX to LX: The Rise of Learner Experience Design — from edsurge.com by Whitney Kilgore

Excerpt:

Instructional design is now approaching a similar transition. Most student consumers have yet to experience great learning design, but the commoditization of online learning is forcing colleges and universities to think differently about how they construct digital courses. Courseware is enabling the development of new modalities and pedagogical shifts. An abundance of data now enables instructional designers to decode learning patterns. As a result, we are witnessing the growth of a new field: Learner Experience Design.

Parse higher-education job postings and descriptions, and it’s evident that LX design is, as a discipline, among the fastest growing fields in education. But what exactly makes for great learning design, and how can instructional designers ensure they remain competitive in this new era of student-centric education?

The transition to digital content has made entirely new layers of student data available. Learners now leave a digital footprint that allows designers to understand how students are interacting with course materials and for how long. LX designers can develop course pathways that connect student challenges to specific sections of content. For the first time, faculty have insights into time on task—before, during and after class. Ready access to student behavior data is helping institutions develop powerful predictive analytics, and LX designers are leading the field to make more and better informed choices on content delivery to help students better understand the critical concepts.

The groundswell of data and learning technology shows no sign of slowing down, and a LX designer’s job will grow more complex alongside it. Learner experience designers must rise to the challenge, so universities can deliver online courses that captivate and resonate with each unique student.

 

Ten skills you need to be a UX unicorn — from medium.com by Conor Ward

Excerpt:

So if the discipline of UX is not about improving how things LOOK, but instead how they WORK, then of course UX Design includes a multitude of varied deep specialisms and expertise. How could it not?

Well, thats where the mythical part of this discussion comes in, many UX designers out there still believe very strongly (and for good reason) that this multi skilled ‘specialist-generalist’ cannot exist.

They could well be correct in their current circumstances. For example if their company does not work like this, then how could they? Especially if their company is an agency, and their access to users is limited or non-existent.

My own experience is that we must strive towards unicorn-ism. I have created and curated a fantastic team of UX Unicorns (yes a group of unicorns is called a blessing, Google says so) and more importantly together with my colleagues and bosses we have created the environment for them to survive and thrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From DSC:
The above two articles get at a piece of what I was trying to relay out at The EvoLLLution.com. And that is, the growing complexities of putting digitally-based materials online — with a high degree of engagement, professionalism, and quality — require the use of specialists.  One person simply can’t do it all anymore. In fact, User Experience Designers and Learner Experience Designers are but a couple of the potential players at the table.

 

 

 
 

Specialists central to high-quality, engaging online programming [Christian]

DanielChristian-TheEvoLLLution-TeamsSpecialists-6-20-16

 

Specialists central to high-quality, engaging online programming — from EvoLLLution.com (where the LLL stands for lifelong learning) by Daniel Christian

Excerpts:

Creating high-quality online courses is getting increasingly complex—requiring an ever-growing set of skills. Faculty members can’t do it all, nor can instructional designers, nor can anyone else.  As time goes by, new entrants and alternatives to traditional institutions of higher education will likely continue to appear on the higher education landscape—the ability to compete will be key.

For example, will there be a need for the following team members in your not-too-distant future?

  • Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Specialists: those with knowledge of how to leverage Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) in order to create fun and engaging learning experiences (while still meeting the learning objectives)
  • Data Scientists
  • Artificial Intelligence Integrators
  • Cognitive Computing Specialists
  • Intelligent Tutoring Developers
  • Learning Agent Developers
  • Algorithm Developers
  • Personalized Learning Specialists
  • Cloud-based Learner Profile Administrators
  • Transmedia Designers
  • Social Learning Experts

 

chatbots-wharton-june2016

The rise of the chatbots: Is it time to embrace them? — from knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Excerpt:

The tech world is all agog these days about chatbots. These are automated computer programs that simulate online conversations with people to answer questions or perform tasks. While chatbots have been around in various rudimentary forms for years — think of Clippy, Microsoft’s paper clip virtual assistant — they have been taking off lately as advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence make them more versatile than ever. Among the most well-known chatbots: Apple’s Siri.

In rapid succession over the past few months, Microsoft, Facebook and Google have each unveiled their chatbot strategies, touting the potential for this evolving technology to aid users and corporate America with its customer-service capabilities as well as business utility features like organizing a meeting. Yahoo joined the bandwagon recently, launching its first chatbots on a chat app called Kik Messenger.

 

 

 

Bill Gates says the next big thing in tech can help people learn like he does — from businessinsider.com by Matt Weinberger

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

In a new interview with The Verge, Microsoft cofounder and richest man in the world Bill Gates explained the potential for chatbots programs you can text with like they’re human — in education.

Gates lauds the potential for what he calls “dialogue richness,” where an chatbot can really hold a conversation with a student, essentially making it into a tutor that can walk them through even the toughest, most subjective topics. 

It’s actually similar to how Gates himself likes to learn, he tells The Verge…

 

 

The complete beginner’s guide to chatbots — from chatbotsmagazine.com by Matt Schlicht
Everything you need to know.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What are chatbots? Why are they such a big opportunity? How do they work? How can I build one? How can I meet other people interested in chatbots?

These are the questions we’re going to answer for you right now.

What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a service, powered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface. The service could be any number of things, ranging from functional to fun, and it could live in any major chat product (Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Text Messages, etc.).

A chatbot is a service, powered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface.

Examples of Chat Bots
Weather bot. Get the weather whenever you ask.
Grocery bot. Help me pick out and order groceries for the week.
News bot. Ask it to tell you when ever something interesting happens.
Life advice bot. I’ll tell it my problems and it helps me think of solutions.
Personal finance bot. It helps me manage my money better.
Scheduling bot. Get me a meeting with someone on the Messenger team at Facebook.
A bot that’s your friend. In China there is a bot called Xiaoice, built by Microsoft, that over 20 million people talk to.

 

 

 

Chatbots explained: Why Facebook and other tech companies think they’re the biggest thing since the iPhone — from businessinsider.com by Biz Carson

Excerpt:

Chatbots are the future, whether we’re ready for them or not.

On Tuesday (April 5, 2016) , Facebook launched Bots for Messenger, a step that could define the next decade in the same way that the Apple App Store launch paved the path for companies like Uber to build a business off your phone. Its new messaging platform will help businesses build intelligent chatbots to let them communicate in Messenger.

“Today could be the beginning of a new era,” said Facebook Messenger chief David Marcus.

So what are these chatbots, and why is everyone obsessed?

 

 

 

Facebook wants to completely revolutionize the way you talk to businesses — from businessinsider.com by Jillian D’Onfro

 

 

 

Bot wars: Why big tech companies want apps to talk back to you — from fastcompany.com by Jared Newman
Can a new wave of chatbots from Facebook and Microsoft upend apps as we know them, or is that just wishful thinking?

Excerpt:

The rise of conversational “chatbots” begins with a claim you might initially dismiss as preposterous. “Bots are the new apps,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared during the company’s Build developers conference last month. “People-to-people conversations, people-to-digital assistants, people-to-bots, and even digital assistants-to-bots. That’s the world you’re going to get to see in the years to come.”

 

 

 

Microsoft CEO Nadella: ‘Bots are the new apps’

Excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella kicked off the company’s Build developers conference with a vision of the future filled with chatbots, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“Bots are the new apps,” said Nadella during a nearly three-hour keynote here that sketched a vision for the way humans will interact with machines. “People-to-people conversations, people-to-digital assistants, people-to-bots and even digital assistants-to-bots. That’s the world you’re going to get to see in the years to come.”

Onstage demos hammered home those ideas. One involved a smartphone conversing with digital assistant Cortana about planning a trip to Ireland, which soon found Cortana bringing in a Westin Hotels chatbot that booked a room based on the contents of the chat.

 

 

 

 


 

Addendums on 6/17/16:

 

HolographicStorytellingJWT-June2016

HolographicStorytellingJWT-2-June2016

 

Holographic storytelling — from jwtintelligence.com by Jade Perry

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The stories of Holocaust survivors are brought to life with the help of interactive 3D technologies.

New Dimensions in Testimony’ is a new way of preserving history for future generations. The project brings to life the stories of Holocaust survivors with 3D video, revealing raw first-hand accounts that are more interactive than learning through a history book.

Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter, the first subject of the project, was filmed answering over 1000 questions, generating approximately 25 hours of footage. By incorporating natural language processing from Conscience Display, viewers were able to ask Gutter’s holographic image questions that triggered relevant responses.

 

 

From DSC:
I wonder…is this an example of a next generation, visually-based chatbot*?

With the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent systems, and new types of human computer interaction (HCI), this type of concept could offer an on-demand learning approach that’s highly engaging — and accessible from face-to-face settings as well as from online-based learning environments. (If it could be made to take in some of the context of a particular learner and where a learner is in the relevant Zone of Proximal Development (via web-based learner profiles/data), it would be even better.)

As an aside, is this how we will obtain
customer service from the businesses of the future? See below.

 


 

 

*The complete beginner’s guide to chatbots — from chatbotsmagazine.com by Matt Schlicht
Everything you need to know.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What are chatbots? Why are they such a big opportunity? How do they work? How can I build one? How can I meet other people interested in chatbots?

These are the questions we’re going to answer for you right now.

What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a service, powered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface. The service could be any number of things, ranging from functional to fun, and it could live in any major chat product (Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Text Messages, etc.).

A chatbot is a service, powered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface.

Examples of chatbots
Weather bot. Get the weather whenever you ask.
Grocery bot. Help me pick out and order groceries for the week.
News bot. Ask it to tell you when ever something interesting happens.
Life advice bot. I’ll tell it my problems and it helps me think of solutions.
Personal finance bot. It helps me manage my money better.
Scheduling bot. Get me a meeting with someone on the Messenger team at Facebook.
A bot that’s your friend. In China there is a bot called Xiaoice, built by Microsoft, that over 20 million people talk to.

 

 

Apps to explore over summer break — from edtechafterdark.com by Zac Leonard

 

 

50tools-recipes-OLC2015

 

With thanks to Campus Technology, who mentioned this list in their June 2016 edition

 

 

 

20+ tools to create your own infographics — from hongkiat.com

Excerpt:

While not everyone can make infographics from scratch, there are tools available on the Web that will help you create your very own infographics. In this article, we’re listing more than 20 such options to help you get your messages across to your readers, visually.

 

 

Apple working on Echo-like device: report — from usatoday.com by Marco della Cava

Excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is planning to make Siri smarter by linking it to the vast menu of iOS apps and eventually will deploy the digital assistant on a standalone device similar to Amazon’s best-selling Echo, according to a published report.

The news, reported Tuesday by tech media site The Information, answers an oft-asked question about why the iPhone-maker seems to be sitting on the sidelines as a growing number of companies, from Google to Siri-offshoot Viv, make big announcements about the coming age of voice-activated machine learning.

 

“People-to-people conversations, people-to-digital assistants, people-to-bots and even digital assistants-to-bots,” Nadella said. “That’s the world you’re going to get to see in the years to come.”

 

 

2 great tools for creating beautiful newsletters — from educatorstechnology.com

Excerpt:

Newsletters are great communicative tools which you can use with your students for a variety of educational purposes.  There are now several web tools which makes the process of newsletter making  a simple matter of choosing a template, filling in content, adjusting elements and sharing the finished product. Below are two very good examples of web tools we recommend for teachers keen on designing educational newsletters for their classes.

 

 

 

Amazon Alexa now has over 1,000 Skills, up from 135 in January — from techcrunch.com by Sarah Perez

 

 

 

Microsoft launches a project management app called Planner — from theverge.com by Nick Statt
To compete with Trello and Asana

Excerpt:

Microsoft wants to help businesses and small teams collaborate and track work with a new app called Planner. Released [on 6/6/16] for free as part of the Office 365 suite, Planner is a project management service similar to products like Asana and Trello. Microsoft isn’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking here. It uses the established concept of a digital whiteboard plastered with note cards, which you can use to track projects, communicate progress, and attach files. It also integrates with other Microsoft products like OneNote and Outlook.

 

 

This app builder is letting students turn their ideas into apps for free — from techcrunch.com by Fitz Tepper

 

 

 

Best apps for parent engagement — from by Theresa Stager

Excerpt:

Parent engagement is one of the most important pieces to an administrator’s job, and there are so many ways to do it. In many conversations I have with other school administrators, one of the most common questions that arise is, “What do you use that works?” There are multiple apps and services that allow for communication between school and parent. At St. Mary Catholic School in Rockwood, Michigan, we utilize the apps listed below and our parents are so thankful to have the insight into our building and our classrooms.

 

 

Somewhat related:

Excerpt:
It’s a new world: the digital and tangible are merging, and educators need to help students navigate the changing terrain. The solution? Let them be Makers. I’ve been involved in digital learning and education technology for more than 30 years, and the burgeoning attempt to merge the digital and physical worlds has been one of the most interesting aspects of the evolution of EdTech to date. Managing that change in a Making context that encompasses digital tools, hands-on construction, creation and interaction allows students to learn and create new knowledge experientially. It gives them the ability to conceptualize new ideas and invent solutions for unexpected problems. It’s no longer enough—if it ever was—for teachers to lecture to a row of desks; today’s teacher must be more of a coach. The task now is to help students understand what they need to know, strategize about what they need to do next and engage in critical problem-solving—all while helping them understand how information in the arts, sciences and mathematics fit together.

 

 

 

 

Bringing Outlook Mail and Calendar to Microsoft HoloLens — from blogs.office.com
and
Microsoft Outlook makes its Augmented-Reality (AR) debut on HoloLens — from eweek.com by Pedro Hernandez

MailCalendarToHoloLens-June2016

 

 

 

Introducing the New Blippar App: The power of visual discovery — from blippar.com

Excerpt:

Blipparsphere is our new proprietary knowledge graph baked right into the Blippar app as of today. It builds on our existing computer vision and machine learning technology to capture deeper and more rich information about the world around you.

 

 

 

This augmented reality app will now have an added feature — from by Sneha Banerjee
Blipparsphere is live now in the Blippar app for iOS and Android.

Excerpt:

This technology startup, which specializes in augmented reality, artificial intelligence and computer vision, launched Blipparsphere. This is a new proprietary knowledge graph technology, which is live now on the Blippar app. Blipparsphere builds on the company’s existing machine learning and computer vision capabilities to deepen and personalize information about a user’s physical surroundings, providing a true visual discovery browser through the app.

 

 

 

5 top virtual reality & augmented reality technology trends for 2016 — from marxentlabs.com by Joe Bardi

Excerpt:

What are the top Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology trends for 2016?
2015 was a year of tantalizing promise for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology, with plenty of new hardware announced and initial content forays hitting the mainstream. 2016 is shaping up as the year that promise is fulfilled, with previously drooled over hardware finally making its way into the hands of consumers, and exciting new content providing unique experiences to a public hungry to experience this new technology.  So where are Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality headed in 2016? Here’s our top 5 emerging trends…

 

 

 

CASE STUDY: How Lowe’s used the PIONEERS framework to lead a successful augmented reality and virtual reality project — from marxentlabs.com by Beck Besecker

Excerpt:

PIONEERS Case Study: Lowe’s Innovation Labs
By following the PIONEERS framework, Lowe’s Innovation Labs was able to create a brand new buying experience that is wowing customers. A project of Lowe’s Innovation Labs, the Lowe’s Holoroom is powered by Marxent’s VisualCommerce™, which enables Lowe’s to fill the Holoroom’s 3D space with virtual renderings of real products stocked by the home improvement retailer. Shoppers can design their perfect kitchen and then literally walk into it, share it via YouTube 360, and then buy the products that they’ve selected and turn their virtual design into reality.

 

 

 

College students experiment with virtual reality — from edtechmagazine.com by Eli Zimmerman
Innovative course curricula at three higher ed institutions give students hands-on practice with virtual reality.

 

College-VR-Experiments-May2016

 

 

 

Campus Technology Announces 2016 Innovators Award Honorees

The categories for the 2016 Campus Technology Innovators include:

  • Teaching and Learning
  • Student Systems and Services
  • Administration
  • IT Infrastructure and Systems
  • Education Futurists

 

 

From DSC:
As one of the Judges for this year’s awards, I congratulate these award honorees on jobs that were well done!  There were some solid submissions this year.

 

 

 

 

Sony’s canvas redefines the giant display landscape.

 

Sony-Canvas-HUGE-6-2016

 

 

SonyCanvas-June2016

The bigger your giant display, the more important viewing angle becomes.
In this example, we’re showing an 8K x 2K (7680 x 2160) screen.

 

 

Sony-CanvasForCreativity

 

 

Sony redefines high-end visual display with new canvas for creativity — from blog.sony.com

Excerpt:

The scalable system is made up of multiple display units (each measuring 18 x 16 inches) that can be joined together with no bezels to create a limitless and seamless large-screen display.

 

 

 

Also see:

Excerpt:
Sony is literally blowing people away with their new Crystal LED technology. Sony’s new Canvas display system is a high-end visual display that re-defines the landscape for large-scale visual entertainment. The new technology, Crystal Light Emitting Diode Integrated Structure (CLEDIS), uses Sony’s ultrafine LEDs in a unique surface mounting structure as its light source to deliver a visual experience not possible with even the highest end conventional LED array. This scalable new type of canvas delivers an unmatched viewing experience, offering 99 percent black surface area, for high contrast, high resolution and immersive visuals.

This new type of canvas enables limitless flexibility and creativity in public spaces and high-end visual entertainment.  It is far more advanced when compared to the technologies currently available for large-scale display, offering a leap forward in depth, contrast, color, resolution and impact.

 

 

 

From DSC:
Leveraging the power of the BYOD phenomenon along with the increased usage of active learning-based classrooms, if students could “upload” their content to such enormous screens, one could easily imagine some highly-engaging discussions — providing students with excellent opportunities to create and share their own content.  Numerous windows and applications could be simultaneously displayed on such a video wall, providing/hosting some serious Jigsaw teaching techniques!

 

 

 

 

Faculty Innovation Toolkit — from campustechnology.com by Leila Meyer and Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

  • 15 Sites for Free Digital Textbooks
  • 12 Tips for Gamifying a Course
  • 10 Tools for More Interactive Videos
  • 4 Ways to Use Social Media for Learning

 

FacultyInnovationToolkit-CampusTechnology-June2016

 

 

 

The SIIA CODiE Awards for 2016 — with thanks to Neha Jaiswal from uCertify for this resource; uCertify, as you will see, did quite well

Since 1986, the SIIA CODiE Awards have recognized more than 1,000 software and information companies for achieving excellence. The CODiE Awards remain the only peer-recognized program in the content, education, and software industries so each CODiE Award win serves as incredible market validation for a product’s innovation, vision, and overall industry impact.

 

SIIA-CODiE-Awards-for-2016

 

 

Will “class be in session” soon on tools like Prysm & Bluescape? If so, there will be some serious global interaction, collaboration, & participation here! [Christian]

From DSC:
Below are some questions and thoughts that are going through my mind:

  • Will “class be in session” soon on tools like Prysm & Bluescape?
  • Will this type of setup be the next platform that we’ll use to meet our need to be lifelong learners? That is, will what we know of today as Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Content Management Systems (CMS) morph into this type of setup?
  • Via platforms/operating systems like tvOS, will our connected TVs turn into much more collaborative devices, allowing us to contribute content with learners from all over the globe?
  • Prysm is already available on mobile devices and what we consider a television continues to morph
  • Will second and third screens be used in such setups? What functionality will be assigned to the main/larger screens? To the mobile devices?
  • Will colleges and universities innovate into such setups?  Or will organizations like LinkedIn.com/Lynda.com lead in this space? Or will it be a bit of both?
  • How will training, learning and development groups leverage these tools/technologies?
  • Are there some opportunities for homeschoolers here?

Along these lines, are are some videos/images/links for you:

 

 

PrysmVisualWorkspace-June2016

 

PrysmVisualWorkspace2-June2016

 

BlueScape-2016

 

BlueScape-2015

 

 



 

 

DSC-LyndaDotComOnAppleTV-June2016

 

 

 

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 



 

Also see:

kitchenstories-AppleTV-May2016

 

 

 

 


 

Also see:

 


Prysm Adds Enterprise-Wide Collaboration with Microsoft Applications — from ravepubs.com by Gary Kayye

Excerpt:

To enhance the Prysm Visual Workplace, Prysm today announced an integration with Microsoft OneDrive for Business and Office 365. Using the OneDrive for Business API from Microsoft, Prysm has made it easy for customers to connect Prysm to their existing OneDrive for Business environments to make it a seamless experience for end users to access, search for, and sync with content from OneDrive for Business. Within a Prysm Visual Workplace project, users may now access, work within and download content from Office 365 using Prysm’s built-in web capabilities.

 


 

 

 
© 2025 | Daniel Christian