Global EdTech Funding 2021 – Half Year Update — from holoniq.com
A record half year in EdTech funding with 568 rounds raising $10B of investment as, ready or not, the world turns to technology to support learning and education delivery.
On 06/16/2021,
in 21st century, computer science, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, engineering, Europe, future, global / globalization, platforms, policy, political science, programming, robotics, society, the downsides of how people use tech,
by Daniel Christian
Watch a Drone Swarm Fly Through a Fake Forest Without Crashing — from wired.com by Max Levy
Each copter doesn’t just track where the others are. It constantly predicts where they’ll go.
From DSC:
I’m not too crazy about this drone swarm…in fact, the more I thought about it, I find it quite alarming and nerve-racking. It doesn’t take much imagination to think what the militaries of the world are already doing with this kind of thing. And our son is now in the Marines. So forgive me if I’m a bit biased here…but I can’t help but wondering what the role/impact of foot soldiers will be in the next war? I hope we don’t have one.
Anway, just because we can…
On 06/16/2021,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, ethics, Europe, faculty/staff, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, online media, pace of change, platforms, policy, presentations, social learning / networks, social media, society, teachers, the downsides of how people use tech, training / L&D, trends, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
The Future of Social Media: Re-Humanisation and Regulation — by Gerd Leonhard
How could social media become ‘human’ again? How can we stop the disinformation, dehumanisation and dataism that has resulted from social media’s algorithmic obsessions? I foresee that the EXTERNALTIES i.e. the consequences of unmitigated growth of exponential digital technologies will become just as big as the consequences of climate change. In fact, today, the social media industry already has quite a few parallels to the oil, gas and coal business: while private make huge profits from extracting the ‘oil’ (i.e. user data), the external damage is left to society and governments to fix. This needs to change! In this keynote I make some precise suggestions as to how that could happen.
Some snapshots/excerpts:
From DSC:
Gerd brings up some solid points here. His presentation and perspectives are not only worth checking out, but they’re worth some time for us to seriously reflect on what he’s saying.
What kind of future do we want?
And for you professors, teachers, instructional designers, trainers, and presenters out there, check out *how* he delivers the content. It’s well done and very engaging.
On 05/15/2021,
in Asia, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), culture, distance education, engagement / engaging students, Europe, experimentation, ideas, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, online learning, society,
by Daniel Christian
Reimagining Online Culture: Project-Based Learning, Inclusion, and Reach in Online Education — from er.educause.edu by Christian Schneider
The pandemic created a unique opportunity for educators to rethink their approach to online learning and explore how this educational environment can expand access while increasing and building on diversity.
Excerpt:
The move to online education during the pandemic has been one of the greatest experiments ever conducted. It was initially met with reluctance and fatigue, but once we moved beyond the attempts to replicate what we do in real life, it brought to light important innovations.
We cut out constraints, categorizations, and biases while concentrating on our faces, voices, and work, and we extended the reach of geographical, cultural, and social access.
During the pandemic, however, when most students were in their home countries, they seemed to be more comfortable as their authentic selves, working on projects that related to their local environments.
…
Teaching online can not only make education available to more people around the globe but also open a space where students can share “a piece of themselves,” where different perspectives can interact, where we can learn from each other and our local environments and opportunities. This creates an enormous opportunity for equity and inclusion.
On 05/07/2021,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Africa, Alternatives, Asia, Australia, business, business side of he, Canada, career development, change, changing business models, collaboration, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Europe, experimentation, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, India, learning ecosystem, new business models, online learning, programming, real-world assignments, reinvent, technology (general), training / L&D, trends, UK, United States, universities, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
109 New University Partnerships with OPMs, Bootcamps and Pathways in Q1 2021 — from holoniq.com
Universities around the world are accelerating their adoption of Academic Public-Private Partnerships.
Excerpt:
Based on the rate of partnership growth in Q1, 2021 may deliver over 400 new academic partnerships if growth continues at the same rate.
Other key points:
- The US led the development and growth of the OPM model, now we are seeing an acceleration in adoption of OPM partnerships in international markets across Australia, Asia and Europe
- Bootcamp Partnerships are powering Universities with immersive, short-format programs in technology and new domains in business. Expert curriculum, deep industry relationships and hiring pathways are driving very fast growth in campus-based and online programs.
- We expect the Global OPX Market to grow at 19% CAGR, reaching $13.3B by 2025.
On 05/06/2021,
in A/V -- audio/visual, Africa, Asia, Daniel S. Christian, Europe, ideas, innovation, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, society, the downsides of how people use tech, UK, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
A couple of items from the May 2021 Inavate edition:
A very sharp learning space right here!
DC: While I think this is really sharp for large events that are held every so often (like large concerts or 4th of July events in the U.S.), I don’t want to walk out my front door to see that the skies have become billboards.https://t.co/zv80dO6F5T pic.twitter.com/wVFb7nK2F3
— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) May 5, 2021
On 04/19/2021,
in 21st century, Africa, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Australia, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), Canada, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, ethics, Europe, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, human-computer interaction (HCI), India, intelligent systems, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, morals/values, parents/guardians, platforms, policy, robotics, science, society, sociology, the downsides of how people use tech, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Artificial intelligence and the future of national security — from news.asu.edu
Excerpt:
Artificial intelligence is a “world-altering” technology that represents “the most powerful tools in generations for expanding knowledge, increasing prosperity and enriching the human experience” and will be a source of enormous power for the companies and countries that harness them, according to the recently released Final Report of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
This is not hyperbole or a fantastical version of AI’s potential impact. This is the assessment of a group of leading technologists and national security professionals charged with offering recommendations to Congress on how to ensure American leadership in AI for national security and defense. Concerningly, the group concluded that the U.S. is not currently prepared to defend American interests or compete in the era of AI.
Also see:
EU Set to Ban Surveillance, Start Fines Under New AI Rules — from bloomberg.com by Natalia Drozdiak
Excerpt:
The European Union is poised to ban artificial intelligence systems used for mass surveillance or for ranking social behavior, while companies developing AI could face fines as high as 4% of global revenue if they fail to comply with new rules governing the software applications.
Also see:
Wrongfully arrested man sues Detroit police over false facial recognition match — from washingtonpost.com by Drew Harwell
The case could fuel criticism of police investigators’ use of a controversial technology that has been shown to perform worse on people of color
Excerpts:
A Michigan man has sued Detroit police after he was wrongfully arrested and falsely identified as a shoplifting suspect by the department’s facial recognition software in one of the first lawsuits of its kind to call into question the controversial technology’s risk of throwing innocent people in jail.
Robert Williams, a 43-year-old father in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, was arrested last year on charges he’d taken watches from a Shinola store after police investigators used a facial recognition search of the store’s surveillance-camera footage that identified him as the thief.
Prosecutors dropped the case less than two weeks later, arguing that officers had relied on insufficient evidence. Police Chief James Craig later apologized for what he called “shoddy” investigative work. Williams, who said he had been driving home from work when the 2018 theft had occurred, was interrogated by detectives and held in custody for 30 hours before his release.
Williams’s attorneys did not make him available for comment Tuesday. But Williams wrote in The Washington Post last year that the episode had left him deeply shaken, in part because his young daughters had watched him get handcuffed in his driveway and put into a police car after returning home from work.
“How does one explain to two little girls that a computer got it wrong, but the police listened to it anyway?” he wrote. “As any other black man would be, I had to consider what could happen if I asked too many questions or displayed my anger openly — even though I knew I had done nothing wrong.”
Addendum on 4/20/21:
- Aiming for truth, fairness, and equity in your company’s use of AI — from ftc.gov by Elisa Jillson
On 04/17/2021,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, data related items, education, education technology, emerging technologies, Europe, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, platforms, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
AI in education: Features already adopted by companies, universities, and schools — from belitsoft.com by Dmitry Baraishuk
Excerpt:
AI use cases in education include such kinds of applications as: Artificial Intelligence in training, learning and development, AI in higher education and Artificial Intelligence in K-12 education. We’ve gathered and outlined real-life examples of AI in education for each of these three application areas. If you’re an L&D or HR pro, you will find insightful the section “AI in talent management and in Learning and development.” College and university leaders will discover helpful tools to significantly improve their educational process in the section “AI in Higher Education.” For school leaders, we’ve prepared the section “Artificial intelligence in K-12 education.”
Addendum on 4/23/21:
- AI in Education — from itchronicles.com by William Goddard
On 04/04/2021,
in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, faith, future, hearts -- matters of the heart, India, Michigan, religion, student-related, UK, United States, youth,
by Daniel Christian
On 04/01/2021,
in art, creativity, digital photography, Europe, innovation, photography,
by Daniel Christian
The Best of 2020 Drone Photography by SkyPixel — from fubiz.net
On 03/30/2021,
in A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, assessment, Canada, career development, communications, design, digital audio, education, Europe, ideas, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning spaces, multimedia, music, new media literacies, participation, passions, real-world assignments, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, UK, United States, vendors, vocational / trades, youth,
by Daniel Christian
NJ High School Adds New Recording Studio to Learning Spaces — from spaces4learning.com by Matt Jones
Excerpt:
A career and technical high school in New Jersey has added new professional recording gear to one of its teaching spaces. County Prep High School, part of Hudson County Schools of Technology, added hardware from Solid State Logic (SSL), a UK-based company that manufactures analog and digital audio consoles for music and audio production. Students in the music and audio technology program learn how to write their own songs and produce their own music. The senior project involves putting a label together and releasing songs.
The new studio at County Prep High School features professional equipment from Solid State Logic.
Source: Solid State Logic
Also see:
Addendum on 4/1/21:
- Control Room 42 ushers in the future of broadcasting — from derivative.ca
Excerpt:
Control Room 42 (CR42) a project from RTBF, public broadcaster for the French speaking part of Belgium, gives broadcasting’s traditionally hardware-based control room a radical makeover enabled by TouchDesigner in ways its designer Hugo Ortiz thought impossible a few years ago. Recipient of The European Broadcasting Union’s Technology and Innovation Award 2020, this new software-based control room prototype that also integrates Artisto for audio and Smode for real-time graphics brings game-changing innovation to the broadcasting industry.
On 03/28/2021,
in architecture, art, creativity, Europe, learning spaces, library / librarians,
by Daniel Christian
Dominique Coulon & Associés adds curved glass extension to library in a renovated French manor — from dezeen.com by Alyn Griffiths
On 03/22/2021,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Africa, Amazon, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, computer science, corporate / business world, data related items, emerging technologies, Europe, experimentation, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, Google, health, Microsoft, Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, programming, United States, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces,
by Daniel Christian
14th Annual Edition | 2021 Tech Trends Report — from the Future Today Institute
Our 2021 Tech Trends Report is designed to help you confront deep uncertainty, adapt and thrive. For this year’s edition, the magnitude of new signals required us to create 12 separate volumes, and each report focuses on a cluster of related trends. In total, we’ve analyzed nearly 500 technology and science trends across multiple industry sectors. In each volume, we discuss the disruptive forces, opportunities and strategies that will drive your organization in the near future.
Now, more than ever, your organization should examine the potential near and long-term impact of tech trends. You must factor the trends in this report into your strategic thinking for the coming year, and adjust your planning, operations and business models accordingly. But we hope you will make time for creative exploration. From chaos, a new world will come.
Some example items noted in this report:
- Natural language processing is an area experiencing high interest, investment, and growth.
- + No-code or low-code systems are unlocking new use cases for businesses.
- Amazon Web Services, Azure, and Google Cloud’s low-code and no-code offerings will trickle down to everyday people, allowing them to create their own artificial intelligence applications and deploy them as easily as they could a website.
- The race is on to capture AI cloudshare—and to become the most trusted provider of AI on remote servers.
- COVID-19 accelerated the use of AI in drug discovery last year. The first trial of an AI-discovered drug is underway in Japan.