human-computer interaction (HCI)

Immersive “Holodeck” Classroom with Leap Motion Control

On 10/25/2013, in education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, multimedia, participation, trends, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I’d like to thank Mr. Cal Keen, an incredible technologist
and a great person from Calvin College, for this resource.

.

Also relevant/see this item from educationdive.com:

FROM THE CAMPFIRE TO THE HOLODECK
Author: David Thornburg
Release Date: Available now
Price: $21.64 (Hardcover)

With “From the Campfire to the Holodeck: Creating Engaging and Powerful 21st Century Learning Environments,” award-winning futurist and educational consultant David Thornburg sets out to provide schools with a guidebook for transitioning from traditional classrooms and lecture halls to the immersive, student-centered, technologically driven learning experience of tomorrow. That’s where the title comes in, if you haven’t picked up on it yet, as it takes teachers from being the “sage on the stage” dictating everything to students to being the “guide at the side,” facilitating the experience.

Addendum:

Tidebreak Next Generation Mobile App Powers Full-Participation Learning [digitaljournal.com]

On 10/15/2013, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, multi-touch, multimedia, new media literacies, participation, second screen apps, simulations, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, streams of content, student-related, tablets, teaching & learning, TVs, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Tidebreak Next Generation Mobile App Powers Full-Participation Learning — from digitaljournal.com

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Mountain View and Anaheim, CA (PRWEB) October 15, 2013

New web app increases collaboration between students and faculty in classroom in BYOD learning environments.

…

“Using technology in the classroom can help spur creativity, increase participation, and foster a collaborative environment,” said Andrew J. Milne, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Tidebreak. “The latest version of Tidebreak’s mobile web app allows students to use any tablet or handheld device to share information with the entire class in real-time. By incorporating mobile web apps into devices that students already own, faculty can improve the learning process by creating a more collaborative environment that encourages active participation.”

The mobile web app from Tidebreak has many new features that will help increase student participation in the classroom. New features that have been incorporated into ClassSpot, ClassSpot PBL and TeamSpot include:

Work “at the board” without getting up – Full keyboard and track pad control from a tablet or phone allows students to collaborate on the large classroom screen in real-time.
Bridge the physical and digital world – Capture and share photos of whiteboard content, physical objects, or images and then share it on-screen or archive it instantly.
Surf and share – Search the web for relevant content and then share it to the main screen, the session archive, or to everyone in the group simultaneously.
Navigate an enhanced design – A great deal of improvement has gone into the user interface which helps generate new ideas among students.

Smart Machines: IBM’S Watson and the era of cognitive computing [Kelly &Hamm]

On 10/09/2013, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, computer science, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, programming, research, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Smart Machines: IBM’S Watson and the era of cognitive computing — from cup.columbia.edu by John E. Kelly III, Director of IBM Research, and Steve Hamm, writer at IBM and former business and technology journalist

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Computers today are brilliant idiots. They have tremendous capacities for storing information and performing numerical calculations-far superior to those of any human. Yet when it comes to another class of skills, the capacities for understanding, learning, adapting, and interacting, computers are woefully inferior to humans; there are many situations where computers can’t do a lot to help us.

…

But the goal is not to replicate human brains or replace human thinking with machine thinking. Rather, in the era of cognitive systems, humans and machines will collaborate to produce better results, each bringing its own skills to the partnership. The machines will be more rational and analytic-and, of course, possess encyclopedic memories and tremendous computational abilities. People will provide judgment, intuition, empathy, a moral compass, and human creativity.

From DSC:
Consider what Watson “read in” to come up with some recommendations:

Watson

Addendum on 10/14/13 (emphasis DSC):

Watson is being used to assist with the treatment of cancer patients. According to an article from medicalnewstoday.com, Watson is “revolutionizing cancer care and research and speeding up progress for patients.”

In that same article, it mentions that, so far, Watson has ingested:

Over 600,000 pieces of medical evidence
2,000,000 pages of text from 42 academic journals and clinical trials based on oncology research
A huge number of patients’ records spanning decades of cancer treatment history, including medical records and patient outcomes. Watson can sift through 1.5 million pieces of such records and provide doctors with evidence-based treatment options within seconds.

One of IBM’s General Managers who works with Watson said:

“breakthrough capabilities bring forward the first in a series of Watson-based technologies, which exemplifies the value of applying big data and analytics and cognitive computing to tackle the industry’s most pressing challenges.”

From DSC:
There’s something here for classrooms/education — even for the living rooms of the future!

Little Mermaid Second Screen Live makes iPads part of the movie world — from gigaom.com by Liz Shannon Miller

Summary:

Disney advertises the Second Screen Live experience as a rebellion: “Break the rules — bring your iPad to the movies!” But it’s less a trip to the movies and more a fully interactive experience.

…

As the film began, so did the games. Most second-screen experiences I’ve tried have been largely passive, but Little Mermaid demanded the audience’s attention right from the beginning with games, trivia questions and other forms of interactivity for all ages.

…

The action on the big screen even froze from time to time for more complex games, and there were moments of seemingly new animation inserted at key plot points, as well.

The new learning dashboard at Khan Academy

On 09/27/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, blended learning, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, online learning, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

Introducing…the Learning Dashboard — from khanacademy.org

Excerpt:

The new learning dashboard is your personal homepage on Khan Academy. The dashboard gives you an easy way to find the best next things for you to do. It has a bunch of really cool things designed to help you learn math, and soon other subjects, really well on your own or with a coach. You can access it when you’re signed in by clicking on the Khan Academy logo at the top of the page.

From DSC:
Think of the power of this in a blended learning environment! Use the dashboard to gain more choice, more control. See your progress. Then go to your teacher, professor, trainer, supervisor, subject matter expert, etc. to get guidance, extra help, etc. It also plays into what I envision in the “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” environment that continues to form in front of our very eyes.

In the future, I have it that this is the type of thing that will be possible from our living rooms [Christian]

On 09/26/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, blended learning, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, innovation, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, multi-touch, multimedia, smart classrooms, tools, TVs, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Circle Twelve introduces new video conferencing and immersive multi-user collaboration system — from businesswire.com

DiamondTouch Immersion is a new video conferencing system from Circle Twelve designed for connecting two remotely located teams. It combines a the multi-user DiamondTouch table with a second display for video conferencing. It features several patented technologies, including the multi-user DiamondTouch table hardware used for interacting with shared content and collaborative whiteboarding, a method for indicating which remote user is interacting (check out the virtual arms at 3:45), and a multi-camera system so you can see all the people at the remote table. More information at http://www.circletwelve.com/products/…

From DSC:
Can you imaging this type of web-based collaboration in blended learning environments?!!

Also see:

DiamondTouch Immersion

ChemDraw ~ Favorite Things Series — from collegiatecareercoach.com by Mignon Brooks

Excerpt:

Imagine the capability of sitting in a chemistry classroom where a professor flicks information to the students, and the students flick their answers right back to the professor.

Also see:

ChemDraw: iTunes Preview
Chem 3D: iTunes Preview
Software and Informatics Solutions from Perkin Elmer (also see perkinelmer.com on twitter)
Chem Draw on twitter
ChemDraw hash tag on twitter
Hans Keil on twitter
Operating at the intersection of mobility, collaboration, and science.

From DSC:
I couldn’t locate the relevant information for Flick-to-Share (or did they mean Flick and Share?); however, the idea of swiping to easily and efficiently share files most assuredly is part of the future Smart Classroom. see:

Wow! Those teaching Physics/Science/Art might want to investigate new possibilities w/ Google Glass (& the like)!

On 09/13/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, art, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, chemistry, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, informal learning, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, media/film, Michigan, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, physics, platforms, science, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, telepresence, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

A first look at how educators are really using Google Glass — from by Stephen Noonoo

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Per Andrew Vanden Heuvel:

What Glass does offer, Vanden Heuvel said, is a shift in perspective, particularly because teachers can use it as a tool to engage students faster and more easily than before. After returning from Geneva, Vanden Heuvel launched a YouTube channel devoted to his experiments with science–and Glass–called STEMBite. To date, in more than two dozen videos, he’s guided viewers through the physics of ball spin on the tennis court to the polarization of light through (appropriately enough) a pair of glasses.

“What I’m excited by making these videos is not only that they’re filmed with Google Glass, but they’re high engagement videos, so they’re meant to be really short and to get kids to think about how math and science is all around,” he said. “I suppose I could have done that before, but it’s just so easy now.”

Per Hanna Brown:

“I’ve had videos in my classroom before–that’s not a novel thing–but I’ve never been able to take a video from my eye perspective,” said Hannah Brown, another early Glass adopter who works as a high school art teacher at Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, an all-online statewide charter school in Ohio.

From DSC:
Virtual field trips, mobile learning, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), and other topics come to my mind when I see this.

Will IBM’s Watson — or a similar set of technologies — be a key ingredient of our future MOOCs? [Christian]

On 09/05/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, blended learning, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, disruption, global / globalization, health, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, IBM, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, lifelong learning, marketing/social marketing, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, passions, personalized/customized learning, professional development, research, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, society, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, teaching online, technologies for your home, training / L&D, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, United States, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
IBM Watson continues to expand into different disciplines/areas, which currently include:

Healthcare
Finance
Customer Service

But Watson is also entering the marketing and education/research realms.

I see a Watson-type-of-tool as being a key ingredient for future MOOCs and the best chance for MOOCs to morph into something very powerful indeed — offloading the majority of the workload to computers/software/intelligent tutoring/learning agents, while at the same time allowing students to connect with each other and/or to Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) as appropriate.

The price of education could hopefully come way down — depending upon the costs involved with licensing Watson or a similar set of technologies — as IBM could spread out their costs to multiple institutions/organizations. This vision represents another important step towards the “Walmart of Education” that continues to develop before our eyes.

Taking this even one step further, I see this system being available to us on our mobile devices as well as in our living rooms — as the telephone, the television, and the computer continue to converge. Blended learning on steroids.

What would make this really powerful would be to provide:

The ability to create narratives/stories around content
To feed streams of content into Watson for students to tap into
Methods of mining data and using that to tweak algorithms, etc. to improve the tools/learning opportunities

Such an architecture could be applied towards lifelong learning opportunities — addressing what we now know as K-12, higher education, and corporate training/development.

.

From DSC:
What if the objects you touched you just wanted to know more about…? This could tie into educationally-related applications at that point!

What types of innovative learning experiences can be crafted as “TV” becomes more interactive, participatory, and engaging? [Christian]

On 08/21/2013, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, interactivity, interface design, internet, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, media/film, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, new business models, online learning, online media, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, student-related, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, TVs, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The massive convergence of the telephone, the television, and the computer continues. How that media gets to us is also changing (i.e. the cord cutting continues).

What types of innovative learning experiences can be crafted as “TV” becomes more interactive, participatory, and engaging? What happens if technologies like WebRTC make their way into our browsers and we can videoconference with each other without having to download anything?

What doors open for for us when Google, Apple, or an Amazon.com delivers your “shows” vs. NBC/ABC/CBS/etc.?

The items below cause me to reflect on those questions…

.

Streaming devices lead the way to Smart TV — from nytimes.com by Brian Stelter

Julia Yellow

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Is Google ready to buy its way into TV with an NFL deal? — from allthingsd.com by Peter Kafka

Excerpt:

Here’s a fun combination to ponder: The world’s most powerful media company and America’s most popular sport.

That could happen if Google buys the rights to the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, the all-you-can-eat subscription-TV service currently owned by DirecTV.

Cord Cliff Coming: What happens to TV when Netflix streams live events? — from allthingsd.com by Ben Elowitz, CEO, Wetpaint

Addendums on 8/22/13:

CBS, Time Warner Cable, and the Disruption of TV — from newyorker.com by Ken Auletta
Netflix inks exclusive deal for first-run Weinstein films — from cnet.comThe Internet’s biggest on-demand video service will stream movies from the indie film studio before any other pay-TV providers starting in 2016, the same year it kicks off a similar Disney deal.
Vevo reportedly inks music video content deals with Apple and Samsung, Apple TV app could launch this week — from appleinsider.com by AppleInsider Staff
Music video platform Vevo is said to have signed deals with both Apple and Samsung to deliver streaming and on-demand content via set-top boxes and television sets, with a possible Apple TV debut coming as soon as this week.
Disney’s ESPN Holds Preliminary Talks for Web-Based TV –– from bloomberg.com by Christopher Palmeri & Andy Fixmer
Why Apple should buy NFL digital rights — from money.cnn.com by David Goldman
The tv of tomorrow and the living room of the future— from visual.ly <– a very solid infographic

The tv of tomorrow and the living room of the future

by beutlerink.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

Reflections on “FlixMaster changes model; becomes Rapt” [Lindenstein] <- involves interactive/digital video

On 08/02/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, convergence, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, innovation, interactivity, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, media/film, multimedia, online learning, online media, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, storytelling, technologies for your home, transmedia, trends, TVs, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

FlixMaster changes model; becomes Rapt — from bcbr.com by Joshua Lindenstein

Excerpts:

BOULDER – Highlighting a shift toward a new model for its interactive online video platform, Boulder-based FlixMaster Inc. this week announced that it is changing its name to Rapt Media Inc.

…

“When we founded FlixMaster, we set out to create the best toolset for video creators wanting to build interactive videos, and we succeeded in doing that that,” Rapt co-founder and chief executive Erika Trautman said in an email. “But as we partnered with really sophisticated companies (like HBO and Maybelline), we realized that our platform and the opportunity it posed was bigger than just interactive video. It was about improving online communication and storytelling through interactivity of all kinds, with video as the central component. Our company had already transitioned to this bigger vision, and we wanted a name that could reflect that vision.

Additional thought from DSC:
This item relates to the convergence of the television, the computer, and the telephone that I’m pulse-checking. I’m hopeful that such a convergence will provide students in the future with 24×7, highly-engaging, interactive, customized/personalized content:

.

More choice. More control.

Reflections on “How to make online courses massively personal” [Peter Norvig]

On 07/25/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, learning preferences, love of learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, professional development, reinvent, social learning / networks, streams of content, student-related, teaching & learning, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, using teams, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

How to make online courses massively personal — from scientificamerican.com by Peter Norvig
How thousands of online students can get the effect of one-on-one tutoring

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Educators have known for 30 years that students perform better when given one-on-one tutoring and mastery learning—working on a subject until it is mastered, not just until a test is scheduled. Success also requires motivation, whether from an inner drive or from parents, mentors or peers.

Will the rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs) quash these success factors? Not at all. In fact, digital tools offer our best path to cost-effective, personalized learning.

I know because I have taught both ways.

…

Inspired by Nobel laureate Herbert Simon’s comment that “learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks,” we created a course centered on the students doing things and getting frequent feedback. Our “lectures” were short (two- to six-minute) videos designed to prime the attendees for doing the next exercise. Some problems required the application of mathematical techniques described in the videos. Others were open-ended questions that gave students a chance to think on their own and then to hash out ideas in online discussion forums.

…

That is why a properly designed automated intelligent tutoring system can foster learning outcomes as well as human instructors can, as Kurt van Lehn found in a 2011 meta-analysis in Educational Psychologist.

From DSC:
A potential learning scenario in the future:

“Learning Agent, go find me a MOOC (or what the MOOC will morph into) about ________.”
Similar to a Google Alert, the Learning Agent returns some potential choices. I select one.
.
Once there… “System, let’s begin.” I begin taking the online-based course — which is stocked full of a variety of media, some interactive, that I get to choose from for each module/item based upon my personal preferences — and the intelligent tutoring system kicks in and responses at relevant points based upon my questions, answers, responses. The system uses AI, data mining, learning analytics, to see how I’m doing. It tracks this for each student. Humans regularly review the data to begin noticing patterns and to tweak the algorithms based upon these patterns.
.
If at any time I find the responses from the automated intelligent tutoring system confusing or weak, I will:
- Make note of why I’m confused or disagree with the response (via an online-based form entry on the page; this feedback gets instantly sent to the Team of Specialists in charge of the “course.” They will use it to tweak the course/algorithms.)
- Ask to speak with a person, at which point I am asked to choose whether my inquiry would best be handled by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) at $___/hour/request (more expensive price) or by an entry-level tutor (at a lower $___/hour/request). I then enter into a videoconference-based tutoring session with them, and they can access my records and even take over my screen (if I let them). Once I get my questions answered, I return to the course and continue.

From DSC:
A twist on the above scenario would be if a cohorted group of people — not age-based — met in a physical place/room and were able to bounce ideas off of each other before anyone ante’d up for additional expenses by contacting a tutor and/or an SME. They could even share the expenses of the “call” (so-to-speak).

Some items re: the Leap Motion Controller

On 07/23/2013, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, by Daniel Christian

Leap Motion Controller review — from digitaltrends.com by Matt Smith

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Here come the Leap Motion music apps — from evolver.fm by Eliot Van Buskirk

Look before you Leap Motion — from technologyreview.com by Rachel Metz
Leap Motion’s low-cost gesture-control device is not as easy to use as you might think.

——-

Back from Dec 2012:

Leaping Into the Gesture-Control Era — from technologyreview.com by Tom Simonite
Technology that accurately tracks finger motions could revolutionize desktop and mobile computing.

From DSC:
The way we interact with digital video may never be the same again. Consider the following developments/items:

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Touchcast.com

.

How TouchCast plans to disrupt TV watching

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TouchCast: a television studio in your iPad — from agbeat.com by Jennifer Walpole .

interlude.fm

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Interactive video startup Interlude raises $16m from Intel, Sequoia and other big names — from thenextweb.com by Robin Wauters

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Flixmaster.com

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cinematique.com:

What is MTEVIDEO?
The Motion Touch Enabled Video platform allows you touch on the things that interest you as they move within video, adding them to your personal boutique so you can learn, shop, and share from any MTEVIDEO whenever you want.

With Cinematique’s ‘touch-enabled’, shoppable videos, product placement might not be so bad — from techcrunch.com by Anthony Ha

From DSC:
I sure hope that we can use these sorts of tools, concepts, and technologies within the educational/training-related realms! More choice. More control. Participation. Interactivity. Engagement.

Learning Ecosystems

Immersive “Holodeck” Classroom with Leap Motion Control

See it. Like it. Touch it. Buy it. Some sharp interactive video tech by AVD Digital Media.

Some items re: the Leap Motion Controller

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