Sharp video of the Leap Motion Controller — as taken from AI, Robotics and Sensors everywhere timeline — nextbigfuture.com

 

 

Also see:

Also see:

Apple's iTunes U may be leading a global revolution in higher education

 

From DSC:

Apple has been putting together a solid ecosystem of hardware and software that allows for the creation and distribution of content.  “Easy is hard” I like to say and Apple’s done a great job of creating easy-to-use devices and apps. They have a long way to go before iTunes U has all the built-in functionality needed to replace a Blackboard Learn or a Moodle type of CMS/LMS.  But given their solid history of creating highly-usable hardware and software, they could deal a smashing blow to what’s happening in the CMS/LMS world today. 

Plus, with Apple TV, Airplay mirroring, the growth of second screen-based apps, and machine-to-machine communications, Apple is poised to get into this game…big time. If my thoughts re: “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” come to fruition, Apple would be positioned for some serious worldwide impact on lifelong learning; especially when combined with the developments such as the use of MOOCs, AI and HCI-related innovations, learning agents, web-based learner profiles, and potential/upcoming changes to accreditation.

Too far fetched do you think? Hmmm….well considering that online learning has already been proven to be at least as affective as f2f learning — and in some studies has produced even greater learning outcomes/results — I wonder how things will look in mid-2015…? (That is, where is the innovation occurring?)


 Addendum:

  • Connected TV penetration to top 50% by 2017 — from worldscreen.com by Mansha Daswani
    Excerpt:
    SCOTTSDALE: ABI Research forecasts that more than 50 percent of television homes in North America and Western Europe will have Internet-connected TV sets by 2017, up from just 10 percent last year, while Blu-ray player penetration is expected to rise to more than 76 percent from about 25 percent. The report notes that the popularity of connected TV is not limited to developed markets—there have been increasing shipments to China, ABI notes.
    .
  • Advertisers need to pay attention to connected TV [INFOGRAPHIC] — from Mashable.com
    .
  • The future of TV is two screens, one held firmly in your hands — from FastCompany.com by Kit Eaton
    Excerpt:

    The connected TV, sometimes called the smart TV (and even branded as such by Samsung) is a growing phenomenon: TV makers are adding limited apps, Net connectivity, and even streaming media powers to their newer TVs in the hope they’ll persuade you to upgrade your newish LCD for a flatter, smarter unit. They’re desperate to, given how flat this market is. But according to new research from Pew, the future of TV may actually be a little more closely aligned with the notion of a “connected TV viewer,” an important distinction. Pew spoke to over 2,200 U.S. adults a couple of months ago and discovered that 52% of all adult cell phone owners now “incorporate their mobile devices into their television watching experiences.”

 

Simulated 3D on the iPad -- without glasses

 

From DSC:
My thanks to Mr. Colton Credelle in the Teaching & Learning Digital Studio at Calvin College for this resource.

 

Tagged with:  

Microsoft buys CNN’s Magic Wall maker — from CNN.com by Erin Kim

Excerpt:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Microsoft is adding a magic touch. Microsoft said Monday that it has agreed to buy Perceptive Pixel Inc., which makes large, multi-touch displays, including CNN’s “Magic Wall.”

CNN's John King used the Magic Wall for his coverage of the Michigan and Arizona primaries this year.

CNN’s John King used the Magic Wall for his coverage of the Michigan and Arizona primaries this year.

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Why Did Microsoft Buy Giant-Touchscreen-Maker Perceptive Pixel?— from readwriteweb.com by Brian Proffitt

 

From DSC:
I could easily see a “video wall” in the Smart Classrooms of the near future, integrating this technology and more. Intel’s incorporated/captured such a vision as well in this piece here.

I would like to see such a mechanism be able to obtain files from students, check them for any viruses/malware, and then distribute the files to other students (if they choose to receive the files).

 


 

 

Talking to machines and being heard : Getting started with speech recognition — from uxmag.com by Dave Rich

Excerpt:

Speech recognition presents an exciting and dynamic set of challenges and opportunities for UX designers. With the mass-market reception of consumer technologies such as Apple’s Siri and the near-omnipresence of speech in telephone applications, speech recognition is a computer–human interface many people interact with daily. Speech applications range from self-service telephone systems such as banking applications, to mobile applications that allow users to speak commands and compose messages with their voice. In the future, we can expect to see many different applications integrate speech recognition in some form. The time is near when speech will be the most universal user interface.

Addendum on 7/12/12:

 

“Learning from the living room” — Part I [Christian]

Learning from the living room -- a component of our future learning ecosystems -- by Daniel S. Christian, June 2012

 

 

Legal size PDF here

 

 

Addendum on 7/3/12 from an article I wrote for EvoLLLution.com (for LifeLong Learning):
Establishing better collaboration between the corporate world and higher education [Christian]

In the near future, perhaps we could have second screen-based activities whereby corporate leaders are giving TED-like presentations or expressing the current issues in their worlds via a program on Smart TVs, and the students are communicating and collaborating about these presentations via tablets or smart phones.  Perhaps there will be electronic means whereby students could submit their ideas and feedback to the presenting companies (and whereby selected ideas could be rewarded in terms of free products or services that the company produces).

 

 

Videos from Qualcomm Uplinq 2012 show the future of Smart TV
— from hexus.net by Mark Tyson

Excerpt:
Here are the feature highlights of these “redefined” Smart TVs:

  • Console quality gaming
  • Concurrency of apps
  • Miracast wireless technology allowing smartphone and tablet screens to partake in multi-screen interactivity
  • Personalisation and facial recognition
  • Gestures
  • HD picture quality
  • HD video calling

 

From DSC:
…and add to that list the power of customized learning and analytics!

Beyond Siri - A report regarding the future of Virtual Assistants -- from VisionMobile -- June 2012

 

Contents

  • Virtual assistants: four generations in 20 years
  • The evolving VA technology landscape
  • The VA Competitive landscape
  • VA business models: Revenue share rather than paid app downloads
  • Leaders and challengers in the VA value chain
  • Beyond Siri: What’s in store in the VA market

Behind this report

  • Lead researcher: Marlène Sellebråten
  • Project lead: Michael Vakulenko
  • Marketing lead: Matos Kapetanakis
  • Editorial: Andreas Constantinou

 

YouTube Video of  Marc Whitten, VP Xbox LIVE

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SmartGlass -- from Microsoft -- June 4, 2012

 

Microsoft Unveils ‘SmartGlass’ to Connect Xbox and Windows — from the Wall Street Journal

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Xbox Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox LIVE, announces
Xbox SmartGlass onstage at the Xbox 360 E3 media briefing Monday.

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Also see:

Addendum 6/6/12:

Spatially-aware devices — by Ishac Bertran

Also see:

Leap Motion founder on why 3D input will dominate the future– from betakit.com by Darrell Etherington

 

 

leap-motion

 

 

Excerpt:

Leap Motion is a 3D controller that made its public debut this week, after two years of work on the device, during which time founders Michael Buckwald and David Holz raised $14.55 million in funding. The Leap Motion is a motion control interface designed for use with existing computers,and in demo videos the device calls to mind natural, sci-fi interfaces like the one found in the Tom Cruise blockbuster Minority Report. It’s motion control that doesn’t look gimmicky or full of compromises, and CEO and founder Buckwald told BetaKit in an interview that in terms of underlying technology, Leap is heads and tails above most of what’s out there.

“Our technology is the only one focused on bringing motion control to the desktop, rather than trying to take what’s been built for TV (large gesture sensing) and making it work for computers,” he said. “We incorporate natural motions in closer range (three cubic feet from the device), in far greater detail and sensitivity, than any product on the market, and we’re the only solution that tracks all 10 fingers individually in 3D space, making Leap about 200 times as accurate as other motion-control technologies.”

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From DSC:
I saw this yesterday, but I also wanted to thank Mr. Cal Keen who also brought it to my attention again today;  thanks Cal for reminding me I needed to post this! Cal mentioned it isn’t due out until Dec 2012 or Jan 2013.

 

We need a “Fab Lab for Education” — from innosightinstitute.org by Alex Hernandez

Excerpt:

In my dreams, [insert city] would open a Fab Lab for Education.

The Fab Lab for Education is a place where educators with big ideas can prototype new approaches to education and operate them for six weeks at a time with real kids. In other sectors, fab labs are mini-workshops where inventors can make “almost anything” without re-tooling an entire factory. Educators should have a place to try amazing, new ideas without “re-tooling” a whole school.

For educators, getting selected to prototype their big idea is a huge honor and people travel across the country to see their work. By the way, they don’t have to quit their jobs to do this and everyone knows that not all the programs will succeed.

The Fab Lab for Education is a highly flexible and customizable space, kind of like the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Philanthropists stock the lab with all the things needed to test out new ideas: 3-D printers, legos, amazing books, art supplies, post-it notes…  basically whatever the educators need.

The Fab Lab for Education team has five jobs…

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Additional reflection from DSC:
Great, innovative thinking Alex on this posting. Speaking of such dreams, it’s my dream to have such a place here on campus where folks could “kick the tires” on various technologies — where educators, faculty members, etc. could collaboratively work with each other and with educational technologists.  Before a “standard” gets put into place (i.e. such as an implementation of an interactive whiteboard), such a facility could help people test out a variety of potential pathways.  Ideas emerge and they morph into something else. Innovation could occur. Emerging technologies could be identified and tested out.

Other thoughts:

  • This would be a great place for our future educators/student teachers to have access to as well
  • Ideas/innovations arising from some of these facilities might be eligible for patents and additional income streams to keep such facilities open/sustainable
  • Successful approaches could be shared with other school districts, colleges, universities
  • Human Computer Interaction (HCI)-related work could be a piece of this vision — esp. in regards to developing the next gen Smart Classroom and learning spaces

 


 

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