intelligent systems

GPT-3: We’re at the very beginning of a new app ecosystem [Rao]

On 03/06/2021, in emerging technologies, experimentation, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, Natural Language Processing (NLP), vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, wearables, by Daniel Christian

GPT-3: We’re at the very beginning of a new app ecosystem — from venturebeat.com by Dattaraj Rao

From DSC: NLP=Natural Language Processing (i.e., think voice-driven interfaces/interactivity).

Excerpt:

Despite the hype, questions persist as to whether GPT-3 will be the bedrock upon which an NLP application ecosystem will rest or if newer, stronger NLP models with knock it off its throne. As enterprises begin to imagine and engineer NLP applications, here’s what they should know about GPT-3 and its potential ecosystem.

Time for Reinvention, Not Just Replication or Revision — from insidehighered.com by Ray Schroeder
With enrollments falling, college budgets under strain and employers dissatisfied with the relevance of graduates’ learning, now is a time for more than replication or revision — it is time for reinvention.

Excerpt:

We are at the confluence of massive economic, technologic and social changes that demand higher education do more than small fixes. We will not thrive if we merely tweak the system to replicate practices of the lecture hall in an online delivery system. This is not an empty warning — universities across the country are closing programs, laying off staff and faculty, and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. I have personally been tracking these economic disadvantages for some time now.

Here are the key factors we must consider…(see rest of article)

Our centuries-old model of admitting 18-year-old high school graduates for a four-, five- or six-year baccalaureate, then sending them out for lifelong careers in business and industry is no longer relevant.

For elearning devs, IDs, trainers, & more — it appears a new toolset is on the horizon. [Christian]

On 02/10/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, algorithms, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, attention, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), participation, tools, training / L&D, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

When the Animated Bunny in the TV Show Listens for Kids’ Answers — and Answers Back — from edsurge.com by Rebecca Koenig

Excerpt:

Yet when this rabbit asks the audience, say, how to make a substance in a bottle less goopy, she’s actually listening for their answers. Or rather, an artificially intelligent tool is listening. And based on what it hears from a viewer, it tailors how the rabbit replies.

“Elinor can understand the child’s response and then make a contingent response to that,” says Mark Warschauer, professor of education at the University of California at Irvine and director of its Digital Learning Lab.

AI is coming to early childhood education. Researchers like Warschauer are studying whether and how conversational agent technology—the kind that powers smart speakers such as Alexa and Siri—can enhance the learning benefits young kids receive from hearing stories read aloud and from watching videos.

From DSC:
Looking at the above excerpt…what does this mean for elearning developers, learning engineers, learning experience designers, instructional designers, trainers, and more? It seems that, for such folks, learning how to use several new tools is showing up on the horizon.

8 Higher Education IT Trends to Watch in 2021 [Stone]

On 02/01/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning preferences, learning spaces, more choice more control, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, tvOS-based apps, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

8 Higher Education IT Trends to Watch in 2021 — from edtechmagazine.com by Adam Stone
Keep your eye on these trends as higher education prepares for a post-pandemic future.

Excerpt:

1. Get Used to More Advanced Learning Management Systems
At Virginia Tech, the Canvas learning management system (LMS) was critical for coordinating synchronous and asynchronous learning. Such systems will only become more sophisticated moving forward, says Randy Marchany, the university’s IT security officer. “With COVID, instructors have become more video savvy,” he says. “We’re all getting smarter about how we use these tools.”

2. A Rise in Sophisticated Videoconferencing Platforms
Even after the pandemic, educators might continue lecturing over Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms. However, they’ll be doing it in more sophisticated ways. “People will be making these experiences more collaborative, more authentic — with much richer interactions and conversations,” Grajek says. “We are all becoming more experienced consumers, and we will see a lot of innovation in this area.”

From DSC:
Yet another step closer…

Building a Learner-Centered Ecosystem [The Strada Education Network]

On 01/21/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, education, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, love of learning, online learning, strategy, training / L&D, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Strada Institute identified five key pillars these lifelong learners will need from an education and training system designed for them:

It has to be easy to navigate.
Supports are needed to help learners balance their lives.
Targeted education should lead to a job.
Hiring practices must be transparent and fair.
Students must be able to earn while learning.

Also see:

Are we ready for this? — from stradaeducation.org by Andrew Pelesh
Preparing the Education-Workforce System for the 100-Year Career

OpenAI’s text-to-image engine, DALL-E, is a powerful visual idea generator [Grossman]

On 01/18/2021, in 21st century, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, future, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, journalism, marketing/social marketing, multimedia, music, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

OpenAI’s text-to-image engine, DALL-E, is a powerful visual idea generator — from venturebeat.com by Gary Grossman; with thanks to Tim Holt for sharing this resource

Excerpt:

OpenAI chose the name DALL-E as a hat tip to the artist Salvador Dalí and Pixar’s WALL-E. It produces pastiche images that reflect both Dalí’s surrealism that merges dream and fantasy with the everyday rational world, as well as inspiration from NASA paintings from the 1950s and 1960s and those for Disneyland Tomorrowland by Disney Imagineers.

From DSC:
I’m not a big fan of having AI create the music that I listen to, or the artwork that I take in. But I do think there’s potential here in giving creative artists some new fodder for thought! Perhaps marketers and/or journalists could also get their creative juices going from this type of service/offering.

Speaking of art, here are a couple of other postings that caught my eye recently:

This Elaborately Armored Samurai Was Folded From A Single Sheet of Paper — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert

Also see:

Fabric Portraits by Benjamin Shine — from theawesomer.com

If it were possible to do the Socratic method w/ each of your Ss at one time, would you do it? Could it work? [Christian]

On 01/05/2021, in adjunct faculty, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, assessment, attention, blended learning, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, face-to-face, future, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, interactivity, K-12 related, languages and translation, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning spaces, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), online learning, online tutoring, participation, pedagogy, platforms, remote teaching and learning, smart/connected TV, student-related, teachers, training / L&D, Uncategorized, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
For me the Socratic method is still a question mark, in terms of effectiveness. (I suppose it depends on who is yielding the tool and how it’s being utilized/implemented.)

But you have one student — often standing up and/or in the spotlight — who is being drilled on something. That student could be calm and collected, and their cognitive processing could actually get a boost from the adrenaline.

But there are other students who dread being called upon in such a public — sometimes competitive — setting. Their cognitive processing could shut down or become greatly diminished.

Also, the professor is working with one student at a time — hopefully the other students are trying to address each subsequent question, but some students may tune out once they know it’s not their turn in the spotlight.

So I was wondering…could the Socratic method be used with each student at the same time? Could a polling-like tool be used in real-time to guide the discussion?

For example, a professor could start out with a pre-created poll and ask the question of all students. Then they could glance through the responses and even scan for some keywords (using their voice to drive the system and/or using a Ctrl+F / Command+F type of thing).

Then in real-time / on-the-fly, could the professor use their voice to create another poll/question — again for each student to answer — based on one of the responses? Again, each student must answer the follow up question(s).

Are there any vendors out there working on something like this? Or have you tested the effectiveness of something like this?

Vendors: Can you help us create a voice-driven interface to offer the Socratic method to everyone to see if and how it would work? (Like a Mentimeter type of product on steroids…er, rather, using an AI-driven backend.)

Teachers, trainers, pastors, presenters could also benefit from something like this — as it could engage numerous people at once.

#Participation #Engagement #Assessment #Reasoning #CriticalThinking #CommunicationSkills #ThinkingOnOnesFeet #OnlineLearning #Face-to-Face #BlendedLearning #HybridLearning

Could such a method be used in language-related classes as well? In online-based tutoring?

Could AI-based techs be used to develop a “table of contents” for the key points within lectures, lessons, training sessions, sermons, & podcasts? [Christian]

On 01/02/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, adult learning, algorithms, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning spaces, lecture capture, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, platforms, podcasting, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, transmedia, tvOS-based apps, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As we move into 2021, the blistering pace of emerging technologies will likely continue. Technologies such as:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) — including technologies related to voice recognition
Blockchain
Augment Reality (AR)/Mixed Reality (MR)/Virtual Reality (VR) and/or other forms of Extended Reality (XR)
Robotics
Machine-to-Machine Communications (M2M) / The Internet of Things (IoT)
Drones
…and other things will likely make their way into how we do many things (for better or for worse).

Along the positive lines of this topic, I’ve been reflecting upon how we might be able to use AI in our learning experiences.

For example, when teaching in face-to-face-based classrooms — and when a lecture recording app like Panopto is being used — could teachers/professors/trainers audibly “insert” main points along the way? Similar to something like we do with Siri, Alexa, and other personal assistants (“Heh Siri, _____ or “Alexa, _____).

Like an audible version of HTML -- using the spoken word to insert the main points of a presentation or lecture

(Image purchased from iStockphoto)

.

Pretend a lecture, lesson, or a training session is moving right along. Then the professor, teacher, or trainer says:

“Heh Smart Classroom, Begin Main Point.”
Then speaks one of the main points.
Then says, “Heh Smart Classroom, End Main Point.”

Like a verbal version of an HTML tag.

After the recording is done, the AI could locate and call out those “main points” — and create a table of contents for that lecture, lesson, training session, or presentation.

(Alternatively, one could insert a chime/bell/some other sound that the AI scans through later to build the table of contents.)

In the digital realm — say when recording something via Zoom, Cisco Webex, Teams, or another application — the same thing could apply.

Wouldn’t this be great for quickly scanning podcasts for the main points? Or for quickly scanning presentations and webinars for the main points?

Anyway, interesting times lie ahead!

The Year TV Leaped Into The Future [Roettgers]

On 12/27/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, algorithms, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, bots, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, content aggregration, content development, content repositories, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, game-changing environment, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, reinvent, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, surviving, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, using teams, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

The Year TV Leaped Into The Future — from protocol.com by Janko Roettgers

The lockdowns this year have transformed our homes into offices, schools, concert halls, movie theaters and gyms. Our homes are working harder for us, but so is our technology. The device that is working the hardest is perhaps the TV—becoming our lifeline to a far more virtual world.

Addendums:

The Second Year of The MOOC: 2020 Saw a Rush to Large-Scale Online Courses — from edsurge.com by Dhawal Shah

Excerpt:

This was the year that more people learned what a MOOC is.

As millions suddenly found themselves with free time on their hands during the pandemic, many turned to online courses—especially, to free courses known as MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses. This phenomenon was compounded by media worldwide compiling lists of “free things to do during lockdown,” which tended to include MOOCs.

Within two months, Class Central had received over 10 million visits and sent over six million clicks to MOOC providers. These learners also turned out to be more engaged than usual. In April 2020, MOOC providers Coursera, edX and FutureLearn attracted as many new users in a single month as they did in the entirety of 2019.

.

From DSC:
The pieces continue to come together…

...team-based content creation and delivery will dominate in the future (at least for the masses). It will offer engaging, personalized learning and the AI-based systems will be constantly scanning for the required/sought-after skills and competencies. The systems will then present a listing of items that will help people obtain those skills and competencies.

#AI #LearningProfiles #Cloud #LearningFromTheLivingClassRoom #LearningEcosystems #LearningSpaces #21stCentury #24x7x365 #Reinvent #Surviving #StayingRelevant #LifeLongLearning and many more tags/categories are applicable here.

Trends 2021: Three Scenes from the Future [Frog]

On 12/18/2020, in collaboration, communications, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning preferences, learning spaces, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, online learning, platforms, society, technology (general), telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, tools, trends, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Trends 2021: Three Scenes from the Future — from frogdesign.com

Excerpt:

This year, we decided to lean into this unreality. For our tenth annual Trends list, we asked frogs to not only imagine the societal and technological shifts that will impact our future, but to project the future worlds these shifts will create. From perspectives on the accelerated adoption of remote work, to visions of distorted realities and changing consumer behaviors, we’re sharing different possible views of 2021 and beyond—and the products, services and experiences that will shape our future worlds.

Re: college admissions: Hhmmm….here’s an interesting idea.

On 12/16/2020, in algorithms, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, business side of he, colleges, community colleges, data mining, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, learner profiles, learning agents, learning preferences, liberal arts, universities, by Daniel Christian

Can Algorithms Save College Admissions? — from chronicle.com by Brian Rosenberg
We’ve tried a system based on competition long enough. It isn’t working.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Here is an alternative and much more radical proposal: What if we replaced the current and longstanding admissions process among private colleges with a match process, similar to what has for years been used to match medical-school graduates with residency and fellowship positions? What if, in other words, we used data and algorithms instead of travel, merit aid, and free food to drive college admissions?

From DSC:
Love the “What if…” thinking here and the spirit of innovation behind it. I wonder if AI and cloud-based learner profiles might play into something like this in the future…?

Also see:

7 Ways To Make College Admissions More Equitable — from stradaeducation.org by Patty Reinert Mason and Jeff Selingo
Is it time to reconsider early-decision applications, legacy preferences, and reliance on feeder high schools?
Selingo offers these practical steps colleges and universities can take to make admissions more equitable:

Eliminate early-decision applications.
Be upfront about what you’re looking for in this year’s incoming class so students and parents have the information they need.
Be transparent about what it costs to study at your school.
Look beyond traditional “feeder high schools” for recruitment, creating opportunity for a more diverse group of students.
Reduce preferences given to athletes and legacies.
Rethink application requirements to put more emphasis on high school coursework and grades and less on extracurriculars, recommendations, and essays.
Expand the size of freshman classes.

Also see:

Attention Administrators: More Flexibility in Online/Course Schedules Results in Higher Enrollment — from fierceeducation.comby Jacqueline Renfrow

Teaching with Amazon Alexa — from Sylvia Martinez

Excerpt:

Alexa is a voice-activated, cloud-based virtual assistant, similar to Siri on Apple devices, or Google Assistant. Alexa is an umbrella name for the cloud-based functionality that responds to verbal commands. Alexa uses artificial intelligence to answer questions or control smart devices, and has a range of “skills” — small programs that you can add to increase Alexa’s capabilities.

Many teachers are experimenting with using smart devices like Alexa in the classroom. Like most other Amazon features and products, Alexa is primarily designed for home use, anticipating that users will be household members. So in thinking about Alexa in a classroom, keeping this in mind will help determine the best educational uses.

Alexa is most often accessed in three ways…

Report: There’s More to Come for AI in Ed — from thejournal.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpts:

The group came up with dozens of “opportunities” for AI in education, from extending what teachers can do to better understanding human learning:

Using virtual instructors to free up “personalization time” for classroom teachers;
Offloading the “cognitive load” of teaching;
Providing “job aids” for teachers;
Identifying the links between courses, credentials, degrees and skills;
“Revolutionizing” testing and assessment;
Creating new kinds of “systems of support”;
Helping with development of “teaching expertise”; and
Better understanding human learning through “modeling and building interfaces” in AI.

But contributors also offered just as many barriers to success:

Differences in the way teachers teach would require “different job aids”;
Teachers would fear losing their jobs;
Data privacy concerns;
Bias worries;
Dealing with unrealistic expectations and fears about AI pushed in “popular culture”;
Lack of diversity in gender, ethnicity and culture in AI projects; and
Smart use of data would require more teacher training.

What might this new concept/setup look like in smart classrooms of the future? [Christian]

On 12/09/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, blended learning, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, future, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, learning preferences, learning spaces, more choice more control, multimedia, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, smart/connected TV, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

A new category of devices from Cisco -- the Webex Desk Hub

From DSC:
In yesterday’s webexone presentations, Cisco mentioned a new device category, calling it the Webex Desk Hub. It gets at the idea of walking into a facility and grabbing any desk, and making that desk you own — at least for that day and time. Cisco is banking on the idea that sometimes people will be working remotely, and sometimes they will be “going into the office.” But the facilities will likely be fewer and smaller — so one might not have their own office.

In that case, you can plug in your smart device, and things are set up the way they would be if you did have that space as a permanent office.

Applying this concept to the smart classrooms of the future, what might that concept look like for classrooms? A faculty member or a teacher could walk into any room that supports such a setup, put in their personal smart device, and the room conditions are instantly implemented:

The LMS comes on
The correct class — based on which day it is and then on the particular time of day it is — is launched
The lights are dimmed to 50%
The electric window treatments darken the room
The projector comes on and/or the displays turn on
Etc.

From DSC:
I saw this item out at:

AI is delivering a growing share of earnings, says McKinsey — from which-50.com by Andrew Birmingham
Excerpt:
Some companies are generating an increasing share of the profits in a way that is directly attributable to AI, and the best performers are likely to increase their investments setting up a world of algorithmic leaders and laggards, according to a new paper from McKinsey & Company. Called The State of AI in 2020, the report notes that we could start to see a widening divide between AI leaders and the majority of companies still struggling to capitalise on the technology.

Also see:

Scale, which helps companies improve their A.I. capabilities, is now worth more than $3.5 billion and breaking even — from cnbc.com by Jordan Novet

Learning Ecosystems

GPT-3: We’re at the very beginning of a new app ecosystem [Rao]

Time for Reinvention, Not Just Replication or Revision [Schroeder]

OpenAI’s text-to-image engine, DALL-E, is a powerful visual idea generator [Grossman]

Trends 2021: Three Scenes from the Future [Frog]

Re: college admissions: Hhmmm….here’s an interesting idea.

The state of AI in 2020 [McKinsey & Company]

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