languages and translation

Imagine what learning could look like w/ the same concepts found in Skreens!

On 09/29/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, future, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, languages and translation, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, library / librarians, lifelong learning, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, podcasting, reinvent, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, staying relevant, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, ubiquitous learning, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Imagine what learning could look like w/ the same concepts found in the Skreens kickstarter campaign? Where you can use your mobile device to direct what you are seeing and interacting with on the larger screen? Hmmm… very interesting indeed! With applications not only in the home (and on the road), but also in the active classroom, the boardroom, and the training room.

See
Skreens.com
&
Learning from the Living [Class] Room

From DSC:
Some of the phrases and concepts that come to my mind:

tvOS-based apps
Virtual field trips while chatting or videoconferencing with fellow learners about that experience
Virtual tutoring
Global learning for K-12, higher ed, the corporate world
Web-based collaborations and communications
Ubiquitous learning
Transmedia
Analytics / data mining / web-based learner profiles
Communities of practice
Lifelong learning
24×7 access
Reinvent
Staying relevant
More choice. More control.
Participation.
MOOCs — or what they will continue to morph into
Second screens
Mobile learning — and the ability to quickly tie into your learning networks
Ability to contact teachers, professors, trainers, specialists, librarians, tutors and more
Language translation
Informal and formal learning, blended learning, active learning, self-directed learning
The continued convergence of the telephone, the television, and the computer
Cloud-based apps for learning
Flipping the classroom
Homeschooling
Streams of content
…and more!

Addendum:

Check out this picture from Meet the winners of #RobotLaunch2015

Packed house at WilmerHale for the Robot Launch 2015 judging – although 2/3rds of the participants were attending and pitching remotely via video and web conferencing.

IBM Expands Watson Platform for Next Generation of Builders; Extends Industry’s Largest Portfolio of Cognitive APIs — from ibm.com

– New APIs Broaden Watson’s Language, Vision and Speech Capabilities
– Developer Tools Simplify Combining APIs and Data
– Upcoming Platform Innovations Previewed including Industry Data Sets & Robotics Integration
– New Watson Hub to Open in San Francisco

Excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO – 24 Sep 2015: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today expanded the industry’s largest and most diverse set of cognitive APIs, technologies and tools for developers who are creating products, services and applications embedded with Watson.

The announcement was made by IBM during its forum on cognitive computing and Artificial Intelligence, where the company announced a new Watson location in San Francisco. IBM also previewed new platform innovations and research projects that will extend its industry-leading cognitive portfolio.

Excerpts from IBM Watson Ecosystem Partners in Market Building Businesses:

Student Career Counseling: Carney Labs is an education technology company that provides a platform embedded with Watson language capabilities to help schools learn about a student’s personality characteristics in order to build them a career roadmap. The Commonwealth of Virginia adopted a policy for all high schools in the state to leverage this app to use with students entering their freshman year.

Knowledge Management: Bloomfire is a cloud-based knowledge network platform that helps employees within a company easily find the information they need to do their jobs. By scanning posts within the platform and automatically creating tags via the Watson data insights API, employees at companies including Whole Foods, Dun & Bradstreet and Etsy spend less time searching for information and more time doing meaningful work to improve company performance.

Research & Development: Inno360, an enterprise research and innovation management platform provider, is embedding a powerful combination of 7 Watson APIs for language and data insights into its SaaS platform to transform the way its clients, including Fortune 50 companies, conduct research and process big data. Inno360 is able to provide its clients advanced analysis of their R&D data to resolve product issues quickly and bring new products to market more rapidly.

Talent Sourcing and Matching: UnitesUs is a cloud based hiring & recruitment platform utilizing cognitive computing and big data analysis to match prospective employees to hiring organizations based on personality, company cultural fit, and core qualifications. By analyzing the personalities of job candidates leveraging Watson language capabilities and characterizing a company’s work environment, UnitesUs uses proprietary, automated matching algorithms to help companies, including imaging and electronics company Ricoh USA and fitness gym chain 24 Hour Fitness, make better hiring decisions.

That ‘useless’ liberal arts degree has become tech’s hottest ticket — from forbes.com by George Anders; with a shout out to Krista Spahr for bringing this item to my attention

Except:

What kind of boss hires a thwarted actress for a business-to-business software startup? Stewart Butterfield, Slack’s 42-year-old cofounder and CEO, whose estimated double-digit stake in the company could be worth $300 million or more. He’s the proud holder of an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Canada’s University of Victoria and a master’s degree from Cambridge in philosophy and the history of science.

“Studying philosophy taught me two things,” says Butterfield, sitting in his office in San Francisco’s South of Market district, a neighborhood almost entirely dedicated to the cult of coding. “I learned how to write really clearly. I learned how to follow an argument all the way down, which is invaluable in running meetings. And when I studied the history of science, I learned about the ways that everyone believes something is true–like the old notion of some kind of ether in the air propagating gravitational forces–until they realized that it wasn’t true.”
…
And he’s far from alone. Throughout the major U.S. tech hubs, whether Silicon Valley or Seattle, Boston or Austin, Tex., software companies are discovering that liberal arts thinking makes them stronger. Engineers may still command the biggest salaries, but at disruptive juggernauts such as Facebook and Uber, the war for talent has moved to nontechnical jobs, particularly sales and marketing. The more that audacious coders dream of changing the world, the more they need to fill their companies with social alchemists who can connect with customers–and make progress seem pleasant.

Addendum on 8/7/15:

STEM Study Starts With Liberal Arts — from forbes.com by Chris Teare
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Much has been made, especially by the Return on Investment crowd, of the value of undergraduate study in the so-called STEM fields: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Lost in the conversation is the way the true liberal arts underpin such study, often because the liberal arts are inaccurately equated solely with the humanities. From the start, the liberal arts included math and science, something I learned firsthand at St. John’s College.

This topic is especially on my mind since reading the excellent article George Anders has written for Forbes: “That ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech’s Hottest Ticket” In this context, understanding the actual origin and purposes of the liberal arts is all the more valuable.

Check out these great images from rare books! [As excellently curated by Lugene Schemper, Theological Librarian]

On 07/23/2015, in faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, languages and translation, library / librarians, religion, by Daniel Christian

As excellently curated by Lugene Schemper, Theological Librarian:
Out at instagram.com/hlrbooks/, you can find an assortment of items from the Hekman Library Rare Book Collection at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary. Many of these images are from hundreds of years ago.

This is a solid, wise question: “What should graduates look like in 10 years?” [Norris]

On 06/26/2015, in career development, curriculum, digital learning, education, education reform, future, global / globalization, ideas, K-12 related, languages and translation, new media literacies, student-related, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

What should graduates look like in 10 years? — from eschoolnews.com by Rachel Norris

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Superintendent Richard Carranza of San Francisco Unified School District and the board of education considered, for instance, that graduates will need to develop and manage their local, global, and digital identities, and be comfortable separating and switching between the three. Graduates will benefit from being bilingual or multilingual; a 2025 graduate must be technologically fluent as well as college and career ready, with the added challenge that many of those careers have yet to be created.

Community participants looked at trends and data to create a 2025 “Graduate Profile.” They also, in large and small groups, engaged creatively with each other, with research and with information gathered from field trip observations to design possible future learning environments.

Then they started a pilot program to begin to bring that vision to life — starting in first grade.

The skills agenda: Preparing students for the future [Google; The Economist Intelligence Unit]

On 04/17/2015, in career development, collaboration, communications, creativity, entrepreneurship, languages and translation, student-related, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

The skills agenda: Preparing students for the future — from Google and The Economist Intelligence Unit

Excerpt:

As technology becomes more pervasive, traditional trades disappear and the world of work becomes more globalised, the skills considered to be valuable for the future are shifting.

Problem solving, team working, and communication (a trifecta commonly known as “21st century skills”) are the most-needed skills in the workplace, according to our recent surveys of business executives, students and teachers. Digital literacy and creativity— and the latter’s close relative, entrepreneurship—are expected to grow more important in the next three years.

Addendum on 4/23/15:

The college degrees ad skills employers most want in 2015 — from forbes.com by Susan Adams

Excerpt:

The hiring picture keeps getting better for college graduates. According to a new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers are planning to hire 9.6% more graduates for their U.S. operations than they did from the class of 2014. That’s a one percent hike from the 8.6% gain a year ago and a significant jump from 2013, when employers said they would boost hiring by just 2.1% over the previous year.

…

The NACE survey also asked employers to rate the skills they most value in new hires. Companies want candidates who can think critically, solve problems, work in a team, maintain a professional demeanor and demonstrate a strong work ethic. Here is the ranking in order of importance:

desired skills

Skype real-time language translator goes live [Moscaritolo]

On 12/18/2014, in 21st century, collaboration, communications, languages and translation, technologies for your home, telecommunications, tools, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Skype real-time language translator goes live — from pcmag.com by Angela Moscaritolo
With Skype Translator, have a conversation with someone over the Internet who speaks a different language.

Excerpt:

The Microsoft-owned chat service on Monday launched the first phase of its Skype Translator preview program first announced back in May. Jointly developed by Microsoft researchers and Skype engineers, the new feature uses real-time speech translation technologies to let you have a conversation with someone over the Internet who speaks a different language.

This means you can have a conversation just like normal, and Skype will translate what you say into the other person’s language in “near real-time.” Then, when the other person says something, it will be translated back to your language.

————–

The essential guide to apps for learning English as a Second Language (ESL)

On 07/01/2014, in languages and translation, tools, by Daniel Christian

Per Rebecca Hernandez:

I researched and reviewed 101 cool ESL related apps for smartphones, tablets and laptops. I found great apps that can help students with studying, dictionaries, vocabulary, and translation tools. You can see the list at http://mastersinesl.com/essential-esl-app-guide/.

“Apps for High School” featured on iTunes this week

On 05/01/2013, in Apple, art, biology, chemistry, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, geography / geology, history, K-12 related, languages and translation, mathematics, music, physics, reading, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
With thanks going out to Mr. Mike Amante (@mamante) for posting this item out on Twitter.

Items re: multi-screen media — eventually this trend/convergence enables “Learning from the Living [Class] Room”

On 03/15/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, analytics, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, business, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Europe, game-changing environment, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, languages and translation, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, passions, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), personalized/customized learning, play, real-world assignments, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, society, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, UK, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

PayWizard launches first dedicated payment and subscriber management solution for TV and media industry — from PayWizard

Excerpt:

London, 21 February 2013 – PayWizard, specialists in payment and subscription management, has launched the TV and media industry’s first dedicated, end to end payment and subscription solution. The integrated solution brings together a strong heritage in the Pay-TV market with a deep understanding of the challenges TV operators and media companies face in monetising the multiplatform world.

Using its award-winning modular Payment and Subscription platform, PayWizard combines payment processing, intelligent subscriber management technology and real-time customer service operations to tailor-make solutions that enhance the consumer experience across all screens.

With 16.8 billion video-enabled devices set to be in the global marketplace by 2015, content owners are facing the challenge of enhancing existing services while creating compelling experiences that embrace new routes to market. PayWizard’s comprehensive set of products and services has enabled clients, such as the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster, ITV, to address these commercial challenges by enabling new monetisation strategies to drive revenue and profitability.

Also see:

.

Also see:

Multi-screen – are we there yet? — from blog.adbglobal.com
Digital Home World Summit — London, UK — June 18-19, 2013

From DSC:
See the categories listed above for the items/topics/disciplines/trends that are relevant here.

Addendum:

Check this out!

Massive Open Online Course offered by UMass Boston to feature the first adaptive MOOC technology
Enables students to be taught according to individual learning strategies

Excerpt from email:

(Boston, MA) – February 27, 2013 – If you’ve ever been in a course and struggled because you just aren’t “getting it,” the reason might be less your ability than the way in which the material is being presented.

New technology is now allowing online course environments to analyze how individual students learn, customizing instruction to individualized learning strategies. The College of Advancing and Professional Studies (CAPS) at the University of Massachusetts Boston has teamed up with USDLA 21st Century Sponsor, Synaptic Global Learning (SGL), to use the new learning management system, Adaptive Mobile Online Learning (AMOL), to deliver the first adaptive Massive Online Open Course (a-MOOC) ever offered. The course launches March 25.

Some serious field trips coming our way in the future!

On 12/17/2012, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, career development, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, future, languages and translation, professional development, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Using devices like these, students of all ages might be able to take some serious field trips:

For example…implementing and leveraging such a network of remote-controlled devices*, students could:

Tour the Louvre in Paris
Be backstage at a Broadway musical or checking out a live performance of Macbeth
Watch a filming of a National Geographic Special in the Fiji Islands
Attend an IEEE International Conference in Taiwan
Attend an Educause Conference or a Sloan C event to get further knowledge about how to maximize your time studying online or within a hybrid environment
Tour The Exploratorium in San Francisco
Tour the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago
Be a fly on the wall during a Senate hearing/debate
See how changes are made in the assembly lines at a Ford plant
Or perhaps, when a student wheels their device to a particular area — such as the front row of a conference, the signal automatically switches to the main speaker/event (keynote speakers, panel, etc. via machine-to-machine communications)
Invite guest speakers into a class: pastors, authors, poets, composers, etc.
Work with local/virtual teams on how to heighten public awareness re: a project that deals with sustainability
Virtually head to another country to immerse themselves in another country’s language — and, vice versa, help them learn the students’ native languages

For accountability — as well as for setting aside intentional time to process the information — students would update their own blogs about what they experienced, heard, and saw. They would need to include at least one image, along with the text they write about their experience. Or perhaps a brief/edited piece of digital video or audio of some of the statements that they heard that really resonated with them, or that they had further questions on. The default setting on such postings would be to be kept private, but if the teacher and the student felt that a posting could/should be made public, a quick setting could be checked to publish it out there for others to see/experience.

Real world. Engaging. Passing over more choice and control to the students so that they can pursue what they are passionate about.

* These mobile devices could also be hooked up to translation engines as well as to suites of web-based collaboration tools.

A fascinating business model for free online education [Falk]

On 11/29/2012, in business side of he, disruption, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, innovation, languages and translation, by Daniel Christian

Reflections on “Spanish MOOC”

On 11/16/2012, in dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, elearning, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, ideas, innovation, languages and translation, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, real-world assignments, reinvent, staying relevant, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I wonder how MOOCs focused on language will go…? It could be great to practice a language from folks all around the world — or will it be chaotic? Different accents. Real-world speaking and listening. Real world conflict, perhaps, as well. But it seems like there could be some effective learning going on — at least “on paper”. I wonder, too, if 1/2 of the time folks could speak one language — and would be the students during that part of the class — while the other 1/2 of the time they speak another language — and would be the “teachers.”

.

And for yet another item on innovation within higher ed! Whew!

Excelsior College and three California Community Colleges offer credit for professor-less MOOC — from online colleges.com by Alex Wukman
Excerpt:
Excelsior College has partnered with San Diego City College, San Diego Miramar College, and Santa Rosa Junior College to offer credit for a professor-less, or mechanical, massive open online course (MOOC). The course, an introduction to statistics class, is being developed by the 20 Million Minds Foundation and the online learning community OpenStudy.

Microsoft Research shows a promising new breakthrough in speech translation technology [blogs.technet.com]

On 11/12/2012, in emerging technologies, languages and translation, Microsoft, by Daniel Christian

Microsoft Research shows a promising new breakthrough in speech translation technology — from blogs.technet.com

Also see:

Speech recognition breakthrough for the spoken, translated word [VIDEO] — Microsoft Chief Research Officer Rick Rashid
Must-see video: Real-time English-to-Mandarin speech translation via Microsoft Research — from core77.com

Items re: language software / learning

On 11/01/2012, in languages and translation, by Daniel Christian

Also see Sarah Lorenz’ LanguageLearningSoftware.com:

.

Learning Ecosystems

That ‘useless’ liberal arts degree has become tech’s hottest ticket [Anders; Forbes]

Check out these great images from rare books! [As excellently curated by Lugene Schemper, Theological Librarian]

Skype real-time language translator goes live [Moscaritolo]

The essential guide to apps for learning English as a Second Language (ESL)

Some serious field trips coming our way in the future!

A fascinating business model for free online education [Falk]

Reflections on “Spanish MOOC”

Microsoft Research shows a promising new breakthrough in speech translation technology [blogs.technet.com]

Items re: language software / learning

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