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

 

 

My Favorite Wonder Tools of 2020 — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan

Excerpts:

Here are a few things I loved in 2020:

Math Tango
If you have a little one, this app is a grand slam. Recommended by her teacher, Math Tango was a surprise favorite for my younger daughter, who started kindergarten this fall. She rarely used a screen until remote school began. She loves the app’s creative puzzles and she’s enjoyed learning lots of basic math. It’s $8/month or $50/year, for ages 5-10.

Seek
Point the app at a plant, flower, bug or animal and it magically identifies it. Depending on how close you are, how much light there is, and how good your phone’s camera is, results vary, but I was impressed.

Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you.

 

Sony to reveal all new Direct-View Display tech in January

Sony to reveal all new Direct-View Display tech in January — from provideocoalition.com by Jose Antunes

Excerpt:

Sony will start 2021 unveiling “the next Sony breakthrough in premium Direct-View Display technology to faithfully bring content to life as the creator intended”, announced the company.

Also see:

Sony Spatial Reality Display: 3D without glasses for creatives — from provideocoalition.com by Jose Antunes

 

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.
 

Distracted Minds: The Role of Tempo in Good Teaching — from chronicle.com by James Lang
To help students stay attentive in class, think like a conductor, and recognize that students need you to change the pace and the action.

Excerpt:

In this third installment of a series on distraction and attention in education — based on my new bookDistracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It — I want to draw inspiration from creative artists who have long counted it as one of their tasks to keep audiences attentive to works that stretch over long periods of time. Directors and playwrights, conductors and composers, all recognize the limited attention span of an audience, which is why they structure the work itself and its performance in particular ways.

The classroom is one of the only places where we expect humans in seats to maintain their attention through an extended, uninterrupted performance of an hour or more. I suspect that’s the case because we (the teachers) are able to keep ourselves fully engaged during the class period: We’re managing our slides, thinking about the next discussion question, writing on the board, and more. It’s all very engaging — for us — but not necessarily for our students.

From DSC:
I appreciated reading this solid article by James Lang — in it, he offers up some excellent points and suggestions. I would guess that the top reasons why these things don’t occur most offer are:

  1. The design of a class takes time. Time is hard to come by. That’s why instructional design is very helpful but is sometimes put on a backburner…to the students’ detriment.
  2. There aren’t enough Instructional Designers to go around.
  3. Faculty don’t seek out Instructional Designers or, when an Instructional Designer is around, they may have a queue that’s way too long and they’ve become a bottleneck.
 
 

2020 in review: Legal software for working remotely — from abajournal.com by Nicole Black

Excerpts:

  • January: Virtual and chatbot assistants
  • February: Client relationship management tools
  • March: Top tools to help lawyers set up virtual practices
  • April: Document management software
  • May: Online payment tools
  • June: Secure online communication
  • July: Legal billing software
  • August: Time-tracking software
  • September: Contract review software
  • October: Litigation analytics software

 

 

Saving — and Enhancing — Music Education With Online Learning — from edcircuit.com by D. Travis Washington

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

I teach Choir and lead the Young Vocal Scholars Program, and before COVID arrived, we were excited to move forward on the culmination of learning through live performances. With school closure, all that changed, and we were forced to adapt to virtual learning. Through the initial transition, we discovered that online learning options such as Soundtrap could not only extend projects we were currently working on but expand music learning to previously unimaginable heights.

When Covid hit and we couldn’t continue with the traditional choir program, my school looked for remote solutions. Soundtrap was exactly what we needed. We began conducting Young Vocal Scholars choir sessions remotely through Soundtrap and filled our extra Soundtrap seats with students from the District 8 Choir who weren’t being served music at all — doing similar projects that we had been creating previously in my classes. It was incredible to suddenly recognize that there were far more students interested in music who could connect via their laptops and tablets at home.

Also see:

Soundtrap for Education empowers students and teachers to explore creative sound recording in all subjects, for all ages and ability levels.

Soundtrap revolutionized my classroom in a virtual setting. Students became more engaged than ever before. My “4-star artists,” as I refer to my highly motivated students, kept making songs. I recall one of them saying to me, “Music class was cool because we sang together, but Soundtrap is cooler because it allows us to make projects together and they sound good.” 

 
 
 

The Observatory is an interactive platform that allows you to do a preliminary analysis of 600+ legal technologies in the market today

The Observatory — from orrick.com with thanks to Gabe Teninbaum for mentioning this resource in his Lawtomatic Newsletter (Issue #112, 11/18/20)

The Observatory is an interactive platform that allows you to do a preliminary analysis of 600+ legal technologies in the market today (including some developed by Orrick):

  • Gain insight into features of legal tools
  • View leading categories of legal tech, from artificial intelligence to workflow automation
  • Understand tech use-cases for litigation, transactional and general solutions
  • Identify legal tech companies with diverse leadership

Excerpt from Gabe’s newsletter:

  • The Observatory: the tech-savvy biglaw firm, Orrick, has a new interactive platform offering data on 600+ legal technologies currently on the market.  A user can click on the type of tool they’d like to learn more about (e.g. document automation or contract management), click on various filters, then get a summary of what it does.  It also includes a narrative box for what makes the tool unique.  It’s easy to use, free, and also gives a nice preview for clients on the type of value the firm might offer them beyond run-of-the-mill representation.

Explore The Observatory from Orrick dot com to help you identify potential fits for your legaltech related needs

 

Best Practices 7 Ways Students Can Maintain Good Study Habits During COVID-19 — from fierceeducation.com by Peggy Bresnick

Excerpts:

  1. Stay organized.
  2. Don’t multitask.
  3. Make the most of video lectures.
  4. Set a schedule.
  5. Swap out study strategies.
  6. Collaborate remotely.
  7. Stay connected to others.

The guide being referenced from the University of Michigan:

Adjusting your study habits during COVID

 

Illinois Supreme Court Issues Pandemic-Related Court Orders, Expands Criminal Appeals Pro Bono Program — from legaltechmonitor.com by Laura Bagby

Excerpt:

The Order on Remote Jury Selection in Civil Matters permits circuits to conduct jury selection in civil cases via video conference. This expands upon rules that were amended in May to support the use of remote hearings.

 

YouTube channels for ESL learners — from thetechedvocate.org by Matthew Lynch

Excerpt:

Are you looking for YouTube channels that will help your ESL learners master the English language? Well, look no further. In this article, we will profile 20 YouTube channels that will do just that.

 

Here is a helpful app to help teachers create green screen videos — from educatorstechnology.com

Excerpt:

If you are looking for a good green screen app to use in your teaching and with your students in class, Do Ink is definitely one of the first options you should consider. Green Screen by Do Ink allows you to easily create beautiful videos and visual presentations incorporating a wide variety of multimedia materials. As a teacher, you can use it to design tutorials, step-by-step guides, explainers, visual illustrations, presentations, posters, and many more.

 

 
© 2025 | Daniel Christian