relationships

13 recent items re: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

On 10/16/2015, in Augmented Reality (AR), education technology, emerging technologies, psychology, relationships, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Empathy Tech: The UN is using virtual reality and an immersive “wormhole” to connect diplomats with Syrian refugees — from qz.com by Hanna Kozlowska

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

On their way to this month’s 70th United Nation’s General Assembly, the organization’s annual high-level meeting in New York, diplomats and world leaders will pass by a makeshift glass structure—both a glossy multi-media hub, and a gateway to an entirely different world.

The hub uses virtual reality to allow the UN attendees to see Jordan’s Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees through the eyes of a little girl. And, by using an immersive video portal, which will launch later this week, they will have the opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with residents of the camp.

The effort aims to put a human face on the high-level deliberations about the refugee crisis, which will likely dominate many conversations at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has called on the meeting to be “one of compassion, prevention and, above all, action.”

From DSC:
VR-based apps have a great deal of potential to develop
and practice greater empathy. See these related postings:

Using virtual reality to overcome fear, reduce prejudice
How might virtual reality change the world? Stanford lab peers into future

UMBC professors think virtual reality can change research — from technical.ly/baltimore by Stephen Babcock
And the university is building an immersive VR environment to find out.

Excerpt:

When it comes to virtual reality, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is going for full immersion.

Armed with funding from the National Science Foundation, the university is set to build a virtual reality “environment” that’s designed to help researchers from different fields. It’s called PI².

In the 15-by-20-foot room, stepping into virtual reality won’t necessarily require goggles.

A visualization wall at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Electronic Visualization Lab.
UMBC officials say their project will be similar to this.(Photo courtesy of Planar)

The Ultimate Alternate Reality Gamified Transmedia Classroom Toolkit — from ludiclearning.org

Excerpt:

Now you’re ready to turn your class into an immersive game, and everything you need is right here. With the help of these resources, you can develop your own gameful class, cook up a transmedia project, design a pervasive game or create your very own [Augmented Reality Game] ARG. Games aside, these links are useful for all types of creative learning projects. In most cases, what is on offer is free and/or web based, so only your imagination will be taxed.

Also see:

Down the Rabbit Hole: How To Turn Your Class into an Alternate Reality Game

From DSC:
In the future, teams of specialists will create some great
learning-related experiences, integrating AR and VR into them.

Microsoft lab working on multiperson augmented reality — from cnet.com by Michelle Starr
Project Comradre will allow multiple people, each wearing an AR headset, to interact with the same virtual object.

Excerpt:

If augmented reality could be a shared experience, it could change the way we will use the technology.

Something along these lines is currently in development at a Microsoft laboratory run by Jaron Lanier, one of the pioneers of VR since the 1980s through his company VPL Research. The project, called Comradre, allows multiple users to share virtual- and augmented-reality experiences, reports MIT Technology Review.

Because virtual reality takes place in a fully digital environment, it is not hugely difficult to put multiple users into the same virtual instance at the same time, wirelessly synced across multiple headsets.

vrfavs.com — some serious VR-related resources for you. Note: There are some NSFW items on there; so this is not for kids.

VR and Augmented Reality will soon be worth $150 billion. Here are the major players — from fastcompany.com by Daniel Terdiman; with thanks to Woontack Woo for this resource
A new report suggests AR will be eventually worth four times as much as VR.

Excerpt:

Together, virtual reality and augmented reality are expected to generate about $150 billion in revenue by the year 2020.

Of that staggering sum, according to data released today by Manatt Digital Media, $120 billion is likely to come from sales of augmented reality—with the lion’s share comprised of hardware, commerce, data, voice services, and film and TV projects—and $30 billion from virtual reality, mainly from games and hardware.

The report suggests that the major VR and AR areas that will be generating revenue fall into one of three categories: Content (gaming, film and TV, health care, education, and social); hardware and distribution (headsets, input devices like handheld controllers, graphics cards, video capture technologies, and online marketplaces); and software platforms and delivery services (content creation tools, capture, production, and delivery software, video game engines, analytics, file hosting and compression tools, and B2B and enterprise uses).

5 Ways to Use Augmented Reality App Aurasma in Your Class — from educatorstechnology.com

Excerpt:

Talking about augmented reality technology in teaching and learning the first thing that comes to mind is this wonderful app called Aurasma. Since its release a few years ago, Aurasma gained so much in popularity and several teachers have already embraced it within their classrooms. For those of you who are not yet familiar with how Aurasma works and how to use in it in your class, this handy guide from Apple in Education is a great resource to start with.

New Toybox Trailer Shows Oculus Touch’s Capabilities — from vrfocus.com; with thanks again to Woontack Woo for this resource

Excerpt:

The Oculus Touch virtual reality (VR) controllers finally have their first full videogames. A handful of titles were confirmed to support the kit back at the Oculus Connect 2 developer conference in September. But still one of the most impressive showcases of what these position-tracked devices can do exists in Oculus VR’s original tech demo, Toybox. [On 10/13/15], Oculus VR itself has released a new video that shows off what players are able to do within the software.

Glen Keane – Step into the Page

Escape Virtual Reality with Telekinetic Powers — from blog.leapmotion.com by Cade Peterson

Excerpt:

Much like sketching the first few lines on a blank canvas, the earliest prototypes of a VR project is an exciting time for fun and experimentation. Concepts evolve, interactions are created and discarded, and the demo begins to take shape.Competing with other 3D Jammers around the globe, Swedish game studio Pancake Storm has shared their #3DJam progress on Twitter, with some interesting twists and turns along the way. Pancake Storm started as a secondary school project for Samuel Andresen and Gabriel Löfqvist, who want to break into the world of VR development with their project, tentatively dubbed Wheel Smith and the Willchair.

Also see:

No Google CardBoard? Try NearPod Virtual Field Trips — from bergman-udl.blogspot.ca

Excerpt:

Recently I learned about a new feature called Virtual Field Trips. In a partnership with 360 Cities, NearPod now gives teachers and students the opportunity to view pristine locations like the Taj Mahal, the Golden Gate Bridge, and The Great Wall of China. You can view famous architecture, famous artifacts, and even different planets! Virtual Field Trips are a great addition to any classroom.

How this med school is using virtual reality to teach students — from fortune.com by John Gaudiosi

Excerpt:

Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., has opened a first-of-its-kind virtual reality learning center that’s been designed to allow students from every program—dentistry, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, physical therapy, and nursing—to learn through VR.

The Virtual Reality Learning Center currently houses four different VR technologies: the two zSpace displays, the Anatomage Virtual Dissection Table, the Oculus Rift, and Stanford anatomical models on iPad.

Robert W. Hasel, D.D.S., associate dean of simulation, immersion & digital learning at Western, says VR gives anatomical science teachers the ability to view and interact with anatomy in a way never before experienced. The virtual dissection table allows students to rotate the human body in 360 degrees, take it apart, identify specific structures, study individual systems, look at multiple views at the same time, take a trip inside the body, and look at holograms.

——————————————
——————————————

Addendum on 10/20/15:

Can Virtual Reality Replace the Cadaver Lab? — from centerdigitaled.com by Justine Brown
Colleges are starting to use virtual reality platforms to augment or replace cadaver labs, saving universities hundreds of thousands of dollars.

——————————————
——————————————

Deuteronomy 5:28-29 (AMP)

On 10/09/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

Deuteronomy 5:28-29 Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁸“The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.

²⁹Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear [and worship Me with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] and keep all My commandments always, so that it may go well with them and with their children forever!

Proverbs 3:5-6

On 10/01/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

Psalm 94:18-19

On 08/24/2015, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 94:18-19 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
¹⁹When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.

Start the School Year by “Awakening Your Dreamers” — from edutopia.org by Suzie Boss

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

When your students return to the classroom this fall, how many will bring along the interests, talents, and dreams that inspired or delighted them over the summer months? Will they see any connection between school assignments and their own passions?

Bernajean Porter (@bernajeanporter), a longtime advocate of digital storytelling and engaged learning, has a suggestion to get the year off to a good start: “What if your first project was about getting to know the hopes and dreams and talents of your kids?” By investing time to build a positive classroom culture, while also introducing project-based learning practices, you’ll set the stage for more meaningful inquiry experiences all year long.

Imagination Plus Research
Porter has developed and field-tested a classroom resource called, I-imagine: Taking MY Place in the World that guides students on a multimedia journey into their own future. After a series of guided writing and reflection exercises, students eventually produce “vision videos” in which they star as protagonists of the lives they are living, 20 years into the future.

From DSC:
Along these lines of trying to figure out what one’s passions, gifts, and talents are — as well as seeing the needs of the world around us — I recently read a book entitled, “Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good.” One of the key questions from that book is:

Knowing what you know about yourself and the world, having read what you’ve read, having seen what you’ve seen, what are you going to do?

Here are some of my notes from that book, in case you know of someone who is trying to ascertain their purpose in this world…someone who is trying to find out more about their calling. It’s a good book, prompting deep reflection.

Some scripture from BibleGateway.com

On 07/15/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

Genesis 1:31 New Living Translation (NLT)

³¹Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

Psalm 18:30 New International Version (NIV)

30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

1 Chronicles 29:11 (NLT)

11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NLT)

9 For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.

Hebrews 9:28 (NLT)

²⁸so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

Psalm 91:14-15 Amplified Bible (AMP)

14 Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

Will VR allow us to raise cultural intelligence, promote empathy, & reduce racism? It’s very likely.

On 06/19/2015, in Africa, Augmented Reality (AR), education technology, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, learning ecosystem, psychology, relationships, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
After reviewing the two items below, I think you will agree that there is great potential in the future of virtual reality — and the new affordances it will bring with it. For example, if we use it wisely, virtual reality could help us raise cultural intelligence, promote empathy, and reduce racism.

How might virtual reality change the world? Stanford lab peers into future — from CBS News by Ines Novacic

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Beyond playing entertaining tricks on people’s perceptions, VR has the potential to promote a better understanding of what it’s like to be someone else – a refugee in a war zone, for example. Studying the effects of those uses, and the psychological effects of VR use in general, has always been the main focus of the lab. Bailenson listed how several of his studies that focused on empathy – for example, making someone visually impaired through VR– yielded results that demonstrated the VR experience made participants more altruistic in real life.
…
“The idea is, I truly believe VR is a good tool to teach you about yourself and to teach you empathy,” said Bailenson. “We want to know how robust that effect is, how long-lasting, because I can see this becoming a tool we all use.”

Also see:

Using virtual reality to overcome fear, reduce prejudice — from usatoday.com by Edward C. Baig

A somewhat related posting:

Virtual reality, augmented reality theme park being built in China — from fortune.com by John Gaudiosi

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Fusing art, culture, and retail with virtual reality, augmented reality, and themed architecture and design, each complex will include an interactive museum, a virtual zoo and aquarium, a digital art gallery, a live entertainment stage, an immersive movie theater, and themed experience retail.
…
“With virtual reality we can put you in the African savannah or fly you into outer space,” Christopher says. “This completely changes the idea of an old-fashioned museum by allowing kids to experience prehistoric dinosaurs or legendary creatures as we develop new experiences that keep them coming back for more. We’ll combine education and entertainment into one destination that’s always evolving.”

An AR-related posting:

From DSC:
This is very sharp Human Computer Interaction (HCI)! This should unleash some serious creativity. Microsoft is bringing Minecraft to Augmented Reality. Check out this clip!

The top ten things student teachers teach me — an excerpt from “To teach is to learn” [Schoone-Jongen]

On 06/18/2015, in faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, K-12 related, Michigan, relationships, religion, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, Uncategorized, United States, by Daniel Christian

To teach is to learn — from historicalhorizons.org by Robert Schoone-Jongen

Excerpt:

…here is tonight’s Top Ten Things Student Teachers Teach Me:

To be a teacher is to be a student, a learner. A teacher cannot just pour out knowledge on students. A teacher needs to learn from the students in order to teach them. Your students are the best methods book you will ever read. Listen to what they will teach you every day.

Each class consists of two parts: what went right and what went wrong. Being a teacher and a student means living with both successes and failures. During each class we learn something new about students, subjects, and our selves as teachers.

Each class is another chance to get things right. All our advance planning must be proven in the fiery furnace heated by real students. In our teacherly minds we may have covered all the bases, but the students likely will exhibit different thought patterns. The big question of the day might get the lesson off ground, but the students determine the actual flight plan and landing pattern–be it a smooth one or a swim in the Hudson River. You and I may be in the cockpit, but we can’t control the wind swirling around us. Serendipity is the order of the day in a classroom, not stolid stability.

The students are the most important thing in the room. These individual image bearers of God, his precious jewels in the words of an old hymn, come to us in various grades–some highly polished gems, others very rough hewn. They all have one overriding need: the guidance of a responsible adult, you, their teacher. Despite all the technological doodads and wizardry–the stuff computer companies equate with effective teaching — students still need you, a living, breathing, three dimensional human being, to provide the companionship no silicon chip and flat screen will ever provide.

You and me, those breathing human beings in the front of the room, are not super heroes, but fallible people with limited abilities and vast weaknesses. Chronology and a state-issued certificate separates us from our students. That has its advantages, but also its weaknesses. We may have accumulated more of what only experience can provide, but our age also renders us exotic in the eyes of our students.

Our humanness requires maintenance–both physically and spiritually. Without a healthy you, students will see just a sick teacher. Physical maintenance is not optional. The students deserve our best effort, and we owe them more than mere endurance. My informal teachers, the student teachers, remind me every semester that sleeping and eating and exercising are what keeps our heads on straight, and our feet firmly planted underneath, from the first bell of the day until the last.

Spiritual maintenance constantly reminds us to be humble about running a class. Each time we teach, thousands of words pour forth, and hundreds of instant calculations determine our vocabulary, our inflection, and our reception. A spiritually-maintained teacher prayerfully acknowledges that the torrent of words cascading through the room will carry rocks that can bruise students, and even scar them. We need divine purification to keep that torrent as a clean as possible, for the wisdom to know when a rock flew, and for the character to admit it and make amends.

That never ending prayer should have a second petition–thankfulness for the blessing of being commissioned to mirror Christ’s love to another group of His image-bearers. You and I have the chance to show goodness and love to students, many of whom are unlikely to see those divine traits elsewhere. You can be Calvinistically proud when God entrusts you with being His messenger of light in the classes you teach. It is a precious gift to show students that despite all the wrong we see, the light does still shine in the darkness, even when it is very dim.

That light is more than words and worksheets; it is the presence that students experience in your presence. Your reputation looms larger than your facility with the facts. Presence is the part of a class the students most likely will remember for years. In the end, what students really want from us are two simple things: to be treated justly and to be treated respectfully. The highest compliments–the evaluation that really matters–will come in two short sentences: one direct–“You were always fair”, the other left-handed–“You never made me feel dumb.” If students can say that, they have glimpsed the face of Christ in us.

These student renderings of “Well done, good and faithful servant” are far more important, and more eloquent assessments of our teaching than all the numbers Pearson Corporation can tease from all the standardized tests inflicted upon students. Teaching’s essence cannot be measured by algorithms, formulas, or equations. God, and those image bearers in our classes will evaluate us by our faithfulness, not by the dots on a bubble sheet.

Psalm 103:17

On 06/16/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 103:17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁷But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children’s children—

7 things parents and teachers should know about teens [Elias]

On 06/08/2015, in creativity, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, parents/guardians, play, psychology, relationships, teachers, youth, by Daniel Christian

7 things parents and teachers should know about teens — from edutopia.org by Maurice Elias; with a shout out to Brian Bailey for his Tweet on this

Excerpt:

What Teens Think About
Generally speaking, Rachael believed we give adolescents far too little credit. The passages in their lives are moments when they ask themselves important questions, such as these:

How does my life have meaning and purpose?
What gifts do I have that the world wants and needs?
To what or whom do I feel most deeply connected?
How can I rise above my fears and doubts?
What or who awakens or touches the spirit within me?

…

What Can Parents and Educators Do?
While parents and educators may have a hard time addressing issues of soul and spirit with their teens, it can help to be aware of some ways into the hearts and minds of young people that can make a difference. Here is what Rachael Kessler suggests in her landmark book, The Soul of Education.

Positive Belonging
Silence and Solitude
Reflections on Life
Joy and Play
Creativity
Linking to the Large
Shape the Passages

From DSC:
Along these lines, please see:

…and also:

Revelation 21:2-4 (NIV)

On 06/01/2015, in faith, future, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Revelation 21:2-4 (NIV)

²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Psalm 103:17-18

On 05/29/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 103:17-18 NIV — from BibleGateway.com

¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

On 05/01/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

#IWishMyTeacherKnew <-- A powerful use of a Twitter hashtag

On 04/22/2015, in economics, education, K-12 related, parents/guardians, relationships, society, student-related, teachers, United States, by Daniel Christian

5 reasons we shouldn’t be so surprised by what kids wish teachers knew — from takepart.com by Liz Dwyer
The stories being shared with #IWishMyTeacherKnew, the viral hashtag started by teacher Kyle Schwartz, are turning the spotlight on the harsh reality of many American kids.

Excerpt:

Their thoughts are handwritten on sticky notes, index cards, and plain old pieces of notebook paper—and they’re providing a window into the lives of America’s children. On Friday, the story of #IWishMyTeacherKnew, the effort by Denver elementary school teacher Kyle Schwartz to get students in her classroom to share something about themselves, went viral across the Web.

Learning Ecosystems

13 recent items re: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Deuteronomy 5:28-29 (AMP)

Proverbs 3:5-6

Psalm 94:18-19

Some scripture from BibleGateway.com

Will VR allow us to raise cultural intelligence, promote empathy, & reduce racism? It’s very likely.

Psalm 103:17

7 things parents and teachers should know about teens [Elias]

Revelation 21:2-4 (NIV)

Psalm 103:17-18

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

Categories

Tags