On 10/02/2019,
in attention, design, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, internet, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, online media, platforms, play, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, simulations, tools, training / L&D, user experience (UX), vendors, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Top eLearning Gamification Companies 2019 — from elearningindustry.com by Christopher Pappas
Excerpt:
The Top Performing eLearning Gamification Companies 2019
As community leaders, here at eLearning Industry, we have evaluated hundreds of eLearning content development companies in the past. As we are constantly on the lookout for new advancements and trends in the eLearning field that are relevant to the industry, we decided to take a very close look at outstanding providers of gamification. We have focused on prestige, influence, application of gamification tools, activity in the eLearning field, gamification innovations, and many more subcategories.
For the list of the Top eLearning Gamification Companies 2019, we chose and ranked the best gamification companies based on the following 7 criteria:
- Gamification eLearning quality
- Customer reviews
- eLearning expertise
- Niche specialization on gamification
- Gamification industry innovation
- Company’s social responsibility
- Gamification features and capabilities
On 09/01/2018,
in A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, career development, chemistry, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Europe, future, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, languages and translation, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, science, simulations, society, STEAM-related, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, XR - extended reality,
by Daniel Christian
San Diego’s Nanome Inc. releases collaborative VR-STEM software for free — from vrscout.com by Becca Loux
Excerpt:
The first collaborative VR molecular modeling application was released August 29 to encourage hands-on chemistry experimentation.
The open-source tool is free for download now on Oculus and Steam.
Nanome Inc., the San Diego-based start-up that built the intuitive application, comprises UCSD professors and researchers, web developers and top-level pharmaceutical executives.
“With our tool, anyone can reach out and experience science at the nanoscale as if it is right in front of them. At Nanome, we are bringing the craftsmanship and natural intuition from interacting with these nanoscale structures at room scale to everyone,” McCloskey said.
10 ways VR will change life in the near future — from forbes.com
Excerpts:
- Virtual shops
- Real estate
- Dangerous jobs
- Health care industry
- Training to create VR content
- Education
- Emergency response
- Distraction simulation
- New hire training
- Exercise
From DSC:
While VR will have its place — especially for timeswhen you need to completely immerse yourself into another environment — I think AR and MR will be much larger and have a greater variety of applications. For example, I could see where instructions on how to put something together in the future could use AR and/or MR to assist with that process. The system could highlight the next part that I’m looking for and then highlight the corresponding parts where it goes — and, if requested, can show me a clip on how it fits into what I’m trying to put together.
How MR turns firstline workers into change agents — from virtualrealitypop.com by Charlie Finkand
Mixed Reality, a new dimension of work — from Microsoft and Harvard Business Review
Excerpts:
Workers with mixed-reality solutions that enable remote assistance, spatial planning, environmentally contextual data, and much more,” Bardeen told me. With the HoloLens Firstline Workers workers conduct their usual, day-to-day activities with the added benefit of a heads-up, hands-free, display that gives them immediate access to valuable, contextual information. Microsoft says speech services like Cortana will be critical to control along with gesture, according to the unique needs of each situation.
Expect new worker roles. What constitutes an “information worker” could change because mixed reality will allow everyone to be involved in the collection and use of information. Many more types of information will become available to any worker in a compelling, easy-to-understand way.
Let’s Speak: VR language meetups — from account.altvr.com
On 08/31/2018,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, attention, biology, creativity, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Facebook / Meta Platforms, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, platforms, simulations, STEAM-related, student-related, teaching & learning, tools, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Google’s VR Labs provide STEM students with hands-on experience — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
Excerpt:
STEM students engaged in scientific disciplines, such as biochemistry and neuroscience, are often required by their respective degrees to spend a certain amount of time engaged in an official laboratory environment. Unfortunately, crowded universities and the rise of online education have made it difficult for these innovators-in-training to access properly equipped labs and log their necessary hours.
Cue Google VR Labs, a series of comprehensive virtual lab experiences available on the Google Daydream platform. Developed as part of partnership between Google and simulation education company Labster, the in-depth program boasts 30 interactive lab experiences in which biology students can engage in a series of hands-on scientific activities in a realistic environment.
These actions can include everything from the use of practical tools, such as DNA sequencers and microscopes, to reality-bending experiences only capable in a virtual environment, like traveling to the surface of the newly discovered Astakos IV exoplanet or examining and altering DNA on a molecular level.
Also see:
- VR Labs open doors of opportunity for STEM students — from blog.google by Courtney Hampson
- Oculus Education launches pilot programs in Taiwan, Japan, Seattle — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
Oculus will provide headsets and training to three new pilot locations alongside a fresh helping of educational VR content.
On 06/09/2018,
in blogs / blogging / vlogging, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education, education technology, elearning, learning, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, online learning, online media, simulations, tools, training / L&D, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
I found the following graphic out at a posting entitled, Continuous Learning & Development; more than just continuous training (from modernworkplacelearning.com/magazine). I thought it was an excellent example of a learning ecosystem!
On 01/25/2018,
in A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), business, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, innovation, interaction design, interactivity, learning, learning ecosystem, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), multimedia, music, research, simulations, tools, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
Augmented Reality: Everything You Need to Know for 2018 — from isl.co by Josh Strupp
Excerpt:
Here’s the trade-off: what we gain in development ease-of-use (native SDKs, integration into existing workflows) and performance enhancements (load times, battery efficiency, render quality, integration with native apps), we lose in universality; naturally, each company wants you staying within its own ecosystem.
In a nutshell: new AR platforms from today’s tech giants are aimed at reducing technical headache so you can focus on creating amazing experiences… but they also want you creating more apps for their respective mobile ecosystems.
…
This AR App Teaches You How To Play The Piano — from vrscout.com by Steve Ip & Sydney Wuu
AR piano learning system with improvised jam sessions.
Excerpt:
Learning to play the piano is getting an immersive upgrade with a new augmented reality (AR) piano training software called Music Everywhere. The HoloLens app aims to help students of all talent levels build fundamental music theory and performance skills. While traditional piano lessons can cost upwards of $100 per hour, Music Everywhere is free on the Microsoft store and offers a cost effective tutoring solution that provides students with immediate interaction feedback, making it differ greatly from watching a video tutorial.
Founded in 2017, Music Everywhere began at Carnegie Mellon’s ETC with Seth Glickman, Fu Yen Hsiao, and Byunghwan Lee realizing the nascent technology could be used for skills training. The app was the first Augmented Reality music learning platform to take first prize in Microsoft’s HoloLens Developer Contest, beating more than one-thousand submissions.
Making Virtual Reality a Reality in Today’s Classrooms — from thejournal.com by Meredith Thompson
Excerpt:
The market for virtual reality applications is growing at a rapid pace, and is expected to double in the next five years (Bolkan, 2017). As the cost of equipment falls and schools have greater access to technology, there is great interest in virtual reality as an educational tool. A small but growing group of educators have started to integrate virtual reality in their classrooms, with promising results (Castaneda, Cechony & Bautista, 2017). We reached out to teachers and administrators who are currently using virtual reality in their classrooms to hear their perspectives and practical strategies for infusing this resource into their classrooms.
Teachers have creative ideas for how to incorporate immersive education in current classrooms: how to select activities, how to set up the classroom, how to get support during the activity and how to transport devices. Teachers also shared their ideas for future applications of VR, including how to deepen the learning experience and to expand the reach of these technologies to a greater population of students.
Here we share three vignettes of three different approaches: a social studies class in a suburban school district, a district-wide perspective from an urban school district and a class designed entirely around understanding and implementing VR for other classrooms. We also share how we are using these ideas to inform our own project in designing a collaborative immersive virtual reality educational game for introductory high school biology.
3 best practices from VR implementation across departments — from ecampusnews.com by Andrew Woodberry
Professors across many disciplines are embracing VR technology as an integral part of their learning tools
Excerpts:
VR is already being used for many real-world applications–hiring, training, marketing/sales, medical purposes, entertainment, and more–and is worth considering for many different university departments.
…
At German University in Cairo, architecture students used our platform to create tours of historical Cairo buildings, complete with educational hotspot overlays on particularly interesting features. This multimedia approach educated students without them having to travel to the buildings. It also made for a more “stickier” learning experience for the students involved in creating it.
…
At Emporia State University, for example, the forensic science students view virtual crime scenes recorded at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in Topeka. Forensic-science students can look for clues and learn facts via voiceover, mimicking an actual crime-scene inquiry quite impressively.
Augmented and virtual reality products to get excited about in 2018 — from gearbrain.com by Alistair Charlton
CES 2018 showed us the way forward for AR and VR this year
Excerpt:
Just as televisions and driverless cars have become part of the furniture at the CES technology show, so too have virtual and augmented reality headsets.
Although the momentum behind VR’s growth slowed in 2017 – the industry seemingly unsure if it should progress with a technology destined to remain a niche – AR is being welcomed into the spotlight with open arms.
…
Here are six AR and VR highlights from CES 2018.
Looking to boost AR and VR technology, University of Washington establishes center in Seattle — from edscoop.com by Emily Tate
The UW Reality Lab will focus on “core research advances” in augmented and virtual reality.
Excerpt:
The University of Washington, hoping to get ahead in the burgeoning field of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), has launched the UW Reality Lab, a center for research, education and innovation in AR and VR.
…
One of the first research centers in the world built for AR and VR projects, the UW Reality Lab is also located in Seattle — a hotspot for technology companies, from behemoths like Amazon and Microsoft to startups still trying to get off the ground.
“We’re seeing some really compelling and high-quality AR and VR experiences being built today,” Steve Seitz, center co-lead and Allen School professor, said in the university’s statement. “But, there are still many core research advances needed to move the industry forward — tools for easily creating content, infrastructure solutions for streaming 3D video, and privacy and security safeguards — that university researchers are uniquely positioned to tackle.”
Augmented Reality: Is it the Future of eLearning
Excerpt:
Why Augmented Reality is Important for eLearning
According to a report released by CCS Insight, augmented and virtual reality hardware is set to become a $4 billion market by 2018. Let’s take a look at how augmented reality can be leveraged in the online learning space:
Simulated working environments
One of the most common advantages of online learning is the ability to form an environment in which the users have the freedom to experiment. As people usually learn from their mistakes, when they work in a consequence-free environment, they are most likely to remember the right way to do things.
Support Gamification
As online learning management systems (LMSs) use gamification widely, augmented reality can be directly applied. In AR reality training module, employees will be rewarded for effectively performing their routine tasks in the right way, which will eventually improve performance.
Immersive Learning Environments
Using a tablet, smartphone for the online training software means the users are constantly distracted with emails, notifications from social channels etc. This is one of the reasons why elearning content uses interactive multimedia elements to engage students. With augmented reality, elearning courses can be supported with 360° video, which will engage the user and remove distractions for them.
Motion tracking
Motion and gesture tracking are part of the AR experience. They are commonly leveraged for choosing menu items or engaging with video game-based environments.
In the online learning domain, LMSs can use this technology to track learner’s progress to ensure that they are achieving the set targets without fail. This will boost real-time training performance and improve interactivity with instant feedback.
Simply put, with augmented reality the possibilities are endless. With the growing number of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) workplaces, it is expected that employees and learners will be delighted to use augmented reality.
Virtual Reality And Beyond: The Future Of Music Experiences — from hypebot.com by Jen Sako
Excerpt:
The Musical Future of VR
VR technology is still in its earliest stages, but musicians are already seeing how they will be able to connect to fans and make news ones without the expense of touring. In artificial environments, bands can invite music lovers into their world.
But beyond the obvious entertainment factor, VR has the potential to become a tool for education. Music students could enter a studio space using VR gear for lessons and practice. The immediate feedback provided and game-like atmosphere may keep students more motivated and engaged. Imagine methods for teaching that include ways to slow down and loop difficult parts or bringing in the composer for lessons.
VR can also connect music lovers to the many people behind the scenes involved in producing the music they enjoy. Listeners can learn about the industry and how a song comes to life. They’ll understand why it’s important to play a part in sustaining the music business.
For this technology to become a reality in itself inside consumers’ listening and learning spaces, obstacles need addressing. The hardware is still pricey, bulky and requires a power source. Apps need creators who will need more in the way of artificial intelligence.
ARiA, The AR Conference At MIT, Is The Anti-CES — from forbes.com by Charlie Fink
Excerpt:
“The ability to combine digital information with the real world is going to disrupt every business model, transform human/machine interaction, and generate innovative use cases across every discipline and in every vertical including education, healthcare, manufacturing,” Werner continued. “I see ARiA as the TED for AR, where the best minds come together to solve real work problems and share ideas to capitalize on the huge opportunity.”
Broadcast news and sports now routinely lay data, graphics, and animation onto the physical world. AR has become ubiquitous in ways that have nothing to do with smart glasses. “AR is on the verge.
2017 Augmented Reality Year in Review — from wikitude.com
Microsoft Education unveils new Windows 10 devices starting at $189, Office 365 tools for personalized learning, and curricula to ignite a passion for STEM — from blogs.windows.com by Yusuf Mehdi
Excerpt:
In regards to mixed reality for immersive learning:
- Pearson – the world’s largest education company – will begin rolling out in March curriculum that will work on both HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality immersive VR headsets. These six new applications will deliver seamless experiences across devices and further illustrate the value of immersive educational experiences.
- We are expanding our mixed media reality curriculum offerings through a new partnership with WGBH’s Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms project****, for distribution nationally on PBS LearningMedia™. This effort brings cutting-edge Earth and Space Science content into classrooms through digital learning resources that increase student engagement with science phenomena and practices.
- To keep up with growing demand for HoloLens in the classroom we are committed to providing affordable solutions. Starting on January 22, we are making available a limited-time academic pricing offer for HoloLens. To take advantage of the limited-time academic pricing offer, please visit, hololens.com/edupromo.
On 12/22/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Blockchain, bots, business, business side of he, career development, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, 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 preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, participation, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, second screen apps, simulations, smart/connected TV, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), television, tools, training / L&D, transmedia, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Virtual reality simulates classroom environment for aspiring teachers — from phys.org by Charles Anzalone, University at Buffalo
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Two University at Buffalo education researchers have teamed up to create an interactive classroom environment in which state-of-the-art virtual reality simulates difficult student behavior, a training method its designers compare to a “flight simulator for teachers.”
The new program, already earning endorsements from teachers and administrators in an inner-city Buffalo school, ties into State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher’s call for innovative teaching experiences and “immersive” clinical experiences and teacher preparation.
…
The training simulator Lamb compared to a teacher flight simulator uses an emerging computer technology known as virtual reality. Becoming more popular and accessible commercially, virtual reality immerses the subject in what Lamb calls “three-dimensional environments in such a way where that environment is continuous around them.” An important characteristic of the best virtual reality environments is a convincing and powerful representation of the imaginary setting.
Also related/see:
- How Virtual Reality Is Helping Train New Teachers — from edweek.org by Liana Loewus
- TeachLive.org
TLE TeachLivE™ is a mixed-reality classroom with simulated students that provides teachers the opportunity to develop their pedagogical practice in a safe environment that doesn’t place real students at risk. This lab is currently the only one in the country using a mixed reality environment to prepare or retrain pre-service and in-service teachers. The use of TLE TeachLivE™ Lab has also been instrumental in developing transition skills for students with significant disabilities, providing immediate feedback through bug-in-ear technology to pre-service teachers, developing discrete trial skills in pre-service and in-service teachers, and preparing teachers in the use of STEM-related instructional strategies.
- Virtual reality lessons can help students become better real-life teachers — from news.psu.edu by Jim Carlson
- 10 amazing virtual museum tours — from virtualiteach.com
This start-up uses virtual reality to get your kids excited about learning chemistry — from Lora Kolodny and Erin Black
- MEL Science raised $2.2 million in venture funding to bring virtual reality chemistry lessons to schools in the U.S.
- Eighty-two percent of science teachers surveyed in the U.S. believe virtual reality content can help their students master their subjects.
This start-up uses virtual reality to get your kids excited about learning chemistry from CNBC.
From DSC:
It will be interesting to see all the “places” we will be able to go and interact within — all from the comfort of our living rooms! Next generation simulators should be something else for teaching/learning & training-related purposes!!!
The next gen learning platform will likely offer such virtual reality-enabled learning experiences, along with voice recognition/translation services and a slew of other technologies — such as AI, blockchain*, chatbots, data mining/analytics, web-based learner profiles, an online-based marketplace supported by the work of learning-based free agents, and others — running in the background. All of these elements will work to offer us personalized, up-to-date learning experiences — helping each of us stay relevant in the marketplace as well as simply enabling us to enjoy learning about new things.
But the potentially disruptive piece of all of this is that this next generation learning platform could create an Amazon.com of what we now refer to as “higher education.” It could just as easily serve as a platform for offering learning experiences for learners in K-12 as well as the corporate learning & development space.
I’m tracking these developments at:
http://danielschristian.com/thelivingclassroom/
![The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian-July-2012.jpg)
* Also see:
Blockchain, Bitcoin and the Tokenization of Learning — from edsurge.com by Sydney Johnson
Excerpt:
In 2014, Kings College in New York became the first university in the U.S. to accept Bitcoin for tuition payments, a move that seemed more of a PR stunt than the start of some new movement. Much has changed since then, including the value of Bitcoin itself, which skyrocketed to more than $19,000 earlier this month, catapulting cryptocurrencies into the mainstream.
A handful of other universities (and even preschools) now accept Bitcoin for tuition, but that’s hardly the extent of how blockchains and tokens are weaving their way into education: Educators and edtech entrepreneurs are now testing out everything from issuing degrees on the blockchain to paying people in cryptocurrency for their teaching.
On 11/29/2017,
in 21st century, adjunct faculty, blended learning, change, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, data related items, digital learning, education technology, face-to-face, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, hybrid learning, leadership, learning, liberal arts, online learning, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, simulations, strategy, technology (general), using teams, vendors, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
High-Tech, High Touch: Digital Learning Report and Workbook, 2017 Edition — from Intentional Futures, with thanks to Maria Andersen on Linkedin for her posting therein which was entitled, “Spectrums to Measure Digital Learning”
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Our work uncovered five high-tech strategies employed by institutions that have successfully implemented digital learning at scale across a range of modalities. The strategies that underscore the high-tech, high-touch connection are customizing through technology, leveraging adaptive courseware, adopting cost-efficient resources, centralizing course development and making data-driven decisions.
Although many of the institutions we studied are employing more than one of these strategies, in this report we have grouped the institutional use cases according to the strategy that has been most critical to achieving digital learning at scale. As institutional leaders make their way through this document, they should watch for strategies that target challenges similar to those they hope to solve. Reading the corresponding case studies will unpack how institutions employed these strategies effectively.
…
Digital learning in higher education is becoming more ubiquitous as institutions realize its ability to support student success and empower faculty. Growing diversity in student demographics has brought related changes in student needs, prompting institutions to look to technology to better serve their students. Digital courseware gives institutions the ability to build personalized, accessible and engaging content. It enables educators to provide relevant content and interventions for individual students, improve instructional techniques based on data and distribute knowledge to a wider audience (MIT Office of Digital Learning, 2017).
PARTICIPATION IN DIGITAL LEARNING IS GROWING
Nationally, the number of students engaged in digital learning is growing rapidly. One driver of this growth is rising demand for distance learning, which often relies on digital learning environments. Distance learning programs saw enrollment increases of approximately 4% between 2015 and 2016, with nearly 30% of higher education students taking at least one digital distance learning course (Allen, 2017). Much of this growth is occurring at the undergraduate level (Allen, 2017). The number of students who take distance learning courses exclusively is growing as well. Between 2012 and 2015, both public and private nonprofit institutions saw an increase in students taking only distance courses, although private, for-profit institutions have seen a decrease (Allen, 2017).
On 07/11/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, Blockchain, Bring your own device (BYOD), career development, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, history, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, 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 spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, Michigan, microlearning, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, robotics, RSS, second screen apps, simulations, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, staying relevant, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, surviving, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, trends, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, youth,
by Daniel Christian
The case for a next generation learning platform — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush & Daniel Christian
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Grush: Then what are some of the implications you could draw from metrics like that one?
Christian: As we consider all the investment in those emerging technologies, the question many are beginning to ask is, “How will these technologies impact jobs and the makeup of our workforce in the future?”
While there are many thoughts and questions regarding the cumulative impact these technologies will have on our future workforce (e.g., “How many jobs will be displaced?”), the consensus seems to be that there will be massive change.
Whether our jobs are completely displaced or if we will be working alongside robots, chatbots, workbots, or some other forms of AI-backed personal assistants, all of us will need to become lifelong learners — to be constantly reinventing ourselves. This assertion is also made in the aforementioned study from McKinsey: “AI promises benefits, but also poses urgent challenges that cut across firms, developers, government, and workers. The workforce needs to be re-skilled to exploit AI rather than compete with it…”
A side note from DSC:
I began working on this vision prior to 2010…but I didn’t officially document it until 2012.
Learning from the Living [Class] Room:
A global, powerful, next generation learning platform
What does the vision entail?
- A new, global, collaborative learning platform that offers more choice, more control to learners of all ages – 24×7 – and could become the organization that futurist Thomas Frey discusses here with Business Insider:
“I’ve been predicting that by 2030 the largest company on the internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven’t heard of yet,” Frey, the senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute think tank, tells Business Insider.
- A learner-centered platform that is enabled by – and reliant upon – human beings but is backed up by a powerful suite of technologies that work together in order to help people reinvent themselves quickly, conveniently, and extremely cost-effectively
- A customizable learning environment that will offer up-to-date streams of regularly curated content (i.e., microlearning) as well as engaging learning experiences
- Along these lines, a lifelong learner can opt to receive an RSS feed on a particular topic until they master that concept; periodic quizzes (i.e., spaced repetition) determines that mastery. Once mastered, the system will ask the learner whether they still want to receive that particular stream of content or not.
- A Netflix-like interface to peruse and select plugins to extend the functionality of the core product
- An AI-backed system of analyzing employment trends and opportunities will highlight those courses and streams of content that will help someone obtain the most in-demand skills
- A system that tracks learning and, via Blockchain-based technologies, feeds all completed learning modules/courses into learners’ web-based learner profiles
- A learning platform that provides customized, personalized recommendation lists – based upon the learner’s goals
- A platform that delivers customized, personalized learning within a self-directed course (meant for those content creators who want to deliver more sophisticated courses/modules while moving people through the relevant Zones of Proximal Development)
- Notifications and/or inspirational quotes will be available upon request to help provide motivation, encouragement, and accountability – helping learners establish habits of continual, lifelong-based learning
- (Potentially) An online-based marketplace, matching learners with teachers, professors, and other such Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
- (Potentially) Direct access to popular job search sites
- (Potentially) Direct access to resources that describe what other companies do/provide and descriptions of any particular company’s culture (as described by current and former employees and freelancers)
- (Potentially) Integration with one-on-one tutoring services
Addendum from DSC (regarding the resource mentioned below):
Note the voice recognition/control mechanisms on Westinghouse’s new product — also note the integration of Amazon’s Alexa into a “TV.”
Westinghouse’s Alexa-equipped Fire TV Edition smart TVs are now available — from theverge.com by Chaim Gartenberg
The key selling point, of course, is the built-in Amazon Fire TV, which is controlled with the bundled Voice Remote and features Amazon’s Alexa assistant.
Finally…also see:
- NASA unveils a skill for Amazon’s Alexa that lets you ask questions about Mars — from geekwire.com by Kevin Lisota
- Holographic storytelling — from jwtintelligence.com
The stories of Holocaust survivors are brought to life with the help of interactive 3D technologies.
New Dimensions in Testimony is a new way of preserving history for future generations. The project brings to life the stories of Holocaust survivors with 3D video, revealing raw first-hand accounts that are more interactive than learning through a history book. Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter, the first subject of the project, was filmed answering over 1000 questions, generating approximately 25 hours of footage. By incorporating natural language processing from the USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), people are able to ask Gutter’s projected image questions that trigger relevant responses.
On 06/22/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, adult learning, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, assistive technologies, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), Blockchain, blogs / blogging / vlogging, bots, Bring your own device (BYOD), business side of he, career development, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, microlearning, Microsoft, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, robotics, RSS, second screen apps, simulations, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, tablets, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, 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, webinars, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Learning from the Living [Class] Room:
A vision for a global, powerful, next generation learning platform
By Daniel Christian
NOTE: Having recently lost my Senior Instructional Designer position due to a staff reduction program, I am looking to help build such a platform as this. So if you are working on such a platform or know of someone who is, please let me know: danielchristian55@gmail.com.
I want to help people reinvent themselves quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively — while providing more choice, more control to lifelong learners. This will become critically important as artificial intelligence, robotics, algorithms, and automation continue to impact the workplace.
Learning from the Living [Class] Room:
A global, powerful, next generation learning platform
What does the vision entail?
- A new, global, collaborative learning platform that offers more choice, more control to learners of all ages – 24×7 – and could become the organization that futurist Thomas Frey discusses here with Business Insider:
“I’ve been predicting that by 2030 the largest company on the internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven’t heard of yet,” Frey, the senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute think tank, tells Business Insider.
- A learner-centered platform that is enabled by – and reliant upon – human beings but is backed up by a powerful suite of technologies that work together in order to help people reinvent themselves quickly, conveniently, and extremely cost-effectively
- An AI-backed system of analyzing employment trends and opportunities will highlight those courses and “streams of content” that will help someone obtain the most in-demand skills
- A system that tracks learning and, via Blockchain-based technologies, feeds all completed learning modules/courses into learners’ web-based learner profiles
- A learning platform that provides customized, personalized recommendation lists – based upon the learner’s goals
- A platform that delivers customized, personalized learning within a self-directed course (meant for those content creators who want to deliver more sophisticated courses/modules while moving people through the relevant Zones of Proximal Development)
- Notifications and/or inspirational quotes will be available upon request to help provide motivation, encouragement, and accountability – helping learners establish habits of continual, lifelong-based learning
- (Potentially) An online-based marketplace, matching learners with teachers, professors, and other such Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
- (Potentially) Direct access to popular job search sites
- (Potentially) Direct access to resources that describe what other companies do/provide and descriptions of any particular company’s culture (as described by current and former employees and freelancers)
Further details:
While basic courses will be accessible via mobile devices, the optimal learning experience will leverage two or more displays/devices. So while smaller smartphones, laptops, and/or desktop workstations will be used to communicate synchronously or asynchronously with other learners, the larger displays will deliver an excellent learning environment for times when there is:
- A Subject Matter Expert (SME) giving a talk or making a presentation on any given topic
- A need to display multiple things going on at once, such as:
- The SME(s)
- An application or multiple applications that the SME(s) are using
- Content/resources that learners are submitting in real-time (think Bluescape, T1V, Prysm, other)
- The ability to annotate on top of the application(s) and point to things w/in the app(s)
- Media being used to support the presentation such as pictures, graphics, graphs, videos, simulations, animations, audio, links to other resources, GPS coordinates for an app such as Google Earth, other
- Other attendees (think Google Hangouts, Skype, Polycom, or other videoconferencing tools)
- An (optional) representation of the Personal Assistant (such as today’s Alexa, Siri, M, Google Assistant, etc.) that’s being employed via the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
This new learning platform will also feature:
- Voice-based commands to drive the system (via Natural Language Processing (NLP))
- Language translation (using techs similar to what’s being used in Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson)
- Speech-to-text capabilities for use w/ chatbots, messaging, inserting discussion board postings
- Text-to-speech capabilities as an assistive technology and also for everyone to be able to be mobile while listening to what’s been typed
- Chatbots
- For learning how to use the system
- For asking questions of – and addressing any issues with – the organization owning the system (credentials, payments, obtaining technical support, etc.)
- For asking questions within a course
- As many profiles as needed per household
- (Optional) Machine-to-machine-based communications to automatically launch the correct profile when the system is initiated (from one’s smartphone, laptop, workstation, and/or tablet to a receiver for the system)
- (Optional) Voice recognition to efficiently launch the desired profile
- (Optional) Facial recognition to efficiently launch the desired profile
- (Optional) Upon system launch, to immediately return to where the learner previously left off
- The capability of the webcam to recognize objects and bring up relevant resources for that object
- A built in RSS feed aggregator – or a similar technology – to enable learners to tap into the relevant “streams of content” that are constantly flowing by them
- Social media dashboards/portals – providing quick access to multiple sources of content and whereby learners can contribute their own “streams of content”
In the future, new forms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) will be integrated into this new learning environment – providing entirely new means of collaborating with one another.
Likely players:
- Amazon – personal assistance via Alexa
- Apple – personal assistance via Siri
- Google – personal assistance via Google Assistant; language translation
- Facebook — personal assistance via M
- Microsoft – personal assistance via Cortana; language translation
- IBM Watson – cognitive computing; language translation
- Polycom – videoconferencing
- Blackboard – videoconferencing, application sharing, chat, interactive whiteboard
- T1V, Prsym, and/or Bluescape – submitting content to a digital canvas/workspace
- Samsung, Sharp, LCD, and others – for large displays with integrated microphones, speakers, webcams, etc.
- Feedly – RSS aggregator
- _________ – for providing backchannels
- _________ – for tools to create videocasts and interactive videos
- _________ – for blogs, wikis, podcasts, journals
- _________ – for quizzes/assessments
- _________ – for discussion boards/forums
- _________ – for creating AR, MR, and/or VR-based content
On 02/13/2017,
in business, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, professional development, simulations, tools, training / L&D, trends, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
This Mobile VR Crane Simulator Showcases the Future of Industrial Training — from roadtovr.com by Dominic Brennan
Description from an Inside VR & AR newsletter:
The Mobile Crane Simulator combines an Oculus headset with a modular rig to greatly reduce the cost of training. The system, from Industrial Training International and Serious Labs, Inc, will debut at the ConExpo Event this March in Las Vegas. The designers chose the Oculus for its comfort and portability, but the set-up supports OpenVR, allowing it to potentially also work on the Vive. (The “mobile” in the device’s name refers to a type of crane, rather than to mobile VR.) – ROAD TO VR