smart classrooms

DC: A piece of our future classrooms? Check out what the Syndey Opera House & Samsung are doing.

On 01/12/2017, in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, art, attention, Australia, digital learning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, learning spaces, music, smart classrooms, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Sydney – The Opera House has joined forces with Samsung to open a new digital lounge that encourages engagement with the space. — from lsnglobal.com by Rhiannon McGregor

The space enables guests to access art and cultural exhibits through technology
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects are responsible for the design

The Lounge, enabled by Samsung on November 8, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Anna Kucera)

Also see:

The Lounge enabled by Samsung
Open day and night, The Lounge enabled by Samsung is a new place in the heart of the Opera House where people can sit and enjoy art and culture through the latest technology. The most recent in a series of future-facing projects enabled by Sydney Opera House’s Principal Partner, Samsung, the new visitor lounge features stylish, comfortable seating, as well as interactive displays and exclusive digital content, including:

The Sails – a virtual-reality experience of what it’s like to stand atop the sails of Australia’s most famous building, brought to you via Samsung Gear VR;
Digital artwork – a specially commissioned video exploration of the Opera House and its stories, produced by creative director Sam Doust. The artwork has been themed to match the time of day and is the first deployment of Samsung’s latest Smart LED Display panel technology in Australia; and
Google Cultural Institute – available to view on Samsung Galaxy View and Galaxy Tab S2 tablets, the digital collection features 50 online exhibits that tell the story of the Opera House’s past, present and future through rare archival photography, celebrated performances, early architectural drawings and other historical documents, little-known interviews and Street View imagery.

Don’t discount the game-changing power of the morphing “TV” when coupled with AI, NLP, and blockchain-based technologies! [Christian]

On 01/03/2017, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, Blockchain, Bring your own device (BYOD), career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, communications, communities of practice, competency-based learning/education, computer science, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, disruption, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, microlearning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

Don’t discount the game-changing power of the morphing “TV” when coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and blockchain-based technologies!

When I saw the article below, I couldn’t help but wonder what (we currently know of as) “TVs” will morph into and what functionalities they will be able to provide to us in the not-too-distant future…?

For example, the article mentions that Seiki, Westinghouse, and Element will be offering TVs that can not only access Alexa — a personal assistant from Amazon which uses artificial intelligence — but will also be able to provide access to over 7,000 apps and games via the Amazon Fire TV Store.

Some of the questions that come to my mind:

Why can’t there be more educationally-related games and apps available on this type of platform?
Why can’t the results of the assessments taken on these apps get fed into cloud-based learner profiles that capture one’s lifelong learning? (#blockchain)
When will potential employers start asking for access to such web-based learner profiles?
Will tvOS and similar operating systems expand to provide blockchain-based technologies as well as the types of functionality we get from our current set of CMSs/LMSs?
Will this type of setup become a major outlet for competency-based education as well as for corporate training-related programs?
Will augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) capabilities come with our near future “TVs”?
Will virtual tutoring be one of the available apps/channels?
Will the microphone and the wide angle, HD camera on the “TV” be able to be disconnected from the Internet for security reasons? (i.e., to be sure no hacker is eavesdropping in on their private lives)

Forget a streaming stick: These 4K TVs come with Amazon Fire TV inside — from techradar.com by Nick Pino

Excerpt:

The TVs will not only have access to Alexa via a microphone-equipped remote but, more importantly, will have access to the over 7,000 apps and games available on the Amazon Fire TV Store – a huge boon considering that most of these Smart TVs usually include, at max, a few dozen apps.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

Addendums

A top futurist predicts the largest internet company of 2030 will be an online school — from businessinsider.com by Chris Weller

“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.

.

Once thought to be a fad, MOOCs showed staying power in 2016 — from educationdive.com
Dive Brief:
- EdSurge profiles the growth of massive online open courses in 2016, which attracted more than 58 million students in over 700 colleges and universities last year.
- The top three MOOC providers — Coursera, Udacity and EdX — collectively grossed more than $100 million last year, as much of the content provided on these platforms shifted from free to paywall guarded materials.
- Many MOOCs have moved to offering credentialing programs or nanodegree offerings to increase their value in industrial marketplaces.

Planning & Designing Academic Library Learning Spaces: Expert Perspectives of Architects, Librarians, & Library Consultants

On 12/07/2016, in 21st century, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

Planning and Designing Academic Library Learning Spaces: Expert Perspectives of Architects, Librarians, and Library Consultants
This research report was based on interviews with 49 architects, librarians, and library consultants who led a total of 22 academic library projects in the U.S. and Canada.

In this shifting and complex landscape, the role of academic libraries is not fully known. For many librarians and architects who are creating physical and virtual learning spaces in libraries, the million-dollar design question remains: “Is there a model that can stand the test of time as effectively as a centralized print collection has done for hundreds of years, so that libraries remain useful to students and faculty into the future?”

In the future, I’d like to see holograms provide stunning visual centerpieces for libraries, classrooms, & more. [Christian]

On 12/02/2016, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, art, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, design, digital learning, drama/theater, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, Mixed Reality (MR), multimedia, music, platforms, simulations, smart classrooms, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In the future, I’d like to see holograms provide stunning visual centerpieces for the entrance ways into libraries, or in our classrooms, or in our art galleries, recital halls, and more. The object(s), person(s), scene(s) could change into something else, providing a visually engaging experience that sets a tone for that space, time, and/or event.

Eventually, perhaps these types of technologies/setups will even be a way to display artwork within our homes and apartments.

Image from 900lbs.com

From DSC:
(With thanks to Woontack Woo for his posting this via his paper.li entitled “#AR #CAMAR for Ubiquitous VR”)

Check this out!

On December 3rd, the Legend of Sword opera comes to Australia — but this is no ordinary opera! It is a “holographic sensational experience!” Set designers and those involved with drama will need to check this out. This could easily be the future of set design!

But not only that, let’s move this same concept over to the world of learning. What might augmented reality do for how our learning spaces look and act like in the future? What new affordances and experiences could they provide for us? This needs to be on our radars.

Some serious engagement might be heading our way!

Per this web page:

Legend of Sword 1 is a holographic sensational experience that has finished its 2nd tour in China. A Chinese legend of the ages to amaze and ignite your imagination. First time ever such a visual spectacular stage in Australia on Sat 3rd Dec only. Performed in Chinese with English subtitles.

Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 is based on a hit video game in China. Through the hardworking of the renowned production team, the performance illustrates the beautiful fantasy of game on stage, and allow the audience feel like placing themselves in the eastern fairy world. With the special effects with the olfactory experience, and that actors performing and interact with audience at close distance, the eastern fairy world is realised on stage. It is not only a play with beautiful scenes, but also full of elements from oriental style adventure. The theatre experience will offer much more than a show, but the excitement of love and adventure.

Per this web page:

Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 was premiered in April 2015 at Shanghai Cultural Plaza, which set off a frenzy of magic in Shanghai, relying on the perfect visual and 5D all-round sensual experience. Because of the fantasy theme that matches with top visual presentation, Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 became the hot topic in Shanghai immediately. With only just 10 performances at the time, its Weibo topic hits have already exceeded 100 million mark halfway.

So far, Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 has finished its second tour in a number of cities in China, including Beijing, Chongqing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenyang, Dalian, Wuxi, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhengzhou, Lishui, Ma’anshan, Kunshan, Changzhou etc.

From DSC:
Here’s an idea that came to my mind the other day as I was walking by a person who was trying to put some books back onto the shelves within our library.

danielchristian-books-sensors-m2m-oct2016

From DSC:
Perhaps this idea is not very timely…as many collections of books will likely continue to be digitized and made available electronically. But preservation is still a goal for many libraries out there.

Also see:

IoT and the Campus of Things — from er.educause.edu by Jason O. Hallstrom

Excerpt:

Today, the IoT sits at the peak of Gartner’s Hype Cycle. It’s probably not surprising that industry is abuzz with the promise of streaming sensor data. The oft quoted “50 billion connected devices by 2020!” has become a rallying cry for technology analysts, chip vendors, network providers, and other proponents of a deeply connected, communicating world. What is surprising is that academia has been relatively slow to join the parade, particularly when the potential impacts are so exciting. Like most organizations that manage significant facilities, universities stand to benefit by adopting the IoT as part of their management strategy. The IoT also affords new opportunities to improve the customer experience. For universities, this means the ability to provide new student services and improve on those already offered. Perhaps most surprisingly, the IoT represents an opportunity to better engage a diverse student base in computer science and engineering, and to amplify these programs through meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration.
…
The potential benefits of the IoT to the academic community extend beyond facilities management to improving our students’ experience. The lowest hanging fruit can be harvested by adapting some of the smart city applications that have emerged. What student hasn’t shown up late to class after circling the parking lot looking for a space? Ask any student at a major university if it would improve their campus experience to be able to check on their smart phones which parking spots were available. The answer will be a resounding “yes!” and there’s nothing futuristic about it. IoT parking management systems are commercially available through a number of vendors. This same type of technology can be adapted to enable students to find open meeting rooms, computer facilities, or café seating. What might be really exciting for students living in campus dormitories: A guarantee that they’ll never walk down three flights of stairs balancing two loads of dirty laundry to find that none of the washing machines are available. On many campuses, the washing machines are already network-connected to support electronic payment; availability reporting is a straightforward extension.

Also see:

2016 Innovators Awards | A Location-Aware App for Exploring the Library — from campustechnology.com by Meg Lloyd
To help users access rich information resources on campus, the University of Oklahoma Libraries created a mobile app with location-based navigation and “hyperlocal” content.

Category: Education Futurists

Institution: University of Oklahoma

Project: OU Libraries NavApp

Project lead: Matt Cook, emerging technologies librarian

Tech lineup: Aruba, Meridian, RFIP

Somewhat related:

What is beacon technology and why it’s here to stay — from by sixteen-nine.net

Announcing the “Top 200 Tools for Learning 2016” — plus Jane’s “Best of Breed 2016” [Jane Hart]

On 10/03/2016, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, animation, blended learning, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, global / globalization, Google, graphics, hybrid learning, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, microlearning, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, productivity / tips and tricks, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, UK, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Top 200 Tools for Learning 2016: Overview — from c4lpt.co.uk by Jane Hart

Also see Jane’s:

TOP 100 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING (for formal/informal learning and personal productivity)
TOP 100 TOOLS FOR WORKPLACE LEARNING (for training, e-learning, performance support and social collaboration
TOP 100 TOOLS FOR EDUCATION (for use in primary and secondary (K12) schools, colleges, universities and adult education.)

Also see Jane’s “Best of Breed 2016” where she breaks things down into:

Instructional tools
Content development tools
Social tools
Personal tools

Re: Estimote’s new Mirror product — the world’s first video-enabled beacon — what might the applications look like for active learning classrooms?

On 09/19/2016, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, more voice more choice more control, Near Field Communication (NFC), smart classrooms, student-related, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

Regarding the new Mirror product from Estimote — i.e., the world’s 1st video-enabled beacon — what might the applications look like for active learning classrooms (ALCs)?

That is, could students pre-load their content, then come into an active learning classroom and, upon request, launch an app which would then present their content to the nearest display?

danielchristian-mirror-apps

Also see:

Launching Estimote Mirror – the world’s first video-enabled beacon — from blog.estimote.com

Excerpt:

Today we want to move contextual computing to a completely new level. We are happy to announce our newest product: Estimote Mirror. It’s the world’s first video-enabled beacon. Estimote Mirror can not only communicate with nearby phones and their corresponding apps, but also take content from these apps and display it on any digital screen around you.

Evidence linking classroom design to improved learning mounts; study finds impact can be as much as 25%/year [Fabris; UK]

On 09/15/2016, in architecture, design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, smart classrooms, student-related, UK, by Daniel Christian

Evidence linking classroom design to improved learning mounts — from bdcnetwork.com by Peter Fabris
A study finds the impact can be as much as 25% per year.

Excerpt:

A new study backs up the notion that classroom design has a significant impact on the academic performance of primary school children.

Researchers at the University of Salford in the U.K., and architects, Nightingale Associates, found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress by as much as 25% in a year. The year-long study took place in seven Blackpool, England primary schools in 34 classrooms. The rooms had differing learning environments and several age groups were represented.

Also see:

Study proves classroom design really does matter — from salford.ac.uk

Excepts:

New research reveals that classroom design has significant impact on the academic performance of primary school children. In a pilot study by the University of Salford and architects, Nightingale Associates, it was found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress over a year by as much as 25%.

The year-long pilot study was carried out in seven Blackpool LEA primary schools. 34 classrooms with differing learning environments and age groups took part.

Also see:

Back to school: Design lessons from the world’s smartest education centers — from cnn.com by Georgia McCafferty

The school of the future has opened in Finland [brightside.me]

On 08/09/2016, in architecture, design, education, education reform, Europe, future, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, smart classrooms, usability, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

The school of the future has opened in Finland — from brightside.me

Excerpt:

Child psychologists have long argued that changing the approach we take to education would help many children learn to love school rather than hate it. We’ve all heard pre-schoolers talk about how they can’t wait to sit at their school desk and run to their next lesson with their rucksack over their shoulder. In fact, we probably remember that feeling of excitement ourselves the first time we went. But right from the first days of school, many children feel a huge sense of disappointment with what they encounter.

At the Saunalahti school in the city of Espoo, Finland, they’ve found a brilliant way to overcome this problem. Starting just with the school building itself, you’d look at it and never think it was a school. Instead, it’s more a like modern art museum – wonderfully light and airy. Experts from VERSTAS Architects made sure they moved well away from the typical dour design for a public school which we all can’t stand…

Infographic: IoT and the classroom of tomorrow — from cr80news.com by Andrew Hudson
Student IDs among list of most used smart devices on campus

Excerpt:

The classroom of tomorrow will undoubtedly employ more and more smart devices, and coupled with the Internet of Things (IoT) phenomenon, the way in which students learn could be very different in the not-so-distant future.

A new survey conducted by Extreme Networks reveals that while smart classrooms and schools only represent a small fraction of campuses today, the promise is there for the technology to redefine the academic experience going forward. There are K-12 schools and universities across the country that are already using the IoT to connect smart devices that can “talk” to one another for the purpose of enhancing the learning experience.

From DSC:
I look forward to the time when machine-to-machine communications and sensors will give faculty members the settings that they want setup/initiated as soon as they walk into a room (some of this is most likely already occurring somewhere else…just not on our campus yet!):

The front lights lower down 50% (as the professor had requested previously)
The front 80′ LCD — a smart/Internet connected device — display is turned on and brings up that specific course on the screen (having already signed into the cloud-based CMS/LMS upon that professor entering the room; the system has already queried the appropriate back end system to ascertain what that professor teaches at that particular time and place)
The window treatments are lowered all the way down for better viewing
The speakers play a previously scheduled song, or a spoken poem, or an announcement, or what the students should be doing for the first 5-10 minutes of class
Etc.

Also:

Attendance is automatic (this clearly is already here today and has been for a while).
Students could receive any handouts that the professor wanted to wait to deliver until that particular date and time — again, automatically
Students could upload content that they created — automatically to an electronic parking lot, for the professor or other students to review and comment on

Also see the infographic, a portion of which is seen below:

Love this VR of a classroom lesson – 7 uses that really takes you there — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpt:

I received a fascinating link via Twitter from Chris Edwards, a Deputy Head in Surrey, who was interested in views on his experiment with a 360 camera and VR. In the 360 degree video, Mike Kent, a Geography teacher, delivers a great lesson and you can look round the entire room as students and teacher move around, get things done, interact with the teacher and go through a Q&A session. It is fascinating. They’re using this approach for lesson observations allowing the teacher, or their colleagues, to watch it back in full Virtual Reality. This gives the teacher a view of themselves, from the student’s point of view, as well as observe ‘everything’ that happens in the classroom. It made me think of different possibilities…..

Good lessons by great teachers must surely be worth viewing by novice teachers. The rich set of processes, actions, behaviours, body language and interactions that go into a great lesson are complex, wonderfully captured in this example and could be done on any subject. A bank of such lessons would be far more useful than dry lesson plans.

From DSC:
Donald covers a range of ideas including using these 360 degree cameras and VR in regards to addressing:

Exemplar lessons
Teacher training in school
Behaviour training
Students
Parents
Class layout
Research

Also see:
(You can turn around/view the entire room and somewhat move about the space by zooming in and out):

Also see:

All of these images link to at PowerPoint Show — a roughly 39MB .ppsx file.

Examples:

Association for Learning Environments | 2016 Regional Award Winners and Commendations (Australia)

On 06/09/2016, in architecture, Australia, innovation, K-12 related, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, smart classrooms, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Association for Learning Environments | 2016 Regional Award Winners and Commendations

Excerpt:

OVERALL WINNER OF ALL CATEGORIES:
The Learning Project for CAULFIELD GRAMMAR SCHOOL by Hayball (in association with LEaRN, The University of Melbourne)

Also see:

How innovative design is changing the education landscape — from educatoronline.com.au by Brett Henebery

Brand new learning & social space at the heart of Northern Beaches Christian School (AU)

On 06/06/2016, in architecture, Australia, education, education reform, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

NBCS: The school of the future by WMK Architecture — from dexigner.com

Excerpt:

WMK Architecture has delivered a truly innovative approach to school design with its brand new learning and social space at the heart of Northern Beaches Christian School (NBCS) in Terrey Hills (Australia). The new educational facility is a world-class, open space designed to enable personal, authentic, and customised teaching. “Our aim is to make learning deep, engaging, relevant and fun,” said Stephen Harris, NBCS Principal. “We wanted a building that will inspire our students.” WMK’s design comprises a sequence of multi-level pavilion buildings beneath a spectacular 3,000 square metre intelligent living canopy which generates energy, harvests rainwater, and cools the spaces below.

“Our goal was to reinvent the notion of what a school building should be and create an environment that actively shapes a new culture for learning” — Greg Barnett, Managing Director, WMK Architecture

About NBCS:

Northern Beaches Christian School is one of a few worldwide examples of a school that demonstrates that change is both necessary and possible – a change in paradigm, in learning space design, in the way we empower students to take charge of their own learning. NBCS is a vibrant, independent, co-educational school in Terrey Hills (Sydney), offering a dynamic, student-centred education from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Our approach is a dual focus on learning and opportunity. We have been very intentional in fostering a culture of self-directed, student-led learning – growing students to be high-capacity leaders and creative thinkers. Strong, positive relationships are the cornerstone to learning at NBCS, with authentic community and true collaboration being the foundation on which learning is built.

Learning Ecosystems

DC: A piece of our future classrooms? Check out what the Syndey Opera House & Samsung are doing.

Planning & Designing Academic Library Learning Spaces: Expert Perspectives of Architects, Librarians, & Library Consultants

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