Google has shipped over 1 million Cardboard VR units — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington

Excerpt:

Google revealed today that Cardboard has quietly become the leading VR platform in terms of platform reach – over 1 million Cardboard units have shipped to users so far, a 100 percent increase on the 500,000 milestone it announced in December last year.

Cardboard’s progression is a testament to Google’s approach, which favors simplicity and low barriers to entry instead of freaky real verisimilitude and expensive, high-powered hardware. Google first revealed Cardboard at last year’s I/O event, throwing it out there almost as an afterthought and a seeming subtle dig at Facebook’s high-priced acquisition of Oculus VR.

 

 

Google’s Project Brillo is an OS for the home — and a lot more — from computerworld.com by Zach Miners

Excerpt:

Google has made a big play for the Internet of Things, announcing a new OS on Thursday that will connect appliances around the home and allow them to be controlled from an Android smartphone or tablet.

Dubbed Project Brillo, it’s a stripped down version of Google’s Android OS that will run on door locks, ovens, heating systems and other devices that have a small memory footprint, and allow them to communicate and work together.

 

Google takes another shot at mobile payments with Android Pay — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Russell

Excerpt:

At its I/O developer conference today, Google announced Android Pay, a new payments solution native to its mobile operating system. In addition to making it easier to pay at a merchant’s point of sale via NFC, the new system lets merchants integrate payments directly into their apps for selling physical goods and services using an Android Pay API rather than integrating a third-party provider like Venmo or PayPal.

 

Google launches Android M preview with fingerprint scanner support, Android Pay, improved permissions and battery life
— from techcrunch.com by Frederic Lardinois

Excerpt:

As expected, Google today announced the developer preview release of the next version of Android at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco. With Android M (which will get its full name once it’s released to users), Google focuses mostly on fit and finish, but the company also added a number of new features to its mobile operating system. It’s no surprise that Android M won’t feature any major new design elements. The last release, Android Lollipop, introduced Google’s Material Design language, after all, and there are still plenty of developers who haven’t even migrated their apps over.

 

Android M will be able to give you contextual info about what’s happening in your Android Apps — from techcrunch.com by Frederic Lardinois

Excerpt:

Google Now has long helped Android users get timely information about local traffic, movies that are playing locally and other information based on their commutes, browsing history and other data. With Android M, which Google announced today, the Now service is getting even smarter and more contextual. When you tap and hold the home button in Android M, Google will grab the information from the application you are using at that moment and Now will try to give you the right contextual information about what you are looking at in that app. Google Calls This ‘Google Now on Tap.’

 

Chromecast gets autoplay, queuing, second screen and multiplayer game powers — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington

Excerpt:

Google’s Chromecast is a quiet little media secret agent turning the search giant into a big time home entertainment player. All told, users of Cast-enabled software have hit the little button to put their small-screen content up on the big screen a total of 1.5 billion times in the U.S. alone, and Chromecast floats other Google boats, too – users increase their YouTube viewing time by 45 percent on average once they start using the device, for instance.

Chromecast (and Cast-enabled devices, including the Nexus Player and the Nvidia Shield) is about to get more powerful, thanks to a handful of new features announced at I/O this year. These new abilities turn the streamer into a much more robust media device, making it easy to see how Cast could underpin the home theater or media room of the near future. Here’s what Chromecast developers and users can look forward to coming out of this year’s show:

 

Google Play gets more family-friendly with content ratings, filtering by age and interest — from techcrunch.com by Sarah Perez

Excerpt:

In April, Google announced a new developer-facing program called “Designed for Families” which allowed mobile app publishers the option to undergo an additional review in order to be included in a new section focused on kids’ apps within Google Play. Today, the company officially unveiled that section — or sections, as it turns out — at its I/O developer conference.

Parents searching Google’s mobile app store will now be able to tap on a new “Family” button indicated with a green, smiley faced star icon in order to find the family-friendly content across apps, games, movies and TV homepages.

There’s also a “Children’s Books” button on the Books homepage, where parents can also filter the selection by age range and genre.

 

Google’s new Cloud Test Lab lets Android developers quickly test their apps on top Android devices for free — from techcrunch.com by Frederic Lardinois

Excerpt:

Google launched a new project at its I/O developer conference today that will make it easier for developers to check how their mobile apps work on twenty of the most popular Android devices from around the world. Sadly, the service will only roll out to developers later this year, but if you are interested, you can sign up to join the pilot program here.

It’s no secret that the diverse Android ecosystem makes life harder for developers, given that they can’t simply test their apps on a small number of popular devices and assume that everything will run smoothly for all users. Most developers keep a few phones and tablets handy to test their apps on, but few have access to a wide variety of recent devices to test every revision of their apps on.

 

google-io-20150241

 

 

Google Photos breaks free of Google+, now offers free, unlimited storage — from techcrunch.com by Sarah Perez

Excerpt:

Google officially announced its long-rumored revamp of its photo-sharing service, Google Photos, at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco today. The killer feature? Users can now backup up full-resolution photos and videos – up to 16MP for photos and 1080p for videos – to Google’s cloud for free. The service will roll out to Android, iOS and web users starting today, the company says.

The free storage option makes more sense for those with point-and-shoot cameras, and lets you keep a copy of your photos that’s good for your typical printing and photo-sharing needs. However, those with DSLR cameras or who want to store their photos and videos in their original sizes can choose a different plan which taps into your Google Account’s 15 GB of free storage. This is what was available before, and you can add to your storage quota as needed for a fee.

 

Android developer news from Google I/O 2015 — from lynda.com by David Gassner

Excerpt:

The keynote featured a smorgasbord of new technologies and additions/improvements to existing platforms. A stream of presenters followed each other across the stage, each talking about what was new for 2015. They covered Android, Chrome, and Chromebooks, virtual reality, 360-degree camera arrays, a stripped-down version of Android for the internet of things, and many other geeky new toys. Here’s what’s coming to an Android device or Android developer workstation near you.

Google I/O 2015: How context is slowly killing off the mobile app menu — from zdnet.com by Kevin Tofel
Summary: Google’s new Now On Tap feature, coming with Android M, shows a future where you don’t hunt through home screens and menus to find an app. The right apps come to you.

 

From DSC:
In watching the video below, note how this presenter is able to initiate cameras/feeds/effects with a touch of a button (so to speak). What if recording studios could be setup for professors, teachers, and trainers to use like this?  It could be sharp — especially given the movement towards flipping the classroom and implementing active learning based environments.


 

 

 

From DSC:
The articles below illustrate the continued convergence of multiple technologies and means of communication. For example, what we consider “TV” is changing rapidly. As this space changes, I’m looking for new opportunities and affordances that would open up exciting new approaches and avenues for educationally-related learning experiences.


 

Hootsuite and Tagboard team up to power social TV workflow — from adweek.com by Kimberlee Morrison

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

More and more TV viewers are engaging with second screen devices while they watch broadcasts. A new partnership between Hootsuite and Tagboard hopes to bridge the gap between television and second screen social experiences.

Tagboard is a social media aggregation and curation platform that allows users to manage incoming social media posts for display, either on television broadcasts, or on screens at live events, and Hootsuite is a social media campaign management program. Their partnership enables integration for mutual users for real-time engagement.

 

 

Capture social content on display and TV with Hootsuite and Tagboard — from blog.hootsuite.com

Excerpt:

Adding social content to live TV broadcasts and sports games is a proven way to capture and keep your audience’s attention.

But the process isn’t that easy. For one, digital teams need to ensure that they review each piece of content (to keep it safe for the big screen), and this can create complicated and slow social media workflows.

To help streamline this process, Hootsuite has integrated with Tagboard, an innovative social media display tool, to provide an easy way to capture social content and incorporate it into on-air broadcasts, live event screens, or on digital platforms.

With the Tagboard app for Hootsuite, your team can put relevant and timely social content on air within seconds—when it matters most to the viewer.

KUSA Weather Touchscreen 2 women anchors.png

 

Introducing the Tagboard App for Hootsuite — from blog.tagboard.com
Social TV is easier than ever with Tagboard’s new app for Hootsuite

 

 

 

 

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

 

What does ‘learning’ have to learn from Netflix? — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpts:

Of course, young people are watching way less TV these days, TV is dying, and when they do watch stuff, it’s streamed, at a time that suits them. Education has to learn from this. I’m not saying that we need to replace all of our existing structures but moving towards understanding what the technology can deliver and what learners want (they shape each other) is worth investigation. Hence some reflections on Netflix.

Areas discussed:

  • Timeshifting
  • Data driven delivery — Netflix’ recommendations engine
  • Data driven content
  • Content that’s accessible via multiple kinds of devices
  • Going global

 

From DSC:
I just wanted to add a few thoughts here:

  1. The areas of micro-credentials, nano-degrees, services like stackup.net, big data, etc. may come to play a role with what Donald is talking about here.
  2. I appreciate Donald’s solid, insightful perspectives and his thinking out loud — some great thoughts in that posting (as usual)
  3. Various technologies seem to be making progress as we move towards a future where learning platforms will be able to deliver a personalized learning experience; as digital learning playlists and educationally-related recommendation engines become more available/sophisticated, highly-customized learning experiences should be within reach.
  4. At a recent Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference, one of the speakers stated, “People are control freaks — so let them have more control.”  Along these lines…ultimately, what makes this vision powerful is having more choice, more control.

 

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC

 

 

 

Also, some other graphics come to my mind:

 

MakingTVMorePersonal-V-NetTV-April2014

 

EducationServiceOfTheFutureApril2014

 

 

 

NHL-VirtualReality-WatchFromAnySeat-3-14-15

Excerpt:

AUSTIN, TX – Virtual reality is featured prominently at South By Southwest Sports this year, from using it to better train athletes with Oculus Rift to how it could transform the fan experience watching basketball, football and hockey at home.

The NHL had its first successful test of a 360-degree virtual reality experience at its Stadium Series game between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings last month, mounting cameras around the glass that filmed HD images in the round.

 

 

NBA-VirtualReality-WatchFromAnySeat-3-14-15

Excerpt:

When basketball lovers aren’t able to trek to stadiums near and far to follow their favorite teams, it’s possible that watching games on a bar’s widescreen TV from behind bowls of wings is the next best thing. This may no longer be true, however, as a wave of court-side, 3D virtual game experiences is becoming available to superfans with Oculus gear.

Earlier this month, NextVR showed off its new enhanced spectator experiences at the 2015 NBA All-Star Technology Summit with virtual reality (VR) footage of an October 2014 Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers match-up in Rio de Janeiro. The NBA also already announced plans to record VR sessions of the NBA All-Star Game, the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and the Sprite Slam Dunk event and practice.

 

NEXTVR-March2015

 

 

OculusRift-InSportsSXSW-2015

 

 

 

From DSC:
In the future, will you be able to “pull up a seat” at any lecture — throughout the globe — that you want to?

 

 



 

Alternatively, another experiment might relate to second screening lectures — i.e., listening to the lecture on the main/large screen — in your home or office — and employing social-based learning/networking going on via a mobile device.

Consider this article:

TV-friendly social network Twitter is testing a new Social TV service on iPhones which provides users with content and interaction about only one TV show at a time.

The aim is to give users significantly better engagement with their favourite shows than they presently experience when they follow a live broadcast via a Twitter hashtag.

This radical innovation in Social TV design effectively curates just relevant content (screening out irrelevant tweets that use a show’s hashtag) and presents it in an easy-to-use interface.

If successful, the TV Timeline feature will better position Twitter as it competes with Facebook to partner with the television industry and tap advertising revenue related to TV programming.

 

AppleWatch-3-9-15

 

 

AppleResearchKit-3-9-15

 

 

Also see:

 

RobotsOpenUpWorldOfArt-March2015

 

With a special thanks to Krista Spahr,
Senior Instructional Designer at Calvin College,
for this resource

 

Description:

March 1, 2015 | The De Young, one of San Francisco’s fine art museums, now has two robots that open the museum up to those who cannot attend, including the physically handicapped. John Blackstone reports on the state-of-the-art in museum tour guides, and interviews robotics activist Henry Evans, a former Silicon Valley executive who is now almost completely paralyzed, and who worked with the museum to make touring by robot a reality.

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision2015

 

Example snapshots from
Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision

 

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision2-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision3-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision5-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision6-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision7-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision8-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision4-2015

 

 

 

From DSC:
Check out some of the functionality in these solutions. Then imagine if these solutions were in the size of an entire wall in a classroom or in a corporate L&D facility. Whew!

  • Some serious opportunities for collaboration would arise for remote learners –as well as those located in the face-to-face setting
  • What new affordances would be present for those teaching in K-12, higher ed, or trainers working within the training/learning and development fields? Conversations/discussions would be recorded — to be picked up at the next session. In the meantime, learners could review the discussions at their own pace.
  • What if all of this were possible in your future Smart/Connected TV?
  • I’m also talking here about a vendor that could offer solutions that K-12 systems and institutions of higher ed could afford; some of the solutions below have much of what I’m envisioning here, but are out of the price range. Or the product is multitouch and fairly large, but it doesn’t offer the collaborative features of some of the other products here.

 


 

mezzanine-feb-2015

 


 

Feb2015-AstecSenseTable-InteractiveDisplay

 

 


ideum-feb2015

 

ideumPresenter-feb2015

Ideum’s touch walls come close to what I’m talking about in this posting. If they could add some functionality for seeing/bringing in/collaborating with remote learners — as found in Mezzanine — then that would be great!

Also see:

 

Also see bluescape — but these excellent, innovative solutions are out of the price range for most K-12 and higher ed institutions:

 

bluescape-1-feb-2015

 

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

Excerpt:

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

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

 

 

————–

SkypeTranslatorPreview-Dec152014

 

SkypeTranslatorPreview3-Dec152014

 

SkypeTranslatorPreview4-Dec152014

 

SkypeTranslatorPreview5-Dec152014

 

4 ways technology can make your music lessons sing — from thejournal.com by David Raths
New tech tools that give students control over their music also inspire them to create and innovate.

Excerpt:

Russell can send students audio recordings that they can play along with as they practice. His students can use a music-writing app such as Notion to make their own practice tracks and compose their own songs. “That is a complete redefinition of what you do with students,” he said. “It was inconceivable before they had these devices.”

Russell said he is also excited about a relatively new app called NotateMe, which allows him to write musical notation and convert it to digital notation. The app also allows you to take a picture of a score and convert it to digital music.

But now with tools such as NoteFlight, second- and third-graders can create wonderful melodic compositions and play them on their recorder,” she said.

Pirzer now uses her Epson BrightLink interactive projector in conjunction with Smart Notebook collaborative learning software and apps such as TonalEnergy Tuner, which lets users understand and improve every aspect of their sound.

 

 

How to find free music for videos — from mccoyproductions.net by Jason McCoy <– Jason’s posting includes 31 Amazing Sites With Free Creative Commons Music

Excerpt:

If you’re embarking on a video project, perhaps an explainer video, podcast, school project or video presentation, using the right production music can be the key to successfully drawing your viewers in; but finding the perfect song can seem a daunting task.

Of course you could commission a track to be composed especially for you, but that can run into tens of thousands of dollars.

Luckily, there are plenty of places available for you to find free music for your video project, but where can you get it from and how do you know if you have the legal right to use it for your project?

 

 

Music Notation on the iPad – NotateMe Rules! — from ipadmusiced.wordpress.com by

Excerpt:

I’ve just got to mention the fact that the NotateMe app combined with the PhotoScore plug-in is an absolutely astounding tool!

THE SCENARIO –
I’ve got a contra-alto clarinet player and I really want her to play lower notes then what is written on the Baritone Sax part.

 

 

Automatic Music Generator Jukedeck Wins Le Web Startup Competition — from techcrunch.com by Mike Butcher

Excerpt:

London-based JukeDeck has received a small seed funding round for its platform which literally composes original music based on a user’s settings, giving video creators, games developers and other users a simple way of sourcing music. This might be based on the actions inside a video or a game, without any human intervention. The idea is that it’s “responsive music software”. It doesn’t use loops, but writes the music note by note, as a composer would.

This means it can, say its makers, create an unlimited amount of unique, copyright-free music, and users can choose the music’s style and what should happen in the music at various points. The first market will be for user-generated videos. The idea here is not to compete with human composers but to produce machine-made music that is listenable and eventually malleable by real musicians.

 

 

 

From DSC:
Then there’s an idea I had about being able to hear whichever parts you want to hear as you practice a piece of music. Don’t have a piano? No problem. You can’t play the piano even if you do have access to one? No problem. Want to hear just the tenor and alto parts?  No problem.  Want to hear just your bass part?  No problem.  Want to hear all parts together?  No problem.  Jump to measure 121?  No problem.  Publishers of music could provide music recorded in parts and let you select which part(s) you want to play and hear.

 

ChoirPracticeByDanielSChristian

 

 

 

Addendum on 12/15/14:

 

LearningNowTV-Nov2014

 


From their website:
(emphasis DSC)

LEARNING NOW tv is a live-streamed internet tv channel bringing you inspirational interviews, debates and round tables, and advice and guidance on real world issues to keep you up-to date in the world of learning and development.

Membership to the channel is FREE. You will be able to interact with us on our social channel during the live stream as well as having a resource of the recorded programmes to refer to throughout the year.

Learning Now tv is run and produced by some of the L&D world’s leading experts who have many years’ experience of reporting the real-world issues for today’s learning and development professionals.

 

I originally saw this at Clive Sheperd’s posting:
TV very much alive for learning professionals

 

 

Also see:

 

MYOB-July2014

 

 

 

 

This new service makes me think of some related graphics:

 

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

StreamsOfContent-DSC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Addendum on 12/2/14 — from Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie – December 2, 2014 | #857

Idea – Courses in the Air:
There were representatives from airlines, Aviation Authorities and even Panasonic – which makes the interactive movie and TV systems on long distance airplanes.  So, I rolled out one of my “aha ideas” that I would love to see invented sometime: Courses in the Air.

What if a passenger could choose to take a mini-course on a 4 to 14 hour flight. It would be a MOOC in the Sky – with video, reading and interactive elements – and someday might even include a real time video chat function as well.  The learner could strive to earn a “badge” or roll them up into a certificate or degree program – that they pursued over several years of flights.  It would be an intriguing element to add to international travel.

 

Millennials move TV content beyond the TV set — from statista.com by Felix Richter

Excerpt:

 

Infographic: Millennials Move TV Content Beyond the TV Set | Statista

You will find more statistics at Statista

From DSC:
Why post this here?

Because as expectations around where people are going to get their entertainment-related content change, so will new doors open for where they will get their educationally-related content.

.

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

 

Living social: How second screens are helping TV make fans — from nielsensocial.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Television viewing used to be an experience strictly between viewer and show, with water cooler talk coming the day after. The rise of social TV has changed that relationship, and according to a study by Nielsen, more and more Americans are quickly warming up to this new behavior. With tablets, smartphones and laptops at their side, TV viewers can follow their favorite shows, share content and connect with fellow fans before, during and after a program.

 

 

 

 

From DSC:
Instead of TV/entertainment-oriented programs, how about a service that offers cloud-based, scaffolded streams of content that are more educational/training-related in nature, complete with digital playlists of interactive content that can be offered up on the main display, while lifelong learners interact and discuss the content via their PLNs, cohorted groups of learners within their learning hubs, etc.?

 

 

 

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

 

Reflections on “C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom” [Dreier]

C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom — from streamingmedia.com by Troy Dreier
Business leaders now have an on-demand video network to call their own, thanks to one Bloomberg host’s online venture.

Excerpt:

Bringing some business acumen to the world of online video, C-Suite TV is launching today. Created by Bloomberg TV host and author Jeffrey Hayzlett, the on-demand video network offers interviews with and shows about business execs. It promises inside information on business trends and the discussions taking place in the biggest boardrooms.

 

MYOB-July2014

 

The Future of TV is here for the C-Suite — from hayzlett.com by Jeffrey Hayzlett

Excerpt:

Rather than wait for networks or try and gain traction through the thousands of cat videos, we went out and built our own network.

 

 

See also:

  • Mind your own business
    From the About page:
    C-Suite TV is a web-based digital on-demand business channel featuring interviews and shows with business executives, thought leaders, authors and celebrities providing news and information for business leaders. C-Suite TV is your go-to resource to find out the inside track on trends and discussions taking place in businesses today. This online channel will be home to such shows as C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett, MYOB – Mind Your Own Business and Bestseller TV with more shows to come.

 

 

From DSC:
The above items took me back to the concept of Learning from the Living [Class] Room.

Many of the following bullet points are already happening — but what I’m trying to influence/suggest is to bring all of them together in a powerful, global, 24 x 7 x 365, learning ecosystem:

  • When our “TVs” become more interactive…
  • When our mobile devices act as second screens and when second screen-based apps are numerous…
  • When discussion boards, forums, social media, assignments, assessments, and videoconferencing capabilities are embedded into our Smart/Connected TVs and are also available via our mobile devices…
  • When education is available 24 x 7 x 365…
  • When even the C-Suite taps into such platforms…
  • When education and entertainment are co-mingled…
  • When team-based educational content creation and delivery are mainstream…
  • When self-selecting Communities of Practice thrive online…
  • When Learning Hubs combine the best of both worlds (online and face-to-face)…
  • When Artificial Intelligence, powerful cognitive computing capabilities (i.e., IBM’s Watson), and robust reporting mechanisms are integrated into the backends…
  • When lifelong learners have their own cloud-based profiles…
  • When learners can use their “TVs” to tap into interactive, multimedia-based streams of content of their choice…
  • When recommendation engines are offered not just at Netflix but also at educationally-oriented sites…
  • When online tutoring and intelligent tutoring really take off…

…then I’d say we’ll have a powerful, engaging, responsive, global education platform.

 

 

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

 

 

 
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