Top trends from InfoComm 2017 — from inavateonthenet.net
AV over IP and huddle rooms are two key takeaways from InfoComm as Paul Milligan wraps up the 2017 show.
On 06/24/2017,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, innovation, learning hubs, learning spaces, television, tools, vendors, videoconferencing,
by Daniel Christian
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On 06/23/2017,
in 21st century, adjunct faculty, adult learning, blended learning, blogs / blogging, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning from the living [class] room, learning spaces, liberal arts, Lifelong learning, Michigan, Microlearning, Mobile learning, more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, professional development, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision, Walmart of Education --> New Amazon.com of Higher Education, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
With a passion for helping #highered leverage #edtech, @dchristian5 is a 2017 Must-Read! https://t.co/e7cqFqynBW
— EdTech Higher Ed (@EdTech_HigherEd) June 22, 2017
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On 06/23/2017,
in bots, business, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, experimentation, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, tools, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
After reading the item below, I wondered:
Should technical communicators, trainers, and help desk personnel get trained on how to design and develop “workbots?”
Forget chatbots — you should create a workbot instead — from venturebeat.com by Oren Ariel; with thanks to Thomas Frey for his tweet on this
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
But what about employee-to-company interaction through bots? Chatbots designed for the work environment, or workbots, could become the next step function in work productivity.
…
Workbots could be the cure for what’s often called “app fatigue.”
They work within the corporate messenger environment (such as Jabber, Skype for Business, Slack, and others) and respond to commands and questions in natural language, whether typed or dictated. They have access to all the corporate information needed to get the job done and can perform complex tasks across multiple systems. The workbot knows what tasks are executed in which back-end system, so the user doesn’t have to know. Because bots rely on natural language processing (NLP) — the ability of humans to interact with computers using free-form language — workbots can help an employee get to the starting point quickly and without any training, in the same way a search engine would, and then help guide the user through the task in a step-by-step fashion.
Chat is no longer just about communication, it’s about bringing the user information.
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On 06/23/2017,
in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, emerging technologies, future, Languages and translation, tools, vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces,
by Daniel Christian
When AI can transcribe everything — from theatlantic.com by Greg Noone
Tech companies are rapidly developing tools to save people from the drudgery of typing out conversations—and the impact could be profound.
Excerpt:
Despite the recent emergence of browser-based transcription aids, transcription’s an area of drudgery in the modern Western economy where machines can’t quite squeeze human beings out of the equation. That is until last year, when Microsoft built one that could.
Automatic speech recognition, or ASR, is an area that has gripped the firm’s chief speech scientist, Xuedong Huang, since he entered a doctoral program at Scotland’s Edinburgh University. “I’d just left China,” he says, remembering the difficulty he had in using his undergraduate knowledge of the American English to parse the Scottish brogue of his lecturers. “I wished every lecturer and every professor, when they talked in the classroom, could have subtitles.”
…
“That’s the thing with transcription technology in general,” says Prenger. “Once the accuracy gets above a certain bar, everyone will probably start doing their transcriptions that way, at least for the first several rounds.” He predicts that, ultimately, automated transcription tools will increase both the supply of and the demand for transcripts. “There could be a virtuous circle where more people expect more of their audio that they produce to be transcribed, because it’s now cheaper and easier to get things transcribed quickly. And so, it becomes the standard to transcribe everything.”
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On 06/22/2017,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility, adult learning, algorithms, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, assessment, assistive technologies, attention, augmented reality, Blackboard, Blockchain, blogs / blogging, bots, Bring your own device (BYOD), business side of he, career development, change, Christian education, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, cognitive computing, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, computer science, content development, content repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, data mining, 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, 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, iPad, iPhone, K-12 related, Languages and translation, learning, Learning Agents, learning ecosystem, learning from the living [class] room, learning hubs, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, Lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, Microlearning, Microsoft, Mobile learning, more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Near Field Communication (NFC), 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, tvOS-based apps, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), universities, user experience, Using teams, UX, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, virtual reality / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, Walmart of Education --> New Amazon.com of Higher Education, 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.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.
![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)
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
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On 06/15/2017,
in attention, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Facebook, innovation, library / librarians, society, teaching & learning, Technologies for your home, tools, United States, user experience, UX, vendors, virtual reality / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
Oculus Education Pilot Kicks Off in 90 California Libraries — from oculus.com
Excerpt:
Books, like VR, open the door to new possibilities and let us experience worlds that would otherwise be beyond reach. Today, we’re excited to bring the two together through a new partnership with the California State Library. This pilot program will place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state, letting even more people step inside VR and see themselves as part of the revolution.
“It’s pretty cool to imagine how many people will try VR for the very first time—and have that ‘wow’ moment—in their local libraries,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “We hope early access will cause many people to feel excited and empowered to move beyond just experiencing VR and open their minds to the possibility of one day joining the industry.”
Also see:
Oculus Brings Rift to 90 Libraries in California for Public Access VR — from roadtovr.com by Dominic Brennan
Excerpt:
Oculus has announced a pilot program to place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state of California, from the Oregon border down to Mexico. Detailed on the Oculus Blog, the new partnership with the California State Library hopes to highlight the educational potential of VR, as well as provide easy access to VR hardware within the heart of local communities.
“Public libraries provide safe, supportive environments that are available and welcoming to everyone,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “They help level the playing field by providing educational opportunities and access to technology that may not be readily available in the community households. Libraries share the love—at scale.”
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On 06/13/2017,
in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, Asia, Australia, Canada, cognitive computing, collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, education technology, emerging technologies, Europe, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, Languages and translation, learning from the living [class] room, Mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, Natural Language Processing (NLP), online learning, online tutoring, platforms, Technologies for your home, tools, UK, United States, user experience, UX, vendors, videoconferencing, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Australian start-up taps IBM Watson to launch language translation earpiece — from prnewswire.com
World’s first available independent translation earpiece, powered by AI to be in the hands of consumers by July
Excerpts:
SYDNEY, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Lingmo International, an Australian technology start-up, has today launched Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson that can efficiently translate spoken conversations within seconds, being the first of its kind to hit global markets next month.
…
Unveiled at last week’s United Nations Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Good Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, the Translate One2One earpiece supports translations across English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Chinese. Available to purchase today for delivery in July, the earpiece carries a price tag of $179 USD, and is the first independent translation device that doesn’t rely on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Lingmo International, an Australian technology start-up, has today launched Translate One2One, an earpiece powered by IBM Watson that can efficiently translate spoken conversations within seconds.
From DSC:
How much longer before this sort of technology gets integrated into videoconferencing and transcription tools that are used in online-based courses — enabling global learning at a scale never seen before? (Or perhaps NLP-based tools are already being integrated into global MOOCs and the like…not sure.) It would surely allow for us to learn from each other in a variety of societies throughout the globe.
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On 06/12/2017,
in 21st century, algorithms, analytics, blended learning, change, colleges, community colleges, data mining, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, face-to-face, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, learning, learning ecosystem, Media/film, online learning, pedagogy, platforms, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, technology (general), tools, trends, universities, user experience, UX, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
The Classroom of Tomorrow: A Panel Discussion — sponsored by Kaltura
Description:
Technology is changing the way we approach education, rapidly. But what will tomorrow’s classroom actually look like? We’ve invited some leading experts for a spirited debate about what the future holds for educational institutions. From personalization to predictive analytics to portable digital identities, we’ll explore the biggest changes coming. We’ll see how new technologies might interact with changing demographics, business models, drop out rates, and more.
Panelists:
- David Nirenberg – Dean of the Division of the Social Sciences, University of Chicago
- Rick Kamal – Chief Technology Officer, Harvard Business School, HBX
- Gordon Freedman – President, National Laboratory for Education Transformation
- Michael Markowitz – Entrepreneur and Investor, Education
- Dr Michal Tsur – Co-founder and President, Kaltura
Also see:
- Roadmap to the Future — by Dr Michal Tsur – Co-founder and President, Kaltura
What are some of the leading trends emerging from the educational technology space? Michal Tsur takes you on a quick tour of big trends you should be aware of. Then, get a glimpse of Kaltura’s own roadmap for lecture capture and more.
Regarding the above items, some thoughts from DSC:
Kaltura did a nice job of placing the focus on a discussion about the future of the classroom as well as on some trends to be aware of, and not necessarily on their own company (this was especially the case in regards to the panel discussion). They did mention some things about their newest effort, Kaltura Lecture Capture, but this was kept to a very reasonable amount.
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On 06/06/2017,
in Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, career development, change, corporate / business world, Microsoft, Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, social learning / networks, social media, streams of content, student-related, tools, trends, twitter, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
In reviewing the item below, I wondered:
How should students — as well as Career Services Groups/Departments within institutions of higher education — respond to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in peoples’ job searches?
My take on it? Each student needs to have a solid online-based footprint — such as offering one’s own streams of content via a WordPress-based blog, one’s Twitter account, and one’s LinkedIn account. That is, each student has to be out there digitally, not just physically. (Though I suspect having face-to-face conversations and interactions will always be an incredibly powerful means of obtaining jobs as well. But if this trend picks up steam, one’s online-based footprint becomes all the more important to finding work.)
How AI is changing your job hunt — from by Jennifer Alsever
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
The solution appeared in the form of artificial intelligence software from a young company called Interviewed. It speeds the vetting process by providing online simulations of what applicants might do on their first day as an employee. The software does much more than grade multiple-choice questions. It can capture not only so-called book knowledge but also more intangible human qualities. It uses natural-language processing and machine learning to construct a psychological profile that predicts whether a person will fit a company’s culture. That includes assessing which words he or she favors—a penchant for using “please” and “thank you,” for example, shows empathy and a possible disposition for working with customers—and measuring how well the applicant can juggle conversations and still pay attention to detail. “We can look at 4,000 candidates and within a few days whittle it down to the top 2% to 3%,” claims Freedman, whose company now employs 45 people. “Forty-eight hours later, we’ve hired someone.” It’s not perfect, he says, but it’s faster and better than the human way.
It isn’t just startups using such software; corporate behemoths are implementing it too. Artificial intelligence has come to hiring.
Predictive algorithms and machine learning are fast emerging as tools to identify the best candidates.
Addendum on 6/7/17:
Career site Workey raises $8M 2replace headhunters w/ #AI https://t.co/Efi9nvNGGu DC:A foreshadowing or a continuing trend? Either way..
…— Daniel Christian (@dchristian5) June 7, 2017
Addendum on 6/15/17:
- Want a job? It may be time to have a chat with a bot — from sfchronicle.com by Nicholas Cheng
Excerpt:
“The future is AI-based recruitment,” Mya CEO Eyal Grayevsky said. Candidates who were being interviewed through a chat couldn’t tell that they were talking to a bot, he added — even though the company isn’t trying to pass its bot off as human.A 2015 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research surveyed 300,000 people and found that those who were hired by a machine, using algorithms to match them to a job, stayed in their jobs 15 percent longer than those who were hired by human recruiters.
A report by the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that more than half of human resources jobs may be lost to automation, though it did not give a time period for that shift.
“Recruiting jobs will definitely go away,” said John Sullivan, who teaches management at San Francisco State University.
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On 06/06/2017,
in Adobe, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, education technology, productivity / tips and tricks, tools,
by Daniel Christian
Adobe Scan can turn any document into an editable PDF (and it’s free!) — from interestingengineering.com
Excerpts:
Adobe is launching Adobe Scan, a brand new mobile application that makes converting paper documents to editable PDF files fast and simple.
…
To develop the app Adobe invested heavily in the company’s machine learning and AI platform, Sensai.
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