usability

Specialists central to high-quality, engaging online programming [Christian]

On 06/20/2016, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), bots, changing business models, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, Michigan, Mixed Reality (MR), mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, pace of change, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, social learning / networks, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, transmedia, trends, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, web design and production, web-based collaboration, writing, by Daniel Christian

Specialists central to high-quality, engaging online programming — from EvoLLLution.com (where the LLL stands for lifelong learning) by Daniel Christian

Excerpts:

Creating high-quality online courses is getting increasingly complex—requiring an ever-growing set of skills. Faculty members can’t do it all, nor can instructional designers, nor can anyone else. As time goes by, new entrants and alternatives to traditional institutions of higher education will likely continue to appear on the higher education landscape—the ability to compete will be key.

…

For example, will there be a need for the following team members in your not-too-distant future?

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Specialists: those with knowledge of how to leverage Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) in order to create fun and engaging learning experiences (while still meeting the learning objectives)
Data Scientists
Artificial Intelligence Integrators
Cognitive Computing Specialists
Intelligent Tutoring Developers
Learning Agent Developers
Algorithm Developers
Personalized Learning Specialists
Cloud-based Learner Profile Administrators
Transmedia Designers
Social Learning Experts

If the future of TV is apps, and if bots are the new apps, does that mean that the future of TV is bots…?

On 06/16/2016, in 21st century, Apple, bots, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, ideas, Microsoft, smart/connected TV, tools, trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
If the future of TV is apps > and if bots are the new apps > does that mean that the future of TV is bots…?

bots-are-loving-you-9-638

New forms of HCI raise numerous career-related and curriculum-related questions for us [Christian]

On 06/03/2016, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, business, career development, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, languages and translation, learning, lifelong learning, professional development, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Questions from DSC:

Which jobs/positions are being impacted by new forms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI)?
What new jobs/positions will be created by these new forms of HCI?
Will it be necessary for instructional technologists, instructional designers, teachers, professors, trainers, coaches, learning space designers, and others to pulse check this landscape? Will that be enough?
Or will such individuals need to dive much deeper than that in order to build the necessary skillsets, understandings, and knowledgebases to meet the new/changing expectations for their job positions?
How many will say, “No thanks, that’s not for me” — causing organizations to create new positions that do dive deeply in this area?
Will colleges and universities build and offer more courses involving HCI?
Will Career Services Departments get up to speed in order to help students carve out careers involving new forms of HCI?
How will languages and language translation be impacted by voice recognition software?
Will new devices be introduced to our classrooms in the future?
In the corporate space, how will training departments handle these new needs and opportunities? How will learning & development groups be impacted? How will they respond in order to help the workforce get/be prepared to take advantage of these sorts of technologies? What does it mean for these staffs personally? Do they need to invest in learning more about these advancements?

As an example of what I’m trying to get at here, who all might be involved with an effort like Echo Dot? What types of positions created it? Who all could benefit from it? What other platforms could these technologies be integrated into? Besides the home, where else might we find these types of devices?

Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses the same far-field voice recognition as Amazon Echo. Dot has a small built-in speaker—it can also connect to your speakers over Bluetooth or with the included audio cable. Dot connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more—instantly.

Echo Dot can hear you from across the room, even while music is playing. When you want to use Echo Dot, just say the wake word “Alexa” and Dot responds instantly. If you have more than one Echo or Echo Dot, you can set a different wake word for each—you can pick “Amazon”, “Alexa” or “Echo” as the wake word.

Or how might students learn about the myriad of technologies involved with IBM’s Watson? What courses are out there today that address this type of thing? Are more courses in the works that will address this type of thing? In which areas (Computer Science, User Experience Design, Interaction Design, other)?

Lots of questions…but few answers at this point. Still, given the increasing pace of technological change, it’s important that we think about this type of thing and become more responsive, nimble, and adaptive in our organizations and in our careers.

Amazon now lets you test drive Echo’s Alexa in your browser — from by Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Excerpt:

If you’ve ever wanted to try out the Amazon Echo before shelling out for one, you can now do just that right from your browser. Amazon has launched a dedicated website where you can try out an Echo simulation and put Alexa’s myriad of skills to the test.

From DSC:
The use of the voice and gesture to communicate to some type of computing device or software program represent growing types of Human Computer Interaction (HCI). With the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), personal assistants, and bots, we should expect to see more voice recognition services/capabilities baked into an increasing amount of products and solutions in the future.

Given these trends, personnel working within K-12 and higher ed need to start building their knowledgebases now so that we can begin offering more courses in the near future to help students build their skillsets. Current user experience designers, interface designers, programmers, graphic designers, and others will also need to augment their skillsets.

Microsoft Build: the 10 most important announcements — from theverge.com by Ben Popper and Dieter Bohn
Here come the bots!

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Every year, Microsoft holds a developer event called “Build.” And recently, those events have gone from snoozers to exciting showcases. Microsoft has a winner with Windows 10 (as long as you ignore the phones), a robust personal assistant in Cortana (that works just fine on a laptop), and a wild holographic future to plan with HoloLens. It’s a lot to take in, and at this year’s Build Microsoft we got updates on all of it. And a few surprises.

Going in, we weren’t totally sure what would be coming next for Windows 10, but it turns out there’s a lot that Microsoft has planned. It’s not just that there are new apps, there are also new bots, which will help people handle all sorts of small tasks. In fact, those bots and Microsoft’s vision of how they should work stole the entire show. Windows, Xbox: you’re cool, but the future is bots.

Why Microsoft wants to help developers build bots — from pcworld.com by Blair Hanley Frank
Conversations are cross-platform and mobile, even when Windows 10 Mobile isn’t winning

Excerpt:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is pushing developers to create virtual assistants and intelligent chatbots to help users do everything from managing their calendars to booking hotel reservations.

To that end, Microsoft has published a new Bot Framework, which makes it easier to build chatbots using either C# or Node.js. Working with the tools isn’t so easy that anyone could do it, but they can help reduce some of the difficulties of conversing with a computer.

It was one of the main announcements from Nadella’s keynote address at Microsoft’s Build developer conference Wednesday.

Also see:

Microsoft’s Build 2016 message: ‘we love Cortana’ (but should users?) — from thenextweb.com by Nate Swanner
Excerpt:
Build 2016 has one clear takeaway: Cortana is what matters, at least for now. At almost every product or service announcement at this morning’s keynote, Microsoft made a point to mention that it would also work with Cortana. At a deep dive event for press later in the day, Microsoft further highlighted its commitment to the digital assistant.
.
Microsoft’s new Bot Framework will let anyone build assistants for their apps — thenextweb.com by Napier Lopez

From DSC:
Questions/relevance for those working higher ed:

Are Computer Science programs able to keep up with the pace of these Human Computer Interaction (HCI)-related changes? The changes in AI/cognitive computing? Are courses being created to address these new skills? These developments also impact those teaching about user experience design, application/product design, and more.
.
How will such personal assistants be used by the students? By faculty members?

“The promise of virtual reality in higher education” + 6 other items re: VR

On 03/24/2016, in art, business, corporate / business world, creativity, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, interactivity, media/film, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The promise of virtual reality in higher education — from er.educause.edu by Bryan Sinclair and Glenn Gunhouse

Excerpt:

Just as hypertext, digital publishing, and other digital media have transformed the ways in which we engage with documents and collections, the technologies surrounding virtual reality (VR) may ultimately transform the ways in which we teach, learn, engage with each other, and experience the world writ large. In a not-too-distant future, as VR technologies advance at a steady pace and become embedded in our lives, we may one day look back with a sense of amazement at students once bound to a physical classroom, campus setting, locale, or even place in time.

VR may be seen as the next logical extension of cyberspace.

Five ways virtual reality is reshaping industries — from by Daniel Terdiman
Gaming is only the beginning.

Excerpt:

It’s rare that a consumer technology is a giant leap forward rather than the next iterative step. Virtual reality represents just that kind of leap. With the spring launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as the imminent release of Sony’s PlayStation VR, high-end virtual reality has arrived. Add to that lower-end headsets like Samsung’s Gear VR, Google’s Cardboard, and many other players and it’s clear that 2016 is the year the technology goes mainstream. While none of the hardware makers are promising to sell millions of units this year, estimates peg the VR market—hardware and content—at $30 billion by 2020. It’s not just gaming and entertainment that are poised for transformation. Here are some of the most interesting—and potentially lucrative—ways VR is being deployed.

Why you should try that crazy virtual reality headset — from wsj.com by Joanna Stern
VR isn’t just for gamers—take a journey through the virtual experiences that will make the real world better

Excerpt:

You’re going to own a virtual reality headset one day.

Yes, you’re going to put those funny-looking goggles on your face and your eyes won’t be rolling at me like they are right now.

I’ve been there. My interest in gaming stops at Monopoly. The promise of virtual reality meant little more to me than a funny photo opp.

But the buzz! It’s the future, they say! So I went on a journey to find virtual reality’s practical uses.

You can take a class of fifth-graders across the world without needing permission slips. You can inspect the countertops in that dream house you’ve been eyeing. You can feel your heart pound as you practice your big speech in front of a room of people who aren’t actually there.

John Carmack calls ‘Minecraft’ for Gear VR ‘the best thing’ on Oculus — from uploadvr.com by Ian Tingen

Excerpt:

After a hands-on with Minecraft VR – an in-development title for the Samsung Gear VR – Oculus CTO John Carmack gave a speech where he proclaimed Minecraft VR to be, “the best thing to come out on Oculus…Not just for the Gear VR but everything”.

Virtual reality headsets are roaring in 2016 : What’s your pick? — from unimersiv.com by Sanjay Bojan

Excerpt:

In 2016, although still in their infant stages, VR headsets are advancing thick and fast. On that note, here is a selection of the best VR headsets you could buy at the moment.

How virtual reality will democratize learning — from readwrite.com by Jacob Tempchin

Excerpt:

Still, I am confident that virtual reality will revolutionize how we learn, and the reason is simple. Virtual reality is not just a technology, it’s a medium. And I’ve seen how powerful that medium can be.

Jaunt’s ‘cinematic VR’ tech will take you around the world — from engadget.com by Mariella Moon
First stop: Machu Picchu.

Addendum on 3/25/16:

Step Inside a Salvador Dali Painting in Virtual Reality — from vrscout.com by Jonathan Nafarrete
.
Academia Tackles Storytelling in Virtual Reality — from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith
The University of Southern California’s School for Cinematic Arts is studying how virtual reality can be used to tell stories in the next generation of movies.
.
Virtual Reality Headsets are Roaring in 2016 : What’s your Pick? — from unimersiv.com by Sanjay Bojan

“How the ‘Internet of Things’ will affect the world” plus 3 other items re: the Internet of Things

On 03/24/2016, in 21st century, business, communications, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, innovation, internet, machine-to-machine communications, Near Field Communication (NFC), trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, wearables, workplace, by Daniel Christian

How the ‘Internet of Things’ will affect the world — from businessinsider.com by John Greenough and Jonathan Camhi

Excerpt:

Here are some key points from the report:

In total, we project there will be 34 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020, up from 10 billion in 2015. IoT devices will account for 24 billion, while traditional computing devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.) will comprise 10 billion.
Nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions over the next five years.
Businesses will be the top adopter of IoT solutions. They see three ways the IoT can improve their bottom line by 1) lowering operating costs; 2) increasing productivity; and 3) expanding to new markets or developing new product offerings.
Governments are focused on increasing productivity, decreasing costs, and improving their citizens’ quality of life. We believe they will be the second-largest adopters of IoT ecosystems.
Consumers will lag behind businesses and governments in IoT adoption. Still, they will purchase a massive number of devices and invest a significant amount of money in IoT ecosystems.

As IoT emerges, UX takes on greater urgency within enterprises — from zdnet.com by Joe McKendrick
User experience isn’t just a luxury — emerging Internet of Things, wearable, mobile, and virtual reality-based computing make it essential.

Excerpt:

Perhaps the renowned techno-futurist Mark Pesce said it best in a recent tweet: “I’d like to point out that [virtual reality] is the only display layer with profound UX implications. Fundamental ones. Ponder that,”

Pesce is spot on, of course, but we need to take his argument for heightened, immersive and interactive user experience a step further — not only is VR bringing it to the fore, but there is also the intense emphasis on connecting things — including wearables and mobile devices — into the emerging Internet of Things, as well as the ongoing challenges of the consumerization of IT, to make enterprise computing as intuitive and satisfying as consumer-based computing.
…
A recent survey of 7,725 executives and professionals shows that interest in UX — and UX testing — is on the rise. As summarized by Dennis McCafferty in CIO Insight, “respondents say that multi-device interaction–a.k.a., machine-to-machine tech–will greatly influence UX over the next five years. Which means CIOs and their tech teams should expect to devote more attention to UX for the indefinite future.”

The Internet of Things: It’s not quite here yet, but it’s definitely coming — from edtechmagazine.com by Nicci Fagan
Colleges and universities should take steps now to prepare for the impending barrage of connected devices and for the rise in IoT data.

Gartner warns of coming IoT data management overload — from readwrite.com by Donal Power

Excerpt:

The growth of Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly increasing the amount of data generated, and industry experts warn that the current river of unstructured data will soon turn into a flood. Alarmingly, a recent study highlighted concerns that most proposed approaches could lead to data management overload ineffective for the coming torrent of data.

Enterprise Tech cited a recent Gartner report that examined the impact IoT will have on enterprise infrastructure. The report warned that “due to a lack of information capabilities adapted for the IoT” an estimated 25% of attempts to utilize IoT data will be abandoned before deployment ever occurs.

The State of Content | Rules of Engagement for 2016 [Adobe]

On 03/24/2016, in Adobe, design, marketing/social marketing, relationships, second screen apps, trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt:

RULE #1: DESIGN FOR THE MULTISCREEN REALITY
Consumers are multiscreening more than ever before — optimize your content for it

On average, 83 percent of global consumers report they multiscreen, using 2.23 devices at the same time.

As attention spans shrink, 59 percent of consumers globally would rather engage with content that’s beautifully designed than simple — even when short on time.

More than half of consumers (57%) would prefer to watch videos on breaking news vs. read an article and 63 percent would rather skim several short stories than read deeper articles.

Globally, consumers use an average of 5 devices and 10 services

#DesignInTech Report 2016 [KPCB]

On 03/16/2016, in business, career development, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, curriculum, design, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, K-12 related, MBA, microlearning, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, online learning, platforms, professional development, programming, real-world assignments, reinvent, staying relevant, strategy, technology (general), training / L&D, trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, by Daniel Christian

#DesignInTech Report 2016 — from kpcb.com

Some excerpted slides:

Labster: Empowering the Next Generation of Scientists to Change the World
Laboratory Simulations for Educators to Empower their STEM Students

From DSC:
I recently met Maaroof Fakhri at the Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference. It was a pleasure to meet him and hear him speak of the work they are doing at Labster (which is located in Denmark). He is very innovative, and he shines forth with a high degree of energy, creativity, and innovation.

Keep an eye on the work they are doing. Very sharp.

Also see:

2015 with Labster in review, and ahead to 2016

Learnathons, on the other hand are optimized sessions that teach participants how to apply what they learn as soon as possible. They are on the opposite end of how classroom teaching is organized, with lessons spread out over the course of a semester focusing on theory and weekly practice. They are a fairly new concept, but have created an environment for learning that is speeding up comprehension and application to levels that aren’t seen elsewhere.

Addendum on 3/16/16:

What are Remote Labs? <– from ilabcentral.org

Making high school science labs more real, more engaging, and more accessible
Remote Online laboratories (iLabs) are experimental facilities that can be accessed through the Internet, allowing students and educators to carry out experiments from anywhere at any time.

Introducing first ever experiences for the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition — from blogs.windows.com by Kudo Tsunoda

Excerpt:

I am super excited about today’s announcement that the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition is available for pre-order. We set out on a mission to deliver the world’s first untethered holographic computer and it is amazing to finally be at this point in time where developers will be receiving the very first versions so they can start building their own holographic experiences.
…
With HoloLens, we are committed to providing the development community with the best experience possible. In order to help get developers started creating experiences for HoloLens, we’ve provided a number of great resources. First of all, there is a complete set of documentation provided to developers both by the people who have created the platform and by the people who have been building holographic experiences. We want to share all of our holographic knowledge with developers so they can start bringing their holographic dreams to reality as easily as possible. We have also provided a host of tutorial videos to help people along. All of the documentation and videos can be found at dev.windows.com/holographic.

See balefirelabs.com for 5000+ expert, science-based reviews of instructional quality & usability

On 03/05/2016, in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, education, education technology, instructional design, K-12 related, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, tools, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

balefirelabs.com — with thanks to Rene Grimes for this resource.

Per Rene:

I’d like to recommend you check out Balefire Labs, an app review service, because they have very solid objective metrics for determining the learning elements within content apps. We know not all edtech is actually educational (talking specifically about instructional apps). Content apps have their place, to be sure; but I have decided to only use adaptive, mastery based apps because these individualize instruction. Not all apps that use the word “adaptive” mean they adapt to learners levels of mastery. Check out their metrics and see what you think. http://www.balefirelabs.com

For example, see:

New Top-Rated Kids’ Learning Apps & Games of March 2016
Every month we look for the best of the best learning apps and games for kids and every month we find some new and very cool apps to recommend. Here are this month’s top eight apps and games we found for your kids…all of these top rated apps earned a letter grade of A or B, according to our research-based review criteria, putting them in the top 12% of the more than 5,000 apps we’ve reviewed. Enjoy!

Don’t rule out tvOS for some powerful learning experiences / new affordances [Christian]

On 02/26/2016, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, multimedia, online learning, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, second screen apps, training / L&D, universities, usability, user experience (UX), using teams, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Don’t rule out tvOS for some powerful learning experiences / new affordances. The convergence of the television, the telephone, and the computer continues…and is now coming into your home. Trainers, faculty members, teachers, developers, and others will want to keep an eye on this space. The opportunities are enormous, especially as second screen-based apps and new forms of human computer interfaces (HCI) unfold.

The following items come to my mind:

Online-based communities of practice. Virtual reality, virtual tutoring. Intelligent systems. Artificial intelligence. Global learning. 24×7, lifelong learning. Career development. Flipping the classroom. Homeschooling. Learning hubs. Online learning. Virtual schools. Webinars on steroids.

With the reach of these powerful technologies (that continue to develop), I would recommend trying to stay informed on what’s happening in the world of tvOS-based apps in the future. Towards that end, below are some items that might help.

Apple releases Apple TV Tech Talks video series for building better tvOS apps — by AppleInsider Staff

Excerpt:

Apple on Wednesday released to developers a series of videos focusing on Apple TV and its tvOS operating system, offering a detailed look at the underlying SDK, resources and best practices associated with coding for the platform.

Also see:

Apple publishes Apple TV Tech Talk videos for developers — from todaysiphone.com

Addendum on 2/26/16:

Apple Adds Multiple New App Categories to tvOS App Store — from macrumors.com by Juli Clover
Excerpt:
[On 2/25/16] Apple updated the tvOS App Store to add several new app categories to make it easier for Apple TV 4 owners to find content on their devices. As outlined by AfterPad, a site that showcases Apple TV apps, the new categories are rolling out to Apple TV users and may not be available to everyone just yet. Some users may only see the new categories under Purchased Apps until the rollout is complete.

How Google is reimagining books — from fastcodesign.com by Meg Miller
“Editions at Play” sees designers and authors working simultaneously to build a new type of e-book from the ground up.

Excerpt:

The first sign that Reif Larsen’s Entrances & Exits is not a typical e-book comes at the table of contents, which is just a list of chapters titled “Location Unknown.” Click on one of them, and you’ll be transported to a location (unknown) inside Google Street View, facing a door. Choose to enter the house and that’s where the narrative, a sort of choose-your-own-adventure string of vignettes, begins. As the book’s description reads, it’s a “Borgeian love story” that “seamlessly spans the globe” and it represents a fresh approach to the book publishing industry.

Larsen’s book is one of the inaugural titles from Editions at Play, a joint e-books publishing venture between Google Creative Lab Sydney and the design-driven publishing house Visual Editions, which launched this week. With the mission of reimagining what an e-book can be, Editions at Play brings together the author, developers, and designers to work simultaneously on building a story from the ground up. They are the opposite of the usual physical-turned-digital-books; rather, they’re books that “cannot be printed.”

From DSC:
Interesting to note the use of teams of specialists here…

Winner revealed for Microsoft’s HoloLens App Competition [Graham]

On 02/08/2016, in education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Winner revealed for Microsoft’s HoloLens App Competition — from vrfocus.com by Peter Graham

Excerpt:

Out of the thousands of ideas entered, Airquarium, Grab the Idol and Galaxy Explorer were the three that made it through. Out of those the eventual winner was Galaxy Explorer with a total of 58 per cent of the votes. The app aims to give users the ability to wander the Milky Way and learn about our galaxy. Navigating through the stars and landing on the myriad of planets that are out there.

Also see:

Virtual Reality in 2016: What to expect from Google, Facebook, HTC and others in 2016 — from tech.firstpost.com by Naina Khedekar

Excerpt:

Many companies have made their intentions for virtual reality clear. Let’s see what they are up to in 2016.

Also see:

Universal Music and iHeartMedia to Launch VR Concerts This Year — from uploadvr.com

Somewhat related, but in the AR space:

Want to learn more about Augmented Reality in Education? Follow These Great Educators! — from twoguysandsomeipads.com

Except:
Augmented reality(AR) has continued to gain momentum in the educational landscape over the past couple of years. These educators featured below have dove in head first using AR in their classrooms and schools. They continue to share excellent resources to help educators see how augmented reality can engage students and deepen understanding.

Intel launches x-ray-like glasses that allow wearers to ‘see inside’ objects — from theguardian.com by
Smart augmented reality helmet allows wearers to overlay maps, schematics and thermal images to effectively see through walls, pipes and other solid objects

Excerpt:

Unlike devices such as HoloLens or Google Glass, which have been marketed as consumer devices, the Daqri Smart Helmet is designed with industrial use in mind. It will allow the wearer to effectively peer into the workings of objects using real-time overlay of information, such as wiring diagrams, schematics and problem areas that need fixing.

Learning Ecosystems

If the future of TV is apps, and if bots are the new apps, does that mean that the future of TV is bots…?

“The promise of virtual reality in higher education” + 6 other items re: VR

“How the ‘Internet of Things’ will affect the world” plus 3 other items re: the Internet of Things

The State of Content | Rules of Engagement for 2016 [Adobe]

Winner revealed for Microsoft’s HoloLens App Competition [Graham]

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