vendors

Top 6 VR learning trends in 2023 [Anders Gronstedt out at chieflearningofficer.com]

On 02/03/2023, in emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, engineering, marketing/social marketing, Mixed Reality (MR), platforms, simulations, skills, tools, training / L&D, trends, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Top 6 VR learning trends in 2023 — from chieflearningofficer.com by Anders Gronstedt

Excerpt:

From virtual to mixed reality
A new class of “mixed reality” headsets will launch in 2023, promising to break the barriers between the real and virtual worlds. Meta launched a developer version of this technology a few months ago called “Quest Pro,” which superimposes computer-generated images into the real world around us. The mass-market version of this headset, Quest 3, will hit the shelves this fall for $400. Meanwhile, Apple is rumored to finally premiere a more premium mixed reality headset this spring. This can be an important step toward a vision of true augmented reality glasses that is still years away.

The new year will see the mainstream adoption of VR for safety, equipment operations and service, logistics, manufacturing, emergency response and health care training. Other applications will take several more years to mature. Current XR technology is not ripe for soft skills training, IT systems training, conferences and all-purpose collaboration (Meta can’t even get its own employees to hold regular meetings in VR). Procedural hands-on training simulations will be the edge of the new frontier of XR learning in the new year.

Meet MathGPT: a Chatbot Tutor Built Specific to a Math Textbook — from thejournal.com by Kristal Kuykendall

Excerpt:

Micro-tutoring platform PhotoStudy has unveiled a new chatbot built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT APIs that can teach a complete elementary algebra textbook with “extremely high accuracy,” the company said.

“Textbook publishers and teachers can now transform their textbooks and teaching with a ChatGPT-like assistant that can teach all the material in a textbook, assess student progress, provide personalized help in weaker areas, generate quizzes with support for text, images, audio, and ultimately a student customized avatar for video interaction,” PhotoStudy said in its news release.

Some sample questions the MathGPT tool can answer:

- “I don’t know how to solve a linear equation…”
- “I have no idea what’s going on in class but we are doing Chapter 2. Can we start at the top?”
- “Can you help me understand how to solve this mixture of coins problem?”
- “I need to practice for my midterm tomorrow, through Chapter 6. Help.”

Top List: The Best Mobile Learning Content Development Companies (2023) [Pappas]

On 02/01/2023, in business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, mobile learning, mobile technologies, platforms, programming, training / L&D, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Top List: The Best Mobile Learning Content Development Companies (2023) — from elearningindustry.com by Christopher Pappas

Summary:

Working remotely has brought a major shift to corporate training, making mobile learning more important than ever. Your top assets, and frankly your whole staff, will need to adjust to this new reality. To help you out, we decided to gather the best content providers for mobile learning in one place. Explore our top list and find the right partner to start your mobile learning project or even develop your own mobile app. Are you ready?

2022 European edtech report: Smaller rounds and fewer deals, but more angel activity [Spence]

On 02/01/2023, in business, education technology, Europe, vendors, by Daniel Christian

2022 European edtech report: Smaller rounds and fewer deals, but more angel activity — from techcrunch.com by Rhys Spence

Excerpt:

Against this background, we formed our annual review of European edtech activity for 2022. For the first time since 2014, venture capital funding to European edtech startups saw a decline year-over-year, with startups raking in $1.8 billion in 2022 compared to $2.5 billion a year earlier.

The global ecosystem has been on an upward trajectory, albeit less consistently, but the declines in new investment in 2022 were steep: globally funding declined to $9.1 billion last year from $20.1 billion in 2021. This is in line with macro trends in the public markets as well as other tech sectors (both trends were highlighted in our October report with Dealroom).

Unbundled: Designing Personalized Pathways for Every Learner [Nate McClennen & Co.]

On 01/31/2023, in assessment, Blockchain, change, changing business models, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, credentialing, Design Thinking, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, love of learning, marketplaces, microlearning, more voice more choice more control, motivation, new business models, online learning, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, society, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), ubiquitous learning, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, youth, by Daniel Christian

Unbundled: Designing Personalized Pathways for Every Learner — from gettingsmart.com by Nate McClennen “with contributions from the Getting Smart team and numerous friends and partners in the field”

Excerpts:

In this publication, we articulate the critical steps needed to unbundle the learning ecosystem, build core competencies, design learning experiences, curate new opportunities, and rebundle these experiences into coherent pathways.
.

Vision

Every learner deserves an unlimited number of unbundled opportunities to explore, engage, and define experiences that advance their progress along a co-designed educational pathway. Each pathway provides equitable and personalized access to stacked learning experiences leading to post-secondary credentials and secure family-sustaining employment. Throughout the journey, supportive coaches focus on helping learners build skills to navigate with agency. In parallel, learners develop foundational skills (literacy, math), technical skills, and durable skills and connect these to challenging co-designed experiences. The breadth and depth of experiences increase over time, and, in partnership, learners and coaches map progress towards reaching community-defined goals. This vision is only enabled by an unbundled learning ecosystem.
…

Recommendations

Solutions already exist in the ecosystem and need to be combined and scaled. Funding models (like My Tech High), badging/credentialing at the competency level (like VLACS), coaching models (like Big Thought), and open ecosystems (like NH Learn Everywhere) provide an excellent foundation. Thus, building unbundled systems has already begun but needs systemic changes to become widely available and accepted.

1. 1. Build a robust competency-based system.
  2. Create a two-way marketplace for unbundled learning.
  3. Implement policy to support credit for out-of-system experiences.
  4. Invest in technology infrastructure for Learning and Employment Records.
  5. Design interoperable badging systems that connect to credentials.

Virtual Exam Case Primes Privacy Fight Over College Room Scans [Witley]

On 01/31/2023, in assessment, colleges, community colleges, education technology, higher education, instructional design, IT in HE, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, policy, tools, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Virtual Exam Case Primes Privacy Fight Over College Room Scans — from news.bloomberglaw.com by Skye Witley

Cleveland State case centers on remote proctoring software
Fourth Amendment protections in question before Sixth Circuit

Excerpt:

A legal dispute over a university’s use of exam proctoring software that allegedly scanned students’ rooms is set to shape the scope of Fourth Amendment and privacy protections for online college tests.

Cleveland State University last week asked a federal appeals court in Cincinnati to review a district court finding that the “room scans” were unconstitutional searches. The case could influence how other students litigate their privacy rights and change how universities virtually monitor their students during exams, attorneys said.

Revolutionising Criminal Law with AI [Richman]

On 01/28/2023, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, Cost of legal services - including access, emerging technologies, law schools, Legal operations, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, society, tools, UK, vendors, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Revolutionising Criminal Law with AI — from seotraininglondon.org by Danny Richman
This case study outlines how I helped a law firm use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to streamline new client enquiries, resulting in significant savings of time and money.

Excerpt:

However, this process took up a lot of time and resources, meaning that highly qualified, well-paid individuals had to dedicate their time and energy to processing email enquiries instead of working on client cases.

That’s why I developed an app for Stuart Miller built on OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology. This app receives the content of the client’s email and makes the same determination as the human team of lawyers. It then immediately alerts the relevant lawyer to any enquiries flagged as high-priority, high-value cases. The entire process is automated requiring no human interaction.

From DSC:
Hmmm…something to keep on the radar.

Also relevant/see:

Here’s Why Lawyers Are Paying Attention to ChatGPT — from legallydisrupted.com by Zach Abramowitz
AI Will Continue to Be a Talking Point Throughout the Year

Excerpts:

Ready to get disrupted? Me neither, but let’s take the plunge.

ChatGPT is all anyone in legal wants to talk about right now, and for good reason.
…
Smash cut to yesterday, and this webinar focusing on ChatGPT is sold out and the sheer number of questions from the audience (which ranged from law students to in-house counsel and law firm partners) was more than 10x a normal webinar.

The point is that I’m not in a bubble this time. Everyone in legal is paying attention to ChatGPT, not just the legaltech nerds. This @#$% is going mainstream.

ChatGPT can’t be credited as an author, says world’s largest academic publisher [Vincent]

On 01/28/2023, in adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, Europe, faculty, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), learning ecosystem, policy, research, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

ChatGPT can’t be credited as an author, says world’s largest academic publisher — from theverge.com by James Vincent; with thanks to Robert Gibson on LinkedIn for the resource
But Springer Nature, which publishes thousands of scientific journals, says it has no problem with AI being used to help write research — as long as its use is properly disclosed.

Excerpt:

Springer Nature, the world’s largest academic publisher, has clarified its policies on the use of AI writing tools in scientific papers. The company announced this week that software like ChatGPT can’t be credited as an author in papers published in its thousands of journals. However, Springer says it has no problem with scientists using AI to help write or generate ideas for research, as long as this contribution is properly disclosed by the authors.

On somewhat-related notes:

Uplevel your prompt craft in ChatGPT with the CREATE framework — from edte.ch by Tom Barrett

Excerpt:

The acronym “CREATE” is a helpful guide for crafting high-quality prompts for AI tools. Each letter represents an important step in the process.

The first four CREA are all part of prompt writing, where TE, the final two are a cycle of reviewing and editing your prompts.

Let’s look at each in more detail, with some examples from ChatGPT to help.

BuzzFeed to Use ChatGPT Creator OpenAI to Help Create Quizzes and Other Content — from wsj.com by Alexandra Bruell (behind paywall)
CEO Jonah Peretti intends for artificial intelligence to play a larger role in the company this year

5 Tips To Prepare For A Virtual Interview [Weber]

On 01/25/2023, in A/V -- audio/visual, career development, productivity / tips and tricks, vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

5 Tips To Prepare For A Virtual Interview — from bitrebels.com by Chans Weber

Excerpt:

Check Your Equipment Beforehand
You know exactly what you’re going to say in your interview, and you feel confident you’ll get the job! However, what happens if your internet is spotty when it comes time for the big day? Or, what if your Zoom needs an update, and you only find this out minutes before the interview?

It’s important that you check all your equipment hours before your interview starts. Technology can be tricky, and you certainly don’t want it to fail on you once your interview begins.

From DSC:
By the way, I would put this tip to “check your equipment beforehand” out there for faculty, staff, teachers, trainers, and other presenters as well — especially if this is the first time that you are speaking/presenting in a different building and/or room. I made the mistake of going to be a guest lecturer once in a room that I hadn’t been to in a long time. It turned out that the mouse was not working well and needed to be replaced. It threw me off and I wasn’t able to deliver a smooth, issue-free active learning-based session.

6 Free Tools for Evaluating Web Accessibility — from boia.org

Excerpt:

Can you evaluate your website’s accessibility on your own?

Not necessarily. To ensure conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), you’ll need to test your content regularly by using both manual and automated tools. Ideally, manual tests should be performed by human testers who have disabilities.

However, as you learn about the concepts of WCAG, you can use free tools to test your website for common barriers. If you’re a web designer or developer, online tools can be a vital resource as you incorporate the best practices of inclusive design.

Below, we’ll discuss six free tools that can help you make better design decisions.

How edtech companies should create and empower lifelong learners — from chieflearningofficer.com by Oleg Vilchinski

Excerpt:

Now is the ideal time for a flexible and competent market leader to emerge and seize this opportunity, delivering personalized and lifelong educational solutions and experiences that meet the needs of a learning-hungry populace.
…
Edtech businesses can address this widening skills gap and need for frequent job-switching through those same data-driven ecosystems, which can support the user through their career and leisure activities. For example, a user could sync their profile with their work’s employee portal to receive further professional development. Simultaneously, the technology would support the user during their spare time as they take courses or watch video content ranging from Adobe InDesign to gardening, further refining their skills. And, when it comes time to retire, the user’s trusted ecosystem has a backlog of data to recommend applicable hobbies and community events.

For example, a user could sync their profile with their work’s employee portal to receive further professional development.

Nice sales funnel here. ASU, Crash Course, & Google continue to innovate. “YouTube unveils new program that enables students to earn college credits” [Malik]

On 01/25/2023, in Alternatives, business, cost of getting a degree, experimentation, Google, higher education, innovation, strategy, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

A new path to higher education that begins on YouTube! — from blog.youtube by Katie Kurtz, Managing Director, Global Head of Learning

Excerpt:

We’ve partnered with Arizona State University (ASU) and Crash Course to create Study Hall, a new approach that demystifies the college process while creating an affordable and accessible onramp to earning college credit.

Also relevant/see:

YouTube Launches Video Program Creating a Pathway to Real College Credits — from by Joan E. Solsman
Using YouTube videos as a launchpad to Arizona State University virtual courses, people can work toward first-year college credit with little upfront cost.

YouTube unveils new program that enables students to earn college credits — from techcrunch.com by Aisha Malik

The program is expected to expand to 12 available courses by January 2025 to give students a chance to receive credit for an entire first year of college. There is a $25 fee if a student elects to sign up and begin coursework, and a $400 fee to receive college credit for each course.

ChatGPT/Generative AI within the legal realm: Could this be the case?

On 01/24/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, ideas, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Some of the most expensive legal services are about to become MUCH cheaper.

Some of the most lucrative legal work is about to become a LOT less profitable.

The timeline is going to shock us.

— Zach Abramowitz (@ZachAbramowitz) January 23, 2023

Also relevant/see:

Roundup: Legal tech companies make news early in 2023 — from legaldive.com by Lyle Moran
LiquidText, AbacusNext, Casepoint, Everlaw, Evisort and Exterro announced updates about their legal software businesses.
Top 10 Tech Law Trends for 2023 – Nos. 10-6 — from jdsupra.com

Microsoft Plans to Build OpenAI, ChatGPT Features Into All Products — from wsj.com by Sam Schechner (behind paywall)
Offering for businesses and end users to be transformed by incorporating tools like ChatGPT, CEO Satya Nadella says

Excerpt:

DAVOS, Switzerland—Microsoft Corp. MSFT 2.86%increase; green up pointing triangle plans to incorporate artificial-intelligence tools like ChatGPT into all of its products and make them available as platforms for other businesses to build on, Chief Executive Satya Nadella said.

It’s a matter of time before the LMSs like Canvas and Anthology do the same. Really going to change the complexion of online learning.

Jared Stein; via Robert Gibson on LinkedIn

Also relevant/see:

Donald Clark’s thoughts out on LinkedIn re: Google and AI

Excerpt:

Microsoft are holding a lot of great cards in the AI game, especially ChatGPT-3, but Google also have a great hand, in fact they have a bird in the hand:

Sparrow, from Deepmind, is likely to launch soon. Their aim is to trump ChatGTP by having a chatbot that is more useful and reduces the risk of unsafe and inappropriate answers. In the released paper, they also indicate that it will have moral constraints. Smart move.

Hassabis has promised some sort of release in 2023. Their goal is to reduce wrong and invented information by linking it to Google Search and Scholar for citations.

Donald Clark’s thought re: Apple’s strategy for AI — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com

Wonder Tools:7 ways to Use ChatGPT — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan

Excerpt:

4 recommended ChatGPT resources

The Art of ChatGPT Prompting: A Guide to Crafting Clear and Effective Prompts.
This free e-book acts a useful guide for beginners.
Collection of ChatGPT Resources
Use ChatGPT in Google Docs, WhatsApp, as a desktop app, with your voice, or in other ways with this running list of tools.
Awesome ChatGPT prompts
Dozens of clever pre-written prompts you can use to initiate your own conversations with ChatGPT to get it to reply as a fallacy finder or a journal reviewer or whatever else.
Writing for Renegades – Co-writing with AI
This free 17-page resource has writing exercises you can try with ChatGPT. It also includes interesting nuggets, like Wycliffe A. Hill’s 1936 attempt at writing automation, Plot Genie.

We often see the battle between technology and humans as a zero-sum game. And that’s how much of the discussion about ChatGPT is being framed now. Like many others who have been experimenting with ChatGPT in recent weeks, I find that a lot of the output depends on the input. In other words, the better the human question, the better the ChatGPT answer.

So instead of seeing ourselves competing with technology, we should find ways to complement it and view ChatGPT as a tool that assists us in collecting information and in writing drafts.

If we reframe the threat, think about how much time can be freed up to read, to think, to write?

As many have noted, including Michael Horn on the Class Disrupted podcast he co-hosts, ChatGPT is to writing what calculators were once to math and other STEM disciplines.

Jeff Selingo: ‘The Calculator’ for a New Generation?

GPT in Higher Education — from insidehighered.com by Ray Schroeder
ChatGPT has caught our attention in higher education. What will it mean in 2023?

Excerpt:

Founder and CEO at Moodle Martin Dougiamas writes in Open Ed Tech that as educators, we must recognize that artificial general intelligence will become ubiquitous. “In short, we need to embrace that AI is going to be a huge part of our lives when creating anything. There is no gain in banning it or avoiding it. It’s actually easier (and better) to use this moment to restructure our education processes to be useful and appropriate in today’s environment (which is full of opportunities).”

Who, at your institution, is examining the impact of AI, and in particular GPT, upon the curriculum? Are instructional designers working with instructors in revising syllabi and embedding AI applications into the course offerings? What can you do to ensure that your university is preparing learners for the future rather than the past?

Ray Schroeder

ChatGPT Advice Academics Can Use Now — from insidehighered.com by Susan D’Agostino
To harness the potential and avert the risks of OpenAI’s new chat bot, academics should think a few years out, invite students into the conversation and—most of all—experiment, not panic.

How AI Can Enhance Education via @BlessTheTeacher https://t.co/Qpo9IIMECf pic.twitter.com/iIAGwNfjMw

— juandoming (@juandoming) January 17, 2023

Alarmed by AI Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach — from The New York Times (out at Yahoo) by Kalley Huang

Excerpt:

At schools including George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, professors are phasing out take-home, open-book assignments — which became a dominant method of assessment in the pandemic but now seem vulnerable to chatbots. They are instead opting for in-class assignments, handwritten papers, group work and oral exams.

Gone are prompts like “write five pages about this or that.” Some professors are instead crafting questions that they hope will be too clever for chatbots and asking students to write about their own lives and current events.

With ChatGPT, Teachers Can Plan Lessons, Write Emails, and More. What’s the Catch? — from edweek.org by Madeline Will (behind paywall)

Why Banning ChatGPT in Class Is a Mistake — from campustechnology.com by Thomas Mennella
Artificial intelligence can be a valuable learning tool, if used in the right context. Here are ways to embrace ChatGPT and encourage students to think critically about the content it produces.

.

Let the Lawsuits Against Generative AI Begin! — from legallydisrupted.com by Zach Abramowitz
Getty Sues Stability AI as Lawsuits Mount Against GenAI Companies

Excerpt:

Well, it was bound to happen. Anytime you have a phenomenon as disruptive as generative AI, you can expect lawsuits.

Case in point: the lawsuit recently filed by Getty Images against Stability AI, highlighting the ongoing legal challenges posed by the use of AI in the creative industries. But it’s not the only lawsuit recently filed, see e.g. Now artists sue AI image generation tools Stable Diffusion, Midjourney over copyright | Technology News, The Indian Express

.

Learning Ecosystems

Top 6 VR learning trends in 2023 [Anders Gronstedt out at chieflearningofficer.com]

Top List: The Best Mobile Learning Content Development Companies (2023) [Pappas]

2022 European edtech report: Smaller rounds and fewer deals, but more angel activity [Spence]

Virtual Exam Case Primes Privacy Fight Over College Room Scans [Witley]

5 Tips To Prepare For A Virtual Interview [Weber]

6 Free Tools for Evaluating Web Accessibility [boia.org]

Nice sales funnel here. ASU, Crash Course, & Google continue to innovate. “YouTube unveils new program that enables students to earn college credits” [Malik]

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