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

Check this out!

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

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

Some serious engagement might be heading our way!

 

 

Per this web page:

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

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

 

Per this web page:

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

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

 

 

legendofsword-china-australia-2016

 

 

 

Smart Home Design Inspiration III — from medium.com by Josh

From DSC:
The animated gifs on this posting are incredible — very well done. Here’s a still shot of one of them:
timelapse-romanvyshyvanov

 

dribbble.com — “show and tell for designers”

dribble

 

 

Art & Design Students Produce Virtual Reality Musical — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

Students in a Georgia institution that were among the first to experiment with virtual reality have just had a premier of their first VR musical. The project undertaken at the Savannah College of Art and Design brought together 116 people from 14 different programs over the course of 20 weeks to create a 360-degree narrative, “Say It With Music.”

The movie was shown during the recent Savannah Film Festival, as part of a VR showcase, which allowed participants to experience VR gear from four vendors.

Last year the college allowed students to visit its campus virtually by shipping out 10,000 pairs of Google Cardboard to those who had already been accepted to the school as well as those being recruited.

 

 

 

Stunning Curved Glass Sculptures — from fubiz.net by K. William LeQuier i

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tech for change – from jwtintelligence.com by Jade Perry

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

At this year’s WIRED conference, technology entrepreneurs were dialed in to how they might tackle world issues.

Over two days of sessions in London, speakers celebrated technology’s latest developments in fields ranging from healthcare to finance, from energy to art. Throughout the event, the notion of ‘humane tech’ emerged to describe the ways in which technology is being used to improve the state of the world. Increasingly, technology startups are harnessing the latest advances, including virtual reality and mobile technologies, to solve societal problems and tackle real issues.

Alexandra Ivanovitch, founder of Simorga, presented the company’s mission to develop VR apps that combat prejudice. The work follows research from BeAnotherLab which demonstrated that racial and gender biases can be reduced using virtual reality. When a user experiences the world as someone else, essentially swapping their body for a different one, empathy increases and bias decreases. Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab has created a similar experience in which participants encounter racism while embodying someone else. The project’s mission is reminiscent of Sandy Speaks, the chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to educate people about the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a world where 26% of countries are described as ‘not free,’ technology is increasingly coming into play to empower citizens.

Another human rights issue that technology can seek to tackle is access to education. With approximately 250 million children globally failing to learn even the basics, there is scope for teaching through a range of technologies.

In addition to social issues and human rights, technology is being used on a broader scale to fight climate change…

Renewable energies that transform the everyday were another key focus.

 

The gigantic list of augmented reality use cases — from uploadvr.com by Sarah Downey

Excerpt:

This gigantic list of future AR use cases should get you reeling with the possibilities. Although most of these are future applications, they’ll arrive within the next 10 to 15 years. Let’s make this a living document: if I missed a major use of AR, comment below and I’ll add it.

Three quick notes before we start. First, let’s clarify the difference between AR and VR.

VR blocks out the real world and immerses the user in a digital experience.

If you’re putting on a headset in your living room and suddenly transported to a zombie attack scenario, that’s VR.

AR adds digital elements on top of the real world.

If you’re walking down the street in real life and a Dragonite pops up on the sidewalk, that’s AR.

AR is more focused on bridging digital and physical spaces. It accompanies you as you move through the world and augments your activities with information, whereas you typically step out of that world to immerse yourself in VR. When we talk about AR headsets, they’re big helmet-like visors now, but they’re heading toward normal-looking glasses and ultimately contact lenses.

Third, AR and VR are converging into the same thing. Our ability to tell what’s “real” and not digital will decrease as graphics get increasingly better. An AR sign outside a building could be as real and as significant as a physical one if everyone is using AR tech, everyone sees it when they walk by, and it is persistent in that location. Ultimately, we’ll have hardware that lets us switch between AR and VR modes, with less and more opacity for the context. We’re discussing AR and VR distinctly for now because they’re developing separately and on different timelines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Augmented Reality: Top 100 Influencers and Brands — from onalytica.com

topbrandsar-2016

 

 

Augmented reality is going from ‘Pokémon Go’ to the factory floor — from businessinsider.com by Matt Weinberger

Excerpt:

That data, readily available from other sources, is just the tip of the iceberg, though, Campbell says. It also overlays a graphic showing how the pieces fit together, how to disassemble it, and what other pieces of the machine that part might connect to. It combines the physical world of the machine part with the digital world of the IoT-gleaned info.

Just being able to look at a machine, and say, yes, this is the one that needs work, and this is the work that needs doing, can vastly improve the speed with which work gets done, and thus operational efficiency of the whole enterprise.

“There’s so much value in visualizing information,” Campbell says.

 

 

 

Virtual Reality Changes Global Engineering Schools — from by Ilana Kowarski
Engineering professors say virtual reality contributes to the student experience.

Excerpt:

At engineering schools throughout the world, professors are turning to virtual reality technology in the classroom.

The technology provides 3-D visuals that help engineering students improve their designs, alerting them to flaws before the building process starts.

Engineering schools are researching technologies that could transform the way people communicate and interact by – for instance – allowing people to visit one another in a virtual space if they can’t meet in person. Engineering schools are also exploring medical applications of virtual reality that could save lives, such as 3-D X-rays that allow doctors to peer inside the bodies of patients.

Some engineering schools are taking virtual reality lessons a step further and challenging students to develop new virtual reality programs.

 

 

 

 

 

Broward Students Learning Through Augmented Reality — from nbcmiami.com by Ari Odzer

Excerpt:

We hear about technology’s impact on education all the time. Usually, that means computers, new apps, or 3D printers. Now there’s a new tool that has the promise of revolution, the potential for creating a new paradigm in how students learn. It’s called augmented reality.

 

 

Augmented Reality And Kinect Create Unique Art Experience At Cleveland Museum — from forbes.com by Jennifer Hicks

 

 

 



Addendum on 11/1/16:

 



 

 

 

 

From DSC:
For those who like typography & art, you’ll be interested to see this mixed-reality-based installation!

 

mr-dongyoonpark-hololens-oct2016

Holographic Type Sculpture with Typography Insight for HoloLens — from medium.com by DongYoon Park

Excerpt:

Recently, I visited Bellevue Arts Museum http://www.bellevuearts.org/ and conceived of a ‘Holographic art sculpture’ for installation in the museum’s beautiful atrium. Using my app Typography Insight for HoloLens, http://typeinsight.org/hololens.html, I created a ‘Holographic Type Sculpture’ and placed it in Bellevue Arts Museum’s atrium and rooftop sculpture garden (coincidentally, its name is ‘Court of Light’). You can experience the Mixed Reality Capture below.

 

 

See also:

mr-dongyoonpark-hololens2-oct2016

 

 

 

The Lovely Frescos of Vera Bugati — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

50 beautiful examples of paper art — from creativebloq.com

 

 

paper art

 

 

New Quilled Paper Portraits That Highlight the Beauty of Old Age by Yulia Brodskaya — from thisiscolossal.com

 

 

 

Graphic and Colorful Illustrations by Ray Oranges — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

For makerspaces out there, check out the Shaper Origin product! — with thanks to Mr. Joe Byerwalter for this excellent resource/find!

Excerpt:

We fuse computers with handheld tools to simplify the process of making. Shaper Origin is the world’s first smart handheld cutting tool. From intricate design work to dining room tables, Origin tackles projects of every size and complexity.

 

ShaperOrigin-August2016

 

 

 

Prisma-July2016

Description:
Turn Every Photo into Art | Using Artificial Intelligence
Prisma transforms your photos into artworks using the styles of famous artists: Munk, Picasso as well as world famous ornaments and patterns. A unique combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence helps you turn memorable moments into timeless art.

 

From DSC:
I’ve tried this tool and it’s really fun to use — producing some creative results! An innovative, sharp tool for sure.

 

———–

Addendum on 8/22/16 from DSC:
I wanted to highlight Nikos Andriotis’ comment on this posting, as it’s creative, innovative, fun, thinking!

Great tool! I’ve used it already too. A neat excersise for art classes would be converting an unrelated picture to a particular style, and then asking the learners what style is it, and where has it been used. Quite simple, but sounds rather enjoyable to me.

 

 

 

 

XL-Muse creates tunnel of books for shop in China — from dezeen.com

 

 

 

100-Year-Old Theatre Turned into a Magnificent Bookstore — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

 

Prismatic Paintings Produced From Refracted Light by Stephen Knapp — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Sierzputowski

 

 

 

 

Passing From Day to Night in Israel — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

French Artist Turns Barren Walls into Beautiful Photorealistic Murals — from interestingengineering.com by Trevor English

 

 

 

 

Giant Boombox Mural in Chile

 

 

 

 

Tilt shift Van Gogh’s paintings — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Superb Symmetrical Architecture Shot by EMCN — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Triangular Tree House Chapel With a View to the Brazilian Sea — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Artist Spotlight: Carlo Cane

 

 

 

 

PHASED | LA from SCIENTIFANTASTIC on Vimeo.

 

 

 

 

Fairy Pictures Of Fireflies in Japan — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

The Magical Realism of Eric Roux-Fontaine’s Dreamlike Paintings — from thisiscolossal.com

 

 

Horseman-NationalGeographic2016Winner

 

 

 

Also see:

 

 

 

 

In Memory: Seymour Papert — from media.mit.edu; with thanks to Mr. Joe Byerwalter for this resource

Excerpt:

Seymour Papert, whose ideas and inventions transformed how millions of children around the world create and learn, died Sunday, July 31, 2016 at his home in East Blue Hill, Maine. He was 88.

Papert’s career traversed a trio of influential movements: child development, artificial intelligence, and educational technologies. Based on his insights into children’s thinking and learning, Papert recognized that computers could be used not just to deliver information and instruction, but also to empower children to experiment, explore, and express themselves. The central tenet of his Constructionist theory of learning is that people build knowledge most effectively when they are actively engaged in constructing things in the world. As early as 1968, Papert introduced the idea that computer programming and debugging can provide children a way to think about their own thinking and learn about their own learning.

 

Also see:

  • AI and Computer Learning Lion Seymour Papert Dies at 88 — from fortune.com by  Barb Darrow
    Excerpt:
    Seymour Papert, the MIT professor who helped blaze the trail for artificial intelligence and computer-aided education for children at a time when no one saw the potential for using these massive machines for such purposes, died Sunday at the age of 88 in East Blue Hill, Maine.

 

“In this particular art class they were all carving soap,” he continued, “but what each student carved came from wherever fancy is bred, and the project was not done and dropped but continued for many weeks. It allowed time to think, to dream, to gaze, to get a new idea and try it and drop it or persist, time to talk, to see other people’s work and their reaction to yours — not unlike mathematics as it is for the mathematician, but quite unlike math as it is in junior high school.”

.

  • Seymour Papert, 88, Dies; Saw Education’s Future in Computers — from nytimes.com by Glenn Rifkin
    Excerpt:
    Seymour Papert, a visionary educator and mathematician who well before the advent of the personal computer foresaw children using computers as instruments for learning and enhancing creativity, died on Sunday at his home in Blue Hill, Me. He was 88.

 

 

He added, “In the past, education adapted the mind to a very restricted set of available media; in the future, it will adapt media to serve the needs and tastes of each individual mind.”

 

 

 

The new Google Arts & Culture, on exhibit now’  — from googleblog.blogspot.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Just as the world’s precious artworks and monuments need a touch-up to look their best, the home we’ve built to host the world’s cultural treasures online needs a lick of paint every now and then. We’re ready to pull off the dust sheets and introduce the new Google Arts & Culture website and app, by the Google Cultural Institute. The app lets you explore anything from cats in art since 200 BCE to the color red in Abstract Expressionism, and everything in between. Our new tools will help you discover works and artifacts, allowing you to immerse yourself in cultural experiences across art, history and wonders of the world—from more than a thousand museums across 70 countries…

 

Also see:

Google’s new app isn’t the next best thing to the Louvre. It might be better
Google Arts & Culture turns art from all over the world into a meta museum.

 

Amazing Architectural Photography by Ivan Huang — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

 

30 Paper Art Designs

30PaperArtDesigns-March2016

 

 

Some creative sites to check out:

 

 

A fascinating 3D-printed light-based zoetrope by Akinori Goto — from thisiscolossal.com by Christopher Jobson

 

 

 

Hand-Cut Mandalas and Other Intricate Paper Works by Mr. Riuby — from thisiscolossal.com Kate Sierzputowski

 

 

 

 

Awesome Photographs taken from the Top Of The Golden Gate Bridge — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Urban Photography Playing with Lights and Shades

 

 

 

Picture books for the arts integrated classroom — from educationcloset.com by Brianne Gidcumb|

Excerpt:

Today, though, I’m turning the focus back to those books on the shelves of your classroom libraries, as I share seven children’s titles that you might want to add to your bookshelves!

 

 

 

Photos of clouds and storms by Sean R. Heavey — from designsoak.com

 

 

 

 

Surreal monochromatic GIFs by Carl Burton — from thisiscolossal.com by Christopher Jobson

 

4ad71636670749.5724cb5feab7e

 

 

 

LaurentRosset.com > Photomanipulation

laurentrosset-june2016

 

 

Accurate ballpoint pen art — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

A rotating 42-layer sculpture of Franz Kafka’s Head by David Cerny — from thisiscolossal.com by Christopher Jobson

 

FranzKafkasHead-DavidCerny-2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

PolyWood: Toy animal concepts rendered in polygons by Mat Szulik — from thisiscolossal.com by Christopher Jobson

 

poly-3

 

 

 

New powerful street art by Pejac — from fubiz.net

 

 

 

 

Google’s Tilt Brush allows you to paint in 3 dimensions — from interestingengineering.com

 

TitltBrush-Google-June2016

 

 

 

Watch the year’s best drone footage — in just 2.5 minutes — from digitaltrends.com by Hillary Grigonis

 

DroneFootage-Excellent-June2016

 

 

Vertiginous Skyscrapers of Hong Kong— from fubiz.net featuring the work of Ekaterina Busygina

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning 3D Chalk Art Illusions by Tracy lee Stum — from hongkiat.com

 

Tracy-Lee-Stum--2016

 

 

 

Why can’t the “One Day University” come directly into your living room — 24×7? [Christian]

  • An idea/question from DSC:
    Looking at the article below, I wonder…“Why can’t the ‘One Day University‘ come directly into your living room — 24×7?”

 

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

 

This is why I’m so excited about the “The Living [Class] Room” vision. Because it is through that vision that people of all ages — and from all over the world — will be able to constantly learn, grow, and reinvent themselves (if need be) throughout their lifetimes. They’ll be able to access and share content, communicate and discuss/debate with one another, form communities of practice, go through digital learning playlists (like Lynda.com’s Learning Paths) and more.  All from devices that represent the convergence of the television, the telephone, and the computer (and likely converging with the types of devices that are only now coming into view, such as Microsoft’s Hololens).

 

LearningPaths-LyndaDotCom-April2016

 

You won’t just be limited to going back to college for a day — you’ll be able to do that 24×7 for as many days of the year as you want to.

Then when some sophisticated technologies are integrated into this type of platform — such as artificial intelligence, cloud-based learner profiles, algorithms, and the ability to setup exchanges for learning materials — we’ll get some things that will blow our minds in the not too distant future! Heutagogy on steroids!

 

 


 

 

Want to go back to college? You can, for a day. — from washingtonpost.com by Valerie Strauss

Excerpt:

Have you ever thought about how nice it would be if you could go back to college, just for the sake of learning something new, in a field you don’t know much about, with no tests, homework or studying to worry about? And you won’t need to take the SAT or the ACT to be accepted? You can, at least for a day, with something called One Day University, the brainchild of a man named Steve Schragis, who about a decade ago brought his daughter to Bard College as a freshman and thought that he wanted to stay.

One Day University now financially partners with dozens of newspapers — including The Washington Post — and a few other organizations to bring lectures to people around the country. The vast majority of the attendees are over the age 50 and interested in continuing education, and One Day University offers them only those professors identified by college students as fascinating. As Schragis says, it doesn’t matter if you are famous; you have to be a great teacher. For example, Schragis says that since Bill Gates has never shown to be one, he can’t teach at One Day University.

We bring together these professors, usually four at at a time, to cities across the country to create “The Perfect Day of College.” Of course we leave out the homework, exams, and studying! Best if there’s real variety, both male and female profs, four different schools, four different subjects, four different styles, etc. There’s no one single way to be a great professor. We like to show multiple ways to our students.

Most popular classes are history, psychology, music, politics, and film. Least favorite are math and science.

 

 


See also:


 

 

OneDayUniversity-1-April2016

 

OneDayUniversity-2-April2016

 

 

 


Addendum:


 

 

lyndaDotcom-onAppleTV-April2016

 

We know the shelf-life of skills are getting shorter and shorter. So whether it’s to brush up on new skills or it’s to stay on top of evolving ones, Lynda.com can help you stay ahead of the latest technologies.

 

 

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.

 

 

WhyTryCrazyVRHeadset-WSJ-March2016

 

 

 

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:

 

 

 

 
© 2025 | Daniel Christian