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Along these lines, check out:
‘Jeopardy’ champs take on IBM’s Watson
“This is huge; this isn’t just about answering questions,” says computational linguistics expert George Luger of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, who was not part of IBM’s team. “Everything before this was just a run-up to computers as true personal assistants.”
From DSC:
The other day, I created/posted the top graphic below. Take the concepts below — hook them up to engines that use cloud-based learner profiles — and you have some serious potential for powerful, global, ubiquitous learning! A touch-sensitive panel might be interesting here as well.
Come to think of it, add social networking, videoconferencing, and web-based collaboration tools — the power to learn would be quite impressive. Multimedia to the nth degree.
Then add to that online marketplaces for teaching and learning — where you can be both a teacher and a learner at the same time — hmmm…
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From DSC:
Then today, I saw Cisco’s piece on their Videoscape product line! Check it out!
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ALA 2011: Adaptive and Learning Agents Workshop held at AAMAS 2011 — from Intelligent Systems
Adaptive and Learning Agents, particularly those in a multi-agent setting are becoming more and more prominent as the sheer size and complexity of many real world systems grows. How to adaptively control, coordinate and optimize such systems is an emerging multi-disciplinary research area at the intersection of Computer Science, Control theory, Economics, and Biology.
The Ultimate Study Guide: Wolfram Alpha Launches “Course Assistant” Apps — from ReadWriteWeb by Audrey Watters
The computational knowledge engine Wolfram|Alpha is launching the first three of a series of new “course assistant” apps today. These apps, available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, are designed to take advantage of the Wolfram|Alpha technology in the service of supporting some of the most popular courses in high school and college.
The idea is to be able to quickly access the pertinent capabilities of Wolfram|Alpha relevant for specific subject areas. Currently, these subject areas are Algebra, Calculus, and Music Theory. But the company says it plans to add apps for other subjects – “for every major course, from elementary school to graduate school,” – including those fields outside math and science.
From DSC:
Notice the term engine (in bold maroon above). This is the type of sophisticated programming that will increasingly be baked into future learning products — as the software seeks to learn more about each learner while providing each learner with a more customized learning experience…pushing them, but aiming to encourage — not discourage — them. I can see an opt-in program where each of us can build a cloud/web-based learner profile — and allow such an engine to be “fed” that data.
Adaptive and Learning Agents Workshop 2011 [call for proposals]
The topics of interest include but are not limited to:
* Novel combinations of reinforcement and supervised learning approaches
* Integrated learning approaches that work with other agent reasoning modules like negotiation, trust models, coordination, etc.
* Supervised multi-agent learning
* Reinforcement learning (single and multi-agent)
* Planning (single and multi-agent)
* Reasoning (single and multi-agent)
* Distributed learning
* Adaptation and learning in dynamic environments
* Evolution of agents in complex environments
* Co-evolution of agents in a multi-agent setting
* Cooperative exploration and learning to cooperate and collaborate
* Learning trust and reputation
* Communication restrictions and their impact on multi-agent coordination
* Design of reward structure and fitness measures for coordination
* Scaling learning techniques to large systems of learning and adaptive agents
* Emergent behaviour in adaptive multi-agent systems
* Game theoretical analysis of adaptive multi-agent systems
* Neuro-control in multi-agent systems
* Bio-inspired multi-agent systems
* Applications of adaptive and learning agents and multi-agent systems to real world complex systems
* Learning of Co-ordination
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Emerging Interactive Ed. Tech: Classmate Assist and Wayang Outpost – Sensors, AI, and Context Awareness for Learning -and Teaching — by Lynn Marentette (emphasis below from DSC)
I’ve been following developments in intelligent tutoring systems for a while, and find it interesting to see how researchers are combining artificial intelligence, learning theory, affective computing, and sensor networks to create applications that might prove to be useful and effective.
The advantage of using intelligent tutoring applications in some cases is that it provides students with additional support and feedback the moment it is needed, something that is difficult for teachers to provide to students in large classrooms. With the increase in use of smartphones and other mobile devices such as the iPad, there is a good chance that this sort of technology will be used to support learning anywhere, anytime.
Although most intelligent tutoring systems are geared for 1-1 computing, I think there are some components that could be tweaked and then transfered to create intelligent “tutoring” systems for collaborative learning. Students like game-based learning, and what could be more fun than playing AND learning with a partner or group of peers? (I plan to revisit the research in this area in an upcoming post.)
Below I’ve highlighted two “intelligent” tutoring systems that incorporate the use of sensors in one form or another to generate information about student learning in a way that simulates what good teachers do every day. The ClassroomAssist application was developed by researchers at Intel, in collaboration with several universities. The Wayang Outpost application was developed by researchers at UMASS, and is aligned with the principles of Universal Design for Learning.
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From DSC:
My conscience prompts me to write this…as my recent posting on developing and using web-based learner profiles was not meant to try and ultimately recreate the human brain. I don’t think that’s possible. Rather, I was hoping that we could use such methods and breakthroughs to promote the personalization, customization, and engagement levels of the learning materials and experiences that we are able to offer each other.
But the posting got me to reflecting on a variety of technological advancements…and I couldn’t help but wonder about the motivations at play sometimes here.
That is, things can begin innocently enough and with excellent intentions. For example, with stem-cell research, such research can offer understanding on how stem cells might be able to help treat debilitating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, traumatic spinal injury, or be used for positively affecting other clinical and therapeutic applications. And that’s great! Excellent!
But the problem for me in many of these endeavors lies in the hearts of mankind. Because, who knows where things could go from there…
Will we one day find ourselves being able to create fellow human beings? If so, who determines what those fellow human beings are like? Will we be able to program a robot to continually learn? If so, how will such devices be used by individuals? Corporations? Governments? Nations?
I know…it sounds rather bizarre and far-fetched. But with the rate of technological advancements, I just think we need to take a pulse check on the motivations involved. I’m suspect that the motivations of many folks out there are not in mankind’s ultimate best interest…plus…sometimes these individuals and organizations just don’t have the heart.
Ezekiel 11:19 (NIV)
19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them;
I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
P.S. from DSC:
I need to say that my heart is in constant need of attention as well;
I don’t claim to be perfect…but I also don’t claim to want to play God.
IQNOMY is an S.a.a.S. (Software as a Service) solution which enables any website to adapt itself to each individual visitor in next to no time.
As a result of the emergence of new media, the distance between institutions and individuals is getting ever smaller. Individuals have gained more and more power and are increasingly using this to demand personal attention and recognition. For companies and organizations, the difficulties associated with holding on to today’s critical consumer are therefore growing.
For a long time now, simply supplying information has not been enough. Customers and consumers are looking for an experience that is presented at the right moment and within the right context. We call this Real-time Interaction Marketing. Central to this discipline is the fact that you as an organization are able to get to know and understand your customers and that you actively learn to support them in discovering new and relevant information. This form of personal and direct one-to-one marketing will play an increasingly important role in commercial markets in the future.
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