online media

Holograms? Check! Now what? [Bieniek @ Webex]

On 02/17/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, experimentation, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, Holographic comms, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, innovation, instructional design, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, Legal operations, library / librarians, Metaverse, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, society, teaching online, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, tools, training / L&D, TVs, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, vocational / trades, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, Web3, by Daniel Christian

Holograms? Check! Now what? — from blog.webex.com by Elizabeth Bieniek

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Two years ago, I wrote about the Future of Meetings in 2030 and hinted at an effort my team was building to make this a reality. Now, we have publicly unveiled Webex Hologram and brought the reality of a real-time, end-to-end holographic meeting solution to life.

With Webex Hologram, you can feel co-located with a colleague who is thousands of miles away. You can share real objects in incredible multi-dimensional detail and collaborate on 3D content to show perspective, share, and approve design changes in real-time, all from the comfort of your home workspace.

As the hype dies down, the focus on entirely virtual experiences in fanciful environments will abate and a resurgence in focus on augmented experiences—interjecting virtual content into the physical world around you for an enhanced experience that blends the best of physical and virtual—will emerge.

The ability to have curated information at one’s fingertips, still holds an incredible value prop that has yet to be realized. Applying AI to predict, find, and present this type of augmented information in both 2D and 3D formats will become incredibly useful.

From DSC:
As I think of some of the categories that this posting about establishing a new kind of co-presence relates to, there are many relevant ones:

21st century
24x7x365
3D
Audio/Visual (A/V)
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Cloud-based
Collaboration/web-based collaboration
Intelligent tutoring
Law schools, legal, government
Learning, learning agents, learning ecosystems, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces/hubs/pods
Libraries/librarians
K-12, higher education, corporate training
Metaverse
Online learning
Telelegal, telemedicine
Videoconferencing
Virtual courts, virtual tutoring, virtual field trips
Web3

How I use Minecraft to help kids with autism [Duncan]

On 02/14/2022, in 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, attention, communications, communities of practice, creativity, digital learning, digital storytelling, distance education, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, library / librarians, love of learning, Metaverse, Microsoft, morals/values, neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, online media, parents/guardians, participation, passions, platforms, play, productivity / tips and tricks, psychology, remote teaching and learning, social learning / networks, storytelling, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, UK, United States, vendors, web-based collaboration, youth, by Daniel Christian

How I use Minecraft to help kids with autism — from ted.com by Stuart Duncan; with thanks to Dr. Kate Christian for this resource

Description:

The internet can be an ugly place, but you won’t find bullies or trolls on Stuart Duncan’s Minecraft server, AutCraft. Designed for children with autism and their families, AutCraft creates a safe online environment for play and self-expression for kids who sometimes behave a bit differently than their peers (and who might be singled out elsewhere). Learn more about one of the best places on the internet with this heartwarming talk.

Below are two excerpted snapshots from Stuart’s presentation:

10 things you didn’t know you could do with Google Arts and Culture — from ditchthattextbook.com

Excerpt:

Google Arts and Culture is a massive collection of videos and images of cultural artifacts from over 2,000 museums around the world. But virtually visiting art exhibits is just one of the many things you can do with Google Arts and Culture. From virtually displaying life-sized art inside your house to playing in a blob opera, Google Arts and Culture runs an impressive gamut of ways to explore culture from your own home or classroom.

Talk about engagement! Here are some fun ideas to engage your audience, class, and/or group!!! [Christian]

On 01/18/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Adobe, adult learning, attention, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, love of learning, Microsoft, multimedia, online learning, online media, participation, platforms, remote teaching and learning, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, TVs, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
These ideas are specially meant for you entrepreneurs and vendors out there! Including such vendors and products such as Zoom, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Connect, and others!

This idea could also be profitable and fun for CMS/LMS vendors and products such as Instructure/Canvas, Blackboard Learn, D2L, Google Classroom and others!

How might we take engagement within an online-based learning environment to an entirely different level? Well, check out these ideas!

What if learning could feature more personality? Be more fun? Have shades of game shows even!? Yet at the same time, if you are a learner who ventures into the ideas that I’m about to suggest, you had better be ready to back up and explain your perspective/position!

Here’s what I’m getting at. You know when you are messaging you can insert some fun motion graphics into your message?

Well, what about if we could select from a bank of very short video clips during a live/synchronous discussion — or during an asynchronous-based discussion board posting — that contained a famous movie clip/message? Then, if you choose to do that, you are then required to explain your perspective/position.

Video	What the video could mean
“Beam me up Scotty! There’s no intelligent life down here.”	This is ridiculous. No one’s making any sense here.
“You meddling kids.” From various bad guys on Scooby-Doo.	You’re messing with me. I don’t agree with your perspective, and here’s why.
“That does not compute.” Spock from Star Trek.	I don’t agree with your answer. That doesn’t make any sense and here’s why.
“You can’t handle the truth.” Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men.”	Are you sure you want to know the truth about this topic? Can you handle such a truth? This is about to get real in here.
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Yoda. Star Wars	Take action on something; do something.
“I’ll be back.” Arnold Schwarzenegger in various films.	I’m stepping away from my desk…but I’ll be back soon. or You may have one this round, but I’ll be back for another round.

Learners within a learning community could use entertainment and have some fun while also having to backup their position/perspective! Talk about engagement! Shooooot.

And/or…learners could be like DJ’s at radio stations — and, on the fly, select from a bank of songs, audio-based noises and sounds!

The danger here is that humor can sometimes backfire and/or offend someone. So we would need to watch the content that’s available to choose from within the repositories of media. We would want to do some serious beta testing here to make sure things stay on the fun, entertaining, and educational sides of things.

Such an approach could introduce opportunities for creativity and for honing one’s ability to think on one’s feet. Also, learners could work on their communication skills as well as their ability to debate or persuade, or to practice some critical thinking.

While more gameshow-like on the surface, if you use such media, you have to explain why you used that media.

28 Website Accessibility Terms to Know in 2022 [Juviler]

On 12/29/2021, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, business, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Metaverse, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, online media, online tutoring, society, student-related, teaching & learning, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, web design and production, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

28 Website Accessibility Terms to Know in 2022 — from blog.hubspot.com by Jamie Juviler

Excerpt:

No matter the type of website you run or the industry that you’re in, prioritizing web accessibility is key to your success.
…
To ensure your website meets today’s standards for web accessibility, you’ll first need to understand the terminology. Accessibility is a big, dense area with a lot of jargon, acronyms, and codes — enough to steer a new website owner away from the topic altogether.

That’s why we’ve put together this glossary of 28 essential web accessibility terms any website owners should be aware of. By knowing the language, you’ll find it much easier to adopt accessibility principles on your own site and better serve visitors with disabilities.

Addendum on 12/31/21:

Accessibility awareness is on the rise, but is it turning into action? — from techcrunch.com by Joe Devon

Excerpts:

A Harris Poll reveals that more than half of American adults increased their online activities because of the pandemic. That number grows to 60% for people with disabilities.

The increase in online activities does not mean that everyone is able to achieve their goals. So, what kind of impact is the crisis having on accessibility? Are organizations finally getting the message on the importance of accessibility?
…

With that, here are the key results from the Alexa top 100 website testing:

- Out of the websites tested, 62% were accessible to screen readers, up from 40% in 2020.
- Every single page passed for having the valid document “lang” attribute.
- Only 11% of websites tested had errors in input field labels.
- The most common error was the use of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications specification)
- The second most common error was color contrast.

From DSC:
That last article linked to:

The 2021 State of Accessibility Report (SOAR) report

How can anyone claim that MOOCs have been a failure!!!? Are you serious!?!?! [Christian]

On 12/29/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Africa, Alternatives, Amazon, Australia, Canada, career development, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, Europe, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, India, innovation, instructional design, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, lifelong learning, love of learning, Microsoft, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, online learning, online media, platforms, teaching online, training / L&D, trends, UK, United States, universities, vendors, vocational / trades, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As the article below clearly relays, MOOCs did NOT fail! In the last decade, they have reached 220 million learners worldwide!

I don’t know the total number of graduates from the Ivy League — throughout all of the relevant institutions’ histories — but I would bet you that MOOCs have reached far more learners. And MOOCs did so in less than a decade.

And you’re going to tell me MOOCs have been a failure?!!!! Are you being serious!?!?! You can talk about completion rates all that you want to (and that misses the point, as some people sign up for MOOCs without ever intending to finish the entire course). As with other things, people get out of something what they put into that thing.

A Decade of MOOCs: A Review of Stats and Trends for Large-Scale Online Courses in 2021 — from edsurge.com by Dhawal Shah

Excerpts:

Now, a decade later, MOOCs have reached 220 million learners, excluding China where we don’t have as reliable data, . In 2021, providers launched over 3,100 courses and 500 microcredentials.
…
Originally, MOOC providers relied on universities to create courses. But that dependence is declining as more and more of the courses are created by companies every year. These corporate partners in course creation include tech giants Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook.

…the majority of the new courses launched on Coursera in 2021 are not from universities anymore.
…
These mass online courses were born without a business model. Yet within a decade, MOOCs went from no revenue to bringing in well over a half a billion dollars annually.

hoopla digital — a sharp digital streaming service

On 12/22/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Apple, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, Google, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, library / librarians, media/film, mobile learning, multimedia, music, online media, passions, play, reading, story, storytelling, student-related, television, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

hoopla digital is a digital streaming service for library users to access eBooks, eAudiobooks, music, movies, and TV shows using portable devices like smartphones and tablets.

From DSC:
I downloaded this app yesterday and borrowed a classical Christmas album on the spot. Our local library gives us 10 items per month:

Books are available for 21 days
Videos are available for 72 hours
Music titles are available for 7 days

NOTE: hoopla is available on desktops, phones, tablets, Alexa devices, Rokus, Apple TVs, Fire TVs, and Android TVs.

Appvent Calendar 2021 — from ICT Evangelist

On 12/21/2021, in animation, art, attention, Canada, communications, creativity, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, engagement / engaging students, Google, graphics, mathematics, media/film, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multimedia, music, online learning, online media, participation, pedagogy, platforms, play, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, science, society, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, vendors, youth, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from this posting:

Welcome to day 21 of the 2021 Appvent Calendar. It’s been so much fun sharing all of these amazing tools each day across the month so far. With Google featuring twice already on the calendar, it’s great to share again the awe and wonder of human history in the arts and within our cultures with the sharing of this amazing free app. Thanks to Gustavo Calderón De Anda for suggesting it!

Also see:

14 measurement apps for teaching math & science — from teachthought and Glenda Stewart-Smith
Glenda Stewart-Smith of Surrey School District #36 in Canada, along with TeachThought staff, helped put together this collection of iPhone and iPad apps that offer all of these measuring abilities and more.

Why school might look a little different these days — from dangerouslyirrelevant.org by Scott McLeod

If the vision of the “Web3” comes to fruition, how might these developments impact the future of lifelong learning? [Christian]

On 12/13/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Australia, Blockchain, Canada, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, credentialing, cryptocurrencies, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, Europe, experimentation, Facebook / Meta Platforms, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, ideas, India, innovation, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, Metaverse, Michigan, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, online learning, online media, skills, society, staying relevant, streams of content, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, vendors, web-based collaboration, Web3, by Daniel Christian

The next age of the internet could suck power away from Big Tech while living on the same backbone as cryptocurrencies. Here’s what to know about Web3. — from businessinsider.com by Katie Canales

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Web3 is the next generation of the internet and will exist on the blockchain.
It will be decentralized, meaning it won’t be controlled entities like Facebook or Google.
Twitter, GameStop, Reddit, and VC firm a16z are all putting resources into building Web3.

…

One aspect of the metaverse is that users will hopefully be able to go virtually from platform to platform with one single account — just like we will in Web3.

And NFTs, one-of-a-kind tokens representing your ownership of a virtual good, could be more easily bought and sold with cryptocurrencies within a space like Web3.

From DSC:
How might “Web3” translate into the future of lifelong learning? Here’s one vision/possibility:

Each person would have a learner profile/account that could seamlessly log into multiple education/training providers’ platforms and services. The results of that learning could be stored in one’s cloud-based learner profile. This type of next-generation learning platform would still need subject matter experts, instructional designers, programmers, and other team members. But the focus would be on building skills — skills that an artificial intelligence-backed interface would demonstrate are currently being requested by the modern workplace. This constantly-being-updated list of skills could then link to the learning-related experiences and resources that people could choose from in order to develop those skills.

The following vision/graphic also comes to my mind:

DC: What would it look like if the VRJAM metaverse platform were available for teaching and learning-based applications/offerings?

On 12/02/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Blockchain, business, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, cryptocurrencies, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, drama/theater, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, media/film, Metaverse, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, new business models, online learning, online media, participation, platforms, play, society, streams of content, technologies for your home, tools, UK, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, web-based collaboration, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

The VRJAM metaverse platform is coming to transform the world of live entertainment

VRJAM, the UK’s leading creator of live music experiences in virtual reality, today teased the launch of the VRJAM platform, a revolutionary new metaverse events platform and NFT creation solution.

To bring the VRJAM metaverse platform to life, VRJAM has partnered with market leading NFT software developer Enjin.io to launch a rich virtual reality world that offers a host of new solutions for artists to render and monetize their music and live shows in amazing new ways using NFT’s, blockchain and immersive technology.

The VRJAM platform promises to open up completely new ways for both fans and artist to experience live music events and represents the next step in the evolution of live music.

Ownership of this virtual world will be shared by a guild of globally recognised artists and record labels who will cooperate to create value and define new possibilities for music inside the metaverse.

VRJAM’s metaverse platform offers solutions for true live performance using technology that is years ahead of other similar platforms. It provides unsurpassed user experience and offers fans, artists and labels an array of unique features:

At the heart of the VRJAM metaverse platform is a blockchain based trading and finance system, VRJAM Coin. This revolutionary new cryptocurrency will create ways for both artists and fans to earn money inside the metaverse and promises to create entirely new business models for artists, venues and labels at a time when their traditional ways of making money have been turned upside down by the Covid 19 pandemic.

The VRJAM cryptocurrency is backed by investment from 5 of the world’s leading blockchain specialist investment and venture capital firms, demonstrating the exciting potential of VRJAM’s tech.

The VRJAM platform is scheduled to go live in early 2022, follow on social media to stay up to date.

From DSC:
Hmmmmm….might this type of thing spill over into the worlds of teaching and learning? More direct-to-consumer (learner) types of offerings? Will this open up the doors for new methods of earning a living or for those interested in building a teaching & learning-based brand?

Alternatively, will this impact what actors, actresses, and comedians will be able to do?

Addendum on 12/2/21:

Got Teacher Burnout? Launch A Microschool — from forbes.com by Kerry McDonald

EduMAX 2021 recap: Together for student success around the globe [Distefano]

On 12/02/2021, in 21st century, Adobe, Africa, animation, Asia, Australia, Canada, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education technology, Europe, experimentation, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, journalism, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, liberal arts, lifelong learning, media/film, multimedia, music, online learning, online media, passions, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, remote teaching and learning, simulations, skills, STEAM-related, story, storytelling, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, UK, United States, universities, vendors, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

EduMAX 2021 recap: Together for student success around the globe — from blog.adobe.com by Sebastian Distefano

Excerpt:

University CIOs, deans, provosts, faculty and staff from more than 100 institutions convened online for the Adobe EduMAX 2021 conference, where academic leaders shared how they are transforming teaching and learning practices across their campuses. Key discussion points included:

How digital literacy increases engagement to bring faculty and students together, whether they are in-person, online or in a hybrid environment.
How digital literacy closes the skills gap in higher education and industry by fostering critical essential skills that employers value.
How faculty can integrate digital literacy across the curriculum for all students.

All you need to know about Microsoft Immersive Reader [Khan]

On 11/24/2021, in 24x7x365 access, accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, assistive technologies, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital audio, digital learning, education technology, faculty/staff, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Microsoft, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), neurodivergent/special needs, online learning, online media, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, reading, remote teaching and learning, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, writing, by Daniel Christian

All you need to know about Microsoft Immersive Reader — from edtechreview.in by Saniya Khan

Excerpt:

Microsoft Immersive Reader is a highly interactive reading tool specifically designed to help students improve their reading, understanding and grammar skills. It also makes the texts more accessible to students of all levels.

Planning for the Classroom of the Future — from campustechnology.com by Doug Smith
The right combination of technology and training will ensure your learning spaces can adapt to ever-changing modes of instruction. Here are key considerations for future-proofing classrooms, supporting faculty and surviving the next pandemic.

Getting the word out to our learners about the best ways for them to study [Christian]

On 11/05/2021, in Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, CMS/LMS, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education, education reform, education technology, elearning, higher education, ideas, instructional design, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, learning theories, liberal arts, online learning, online media, pedagogy, platforms, research, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I was reading about a Ph.D. who was currently doing some research into the science of learning. This person had been teaching in a School of Education for years, but just (relatively) recently embarked on a Ph.D. During this person’s research, they came across a lot more information regarding the science of learning.

If this was true with someone who had been in education for years (and I can relate to that as well), it made me wonder:

How can we better get the word out to our learners re: how they can maximize their Return On Investment (ROI) from their studying time and efforts…?

Then I thought, why couldn’t we put these tips directly into our banners on our CMS’s and LMS’s and/or link our banners to some other web pages/resources that provide such best practices and tips for our learners!?! This could occur within the corporate training world as well.

Examples:

Along these lines, we should have 11×17 (or larger) posters like this plastered in every hallway of every learning space out there:

Learning Ecosystems

How can anyone claim that MOOCs have been a failure!!!? Are you serious!?!?! [Christian]

DC: What would it look like if the VRJAM metaverse platform were available for teaching and learning-based applications/offerings?

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