When a PC or a game console runs this virtual world, the GPU chips play an unexpectedly large role, taking so much of the burden off the main processor.
For decades, the processing power available from individual computer chips increased every 18 months or so, according to the oft-quoted Moore’s Law. But in recent years, this trend has begun to slow, even as modern software applications demanded far more processing power than ever before
Companies and coders are now moving workloads off the main CPU and onto a wide range of alternative processors. If they can’t get enough processing power from a single chip, they need many.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has already build a specialized processor for its Hololens augmented reality headset to help the device keep track of your movements, among other things. In the end, this is yet another example of computing tasks shiftings off the CPU and onto something else.
Canada will see the fastest growth, with a CAGR of 145.2 percent over the forecast period. Other leaders in terms of growth include Central and Eastern Europe at 133.5 percent, Western Europe at 121.2 percent and the U.S. at 120.5 percent.
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Leslie Fisher Thinks Augmented Reality First, Then VR in the Classroom
An interview with the former Apple K–12 systems engineer, who will participate in multiple sessions during ISTE.
THE Journal: What do you think about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in the classroom? Is the cost point for VR prohibitive?
In virtual reality, one of my favorite apps is CoSpaces. It allows anyone to design a 3D space, and then interact with it in virtual reality.
Virtual reality can be quite affordable with Google Cardboard. We can get into basic interaction in VR with Cardboard. There are 40 or 50 VR apps where you can simply use Cardboard and explore. Google Street View allows you to do virtual viewing of many different locations. That technology augments what the teacher is doing.
Most kids can’t afford to buy their own Oculus headset. That price point is quite a bit higher. But we don’t need to have 30 kids using Oculus all of the time. Two or three might work
We’re now seeing a move toward mid-range, standalone VR headsets with everything built into the device. Some include their own processors, while others, like the forthcoming Microsoft headset, will work with current desktops. Microsoft’s device claims to do both VR and a modified version of mixed reality
The low end of the VR spectrum has been dominated by Google Cardboard, with over 10 million distributed
Augmented Reality
AR burst into the public’s consciousness with the Pokemon Go craze in 2016. And Snap (formerly Snapchat) expanded the range of their social media platform with the release of Spectacles, their wearable glasses and World Lens filters that add digital objects to your environment. A second version of Spectacles may include far more extensive AR capabilities.
At Facebook’s spring F8 conference, Mark Zuckerberg made the case that our mobile cameras will be the first popular AR platform. Apple just announced ARKit for iOS at their June WWDC developers conference.
Mixed Reality
Meta Glasses has been developing its own mixed reality unit that offers a wider field of view than the 40° of HoloLens. And Intel’s Project Alloy promises a “Merged Reality” headset prototype combining both VR and AR by the end of this year.
Kickstarter Projects
Aryzon which is creating a Google Cardboard-like device for simple AR experiences. Another is the NOLO Project, which offers an HTC Vive-like experience with full freedom of movement using only a plastic headset and your phone.
Market research firm Technavio has identified the top five vendors in the global augmented reality (AR) in education market. The companies are EON Reality, DAQRI, GAMOOZ, Magic Leap and QuiverVision, according to a newly published report.
The Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, and advancements in online learning have changed the way universities reach prospective students, engage with their current student body, and provide them the resources they need.
The Internet of Things has opened up a whole new world of possibilities in higher education. The increased connectivity between devices and “everyday things” means better data tracking and analytics, and improved communication between student, professor, and institution, often without ever saying a word. IoT is making it easier for students to learn when, how, and where they want, while providing professors support to create a more flexible and connected learning environment.
Virtual/Augmented Reality
Virtual and augmented reality technologies have begun to take Higher Ed into the realm of what used to be considered science fiction.
a report from ISACA, a nonprofit association focused on knowledge and practices for information systems. The 2017 State of Cyber Security Study surveyed IT security leaders around the globe on security issues, the emerging threat landscape, workforce challenges and more.
53 percent of survey respondents reported a year-over-year increase in cyber attacks;
62 percent experienced ransomware in 2016, but only 53 percent have a formal process in place to address a ransomware attack;
78 percent reported malicious attacks aimed at impairing an organization’s operations or user data;
Only 31 percent said they routinely test their security controls, while 13 percent never test them; and
16 percent do not have an incident response plan.
65 percent of organizations now employ a chief information security officers, up from 50 percent in 2016, yet still struggle to fill open cyber security positions;
48 percent of respondents don’t feel comfortable with their staff’s ability to address complex cyber security issues;
More than half say cyber security professionals “lack an ability to understand the business”;
One in four organizations allot less than $1,000 per cyber security team member for training; and
About half of the organizations surveyed will see an increase in their cyber security budget, down from 61 percent in 2016.
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IoT to Represent More Than Half of Connected Device Landscape by 2021
analysis comes from Cisco’s recent Visual Networking Index for the 2016-2021 forecast period.
IP video traffic will increase from 73 percent of all internet consumer traffic in 2016 to 82 percent in 2021 (with live streaming accounting for 13 percent);
Virtual and augmented reality traffic is expected to increase 20-fold during the forecast period at a compound annual growth rate of 82 percent; and
Internet video surveillance traffic is anticipated to grow during the forecast period, comprising 3.4 percent of all internet traffic.
the privacy concerns such use might raise; as universities implement systems that integrate wearables, they will encounter this hurdle and have to implement policies to address it.
5. Research
Laboratories are often required to be completely controlled spaces with considerations made for climate, light, and sometimes even biometric data inside the lab.
If you search Twitter effectively, there are not only great resources but great people to help you teach differently and keep the classroom more entertaining. You can grow your own personal learning network.
Maya Georgieva, an ed tech strategist, author and speaker with more than 15 years of experience in higher education and global education. Georgieva is co-founder of Digital Bodies, a consulting group that provides news and analysis of VR, AR and wearables in education
Microsoft has been collaborating with its partners, such as HP, Acer, Dell and Lenovo, to develop VR headsets that will work with lower-end desktops. Later this year, the companies will debut headsets for $299, “which is much more affordable compared to HoloLens
many Kickstarter crowdfunding efforts are bound to make high-end headsets more accessible for teaching.
the NOLO project. The NOLO system is meant for mobile VR headsets and gives users that “6 degrees of freedom” (or 6 DoF) motion tracking that is currently only found in high-end headsets.
2) Hand Controllers That Will Bring Increased Interactivity
AltspaceVR h uses avatars and supports multiplayer sessions that allow for socialization and user interaction.
Facebook has been continuing to develop its own VR platform, Facebook Spaces, which is in beta and will be out later this year. LectureVR is a similar platform on the horizon.
annual Speak Up survey of more than 510,000 K–12 students, parents and educators
Middle school students seem to be the most excited about AR and VR in the school setting. Among students in grades 6 through 8, 33 percent said they would like to see augmented reality apps in their ultimate school, and 47 percent of those kids said they would like to see virtual reality experiences and hardware in their ultimate school.
teachers, principals and parents were more skeptical. Only 12 percent of parents and principals said they want to see AR apps in their ultimate school, while 13 percent of teachers said the same.
continued practice, clear goals and immediate feedback
project-based learning, Minecraft and SimCity EDU
Gamification of learning versus learning with games
organizations to promote gaming and gamification in education (p. 6 http://scsu.mn/1F008Re)
the “chocolate-covered broccoli” problem
Discussion: why gaming and gamification is not accepted in a higher rate? what are the hurdles to enable greater faster acceptance? What do you think, you can do to accelerate this process?
Gaming in an academic library
why the academic library? sandbox for experimentation
the connection between digital literacy and gaming and gamificiation
Gilchrist and Zald’s model for instruction design through assessment
Discussion: based on the example (http://web.stcloudstate.edu/pmiltenoff/bi/), how do you see transforming academic library services to meet the demands of 21st century education?
Gaming, gamification and assessment (badges)
inability of current assessments to evaluate games as part of the learning process
“microcredentialing” through digital badges
Mozilla Open Badges and Badgestack
leaderboards
Discussion: How do you see a transition from the traditional assessment to a new and more flexible academic assessment?
But it gets even more interesting when virtual and augmented reality meet the Internet of Things
when Second Life began, there was a lot of interest, but the toolset was limited — just because of the timeframe, not that the toolset wasn’t a good one for that period. But, things matured. I think it was, in particular, the ability to work in HD that improved things a lot. Then came the ability to bring in datasets — creating dashboards and ways for people to access other data that they could bring into the virtual reality experiment. I think those two things were real forces for change.
A dashboard could pop up, and you could select among several tools, and you could get a feed from somewhere on the Internet — maybe a video or a presentation. And you can use these things as you move through this hyper reality: The datasets you select can be manipulated and be part of the entire experience.
So, the hyper reality experience became deeper, richer with tools and data via the IoT; and with HD it became more real.
We can’t deny the fact that curriculum and the way we teach is becoming unbundled. Some things are going to happen online and in the virtual space, and other things will happen in the classroom. And the expense of education is going to drive how we operate. Virtual reality tools, augmented reality tools, and visualization tools can offer experiences that can be mass-produced and sent out to lots of students, machine to machine, at a lower cost. Virtual field trips and other kinds of virtual learning experiences will become much more commonplace in the next 5 years.
