For a limited time, free registration is being offered to faculty, students, and staff of educational institutions (including K-12 schools/districts, universities, colleges, museums, and libraries) who wish to attend but will NOT be presenting at the conference or publishing in the proceedings. To take advantage of this offer, you must register by April 19, 2020 using an email address associated with your educational institution:
No further Academic Full and Short paper submissions are being considered at this stage.
##### INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING OR REVIEWING? #####
A range of volunteer opportunities are available, including conference internships for undergraduate and graduate students. Some of the roles currently available include session chair/facilitator, moderator, audio-visual/technical support, virtual event greeter/usher, virtual event photographer, virtual event videographer/livestreamer, 2D artist / illustrator
Expressions of interest are also being solicited from scholars and practitioners wishing to join the iLRN 2020 Program Committee to peer review papers and proposals received in the late submission round (closing April 19, 2020). The late-round submissions will be no longer than 3 pages in length, and each Program Committee member will be asked to review no more than two submissions.
##### INTERESTED IN SPONSORING OR EXHIBITING? #####
A number of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are available for organizations to:
– Meet and interact with key educational stakeholders
– Showcase their products and services
– Connect and collaborate with top researchers / scientists
– Build and strengthen customer / client relationships.
Packages range from US$500 for a basic virtual exhibit booth to US$15,000 for an exclusive Gold Sponsorship.
IM 690 lab plan for March 31, online: Virtual Worlds
If at any point you are lost in the virtual worlds, please consider talking/chatting using our IM 690 zoom link:https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/964455431 or call 320 308 3072
Readings: Currently, if you go to the SCSU online dbases
,if they are working at all, don’t be surprised when clicking on EBSCOhost Business Source Complete to see this msg:
and if you execute a search:
“AltSpaceVR” + “education”, you will find only meager 1+ results.
Google Scholar, naturally, will yield much greater number.
So, search and find an article of your interest using Google Scholar. I used “immersive learning” + “education” for my search.
I chose to read this article: https://journal.alt.ac.uk/index.php/rlt/article/view/2347/2657
since it addressed design principles when applying mixed reality in education. What article did you find/choose/read/are ready to share your analysis with?
Tuesday, March 31, 5PM lab
As usually, we will meet at this Zoom link: https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/964455431 All of us will be online and we will meet in the Zoom room. Please come 10 min earlier, so we can check our equipment and make sure everything works. Since we will be exploring online virtual worlds, please be prepared for technical issues, especially with microphones.
For this lab, please download and install on your computers the AltSpaceVR (ASVR) software: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/altspacevr/9nvr7mn2fchq?activetab=pivot:overviewtab Please consider the impediment that Microsoft has made the 2D mode for PC available only for Windows. If you are a Mac user and don’t have PC available at home, please contact me directly for help.
In addition, pls have a link to the video tutorial; https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/03/13/im690-asvr-2d-tutorial/
pls be informed about MediaSpace issues of the last two weeks, which can result in poor rendering of the video. If issues persist and you still need help downloading and installing the software, contact me directly for help. Please do your best to have ASVR installed on your computer before the lab starts on Tues, March 31, 5PM, so we can use our time during the lab for much more fun activities!
Intro to ASVR.
Please watch this 5 min video anytime you feel a bit lost in ASVR
pls consider the issues with MediaSpace and be patient, if the video renders and/or does not play right away. The video is meant to help you learn how to navigate your avatar in ASVR.
the first 15-20 min in the lab, we will “meet” in ASVR, figure out how to work on our ASVR avatar, how to use the computer keyboard to move, communicate and have basic dexterity. We must learn to “make friends” with Mark Gill (ASVR name: MarkGill47), Dr. Park (ASVR name: dhk3600) and Dr. Miltenoff (ASVR name: Plamen), as well as with your class peers, who will be sharing their ASVR contact info in the Zoom Chat session. Once we learn this skills, we are ready to explore ASVR.
Mark Gill will “lead” us through several virtual worlds, which you will observe and assess from the point of view of an Instructional Designer and an educator (e.g. how these worlds can accommodate learning; what type of teaching do these virtual worlds offer, etc.)
Eventually, Mark Gill will bring us to the SCSU COSE space, created by him, where he will leave us to discuss.
Discussion in the COSE ASVR room
We will start our discussion with you sharing your analysis of the article you found in Google Scholar for today’s class (see above Readings). How do your findings from the article match your impressions from the tour across virtual worlds in ASVR? How does learning happen?
Final projects
the rest of the time in the lab will be allocated for work on your final projects.
Dr. Park and Dr. Miltenoff will work individually with your groups to assist with ideas, questions regarding your projects,
IM 690 lab plan for March 3, MC 205: Oculus Go and Quest
Readings:
TAM:Technology Acceptances Model
Read Venkatesh, and Davis and sum up the importance of their model for instructional designers working with VR technologies and creating materials for users of VR technologies.
UTAUT: using the theory to learn well with VR and to design good acceptance model for endusers: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/02/20/utaut/
Watch both parts of Victoria Bolotina presentation at the Global VR conference. How is she applying UTAUT for her research?
Read Bracq et al (2019); how do they apply UTAUT for their VR nursing training?
joining a space and collaborating and communicating with other users
Assignment: Group work
Find one F2F and one online peer to form a group.
Based on the questions/directions before you started watching the videos:
– Does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered
– how does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered so far?
– what models and ideas from the videos you will see seem possible to be replicated by you?
exchange thoughts with your peers and make a plan to create similar educational product
Post your writing in the following D2L Discussions thread
Augmented Reality with Hololens Watch videos at computer station)
The event requires no registration, and is virtual only, free, and open to the public. Platform access is required, so please install one of the above platforms to attend the International Summit. You may attend in 2D on a desktop or laptop computer with a headphone and microphone (USB gaming headphone recommended), or with a virtual device such as the Oculus Go, Quest, and Rift, Vive, and other mobile and tethered devices. Please note the specifications and requirements of each platform.
Charlie Fink, author, columnist for Forbes magazine, and Adjunct Faculty member of Chapman University, will be presenting “Setting the Table for the Next Decade in XR,” discussing the future of this innovative and immersive technology, at the 2020 Educators in VR International Summit. He will be speaking in AltspaceVR on Tuesday, February 18 at 1:00 PM EST /
This workshop with Dr. Sarah Jones will focus on developing a relevant and new literacy for virtual reality, including the core competencies and skills needed to develop and understand how to become an engaged user of the technology in a meaningful way. The workshop will develop into research for a forthcoming book on Uncovering a Literacy for VR due to be published in 2020.
Sarah is listed as one of the top 15 global influencers within virtual reality. After nearly a decade in television news, Sarah began working in universities focusing on future media, future technology and future education. Sarah holds a PhD in Immersive Storytelling and has published extensively on virtual and augmented reality, whilst continuing to make and create immersive experiences. She has advised the UK Government on Immersive Technologies and delivers keynotes and speaks at conferences across the world on imagining future technology. Sarah is committed to diversifying the media and technology industries and regularly champions initiatives to support this agenda.
Currently there are limited ways to connect 3D VR environments to physical objects in the real-world whilst simultaneously conducting communication and collaboration between remote users. Within the context of a solar power plant, the performance metrics of the site are invaluable for environmental engineers who are remotely located. Often two or more remotely located engineers need to communicate and collaborate on solving a problem. If a solar panel component is damaged, the repair often needs to be undertaken on-site thereby incurring additional expenses. This triage of communication is known as inter-cognitive communication and intra-cognitive communication: inter-cognitive communication where information transfer occurs between two cognitive entities with different cognitive capabilities (e.g., between a human and an artificially cognitive system); intra-cognitive communication where information transfer occurs between two cognitive entities with equivalent cognitive capabilities (e.g., between two humans) [Baranyi and Csapo, 2010]. Currently, non-VR solutions offer a comprehensive analysis of solar plant data. A regular PC with a monitor currently have advantages over 3D VR. For example, sensors can be monitored using dedicated software such as EPEVER or via a web browser; as exemplified by the comprehensive service provided by Elseta. But when multiple users are able to collaborate remotely within a three-dimensional virtual simulation, the opportunities for communication, training and academic education will be profound.
Michael Vallance Ed.D. is a researcher in the Department of Media Architecture, Future University Hakodate, Japan. He has been involved in educational technology design, implementation, research and consultancy for over twenty years, working closely with Higher Education Institutes, schools and media companies in UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. His 3D virtual world design and tele-robotics research has been recognized and funded by the UK Prime Minister’s Initiative (PMI2) and the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST). He has been awarded by the United States Army for his research in collaborating the programming of robots in a 3D Virtual World.
Augmented Reality Lens is popular among young people thanks to Snapchat’s invention. Business is losing money without fully using of social media targeting young people (14-25). In my presentation, Dominique Wu will show how businesses can generate more leads through Spark AR (Facebook AR/Instagram AR) & Snapchat AR Lens, and how to create a strategic Snapchat & Instagram AR campaigns.
Domnique Wu is an XR social media strategist and expert in UX/UI design.She has her own YouTube and Apple Podcast show called “XReality: Digital Transformation,” covering the technology and techniques of incorporating XR and AR into social media, marketing, and integration into enterprise solutions.
Mark Christian, EVP, Strategy and Corporate Development, GIGXR
Mixed Reality devices like the HoloLens are transforming education now. Mark Christian will discuss how the technology is not about edge use cases or POCs, but real usable products that are at Universities transforming the way we teach and learn. Christian will talk about the products of GIGXR, the story of how they were developed and what the research is saying about their efficacy. It is time to move to adoption of XR technology in education. Learn how one team has made this a reality.
As CEO of forward-thinking virtual reality and software companies, Mark Christian employs asymmetric approaches to rapid, global market adoption, hiring, diversity and revenue. He prides himself on unconventional approaches to building technology companies.
Virtual Reality is an effective medium to impart education to the student only if it is done right.The way VR is considered gimmick or not is by the way the software application are designed/developed by the developers not the hardware limitation.I will be giving insight about the VR development for educational content specifically designed for students of lower secondary school.I will also provide insights about the development of game in unity3D game engine.
Game Developer and VR developer with over 3 years of experience in Game Development.Developer of Zombie Shooter, winner of various national awards in the gaming and entertainment category, Avinash Gyawali is the developer of EDVR, an immersive voice controlled VR experience specially designed for children of age 10-18 years.
Virtual Reality Technologies for Learning Designers
Margherita Berti
Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated experience that simulates presence in real or imagined environments (Kerrebrock, Brengman, & Willems, 2017). VR promotes contextualized learning, authentic experiences, critical thinking, and problem-solving opportunities. Despite the great potential and popularity of this technology, the latest two installations of the Educause Horizon Report (2018, 2019) have argued that VR remains “elusive” in terms of mainstream adoption. The reasons are varied, including the expense and the lack of empirical evidence for its effectiveness in education. More importantly, examples of successful VR implementations for those instructors who lack technical skills are still scarce. Margherita Berti will discuss a range of easy-to-use educational VR tools and examples of VR-based activity examples and the learning theories and instructional design principles utilized for their development.
Margherita Berti is a doctoral candidate in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) and Educational Technology at the University of Arizona. Her research specialization resides at the intersection of virtual reality, the teaching of culture, and curriculum and content development for foreign language education.
Amanda Fox, Creative Director of STEAMPunks/MetaInk Publishing, MetaInk Publishing
There is a barrier between an author and readers of his/her books. The author’s journey ends, and the reader’s begins. But what if as an author/trainer, you could use gamification and augmented reality(AR) to interact and coach your readers as part of their learning journey? Attend this session with Amanda Fox to learn how the book Teachingland leverages augmented reality tools such as Metaverse to connect with readers beyond the text.
Amanda Fox, Creative Director of STEAMPunksEdu, and author of Teachingland: A Teacher’s Survival Guide to the Classroom Apolcalypse and Zom-Be A Design Thinker. Check her out on the Virtual Reality Podcast, or connect with her on twitter @AmandaFoxSTEM.
Christian Jonathan Angel Rueda specializaes in didactic activity of the use of virtual reality/virtual worlds to learn the fundamentals of design. He shares the development of a course including recreating in the three-dimensional environment using the fundamentals learned in class, a demonstration of all the works developed throughout the semester using the knowledge of design foundation to show them creatively, and a final project class scenario that connected with the scenes of the students who showed their work throughout the semester.
Christian Jonathan Angel Rueda is a research professor at the Autonomous University of Queretaro in Mexico. With a PhD in educational technology, Christian has published several papers on the intersection of education, pedagogy, and three-dimensional immersive digital environments. He is also an edtech, virtual reality, and social media consultant at Eco Onis.
How we can bridge the gap between eLearning and XR. Richard Van Tilborg discusses combining brain insights enabled with new technologies. Training and education cases realised with the CoVince platform: journeys which start on you mobile and continue in VR. The possibilities to earn from your creations and have a central distribution place for learning and data.
Richard Van Tilborg works with the CoVince platform, a VR platform offering training and educational programs for central distribution of learning and data. He is an author and speaker focusing on computers and education in virtual reality-based tasks for delivering feedback.
During Lab work on Jan 28, we experienced Video 360 cardboard movies
let’s take 5-10 min and check out the following videos (select and watch at least three of them)
F2F students, please Google Cardboard
Online students, please view on your computer or mobile devices, if you don’t have googles at your house (you can purchase now goggles for $5-7 from second-hand stores such as Goodwill)
Both F2F and online students. Here directions how to easily open the movies on your mobile devices:
Copy the URL and email it to yourself.
Open the email on your phone and click on the link
If you have goggles, click on the appropriate icon lower right corner and insert the phone in the goggles
Open your D2L course on your phone (you can use the mobile app).
Go to the D2L Content Module with these directions and click on the link.
After the link opens, insert phone in the goggles to watch the video
Videos: While watching the videos, consider the following objectives:
– Does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered, e.g. PBL, CBL, Activity Theory, ADDIE Model, TIM etc. (https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/01/29/im-690-id-theory-and-practice/ ). Can you connect the current state, but also the potential of this technology with the any of these frameworks and theories, e.g., how would Google Tour Creator or any of these videos fits in the Analysis – Design – Development – Implementation – Evaluation process? Or, how do you envision your Google Tour Creator project or any of these videos to fit in the Entry – Adoption – Adaptation – Infusion – Transformation process?
– how does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered so far?
– what models and ideas from the videos you will see seem possible to be replicated by you?
Find one F2F and one online peer to form a group.
Based on the questions/directions before you started watching the videos:
– Does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered. e.g. PBL, CBL, Activity Theory, ADDIE Model, TIM etc. (https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/01/29/im-690-id-theory-and-practice/ ). Can you connect the current state, but also the potential of this technology with the any of these frameworks and theories, e.g., how would Google Tour Creator or any of these videos fits in the Analysis – Design – Development – Implementation – Evaluation process? Or, how do you envision your Google Tour Creator project or any of these videos to fit in the Entry – Adoption – Adaptation – Infusion – Transformation process?
– how does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered so far?
– what models and ideas from the videos you will see seem possible to be replicated by you?
exchange thoughts with your peers and make a plan to create similar educational product
Evaluate the ability of the game you watched to be incorporated in the educational process
Assignment: In 10-15 min (mind your peers, since we have only headset), do your best to evaluate one educational app (e.g., Labster) and one leisure app (games).
Use the same questions to evaluate Lenovo DayDream:
– Does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered, e.g. PBL, CBL, Activity Theory, ADDIE Model, TIM etc. (https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2020/01/29/im-690-id-theory-and-practice/ ). Can you connect the current state, but also the potential of this technology with the any of these frameworks and theories, e.g., how would Google Tour Creator or any of these videos fits in the Analysis – Design – Development – Implementation – Evaluation process? Or, how do you envision your Google Tour Creator project or any of these videos to fit in the Entry – Adoption – Adaptation – Infusion – Transformation process?
– how does this particular technology fit in the instructional design (ID) frames and theories covered so far?
– what models and ideas from the videos you will see seem possible to be replicated by you?
Dr. Sivaprakasam and I are developing a microcredentialing system for your class.
The “library” part has several components:
One badge for your ability to use the databases and find reliable scientific information in your field (required)
submit your results in the respective D2L assignment folder. A badge will be issued to you after the assignment is graded
One badge for completing the quiz based on the information from this library instruction (required)
a badge will be issued to you automatically after successful completion of the quizz
One badge for your ability to use social media for a serious, reliable, scientific research (required)
submit your results in the respective D2L assignment folder. A badge will be issued to you after the assignment is graded
One badge for using the D2L “embedded librarian” widget to contact the librarian with questions regarding your class research (one of two optional)
A badge will be issued to you after your post with your email or any other contact information is submitted
One badge for helping class peer with his research (one of two optional)
submit your results in the respective D2L assignment folder. A badge will be issued to you after the assignment is graded
Collecting two of the required and one of the optional badges let you earn the superbadge “Mastery of Library Instruction.”
The superbadge brings points toward your final grade.
Once you acquire the badges, Dr. Sivaprakasam will reflect your achievement in D2L Grades.
If you are building a LinkedIn portfolio, here are directions to upload your badges in your LinkedIn account using Badgr:
according to Pew Research Center, 68 percent of American adults get their news from social media—platforms where opinion is often presented as fact.
results of the international test revealed that only 14 percent of U.S. students were able to reliably distinguish between fact and opinion.
News and Media Literacy (and the lack of) is not very different from Information Literacy
An “information literate” student is able to “locate, evaluate, and effectively use information from diverse sources.” See more About Information Literacy.
How does information literacy help me?
Every day we have questions that need answers. Where do we go? Whom can we trust? How can we find information to help ourselves? How can we help our family and friends? How can we learn about the world and be a better citizen? How can we make our voice heard?
Standard 1. The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed
Standard 2. The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently
Standard 3. The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system
Standard 4. The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
Standard 5. The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally
Project Information Literacy
A national, longitudinal research study based in the University of Washington’s iSchool, compiling data on how college students seek and use information.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Developing Your Research Topic/Question
Research always starts with a question. But the success of your research also depends on how you formulate that question. If your topic is too broad or too narrow, you may have trouble finding information when you search. When developing your question/topic, consider the following:
Is my question one that is likely to have been researched and for which data have been published? Believe it or not, not every topic has been researched and/or published in the literature.
Be flexible. Consider broadening or narrowing the topic if you are getting a limited number or an overwhelming number of results when you search. In nursing it can be helpful to narrow by thinking about a specific population (gender, age, disease or condition, etc.), intervention, or outcome.
Discuss your topic with your professor and be willing to alter your topic according to the guidance you receive.
Getting Ready for Research
Library Resources vs. the Internet
How (where from) do you receive information about your professional interests?
Advantages/disadvantages of using Web Resources
Evaluating Web Resources
Google or similar; Yahoo, Bing
Google Scholar
Reddit, Digg, Quora
Wikipedia
Become a member of professional organizations and use their online information
Use the SCSU library page to online databases
Building Your List of Keywords
Why Keyword Searching?
Why not just type in a phrase or sentence like you do in Google or Yahoo!?
Because most electronic databases store and retrieve information differently than Internet search engines.
A databases searches fields within a collection of records. These fields include the information commonly found in a citation plus an abstract (if available) and subject headings. Search engines search web content which is typically the full text of sources.
The bottom line: you get better results in a database by using effective keyword search strategies.
To develop an effective search strategy, you need to:
determine the key concepts in your topic and
develop a good list of keyword synonyms.
Why use synonyms?
Because there is more than one way to express a concept or idea. You don’t know if the article you’re looking for uses the same expression for a key concept that you are using.
Consider: Will an author use:
Hypertension or High Blood Pressure?
Teach or Instruct?
Therapy or Treatment?
Don’t get “keyword lock!” Be willing to try a different term as a keyword. If you are having trouble thinking of synonyms, check a thesaurus, dictionary, or reference book for ideas.
Keyword worksheet
Library Resources
How to find the SCSU Library Website
SCSU online databases
SCSU Library Web page
Basic Research Skills
Locating and Defining a Database
Database Searching Overview:
You can search using the SCSU library online dbases by choosing:
Simple search
Advanced search
Identifying a Scholarly Source
Boolean operators
Databases:
CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, Health Source: Consumer Edition, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
Psychology:
PsychINFO
General Science
ScienceDirect
Arts & Humanities Citation Index
How do you evaluate a source of information to determine if it is appropriate for academic/scholarly use. There is no set “checklist” to complete but below are some criteria to consider when you are evaluating a source.
ACCURACY
Does the author cite reliable sources?
How does the information compare with that in other works on the topic?
Can you determine if the information has gone through peer-review?
Are there factual, spelling, typographical, or grammatical errors?
AUDIENCE
Who do you think the authors are trying to reach?
Is the language, vocabulary, style and tone appropriate for intended audience?
What are the audience demographics? (age, educational level, etc.)
Are the authors targeting a particular group or segment of society?
AUTHORITY
Who wrote the information found in the article or on the site?
What are the author’s credentials/qualifications for this particular topic?
Is the author affiliated with a particular organization or institution?
What does that affiliation suggest about the author?
CURRENCY
Is the content current?
Does the date of the information directly affect the accuracy or usefulness of the information?
OBJECTIVITY/BIAS
What is the author’s or website’s point of view?
Is the point of view subtle or explicit?
Is the information presented as fact or opinion?
If opinion, is the opinion supported by credible data or informed argument?
Is the information one-sided?
Are alternate views represented?
Does the point of view affect how you view the information?
PURPOSE
What is the author’s purpose or objective, to explain, provide new information or news, entertain, persuade or sell?
Does the purpose affect how you view the information presented?
InterLibrary Loan
Copyright and Fair Use
Author Rights and Publishing & Finding Author Instructions for Publishing in Scholarly Journals
However, none of these studies question the teaching methods used in the classes themselves or whether teachers are recognizing the power of digital devices for students to create, share, connect and discover information.
Digital Organization and Content Curation
Much like students understand the concept of binders, notebooks and notes in the physical world, they need a similar system in the digital one. Whether working with dividers and subjects in a tool like Notability or sections and pages in OneNote, students need to build vocabulary to support how they house their learning.
Tagging this way not only helps students stay organized, but it could also help them to examine trends across courses or even semesters.
As a doctoral student, I use OneNote. First, I create a new digital notebook each year. Inside that, I add sections for each term as well as my different courses. Finally, my notes get organized into individual pages within the sections. When I can recall the precise location where I put a particular set of notes, I navigate directly to that page. However, on the numerous occasions when an author, vocabulary term or concept seems familiar but I cannot recall the precise moment when I took notes, then the search function becomes critical.
Multimodal Notes
With most tools (Notability, OneNote, Evernote, etc.), students can not only capture typed and handwritten notes but also incorporate photos, audio and even video. These versatile capabilities allow students to customize their note taking process to meet their learning needs. Consider these possibilities:
Students may take notes on paper, add photos of those papers into a digital notebook, synthesize their thinking with audio or written notes, and then tag their digital notes for later retrieval.
Students might use audio syncing — a feature that records audio and then digitally syncs it with whatever the student writes or types — to capture the context of the class discussion or lecture. When reviewing their notes, students could click or tap on their notes and then jump directly to that point in the audio recording.
Teachers might provide students with their presentation slides or other note taking guides as PDF files. Now, students can focus on taking notes — using any modality — for synthesis, elaboration, reflection or analysis rather than in an attempt to capture content verbatim.
In 1949, neuropsychologist Donald Hebb famously wrote, “Neurons that fire together wire together.”
Concept Mapping
One of the powerful components of digital note taking is that the pages never end, and a full page isn’t an artificial barrier to limit thinking. Students can work on an infinitely expanding canvas to include as much information as they need. For example, concept mapping tools such as Coggle or Padlet allow students to create networks of ideas using text, links, images and even video without ever running out of room. (my note to John Eller – can we renew our 201-2013 discussion about pen vs computer concept mapping?)
Recent reports have noted how companies use data gathered from cell towers, ambient Wi-Fi, and GPS. But the location data industry has a much more precise, and unobtrusive, tool: Bluetooth beacons.
Companies like Reveal Mobile collect data from software development kits inside hundreds of frequently used apps. In the United States, another company, inMarket, covers 38 percent of millennial moms and about one-quarter of all smartphones, and tracks 50 million people each month. Otherplayers have similar reach.
What is an S.D.K.?A Software Development Kit is code that’s inserted into an app and enables certain features, like activating your phone’s Bluetooth sensor. Location data companies create S.D.K.s and developers insert them into their apps, creating a conduit for recording and storing your movement data.
Familiar tech giants are also players in the beacosystem. In 2015, Facebook began shipping free Facebook Bluetooth beacons to businesses for location marketing inside the Facebook app. Leaked documents show that Facebook worried that users would “freak out” and spread “negative memes” about the program. The company recently removed the Facebook Bluetooth beacons section from their website.
Not to be left out, in 2017, Google introduced Project Beacon and began sending beacons to businesses for use with Google Ads services. Google uses the beacons to send the businesses’ visitors notificationsthat ask them to leave photos and reviews, among other features. And last year, investigators at Quartz found that Google Android can track you using Bluetooth beacons even when you turn Bluetooth off in your phone.
Companies collecting micro-location data defend the practice by arguing that users can opt out of location services. They maintain that consumers embrace targeted ads because they’re more relevant.
You can download an app like Beacon Scanner and scan for beacons when you enter a store.But even if you detect the beacons, you don’t know who is collecting the data.
The Times’s guide on how to stop apps from tracking your location. For Android users, the F-Droid app store hosts free and open- source apps that do not spy on users with hidden trackers.
“Social: The New Media.” So I got to work, curating a playlist of videos on topics I wanted them to explore—such as the well-publicised problems with social media platforms and false news
Toolwire and Muzzy Lane, two digital game-based learning (DGBL) vendors that are making significant strides in higher education through their “serious game” products. The state of DGBL in higher ed is not nearly as prevalent and accepted as it is in K-12, but growing quickly.
Serious games feature evidenced-centered design, whereby data is collected, analyzed and adapted to the knowledge level of the player
Andy Phelps, director of the Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC) and executive committee member of the Higher Education Video Game Alliance (HEVGA),adds that “game-based learning has the opportunity to really challenge our assumptions about linear modes of educational interaction.”
Muzzy Lane, s higher-education-oriented Practice Series games, in partnership with McGraw Hill, feature titles in Marketing, Spanish, Medical Office and Operations.
The Challenge of Creating Worthy GamesBoth Toolwire and Muzzy Lane DGBL products are not of the “Triple A” PlayStation 4 and Xbox One variety, meaning they do not have all the high-fidelity, digital-media bells and whistles that are inside the heavily advertised war games and sports games geared toward the more than $99 billion global video game consumer marketplace, according to gaming market intelligence company Newzoo.
the state of DGBL in higher education consists of very effective digital games of less-than-Triple A fidelity coming out of private companies like Toolwire and Muzzy Lane, as well as from a good number of college and university game design innovation centers similar to RIT’s MAGIC. These include the Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the University of Southern California Interactive Media and Games Division, the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center and the New York University Game Center.
