what do blockchain technology and NFTs have to do with Metaverse?
it is already possible to identify some of the characteristics of Web 3.0 such as the focus on the user (and not on companies), the massive use of artificial intelligence (as a powerful tool to provide the best analysis and the best result to people), as well as distributed networks (we will no longer depend on the gigantic centralized data servers). Moreover, Web 3.0 content will be more graphical with more videos and 3D images. Also, in Web 3.0, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will be commonplace, bringing more realistic graphics to applications and games
NFTs are the representation of a nonfungible asset in digital media. In a more technical definition, an NFT is a piece of software code that verifies that you hold ownership of a nonfungible digital asset, or the digital representation of the nonfungible physical asset in digital media.
It’s important to notice that NFTs existed before the first blockchain, but blockchain technology has transformed NFT markets by solving the double-spending problem and conferring scarcity, uniqueness and authenticity to a nonfungible token.
As soon as the coronavirus was declared a pandemic early last year, 88% of multinational organisations began encouraging remote working. By summer 2020, 83% of businesses surveyed said they will continue to offer remote-work options long after the world returns to complete normalcy.
Additionally, Gallup research conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicated that employees are optimally engaged when they remote work 60% to 80% of the time. That’s three or four days in a workweek.
microlearning – brief training modules – increases information retention by up to 20%. Whether through videos or short quizzes, implementing microlearning can be beneficial without being time-consuming, allowing remote workers to get back to their tasks as soon as they’re done.
Zoom, Teams, Skype, and FaceTime all became daily fixtures, and many of us quickly became fatigued by seeing our colleagues, students and far-away loved ones almost exclusively in 2D. Most video conferencing solutions were not designed to be online classrooms. what is missing from the current video platforms that could improve online teaching: tools to better facilitate student interactions, including enhanced polling and quizzing features, group work tools, and more.
While universities continue to increase in-person and HyFlex courses, hoping to soon see campuses return to normalcy, there is mounting evidence that the increased interest in digital tools for teaching and learning will persist even after the pandemic.
We should move beyond 2D solutions and take advantage of what extended reality (XR) and virtual reality (VR) have to offer us.
Professor Courtney Cogburn created the 1,000 Cut Journey, an immersive VR research project that allows participants to embody an avatar that experiences various forms of racism. Professor Shantanu Lal has implemented VR headsets for pediatric dentistry patients who become anxious during procedures. At Columbia Engineering, professor Steven Feiner’s Computer Graphics and User Interfaces Lab explores the design and development of 2D and 3D user interfaces for a broad range of applications and devices. Professor Letty Moss-Salentijn is working with Feiner’s lab to create dental training simulations to guide dental students through the process of nerve block injection. Faculty, students and staff at Columbia’s Media Center for Art History have created hundreds of virtual reality panoramas of archaeology projects and fieldwork that are available on the Art Atlas platform.
In spring 2020, a group of Columbia students began to build “LionCraft,” a recreation of Columbia’s Morningside campus in Minecraft. Even though students were spread out around the world, they still found creative and fun ways to run into each other on campus, in an immersive online format.
students do have digital skills, but not necessarily the digital literacy they need to do their schoolwork.
There’s a difference in the way students use a device to scroll through YouTube videos versus understanding the information delivered in a lesson. The first is passive, and the other requires careful engagement.
n the International Literacy Association’s “What’s Hot in Literacy” report published in 2020, 49 percent of literacy professionals said they wanted more professional development on “using digital resources to support literacy instruction.” That surprised the researchers, who also reported that professionals were split over whether digital literacy was receiving the appropriate amount of attention: 26 percent felt it deserved less attention, while 25 percent felt it should get more.
“By integrating Vantari VR into our education programme, trainees will already have advanced knowledge of the procedure before requiring clinician input. In addition, we hope Vantari VR will help our trainees have a more homogenous approach, as well as give repeated exposure to lesser performed procedures,”
Aside from Nepean Hospital, Vantari’s technology is also being used for training critical care practitioners at three other tertiary hospitals across Australia
Featuring flight-simulator technology, the Vantari VR training platform provides medical training through a VR headset and a laptop. Its modules cover most medical procedures and deliver steps recommended by college guidelines. Vantari sees its technology being applied beyond the ICU to other critical care specialities, such as emergency medicine and anaesthetics.
The startup said it is in the process of securing A$2 million ($1.5 million) in funding as part of its capital raise, which will close in December. This comes as it received a $100,000 grant from American video game company Epic Games early this year.
Parents interested in remote learning may also discover their choices are all or nothing: Either they can pull their child out of their traditional school to enroll for the whole year in an online option or they can remain in a brick-and-mortar building and hope for the best.
Remote learning isn’t the only need. Pandemic pods and learning hubs have shown the power of small, individualized spaces where community organizations—whose staff often have the trust of students and families in their neighborhoods—to help students discover a sense of belonging and connect them to essential services like tutoring or mental-health support.
