Spatial is a startup that enables people to meet through augmented or virtual reality. It’s a little similar to the now defunct Facebook Spaces, except it has much broader support. You can use VR or mixed-reality headsets from a myriad of brands—from Microsoft’s HoloLens and Nreal’s Light to the Oculus Quest—as vehicles to meet in virtual spaces.
Spatial is announcing that it’s launching support for web browsers on desktops, Android, and iOS. Oh, and the platform is now completely free and open to everyone.
At our physical iLRN conferences, the first day of the conference (Sunday) is typically devoted to one or more guided social tours of local attractions in which attendees have the opportunity to socialize and get to know one another while immersing themselves in the sights and sounds of the host city and/or region. As this year’s conference will take place entirely online, we are instead offering the opportunity for attendees to sign up for small-group “Guided Virtual Adventure” tours of 50 minutes in duration to various social and collaborative XR/immersive environments and platforms.
Proposals are being sought for prospective Guided Virtual Adventure tour offerings on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Tour destinations may be:
– a third-party XR/immersive platform with which you are familiar (e.g., Altspace, Mozilla Hubs, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Somnium Space, OrbusVR, Second Life);
– a specific virtual environment that you, your institution/organization, or someone else has developed within a third-party platform;
– a platform that you or your institution/organization has developed and/or specific environments within that platform.
There are no fees involved in offering a Guided Virtual Adventure tour; however, preference will be given to proposals that involve environments/platforms that are freely and openly accessible, and that are associated with nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Where possible, it is strongly recommended that multiple offerings of the tour are made available throughout the day so as to cater for different time zones in which the 8,000+ iLRN 2020 event attendees will be based.
Companies wishing to offer Guided Virtual Adventure tours involving their commercial products and services may submit proposals for consideration, but the iLRN 2020 Organizing Committee reserves the right to, at its discretion, place limits on the number of tours of platforms/environments of a certain type or that address a particular target audience/application vertical. In doing so, they will prioritize companies that have purchased a sponsorship or exhibition package.
– Guided Virtual Adventure proposal submission deadline: May 18, 2020
– Notification of proposal review outcomes: May 21, 2020
– Presenter registration deadline: May 25, 2020
– Deadline for providing final participant instructions: June 1, 2020
– Guided Virtual Adventure Day: June 21, 2020
Other upcoming iLRN 2020 deadlines (see conference website for details):
– Immersive Learning Project Showcase & Competition – expressions of interest to participate due May 14, 2020 (deadline extended, no further extensions will be announced)
– Practitioner Stream oral and poster presentations – 1-2 page proposals, not for publication in proceedings, due May 18, 2020 (will not be extended)
– Workshops, Panel Sessions, and Special Sessions – 2-3 page proposals for publication in proceedings as extended-abstract descriptions of the sessions, due May 18, 2020 (will not be extended)
– Free registration deadline for non-presenter educators and students – May 23, 2020
XR Storytellers: Learners Making Immersive Stories
LIVE NOW
Thursday, May 7, 2020 from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM (CDT)
PRESENTATION
Our team will share lessons learned in collaborating to create immersive experiences that accelerate STEM education. Find out how students achieve classroom learning objectives by designing AR experiences. Watch a demonstration of how an immersive scientific story is co-created by students and teachers in a virtual learning environment. Explore novel techniques for supporting learners to demonstrate understanding and share knowledge using spatial technologies and storytelling principles. We invite guests to share their questions and perspectives on the possibilities and limitations of XR storytelling to facilitate relational connections to curriculum and instruction.
PRESENTERS: Sarah Cassidy | Janelle LaVoie | Quincy Wang | Poh Tan
We are a team of VR learners from the University of Saskatchewan and Simon Fraser University in Canada. Our research explores innovative uses of immersive technology for STEM education and pro-social change.
Description: Join Marialice and Jaime as they join GlobalMindED to present, Solving Problems in Local, Global, and Digital Communities in AR. During their webinar, they will Identify and solve real problems in local, global and digital communities using augmented reality. Participants will gain a better understanding of how digital citizens can confidently and positively engage with emerging technologies to think critically and act creatively. Examples of students using the global goals to make a positive impact on society will be shared.
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.
2019 Realities360 Conference and Expo
San Jose, USA
25 – 27 June 2019
EXPLORE AR AND VR IN YOUR WORK
Augmented and virtual reality technologies are the latest buzz in the training and education sector. 2019 Realities360 Conference and Expo is the event for you to explore this tech, and get started building and implementing your AR/VR strategy. You won’t want to miss it.
The 2019 Realities360 program delivers over 50 sessions covering the critical topics that will help you develop new skills, strategies, and expertise within the AR/VR world. Plus, in several sessions you’ll build the knowledge and skills directly with hands-on learning experiences.
Here are some essential sessions you’ll need to attend:
– Better Than the Real Thing: VR Learning Surpassing Real-world Training
– Transforming Learning with Digital Reality
– Designing Instructionally-Effective Virtual Experiences
– Lessons from a Year of Cost-Effective Immersive Strategies in Higher Ed
– Exploring the Efficacy of Virtual Reality for Training Centers of the Future
