VR and soft skills
categories: VR
what is the Metaverse
What Is the Metaverse? Is It Just Virtual Reality, or Something More?
Tech CEOs keep talking about “the metaverse.” Mark Zuckerberg insists that Facebook will be seen as a “metaverse company” instead of a social media company. Satya Nadella proclaims Microsoft is creating a “metaverse stack” for the enterprise.
Author Neil Stephenson coined the term “metaverse” in Snow Crash, a dystopian cyberpunk novel published in 1992.
In the novel, the metaverse is a sort of 3D virtual world. It’s not simply a virtual reality game but is a persistent, shared virtual world. Or rather, the metaverse is a whole universe of shared virtual spaces seemingly linked together—you could, essentially, teleport between them.
If you think this all sounds a bit like Ready Player One or a higher-tech version of Second Life, you’re right.
virtual reality (VR) and not augmented reality (AR) was necessary for that kind of vision
To Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs, the concept of “the metaverse” seems to have more in common with “Web 2.0.” It’s a bunch of new technologies: VR headsets! Presence! Persistent digital worlds
Microsoft’s vision of the metaverse seems to take the form of rambling, buzzword-heavy talk about “digital twins” and “converging the physical with the digital” with “mixed reality.” Microsoft’s Azure cloud can do it!
Of course, as we learned with Windows 10’s “Mixed Reality” headsets, that term often just means Virtual Reality to Microsoft. However, it can also mean augmented reality: And, little surprise, Microsoft also has a headset to sell you: The HoloLens.
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more on Metaverse in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=metaverse
more on immersive in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=immersive
“how to virtual events” checklist
Virtual Events: The Ultimate Checklist
If your answer is yes to the following, then your next virtual event should go off without a hitch.
- You offer a balance of topics.
- You keep things as concise as possible.
- You have someone to keep the pace—perhaps a moderator.
- You’ve planned for transitions.
- You use graphics and other visuals.
- You’ve included time for interaction.
- You have a closing segment—and say your thank you’s!
While the above should guide your overall structure, don’t be afraid to play with the format. Virtual events are still in their infancy, making them a great opportunity to innovate storytelling and audience engagement.
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more on online edu in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=online+education
more on storytelling in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=storytelling
Coursera revenue options
In New Push to Grow Online Degree Offerings, Coursera Changes Revenue-Sharing Options
Ten years ago when two Stanford professors started Coursera, many of the big-name colleges the company partnered with offered few online courses.
rising acceptance of such programs and changing demographics that could mean fewer high-school graduates looking for traditional programs.
today Coursera is announcing what it has called a “new economic model” in how it splits revenue with the colleges it works with, which for some colleges will mean getting a bigger cut.
“It’s a marginal rate that the share that goes to the university gets bigger as the tuition collected across all degrees on Coursera goes up.”
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more on coursera in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=coursera
MRTK standard shader
MRTK standard shader
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more on AR in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=Augmented+reality
the very first Web site
Use Podcasts in Teaching
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2021-06-07-how-to-use-podcasts-in-teaching
The Second Golden Age of Audio.
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more on podcasts in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=podcast
7 Strategies to Change the Norms of Class Discussions
categories: teaching
How to Hold a Better Class Discussion
ADVICE GUIDE
https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-hold-a-better-class-discussion/
7 Strategies to Change the Norms of Class Discussions
Norm No. 1: Civil attention.
nodding their heads, taking notes, chuckling at the instructor’s attempts at humor, or making brief eye contact. And by the things they don’t do: sleeping, texting, whispering to classmates.
Norm No. 2: Consolidation of responsibility.
a few students assume responsibility for most of the discussion
- No. 1: Ask better questions.
- No. 2: Set the stage on the first day.
- No. 3: Use a syllabus quiz to show that you value participation.
- No. 4: Try a discussion about discussion.
- No. 5: Don’t give up on discussion in a large class.
- No. 6: Have students pair up.
- No. 7: Take the conversation online.
How to Keep a Discussion on Track
- Slow down the dominant talkers.
- Quizzes are good for more than just the syllabus.
- Use discussion questions to focus their reading (and the resulting debate).
- Shine a light on the “muddiest” point.
- Encourage comments from students of varied backgrounds.
Should You Grade Class Discussion?
- The argument against:
- The argument in favor:
What If a Student’s Remark Is Wrong or Misguided?
- Affirm, then correct.
- Be respectful when they’ve lost the plot.
How to Handle News Events and Controversial Topics in Class
- When to raise controversial issues.
- Should you stake out a position?
- Be clear about the ground rules.
- Ask students to take sides.
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more on discussions in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=discussion
Designing XR into Higher Education
Immersive Learning Environments: Designing XR into Higher Education
Heather Elizabeth Dodds
https://edtechbooks.org/id_highered/immersive_learning_e
The terms ‘extended reality’ or ‘cross reality’ refer to “technologies and applications that involve combinations of mixed reality (MR), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and virtual worlds (VWs)” (Ziker, Truman, & Dodds, 2021, p. 56). Immersive learning definitions draw from Milgram and Kishino’s key taxonomy (1994) emphasizing the continuum of experiences that range from where a computer adds to a learner’s reality with overlays of information, or a computer experientially transports a learner to a different place and time by manipulating sight and sound.
VR Design Model
three different design models (see Figure 3): the ADDIE Design Model (Branson, 1978), Design Thinking (Brown & Wyatt, 2010) from user experience (UX), and the 3D Learning Experience Design Model (Kapp & O’Driscoll, 2009).
Serrat (2008) defines storytelling as “the vivid description of ideas, beliefs, personal experiences, and life-lessons through stories or narratives that evoke powerful emotions and insights” (p.1).
The foundational theory for most XR experiences is experiential learning theory. In cases where users create within XR, constructivist learning theory also applies.
XR experiences can include a story arc (See Appendix D), a tutorial of user affordances, intentional user actions, and place the user into first or third person experiences (Spillers, 2020).
more on ID in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=instructional+design
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=instructional+design
Zoom privacy encryption
With the pandemic boosting its videoconferencing business, Zoom more than quadrupled its annual revenue from $622.7 million to $2.7 billion in the 12 months ending January 31, 2021.
Zoombombings
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more on Zoom in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=zoom