Current Status as of Monday, December 2, 2012:
This week I've been using Curatr, the social networking game of five learning environment that was introduced to me at a recent local chapter gathering of the E-Learning Guild at National University about two months ago. A bit of an interesting connection: the creators of Curatr are British and have a University of San Diego connection with a professor there named Dr. Croom. They also used the University of San Diego as a testbed for this product. Finally, there establishing an office in La Jolla and came out to Ashford University and presented to our team of instructional designers. It's strange how connected things can become!
Back to my project, I've been learning the ins and outs of using the software, and have cultivated a first-hand belief that their point systems and badging really do work. (I decided to add a full reply to a video, mostly because I wanted to get the extra point for the level. The creator, Ben Betts calls those "nudges" and it just takes those minor nudges to do something that you otherwise wouldn't, and potentially at least adds the possibility of further interaction with fellow students or the instructor.
This week, I'll be integrating my 20% project into the Curatr program to see how well the program integrates the various media that is created.
Status as of November 19, 2012:
The Plan: Scan and load key pages from Daniel Pink's chapter on Design and supplement those pages with engaging external content.
The results so far: Layar, the augmented reality program I chose to begin using has proven to be a bit balky in regards to page recognition by the mobile device. I was able to load the software and scan pages and add trial content, but the camera on my fairly recent Google Nexus S was unable to recognize the page. I'm working on increasing the scans resolution, playing with lighting and working on updating software. If the issues is resolution or lighting, or page content (requiring pictures etc), then the product may still be too limiting, as we cannot expect perfect user imaging conditions to pull this off. If it's this user's error, which I'm hoping it is, then this could be solved.
In the meantime, I've applied with Aurasma, the creator of a competing product. Once approved, I will have access to their software as well. Their software requires images to trigger the software. This may be the issue with Layar as well.
While I have been sorting this out, I've become interested in a particular software package designed to make learning more personal and engaging. It is called Curatr and uses concepts from gamification and badging to provide "nudges" to learners to further interest them in extending their learning. I plan on using this software to "curate" my progress, learning and production of the augmented reality software I choose above. At the end of the day, this will be a two-part presentation.Post From November 14, 2012:
The basic idea is that increasing numbers of people are carrying the equivalent of 1970s supercomputers inside their cell phones. Equally amazing is that they are carrying powerful still and video cameras and communication devices all integrated into that same cell phone. Augmented reality places useful information over an image of reality, to enhance that reality. In this case, it is my hope that the recognition software will recognize the shape of the text on the page and relay information that is superimposed over it. The question to answer is whether the shape alone is sufficient to successfully recognize each page as distinct from all others. If not, I may need to print out a target to be placed on each page - a far less useful use of the product.
Fingers are crossed…
Post From October 14, 2012:
Gaming technology is pushing computer and graphics technologies and creative minds have begun to put the processing power to use outside of traditional gaming. It’s called Immersive reality and it is firmly on it’s way. Trouble is it currently takes a boat load of technology to make it work. When it works well, it works convincingly! Check this jaw-dropping video out if you haven’t seen what can be done with a few well-placed PlayStations and projectors.
Trouble is, it’s difficult to pull off. Of far greater utility and easier to create, hence closer to becoming a reality, is Augmented Reality. I firmly believe that will constitute the “next big thing” from tech giants Google, Qualcomm, Intel and others. The overlaying of relevant information over what is being viewed through a smartphone or glasses will likely become social and learning tool as pitched here by Google in regards to their product Google Glass, due out next year.
In spite of some dangers that the technology may pose: addiction to being “jacked-in,” dependency on always-on information and a consequent loss of critical thinking skills and some possible social issues, this technology will take learning to the next level. For this 20% project, I’m interested in finding some easy-to-use augmented reality software (app) to create either a virtual science field trip, museum tour with augmented paintings or other information-based learning experience.
In a wildly different direction, another skill I’d like to personally learn is Chinese Calligraphy. I speak Mandarin Chinese fairly well, but my reading and writing is way below par. I’d like to take advantage of web-based learning to learn proper technique, benefit from the relaxation that it brings, and also provide a path towards learning more characters.
Of the two, calligraphy is probably more doable in the short term, unless I can find some really easy-to-implement augmented reality.
Post From October 14, 2012:
Gaming technology is pushing computer and graphics technologies and creative minds have begun to put the processing power to use outside of traditional gaming. It’s called Immersive reality and it is firmly on it’s way. Trouble is it currently takes a boat load of technology to make it work. When it works well, it works convincingly! Check this jaw-dropping video out if you haven’t seen what can be done with a few well-placed PlayStations and projectors.
Trouble is, it’s difficult to pull off. Of far greater utility and easier to create, hence closer to becoming a reality, is Augmented Reality. I firmly believe that will constitute the “next big thing” from tech giants Google, Qualcomm, Intel and others. The overlaying of relevant information over what is being viewed through a smartphone or glasses will likely become social and learning tool as pitched here by Google in regards to their product Google Glass, due out next year.
In spite of some dangers that the technology may pose: addiction to being “jacked-in,” dependency on always-on information and a consequent loss of critical thinking skills and some possible social issues, this technology will take learning to the next level. For this 20% project, I’m interested in finding some easy-to-use augmented reality software (app) to create either a virtual science field trip, museum tour with augmented paintings or other information-based learning experience.
In a wildly different direction, another skill I’d like to personally learn is Chinese Calligraphy. I speak Mandarin Chinese fairly well, but my reading and writing is way below par. I’d like to take advantage of web-based learning to learn proper technique, benefit from the relaxation that it brings, and also provide a path towards learning more characters.
Of the two, calligraphy is probably more doable in the short term, unless I can find some really easy-to-implement augmented reality.
Sounds really cool! Good luck! :)
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