Creating a Self-Mapped Learning Pathway

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One of the main questions I get asked about Learning Pathways design is “how do learners map their own pathways?” There really is no one tool that does everything that is needed (yet), so I have been considering how to use various tools combined to allow learners to self-map their own pathway, collect artifacts that demonstrate how they moved through their pathway, and then reflected on the choices that they made. This blog post explores at least one idea I have for that using Storify and Hypothes.is. This is just one idea I have – there are many other ways to do this. Maybe someday there will be a tool to make all of this easier. Until then, DIY options like this will work just fine.

Building Content in Virtual Reality with WebVR

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One of the biggest challenges with Second Life was the steep learning curve for learning how to build things. Sure, once you got the hang of it, it wasn’t that bad. But it took a while to get the hang of it. So this led many users to kind of feel stuck after they ran out of things to do if they weren’t willing to learn how to build things. Virtual Reality will probably have the same challenge, as just sitting and staring at stuff will get old fast. The Mozilla VR Team is already on a system that allows users to build VR content in a borwser, using existing browser tools (APIs, HTML, etc). One example of this is how the team built a Minecraft environment with the WebVR A-Frame kit. The magic of this A-Frame system is that it uses html code to build objects in virtual reality. You could write out your VR build in code if you wanted. But there are many other possibilities, including the ability to create applications that work on different devices.

The Next Frontier in Wearables is… Your Mouth?

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One of the biggest problems with voice-activated services – anything from Siri to Text dictation – is privacy. You don’t exactly want everyone in the room to hear your conversation with your significant other or your personal shopping list or whatever it might be. If you think the solution to that is mind-controlled technology, you are probably thinking too far in the future. Until then, humanity is probably left with more awkward solutions like HushMe – the “world’s first voice mask for mobile phones.” Yep, it is a muzzle-like device that fits around your mouth and claims to obscure your voice so that others can’t hear it. While you may balk at the look of it, I would be willing to bet that companies with remote work options will start requiring tools like this to protect privacy and trade secrets. It is usually these more awkward ideas that catch on than the more practical ones. Regardless of whether anyone wants one of these or not, I could also see the idea being integrated into full immersion VR headsets like the Feel Real Nirvana. Then implement Intel’s Merged Reality so that you can walk around in one of these masks – maybe make some models that look more like a Boba Fett helmet (or even maybe ones with interchangeable face-plates where you can 3D print a scan of your face for the front to really creep people out) – and VR will go mobile, immersive, and augmented. If you have ever dug into much Science Fiction, this is pretty much what most fancy futuristic helmets do anyways. We are just seeing the creation of that one part at a time.