Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Network

the best way to train soft skills is to use immediate feedback training. This is the foundation of interactive VR. The idea is to learn by doing. One must be immersed in realistic settings in which verbal and non-verbal cues are present and conversation and interpersonal interaction follows. The training occurs by placing individuals in situations in which their ability to show empathy, to embrace diversity and to avoid bias can be evaluated in real-time. From a brain-based perspective, immediate feedback training targets the basal ganglia learning system. This system learns through “physical repetition”.

The good news is there is an abundance of multimedia resources available that support the creation and sharing of student storytelling products. This short list of tools and teaching suggestions can help educators integrate a variety of writing activities into their instructional designs. All are what I call Push / Pull tools, which teachers use to push content out to students and which students can also use to create content that teachers pull back in.

Are you curious about using augmented or virtual reality in your classroom? If you've already tried it out, are you looking for more app and lesson plan ideas? Either way, we've got you covered. Start with the Google Cardboard headset (it's only $15), and whether you're using iOS, Android, Chromebooks, or iPads, we've curated an assortment of apps and lesson plans to try out with your students.

Keep in mind there are ongoing debates around using virtual reality with kids. Skeptics argue that VR experiences can't create genuine empathy, that VR simulations make females sick at higher rates than males, and that ethical considerations -- from psychological implications to privacy concerns -- are urgent issues.

That said, many educators use virtual and augmented reality in their classrooms with positive results. Considering these ongoing debates, you'll probably want to try it out and decide for yourself. We've collected the best lesson plans, apps, and teaching strategies below. Don't forget to check out our Top Picks list for even more tool ideas.

Along with the developer toolkit, Google's launching an experimental browser to let anyone make AR-capable websites.

Project Magenta, a team at Google, is crossbreeding sounds from different instruments based on neural networks and building networks that can draw.

Edorble is a fantastic tool for creating your own 3D virtual classroom. Just download the software and claim your room code. You can then share the code with your students and they can join you for virtual tutorials, social events or film and video viewings.

Sansar empowers individuals, communities, schools, studios, corporations, brands and others to easily create, share and ultimately sell immersive 3D social experiences for consumers to enjoy on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows PCs, according to the company Linden Labs, which also created Second Life.

"… when AI meets BIG DATA… a Fine List of 20 Top World Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Experts to Follow on Twitter in 2017"

At Digital Promise Global, our global engagement programs support educators to empower young people as creators and changemakers, harnessing emerging technology to make a difference in the world.

In the 360 Filmmakers Challenge, along with our partner Oculus, we’ve offered 360-degree production equipment to high schools across the United States to help young people and their teachers produce original, immersive 360° stories that make an impact. The results include powerful student-produced films, inspiring behind-the-scenes stories, and encouraging indicators of impact.

A year and a half after first launching the 360 Filmmakers Challenge, we are excited to publicly share a collection of tools and resources for 360° production designed for educators and youth. We created the 360 Filmmakers Challenge Production Guide with a few principles in mind:

Pretty soon you'll never have to take off your VR headset again as Chrome adds support for viewing any site in virtual reality.

This paper introduces the concept of online ‘ Innovations-Labs ’ (i -Labs) as location-independent collaborative ideation spaces. We highlight the challenges and opportunities that disruptive innovations present to companies and society, and discuss how Science Fiction Prototyping and Diegetic Innova-tion Templating can provide a means to explore that space by acting as ideation process and a language for capturing and communicating innovations.

Probably like many of you, my family and I have been freaked out by the Equifax hack and have worked really hard to find out how to protect ourselves, and then do it.

The consensus view on basic protection is to:

1. Contact all 3 credit services and place a "Credit Freeze" on your account with them. Experian say, "a credit freeze makes it more difficult for an identity thief to open accounts in your name and also prevents new lenders from accessing your information unless you lift it."  The credit freeze remains in place until you notify them to "thaw" (or remove) it.

TransUnion calls the "Credit Freeze" a "Security Freeze." Both Experian and Equifax call it a "Credit Freeze."

You have to contact each service individually. This freeze is free (as of 9/15/17)

2. Contact 1 of the credit services and file a "Fraud Alert." There are 3 types of Fraud Alerts, but the simplest to get is a Temporary Alert that lasts for 90 days. These alerts are renewable after the first 90 days. With such a Temporary Fraud Alert, the credit service (and/or creditor) has to contact you for permission before they can access your credit information.

You only have to notify 1 of the 3 credit services for this; the one you contact is required by law to notify the other 2. This service is free (as of 9/15/17).

There are other things you can do to protect yourself. For example, each of the 3 credit services offers Identity Theft Protection, for a price. There are also other companies that do this. The most well known of these is probably LifeLock. All these services can be helpful, but they are expensive. Each member of your family over 18 is charged individually for this service. At anywhere from $15-$30 per month per person, or more, this mounts up fast. Whether you decide to do this is up to you.

AAA also has a form of Identity Theft Protection built into membership at no extra cost.

SOME TIPS

1. The 3 credit services are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You may contact them by phone, internet, mail, or fax (not all of them may accept faxes all the time).

Based on my experience over this past week, phone is by all means the easiest, fastest, and least expensive way to communicate with the 3 credit services. I was able to take care of all my business using my phone's touch keys -- did not have to talk to a human being at all! Each transaction only took a few minutes.

I found trying to do it online impossible. The lines are overloaded and the systems break down. I must have entered my information 50 times, to no avail. As time goes by, this will probably get easier as demand decreases, but right now, it's terrible. I actually spent several hours trying to get through this way.

Doing it by mail or fax requires you to supply more information than by phone and also copies of certain documents. This seems crazy to do unless there's a specific reason.

2. The credit services have a zillion phone numbers; which one should I call? Today, I received a mass email from one of my U.S. Senators which had the right numbers to use. Each one worked like a charm. These are the numbers that worked for me:

Equifax          800-685-1111

Experian        888-397-3742

TransUnion   800-680-7289

3. Even with taking all these steps, the "experts" say there is no way to be fully, 100% protected. That's really great. My wife heard on the news today that, 2 months ago, Equifax was considering a software defense package that was designed to head off this kind of first-world catastrophe. They declined to acquire it. :-(  I wonder how much CEO Smith's bonus will be this Xmas?

On the other hand, what about our sisters and brothers in Texas and Florida?

Share TweetThis new Samsung tool is using VR to bring sight to the near-blind. VR has the opportunity to improve so much of daily life by altering and improving reality. For those with vision impairment, seeing and reading are the ultimate improvements to reality—and VR may be the solution. Relúmĭno is an app that pairs …

The Internet of Things (IoT) demystified: what you should know about the Internet of Things - from technologies and cases to trends per industry.

The world is changing very rapidly with emerging technology almost every day. The future of mobile technology closely revolves around two words: “augmented reality” (AR). AR in simple terms means an advanced and unseen version of what we can see with our naked eyes.

A regular sight when perceived through our smartphone infused with the AR technology will be enhanced through the use of computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics and GPS data.

Augmented reality has the potential to revolutionize learning in primary and secondary schools more than any other technology has done in the recent past.

Closing one’s eyes and seeing something that doesn’t exist in one’s current reality is a skill that many people throughout time have had to develop in their learning paths. Now, virtual reality is taking imagination a step further and allowing people to experience augmented situations in a very practical way.