#Oscar Tweets shared on Facebook (1)

Attached is a screenshot of my Facebook account sharing two tweets from the immersive education site that mentions #Oscars.  Both tweets are focused on the 2015 Immersive Education Summit scheduled for Paris.  On one of the tweets the photo is of the movie frozen, the other has four pictures one of which is spiderman.

Facebook "like", "Friends", and "shares"

Facebook "like", "Friends", and "shares"

This report summaries the difference between Facebook “likes”, “Friends”, and “shares”.  This terminology has developed a common understanding among and incredibly large population that uses Facebook. 

When someone submits a post on their Facebook page it becomes available for view by anyone who the Facebook account owner has provided permissions to.  Facebook has created this “Like” function that allows viewers of the Facebook post to very quickly provide positive feedback to the person who wrote or submitted the post by clicking a button “like”.  This provides an incredible tool not so much for the individual Facebook account but certainly for businesses that want to reach a large audience and get a “reading” on what the reception of material is. 

Another functionality provided by Facebook is “Friends”, the definition that Facebook provides for this

is: “Friends are people you connect and share with on Facebook. It is a collection of who you know and who you are “connected” to. You can see their information and they can see your information or posts.  The connectivity is determined through the setting and lists that each Facebook account establishes.

The final function that we are researching is “shares” on Facebook.  This is really a statement to all of your “friends” or a specific group or list of friends that this information that you have sent their way by “sharing” is important.  It is much more active than a “like” as it is sharing of content, video, photos, links, stories – etc.  It is an easy way to share material and establish some commonality among a group of geographically separate individuals. 

Video Games: More than a Game

Video Games: More than a Game

The two articles/reports in this assignment: IBM Gaming Report: Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders and IBM Report: Leadership in a distributed world – lessons from online gaming were really very interesting and brought a very interesting perspective on a potential tool for leadership development.  At first glance many in the business world would brush this perspective aside a as joke, but the arguments and some of the experiences of those in the gaming world support this as a very valid potential with enormous ramifications. 

The basis of the perspective is that those skills that gamers develop in the gaming world are transferable to the business world, particularly those of leadership development.  Both articles draw the comparison of MMORPG to the environment of a global, virtual organization.  MMORPG is an acronym for “Massively multiplayer online role-playing games”.  There are a number of aspects of this gaming environment that are similar to the environments in the business world.  It is that “environment” and “role-playing” that makes this tool appealing to the business world. 

The ability to provide a secure or non-threatening environment for employees to “practice” developing leadership skills is a huge opportunity.  Role-playing has long been a tool that trainers have used when trying to assist employees in developing the desired skills and behaviors.  It is this opportunity to “walk in the positions shoes” that makes it so valuable.  It provides the opportunity for the person to experience a situation and learn from it while concurrently providing the business to assess how the employees would react and can handle different situations. 

What are some of the experiences or skills that are of interest to the business world?  First and foremost is the opportunity for the person to experience the virtual environment, working (gaming) with people from all over the world towards the same goal. This is a real but virtual environment in which those participating need to collaborate and work together to achieve the goal.  Developing and maintaining t relationships and the skills to navigate and mediate with a group of people is a directly transferable skill. 

A few other very similar situations are risk and reward.  The articles describe incentive systems that reward the gamers for achieving certain levels within the game.  The correlation with compensation and rewards programs in the business world is striking.  What is so different is the risk.  The risk in a game cannot be correlated to the risk in life or business. What it does provide however is the opportunity for those gamers to push the envelope, try again and again to achieve what they need to achieve.   What better training tool than to provide an environment where the “risk” associated with learning and developing skills is minimal or insignificant? 

In summary these articles presented a very different perspective of the value of gaming.  I have attached a link to these two articles and the working links to IBM and Immersive Education Minecraft as references:  IBM Gaming Report:Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders  IBM Report: Leadership in a distributed world - Lessons from online gaming, http://IBM.com, http://ImmersiveEducation.org/minecraft

Report on Immersive Technology Form of Robotics

The topic of this report is the Immersive technology form known as Robotics.

Immersion 2014, an Immersive Education Initiative brings together leading experts onImmersion forms and immersion technology in Los Angeles, California, June 6-8, 2014.  The iED Summit presents a robust schedule of presentations for a number of tracks, such as “Arts and Culture”, “Entertainment”, “Human-Computer Interaction”, etc.  Presentations by a number of experts on immersive forms are available in each track and address and cover a wide range of applications within these tracks.  There is a tremendous amount of information available at the summit website: http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org  where you can explore new forms and applications of immersive technology.

Robotics technology, the topic of this report, has many applications that I will explore in more detail; not only the applications but the hardware that is used to create the technology and how it is delivered.  Robotics Technology appears to be a topic of interest at the latest iED summit. Ross Mead presents the topic: Designing Social Behaviors for Personal Robots, and Rich White presents: Creative Computing with Personal Robotics and Human-like Robots to name two.

The Immersive form known as Robotics is a type of engineering, combining many different

types. Robots have been around for a long time but they are becoming more and more sophistocated and are being applied in many different ways. Basically, the purpose of the robot is to automate something that usually humans do.  There are applications in the home, in medicine, in the military – many times the robot is used to deal with dangerous situations. 

What is the hardware associated with robotics?  There has to be a power source to make it work. Other requirements are sensors that will allow it to receive information, potentially mechanical “arms” that have the ability to manipulate something, a control center that provides direction, and the ability to move.  The ability to engineer this material to make it accomplish what the engineer designs is robotics.

One of the most amazing applications of robotics is in health care, particularly in the area of prosthetics.  The this video titled Wounded Warrior Uses Robotic Arm Prosthetic, the soldier is able to grip and pick up a ball.  This is a demonstration of not ony the sensors within the prosthetic arm understanding the signals but the manipulation of the mechanical hands and finguers to grab and pick up the ball.  The contol piece of the prosthesis is the computer that the individual is looking at.  The possibilities that this brings to those that have lost limbs in incredible. 

Another application that is just coming on the market is the “autonomous car”.  This is a car

that does not need a driver.   It knows how to drive, can assess what is going on in the environment and is able to respond appropriately.  How do they do this? The car uses radar, GPS, and computer vision. These are becoming more and more of a reality every day. 

Report on Augmented Reality Immersive Technology Form

The topic of this report is the Immersive form known as Augmented Reality.

Immersion 2014, an Immersive Education Initiative brings together leading experts on Immersion forms and immersion technology in Los Angeles, California, June 6-8, 2014.  The iED Summit presents a robust schedule of presentations for a number of tracks, such as “Arts and Culture”, “Entertainment”, “Human-Computer Interaction”, etc.  Presentations by a number of experts on immersive forms are available in each track and address and cover a wide range of applications within these tracks.  There is a tremendous amount of information available at the summit website: http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org  where you can explore new forms and applications of immersive technology.

Augmented RealityTechnology, the topic of this report has many applications that I will explore in more detail; not only the applications but the hardware that is used to create the technology and how it is delivered.  Augmented Reality Technology appears to be a topic of interest at the latest iED summit.  Dan Green from Oracle Corporation is presenting: New and Emerging Business Opportunities in Immersion: The Blurry Line Between Science Fiction and Reality and one of the presentations on this technology.  

The Immersive form known as Augmented Reality technology can many times get confused with Virtual Reality.  What is the difference?  Augmented Reality combines the virtual world with the real world. It is a live view of the real-world that has been “augmented” with animation, sound, graphics, etc.  And the individuals in the live world are interacting not only with the live environment but with the animation.

As with other computer generated technology the hardware delivery systems for Augmented reality technology includes input devices, monitors or display components, processors,  and sensors.  Augmented Reality can be used on certainly desktop computers, mobile devices like smart phones and tablets, and goggles similar to those used for Virtual Reality. This combination of reality and fiction allow for incredible flexibility and application.  Many of which are similiar to the Virtual Reality flexibility and applicability. 

Some of the greatest uses are for Entertainment.  The use of Augmented Reality has been around for a while in the world of Entertainment.  Using the combination of reality to with animation to entertain.It has been delivered on large and small screens alike with overwhelming success, appealing particularly to the young.    

Another common and increasing use of Augmented Reality is in Navigation.  Delivered by all types of devices.  Probable the most common being the smartphone or tablet. This video shows the application Follow Me that is a smartphone delivered system.  It is very cool as it works while you drive, literally displaying the driving route that you are on with the real environment and a virtual car.  

The final application/hardware that I will present is that of the use of Augmented Reality to further medicine and medical science.  The most basic application is that of the training of medical personnel and the communication with patients.  The more advanced use is with actual procedures such as surgery.  Many surgeries are "microscopic" or are done through a "guidance" system like a camera.  This picture is of a person's brain that can be visualized as it is superimposed over the area where a surgeon is working - pretty incredible! 

Report on Virtual Reality Immersive Form

The topic of this report is the Immersive form known as Virtual Reality Technology.

Immersion 2014, an Immersive Education Initiative brings together leading experts on Immersion forms and immersion technology in Los Angeles, California, June 6-8, 2014.  The iED Summit presents a robust schedule of presentations for a number of tracks, such as “Arts and Culture”, “Entertainment”, “Human-Computer Interaction”, etc.  Presentations by a number of experts on immersive forms are available in each track and address and cover a wide range of applications within these tracks.  There is a tremendous amount of information available at the summit website: http://summit.ImmersiveEducation.org  where you can explore new forms and applications of immersive technology.

Virtual Reality Technology, the topic of this report has many applications that I will explore in more detail; not only the applications but the hardware that is used to create the technology and how it is delivered.  Virtual Reality Technology applications appears to be a topic of interest at the latest iED summit. In the Education track Dr. Saadia Kahan presents The Power of Avatars in Educational Virtual Worlds and in Immersion 2014’s Business and Economics track, Morris May presents: The Real Business of R: No Longer Just a Hollywood Dream But a Medium that Can Transform Nearly Every Industry.

The Immersive form known as Virtual Reality (VR) is also known as “immersive multimedia”.

It is a visual “environment” that is created by a computer that imitates real environments.  This has really incredible opportunities for many situations.  The ability to experience real places, real environments, and other experiences from one location is amazing.  The applications of this technology form are significant and varied.

The equipment or hardware used to deliver virtual reality products are varied. Usually, the delivery method for virtual reality environments is on a computer screen. Another common delivery system is goggles like this Samsung Gear VR.   These goggles unlike regular glasses, display two images at the same time through polarized lenses, one for each eye. This technique makes the images appear 3 dimensional.

One common use of these goggles is gaming another is training as indicated by this Navy Personnel picture.  The goggles are simulating an environment in which this individual can experience parachuting without leaving the ground.  The impact of this technology in the training arena is enormous.  It provides a simulated experience without the "danger" or risk factor involved, allowing the trainee to develop skills without the risk. This use has been expanded to training in many industries and learning institutions.

This video "top 5 Virtual Reality gadgets of the future demonstrates a number of virtual reality full body interactive delivery systems.  The first gadget is a full body suit called the PrioVR has highly sensitive sensors that detect body movement that is then captured on the VR screen. Multiple individuals can "play" at the same time in the same environment making the experience very real. 

Another one of the full body delivery system is called the "stem tracking system".  This is a wireless system that attaches to various parts of your body.  This system provides freedom of movement while participating in a virtual reality environment without the prior hazard of getting tangled in attachment wires.