Mobile device enhancements in GPS, image capture, computing power, APIs and the wireless networks that move mobile device bits and bytes have all matured to the point where the desktop computer is in some respects now playing catch up with the mobile device. Case in point: Imagine a new technology that leverages many of the unique mobile device characteristics you’ve come to know and love and helps you navigate your physical environment with more intentionality. It’s here and it’s called Augmented Reality (AR).

Even though AR has been around for awhile, AR app support for both Android and iPhone devices is a recent development. So, what is AR? Let’s take a virtual reality trip sans technology for some answers.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking the Champs-d’elysee with your significant other. You hold up your iPhone and pan your viewfinder across the Arc de Triomphe. Pop ups appear directly on top of your image-filled viewfinder providing historical video clips and a marker where the tomb of the unknown soldier lies.

This overlay of information changes as you walk and you notice information about the Grand Palais appearing on the horizon of your viewfinder. Site seeing is stirring up a hunger. You point your iPhone street level, tap your screen a few times, and digital arrows appear indicating where restaurants can be found. You scan the virtual horizon for Indian restaurants and several pop up on your screen several blocks northwest of your current location. As you view the row of cafes, patisseries, and restaurants and make your way down the street, your mobile device again dynamically overlays a digital layer of information about each establishment on top of your real-time view with links to menus, reviews and some online order forms.

You’re in Paris, so as the sun goes down, romance is in the air. Your spouse looks up to point out a bright star. You point your mobile device heavenward and activate your Sky Map AR application. Your spouse doesn’t look enthused, but within a few seconds a digital layer of content appears and your mobile device identifies the bright star as Jupiter. Not a star-gazing, Indian food-loving Francophile? How about locating subway stops, activating a digital docent in places of historical interest, fixing your car, navigating while on a bicycle or finding Twitter users who are nearby?

How big is AR for the world of E-learning? It’s obviously still a developmental technology in many respects, but I’m betting that if the chatter on the blogosphere and the initial AR apps are any indicator as to how big this wave will be, we might be looking at the shifting plates that hasten a technological tsunami for the world of location-based mobile apps.

Not surprisingly then, the initial salvo of AR apps has people (including myself) asking a wide range of questions and taking their turn at presaging the relevance of this technology for instructional potential. To put the discussion into perspective, two years ago, AR developers in Switzerland were strapping almost twenty pounds of technology to their end-user’s back, feet, and head to enable an AR experience; now an improved version of this experience is accessible via one small handheld device that fits in your pocket. How could this quantum jump not generate some level of speculation as to what the next iteration of this technology will look like?

Fast Company proclaims AR is no longer science fiction and with some qualification, states AR is the “killer app” that is both fad and future.

Steve Rosenbaum at the Huffington Post proclaims decidedly that AR is “here to stay,” while Read Write Web is looking to the future and has already posted their wish lists of potential AR apps. Amais Cascaio’s article at the Atlantic is an indictment of sorts on the “yet-to-be” abridgement of civil liberties perpetrated by AR proponents. He envisions the time when AR will move from the virtual yellow first-down lines on TV’s Monday Night Football to individuals who will aggregate data about their political opponents and push this information above AR-enabled views of a face or place of residence. Ivor Tossen at the Globe and Mail takes a more philosophical tack and frames his discussion of AR within the larger world of epistemology, “AR…What does it mean to really know something?”

Personally, the concept of a new AR-enabled browser (Layar) has me wondering whether the user will ultimately become both user and middleware as appears to be the case with some 3rd-world crowdsourcing apps. On the positive side of an AR-drenched future, should we be asking whether we might be approaching a time where our imagination will be the primary constraint when it comes to developing software to facilitate learning and parse salient characteristics of our environment? Look at some of these concepts (Some of these are more conceptual at this point) and imagine how this type of technology might redefine how you educate your audience. Currently, developing content for this space still requires a considerable toolbox of technical know-how, but I can only imagine the popularity of “off-the-shelf” templates that allow non-Cocoa programming app developers to create location-based AR learning apps like the ones that have begun to surface. A fad, the future or a more efficient way to map out ten yards on an augmented reality football field? What do you think?

Popularity: 14% [?]

There’s a lot of traffic on the blogosphere about best practices for social media. But we need to be cautious not to confuse best practices with “rules.” Many of our colleagues in higher education in general, and Extension in particular, are seeking some hard and fast policies about social media. Here are four misconceptions that could encourage the development of “rules” about social media, and why I think we should totally ignore them.

1. “Social media needs to be carefully monitored for accuracy.” There is a fear in industry of compromising proprietary information, that loose social lips will sink corporate ships. Educators have their own version: removing the center of information sharing from the subject matter expert will compromise the credibility and accuracy of information. Instead of seeing value in social interaction with knowledge, they fear it. They are no longer the sage on the stage. In the Information Age, we have been taught since grade school to check our sources, to ferret out accurate, unbiased information. In the Google Age, it’s a flat out survival skill. We need to trust people’s judgments, and get over it.

2. “Social media needs to be controlled.” In some policy conversations it’s not uncommon to see the word “manage” used in the same sentence as social media. From my perspective, managed social media is an oxymoron. It is by its very nature unmanageable; it is creative chaos. But recognizing patterns in chaos is just what the human brain is designed to do. We’re good at it.

3. “Social media can waste valuable work time.” Is time spent interacting with social media yet another way for workers to shirk their duties to engage in personal communications? Some think so. But given that social media has surpassed email as the preferred means of communication, this makes no sense. That’s where your clients are, and your colleagues/employees need to be there, too. For many newbies, getting comfortable with social media will require playing with it. Industry understands this. “Make social media part of the job, just like email,” says ENGAGEMENTdb in their report evaluating how well the top 100 global brands are engaging their consumers using social media.

4. “Best practices are the same for all.” Because so much of what is published about best practices—and policies—comes from private industry, it’s only natural that many will look to them for ideas. But the drivers for industry—revenue and profit—will influence their approach to social media, and not always apply across the board to educational settings where social media will necessarily be practiced differently. Educators need to study what industry is saying about social media, and then apply it with their own twist.

That’s just four “rules.” There are more, I’m sure, and I look forward to your additions of what else to ignore.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I’ve been waiting patiently, but couldn’t take it any longer as I’ve watched more and more friends whip out their iPhone 3G to get a GPS fix on our location or perform some other mundane task sliced, diced and served on the micro-mobile-super computer that is the iPhone 3G. I know, I’m late to the party, but from the perspective of a technophile, I have to admit I’ve felt very much like Batman’s understudy in these situations. Ultimately, I just couldn’t wait for Verizon and Apple to make nice.  I honestly don’t know where to start and I’m not accustomed to blushing, so I’ll simply share where I see potential as it relates to learning apps on the iPhone in general.  But first things first: I’m now convinced that any dialog about the iPhone should begin with a mandatory effort to share one’s favorite iPhone apps.  In that vein, the list below highlights my top 10 learning or educational apps for the iPhone, and attempts to point out where innovation and learning potential inherent to each app might paint a picture of potential future approaches in the world of online learning experiences.

Chris’ Top 10 Eductional Apps for the iPhone

1. Touch Physics by Games 4 Touch

A glimpse of the future now: seamless, motivational learning that is fun, kinesthetic and fully accessible. Learn about friction, gravity, mass, angles and other principles of physics via a clever game that allows you to exercise agency on both the physical and mental level–suitable for just about any age over 4 years old. I’m completely intrigued by the category of “Doodle games” (games where you draw objects on the touch screen that instantiate themselves in the game). These games open up a world of possibilities for any subject and seem like the perfect convergence of device, content and user motivation.  I would be remiss if I also didn’t mention Geared by Bryan Mitchel–an extremely elegant interface that allows the user to manipulate spinning gears around variables of distance, proximity and speed.

2. Kindle for the iPhone
Of course you lose some ergonomics when compressing the Kindle into the iPhone shell, but the distribution system for e-books (especially those in the public domain) is wonderful. This app has a clever interface, lots of free books and access to the Amazon catalog via a “get book” button.

3. Abc Pocket Phonics

It’s not so much that my five year old adores this application (he does), but it’s what this type of application represents. For language acquisition, the approach is a highly compelling supplement and the touch screen features allow users to trace letters while listening to the sound or word.
Need to learn Chinese characters? Try eStroke Chinese Characters

4. iSeismometer

This application brought back memories of the first time I realized that the Wii controllers house an acceleramator and a gyrometer to measure motion and tilt. This application allows the iPhone to react to various types of external motion. This app provides a very innovative way to learn about how motion is translated into a digital representation.  You can submit your data directly to a website that associates your location with your seismograph data.  Can you think of some learning contexts for this technology?

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 34% [?]