Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
I love sharing content about virtual reality (VR) in education whether that be here on VRFocus, on my own site www.virtualiteach.com or in-person at events around the world. I also love connecting with other people working in the VR education space through social media channels as well as my monthly #CPDinVR events inside Engage. The VR education community has grown substantially in the last couple of years and there are now a wide range of places to look if you’re interested in using VR as a medium for learning. So for this month’s article I wanted to highlight some of the best communities and content out there if you are looking to build your PLN and find fresh ideas for using VR in the classroom.
Without a doubt, the most widely used hashtag related to immersive tech in education is #ARVRinEDU which is moderated by edtech pioneer and author of Learning Transported, Jaime Donally. Jaime also coordinates a weekly Twitter chat on this hashtag where she demos educational AR and VR apps and shares best practice with immersive technology. The chat is attended by educators from across the globe and is always a fun, lively discussion. It’s also worth giving a shout out to Jamie’s website www.arvrinedu.com where she curates some of her Twitter content as well as sharing other ideas and projects.
In terms of other hashtags to look out for, things like #VReducation #VRedu and #VR;earning are also quite common but none have the consistency of #ARVRinEDU. I did also consider compiling a specific list of educators who tweet about VR in education too but ultimately decided against it. Not only would the list be pretty long but inevitably I’d forget someone. Instead, use the hashtags to identify those educators (and developers) that are engaging with discussion and sharing great content.
There are actually more than a dozen Facebook groups specifically dedicated to VR in Education. Personally, I’m in all of them but some are definitely more active than others. Some also tend to get spammed by resellers a little but nothing that’s too disruptive.
There are three in particular that I’d like to highlight.
Virtual & Augmented Reality for Education
With over 4500 members this is the largest FB group dedicated to VR in Education and tends to have the most interaction. Definitely, the one I’d recommend joining first. Discussion is varied and with members from across the globe, you get a great mix of perspectives from this group.
Oculus Go and Quest for Education
Managed by the always excellent Michael Fricano, this was a group specifically focused on the use of the Oculus Go in the classroom but has recently expanded in preparation for the Quest launch. If you’re using these headsets in schools, you can find a lot of great discussion as well as support here.
Mixed, Augmented, and Virtual Realities in Learning (MAVR)
This is one of the smaller groups but it’s definitely worth being part of. It’s managed by Eric Hawkinson who is based in Japan and is definitely one of the most innovative voices in VR education. With so much content in the other groups coming from the US and Europe, it’s great to get some regular insight into the way that VR is being harnessed in the East.
I’d love to say that there are loads of great YouTube channels for learning more about VR in Education but sadly there aren’t. In January of this year, I launched my own channel but in truth with so many other pulls on my time, I’m already struggling to upload content regularly. One thing I did manage to do on my channel was to curate over 1000 educational 360°videos into subject-specific playlists so if you’re looking for 360° content to use with VR headsets or even tablets, it’s a great place to start.
Here are a couple of other channels that are worth checking out:
Bryne is based in Germany and has been doing some incredibly innovative things with high-end VR for some time now. I’d also recommend checking out his website at www.vrintheclassroom.com
JESS Dubai’s channel (JESS Digital playlist)
Technically this is mine too since the VR content here was produced by me (I don’t run the channel though). This is where you can find videos from some of the VR projects I have coordinated at JESS over the last few years.
Whilst I continue to use Engage for my #CPDinVR events, last year my friend Daniel Dyboski-Bryant launched a monthly meetup inside AltSpace for educators around the world who are interested in VR. The Educators in VR events have been well-attended and featured some great guest speakers including Jessica Outlaw, Gabe Baker and Joe Millward. Free to attend and since AltSpace has a low entry point in terms of hardware, you can access the sessions from pretty much any device! Well worth checking out.
Here’s a recording of one of the events from last November:
I know that podcasts aren’t really a social network but I’d be remiss if I left this one excellent resource off this list. The Virtual Reality Podcast is hosted by a super-team of edtech trailblazers from the USA – Alex Chaucer, Steven Sato, James McCrary and Amanda Fox. Now in its second season, the team have done a stellar job of lining up guests from across the VR space including Stanford’s Jeremy Bailenson, Charlie Fink, Brian Costello and Jaime Donally. Available across the usual variety of podcast platforms, it’s an excellent way to learn more about VR in education in a different format and makes for great listening whilst driving to work!
I’m going to wrap up there but I know some of you are probably wondering why I haven’t included other social platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, Instagram, Discord etc. To be honest, there are various reasons – some tend to just act as mirrors for VR education content that is shared on Twitter anyway (like Instagram), others have no real active VR education community groups (like Reddit). If you do think I’ve missed something useful though, please do reach out to me on Twitter via @steve_bambury
Microsoft has reportedly laid off several paid Xbox Support team members and replaced them with volunteers that the employees helped train. The Xbox Support Twitter account appears to have been affected by the change.
The post Xbox reportedly lays off its support staff, replaces them with volunteers appeared first on Digital Trends.
The official HTC Vive Twitter feed is teasing a New Year's "resolution" ahead of the Vive press conference on Monday. The company may introduce a 4K version of its popular VR headset, although that is just speculation.
The post Twitter tease indicates HTC could reveal a 4K Vive VR headset at CES appeared first on Digital Trends.
One of my top sources of OpenSim-related news this year has been OpenSim Virtual and similar Google Plus communities. Many grids also have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, but I find that Google Plus offers a really convenient way to keep track of what’s going on across the metaverse.
So, for the benefit of people interested in finding out about what’s happening in the grids, and for event organizers and content creators and others looking to raise visibility, here are some places to get started.
The full list of communities is here.
Other social media grid links:
If there’s a community missing, please email me at maria@hypergridbusiness.com.
AMD's upcoming Ryzen Threadripper desktop CPUs are huge and the retail packaging reflects that. The design sheds the boring silver box for something that resembles a portable TV used in the 1970s, only without the antennas.
The post That's no beheaded cyclops! AMD's CEO is holding a Ryzen Threadripper retail box appeared first on Digital Trends.
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul has been in development since 2015, finally getting a Steam Early Access Release for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in March 2017. Fans have been awaiting news of the expected PlayStation VR release for some time, and developers VRWERX have said on Twitter that PlayStation VR owners should expect a Summer 2017 release.
The early announcement regarding Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul indicated that a version would be coming to the PlayStation VR (then still referred to as Project Morpheus). Since them, the title has appeared in Early Access form on Steam for HTC vive and Oculus Rift, but there was no word on when the PlayStation VR release would be expected. A Twitter announcement by VRWERX, the developers behind the title, seems to suggest that the PlayStation VR version is still on its way.
The official Twitter for Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul tweeted today “We, Including @playstation are working hard to get you the release date. We promise, Summer will not pass before you get to play.”
The tweet seems to suggest that there have been some difficulties in getting the title on the PlayStation VR. Some fans were not impressed with the vague nature of the announcement, with one Twitter user commenting: “You’ve been saying soon since January when you shouldn’t have said anything ‘til you had a firm date.”
Other Twitter users were enthusiastic to receive any news and were hopeful that the title would indeed be appearing soon on the PlayStation Store.
VRFocus will bring you further information on Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul as it becomes available.
Twitter seems to think that the Nintendo Switch is Apple hardware running Safari, thanks to the engine shared by the new system's method of posting content to social media and the popular Mac web browser.
The post Twitter thinks your Nintendo Switch is running Apple’s Safari web browser appeared first on Digital Trends.
Today at the Innovation Social event, London, Twitter unveiled a new concept that could redefine the way in which 360 degree videos are consumed. It’s a commonly known fact that live television is now often watched with a second screen; viewers participating in debate via Twitter, Facebook or other social media while watching a show with faraway friends. Now, it appears that Twitter are looking at that trend for evolution of their product.
At the Innovation Social event, Helen Lawrence, Head of Creative Agency Development, Twitter UK, took to the stage to discuss a hack that has been worked on within the EMEA development team. Stating that perhaps ‘only 10 people in the world’ knew about this technology, according to reports from the event, Lawrence proceeded to reveal a Twitter overlay for 360 degree video content.
Though not yet an official Twitter product – and with no confirmation of whether or not it ever will be – the possibilities of this technology are easy to imagine. Virtual reality (VR) is currently considered a solitary, anti-social experience; bringing your social media contacts into the experience in a fashion as immediate as Twitter could certainly change that.
Again, no details on when or even if this concept will become a product for the wider Twitter audience has yet been discussed, but VRFocus will of course keep you updated with all the latest details.
Today, we’re breaking some rules. Within the short period that filmmakers have been shooting footage with 360° cameras, people have started writing the Do’s and Don’ts of the new medium. Rules that constrict the camera from movement, rules that make the experience of watching these videos, honestly quite boring.
At 3 PM PST today, UploadVR will be going live with the Director of VR of Twitter, Alessandro Sabatelli in 360° on Periscope. This show will be focused on in on a conversation between the host and the guest, experiencing beautiful scenery, and engaging with the environment around them.
The best part about friendships, long winded conversations, and purposeless walks are the topics that arise from it.
Join Az Balabanian today, Wednesday Jan 25th, live at 3 PM PST with Twitter’s Director of VR, Alessandro Sabatelli to launch a new broadcast series live on Periscope and Twitter.
Follow us: @UploadVR
Today, 3 PM PST, Wednesday Jan 25, 2017