Technology: In Plain English טכנולוגיה: באנגלית פשוטה: February 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Tele-Presence - when "being there" is the next best thing!!

Esther is in 4th Grade and she has just been diagnosed with Chicken-Pox. She can't come to school, can't see her school buddies, missing class, very alone, would love to be in school with her friends...... Sound familiar?

Mordechai is a child actor who has to leave school for weeks on end to shoot on-location but doesn't want to miss the live class given by his teacher who is an expert in Talmudic Law.

Yossie is a physics teacher who has landed in the hospital for 24 hours and doesn't want his Honors Physics class to miss out on special Lecture/Demonstration that he has been planning for weeks.

What do these 3 People have in common? They could benefit from "Tele-Presence." That is the ability to remotely involve themselves in an activity that is happening at a location sometimes thousands of miles from where they are. Being someone who has remotely taught hundreds of classes, I can tell you that the biggest challenge I have had was being able to "see" what was going on; to be able to feel like I was there in person.... until now that is!!! (Yes, I really taught a class when I was in the cardiac ICU at Cedars Hospital!!!)

Let me introduce "Kubi" from Revolve Robotics. Kubi means "neck" in Japanese (Shout out to Hiroko-san and Sara-san at Arete Prep!!!) This amazing little device dramatically changes the way that we can be "present" in a classroom. Whether a student or a teacher, this can make a huge difference in the quality of a distance learning experience. Check out the Kubi video....

(click to view video)

Now, TRY IT YOURSELF with the Kubi self test demo (use the arrow keys on you keyboard to move around....)

The 20 minute on-line demo that I had with Kyle Murdok and Amar Desai (from Revolve) sold me on the spot! I have applied for the 30 day free trial. I can't wait until I have my "Esther" and "Mordechai" try this and get their impressions!

I know that I will be touring this product to all of my "Consortium Schools." AMIT Schools and S'mdar from JETS Israel - you should really check this out!!!

What do you think about the possibilities? Do you want to try it out with me as well? Send me an email or post a comment on the blog!

Regards....

Yossie

Yossie Frankel
Director - Consortium for Information and Academic Technologies
Member Schools:
Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy - yfrankel@hillelhebrew.org
Oakland Hebrew Day School - y.frankel@ohds.org
Shalhevet High School - y.frankel@shalhevet.org
Yeshivat Yavneh - www.yha.org
Arete Preparatory Academy - yfrankel@areteprep.org

Midreshet Emunah V'Omanut - Jerusalem - yfrankel@emunahvomanut.org
Checkout my blog @ technorebbe.blogspot.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel
YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/yossiefrankel

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Augmented Reality in Schools - WHY?!!

Remember this quote? It was all the rave a few years ago....

(OK, maybe it was more than a few years ago.... actually, it was published in 1986 - what do you expect?? I am "well seasoned" :-)

"Everything I need to know... I learned in kindergarten."
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

When I first heard that - fresh out of University in Canada - I didn't quite agree. Then I read the book! What I took away from that statement was that the foundation building lessons of our lives come from our childhood - and for most of us, that is time spent in school. One of those "foundational lessons" involves (at least I believe it does) IMAGINATION.

Einstein was once quoted as saying that "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."

The 5 "E's" of education (http://faculty.mwsu.edu/west/maryann.coe/coe/inquire/inquiry.htm) begin with ENGAGE.... I have found throughout my 30 years of being a teacher that if I can ENGAGE my students - grab their attention if you will - then I "have them" for my entire lesson plan. One way to engage younger students is to have the imaginary world break through in to the "real" world. While it is relatively straight forward to understand how Augmented Reality can work in business, or to help change a car tire, or fix a printer, what this amazing technology can do in the school environment is to bring a wonderful part of our mind to bear - IMAGINATION.

If you have not seen this 11 minute video of Sir Ken Robinson on Changing Education Paradigms, you should!!! This is why imagination is soooo important!!

(Click this link to watch the video)

READY.... OK then... Let's have some practical A/R (Augmented Reality) examples:

Younger Grades... Partnership with Daqri, Crayola and 3D Systems (the 3D printer people).

Here is a video showing how it works....

(click here to watch video)

OK my fellow teachers... this is coloring - on steroids!! But, what we have done is introduce the idea of Augmented Reality to our younger students - in a way that is creative and builds critical skills. (fine motor coordination, sharing, following directions, focused play, and so on...) Remember, most of these children will be entering a world where A/R is much more commonplace that it is now. Trust me on this one - there were HUGE, multi-billion dollar, multi-national companies at this expo that were talking about how they are integrating A/R into their businesses, today, right now!

Oh yes, by the way, 3D Systems are working with this to take the final creation that the student made and 3D PRINT IT!! In COLOR!!! The same colors that the student used to color the drawing is transferred to the 4D creation and then the 3D print is done in that color!!!

OK, so how about older students?...

One of my favorite A/R assignments involves taking historical figures (since I did this at a Jewish school, we used great Rabbi's of the past...) researching information on them and presenting that information in a fun way. First, the students had to research a historical figure and create a 30 second summary on that person's life. Using Morfo (on the iPad) we then animated a "head shot" photograph or portrait of the historical figure and had the student record their 30 second presentation. As the student speaks, the mouth (and the eyes!) on the "head shot" animate to match what is being said. We then digitally attach the video to the picture of the head shot (using the Daqri 4D Studio). In the classroom, the students hang up the "head shots" of their historical figures and when the Daqri enabled smart phone or tablet camera passes by, boom - the head starts talking!!

Now, what 21st Century Skills did we exercise here? Collaboration, presentation, time management, research skills, programming skills, effective use of technology, and so on... When you stop and think of it, the "tech part" was minimal. It was just the "icing on the cake" of developing well equipped 21st Century Learners. And you know what... the students had a BLAST doing it. They will remember this experience for the rest of their lives. Imagination has been stimulated.

What Ideas can you come up with?? Please share them on the blog!

Now, just because..... here are some pics of me at the 4D expo today.

Wearing the Daqri 4D Helmet (with the infra-red sensor system)

What We see with our eyes....

What we see with the Daqri app running.....
Note that there is now a digital clock on the face
of the cube.

From the Daqri 4D Expo....

Regards....

Yossie

Augmented Reality - part of the the "Internet of Things"

The "Internet of Things" - So "Things" have an Internet now, do they?

Well..... yes...... they do!

You may recall a previous blog where I brought up the idea of "wearable" devices and how they all seem to interconnect and how are we doing to deal with this in our schools. As I sit her at the Daqri 4D Expo, I am in awe about how interconnected the world is becoming.

In a blog a few weeks ago I talked about Virtual Reality vs Augmented Reality. Here at the 4D Expo, we are "deep diving" into the world of Augmented Reality and how it is being used in the "Real World." Yes, I am talking about real applications that are being done today, right now, not something that may be happening in the future.

Daqri already has an amazing list of 4D apps that we can (and do) use in our schools - more about that in a separate blog later - as well as a fully integrated product that is already being used in Industry - The Daqri Helmet.

(click link to view)

So what does this have to do with the "Internet of Things?"

All of these devices, AR Helmets, Smart Watches, FitBit devices, Milk Cartons and so on actually digitally communicate with each other. And what is the premier way of us human beings to interface with this data?..... Augmented Reality.

Imagine for a minute, the school receptionist has a jammed printer and needs help in fixing the issue. With Augmented reality, they can take a smartphone or iPad, position the camera so that they can "see" the printer and suddenly, onscreen directions appear pointing directly to the different components on the printer and how they can be repaired! It is tech support in a pocket! (Daqri has a 4D development studio that lets us tech people make this happen.)

This is the world that our students are entering, not tomorrow but today! What are we doing to prepare them for this?

My next blog will have a few suggestions....

From the Daqri 4D Expo....

Yossie

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Create Curiosity - Change the World!!

I am not a "Facebook" person. There... I said it.... I admit it!!

You see, my 30 Facebook "friends" are really my friends... you understand, people that I actually know.

Back in high school, I had a group of friends (yes, I had friends back then) that were "techno-geeks" - cool kids, but really into technology. We were soooo far ahead of our time. From our group, there are only two of us still alive; me and my old buddy Peter Valde. (Shout out to you Pete!!)

Now I haven't seen Pete in a little over 20 years but I see some of his Facebook posts. This particular post of his really caught my attention. It really piqued my curiosity. It made me want to change the world.

It is a story about a teenager, Easton laChappelle (19 years old now) who, as he puts it, because of boredom became interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) . Working from his bedroom (watch the You-Tube video that I have posted - the second video) he began to do amazing things. He created brain controlled prothetic limbs. Now get this... they cost UNDER $500.00!!!

Now, I know that I have written about prosthetic hands before, but this just BLEW ME AWAY!! It is not about the 3D printed prosthetics, it is about how one person can change the world!

Click This Link to watch the above Video

This You-Tube "Ted-x" is longer but you get a real good idea about the personality of young Easton.

Click this link to watch the You-Tube Video

Now, how can WE change the world?

I challenge all of my readers to, at your schools, create your own "Maker Spaces" where students can experiment and create. If you have a teacher who has some technical acumen, you may even want to undertake to create prosthetic devices. (Here is the URL for Easton's project... http://www.unlimitedtomorrow.com)

Hey, I have an idea.... AMIT Schools, why don't you team up with Yeshivat Yavneh (they have a "maker space" and 3D printers) and create the 3D blueprints for the Mishkan. I know that they have students who would LOVE to work on this!!! It would be a great real world application of International cooperation. Contact me and we will make it happen.

See, it is easy if you try!!

Other folks reading this post... what ideas do you have? How can we make this happen? How can we make our curiosity change the world?

Post you comments on the blog.

Yossie

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Wearables.... are YOU ready??!!

I just had coffee with Sarah Goldstein from The CIJE (shout out to The CIJE - the organization that is doing soooo much for getting Jewish Day Schools into the 21st Century!!! www.thecije.org) where we were talking about Virtual/Augmented Reality and "wearable" devices. Afterwards, as I walked back to my office - all caffeinated - I stated to think; "Are we ready for the influx of "wearables" and what they will mean to our schools??"

Really, stop and think about it...

A "wearable" device is any kind of electronics that is worn on the body of the individual. It can be a watch, earrings, rings (yes, there is a computer mouse/pointer that fits on a finger like a wedding band!), and so on.

Click here to view Video

These "wearable" devices can do things from telling simple time to interfacing with the Internet and pulling down texts and emails. There is even a version that accepts phone calls!

At a birthday party this week, my son got a digital watch. It was a plastic affair - opaque face, plastic wristband - you know, the kind of thing we used to get as a toy out of a cereal box. But... when he taps the opaque plastic face, digital numbers appear with the time and date. What is scary is that there are "wearables" that look just like his toy watch! So how can we tell the difference between a possibly restricted device and a toy?

My son's toy watch

The "wearable" with email

So, you may think; "that will never happen here..."

Well, don't count on it. The predictions are that, this year, "wearable" devices will start to become ubiquitous in the workplace and the classroom. "Wearable" devices had a huge presence at the Los Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. If your school has a cellphone policy, or texting-during-class policy, how are you going to handle this new intrusion into the educational arena? We schools are so often re-active with technology where we should be more pro-active.

Technology: In Plain English טכנולוגיה: באנגלית פשוטה

Translation Available תרגום זמין Traduction Disponible

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Tele-Presence - when "being there" is the next best thing!!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Augmented Reality in Schools - WHY?!!

Augmented Reality - part of the the "Internet of Things"

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Create Curiosity - Change the World!!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Wearables.... are YOU ready??!!

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