Screen Future: The Future of Entertainment, Computing, and the Devices We Love - Book by Brian David Johnson, Intel Press (and more) |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2010 03:48 AM PDT I subscribe to InteractiveTV Today, which focuses on news and information about interactive multi-platform television. Brian David Johnson, an Intel Futurist, is the author of the Jet Set column in ITVT. His most recent article provides a good overview of Intel's Developer Forum (IDF) in his article, Get Your Geek On. In my opinion, the best part of the article were Johnson's links to his new book, Screen Future: The Future of Entertainment, Computing, and the Devices We Love, and a video interview of key players in the world of the future of interactive television/media.  About Screen Future: "Screen Future is about the people, technology, and economics that are shaping the evolution of entertainment. Blending social and computer sciences, media history, and engaging conversations with industry experts, author Brian David Johnson provides an informed and illuminating vision for what happens when TV and entertainment are transformed by the power and intelligence of computers." A New Vision of Television In the video below, Brian David Johnson discusses the future of TV with LeVar Burton and Mark Wolfe, of Burton/Wolfe, and Asra Rasheed, CEO, RRKidz: The following information about David Brian Johnson was taken from Intel's Screen Future website: About the Author  Brian David Johnson Futurist and Director, Future Casting and Experience Research Intel Corporation The future is Brian David Johnson's business. As a futurist at Intel Corporation, his charter is to develop an actionable vision for computing in 2020. His work is called "future casting"—using ethnographic field studies, technology research, trend data, and even science fiction to provide Intel with a pragmatic vision of consumers and computing. Along with reinventing TV, Johnson has been pioneering development in artificial intelligence, robotics, and using science fiction as a design tool. He speaks and writes extensively about future technologies in articles and scientific papers as well as science fiction short stories and novels (Fake Plastic Love, Nebulous Mechanisms: The Dr. Simon Egerton Stories and the forthcoming This Is Planet Earth). He has directed two feature films and is an illustrator and commissioned painter. http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com  |
| Posted: 21 Oct 2010 05:19 PM PDT Brief background: I've been following developments in intelligent tutoring systems for a while, and find it interesting to see how researchers are combining artificial intelligence, learning theory, affective computing, and sensor networks to create applications that might prove to be useful and effective. The advantage of using intelligent tutoring applications in some cases is that it provides students with additional support and feedback the moment it is needed, something that is difficult for teachers to provide to students in large classrooms. With the increase in use of smartphones and other mobile devices such as the iPad, there is a good chance that this sort of technology will be used to support learning anywhere, anytime. Although most intelligent tutoring systems are geared for 1-1 computing, I think there are some components that could be tweaked and then transfered to create intelligent "tutoring" systems for collaborative learning. Students like game-based learning, and what could be more fun than playing AND learning with a partner or group of peers? (I plan to revisit the research in this area in an upcoming post.) Some thoughts:I envision a system could support learning as well as important skills useful to students in life beyond the school walls, such as positive social interaction, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. The path of least resistance? Most likely applications that support the learning of pairs or small groups of students working at one display. However, in this era of the "21st Century Learner", there is a growing need for applications that can support small groups of students for collaborative groups and project-based learning activities. There are a few applications developed for collaborative learning activities around a multi-touch table, such as the SMARTTable or the Surface, and more are needed. Also needed are intelligent systems that can support video conferencing and collaborative learning between students who are not physically co-located. There are some problems that have yet to be solved. For example, the use of multiple sensors for an application designed for young people might be too intrusive. There are serious issues related to privacy/security. Who would have access to data regarding a student's emotional or physiological state? How would this data be utilized? How would this information be protected? Many school districts have security vulnerabilities, so it is possible that this information could be misused, if in the wrong hands. Below I've highlighted two "intelligent" tutoring systems that incorporate the use of sensors in one form or another to generate information about student learning in a way that simulates what good teachers do every day. The ClassroomAssist application was developed by researchers at Intel, in collaboration with several universities. The Wayang Outpost application was developed by researchers at UMASS, and is aligned with the principles of Universal Design for Learning. CLASSROOM ASSIST ClassmateAssist is an application developed by Intel's Everyday Sensing and Perception team. Here is the description of the application from Intel Research:"The advent of 1:1 computing in the classroom opens the door for teachers to set up individualized learning for their students who have a wide spectrum of interests and skills. ClasmateAssist technology uses computer vision and image projection to assist and guide students in a 1:1 learning environment, helping them to independently accomplish tasks at their own pace, while at the same time allowing teachers to be apprised of student progress." In the following video, Richard Beckwith, a developmental psychologist at Intel, demonstrates a prototype of an application that uses video-sensing to track student's hand movements during a coin sorting lesson. The application provides feedback to the student, and also tracks data about the student's progress that can be transformed into a report for the teacher. The system can also monitor student's facial expression, note attention levels, and provide feedback. Intel Research: Everyday Sensing and Perception SPAIS Publications: Theocharous, G., Beckwith, R., Butko, N., Philipose, M. Tractable POMDP Planning Algorithms for Optimal Teaching in "SPAIS". International Joint Conferene on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) workshop on Plan Activity, and Intent Recognition (PAIR), Pasadena, California, July 2009. May 2010. Theocharous, G., Butko, N., Philipose, M. Designing a Mathematical Manipulatives Tutoring System using POMDPS. (pdf). POMDP Practitioners Workshop: Solving Real-world POMDP Problems, International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS). Toronto, May 2010 I've followed the work of Beverly P. Woolf and her colleagues for some time. Much of their research has centered around a web-based application, Wayang Outpost, an intelligent electronic tutoring system that incorporates multimedia and animated adventures while providing activities designed to prepare teens for standardized math tests, such as the SAT and state-mandated end-of-course exams. In recent years, the team has been using non-invasive sensors in their research, including a camera that views facial expressions, a posture-sensing device located in the seat of the student's chair, and a pressure-sensitive mouse, and a wireless skin conductance wristband. Data collected through all of these sensors can provide useful information about student learning. The system can also note when students try to "game" the system. Related Publications Woolf, B.P., Arroyo, I., Muldner, K., Burleson, W., Cooper, D., Dolan, R., Christopherson, R.M (2010)The Effect of Motivational Learning Companions on Low Achieving Students and Students with Disabilties (pdf) International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Pittsburgh. Emotion Sensors Go To School. AIED 2009. Pp. 17-24. IOS Press.Abstract "We report the results of a randomized controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of pedagogical agents as providers of affective feedback. These digital learning companion were embedded in an intelligent tutoring system for mathematics, and were used by approximately one hundred students in two public high schools. Students in the control group did not receive the learning companions. Results indicate that low-achieving students—one third of whom have learning disabilities—had higher affective needs than their higher achieving peers; they initially considered math problem-solving more frustrating, less exciting, and felt more anxious when solving math problems. However, after they interacted with affective pedagogical agents, low-achieving students improved their affective outcomes, e.g., reported reduced frustration and anxiety." Arroyo, I., Cooper, D.G., Burleson, W., Woolf, B.P., Muldner, K., Christopherson, R. (2009) Low-tech description of Wayang Outpost, the math application used in the above publication: Paul Franz, Recoder.Com 5/16/09 Cooper, D.G., Arroyo, I., Woolf, B.P., Muldner, K., Burleson, W., Christoperson, R. Sensors Model Student Self-Concept in the Classroom (pdf) UMass Amherst, June 22, 2009/UMAP 2009 Cross posted in the TechPsych Blog http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com  |
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