Latest education updates from around the world
How to Use the Latest Version of Focusable
Focusable was one of my favorite new tools in 2022. In 2023 it has continued to evolve to help teachers and students learn how to ignore distractions and focus on important tasks.
Focusable was recently updated with a new user interface designed to help you get focus and get into a flow a little more quickly than before. The new way of using Focusable begins with a short, guided “recharge” activity followed by a five or ten minute block of work time. This is slightly different than the previous version of Focusable in which […]
Students Can Learn About Weather Patterns and Make Forecasts in the Smithsonian Weather Lab
The Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Weather Lab is a simple online activity designed to help elementary and middle school students learn about weather patterns.
In the Weather Lab students select an ocean current and an air mass then try to predict the weather pattern that will result from their choices. The Weather Lab provides an overview of the characteristics of each air mass and ocean current. Students should use that information in making their weather predictions. After making their predictions the Weather Lab will tell students if they were correct or […]
11 Best AI Voice Generators
Generative AI is changing the way we interact with the Internet and is revolutionizing content creation in unprecedented ways. AI voice generation is one area that has seen phenomenal growth in recent years, with many powerful tools and platforms available to help instantly turn text into speech.
‘Another Fisherman’s Tale’ Shows Off More Mind-bending Puzzles in New Gameplay Trailer
InnerspaceVR is bringing its sequel to the VR puzzle adventure A Fisherman’s Tale soon, aptly named Another Fisherman’s Tale. And now both InnerspaceVR and publisher Vertigo Games have released a new gameplay video showing off just what awaits. Detachable body parts, galore.
Revealed today at the Future Games Show (FGS) Spring Showcase, the new trailer shows off some of the upcoming VR puzzle game’s mind-bending universe, which this time is said to use the player’s own body as core puzzle mechanic, tasking you with detaching and replacing key body parts to solve puzzles.
Check out the trailer below:
InnerspaceVR says the sequel brings a […]
5 Tips for Surviving Until The End of The School Year
The end of the school year is in sight, so here are some strategies for saving time and maximizing impact to help you across the finish line.
Projection Wizard – See How Maps Distort the World
Projection Wizard is an interesting tool developed by Bojan Šavrič at Oregon State University. The purpose of Projection Wizard is to help cartographers select the best map projections for their projects.
To use the Projection Wizard select a distortion property from a menu appearing to the left of the map. Then use the highlighting tool to select the portion of the map that your project focuses on. After you make your map and menu choices you’ll be shown a list of the projections that are appropriate for your project.
Hello History – An AI App for Chatting With Historical Figures
Hello History is a new iPhone and Android app that lets you chat with historical figures. The list of characters with whom you can chat ranges from pop culture icons to artists, politicians, and civil rights activists.
Hello History uses AI in a manner similar to that found when using AI tools like ChatGPT. You start a chat by selecting a person from the list of names. That person will then show a brief message about themselves. You can reply to that message with a question and through the use of […]
Pico’s Big Announcement at GDC? Nothing in Particular
Pico Interactive took to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco this week with a massive booth, hyping the event as a “treat” that would be a ‘Journey to Infinity’. Well, there’s nothing in particular to announce.
Pico, the creator of the Pico 4 standalone, is arguably one of the biggest untapped threats to Meta’s market supremacy in the consumer VR standalone segment. At least for now.
Owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, many speculated that the China-based Pico was finally ready to announce the consumer launch of Pico 4 in the United States, a step that many (including […]
One of VR’s Most Veteran Studios Has Gown to 200 Employees While Continuing to Double-down on VR
Having been exclusively building VR games since 2013, nDreams stands as one of the most veteran VR-exclusive game studios to date. And with more than 200 people, one of the largest too. The studio’s CEO & founder, Patrick O’Luanaigh, continues to bet his company’s future on the success of VR.
Speaking exclusively to Road to VR ahead of a presentation at GDC 2023, Patrick O’Luanaigh talks about the growing success of nDreams and why he’s still doubling down on VR.
Starting in 2013, O’Luanaigh has navigated his company from the earliest days of the modern VR era to now, which he believes is […]
6 Great AI Photo to Cartoon Tools
Using photo to cartoon tools is a great way to create unique artwork that will stand out among other images. You can turn your favorite photos into something new and exciting. Whether it’s a family portrait or an outdoor landscape shot, you can use these tools to easily convert your photos into a cartoon-like representation.
5 Great AI-powered Photo Editors to Create Amazing Visuals
In this post, I share with you a collection of some of the best AI-powered online photo editing tools to help you create stunning visuals without the need for any advanced technical or graphic design knowledge. All of these AI photo editors are simple and easy to use.
You can simply upload your image or start with a pre-designed professional looking template and customize it the way you want. You can add amazing effects, use AI photo enhancing features, add effects and filters and when you are done download and share your final product.
Some of the amazing features […]
Meta Keeps the Oculus Name Alive as Third-party VR Publisher Becomes ‘Oculus Publishing’
Meta has nearly scrubbed all of its products of the Oculus name, however the company today announced its third-party publishing wing is getting a sort of rebrand that will see the Oculus name live on.
Meta announced at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) that it’s naming its third-party publishing arm Oculus Publishing. The company tells us Oculus Studios, its first-party studio, will continue to exist.
To date, Meta’s growing fleet of acquired first-party studios includes Beat Games (Beat Saber), Sanzaru Games (Asgard’s Wrath), Ready at Dawn (Lone Echo & Echo VR), Downpour Interactive (Onward), BigBox VR (Population: One), and Within (Supernatural).
Third-party […]
40 Quest Titles Report Over $10M in Revenue, Meta Says “giant correlation” Between Quality & Sales
Meta today revealed at Game Developers Conference (GDC) a fresh bit of insight into Quest Store stats.
The company says in a developer blog post there are now 500+ titles available on the Meta Quest Store, 40 of which have grossed over $10 million in revenue.
At Connect 2022 in October, the company reported that 33 titles out of the 400 apps on the Quest Store at the time had tipped over the $10 million mark. Since then, the Quest Store has ostensibly added around 100 games in the time span of around five months.
And it seems those […]
ATARI Partners with ‘Pixel Ripped’ Studio to Bring ‘1978’ Sequel to VR This Summer, Trailer Here
ARVORE, the studio behind the Pixel Ripped game series, announced it’s releasing a sequel this summer called Pixel Ripped 1978, which aims to take us back for another immersive trip down memory lane.
To bring the latest entry in the Pixel Ripped franchise to life, the Sao Paolo, Brazil-based Arvore has struck a major branding partnership with iconic gaming house ATARI.
In the trailer, you’ll see an Atari 2600 and a number of games, such as Crystal Castles (1983), Fast Freddie (1982), and Yars Revenge (1982).
While not the most influential titles to grace the console over its 15-year lifespan (1977-1992), the partnership […]
Signs of Spring Bingo
My daughters are obsessed with Humphrey the Hamster books written by Betty Birney. We’re currently reading Spring According to Humphrey. In the book the class is tasked with looking for signs of spring.
5 Ways to Engage Reluctant Readers
How technology and student choice can help engage reluctant readers
50 Great Education Quotes for All Learners
Education is the key to inner enlightenment. It is a life-long journey and is an enjoyable ride with no destination. An educated mind has no boundaries or limits. It is in a constant search for knowledge and new insights and is always on the lookout for novel learning experiences.
The purpose of this post is to take you on a journey to the world of education. I want you to explore it with me through the eyes of some of the most influential minds in history. How? Through their wise sayings and quotes.
50 Best Quotes about Life
Life can often be a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, with its fair share of ups and downs. Sometimes we seem to understand it and other times nothing makes sense in it. This is the volatile nature of life. One thing we are sure of though is that the older we get the clearer picture we have about life.
In this post, I compiled for you a collection of wonderful quotes about life that can help us all stay positive in the face of adversity […]
Is Critical Race Theory Taught in Schools?
For the last few years, critical race theory has become a common term in US media. Technical as the concept might be, many people use it without understanding what it really means which often results in a dangerous semantic confusion and a conceptual misinformation that can sometimes (depending on one’s agenda) amount to disinformation.
I have already discussed the meaning of critical race theory in a previous post here in Educational Technology and Mobile learning and have argued for its importance in raising students awareness to the different types of injustices created by the intersection […]
Four Methods for Distraction-free YouTube Viewing
This morning I answered an email from a reader who was looking for some suggestions on how to display YouTube videos in her classroom without showing all of the related sidebar content that appears on YouTube. If you find yourself in a similar position, here are some things to try.
Put the videos into slides
If you embed a YouTube video into your Google Slides, PowerPoint slides, or Canva slides then none of YouTube’s related sidebar content appears next to the video.
[…]
40 Great Quotes about Motivation and Success
Motivation is key to success. Of course, motivation alone is not enough and it can only take you so far. Motivation needs hard work and persistence to breed success. As Oliver Goldsmith beautifully stated, “success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall”.
However, there are times when we feel demotivated or unsure about how to move forward towards success. In such situations, turning to motivational quotes can offer […]
Virtuix ‘Omni One’ VR Treadmill Now Shipping to Early Investors
Virtuix, the company behind the Omni VR treadmill, launched a crowd-based investment campaign in 2020 to fund Virtuix Omni One, an at-home VR locomotion device targeted at consumers. Now the studio has revealed the final version, pricing, and the news that it’s now shipping out to early investors.
Omni One units are now headed out to early investors (re: not backers) prior to the device’s planned consumer launch, which is said to arrive at some point later this year.
The company says its currently has a waitlist for Omni One of “more than 35,000 subscribers.”
Here’s a look at […]
‘Moss’ Studio Announces VR Competitive Multiplayer, Closed Beta Signups Now Live
Polyarc, the studio behind the Moss franchise, announced a new competitive multiplayer VR game currently in development.
Polyarc isn’t saying much beyond that—we still don’t even know it’s name—however a look at the game’s concept art shows a definite influence from Moss‘ style and characters, including the Reader and a number of plucky mice heroes.
Although we can’t read too much into it, retrofitting Moss’ third-person platforming view into a multiplayer battle game may mean the studio is pursuing something very similar in feel to Moss, albeit with multiple classes and weapons. In the concept art we see a gilded Reader […]
What Happens To Education Institutions When A Bank Fails?
The recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank should have implications for the way many education institutions go about their banking
K-12 Cybersecurity in 2023: Ransomware, AI, and Increased Threats
The current trends in K-12 cybersecurity that education leaders need to be aware of