Visioning Activity

Lets just say you had all of the time, money and talent in the world. What would you do in these areas?  On your own, try to list 10 ideas for each category (50 total) and do not limit yourself to what is possible today

_____________________________________________________________

Education

- learn a language, master Aikido, get a doctorate,

learn guitar

Job/Research

- think tank researcher, mad scientist,

astronaut, CEO, rock star

Philosophical and/or Religious

- visit the Vatican archives, Tibet, a sweat lodge

or host a spiritual retreat

Travel

- go beyond your favorites to your wildest dreams.

I'm off to Mars!

Home(s)

- swimming pool, observatory,

riding academy, private beach

_____________________________________________________________

Realizing that these can be somewhat personal as it pertain to personal goals and desires and that it is also subject to change over time, I am not recommending you share these here, but I still thought I would share some of my own here (as an additional thread to CTU CS855 Futuring & Innovation).

I hope you have fun entertaining this on your own as well.

Enjoy and thanks for visiting,

-Karl

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  Here is My List  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Education

1.      Write a text book

2.      Learn a variety of languages

3.      Participate in a think tank

4.      Develop an emerging media program

5.      Develop a global learning institution

6.      Teach at multiple institutions

7.      Get additional degrees in Math and Science

8.      Complete Post Doc Studies and Research

9.      Privately study and apprentice with a prominent Artist

10.  Visit/consult/apprentice at top university labs across the nation

Job/Research

1.      Write and manage a grant for technology related research

2.      Semi-retire happy

3.      Work in a multinational location

4.      Work on joint school venture for instructional design

5.      Become a Freelance artist

6.      Become a Freelance writer

7.      Own an art studio

8.      Do consulting for programs at top engineering university labs across the nation

9.      Complete a research project to help advance solutions to cure Alzheimer’s

10.  Work on a design to advance future GUI and engineering design interfaces

 Philosophical and/or Religious

 1.      Complete a Christian mission

2.      Take a couple of years off to explore my inner self

3.      Learn to express and share through writing

4.      Learn to express and share through art

5.      Participate long term in a mind and cognitive science forum

6.      Develop total control over my own level of NLP and mental causation

7.      Lead a community art project

8.      Investigate different paths and solutions to inner happiness

9.      Investigate different paths and solutions to social well being

10.  Investigate  and develop different paths and solutions towards Altruism

Travel

1.      Take a summer cruise

2.      Backpack across the Uinta’s

3.      Backpack across Europe

4.      Travel across the US in a motorhome

5.      Ride my bike from coast to coast

6.      Go fly-fishing among different continents

7.      Experience deep space travel

8.      See the 7 Wonders (+ plus) of the World

9.      In extension to 7 wonders, visit the latest international Architectural achievements

10.  Experience different nations/cultures for intimate knowledge and experience

Home(s)

1.      Addition for large family gatherings

2.      Build an outdoor kitchen bbq

3.      Convert portion of garage for art studio

4.      Modernize for latest home controls

5.      New Master bath

6.      Swimming Pool

7.      Summer Vacation Condo

8.      Winter time second Home

9.      Mountain Recreation property

10.  Home and care center for multi-generations and or extended family


(See my comments to this post below for further ideas about this activity) 

Futurist Analysis Predictions

Forecast #1:
Learning will become more social and game-based, and online social gaming may soon replace textbooks in schools. The idea that students learn more when they are engaged—as they are when playing games—is helping educators embrace new technologies in the classroom. In addition to encouraging collaborations, games also allow students to learn from their mistakes through trial and error.

 

Games vs Textbooks ?

I feel this forecast is somewhat coming to fruition (despite the vagueness in writing a good forecast as if it is almost like fortune telling) but not exactly. Point of the matter is, MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses have begun to take hold, and the context in which educational content is being presented is being challenged in many different ways. The capabilities that gaming programs or Virtual Worlds bring by use of Multimedia, certainly has its potential and brings many different possibilities to the table. Stanford, Princeton, and University of Michigan among others have partnered with Coursera (a for profit education technology company) as a platform for presenting courseware. Whereas Harvard and MIT are developing, in a joint venture, a platform called edX which builds on MITx (a not for profit technological platform recently established). With such strong advancements in technology that has accompanied Web 2.0 and with advancements in Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Course Management Software (CMS) systems as examples, it is easy to see that new technological forces are some of the driving factors of success, especially when considering the trend of a few years ago where there was similar attempt to provide online learning (and seemingly became a dyeing fad). A global goal (another force factor for success) is to provide top notch education for free to anybody (those that seek it) making it very economical. Regarding the MIT and Harvard project, George Siemens a MOOC pioneer stated “Projects like this can impact lives around the world, for the next billion students from China and India.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/education/harvard-and-mit-team-up-to-offer-free-online-courses.html Finally, with MOOCs catching popularity and as they become a strong hold for Universities to provide courses, online education is here to stay.

Online Learning is Global and Here to Stay

 

 

PersonalAutonomousFlyingVehicles (PAFVs)

My Animoto Video

Created 1 minute ago by Karl

Keep in mind that for successful completion and implementation of this technology it is important to consider positive and negative forces that influence the development. For example, economical and practical forces are strong ones to consider in that it must be cheap enough to build and fly such a vehicle that it would be practical enough to own and use. As technologies advance I am sure that we will see cost, size and complexities of computer controllers and other components needed for such a vehicle will become more and more affordable and more and more available, thus technological forces will positively influence this, whereas economical forces will become less of an influence as time progresses. Many other forces must be taken into consideration as well and some of these are discussed further throughout this CTUCS855 Futuring & Innovation blog.
 

NewAgora and Group Dialogue

Is a Technology of Democracy needed to overcome the propensity toward Spreadthink,
Groupthink, and the "Erroneous Priorities Effect"?

In an article titled

New Agora: New Geometry of Languaging And New Technology of Democracy: The Structured Design Dialogue Process

By: Vigdor Schreibman and Alexander N. Christakis

The authors continue that .... Technology of Democracy needed to overcome the propensity toward Spreadthink, Groupthink, and the "Erroneous Priorities Effect" and to facilitate meaningful group dialogue that enhances the pursuit of community wisdom and power. This is the only way to realize the promise of democracy.

The Agora of Philanthropolis is depicted below:

The Agora of Philanthropolis

Boundary-Spanning Dialogue
Via WebScope

 

 

Furthermore, this depicts a blend and combination of power of human capital, social capital and what that author terms cyberspace capital. In this ideal it is not enough to only bestow responsibility of citizenship but that we must also exercise group dialogue and that group dialogue is best accomplished by extending it globally to a new geometry of languaging.

It is this author’s opinion that I would agree that dialogues must go beyond mere consensus if they are to effectively deal with complex topics. Structured Design Dialogue Process (SDDP) as the NewAgora paper presents is one such method of new geometry of languaging.

See http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/loversofdemocracy/ for further discussion and examples of SDDP.

The SDDP goes on to include creative engagement of the citizenry where trust and cooperation is derived from voluntary democratic actions that serve the "will of the whole."

To serve the "will of the whole" I feel is key to its success. How best to accomplish this however is far beyond this post and will take years of study and research to capitalize on the ideas and concepts presented in the New Agora. I also feel that there are many embedded traits of design of dialogue that will aid greatly in the advancements towards inclusion of cyberspace capital in the triad of dialogue depicted above. Some of these traits are spin offs of former constructs such as: Nominal Group Technique NGT and DELPHI techniques for consensus, elemental observations and action plan pattern as language patterns, and decision and action planning used for stages of inquiry. These traits I do feel can be readily used to the benefit of advancing technologies into the future. We can for example, lean on NGT and DELPHI panels in various combinations as group dialogue in electronic format to lead in decision making and in furthering new ideas of development of boundary-spanning or transdiciplanary areas in computer science and technology.

 



Innovation - Ways to Reinvent Yourself

BONUS POST

Change is among us and innovation is usually taken in view with regards to new inventions, new technologies, new trends, etc. Each of which is external to us all.

I thought I would take a step back in topics from the usual thought process about innovation and express a novel concept of a different context for innovation and that is, Ways to Reinvent Ourselves.

Seth Godin says now--right now--is the best time to transform your life

... and then goes on to provide how. How? Start by doing work that matters. He then provides seven levers that are available and they are much different than what I would have typically thought of, but basically they are:

1.) connect (use social and/or digital media)
2.) be generous (sort of a pay-it-forward idea)
3.) make art (create something new, risks lead to reward)
4.) acknowledge the lizard (our prehistoric brain stem = resistance)
5.) ship (market, getter done, make it happen with outcome)
6.) fail (develop ability to take failure with grace)
7.) learn (cornerstone to it all, school-as-event mindset, school is NOW)

.....something to think about...

TED Talks - TED Ideas Worth Spreading

TED Ideas Worth Spreading - Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world

Browse to Ted Talks and you will find a presentation - Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo Sixth Sense.

http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense

Filmed Feb 2009 • Posted Mar 2009 • TED2009

This demo -- from Pattie Maes' from MIT is accompanied by some video exerts by a co-designer Pranov Mistry who has spearheaded the design technology presented. Essentially the technology was for a wearable device that has a touch and gesture based recognition system and which can also project information onto various surfaces. Even though this was apparently presented back in 2009 I feel it is still cutting edge technology somewhat ahead of todays technologies found in handheld devices like smart phones.

In further assessment of the technology introduced in the ted talk by Pattie Maes' from MIT, it would be easy to realize that many social aspects of such devices may come into play. For example, with a wearable device, until the technology is refined it could be cumbersome and clunky to actually wear and use the device, thus there would be resistance by the population during implementation. Socially would it be acceptable to be broadcasting information or interacting with items in a public setting. Additionally gesture based recognition may seem a bit odd at first to new users or observers. Thus hesitancy and reluctance may be an influence. However Technological forces also come into play here as well. Since we are generally social people who tend to want the latest and greatest gadgets, as long as they are practical, useful, and affordable, this type of technology is desirable. However, this type of technology is still somewhat in it's infancy and due to limitations in the hardware and the cost off development, it may be some time yet before it is realized by the users. This begs to question the value of the use of the device as a heads up display and haptic interface for information use versus the social use and impact it that it may have. So until further design considerations are incorporated into such a device which would make it more portable while still keeping it user friendly, and which make it affordable, there will be resistance and hesitancy from those that are targeted for it's use and adaptations.

New Media Consotrium / Horizon Report Ideas

The NMC Horizon Project is an online initiative that charts emering trends in technologies for teaching, learning, and research, as well as creative inquiry. This is a joint effort between the New Media Consortium and Educause and attempts to forecast and present advancements in technologies that will occur within the next 1 to 5 years. This forecast is influenced and impacted by a collaborative effort with conversations among hundreds of technology professionals, educators, industry leaders, and corporate representatives. In this sense the NMC Horizon Project represents a new ideal in education where information is exchanged, communicated and re-presented in an open discourse as a joint consensus among the consortium.





Further examination of the Horizon Report (HR) this week takes me to thoughts of addtional technologies that I could add to my previous discussion on the Autonomous Vehicle and Personal Transportation of the future. The idea and concepts of new visual displays for interactions intrigues me.   The HR in the longer term of  estimates present various technologies as they relate to "the Internet of Things".  In the sandbox of emerging technologies the HR lists several possiblities; Apple Exploring Interactive, Glasses-Free 3D Holographic Displays, Augmented Reality on Your Phone, Future of Display is Here- Latest Tech Visions For Touch Screens, Monitors of Next-Gen Gadgets, and Haptics Brings A Personal Touch To Technology.

As visual displays continue to advance in both modes and methods and as this includes more and more features such as touch screens and haptic interfaces, the idea here is that this could bring great potential to add augmented reality to each "window to the world".  See below:

Augmented Reality on Your Phone

By NICK BILTON

Kazuhiro Nogi/Getty ImagesThis augmented reality application adds an animated Japanese character to a scene.

Over the weekend I used a new iPhone application,  Word Lens, to perform magic tricks for anyone who would watch. Word Lens isn’t really a magic app, but using it was kind of magical for me, almost like  seeing Houdini perform in real life. The app is an augmented reality program that can translate text from English to Spanish, and the other way around, instantly through the iPhone’s camera.

Similarly, windshields of vehicles already can provide heads up displays (HUDs) for drivers, but a great extension to this would be to augment what appears to be seen through the glass as well. Say for example your traveling cross country and have miles to cross of unpleasant scenery, this could be replaced instead with scenery desired by the driver. A desert for example could be replaced by lakes and mountains, or a hot dry day could be replaced by the appearance of light snow, or vice versa. An addition to the augmented reality could also be when you touched the glass, additional information could pop-up, so say for example when passing a building or landmark, information about that building or landmark could be provided. The potential could be endless of various combinations of augmented reality, however  it's acceptance could be dependant on economical (costs), legal (safety concerns), and social (acceptance of simulated worlds) among others.  

Innovation Idea & Two Forces

Describe an innovation idea that is not possible today that will be available in the next 15-20 years and identify and discuss two of the forces that define it and may facilitate or reduce its likelihood of success. Examples of possible forces include the words that end in -al, such as technological, cultural, economical, legal, ethical, temporal, social, societal, global, national, local, and many more.
Autonomous Vehicles

Google has been experimenting with self-driving cars and recently tested out their latest design. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18012812

10 May 2012 Last updated at 06:49 ET

Driverless cars and how they would change motoring

By Daniel Nasaw BBC News Magazine, Washington

There are plenty of distractions in Las Vegas, but not for this driver

The above mentioned article, talks briefly about one road block, technological and states that the Google's car is a modified Toyota Prius, but expect the designs to take a new directions, says Irwin. "When you get to a technological change, the first thing we do is we mimic what people are familiar with and comfortable with," he says."People like to look out the window so I suspect we'll keep windows in some shape, but maybe they don't need to be quite the way they are now. If cars aren't going to hit each other, maybe we don't need bumpers."

Another possible road block I see may being Governmental and may take time and a delicate/correct approach to get past. However, I see that Nevada has issued Google license to test drive the vehicle. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/05/google-gets-license-to-test-drive-autonomous-cars-on-nevada-roads/
And California just passed a bill in their state senate Senate Bill 1298 , paving the way for safety and performance standards that cover autonomous vehicles operating on the state’s roads and highways. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/02/padilla-robo-cars-sb-1298/

Since this is to be a technology that is 15 years out, I needed to clarify to my post that although the technology is available for today, the acceptance and availability is not and my initial intention/thoughts about autonouus vehicles would be to take the capability of autonomous and add extended feature to the vehicle such that it is not limited to ground transportation, much like the Jetsons TV series by Hanna Barbera (1962-1988). Was it the future of the past, or is it present?, LOL -
enjoy *smile*



Note: If you have some time, you may enjoy watching this episode of the Jetsons (be sure to watch for other innovative ideas as well).

http://www.thewb.com/shows/the-jetsons/the-space-car/b3183eed-fc83-4c15-9347-66c18d1c8163

Was it the future of the past, or is it present?, LOL -
enjoy *smile*

Innovator Introductions - feel free to introduce yourself here and join in discussion

Greetings everyone,
My name is Karl and I am writing this intro from my beautiful home in Roy Utah.
I am a lifelong learner with a little knowledge about a lot of stuff, and perhaps an expert in a little bit of stuff but I haven't figured what that is yet. I have a strong interest in lifelong learning, the way we learn, and how it is affected by merging media and advancements in technology. A good book I read recently is a book titled "We're Born to Learn" by Rita Smilkstein and would like to extend the title to a goal which would make it possible for all students to realize their potential as natural learners! Also in continuance to that, my dreams for what will be needed in 10-15 years is many many new options for the learner in forms of advancements in learning technologies and in new forms of learning programs including those of extended higher learning. Some of which I would like to pioneer... whether it be in virtual simulations, augmented reality, or in participatory interactive activities in a field of dreams, where if I build it, they will come