OLDaily

The Fine Line Between Reality and Imaginary
Nadine Dijkstra, Nautilus, 2021/07/30

I think this is a key to understanding not only how we think but also how we learn: "there is no real categorical difference between imagination and reality, but that they are subjectively intermixed. When this combination of internal and external signals is strong enough, we believe it reflects reality." The second key (not in the article) is that we don't intentionally create these signals, nbeither external nor internal. We don't 'construct' our understanding of reality. Rather, we grow into it through a process of, as Hume would say, custom and habit.

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The Future of EdTech Conferences
Tim Stahmer, Assorted Stuff, 2021/07/30

Here's the big question: "Once organizations are able to present live conferences again, will the crowds (and income) return?" Even after the pandemic, people and organizations will be questioning the time and cost involved, even if the online experience isn't the same. And, says Tim Stahmer, organizers will be able to reach much larger audiences online, essentially guaranteeing that conferences won't return to an exclusively in-person mode. "They, and that audience, would benefit from continuing to have that online option available. For the many of us without that unlimited travel budget." Note that all of the above applies to online classes as well.

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Zuckerberg to investors: This metaverse thing will be expensive
Janko Roettgers, Protocol, 2021/07/30

Although the main stumbling block for the metaverse (that is, augmented reality, virtual reality, etc.) is the cost of hardware (next up: smart glasses), the real expense will be in the development of a metaverse platform, or operating system, or whatever you want to call it. That's the gist of this article that focuses on Facebook but include any number of potential competitors. And there is a lesson in here for ed tech companies as well, as developments costs for educational content will also be high. I think there will be a lot of emphasis on shared resources and even open resources because no single educational developer will be able to bear the costs alone.

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Texas School District's Facial Recognition System Capable Of Capturing A Single Student's Image More Than 1,000 Times A Week
Tim Cushing, TechDirt, 2021/07/30

The key word in this article is "capable" and we should not infer that this degree of surveillance is normal. Yet. Documentation from AnyVision states, "'Overall, we had over 164,000 detections the last 7 days running the pilot. We were able to detect students on multiple cameras and even detected one student 1100 times!' Taylor May, then a regional sales manager for AnyVision, said in an email to the school’s administrators." And surveillance in schools quickly becomes surveillance for wider purposes. "It also lent it to local law enforcement officers who were trying to identify a suspected drug dealer they believed was a student."

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