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Towards a successful metaverse: the case for measuring enabling factors
Economist Impact | Perspectives, 2023/06/28

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Usually the Economist puts their stuff behind a paywall, but I'm hoping this advertorial content remains available, if only so we can continue to access the report (30 page PDF) co-authored with Meta and read Matthew Ball's comprehensive definition of the metaverse:

"a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds and environments. These can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications and payments."

Yes, the word '3D' is in there, but notice how small a part it plays when compared with core concepts like decentralization, persistence, identity and presence. This is where the real work is being done; the virtual environment is just one of many presentation layers.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Writing as academic practice in an time of Generative AI
Helen Beetham, imperfect offerings, Substack, 2023/06/28

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The main argument here is that "what large language models do with language - or with the digital textual traces of language - is far removed from what students do with language in purposeful, developmental assignments." Helen Beetham makes a good point when she argues that the purpose of writing assignments is to help students learn how to think and how to communicate. This article takes the easy way out, treating AI as a writing aid which should be used critically. But it needs to be, I think, clearer about what the AI is doing differently from the student. It's a good effort, especially in describing what the AI does when it composes. But it is less clear about what the human does, focusing on the purposes of the writing rather than the cognitive mechanism that produces it. Is it so different from the AI? Are we training students to be like the AI (but with more facts)? Does this inform how we should teach writing?

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Research through the lens
Natalie Samson, University Affairs, 2023/06/28

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Photos and research go hand in hand. That's why I've often paired my photos with my presentation materials. As this story notes, "Photo contests are gaining in popularity as a powerful way to share and promote research." But I don't think this article quite captures the relationship. I don't just mean the competitive aspect when they say "photo contests are gaining in popularity as a powerful way to share and promote research." Lots of photographers enter contests, even me, though I don't win. No, it's this: "faculty, students, staff and alumni are invited to submit images depicting university-affiliated research." When you reduce the photo to depicting - that is, representing something else - then much of the expressive capacity of the photo is lost. If it were me, I would ask for photos associated with research, thus allowing the photo to be of something else entirely, but saying something consonant with the research being described. Then  the 120-word caption can describe the research, and the photo can speak for itself.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

The Doc Web
Elan Kiderman Ullendorff, Lens, 2023/06/28

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This post explores "the soft power of Google Doc publishing." The title is a play on the term 'the dark web', which refers to the web beyond the reach of search engines and hidden behind barriers or paywalls, Google Docs and similar services (Google isn't alone in this) aren't quite dark, but they are not exactly open either. I make extensive use of them; view here. This post presents a series of 'axioms' about such services. The core is a series of examples (axiom 5, 'A doc is a distinct, shareable object'). I think there are a lot of insights here, and the subject is worth greater exploration. Via dogtrax. Related: Richard Byrne on how to publish Google Slides presentations.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Virtual Production Primer
Damian Allen, ProVideo Coalition, 2023/06/28

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Daniel Christian points to this post describing many of the basic elements needed for video and virtual reality production. It starts by listing major workflow elements and concepts and eventually becomes a glossary of major terms and concept. Most of the focus is on large scale VR production, but contents will be interesting even to those experimenting with smaller scale systems. Game players will enjoy the connection with in-game terms like 'nanite' and 'nerf'.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

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