Trending Technologies

Like gamification in the past few years, there is a lot of buzz about some new technologies being applied in the learning and business ecosphere: VR, AR, SMS, NFC, Bots, xAPI, etc.

I’ve seen some really amazing examples of how people have applied these technologies, but I use the gamification reference for a reason. These are all hot, great, and new, but really only should be adopted if you have a reason to; you don’t need to worry about adopting virtual reality or augmented reality unless you really have a specific need for it. And those needs will probably be few and far between, especially until the technology becomes more mature. I think the exception is xAPI.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

These are two trends that were overwhelmingly discussed at DevLearn 2016. It’s amazing how much these technologies have matured over the past year, and how much the barrier to entry has fallen, as far as hardware is concerned. Last year, for an adequate setup, the hardware alone would cost upwards of $3,000, not including coding and development. Today, for ~$400 you can get yourself set up with the hardware needed for a perfectly adequate VR setup for 360 video, and even some Augmented Reality applications.

As far as the higher level, more expensive tech, this is where it gets very impressive. Below are some examples of the “Hololens” from Microsoft. This tech still carries that higher price tag, but justifies it with it’s stunning performance… Truly amazing. Brace yourself if you have not been exposed to this before—this may be something you would expect to see in a J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

Here’s a real-life example from an early adopter:

And, Microsoft’s official video, showcasing uses in business today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aThCr0PsyuA