HoloGlass

Here I am back again and haven't worn my Google Glasses in quite a while.  I'm probably going to have to start again soon since Ann, Josh and I are presenting our results at the CESA Google Summit in Green Bay on March 20th.  I'm disappointed still that the support for the program is gone; especially disappointed that I haven't gotten my "reward" book from Google yet.  A hardcover book of images from Glass explorers.

I'm still looking, though, at wearable tech as a good possibility for education.  Google Glass was a good start, but still too consumer-oriented for it to be effective in education.  I was researching a little today and came across a couple of things that look promising.

First, is HoloLens from Microsoft.

This looks promising and could definitely have a place in education.  It's a different avenue than Google Glass.  I see this as having the potential to provide unique, immersive experiences for students in tech ed and science (and who knows what else).  I'm following them on Twitter and planning on finding out about a pilot/developer program that will allow us to try them out here and compare the results to Glass.  We'll see where it goes.

The other promising development is Oculus.  This is more the gaming side of things, but could have the potential to apply to school.  As I delve further into the world of online and blended learning, I can't help but think this experience would go far in providing virtual labs and experiences for students to complete work outside the four brick walls.  The developer kit is $350 so I don't know if it's worth the gamble to try for one and then see where it goes.  I'll be sold on it if there's enough VR support programs that would allow it to enhance learning.