technology
by doug allen

Talking Tiger, Hidden Classroom

Most Kansas City-area higher education institutions offer Web-based classes (sometimes called distance education or e-learning). The typical Internet schoolroom consists of an electronic version of a textbook (standard Web pages with words and pictures) coupled with Web-enabled communication tools such as chat rooms, threaded discussion groups and, of course, electronic mail. A few sophisticated e-learning offerings have streaming audio or video and fewer still have Java applets, Flash or Shockwave animations or other advanced, interactive applications to enhance the learning process.
All these technologies should be considered among first generation e-learning technologies that will soon be obsolete. Here is an overview of five emerging technologies that will eventually replace not only today’s "primitive" e-learning systems but eventually our thousands-year-old classroom environment as well..

Synthespians
-No matter what the content is that we might need in the future, rest assured we will always feel more comfortable being directed in our education from some sort of learned guide. While there are hundreds of firms working on creating realistic humans, the most interesting work is being done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the MIRAlab at the University of Geneva. Visit LifeFX.com and download their virtual e-mail reading stand-in. You can record your own voice and have a synthespian or a tiger read your mail message (with near perfect movement of the animal’s mouth reflecting your spoken word).

Computer Gaming
The demands of the computer gaming industry are what will drive the most exciting virtual learning environments. Wandering through detailed, three-dimensional renderings of exotic places offers such a compelling experience that even when the interface is a computer monitor and speakers, users of these games can get completely lost in the intense moment. Compare reading about Hitler’s last moments in a textbook with actually walking in on his bunker and interacting with him before his demise.

Natural Language Interfaces
-The divide between the way that humans speak and computers listen is growing smaller. Companies such as Extempo and Artificial-Life have developed sophisticated natural language systems that allow the user to interact with a machine through regular sentences. By confining the topics to a narrow range (e.g. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity), these systems can quickly parse a sentence typed in by a student, understand the basic question that is being asked and present detailed answers to specific questions.

Speech Recognition and Synthesis
Once relegated to single words with pauses in between, speech recognition engines can now accept continuous speech with accuracy rates in the high 90s percentiles. High-quality speech synthesis, however, has lagged behind. Even the best systems available today have a noticeable machine quality about them. I suspect, however, that this problem is easier to solve and simply has not had the attention that it will receive in the next few years.


BioInterfaces
To truly be immersed in our futuristic classroom, we need a better machine interface than a mouse, keyboard, microphone, speakers and monitor. The military, computer gaming and industrial industries are all producing fascinating devices that allow you to shut out the world around you and enter a computer-generated space. Companies such as Virtuality offer wearable devices with built-in liquid crystal displays for each eye, headphone speakers for your ears and a microphone for communicating. Future devices will be lighter, recognize physical movement and even provide tactile feedback when appropriate for learning.
In just a few years we will have convergence of these technologies—first for compelling computer games and then compelling educational systems. There will be a continued blurring of these two industries as infotainment becomes a major industry. Stay tuned for the most radical change in educational delivery that the world has seen in thousands of years.

Douglas Allen is the chief information officer at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan. He may be reached by phone at 913.469.4472 or by e-mail at douga@jccc.net.