So by now, you're appreciating the aperiodic nature of this publication. In the last two weeks, we've had trips to conferences, mountains of requests, regular teaching, and minor emergencies to contend with, so this week’s issue is brought to you by the kindness of a Friday morning which is relatively light.
One of the conferences we attended was Oculus Connect, you can watch the keynote video and follow up announcements. For the first time, there seemed to be a significant education track and I would steer you towards the excellent session called VR in Education which included Renate Fruchter from Stanford and Laura McGinty from Seattle Public Schools. Much of what was said is true here at CMU in the Global Languages & Cultures Room and it was heartening to see that we're all embracing the opportunities and taking on the challenges of teaching with immersive technologies.
We also attended the wonderful Crossing Over Symposium in Cleveland and presented our work on project-based teaching and our new facilities. We were pleased to meet Cigdem Slankard, a filmmaker, and educator who has created Breaking Bread, a 360 VR film exploring the refugee community.
This week, is a heavily packed concoction, with hopefully some useful links for further reading, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We love to hear what you like and what you've seen. If you have anything you'd like to include in future issues, let us know.
We're pleased to invite you to celebrate Diwali - Festival of Light in the Askwith Kenner Global Languages & Cultures Room on 25 October between 3-7 pm. Click the image above for more details.
People, Places, and Things
I was recommended a new VR language app called ImmerseMe which expands on research by the University of Turkey. Currently offered in 9 languages, we'll see if we can get a demo for the Global Languages & Cultures Room.
Save the date for Digital Learning Day on 27 February 2020, and is organized by the Alliance for Excellent Education. We would love to hear suggestions for activities, these might be online activities that promote technology for learning and inspire educators to try something new with their class or share digital practice with their colleagues. More to follow.
El Pollo Loco is paying tribute to lost Latino heritage in Los Angeles by restoring a series of murals across the city. Using Augmented Reality through Snapchat you can visit the walls of the city and bring murals to life.
On Screen
The Civic Life Project is an organization inspiring high school and college students to actively participate in the democratic process through documentary film-making. They have just launched their Democracy 2020 project and inviting submissions for documentaries and social media works. There's more info here and already news around CMU that we have groups participating.