Ed3 Weekly Issue #41: It's an Aesthetic

Hello web3 and education frens,

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Things can get a little complicated in the world of web3. Add on the domain-specific needs like those found in education and learning design, and things can get complicated quickly.

This is a big challenge for the education futurist, you can find yourself deep in a world of overlapping disciplines. To navigate this space you need a solid grounding in technology, instructional pedagogy and design, scenario planning, complexity theory, and cognitive psychology as well.

My intention is to avoid overwhelming you with domain-specific mumbo jumbo and jargon-gating. Let's use a popular Gen Z idea that can help guide our web3 learning curve.

It is “aesthetic.”

For those of you that are not Gen Z natives, this is an important conceptual framework to familiarize yourself with.

Traditionally, aesthetic has meant “the set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.” And it is still being applied this way.

Almost.

Aesthetic is a vibe. It’s a feeling. It’s an indescribable way of just being.

As Vogue summarizes in an article on the topic, aesthetic “has evolved from an academic word and something utilized by artists and auteurs to something to categorize our own identities by.”

Let me explain how this applies to ed3.

It is becoming apparent that each person in this field is developing their own individual ed3 aesthetic.

Are you more of a “how will AI impact essay writing” person, or a “gamifying and tokenization of learning” type? Or how about the “VR and brain-spatial relationships” or “hardware evolution and processing power?”

There’s just too much to follow!

I have developed my own ed3 aesthetic. A mix of how blockchain will impact the future of learning and empowering students as creators using web3.

This week’s resources are meant to be a variety of ed3 topics that might help you discover your own unique web3 style. Here’s what I have to share:

🥽 Luis Rosenberg shares his unique journey in the development of immersive hardware

🔖 Credentials and AI curriculum with Scott Meyer

👽 Biology just got a lot more interesting with the “Alien Zoo”

🤯 Misha da Vinci features two mind-blowing interviews in her newsletter

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Big Brain Time

Mixed Reality is the Future of Computing (Rosenberg / Midjourney)

What’s the role of realistic, artistic, creative, and productive metaverse spaces to drive adoption? A lot according to AR/VR pioneer Luis Rosenberg in this medium article. He also strongly argues that “the metaverse will be a mixed reality in which immersive virtual content is seamlessly combined with the physical world, expanding and embellishing our lives.”

The “why” behind this has a lot more to do with brain science than anything else. As Rosenberg outlines, things such as situational awareness, depth perception, and mental tension play a big part in how we will embrace the metaverse. It is a big ask, but to develop effective instruction in the metaverse you may need to be a cognitive scientist in addition to being a technologist AND an educational designer.

Ed3 Gurus

Screenshot by ed3.gg

Scott Meyer is at it again. I’ve featured his articles a number of times before, so I am excited about his Beehiiv newsletter. In this issue, you get a taste of two important topics in web3. First, all things digital credentialing from Evin McMullen of Disco.XYZ and then Bodo Hoenen of Nolej AI on creating a curriculum with AI.

Scott is a must-know person in the ed3 space. His website and newsletter are a deep dives into all things web3 and education. Whether you’re just looking to begin your ed3 journey or if you’re already deep down the rabbit hole, Scott has something that will add value for you.

Biology Class of the Future

Dreamscape Learn Logo

I would have enjoyed my high school biology class a lot more if it was structured as a "Biology in the Alien Zoo" situation in which I was a field biologist in a virtual environment. This is exactly what Dreamscape Learn is designing with this announcement of a partnership with Arizona State University.

These innovations will help create more engaging learning experiences and also foster future-ready skills like collaboration and critical thinking. As Dreamscape Learn founder Walter Parkes shares, "Unlike traditional biology labs, the Dreamscape curriculum empowers students to become scientists from day one, collaborating as a team to learn the skills needed to solve novel problems.”

Future of the World

Image from Future of the World

Misha da Vinci’s Future5 is a great bite-sized summary of some quality resources to end your week with. Two resources from this week really stood out to me. Token design by a16zcrypto’s Head of Engineering and Reid Hoffman on AI. Next to my own newsletter I highly recommend Misha’s as the best way to stay on top of the most relevant web3 news.

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Thank you for stopping by for another issue of my web3🤝education newsletter. If you’re on LinkedIn you can check out a version of this newsletter on my LinkedIn page and give me a follow. You can also link to all my work by checking out my blog or give me a follow on Twitter.