Posted by: xSicKxBot - 12-16-2020, 01:07 AM - Forum: Windows
- No Replies
The acceleration of hybrid learning for higher-ed students and faculty
Before COVID-19 disrupted the education journeys of more than 1.5 billion students around the world, higher education institutions were already exploring ways to grow enrollment, reach more students, and better engage the “digital natives” of Generation Z. Though the need to move online created challenges, it also inspired solutions that will have long-lasting effects on higher education. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), educators believe the pandemic has accelerated the evolution of virtual education by ten years. “We’ve been entering a new paradigm for the last decade and COVID-19 has just expedited this progress. It provided gasoline to trends that were already underway,” said Michael Horn, co-founder of Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.
In an effort to better understand the impacts of the current dynamics on higher education institutions, staff, faculty, and students, Microsoft Education partnered with the EIU on a new paper: “Bridging the Digital Divide to Engage Students in Higher Education.” The EIU conducted surveys and interviews with faculty and students in the US, UK, Australia, and Germany, as well as with global higher education experts.
Insights indicate that rather than being a short-term solution, remote and hybrid learning are likely to be a future operating model for many higher education institutions alongside on-campus programs. Though more than 80 percent of faculty members surveyed said that less than half of their institution’s courses were online prior to the pandemic, one-third of them report that their institution will permanently add online options for all or most courses moving forward. The expanded availability of virtual learning will require increased investments in technology and additional training for faculty, but these investments, along with more flexible learning programs, could make higher education more accessible and equitable, with learning supported by technology that addresses the needs of diverse learners and flexible programs with schedules that work for students with other obligations. The increased opportunity for remote attendance will serve to broaden institutions’ geographic reach as well, drawing students to the most innovative programs rather than simply the one closest to home.
There is a difference in perspective between faculty and students on preparedness for remote learning. While 85 percent of faculty members surveyed reported that they felt prepared to meet student needs effectively with the resources they had available, more than 60 percent of students shared that they did not feel mentally or academically prepared for the academic year of fall 2020. And almost half of students claim the pandemic has worsened their ability to remain focused and engaged.
Education experts say that the pandemic has caused students to be stressed, anxious, financially challenged, and socially isolated. According to a study carried out by Hope College in July 2020, 60 percent of the 38,000 students surveyed reported experiencing basic needs insecurity.
Douglas Harris, non-resident Senior Fellow, Brown Center on Education Policy said, “The current situation is pushing faculty to realize that at the very least, students are not going to be able to learn in their class if they’re suffering in other ways.”
John Hattie, Professor and Director of Melbourne Education Research Institute, pointed to the sense of isolation and lack of social connection that students are feeling: “One of the biggest factors that influences student engagement and performance is their sense of belonging in their higher education experience. This is what has suffered the most as a result of COVID-19. They no longer have the same sense of belonging that they used to have.”
To foster a greater sense of connection, experts recommend that instructors go beyond simply delivering lectures online, and instead create more opportunities for active learning and engagement. Innovative schools like St. Edward’s University already use virtual anatomy, virtual internships, virtual counselling, and virtual student teaching, says Dr. Rebecca Frost Davis, Associate Vice President of St. Edward’s University. One teacher even set up a virtual crime scene using 3D cameras, allowing students to go places they couldn’t normally go. “The students who had done the simulation first did better because they weren’t distracted by things when they were learning,” says Dr. Davis.
Collaboration tools like Education Insights in Microsoft Teams can help instructors identify students’ needs and adapt their material for maximum impact. Dr. David Kellerman of the University of New South Wales says, “Insights for classroom Teams… has helped me connect with struggling students on a personal level, and to understand the broader trends in my classroom. Every teacher, professor or instructor on Teams has something to learn from Insights.”
Additionally, social activities such as orientations, graduations, and other traditions can be presented virtually to create more opportunities for socialization and connection. Resources such as this e-book and virtual graduation toolkit have ideas and tips for bringing events online. Beyond webcams and chat rooms, there are other creative ways to reimagine in-person gatherings, including building virtual versions of campuses in Minecraft to host in-game meetups and ceremonies.
Today’s higher education students are primarily Generation Z, a generation that is comfortable with technology and who expect it to be a part of their learning experiences—93 percent believe that remote learning will benefit their education. But they are also very clear about what they are looking for: they want their institutions to put their needs first by providing physical and virtual security, and they want to learn skills that will help them succeed in work and in life. “There is a push for higher education in the United States particularly to show greater value and a return on investment. As a result, students are looking for the best value in terms of what they are getting from their higher education and what they will be able to do in the workforce,” says Dr. Stella L. Smith, Associate Director, MACH III Center, Prairie View A&M University.
As higher education leaders work with instructional designers and professors to reimagine courses and fine-tune pedagogy, students and faculty agree that the pandemic is transforming higher education. With cooperation and creativity, this accelerated evolution can enhance student experiences through integration of emerging technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality, and create new revenue opportunities for colleges and universities as they develop innovative options for students to pursue lifelong learning with flexible course schedules or micro-masters from different higher education institutions.
In this atypical year, many of us have discovered a new sense of appreciation for our computers as critical tools to get work done. Now more than ever, we are all looking for new ways to be productive on our laptops and desktops. At Microsoft, we are committed to delivering great Microsoft 365 experiences that help our customers work easier and faster on their favorite devices. With this in mind, we want to share some of the latest Microsoft 365 innovations that can make you even more productive on a Mac.
Universal app support for Macs with M1 is here
We are excited to announce that starting today we are releasing new versions of many of our Microsoft 365 for Mac apps that run natively on Macs with M1. This means that now our core flagship Office apps—Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote—will run faster and take full advantage of the performance improvements on new Macs, making you even more productive on the latest MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. The new Office apps are Universal, so they will continue to run great on Macs with Intel processors. The apps are not only speedy, but they also look fantastic as they have been redesigned to match the new look of macOS Big Sur. Here is a peek at Outlook on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.
If you have automatic updates turned on, you will start to receive these updates today. Otherwise, you can go to the Mac App Store and click the Updates tab, or with Microsoft AutoUpdate, you can go to your Office app’s Help menu and choose Check for Updates. Plus, find more commonly asked questions on our support page.
With more than 115M daily active users, Teams has become a critical part of the way many people are navigating the current situation. Teams allows you to meet, chat, call, and collaborate all in a single app. And, when people work in Teams, they all get the full breadth and depth of Microsoft 365. Microsoft Teams is currently available in Rosetta emulation mode on Macs with M1 and the browser. We are working on universal app support for M1 Macs and will share more news as our work progresses. Download the Teams app for your Mac here now.
Microsoft 365 experiences made for Mac
Over the past months, we have redesigned the experiences in our flagship apps for Mac with a focus on simplicity to improve ease of use. The new Outlook for Mac looks great with a redesign that matches the new look of macOS Big Sur, and an updated Office Start experience for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Mac that incorporates the Fluent UI design system. This means that Microsoft 365 apps enable you to be more focused with immersive experiences that are easier to use right from the first screen. Experiences that feel both unmistakably Microsoft 365 and include elements that are native to the look of macOS so they are also unmistakably made for Mac. The new Office Start experience will be available next month.
We continue to learn how customers want to use our products through continued feedback. So, thank you to each and every one of you who have shared your experiences with us. Today we are pleased to announce support for iCloud accounts in the new Outlook for Mac. This will enable you to organize work and personal emails, contacts, and calendars together in one app so it is easier for you to stay connected to what matters. We will start to roll this out using the new Outlook for Mac in the coming weeks.
Work your way
Another area of focus is to make our Microsoft 365 apps work the way you do. Through many new innovations on our Mac apps, our goal is to help you get work done in more simple and intuitive ways.
Tell Me is a search box that quickly gets you to the Office tools you need or actions you want to take by just typing what you are looking for in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote for Mac. Microsoft Search in the new Outlook for Mac allows you to type out your query or question using language you use every day to find emails, events, and files—no fancy syntax needed. These capabilities help simplify how you use Microsoft 365 apps to achieve more and are now available to all Mac users.
A commonly used productivity hack is to use your phone to capture images of important information you want to work on. With Data from Picture, you can take a photo of a table directly on your iPhone and turn it into data you can edit in Excel for Mac. This handy new feature uses Continuity Camera on your Mac and is also available now.
Voice input is a growing part of our digital lives and can be a great way to simplify your workflow. A new dictation toolbar with voice commands for creating content with your voice is coming to Word and Outlook for Mac. In addition, to help you check spelling, correct grammar, and get writing style suggestions, we will enable Microsoft Editor in Word for Mac. We plan to make these updates available to customers with access to Microsoft 365 for Insiders in early 2021.
New ways to work together
The shift to remote work highlights the need for teams to collaborate with agility, while ensuring sensitive data stays secure and meets compliance requirements. Our Microsoft 365 app teams have been busy getting modern collaboration and compliance capabilities ready so you can work from home more effectively on your Mac.
Sharing your calendars in Outlook with your co-workers helps you manage your time more efficiently. By giving access to participants’ calendars through simplified permissions, planning meetings and events is quick and easy. Based on the Microsoft sync technology and connected architecture, Outlook can provide reliable and faster synchronization of calendar events across Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, and Web, keeping you on track of your time your way. The new Outlook for Mac will support shared calendars for customers subscribed to the Office Insider Mac Beta Channel in the first months of next year.
When creating new content as a team, the ability to collaborate around documents and presentations becomes especially valuable when your team is not in the same location. The new modern commenting experience in Word for Mac enables a contextual view of comments that allows you to focus on your content without missing active comments by contributors and reviewers. Modern commenting also includes improved @mentions in PowerPoint and Word for Mac that make it easier to reply to comments. The new @mentions experience is available now in PowerPoint for enterprise customers. Modern commenting for Word is in the Office Insider Beta Channel now and coming to Current Channel Preview in February 2021.
Have you ever collaborated with someone in a worksheet and suddenly your view changes and you are unable to finish your work? This can often happen when an active collaborator adds filters or sorts the data in a table of a shared worksheet. Excel sheet view is a new way to create customized views to sort and filter your data without disrupting what others see. This capability is an example of customer-driven product improvement and is now available on Excel for Mac.
Last, but certainly not least, Microsoft Information Protection sensitivity labels allow you to classify and protect your organization’s data with minimal effort through manual and automatic content labeling. Manual labeling is available on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for Mac. Automatic labeling is coming to these same apps for Microsoft 365 E5 customers in early 2021.
We are excited about the Microsoft 365 innovations we are delivering for our Mac user community and would love to hear your feedback about your experience using our latest features. If you want to try out new Office features first and make a difference in the products you use every day, please join the Office Insiders and check out the Mac channels.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 12-16-2020, 01:06 AM - Forum: Minecraft
- No Replies
New Login Methods for Minecraft Forum
Happy Holidays!
We generally do not do news posts for site changes, however we feel this update that has rolled out is important to share.
We have added support for logging in to Minecraft Forum with your Google account. What this means is that you can log into an MCF account with with a Twitch account or a Google account, or even both if you’re so inclined!
Click “Link Google” and you will be redirected to Google.
Select which Google account you wish to use to log into MCF with.
And that is it! You can now log into MCF using the “Google” option on our login page.
You can even unlink your Twitch account from the site using the “Unlink Twitch” if you no longer wish to have your Twitch account tied to your account.
We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!
Everything You Need to Know About the Amazing World of Phogs! Phogs! is here just in time for the holidays! What better way to spend the festive break than grabbing, borking, and stretching your way through this delightfully whimsical yet challenging puzzle game? Thanks to local and online multiplayer, you can even play… Read more
Inside Xbox Series X|S Optimized: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla One of the biggest benefits of all that power is giving developers the ability to make games that are Xbox Series X|S Optimized. This means that they’ve taken full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X|S, both for new titles built natively using the… Read more
Free Play Days – The Elder Scrolls Tamriel Unlimited and Soulcalibur VI Discover adventure with a massive online community or grab your weapon and ignite your passion for battle, all in this weekend’s Free Play Days. The Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Unlimited and Soulcalibur VI are both available for Xbox Live Gold… Read more
The Hunt Is on in Fortnite: Chapter 2 – Season 5 Your heroic efforts in last season’s final battle have saved reality, but the island is still in danger. As a result of that battle, the Zero Point has become exposed, putting the island’s characters at risk of escaping the Loop. From beyond the Zero Point, Agent Jones… Read more
Next Week on Xbox: December 8 to December 11 Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! Here we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 PC as well as upcoming Xbox Game Pass and soon-to-be released ID@Xbox games! Get more details on the games… Read more
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 12-16-2020, 01:04 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Subscription library Ubisoft+ is now on Google Stadia
Ubisoft has officially launched its pay-for-access subscription library Ubisoft+ on Google Stadia, essentially rolling all the benefits of cloud-based game services into its $14.99 per month service.
Plans to bring Ubisoft+, once known as Uplay+, to Stadia started to solidify back in October, with the freshly rebranded service announcing all at once that it’ll introduce cross-platform progression and that it plans to launch on both Amazon Luna and Google Stadia.
Stadia’s free tier requires only a Google account compatible device (Chrome Browser, mobile phone, or TV-tethered Chromecast Ultra) to play, meaning any Ubisoft+ subscribers can now access and play a library of first-party Ubisoft games without needing to own a beefy PC or console.
According to Engadget, this first wave is only opening up access to Ubisoft+ and Stadia users in the United States and will gradually roll out access between now and December 16. As another caveat, not all of the service’s 100+ games will be eligible for cloud-based play. Ubisoft has yet to share a full list it seems, but looks like its latest three big releases–Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watch Dogs: Legion, and Immortals Fenyx Rising–all made the cut.
This isn’t Ubisoft’s first foray into the cloud by any means. In addition to weeks of Amazon Luna support (in beta), Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was notably the game featured front and center in Google’s early cloud-based game streaming beta “Project Stream”, even before it had coined the Stadia moniker.
Around that same time, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot described the Project Stream partnership as an enticing way for developers like Ubisoft to reach more players outside of the PC and console space with triple-A titles,
“We think in the medium term this will give us games that have a lot more appeal than what we have today,” Guillemot told investors back in that 2018 earnings call.
Remedy Entertainment, the creator of Control®, Quantum Break®, Max Payne®, Alan Wake® and Death Rally® and one of the world’s leading independent game studios is looking for a UI Designer (F2P/GaaS) for an exciting new online multiplayer game.
If you are passionate about F2P / Games as a Service and like taking ownership of multiple gameplay systems, driving them from concept to final implementation in production levels and being responsible for their final quality in the hands of our passionate players, then this job is for you!
Responsibilities
Design, prototype and script core gameplay UI, HUD, and game menus under the direction of the Lead Designer and the Game Director
Take responsibility for key systems, driving them from concept to full implementation and polish
Work with other content disciplines to ensure your features have the various feedback systems required to make in-game cause and effect clear to players
Create both high level system overviews and technical specifications to communicate your ideas with other team members
Plan your work to ensure your features are delivered on time and to an exceptional level of quality
Help to define the visual style of the game’s UI and create polished visual assets
Requirements and qualifications
Proven experience as a UI Designer and at least two shipped projects on PC and/or console as a UI Designer or in a similar position
Proficiency with UI design and prototyping tools (Sketch, Axure, Balsamiq, etc.)
Knowledge and experience working with scripting languages
Ability to implement UI widgets and features in Unreal or similar game engines
Strong portfolio showcasing your design projects
Ability to take constructive feedback from leads, publishers and other team members and channel it into improving the product
Dedicated to contributing towards a friendly team environment
An amazing ability to communicate both verbally and in written form (in English)
The ideal candidate will also have
Experience with game production pipelines and tools
Prototyping experience (e.g. Unreal/Unity)
Motion design and/or animation experience
Interest and understanding of F2P/GaaS: you are an avid player of F2P/Gaas games
Experience working with Agile development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban etc.)
Interest towards cognitive science and human behaviour
Interest or background in visual design
What is in it for you?
Yes, you get to move to Finland where the quality of life is exceptional and cost of living is affordable
Moving to a new country can be intimidating, but our relocation service is there every step of the way to take care of you. You can concentrate on work, while we’ll take care of everything else
You will be offered competitive compensation with a bonus system
We work hard, but at Remedy we believe in a great work life balance. Happy people work better. In Finland you get up to 5 weeks of paid vacation every year. This is on top of public holidays and other special occasions
Above all, you get to work on awesome, unique video games that the global audience is interested in at a studio where your input is valued. We try our hardest to keep our team sizes and the work load sensible, so your contributions feel valuable
To apply, please fill in the application form with your CV, portfolio and other information relevant to the position.
Whether you’re just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what’s out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.
Gamasutra’s Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.
Happy Game Brings A New Dose Of Nightmare Fuel To Switch Next Year
One of the Indie World Showcase’s most standout games was, undoubtedly, the very unhappy looking Happy Game.
From developer Amanita Design, Happy Game has players solving unnerving puzzles, enduring a few unsettling songs and surviving face-to-face encounters with suspicious smiley faces. The reveal trailer was absolute nightmare fuel, and we’re here for it.
It’s planned to launch on both Switch and PC next spring, so we hopefully won’t have too long to wait before we can get our hands on it and cry ourselves to sleep afterwards. Here’s a feature list:
– Brand new psychedelic horror adventure from the creators of Botanicula and CHUCHEL – Endure and escape three unforgettable nightmares – Solve deeply disturbing puzzles in (not so) charming environments – Deal with suspicious smiley faces and pink bunnies – Creepy songs and screeches from the Czech freak-folk band DVA
Want some creepy screenshots? Of course you want creepy screenshots:
Is this one going on your Switch wishlist? Sweet dreams!
New Resident Evil Village Screenshots Look An Awful Lot Like Bloodborne
The upcoming Resident Evil Village is one of the most-anticipated releases for 2021, and we still don't know that much about it, though a barrage of unconfirmed spoilers are circulating online, so watch out for that. But a small new dose of official assets have made their way online, as Capcom has released some new RE Village screenshots, and they're looking a bit more like Bloodborne than you might expect.
The furry man with the large hammer certainly looks like a leaping horror that you would encounter on the streets of Yharnam. Though Capcom has gone back and forth on whether or not Resident Evil Village is Resident Evil 8, we do know for sure that the game is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7, and will star that game's protagonist, Ethan Winters. You can see the screens over at IGN.
Capcom suffered a massive data breach back in early November that revealed many of the publisher's unconfirmed plans for the year, including Village's purported release date of April 2021. We also know that Resident Evil Village will have almost no load times on PS5, and it will support 4K with ray tracing. It provides more freedom in how you play, and it may also come to PS4 and Xbox One, although at this time it's only confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Retro-Style Platformer Alwa’s Awakening Is Getting An Official NES Port
Elden Pixels, developer of both Alwa’s Awakening and this year’s Alwa’s Legacy, has announced that it’s working on a brand new port of its original game.
So which shiny new console is Alwa’s Awakening coming to next? The PS5? The rumoured Switch Pro? Nope, it’s getting a 2021 release on the NES, Nintendo’s 35-year-old 8-bit wonder.
As Alwa’s Awakening players will know already, this actually makes a lot of sense – the game boasts a retro-styled aesthetic throughout that was inspired by the classic titles available on Nintendo’s early home system. The whole thing is now being reworked to play nicely with NES hardware, with a physical cart set to launch next year.
You can learn all about the work being undertaken in the video above; there, NES developer Brad Smith – who is serving as the lead producer on the port – discusses the development process. If you’re super keen on checking this out, make sure to sign up for the game’s public beta here.
Cyberpunk 2077 PSA: Get Double-Jump Cyberware, Not Charge Jump
Cyberpunk 2077 is a huge game, and part of what makes the size of Night City compelling is the number of options you'll have to go through many of its missions. When working your way through the territory of gangs, corps, or other enemies, you can go in guns blazing, pick a stealthier approach, or even often talk your way out of conflicts altogether. Having more options allows you to tune Cyberpunk 2077 to your playstyle.
Apart from the character attributes you choose to invest in, one of the biggest ways you'll unlock new paths for yourself is through your cyberware. These are the cybernetic augmentations you can install in your body, enhancing your strength, vision, hacking capabilities, and more. But there's one piece of cyberware you should absolutely get, even if you ignore all the others--it'll change the way you play Cyberpunk 2077 and open up a whole lot of possibilities, from how you approach missions to how you get around the world.
That piece of cyberware is the Reinforced Tendons upgrade for your legs, and it unlocks an extremely useful ability: double jump.
