Edorble 2.0
Hi there,
Edorble was originally founded in 2014 and is back with an open source strategy. Here's why I believe there's room for Edorble 2.0 and how that should look. Please take into account that some of the changes below are not into effect yet as we are building towards it.
Why Edorble 2.0 matters
The World Economic Forum confirmed we're in the fourth industrial revolution where physical and digital blend. Quoting a Global VP from a big Beer company, not your go-to technology sector, "XR is the future mainstream digital interface and, therefore, of significance." These statements confirm that every layer of society will need an XR (VR/AR) or digital component, and our workforce needs to be ready for it.
XR also comes with an opportunity to increase learning effectiveness.
Personalized learning is hard with one teacher for twenty students. The promise of measuring each learning action is attainable through XR. With a digital twin, you can capture everything, which is why you see XR adoption in Enterprise.
There are a couple of challenges when implementing XR for learning today.
First, there is an ownership concern. At the original launch of Edorble, we wanted people to invest in translating their learning content into a new technology interface on a vendor locked platform. We were trying to sell the XR version of the internet. And there are tons of other XR platforms still doing this. Yes, there will be a universe of digital worlds, but there won't be one company that owns it, and the industry should let go of that greed. It will be a multiverse of digital worlds, where the individual visits the worlds they want to. Like you decide today, what websites you do and do not visit.
Second, there is a data concern. Some XR platforms are catching on, which is excellent, but privacy and data ownership concerns are never far away. We strongly believe the user owns their data.
Last, there is not much affordable expertise out there if you want to add an XR interface to your existing learning content. Let alone the possibility of indicating your relevant learning actions and integrating it with your existing infrastructure or material. The XR industry follows the money which is currently in bespoke solutions for training in Enterprise.
So What does Edorble 2.0 do?
Our new approach is to look at digital worlds the same way Wordpress looks at websites. Anyone that wants to create a website can download and install the software from Wordpress.org to do so. It's free to use and open source. If you need help to set it up or require training, you can use the paid services of Wordpress.com. For a digital world, this means you can create your fully customized world with the tools and software you get from Edorble.org. For free. If you need support, you can rent one with limited features through Edorble.com or use our paid services.
The Edorble Framework consists of 3 pillars; The XR interface, The Learning Record Store and Analytics, and the Management Tools.
For the XR interface, our vision is to allow you to use any XR application or universe. We hope that open-source contributors will build clients for other frameworks like AltspaceVR and High Fidelity (which are also open-source). There will be an Edorble XR client you can use that provides features like a multiplayer environment with avatars and some learning management tools.
For the learning datastore, we stand upon the shoulders of giants, the xAPI interface. The Experience API (or xAPI) is a new specification for learning technology that makes it possible to collect data about the full range of experiences a person has (online and offline). This API captures data in a consistent format about a person or group's activities from many technologies. Very different systems can securely communicate by capturing and sharing this stream of activities using xAPI's simple vocabulary.
The Edorble framework provides an interface so you can easily store relevant learning actions from within the Edorble client. Or you can add them in your own XR-app using our Unity-Plugin. We will not create our Learning Record Store software, but use the open-source Learning Locker framework by ht2Labs. They are one of the most professional xAPI compliant providers.
Lastly, for the content management system, we provide our web-based infrastructure that allows you to upload and prepare content for digital worlds. Any Edorble compatible XR-app will be able to read this format and know how to translate it into the world. Initially, you can upload your 2D content. We expect open source contributors will be quick to provide other interfaces to make 3D content available.
How will Edorble 2.0 make money?
The same way Wordpress.com and Red Hat for Linux do, as a for-profit company that provides bespoke services, subscriptions, and training. These subscriptions can be support or hosting. Training can be on using the framework or helping learning corporations or institutions in adopting XR.
How will we get to Edorble 2.0?
First of all, we will take the necessary steps, so the framework is truly open source by publishing the code we have ownership on through the MIT License. We will have to rebuild some bits where we used third-party software.
Secondly, I will contribute to the framework and find paying customers for Edorble.com, so it becomes sustainable, but we need enough runway to get there. We were hoping you might be able to help with this. Maybe we can discuss an XR-Client built upon the Edorble framework that benefits your business or school? Or you want to co-organize some training on the potential of XR in Learning? We're reaching out to several customers, so if you were interested in even a smaller project, that would be great. Or maybe some of our Patreon tiers interest you. Of course, if you’re a technical profile, I’d be happy to chat if you want to contribute. Drop me an email on cederik [at] edorble.com.
Edorble was originally founded in 2014 and is back with an open source strategy. Here's why I believe there's room for Edorble 2.0 and how that should look. Please take into account that some of the changes below are not into effect yet as we are building towards it.
Why Edorble 2.0 matters
The World Economic Forum confirmed we're in the fourth industrial revolution where physical and digital blend. Quoting a Global VP from a big Beer company, not your go-to technology sector, "XR is the future mainstream digital interface and, therefore, of significance." These statements confirm that every layer of society will need an XR (VR/AR) or digital component, and our workforce needs to be ready for it.
XR also comes with an opportunity to increase learning effectiveness.
Personalized learning is hard with one teacher for twenty students. The promise of measuring each learning action is attainable through XR. With a digital twin, you can capture everything, which is why you see XR adoption in Enterprise.
There are a couple of challenges when implementing XR for learning today.
First, there is an ownership concern. At the original launch of Edorble, we wanted people to invest in translating their learning content into a new technology interface on a vendor locked platform. We were trying to sell the XR version of the internet. And there are tons of other XR platforms still doing this. Yes, there will be a universe of digital worlds, but there won't be one company that owns it, and the industry should let go of that greed. It will be a multiverse of digital worlds, where the individual visits the worlds they want to. Like you decide today, what websites you do and do not visit.
Second, there is a data concern. Some XR platforms are catching on, which is excellent, but privacy and data ownership concerns are never far away. We strongly believe the user owns their data.
Last, there is not much affordable expertise out there if you want to add an XR interface to your existing learning content. Let alone the possibility of indicating your relevant learning actions and integrating it with your existing infrastructure or material. The XR industry follows the money which is currently in bespoke solutions for training in Enterprise.
So What does Edorble 2.0 do?
Our new approach is to look at digital worlds the same way Wordpress looks at websites. Anyone that wants to create a website can download and install the software from Wordpress.org to do so. It's free to use and open source. If you need help to set it up or require training, you can use the paid services of Wordpress.com. For a digital world, this means you can create your fully customized world with the tools and software you get from Edorble.org. For free. If you need support, you can rent one with limited features through Edorble.com or use our paid services.
The Edorble Framework consists of 3 pillars; The XR interface, The Learning Record Store and Analytics, and the Management Tools.
For the XR interface, our vision is to allow you to use any XR application or universe. We hope that open-source contributors will build clients for other frameworks like AltspaceVR and High Fidelity (which are also open-source). There will be an Edorble XR client you can use that provides features like a multiplayer environment with avatars and some learning management tools.
For the learning datastore, we stand upon the shoulders of giants, the xAPI interface. The Experience API (or xAPI) is a new specification for learning technology that makes it possible to collect data about the full range of experiences a person has (online and offline). This API captures data in a consistent format about a person or group's activities from many technologies. Very different systems can securely communicate by capturing and sharing this stream of activities using xAPI's simple vocabulary.
The Edorble framework provides an interface so you can easily store relevant learning actions from within the Edorble client. Or you can add them in your own XR-app using our Unity-Plugin. We will not create our Learning Record Store software, but use the open-source Learning Locker framework by ht2Labs. They are one of the most professional xAPI compliant providers.
Lastly, for the content management system, we provide our web-based infrastructure that allows you to upload and prepare content for digital worlds. Any Edorble compatible XR-app will be able to read this format and know how to translate it into the world. Initially, you can upload your 2D content. We expect open source contributors will be quick to provide other interfaces to make 3D content available.
How will Edorble 2.0 make money?
The same way Wordpress.com and Red Hat for Linux do, as a for-profit company that provides bespoke services, subscriptions, and training. These subscriptions can be support or hosting. Training can be on using the framework or helping learning corporations or institutions in adopting XR.
How will we get to Edorble 2.0?
First of all, we will take the necessary steps, so the framework is truly open source by publishing the code we have ownership on through the MIT License. We will have to rebuild some bits where we used third-party software.
Secondly, I will contribute to the framework and find paying customers for Edorble.com, so it becomes sustainable, but we need enough runway to get there. We were hoping you might be able to help with this. Maybe we can discuss an XR-Client built upon the Edorble framework that benefits your business or school? Or you want to co-organize some training on the potential of XR in Learning? We're reaching out to several customers, so if you were interested in even a smaller project, that would be great. Or maybe some of our Patreon tiers interest you. Of course, if you’re a technical profile, I’d be happy to chat if you want to contribute. Drop me an email on cederik [at] edorble.com.
