Welcome to The Immersive Lens - the show where emerging tech meets creativity, education, and real-world impact. Hosted by Paul Engin (Professor of New Media) and Dave Ghidiu (Professor of Computer Science) at Finger Lakes Community College, this podcast dives into the technologies and creative innovations reshaping how we live, work, and learn - from AI and augmented reality to the future of media, design, and learning.

🗒 Summary

In this episode of The Immersive Lens, hosts Paul and Dave talk with Jeff Dugan, Online Learning expert and Toy Story enthusiast.

The landscape of online education is undergoing a radical transformation, fueled by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. In this episode, we explore the central idea that distance learning must evolve far beyond the traditional "correspondence course" model of simply uploading documents to a digital portal. With groundbreaking tools like Snap's new AR Spectacles offering shared collaborative environments and powerful AI models like Anthropic's Fable 5 rewriting the rules of cybersecurity, the digital classroom is poised to become more interactive, accessible, and immersive than ever before.

Hosts Paul and Dave bring their signature tech-forward perspectives to the table, weighing the thrilling collaborative potential of spatial computing against the very real national security concerns surrounding AI jailbreaks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Joined by Jeff Dugan, Assistant Director of Online Learning at FLCC, the conversation ultimately lands on a powerful verdict: while emerging tech provides the necessary infrastructure, the true future of online learning relies on intentional instructional design and universal accessibility to foster genuine human connection and community.

🔗 Links & Resources:

Groku Hawaiian Shirt - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Star-Wars-Men-s-Grogu-Baby-Yoda-Leaves-Hawaiian-Button-Up-Shirt-M-Large-Adult/324028969

Snap Spectacles - https://developers.snap.com/spectacles/get-started/introduction

Claude Fable 5 - https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access

Project Glasswing - https://www.anthropic.com/glasswing

Statement on the US government directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 - https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access

AI jailbreaks: What they are and how they can be mitigated - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/06/04/ai-jailbreaks-what-they-are-and-how-they-can-be-mitigated/

SpaceX to acquire Cursor for $60B in stock, days after blockbuster IPO - https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/16/spacex-to-acquire-cursor-for-60b-in-stock-days-after-blockbuster-ipo/

Toy Story 5 Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c51ND9Hdbw0

What Is SEO – Search Engine Optimization? - https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo

What is Instructional Design? - https://www.td.org/talent-development-glossary-terms/what-is-instructional-design

Regular & Substantive Interaction - https://oscqr.suny.edu/rsi/

EKG Simulator - https://inlineteaching.com/medical/ekg

HoloLens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMks7sMzPxI

The SUNY Online Course Quality Review Rubric - https://oscqr.suny.edu/

Mentions: @Snapchat @AnthropicAI @Mozilla @SpaceX @Apple @Google @Microsoft

FLX AI Hub: https://www.flcc.edu/ai/

FLCC New Media: https://newmedia.csc.flcc.cloud/

#SnapSpectacles #VirtualReality #AugmentedReality #DigitalLearning #CyberSecurity #Anthropic #FutureOfWork #SpatialComputing #OnlineEducation #InstructionalDesign #AI #EdTech #GenerativeAI #HigherEd #Podcast #FLCC #NewMedia #TechTrends #TechHistory #TheImmersiveLens

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Recorded at Finger Lakes Community College in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes region.

https://www.flcc.edu/

https://www.theimmersivelens.com/

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