Page 1 - MAVR Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1 (November 2017)

Hello​ ​and​ ​welcome​ ​to​ ​the​ ​MAVR​ ​Newsletter​ ​#1

In​ ​our​ ​first​ ​newsletter,​ ​we​ ​first​ ​introduce​ ​an​ ​AR​ ​App,​ ​BlippAR,​ ​and​ ​its​ ​application​ ​in​ ​a
blended​ ​course​ ​of​ ​English​ ​at​ ​Osaka​ ​University.​ ​Second,​ ​we​ ​introduce​ ​a​ ​VR​ ​App,
VirtualSpeech,​ ​accompanied​ ​by​ ​its​ ​classroom​ ​application.​ ​Third,​ ​a​ ​breakdown​ ​of​ ​new

VR​ ​stand-alone​ ​devices​ ​that​ ​have​ ​been​ ​announced​ ​to​ ​release​ ​next​ ​year.​ ​Then,​ ​you​ ​can
find​ ​two​ ​articles​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​you​ ​up​ ​to​ ​date​ ​about​ ​what​ ​is​ ​happening​ ​in​ ​the​ ​MAVR​ ​world.​ ​We
also​ ​put​ ​the​ ​links​ ​to​ ​our​ ​recent​ ​podcasts​ ​and​ ​publications.​ ​Finally,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​find
information​ ​about​ ​our​ ​upcoming​ ​events.

Message​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Officers

It​ ​is​ ​so​ ​exciting​ ​for​ ​us​ ​to​ ​be​ ​starting​ ​to​ ​form​ ​our​ ​research​ ​group​ ​and​ ​create​ ​outlets​ ​like
this​ ​humble​ ​newsletter.​ ​As​ ​this​ ​is​ ​our​ ​first​ ​newsletter,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​only​ ​appropriate​ ​that​ ​we​ ​share
a​ ​bit​ ​about​ ​our​ ​passion​ ​for​ ​creating​ ​this​ ​group​ ​and​ ​the​ ​work​ ​we​ ​have​ ​been​ ​doing​ ​to​ ​get
things​ ​going.

As​ ​you​ ​may​ ​know,​ ​our​ ​group​ ​was​ ​presented​ ​and​ ​voted​ ​in​ ​to​ ​become​ ​a​ ​forming​ ​SIG​ ​at
the​ ​JALT​ ​executive​ ​board​ ​meeting​ ​in​ ​early​ ​2017.​ ​Thanks​ ​to​ ​all​ ​of​ ​you​ ​who​ ​helped​ ​bring
the​ ​issue​ ​to​ ​a​ ​vote​ ​by​ ​signing​ ​our​ ​petitions.​ ​Since​ ​then​ ​we​ ​have​ ​been​ ​hard​ ​at​ ​work​ ​on
the​ ​foundations​ ​of​ ​our​ ​group.​ ​​ ​We​ ​are​ ​getting​ ​our​ ​finances​ ​in​ ​order​ ​(or​ ​what​ ​little​ ​we
have​ ​so​ ​far!),​ ​we​ ​have​ ​created​ ​a​ ​SIG​ ​charter,​ ​a​ ​website,​ ​and​ ​a​ ​host​ ​of​ ​community
spaces.​ ​One​ ​of​ ​our​ ​main​ ​focuses​ ​of​ ​late​ ​is​ ​preparing​ ​for​ ​JALT2017​ ​in​ ​Tsukuba.​ ​We
have​ ​a​ ​ton​ ​going​ ​on​ ​and​ ​we​ ​have​ ​listed​ ​all​ ​of​ ​that​ ​in​ ​this​ ​newsletter.​ ​Moving​ ​forward​ ​we
are​ ​looking​ ​to​ ​have​ ​our​ ​first​ ​stand-alone​ ​SIG​ ​event​ ​and​ ​first​ ​SIG​ ​publication​ ​next​ ​year.​ ​If
you​ ​have​ ​some​ ​work​ ​you​ ​are​ ​looking​ ​to​ ​get​ ​published,​ ​please​ ​keep​ ​us​ ​in​ ​mind.

But​ ​most​ ​importantly,​ ​we​ ​want​ ​to​ ​let​ ​you​ ​know​ ​that​ ​we​ ​are​ ​passionate​ ​about​ ​the​ ​work​ ​of
research​ ​in​ ​emerging​ ​tech​ ​in​ ​education.​ ​Just​ ​like​ ​the​ ​technology​ ​is​ ​disrupting​ ​how​ ​we
teach​ ​and​ ​learn,​ ​we​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​shake​ ​things​ ​up​ ​on​ ​how​ ​a​ ​SIG​ ​does​ ​business.​ ​To​ ​that