[The school year is starting for many of us, so here’s a story about how a student supposedly created a (presence) illusion so he can appear attentive in class while he sleeps. The story from the Daily Mail includes the 11 second video and three images; the post and hundreds of comments about it are available on Reddit; and the creator, Zach King, has posted many other illusions on YouTube. For more light but thought-provoking presence items join the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group. –Matthew] The hilarious moment a sleeping student uses a life-size photo of himself in class so it…

[Although the term isn’t used here, one could argue that the most intense and compelling sense of presence occurs at the center of the Venn diagram in this story from TechCrunch, another step toward what the author calls “the experience age.” –Matthew] The future of mobile video is virtual reality Posted Aug 30, 2016 by Mike Wadhera After the dust settles, the real takeaway from Instagram’s cloning of Snapchat is that the connected camera revolution is just beginning. Instagram Stories sends a powerful message to hundreds of millions of people for the first time: No moment is too small to…

[Here’s a detailed first-person description of how to use VR (and presence) in the classroom. It’s from the New York Times, where it includes more images. –Matthew] Reader Idea | New York Times Virtual Reality in the Classroom By The Learning Network August 31, 2016 Using virtual reality, or VR, in the classroom can help students learn about the world in a powerful new way, says Cayne Letizia. In this series of lessons, he uses Times VR reporting as a way to hook students on stories about everything from the refugee crisis to life on Pluto to the secret languages…