This video is pretty awesome! Google is expanding their Google Translate software so it can translate spoken work in realtime. Right now it’s still experimental but you can see a demo in this video.
The implication for education are huge! As more and more people take classes online, this technology opens up the door to take classes where the people involved speak different languages. Since the computer is facilitating the interaction anyway, having it do translation is a small extra step. Now couple this with the MIT OpenCourseWare story from yesterday and you have people from all over the world, who will be able to learn from the ever growing amount of educational content in English.
There are some industries, such as education that have been shielded from globalization so far because of the language barrier. This is about to fall.
Realtime translation of languages will allow a true global conversation. It’s a big black puffy cloud in the coming stormfront. Awesome!
Education Stormfront 
[…] in Google, Languages and translation, global / globalization, tools, by Daniel Christian Realtime voice translation moves closer — from Education Stormfront […]
By: Realtime voice translation moves closer on January 15, 2011
at 1:52 pm
[…] Obviously the face is not realistic but it’s just a demo. This ability to match what your face is doing is impressive. Now, couple this technology with this level quality of a face and you have a very cool avatar for use in online learning. To go further, couple this with Google’s new technology where it can realtime translate your voice and you have a virtual avatar that can communicate to anyone in the world, in your own native language. (see Realtime Voice Translation Moves Closer) […]
By: More Realistic Online Avatars For Education | Education Stormfront on May 29, 2013
at 12:14 pm