2015 April

Piggybacking on Jay Cross’ thoughts on “Flipping the Meeting”, I wonder if…

On 04/06/2015, in collaboration, corporate / business world, higher education, K-12 related, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, vendors, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

We’ve got to stop meeting like this! – Guest post by Jay Cross — from litmos.com

Excerpt:

You can re-jigger your meetings to make them relevant, challenging, and fun by adopting an approach that is revolutionizing secondary school learning.

It’s called Flipping the Meeting. Flipped meetings focus people’s face-to-face time on working with one another to solve problems. You prepare in advance at your own pace with resources framing the business issue. When people convene, they spend their time collaborating to solve a problem. Conversations cross-fertilize ideas and fuel learning. In the flipped meeting, you focus on making the decision before the bell goes off.

Two teachers pioneered the philosophy of flip starting back in 2007. Students read their homework before class and use the classroom for discussion, not presentation. Grades go up, as does retention. Millions of students have signed up for flipped instruction through The Khan Academy. This is the same philosophy that underlies the Flipped Meeting. Be prepared to be inspired and listen to the founders of the flip…

From DSC:
Piggybacking on what Jay is saying in that piece re: “Flipping the Meeting”, I wonder if tools like VoiceThread could also help obtain peoples’ thoughts and perspectives prior to holding a meeting — and to do so per what works for each individual’s schedule.

VoiceThread is a cloud application, so there is no software to install. The only system requirement is an up-to-date version of Adobe Flash. VoiceThread will work in any modern web browser and on almost any internet connection.

Creating
Upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files and videos. Over 50 different types of media can be used in a VoiceThread.

Commenting
Comment on VoiceThread slides using one of five powerful commenting options: microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file upload.

Sharing
Keep a VoiceThread private, share it with specific people, or open it up to the entire world. Learn more about sharing VoiceThreads.

“The cool things are happening at the intersections of fields, not deep, deep, deep in a field — with a few exceptions.”

On 04/06/2015, in 21st century, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, curriculum, Daniel S. Christian, Google, learning, pedagogy, professional development, teaching & learning, trends, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The cool things are happening at the intersections of fields, not deep, deep, deep in a field — with a few exceptions.

Per Laszlo Bock, Google’s senior vice
president of people operations; see
Google HR boss shares his best advice
for succeeding in today’s workplace

From DSC:
If this is true, what might that mean for the curriculum we develop and provide? For how we set up our learning environments? For the pedagogies we employ?

Does this address what many people were trying to get at with Deeper Learning (i.e., creating more interdisciplinary programs and thinking; focusing more on learning for transfer — helping students take what’s learned in one situation and apply it to another)?

“Is ‘Design Thinking’ the New Liberal Arts?” & other items re: design thinking

On 04/02/2015, in design, Design Thinking, education, ideas, liberal arts, by Daniel Christian

Is ‘Design Thinking’ the New Liberal Arts? — from chronicle.com by Peter N. Miller

Excerpt:

What is design thinking? It’s an approach to problem solving based on a few easy-to-grasp principles that sound obvious: “Show Don’t Tell,” “Focus on Human Values,” “Craft Clarity,” “Embrace Experimentation,” “Mindful of Process,” “Bias Toward Action,” and “Radical Collaboration.” These seven points reduce to five modes — empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test — and three headings: hear, create, deliver. That may sound corporate and even simplistic, but design thinking has been used to tackle issues like improving access to economic resources in Mongolia, water storage and transportation in India, and elementary and secondary education and community building in low-income neighborhoods in the United States.

John L. Hennessy, president of the university, and David Kelley, head of the d.school, have been having a conversation about what the d.school and design thinking mean for Stanford. Hennessy sees them as the core of a new model of education for undergraduates. Two such classes on design thinking have already been created: “Designing Your Life,” which aims to help upperclassmen think about the decisions that will shape their lives after graduating, and “Designing Your Stanford,” which applies design thinking to helping first- and second-year students make the best choices about courses, majors, and extracurricular activities. Both are popular. Kelley argues for incorporating design thinking into existing courses across the humanities and sciences.

One size doesn’t fit all innovation — from innovationexcellence.com by Ralph Ohr

Excerpt:

Design Thinking also focuses on understanding the needs of potential customers outside the building. But its motivations and tactics are different from those of Customer Development. Design Thinking doesn’t start with a founder’s vision and a product in-hand. Instead it starts with “needs finding” and attempts to reduce new product risk by accelerating learning through rapid prototyping. This cycle of Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation is a solutions-based approach to solving customer problems. Design Thinking is perfectly suited to situations where the process isn’t engineering-driven; time and money are abundant and the cost (and time) of a failure of a major project launch can be substantial. This process makes sense in a large company when the bets on a new product require large investments in engineering, a new factory or spending 10s or 100s of millions on launching a new product line.

…

Design Thinking is based on properly understanding customer needs and iteratively prototyping to meet those needs with a satisfying solution. It primarily aims at doing the right things (i.e. serving a well-understood need properly) before investing time and resources.

What is Design Thinking? [Infographic] — from smashfreakz.com

Design Thinking in Schools
Design thinking is a powerful way for today’s students to learn, and it’s being implemented by educators all around the world. This site is a directory of schools and programs that use design thinking in the curriculum for K12 students.

This site has been put together by IDEO and the K12 Lab Network at Stanford’s d.school. Over the years we have seen so many schools and programs create amazing experiences for youth, helping them get in touch with their “inner designer” and build confidence in their creative abilities. With more and more programs emerging around the world, we wanted a place where we could see the global movement unfold, we wanted parents to find programs to send their kids to, and we wanted teachers and administrators to be able to find like-minded colleagues with they could connect.

“Preparing for the Workforce of the Future” + “The Rise of the On-Demand Economy”+ other workplace-related items

On 04/02/2015, in 21st century, career development, future, professional development, trends, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From Trend Hunting to World Building: Preparing for the Workforce of the Future — from linkedin.com by Yvette Montero Salvatico

Excerpt:

In this increasingly complex landscape, nothing exists in a vacuum. Isolated trends can be your worst enemy because they tie you to what is taking place right now, leaving you blind to what’s ahead. For this reason, reports and annual “top 10” lists of trends are of limited usefulness.

Instead, we must study the intersection of trends, making sense of the patterns formed from these unique collisions; explore the shifting values that act like fault lines undergirding the trends; and envision the new narratives which these trends, patterns, and values will create.

These world-building narratives act as maps, allowing us to test our current strategies and discover new opportunities, while avoiding threats. By painting immersive pictures of possible future worlds, we can be prepared no matter what future unfolds.

…

We want to pursue our passions and desire a calling rather than a career.

The Rise of the On-Demand Economy — from blogs.wsj.com by Irving Wladawsky-Berger

Excerpt:

This corporate capitalism era, characterized by hierarchically organized institutions, reached its height in the U.S. in the period following World War II, when the country craved a sense of stability following the pain and chaos of the Great Depression and the war years. But those days are long gone. In the more recent past, these relatively slow moving organizations were not able to keep up with fast changing technologies and markets, nor could individuals assume that being loyal to a company would translate into a secure job with good benefits.

In its stead, we are seeing the rise of what The Economist called the On-Demand Economy in a recent article. “Ever since the 1970s… Manufacturing jobs have been automated out of existence or outsourced abroad, while big companies have abandoned lifetime employment. Some 53m American workers already work as freelances.”

But now the sharing economy is evolving into something new. Ubiquitous communications, freelance work forces and low transaction costs are giving rise to the on-demand company, which aims to apply the principles of Uber or Airbnb to a much broader range of markets.

How HR can prepare for the future of work — from shrm.org by Roy Maurer

Excerpt:

Demographic Shifts Boost Global Migration

Labor Becomes Automated

The Skills Gap Persists

Employees Can Work from Anywhere

The Freelance Workforce Grows

Amazon Home Services — reminds me of the Economist’s article, “Workers on tap”

What is deeper learning all about?

On 04/02/2015, in adjunct faculty, education, education reform, faculty, higher education, K-12 related, learning, lifelong learning, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

CoSN 2015: Harvard’s Chris Dede Talks Deeper Learning
Harvard Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies Chris Dede spoke with EdTech about the concepts behind Deeper Learning and the many ways technology can support it.

Chris mentioned:

Apprenticeships
Case-based teaching
Interdisciplinary teaching
Teaching for transfer
The National Research Council’s book entitled, “Education for Life and Work” (see below)

Also see:

Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century (2012)
Description:
Americans have long recognized that investments in public education contribute to the common good, enhancing national prosperity and supporting stable families, neighborhoods, and communities. Education is even more critical today, in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges. Today’s children can meet future challenges if their schooling and informal learning activities prepare them for adult roles as citizens, employees, managers, parents, volunteers, and entrepreneurs. To achieve their full potential as adults, young people need to develop a range of skills and knowledge that facilitate mastery and application of English, mathematics, and other school subjects. At the same time, business and political leaders are increasingly asking schools to develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-management – often referred to as “21st century skills.”Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century describes this important set of key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking. These labels include both cognitive and non-cognitive skills- such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to learn. 21st century skills also include creativity, innovation, and ethics that are important to later success and may be developed in formal or informal learning environments.This report also describes how these skills relate to each other and to more traditional academic skills and content in the key disciplines of reading, mathematics, and science. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century summarizes the findings of the research that investigates the importance of such skills to success in education, work, and other areas of adult responsibility and that demonstrates the importance of developing these skills in K-16 education. In this report, features related to learning these skills are identified, which include teacher professional development, curriculum, assessment, after-school and out-of-school programs, and informal learning centers such as exhibits and museums.

Also see:

Excerpt of PDF file found at Deeper Learning Defined

DEEPER LEARNING COMPETENCIES | April 2013

Deeper learning is an umbrella term for the skills and knowledge that students must possess to succeed in 21st century jobs and civic life. At its heart is a set of competencies students must master in order to develop a keen understanding of academic content and apply their knowledge to problems in the classroom and on the job.

The deeper learning framework includes six competencies that are essential to prepare students to achieve at high levels.

Competencies

Master core academic content
Think critically and solve complex problems
Work collaboratively
Communicate effectively
Learn how to learn
Develop academic mindsets

From DSC:
That 5th one there…“Learn how to learn” seems extremely key to me these days. I’ve had several graduates of our T&L Digital Studio tell me that one of the most important things they’ve discovered after graduating and hitting the real world is how important learning is to them — and doing so as much and as fast as they can. Below are some quotes from them:

Lifelong learning has been most helpful in my career. While in college, learn how you learn best. You’ll be able to learn your way out of nearly any challenge faster than others. For me, I learned that audiobooks is a fun way for me to learn.
I’m a strong believer that its always good to stretch yourself out and learn things you are not familiar with, cause you never know when those extra skills will come-in-handy.
I wouldn’t stop trying to learn as much as possible. It is good to have a good educational foundation before jumping into a job, but there are many things that you just have to learn by experience outside of the school/college environment that are impossible to learn IN college.
Continual learning is something that has no end, one can keep at it. It’s amazing how much learning takes place post school and on the job. Things are usually thrown at you in the real world and the only way out is to learn it and to be honest that’s the only way out.
…learning is something that you have to do no matter what because the world is changing, technology is changing.
He who learns the fastest wins.

So the better you know how you prefer to learn, the more enjoyable and effective your time spent learning will be.

———–

Also see:

Deeper Learning: What is it and why is it so effective? — from opencolleges.edu.au by Saga Briggs
“When engaged in deeper learning, students think critically and communicate and work with others effectively across all subjects. Students learn to self-direct their own education and to adopt what is known as ‘academic mindsets,’ and they learn to be lifelong learners.”
.
“Deeper learning is the process of learning for transfer, meaning it allows a student to take what’s learned in one situation and apply it to another.”
.
If all this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. It describes the aim of every reasonably devoted educator since the dawn of time. But therein lies the problem: aim and execution are two very different things. When it comes to deeper learning, we’re aiming for something we understand fully in theory but barely at all in practice. What was once a pedagogical fantasy is now an indispensible necessity, and it’s time for us to wake up.
.
Deeper learning is “an old dog by a new name,” according to Ron Berger, the chief academic officer at Expeditionary Learning, which has brought deeper learning to 165 educational institutions across 33 U.S. states. It’s about combining in-depth academic knowledge and skills with the belief that students must also master communication skills, learn to collaborate effectively, and manage their own learning in order to be ready for college and beyond–pretty much what we’ve known all along, right?
.
Right, says Berger, but have we been doing it all along?

———–

Transferable Knowledge and Skills Key to Success in Education and Work; Report Calls for Efforts to Incorporate ‘Deeper Learning’ Into Curriculum — from nationalacademies.org

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON — Educational and business leaders want today’s students both to master school subjects and to excel in areas such as problem solving, critical thinking, and communication — abilities often referred to by such labels as “deeper learning” and “21st-century skills.” In contrast to the view that these are general skills that can be applied across a range of tasks in academic, workplace, or family settings, a new report from the National Research Council found that 21st-century skills are specific to content knowledge and performance within a particular subject area. The report describes how this set of key skills relates to learning mathematics, English, and science as well as to succeeding in education, work, and other areas of life.

Deeper learning is the process through which a person develops the ability to take what was learned in one situation and apply it to new situations, says the report. Through deeper learning, the person develops transferable knowledge, which includes both expertise in a particular subject area and procedural knowledge of how, why, and when to apply this knowledge to solve unique problems in that subject. The report refers to this blend of transferable content knowledge and skills as “21st-century competencies.”

———–

Deeper Learning — from American Institutes for Research

———–

Addendums on 4/6/15:

Deeper Learning 2015 – Day 2 — from ghsinnovationlab.com
Excerpt:
Deeper Learning 2015 just gets better and better!
For Day 2 of the conference, I participated in the Deep Dive hosted by Mark Hines of Mid Pacific Exploratory on Pedaling Towards Sustainability. I and the other members of my team, Andrew from The Met in Providence RI, Nate from Poudre High School in Colorado, and Robin from ReadyNation got the chance to think about how design projects centered around bicycles and sustainability can be used to unpack major concepts in physics, math, and the humanities while engaging students in authentic building, problem solving, and teamwork (STEM!!!!).
Deeper Learning 2015 – Day 1
Excerpt:
Well High Tech High knows how to throw a conference, that’s for sure.

Given Meerkat and Periscope, how much longer before subject matter experts are broadcasting directly to mobile devices & Smart TVs?

On 04/02/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, future of higher education, game-changing environment, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Given the introduction of Meerkat and Periscope — i.e., new apps that allow you to broadcast live to your Twitter feed — how much longer will it be before faculty members, teachers, trainers, and other subject matter experts are branding themselves and broadcasting their lectures to peoples’ mobile devices and to their Smart/Connected TVs? (The higher quality broadcasts will likely employ a team-based approach.) Is it really that big of a stretch now? Or is it not a stretch at all?

Take your flipped classroom — and your learners’ understanding — to the next level via interactive video

On 04/02/2015, in corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital video, flipping -- inverted learning, higher education, ideas, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, pedagogy, tools, training / L&D, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Consider using one or more of the following tools to take your flipped classroom — and your learners’ understanding — to the next level via the creation of interactive videos.

Touchcast
Video and the web are coming together. Experience both like never before with TouchCast- a new medium that looks like video, but feels more like the web.

edpuzzle.com — a nice example of their product can be seen in their video entitled, The flipped classroom in 90 seconds

Zaption – Interact & Learn with Video Lessons
Don’t just watch. Learn! Zaption makes online video interactive and engaging for students and drives deeper learning.

eduCanon
eduCanon is a free tool to embed rich, dynamic questions with explanations inside video. Use video to differentiate & engage. Promote self-paced learning with pause & rewind. Prevent skipping content not yet watched.

YouTube with new “Cards”:
Make your videos even more interactive with cards [3/16/15]

Excerpt:

As a creator, you’ve probably been using annotations to engage with your viewers for years. But one of the things you’ve told us is that you need more flexibility with the info you share through annotations, and—most importantly—you need it to work across screens and especially on mobile. That’s why today we’re introducing cards.

You can think of cards like an evolution of annotations. They can inform your viewers about other videos, merch, playlists, websites and more. They look as beautiful as your videos, are available anytime during the video and yes, they finally work on mobile.

Right now, you can choose from six types of cards: Merchandise, Fundraising, Video, Playlist, Associated Website and Fan Funding. You’ll find a new “Cards” tab in your Video Editor to create and edit them at any time.

Addendum on 4/7/15:

TechSmith Relay — from techsmith.com

Addendum on 4/23/15:

Also see:

Nice example of a brief, short-term learning ecosystem

On 04/02/2015, in Daniel S. Christian, learning ecosystem, by Daniel Christian

A nice example of a brief, short-term learning ecosystem, as referenced in Setting the Stage for Anytime, Anywhere Learning — from campustechnology.com by Michael Hart

She pointed out that “self-congestion” plays a large role in the lives of undergraduate students, and recalled one day during midterm exams when she saw a couple of students sit down at a cluster of couches, pull a marker board over and begin working their way through a math problem together. Shortly after beginning, they texted a couple more classmates, who joined their discussion a few minutes later. About 20 minutes later, a couple of students who happened to be walking by recognized their friends and joined the group — but to work on something completely different. Over the course of a couple of hours, the very informally organized group swelled and ebbed as students came and went, joined in the initial discussion about a math problem or didn’t, worked together or independently.

Find those hymns for your Easter Celebration at Hymnary.org!

On 04/02/2015, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, Michigan, music, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

HeIsRisen

Hymnary.org:
A comprehensive index of over 1 million hymn texts, hymn tunes, and hymnals, with information on authors and composers, lyrics and scores of many hymns …

Browse Popular Hymns
Browse Popular Hymns These are the 250 hymns published the…
Explore Hymnary.org
For Developers. CSV dump of the entire Hymnary…
Melody Search
To search, enter a tune below; otherwise, you can get help…
Scores
A Mighty Fortress. It’s said that Luther himself took a…
My Hymnals
Hymnary‘s My Hymnals feature highlights search…
About Us
Do you search for hymns and worship music for worship…
My FlexScores
Hymnary.org FlexScores are a revolutionary type of…
My Starred Hymns

Psalm 97:9 (NIV)

For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.

A vision for some edupreneurs out there: Leverage M2M comms for us w/in the classroom

On 04/02/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, ideas, machine-to-machine communications, Near Field Communication (NFC), vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
A vision for some edupreneurs out there:

Please create a system whereby machine-to-machine (M2M) communications would be used to detect and display the names and majors of students within a given classroom — complete with the photos of those students that are actually there at that particular time in a face-to-face classroom setting.

The data from that information gathering would be sent to a holographic image that the professor could make larger or smaller. The professor could use gesturing to point to a given student to ask them a question. Once that student has been asked a question, the color around that student is changed to reflect that the professor has already called upon them recently. (The setting that controls how long this “who’s-been-questioned-recently” information is maintained could be cleared every X minutes/hours/days.)

For more introverted students, they could choose to use their own device to broadcast their answer to a digital/online-based means vs. answering verbally in front of 50-200 other students.

[Opinion] Why America’s obsession with STEM education is dangerous [Zakaria]

On 04/02/2015, in Apple, creativity, curriculum, higher education, K-12 related, liberal arts, student-related, trends, United States, writing, by Daniel Christian

[Opinion] Why America’s obsession with STEM education is dangerous — from washingtonpost.com by Fareed Zakaria

Excerpt:

This dismissal of broad-based learning, however, comes from a fundamental misreading of the facts — and puts America on a dangerously narrow path for the future. The United States has led the world in economic dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship thanks to exactly the kind of teaching we are now told to defenestrate. A broad general education helps foster critical thinking and creativity. Exposure to a variety of fields produces synergy and cross fertilization. Yes, science and technology are crucial components of this education, but so are English and philosophy. When unveiling a new edition of the iPad, Steve Jobs explained that “it’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough — that it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our hearts sing.”

Excerpt (con’td)

But technical chops are just one ingredient needed for innovation and economic success. America overcomes its disadvantage — a less-technically-trained workforce — with other advantages such as creativity, critical thinking and an optimistic outlook.

“Cash Monitoring List Unveiled” & “Increasing Transparency and Accountability for Students”

On 04/01/2015, in business side of he, change, future of higher education, game-changing environment, legislatures / government / legal, pace of change, reinvent, staying relevant, surviving, by Daniel Christian

Cash Monitoring List Unveiled — from insidehighered.com by Michael Stratford

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday, for the first time, named most of the hundreds of colleges whose federal aid it has restricted because of concerns about their finances or compliance with federal requirements.

The department released a partial list of the nearly 560 institutions that, as of March 1, were subject to the financial restrictions known as heightened cash monitoring. Most of the colleges — 487 institutions — were on the lower level of scrutiny, and 69 were subject to the higher, more stringent restrictions.

Increasing Transparency and Accountability for Students — from ed.gov

Excerpt:

Higher education remains the most important investment any person can make in their future. In the several months I’ve been at the U.S. Department of Education, I have had a number of conversations with students and families that have inspired me to double down on our commitment to making college more affordable and accessible. A big part of our work toward that goal has been to increase both the quantity and quality of information that students, families, borrowers and the public have about higher education.

[On 3/31/15] we are taking another step to increase transparency and accountability. We are releasing a list of colleges and universities that are on what we call Heightened Cash Monitoring. There were about 560 institutions on this list as of March 1. The list has been released to members of the press that requested it, and will be published on the Department website in the coming days and updated on a regular basis.

From DSC:
Most likely, these organizations will be in even bigger trouble as news of this list gets out — something the U.S. Department of Education knew all along and was the key reason they weren’t releasing it I’d wager. However, many people have been asking for this list to be made public; the recent closing of Briar College may have impacted the U.S. Department of Education’s decision here…I’m not sure.

But again, I’m going to ask, are those of us within higher education willing to change? To adapt? To respond to shifting landscapes, needs, economic pressures, etc.? If not, what’s it’s going to take? Perhaps if our/your institution’s name was on that list…would that do it? I don’t think we/you want that to happen. More of us had better take action well before that even becomes a remote possibility.

I’m attaching several categories to this posting, including:

Reinvent.
Surviving.
Staying relevant.
Business side of higher ed.
Change.
Pace of change.
Future of higher education.
Game-changing environment.

Why Millennials understand the future of work better than anyone else [Horowitz]

On 04/01/2015, in career development, corporate / business world, digital learning, digital video, entrepreneurship, future, generational differences, multimedia, new media literacies, web design and production, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Why Millennials understand the future of work better than anyone else — from fastcompany.com by Sara Horowitz
We can learn a lot about the future of work from how Millennials are approaching and redefining their careers.

From DSC:
Note the digital media literacies mentioned in the excerpt below — as well as how many times the topic of freelancing comes up:

Excerpt:

I call that traditional view, “Big Work,” and millennials intuitively understand that’s not where the future is. They are, in a sense, the first generation of freelance natives. They’re embracing freelancing in a way no other generation has. And now, they’re the majority of the workforce.

They are generation with markedly diverse interests––they’re into design, tech, activism, the arts, everything. They’ve been told their whole lives that they can and should pursue as many of those interests as they want. The Internet has opened more doors to this generation than any other.

That’s why the idea of a portfolio of work comes naturally to them. They’re doing web design for their mom’s coworkers after they’re done studying. They’re teaching themselves FinalCut and picking up video editing gigs to complement their shift at the bookstore. They’re aiming for a more meaningful work-life, not necessarily what their parents would call a “traditional career.”

That natural flexibility positions millennials to take advantage of this new economy without fear. They are the most likely age group to freelance––38% of millennials are freelancing, compared to 32% of all others, according to a national survey conducted last year by Freelancers Union and Elance-oDesk.

Millennials also expressed by far the most confidence about this new way of working, with 82% of young freelancers saying they’re optimistic about the future of freelancing.

From DSC:
We need to help students out by offering more courses on entrepreneurship, owning one’s own business, freelancing, basic accounting, basic marketing, social networking, etc.

Also see:

The 5 Most Common Mistakes New Freelancers Make — from 99u.com by Brennan Dunn

Learning Ecosystems

“The cool things are happening at the intersections of fields, not deep, deep, deep in a field — with a few exceptions.”

“Is ‘Design Thinking’ the New Liberal Arts?” & other items re: design thinking

“Preparing for the Workforce of the Future” + “The Rise of the On-Demand Economy”+ other workplace-related items

Given Meerkat and Periscope, how much longer before subject matter experts are broadcasting directly to mobile devices & Smart TVs?

Nice example of a brief, short-term learning ecosystem

Find those hymns for your Easter Celebration at Hymnary.org!

A vision for some edupreneurs out there: Leverage M2M comms for us w/in the classroom

“Cash Monitoring List Unveiled” & “Increasing Transparency and Accountability for Students”

Why Millennials understand the future of work better than anyone else [Horowitz]

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