From DSC:
I’m honored to have made this year’s Dean’s List at EdTechMagazine.com. Check out the other blogs listed there — as there are many great streams of content flowing by! My thanks to Tara Buck, D. Frank Smith, Meg Conlan, and the other staff members at EdTechMagazine.com for their great work and for helping build the future of higher education!
Verizon files patent for Virtual Reality phone system — from uploadvr.com
Excerpt:
In hopes of keeping you immersed in your VR experience, Verizon was issued a patent yesterday that allows you to make calls while using VR to those who are not. Although Verizon is far from being the first to implement this idea (see: HTC Vive Phone Service), what is new is how it’s done.
Facebook shows us what it means to be ‘social’ in Virtual Reality (video) — from recode.net by Kurt Wagner
Gatherings of avatars.
Excerpt:
At its F8 developer conference…Facebook demoed what it calls “social VR,” which is exactly what it sounds like: Connecting two or more real people in a virtual world.
Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer stood on stage in front of a live audience in San Francisco, put on one of Facebook’s Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets and “teleported” to London. There, he met up with another Facebook employee, who was actually wearing his own headset at the company’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters.
IBM Watson takes on cybercrime with new cloud-based cybersecurity technology — from techrepublic.com by Conner Forrest
Eight universities have begun a year-long initiative to train IBM Watson for work in cybersecurity. Will the Jeopardy champ soon police the internet?
Excerpt:
On Tuesday, IBM announced that Watson, its cognitive computing system (and former Jeopardy champion), will be spending the next year training for a new job—fighting cybercrime.
Watson for Cyber Security is a cloud-based version of IBM’s cognitive computing tools that will be the result of a one-year-long research project that is starting in the fall. Students and faculty from eight universities will participate in the research and train Watson to better understand how to detect potential threats.
Addendum on 5/12/16:
Creators of Siri reveal first public demo of AI assistant “Viv” — from seriouswonder.com by B.J. Murphy
Excerpts:
When it comes to AI assistants, a battle has been waged between different companies, with assistants like Siri, Cortana, and Alexa at the forefront of the battle. And now a new potential competitor enters the arena.
During a 20 minute onstage demo at Disrupt NYC, creators of Siri Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer revealed Viv – a new AI assistant that makes Siri look like a children’s toy.
“Viv is an artificial intelligence platform that enables developers to distribute their products through an intelligent, conversational interface. It’s the simplest way for the world to interact with devices, services and things everywhere. Viv is taught by the world, knows more than it is taught, and learns every day.”
From DSC:
I saw a posting at TechCrunch.com the other day — The Information Age is over; welcome to the Experience Age. In terms of why I’m mentioning that article here, the content of that article is not what’s as relevant here as the title of the article. An interesting concept…and probably spot on; with ramifications for numerous types of positions, skillsets, and industries from all over the globe.
Also see:
Addendum on 5/12/16:
Also see:
Survey: Instructional Designers ‘pivotal’ in tech adoption — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser; with thanks to eduwire for the resource/comments on this item
Excerpt:
The results of the survey are based on responses from 780 people who work in a higher education institution in the area of instructional design, instructional technology, course design or a related field. Eighty-three percent are in the United States. Based on its results, the company estimated that about 13,000 instructional designers currently work in U.S. higher education.
Why instructional designers? As the report’s authors stated, these people “have positioned themselves as pivotal players in the design and delivery of learning experiences,” bridging the gap “between faculty instruction and student online learning.” Ultimately, the report explained, the work undertaken by instructional designers has a big impact on student success.
The typical instructional designer is female (67 percent), aged 45 and highly educated (87 percent having earned at least a master’s degree).
Per Jack Du Mez at Calvin College, use this app to randomly call on your students — while instilling a game-like environment into your active learning classroom (ALC)!
Description:
Randomly is an app made specifically for teachers and professors. It allows educators to enter their students into individual classes. They can then use the Random Name Selector feature to randomly call on a student to answer a question by one of two ways: Truly random, where repeated names are allowed, or a one pass – where all students are called once before they are called again. The device you’re using will even call out (vocally) the student’s name for you!
This app can also be used to randomly generate groups for you. You can split your class into groups by number of groups or by number of students per group. It intelligently knows what to do with any remaining students too!
This app supports Apple Watch, so you can call on your students with the use of your Apple Watch!
From DSC:
In the future, given facial and voice recognition software, I could see an Augmented Reality (AR)-based application whereby a faculty member or a teacher could see icons hovering over the students — letting the faculty member/teacher know who has been called upon recently and who hasn’t been called upon recently (with settings to change the length of time for this type of tracking — i.e., this student has been called upon in this class session, or in the last week, or in the last month, etc.).
From DSC:
The following graphic from “The Future of Work and Learning 1: The Professional Ecosystem” by Jane Hart is a wonderful picture of a learning ecosystem:
Note that such an ecosystem involves people, tools, processes and more — and is constantly changing. As Jane comments:
But the point to make very clear is that a PES is not a prescribed entity – so everyone’s PES will be different. It is also not a fixed entity – organisational elements will change as the individual changes jobs, and personal elements will change as the individual adds (or removes) external people, content and tools in order to maintain an ecosystem that best fits their needs.
Jane also mentions the concept of flows of new ideas and resources. I call these streams of content, and we need to both contribute items to these streams as well as take things from them.
So while Jane and I are on the same page on the vast majority of these concepts (and I would add Harold Jarche to this picture as well, whom Jane mentions with his Personal Knowledge Mastery (PKM) process), Jane broadens the scope of what I normally refer to as a learning ecosystem when she mentions, “it isn’t just about learning, but just as much about doing a job.”
Anyway, thanks Jane for your posting here.
Education Department pushes for alternatives to criminal history questions in college admissions — from ed.gov
Excerpt:
The U.S. Department of Education today urged America’s colleges and universities to remove barriers that can prevent the estimated 70 million citizens with criminal records from pursuing higher education, including considering the chilling effect of inquiring early in the application process whether prospective students have ever been arrested.
The Department made the recommendation in a new resource guide, Beyond the Box: Increasing Access to Higher Education for Justice-Involved Individuals, which encourages alternatives to inquiring about criminal histories during college admissions and provides recommendations to support a holistic review of applicants.
“We believe in second chances and we believe in fairness,” U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said. “The college admissions process shouldn’t serve as a roadblock to opportunity, but should serve as a gateway to unlocking untapped potential of students. As nation we must work to make that commonplace. We must ensure that more people, including those who were involved in the criminal justice system in their past but paid their debt to society, have the chance at higher education opportunities that lead to successful, productive lives, and ultimately create stronger, safer communities.”
“Too many Americans are denied opportunities to lead fulfilling and productive lives because of a past arrest or conviction – including opportunities to access a quality education,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. “Expanding access to higher education for justice-involved individuals can help them step out of the shadow of their pasts and embark on the path to a brighter future.
From DSC:
It wasn’t too long ago that the price of gasoline in our area was hovering around $4.00 per gallon. As gas prices kept increasing through the years, people began to cut back on the amount that they traveled — this included our own family as well, as we started seriously questioning whether we needed to make trip A, B, or C.
I remember questioning why the prices kept going up. I began to be suspicious of the large, international oil and gas companies — sensing some opportunistic greed originating from them…and wondering if this greed wasn’t being shared by many firms/traders on Wall Street. I remember thinking to myself, “Enjoy the profits now folks…because you are likely shooting yourselves in the foot.”
Now, fast forward a bit and I began to see more hybrid cars — cars that “have a traditional internal-combustion engine and a fuel tank, as well as one or more electric motors and a battery pack.” *
This observation seems to be backed up by data:
Then I saw more purely electric cars. Again, this seems to be backed up by data:
Demand for their products decreased. This was likely due to their high prices and due to people seeking other alternatives (perhaps there were other reasons as well). The revenues and profits did go down for some of the large, international oil and gas companies, such as ExxonMobil. The graphic below illustrates a major drop in both revenues and in net profits for ExxonMobil (i.e., showing an amount of net profit in 2015 that was less than 1/2 the net profit back in 2011):
So, as I work within the higher education industry, I can’t help but ask:
Are we within the higher education industry making the same mistake? Are we not fighting hard enough to bring the prices down? Are we still ok with yearly tuition increases?
When the cost per credit hour continually goes up — like the price of a gallon of gasoline did there for a while — aren’t there going to be ramifications to that trend as well? Put another way, do we really think prices can increase indefinitely without serious ramifications?
I realize that most institutions of traditional higher education are different from large, international corporations — having different stakeholders, sources of funding, and dynamics/forces impacting us. I realize that most people within higher education are here to help students, and likely the word greed is too strong of a word for many working within higher education.
But the question won’t leave my mind…
Are institutions of higher education shooting ourselves in the foot — just like the oil and gas companies did?
In terms of obtaining credentials and applicable knowledge…people will find the equivalents of electric cars and hybrid cars — in fact, we’re seeing such alternatives crop up all the time these days. People holding the steering wheels within higher education better start taking this much more seriously and had better start making some serious adjustments to the routes being taken — the current trajectory doesn’t look promising.
No more can there be increases in tuition. Prices had better start coming down, or we truly will be shooting ourselves in the foot. Institutions of higher education likely won’t be able to escape the laws of supply and demand — at some point, when prices have increased too much, demand will decrease.
People will find a way.
The state of U.S. colleges: The rich get richer, the poor get downgraded — from wsj.com by Timothy Martin and Heather Gillers
Excerpt:
When it comes to their finances, many U.S. colleges would rather not see the report card.
The nation’s colleges and universities were the only sector of public finance — out of 18 — to experience more ratings downgrades than upgrades last year, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings.
Higher education saw about three downgrades for every upgrade, the second straight year of credit deterioration, according to S&P.
Photo: Steven Senne/Associated Press
…
The downgrades also serve as further evidence of a U.S. higher education system that has become increasingly bifurcated. Many schools are struggling with their bottom line as national enrollment falls, many Americans question the value of a college degree and state funding for many public institutions is drying up. Elite institutions, meanwhile, enjoy record levels of popularity with student applications and alumni donations.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Learning TRENDS #915 by Elliott Masie – May 4, 2016.
Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
57,255 Readers – www.masie.com – twitter: emasie – The MASIE Center.
Excerpt:
Thinking about the future of work to make better decisions about learning today — from er.edcause.edu by Marina Gorbis
By looking at historical patterns and identifying signals of change around us today, we can better prepare for the transformations occurring in both work and learning.
Excerpt:
Instead of debating whether learning is for learning’s sake or as a means for earning a living, we need to think about the forces and signals of transformation and what they mean for higher education today and tomorrow.
So let’s explore these deeper transformations.1 From our experience of doing forecasting work for nearly fifty years, we at the IFTF believe that it is usually not one technology or one trend that drives transformative shifts. Rather, a cluster of interrelated technologies, often acting in concert with demographic and cultural changes, is responsible for dramatic changes and disruptions. Technologies coevolve with society and cultural norms—or as Marshall McLuhan is often quoted as having said: “We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.” Nowhere does this apply more critically today than in the world of work and labor. Here, I focus on four clusters of technologies that are particularly important in shaping the changes in the world of work and learning: smart machines; coordination economies; immersive collaboration; and the maker mindset.
From DSC:
I appreciate this article — thanks Marina.
Marina’s article — and the work of The Institute for the Future (IFTF) — illustrates how important is it to examine the current and developing future landscapes — trying to ascertain the trends and potential transformations underway. Such a practice is becoming increasingly relevant and important.
Why?
Because we’re now traveling at exponential rates, not linear rates.
We’re zooming down the highway at 180mph — so our gaze needs to be on the horizons — not on the hoods of our cars.
Institutions of higher education, boot camps, badging organizations, etc. need to start offering more courses and streams of content regarding futurism — and teaching people how to look up.
Not only is this type of perspective/practice helpful for organizations, but it’s becoming increasingly key for us as individuals.
You don’t want to be the person who gets tapped on the shoulder and is told, “I’m sorry…but your services won’t be necessary here anymore. Please join me in the conference room down the hall.” You then walk down the hall, and as you approach the conference room, you notice that newly placed cardboard is covering the glass — and no one can see into the conference room anymore. You walk in, they shut the door, give you your last pay check and your “pink slip” (so to speak). Then they give you 5 minutes to gather your belongings. A security escort walks you to the front door.
Game over.
Pulse checking a variety of landscapes can contribute
towards keeping your bread and butter on the table.
Also see:
While we believe that these ten skills continue to be important, two additional skills have emerged from our ethnographic interviews for these new worker categories: networking IQ and hustle.
Thinking about the future is like taking a jog: we can always find something to do instead, but we will be better off later if we take time to do it.
Who inspired you to become an educator? — from peopleadmin.com; with thanks to Chris Abraham for the resource
Have you heard of #Inspired2Educate?
Inspired2Educate is a national recognition program that encourages current K-20 educators to honor the teachers or administrators who inspired them to embrace education as their life’s work. Educators can share their story with PeopleAdmin for a chance to win $2,000.
Educators can tell their stories either via videos or via a written format and each month PeopleAdmin will award one person with $1,000 for professional development and $1,000 for their educational institution.
For further information, go to https://peopleadmin.com/
