Apple

Apple makes big improvements in iOS management tools for enterprise and education [Panzarino]

On 02/27/2014, in Apple, Bring your own device (BYOD), education technology, by Daniel Christian

Apple makes big improvements in iOS management tools for enterprise and education — from by Matthew Panzarino (@panzer)

Excerpt:

Apple has been busy in the IT department. [Yesterday], it released a slew of improvements and alterations to its large-scale deployment tools for education and enterprise customers.

…

The changes are outlined in a series of documents Apple posted on its IT deployment page today. These include changes to its Device Enrollment Program, Volume Purchase Program and the Apple ID for Students service. A new iOS deployment technical reference guide and Device Enrollment Program guide have been issued, updating its older versions with new options for device management. A new overview document provides a quick cheat sheet for enterprise folks looking to utilize the tools Apple provides to mass purchase apps and roll out huge numbers of iOS devices at a time. And a new iOS Security Document has been posted that provides in-depth details on how Touch ID and the A7’s Secure Enclave work.

Addendum later on 3/3/14:

Why Apple’s new Device Enrollment Program is a game changer for IT — from citeworld.com

Excerpt:

What does supervision enable?
Apple has added several powerful management options over the past couple of years that can only be enabled on supervised devices. Here’s a list of those features.

Enable and manage Single App Mode (typical for kiosk devices).
Configure Accessibility settings.
Allow or disable access to iMessage.
Allow or disable access to Game Center.
Allow or or prevent users from deleting apps.
Allow or disable access to iBooks Store.
Prevent access to ebooks flagged erotica in the iBooks Store.
Enable or disable Siri’s Profanity Filter.
Allow or or prevent manual install of configuration profiles (including unauthorized or malicious profiles).
Configure a global proxy server for all installed web browsers.
Allow or prevent host pairing (iTunes).
Allow or or prevent pairing with computers for content sync.
Restrict AirPlay connections with a whitelist of acceptable device and enter a passcode for

iBeacon from Apple: A further step towards the Internet of Things [IoT]

On 12/10/2013, in Apple, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, Near Field Communication (NFC), smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

With iBeacon, Apple is going to dump on NFC and embrace the internet of things — from Hari Gottipati

Excerpt:

What is iBeacon?

Using Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE), iBeacon opens up a new whole dimension by creating a beacon around regions so your app can be alerted when users enter them. Beacons are a small wireless sensors placed inside any physical space that transmit data to your iPhone using Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth Smart).

For example, imagine you walk into a mall with an iPhone 5s (comes with iOS 7 and iBeacon). You are approaching a Macy’s store, which means your iPhone is entering into Macy’s iBeacon region. Essentially iBeacon can transmit customized coupons or even walking directions to the aisle where a particular item is located. It can prompt a customer with special promotions or a personalized messages and recommendations based on their current location or past history with the company. Smartphones that are in an iBeacon zone will benefit from personalized microlocation-based notification and actions.

iBeacon demonstration example mobile shopping

Also see:

Apple’s iBeacon will put the ‘internet of things’ in your pocket — from kurzweilai.net
.
The open secret of iBeacon: Apple could have 250M potential units in the wild by 2014 — from techcrunch.com

From DSC:
How can this sort of thing be used in blended/hybrid learning environments? Will this be a part of our next generation smart classrooms/teaching spaces? A new way to take attendance? Share/distribute personalized content?

Learning from the Living (Class) Room [Grush & Christian]

On 12/05/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, animation, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), business side of he, changing business models, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, hybrid learning, IBM, innovation, interactivity, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Learning in ‘the Living [Class] Room’
From campustechnology.com by Mary Grush and Daniel Christian
Convergent technologies have the ability to support streams of low-cost, personalized content, both at home and in college.

A proposal for Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and any other company who wants to own the future living room [Christian]

On 11/18/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, animation, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, IBM, ideas, immersion, informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, K-12 related, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, motivation, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, play, professional development, real-world assignments, reinvent, second screen apps, simulations, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, STEAM-related, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

“The main obstacle to an Apple television set has been content. It has mostly failed to convince cable companies to make their programming available through an Apple device. And cable companies have sought to prevent individual networks from signing distribution deals with Apple.”

— Apple, closer to its vision for a TV set, wants
ESPN, HBO, Viacom, and others to come along
qz.com by Seward, Chon, & Delaney, 8/22/13

From DSC:
I wonder if this is because of the type of content that Apple is asking for. Instead of entertainment-oriented content, what if the content were more focused on engaging, interactive, learning materials? More on educational streams of content (whether we — as individuals — create and contribute that content or whether businesses do)?

Also see:

What the mobile “fourth wave” means for operators — from mportal.com by D.P. Venkatesh on November 12, 2013

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The communications landscape has historically taken the form of a tumultuous ocean of opportunities. Like rolling waves on a shore, these opportunities are often strong and powerful – yet ebb and flow with time.

Get ready, because the next great wave is upon us. And, like a tropical storm, it is likely to change the landscape around us.

As detailed by analyst Chetan Sharma, this particular wave is the one created by the popularity of over-the-top (OTT) solutions – apps that allow access to entertainment, communication and collaboration over the Internet from smartphones, tablets and laptops, rather than traditional telecommunications methods. Sharma has coined this the mobile “fourth wave” – the first three being voice, messaging (SMS) and data access, respectively – and it is rapidly washing over us.

Addendum on 11/25:

The Smart TV app revolution is coming: Here’s what you need to know — from businessinsider.com by Dan Frommer

[Many of] the 10 fastest-growing job titles are in tech [mashable.com]

On 11/16/2013, in 21st century, analytics, Apple, career development, data related items, Google, pace of change, professional development, user experience (UX), user interface design, by Daniel Christian

[Many of] the 10 fastest-growing job titles are in tech — from mashable.com

Excerpt:

Based on their data, the fastest-growing job titles between 2008 and 2013 were:

DevOps engineer
iOS developer
Data scientist
UX designer
Staff accountant
Paralegal
UI developer
Administrative assistant
Android developer
Business intelligence developer

From DSC:
Another sign that the pace of change has changed (emphasis mine):

Indicating a trend beyond employment, four of the seven fastest-growing technology jobs — DevOps engineer, iOS developer, data scientist and Android developer — did not even exist on TheLadders five years ago.

Jeff Gomez Masterclass: Creating Blockbuster Transmedia Story Worlds & Brands — from nymediacenter.com

Excerpt:

Who Should Attend?

SCREEN PROFESSIONALS
Producers, writers, directors, commissioners, distributors, investors, policy makers from the film, television and online industries

INTERACTIVE MEDIA PROFESSIONALS
Web developers and designers, app and mobile developers, games developers and designers, multiplatform producers, digital media strategists

BRAND + COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS
Advertising, marketing and PR professionals and creatives, public relations professionals, social media strategists, branded content producers

PUBLISHING PROFESSIONALS
Publishers, authors, editors, agents, Commissioners

From DSC:
Wondering a few things here:

1) Why aren’t there similar events aimed at educators, professors, teachers, and trainers? At instructional designers and instructional technologists?

2) Are we preparing our students for these types of opportunities?

3) That same web page also reads:

It is a philosophy of communication and brand extension that creates intense audience loyalty and long-term engagement, enriches the value of creative content, and generates multiple revenue streams.

Hmmm…couldn’t this also apply to higher education/K-12 education/training as well?

“These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material” [Steven Chevalia]

On 11/01/2013, in Apple, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, entrepreneurship, Google, ideas, innovation, interactivity, Microsoft, platforms, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Some items re: Steam and OUYA — with a thanks going out to Mr. Steven Chevalia for the information here

For the past 20 years, the video game industry has been controlled by three primary companies:

Nintendo (Nintendo, Gamecube, Wii)
Sony (Playstation)
Microsoft (Xbox)

However, the past two years have shown an increased interest in hardware solutions from 3rd parties, such as:

OUYA is a 3rd party console that was designed to be a gaming system with a lower cost and was meant for all open-source games.
(Further details at wikipedia.org)
Steam is a 3rd party that sells and updates all their games digitally. They offer all the same games as most of the consoles (listed above) and will soon be offering their own console, which will connect to the internet and allow you to play any game that you own on their service.
(Further details at wikipedia.org)

These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material. (NOTE: Not all of the games available via these sites are appropriate for kids, as many of the games therein are meant for older audiences.) It is likely that iTunes U, YouTube, etc. will all be viewable on these consoles and the games made for them will be able to be made by smaller companies that can’t compete on the market with Nintendo, Playstation, or Xbox-based games.

Lessons Learned from Apple EdTech Deployments: Part 1 [Kridel]

On 10/01/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, education technology, elearning, higher education, IT in HE, K-12 related, strategy, tablets, tools, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Lessons Learned from Apple EdTech Deployments: Part 1 — from avnetwork.com by Tim Kridel

Excerpt:

School districts have purchased more than 10 million iPads so far, and colleges such as Abilene Christian University have been using iOS devices for five years or more. All of those deployments add up to plenty of opportunities for schools that haven’t deployed Apple gear to learn what to expect.

This multi-part series looks at some of the lessons learned in terms of security, support, costs and bandwidth. It’s based on interviews with education technology managers who have spent years not only implementing and supporting Apple products, but also often mentoring their peers at other schools.

The first set of questions: What advice would you give to a peer at a school that’s about to add iOS devices? For example, what should they expect in terms of additional burden on the wireless LAN and the IT staff?

Here it is: The Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 — from c4lpt.co.uk by Jane Hart

Excerpt:

The Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 list (released today, 30 September 2013) was compiled from the votes of over 500 learning professionals (from education and workplace learning) from 48 countries. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s list. For a fuller analyis, visit Analysis 2013

Twitter retains its no 1 position for the 5^th year running
Google Drive/Docs moves up to #2.
PowerPoint moves up to #5.
Evernote moves into the top 10 at #6.
Google +/Hangouts moves into the top 10 at #10.
There are 10 new tools on the list topped by Feedly (an RSS reader/aggregator) at #19 and Coursera (a MOOC platform) at #38, and 3 returning tools to the list, including Storify at #58.
The highest movers within the list are Skydrive (Windows file storage area) at #43 up 55 places since last year, and Keynote and iMovie up 40 and 32 places respectively (showing the increase in popularity of Apple software).
A significant descent down the list for some tools including Google Sites (down 60 places) and Wikispaces (down 50 places).
Tools moving off the list include Google Reader (now retired by Google), Bing and Scribd.
Although the list is still dominated by free online social tools, a number of e-learning authoring tools have had a good showing this year.
As for trends over the last 5 years, it is interesting to note that Firefox (#1 in 2007) is now at #97 on the list, and Delicious (#1 in 2008) is now at #60. What will topple Twitter from the top of the list?

True personalization is the next big thing in multiscreen TV [Moulding]

On 09/18/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Apple, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, disruption, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future of higher education, global / globalization, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, storytelling, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, transmedia, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

True personalization is the next big thing in multiscreen TV — from .v-net.tv by John Moulding

From DSC:
Not a far stretch to see some applications of this in the future aimed at learning objects/learning agents/and personalized streams of content.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

Addendum:
(With thanks going out to Mr. Richard Byrne over at the Free Technology for Teachers blog for this item)

Resources and reflections re: Apple’s announcements yesterday

On 09/11/2013, in Apple, digital photography, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, photography, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
First, some resources:

With iBeacon, Apple is going to dump on NFC and embrace the internet of things — from gigaom.com by Hari Gottipati
Apple’s iPhone event: Everything you need to know — from fastcompany.com by Kit Eaton
Apple just held a splashy press event in several global locations to launch its new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. Did you miss it? Here’s everything you need to know.
Apple’s new iPhones simultaneously aim high, low — from finance.yahoo.com by Michael Liedtke and Barbara Ortutay, AP
Apple expands into low-end market with 1 iPhone while trying to set ‘gold standard’ with other
New iPhone to include fingerprint scanner: WSJ — from the verge.com by Sam Byford
Apple: iOS 7 Will Launch On September 18 — from readwrite.com by Adrianna Lee
Apple’s iPhone 5S camera shoots to kill: Big aperture, burst mode and more — from readwrite.com by Taylor Hatmaker
Apple unveils the iPhone 5s, its “most forward-thinking phone yet” — from gigaom.com by Alex Colon
5 things designers need to know about the new iPhones — from creativebloq.com
Let the music play on: iTunes Radio arrives soon with Siri support — from semanticweb.com by Jennifer Zaino

Secondly, some thoughts:

Given the extremely fast/breathtaking pace that Steve Jobs had Apple run while he was alive, it’s difficult to sustain that pace over so many years. He set some very tough and high expectations that are difficult to match. So when an Apple TV or an iWatch isn’t released, we think nothing happened. But there were some important things announced yesterday, including the biometric scanning situation, but I admit that I also felt a bit let down.

I think that Apple is being extremely cautious — afraid to mess up on anything, lest people will say, “See! Now that Steve’s gone, they can’t do it.” Not that it matters, but I would urge them “to go hard with it,” forget about “the score,” and let the score take care of itself. It’s ok not to hit a home run every time to bat. That’s something I think we all need to practice, given the current 180 mph environment that we live in.

The Amazon
By Marcos Antonio de Lima Filho | Master in Design | Federal University of Pernambuco – Brazil

This is a free book which is available in iBooks 3.0+ on the iPad and/or using iTunes on your computer. Marcos designed this book to take advantage of all the interaction enabled by iPads.

156 images, 14 infographics, 18 galleries, 11 maps and 8 videos join with the text, which here is not the primary. Why? Because the nature is much too rich to be described only by words. The Amazon seeks to take advantage of all the technology advancements enabled by the tablet.

Great work Marcos! Nice interactivity, use of digital audio and video, graphics, and more. Check it out!

What types of innovative learning experiences can be crafted as “TV” becomes more interactive, participatory, and engaging? [Christian]

On 08/21/2013, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, interactivity, interface design, internet, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, media/film, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, student-related, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The massive convergence of the telephone, the television, and the computer continues. How that media gets to us is also changing (i.e. the cord cutting continues).

What types of innovative learning experiences can be crafted as “TV” becomes more interactive, participatory, and engaging? What happens if technologies like WebRTC make their way into our browsers and we can videoconference with each other without having to download anything?

What doors open for for us when Google, Apple, or an Amazon.com delivers your “shows” vs. NBC/ABC/CBS/etc.?

The items below cause me to reflect on those questions…

.

Streaming devices lead the way to Smart TV — from nytimes.com by Brian Stelter

Julia Yellow

.

Is Google ready to buy its way into TV with an NFL deal? — from allthingsd.com by Peter Kafka

Excerpt:

Here’s a fun combination to ponder: The world’s most powerful media company and America’s most popular sport.

That could happen if Google buys the rights to the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, the all-you-can-eat subscription-TV service currently owned by DirecTV.

Cord Cliff Coming: What happens to TV when Netflix streams live events? — from allthingsd.com by Ben Elowitz, CEO, Wetpaint

Addendums on 8/22/13:

CBS, Time Warner Cable, and the Disruption of TV — from newyorker.com by Ken Auletta
Netflix inks exclusive deal for first-run Weinstein films — from cnet.comThe Internet’s biggest on-demand video service will stream movies from the indie film studio before any other pay-TV providers starting in 2016, the same year it kicks off a similar Disney deal.
Vevo reportedly inks music video content deals with Apple and Samsung, Apple TV app could launch this week — from appleinsider.com by AppleInsider Staff
Music video platform Vevo is said to have signed deals with both Apple and Samsung to deliver streaming and on-demand content via set-top boxes and television sets, with a possible Apple TV debut coming as soon as this week.
Disney’s ESPN Holds Preliminary Talks for Web-Based TV –– from bloomberg.com by Christopher Palmeri & Andy Fixmer
Why Apple should buy NFL digital rights — from money.cnn.com by David Goldman
The tv of tomorrow and the living room of the future— from visual.ly <– a very solid infographic

The tv of tomorrow and the living room of the future

by beutlerink.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

The battle of the ecosystems: Apple, Google, Microsoft, & Amazon.com [Christian]

On 08/12/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, business, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, Google, higher education, innovation, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, media/film, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social media, student-related, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, trends, ubiquitous learning, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The battle of the ecosystems: Apple, Google, Microsoft, & Amazon.com — by Daniel Christian with thanks to Krista Spahr, Michael Mandeville, Bill Vriesema, and Adam Tozer from Calvin College for their feedback/inputs on this.

PDF version here [1.35MB]

Also see:

A game of ecosystems: Measuring ecosystem performance — from visionmobile.com by Andreas Pappas

Addendums on 8/13/13:

Battle of the media ecosystems: Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft — from computerworld.com by Michael deAgonia, Preston Gralla, JR Raphael
Four large tech ecosystems are currently vying for our attention — and for our dollars. How well are they succeeding?
Apple still tops the App Store despite Google Play growth — from tapscape.com

Learning Ecosystems

Apple makes big improvements in iOS management tools for enterprise and education [Panzarino]

iBeacon from Apple: A further step towards the Internet of Things [IoT]

“These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material” [Steven Chevalia]

Resources and reflections re: Apple’s announcements yesterday

“The Amazon” — Nice work Marcos!

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