New from Educause:
Higher Ed IT Buyers Guide

 

HEITBuyersGuideEducauseApril2015

 

Excerpt:

Quickly search 50+ product and service categories, access thousands of IT solutions specific to the higher ed community, and send multiple RFPs—all in one place. This new Buyers Guide provides a central, go-to online resource for supporting your key purchasing decisions as they relate to your campus’s strategic IT initiatives.

Find the Right Vendors for Higher Education’s Top Strategic Technologies

Three of the Top 10 Strategic Technologies identified by the higher education community this year are mobile computing, business intelligence, and business performance analytics.* The new Buyers Guide connects you to many of the IT vendors your campus can partner with in the following categories related to these leading technologies, as well as many more.

View all 50+ product and service categories.

 

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?

Other questions that come to my mind:

  • Will we see more interactive videos
  • Will analytics be used to feed educationally-related recommendation engines?
  • Will big data be used to build your personalized learning playlists?
  • Will services like Stackup.net help you earn nano-credentials while you are learning via these means?
  • What place will our Smart/Connected TV’s play within our overall learning ecosystems?
  • What devices will people prefer to learn on? Or will that not even matter?
  • Will second screen-based apps become more ubiquitous and useful, especially for online and remote learners?
  • What sorts of subscription and payment mechanisms will be behind these offerings?
  • Will the represented brands be based on institutions, individuals, or both?

 



 

periscope-march2015

 

Meerkat-April2015

 

 

spreecast-jan2015

 

 

 



 

 

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

 

 



 

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.

 

 

 

 

Madcap and Metaio team up for augmented reality documentation — from blog.metaio.com by Jack Dashwood

Excerpt:

Documentation is a huge industry and with humanity’s continuing pursuit of technology, it’s not slowing down. Instead, documentation methods are growing and diversifying into mediums beyond the traditional paper manual.

Madcap’s newest update, Madcap Flare 11, has taken documentation even further. By leveraging Metaio’s Augmented Reality technology, Flare is now able to export documentation with Augmented Reality content. In a world of increasingly complex and abstract concepts, Augmented Reality provides much needed simplicity, with intuitive 3D models, live video, and dynamic linking between static printed content and digital information.

 

MadcapMetaio-March2015

 

 A video of Audi’s Augmented Reality Manual, back from August 2013:

 

 

From DSC:
Also…what affordances might this present for educators, instructional designers, and the like?

 

 

 

What does ‘learning’ have to learn from Netflix? — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpts:

Of course, young people are watching way less TV these days, TV is dying, and when they do watch stuff, it’s streamed, at a time that suits them. Education has to learn from this. I’m not saying that we need to replace all of our existing structures but moving towards understanding what the technology can deliver and what learners want (they shape each other) is worth investigation. Hence some reflections on Netflix.

Areas discussed:

  • Timeshifting
  • Data driven delivery — Netflix’ recommendations engine
  • Data driven content
  • Content that’s accessible via multiple kinds of devices
  • Going global

 

From DSC:
I just wanted to add a few thoughts here:

  1. The areas of micro-credentials, nano-degrees, services like stackup.net, big data, etc. may come to play a role with what Donald is talking about here.
  2. I appreciate Donald’s solid, insightful perspectives and his thinking out loud — some great thoughts in that posting (as usual)
  3. Various technologies seem to be making progress as we move towards a future where learning platforms will be able to deliver a personalized learning experience; as digital learning playlists and educationally-related recommendation engines become more available/sophisticated, highly-customized learning experiences should be within reach.
  4. At a recent Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference, one of the speakers stated, “People are control freaks — so let them have more control.”  Along these lines…ultimately, what makes this vision powerful is having more choice, more control.

 

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC

 

 

 

Also, some other graphics come to my mind:

 

MakingTVMorePersonal-V-NetTV-April2014

 

EducationServiceOfTheFutureApril2014

 

 

 

NHL-VirtualReality-WatchFromAnySeat-3-14-15

Excerpt:

AUSTIN, TX – Virtual reality is featured prominently at South By Southwest Sports this year, from using it to better train athletes with Oculus Rift to how it could transform the fan experience watching basketball, football and hockey at home.

The NHL had its first successful test of a 360-degree virtual reality experience at its Stadium Series game between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings last month, mounting cameras around the glass that filmed HD images in the round.

 

 

NBA-VirtualReality-WatchFromAnySeat-3-14-15

Excerpt:

When basketball lovers aren’t able to trek to stadiums near and far to follow their favorite teams, it’s possible that watching games on a bar’s widescreen TV from behind bowls of wings is the next best thing. This may no longer be true, however, as a wave of court-side, 3D virtual game experiences is becoming available to superfans with Oculus gear.

Earlier this month, NextVR showed off its new enhanced spectator experiences at the 2015 NBA All-Star Technology Summit with virtual reality (VR) footage of an October 2014 Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers match-up in Rio de Janeiro. The NBA also already announced plans to record VR sessions of the NBA All-Star Game, the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and the Sprite Slam Dunk event and practice.

 

NEXTVR-March2015

 

 

OculusRift-InSportsSXSW-2015

 

 

 

From DSC:
In the future, will you be able to “pull up a seat” at any lecture — throughout the globe — that you want to?

 

 



 

Alternatively, another experiment might relate to second screening lectures — i.e., listening to the lecture on the main/large screen — in your home or office — and employing social-based learning/networking going on via a mobile device.

Consider this article:

TV-friendly social network Twitter is testing a new Social TV service on iPhones which provides users with content and interaction about only one TV show at a time.

The aim is to give users significantly better engagement with their favourite shows than they presently experience when they follow a live broadcast via a Twitter hashtag.

This radical innovation in Social TV design effectively curates just relevant content (screening out irrelevant tweets that use a show’s hashtag) and presents it in an easy-to-use interface.

If successful, the TV Timeline feature will better position Twitter as it competes with Facebook to partner with the television industry and tap advertising revenue related to TV programming.

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision2015

 

Example snapshots from
Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision

 

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision2-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision3-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision5-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision6-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision7-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision8-2015

 

MicrosoftProductivityVision4-2015

 

 

 

My thanks to Mary Grush at Campus Technology for her continued work in bringing relevant topics and discussions to light — so that our institutions of higher education will continue delivering on their missions well into the future. By doing so, learners will be able to continue to partake of the benefits of attending such institutions. But in order to do so, we must adapt, be responsive, and be willing to experiment. Towards that end, this Q&A with Mary relays some of my thoughts on the need to move more towards a team-based approach.

When you think about it, we need teams whether we’re talking about online learning, hybrid learning or face-to-face learning. In fact, I just came back from an excellent Next Generation Learning Space Conference and it was never so evident to me that you need a team of specialists to design the Next Generation Learning Space and to design/implement pedagogies that take advantage of the new affordances being offered by active learning environments.

 

DanielSChristian-CampusTechologyMagazine-2-24-15

 

DanielSChristian-CampusTechologyMagazine2-2-24-15

 

 

 

From DSC:
Check out some of the functionality in these solutions. Then imagine if these solutions were in the size of an entire wall in a classroom or in a corporate L&D facility. Whew!

  • Some serious opportunities for collaboration would arise for remote learners –as well as those located in the face-to-face setting
  • What new affordances would be present for those teaching in K-12, higher ed, or trainers working within the training/learning and development fields? Conversations/discussions would be recorded — to be picked up at the next session. In the meantime, learners could review the discussions at their own pace.
  • What if all of this were possible in your future Smart/Connected TV?
  • I’m also talking here about a vendor that could offer solutions that K-12 systems and institutions of higher ed could afford; some of the solutions below have much of what I’m envisioning here, but are out of the price range. Or the product is multitouch and fairly large, but it doesn’t offer the collaborative features of some of the other products here.

 


 

mezzanine-feb-2015

 


 

Feb2015-AstecSenseTable-InteractiveDisplay

 

 


ideum-feb2015

 

ideumPresenter-feb2015

Ideum’s touch walls come close to what I’m talking about in this posting. If they could add some functionality for seeing/bringing in/collaborating with remote learners — as found in Mezzanine — then that would be great!

Also see:

 

Also see bluescape — but these excellent, innovative solutions are out of the price range for most K-12 and higher ed institutions:

 

bluescape-1-feb-2015

 

Is this the online learning model of the future? — from ecampusnews.com by Rony Zarom
Flex class options are seeing spikes in enrollment among Gen C students; here’s how to get started.

Excerpt:

“Flex-classes,” a preferred learning style among Gen Cs that offers “flex-attendance“ options to join classes “in-person” or “online” throughout the duration of a course, allowing students to more efficiently, and affordably, learn anytime, anywhere.

In fact, if the current enrollment growth rate continues, nearly half of all college students will be enrolled in a flexible online learning course by 2020.

Based on a cross-generational commonality to stay digitally connected and plugged into mobile devices, these two generations expect more accessible, technology-forward learning environments that give them the flexibility, mobility and freedom to learn when and where they want.

One of the biggest weather deterrents that disrupts student attendance and educators’ lesson plans is snow days, and thanks to virtual flex-class options, snow day disruptions may be coming to an end for good.

Schools around the country have been implementing flex-classes to allow students the option to join classes online on days they can’t make it to school, instead of making up the lost days at another time and often dipping deep into summer vacations. Students can tune in to their classrooms via mobile device or tablet to complete their learning initiatives for the day. The snow day approach is a realistic option for institutions looking to test the effectiveness of flex-class implementation.

 

From DSC:
This is an interesting approach.  What I like about it is that it provides more choice and more control for the student.

What I wonder about is how would this type of learning environment impact the pedagogies that a professor would need to employ…? Or are we not that far along here yet? That is, how does one simultaneously offer a productive online learning experience as well as an effective face-to-face learning experience?

Also, on a slight tangent here from this model…
I’ve been wondering about whether remote students could effectively/simultaneously come into a face-to-face classroom setting — and I think the answer is yes.  As with the corporate world, teams are scattered throughout a nation or from various places throughout the globe — and yet work gets done. Projects get done. Collaboration happens. Learning happens.

Some institutions, including the college where I work at, are experimenting with using telepresence robots to bring in those remote students. The version 2.0’s and above of these robots may be an option.  However, I’m wondering if a better option might be available if a vendor could morph something like Cisco’s StadiumVision into an educational setting…? That is, provide 3-4 camera angles/perspectives per classroom and let the remote learners switch between viewing angles on their end of things…? Such as setup would be very interesting to experiment with.

Also, in regards to learning spaces, should one wall be dedicated to bringing in remote students? That is, one of the walls could display who all is coming into a classroom remotely so that they could be a part of the discussions and so that the F2F students could see and interact w/ those remote students.

Finally, might these ideas dovetail into the idea of providing learning hubs — where Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) could be synchronously or asynchronously presenting information (in a digital/virtual manner) and leading a discussion for those who are seated and learning together in a physical setting? 

 

 

Five Minute Film Festival: Video Boot Camp — from edutopia.org by Bill Selak

Excerpt:

The rapid adoption of devices in the classroom has fundamentally changed the way we can create video. Every part of the creation process — writing, recording, editing, and distributing — is possible on the devices that can fit in our pocket. Vision is the most dominant of the five senses. Research shows that concepts are better remembered if they are taught visually. This is called the pictorial superiority effect, and it’s why video is such a powerful learning tool.

A video is created three times: when you write it, when you shoot it, and when you edit it. There are several formats that can be used to write a script for the classroom: a Google Doc, a dedicated app (ex: Storyboards), a Google Form, or a production organization document. Whichever format is used, emphasis should be placed on how it will be used in the classroom, and what the goal of the video is. When recording, it is important to incorporate basic rules of composition, such as the rule of thirds, into your video. Being aware of the environment (basic concepts like lighting and room tone) makes it easier to edit.

Curating content is another significant way to incorporate video into your classroom. If you don’t have the time or software to make a fancy video, odds are someone has already made it and shared it on YouTube. This Film Festival is equal parts curation and creation.

 

From DSC:
This is a nice collection of resources and tips to help you and your students further develop your new media literacy.

 

 

 

 

How do we create an advanced experience ecosystem? — from uxmag.com by Dallas Sargent

Excerpt:

“The Internet of Things is interesting because it forces us to rethink the interaction paradigms we have with objects—that is, something is different about our engagement with a smart object versus a ‘dumb’ one,” writes Thomas Wendt in his recent UX Magazine article, “Internet of Things and the Work of the Hands.”

Whatever you choose to call the grayish area sitting at the intersection of wearable technology, customizable sensors, and enhanced connectivity, it seems likely that this is where the next major breakthroughs in experience design will take place. Cisco estimates that by 2020, there will be 50 billion things connected to the Internet, so whether we settle on the “Internet of Things,” “The Internet of Everything,” or an “Experience Ecosystem,” the space is primed for explosive growth.

As Wendt notes, there is something different about interacting with smart objects and, “It’s our job to understand what that something is.” That something has been illusive in recent years, with users adopting to wearable tech slowly and a noticeable lack of sophisticated communication between objects. After all, an object sharing information with your smartphone or tablet only constitutes a relationship, it takes many more overlapping relationships to create an ecosystem.

 

Also see:

Apple pioneer Bill Fernandez on Google Glass, Oculus Rift and the look of the future — from cnet.com by Jason Hiner
In his time at Apple, Bill Fernandez helped develop technologies that have shaped modern computing. He also has a keen perspective on what’s next.

Excerpt:

“The true user interface is the gestalt of many things: industrial design, ergonomics, internal hardware, performance, error handling, visual design, interaction, latency, reliability, predictability, and more. For this reason I’m glad to see my profession moving from the concept of user “interface” (where the user interacts with the screen) to user ‘experience’ (where more the above factors are considered),” said Fernandez.

“I can design the best user interface in the world on paper, but if it’s not implemented well by the hardware and software engineers (e.g. the product is slow or buggy) then the product will fail. If you do a really good job of designing a product then everyone who sees it thinks it’s so obvious that they could have done it themselves.”

“So there will be a seamless, multimodal UI experience using sight, sound, voice, head motion, arm movement, gestures, typing on virtual keyboards, etc. There have been pieces of this in research for decades. Only now are we beginning to see some of these things emerge into the consumer market: with Google Glass, Siri, etc. We have further to go, but we’re on the road.”

 

From DSC:
I’m intrigued with the overlay (or should I say integration?) of services/concepts similar to IFTTT over the infrastructure of machine-to-machine communications and sensors such as iBeacons. I think we’re moving into entirely new end user experiences and affordances enabled by these technologies. I’m looking for opportunities that might benefit students, teachers, faculty members, and trainers.

 

LearningNowTV-Nov2014

 


From their website:
(emphasis DSC)

LEARNING NOW tv is a live-streamed internet tv channel bringing you inspirational interviews, debates and round tables, and advice and guidance on real world issues to keep you up-to date in the world of learning and development.

Membership to the channel is FREE. You will be able to interact with us on our social channel during the live stream as well as having a resource of the recorded programmes to refer to throughout the year.

Learning Now tv is run and produced by some of the L&D world’s leading experts who have many years’ experience of reporting the real-world issues for today’s learning and development professionals.

 

I originally saw this at Clive Sheperd’s posting:
TV very much alive for learning professionals

 

 

Also see:

 

MYOB-July2014

 

 

 

 

This new service makes me think of some related graphics:

 

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

StreamsOfContent-DSC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Addendum on 12/2/14 — from Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie – December 2, 2014 | #857

Idea – Courses in the Air:
There were representatives from airlines, Aviation Authorities and even Panasonic – which makes the interactive movie and TV systems on long distance airplanes.  So, I rolled out one of my “aha ideas” that I would love to see invented sometime: Courses in the Air.

What if a passenger could choose to take a mini-course on a 4 to 14 hour flight. It would be a MOOC in the Sky – with video, reading and interactive elements – and someday might even include a real time video chat function as well.  The learner could strive to earn a “badge” or roll them up into a certificate or degree program – that they pursued over several years of flights.  It would be an intriguing element to add to international travel.

 

MinervasClassroomOfTheFuture-11-24-14

 

Here’s a peek at the Minerva Project’s classroom of the future — from washingtonpost.com by Matt McFarland
Check out five ideas that could impact the way we live, work and play.

Excerpt:

“Think of the fanciest version of Google Hangouts or Skype designed to be a classroom,” explains a student. “It’s very different than a traditional classroom, but in a way it’s what a traditional classroom distilled down to its purest form I feel like would look like,” says another.

 

 

Also see:

 

Minerva-Sep2014

 

Seed Rapid Prototyping Kit – build connected products quickly and easily — with thanks to Joanna Wasiluk for posting the tweet below

 

 

From DSC:
Applying this concept towards learning spaces, such machine-to-machine communications would provide personalized room settings per professor, teacher, or trainer. Excellent.

 

 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian