blended learning

Reflections on “Beacons at the museum: Pacific Science Center to roll out location-based Mixby app next month” [Bishop]

On 09/03/2014, in 21st century, active learning, art, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), participation, platforms, real-world assignments, tablets, teaching & learning, technology (general), training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), workplace, by Daniel Christian

Beacons at the museum: Pacific Science Center to roll out location-based Mixby app next month — from geekwire.com by Todd Bishop

Excerpt:

Seattle’s Pacific Science Center has scheduled an Oct. 4 public launch for a new system that uses Bluetooth-enabled beacons and the Mixby smartphone app to offer new experiences to museum guests — presenting them with different features and content depending on where they’re standing at any given moment.

Also see:

Pacific Science Center to Debut New Digital Experience — from pacificsciencecenter.org

From DSC:
The use of location-based apps & associated technologies (machine-to-machine (M2M) communications) should be part of all ed tech planning from here on out — and also applicable to the corporate world and training programs therein.

Not only applicable to museums, but also to art galleries, classrooms, learning spaces, campus tours, and more. Such apps could be used on plant floors in training-related programs as well.

Now mix augmented reality in with location-based technology. Come up to a piece of artwork, and a variety of apps could be launched to really bring that piece to life! Some serious engagement.

Digital storytelling. The connection of the physical world with the digital world. Digital learning. Physical learning. A new form of blended/hybrid learning. Active learning. Participation.

Addendum on 9/4/14 — also see:

Aerohive Networks Delivers World’s First iBeacon™ and AltBeacon™ – Enabled Enterprise Wi-Fi Access Points
New Partnership with Radius Networks Delivers IoT Solution to Provide Advanced Insights and Mobile Experience Personalization

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aerohive Networks® (NYSE:HIVE), a leader in controller-less Wi-Fi and cloud-managed mobile networking for the enterprise market today announced that it is partnering with Radius Networks, a market leader in proximity services and proximity beacons with iBeacon™ and AltBeacon™ technology, to offer retailers, educators and healthcare providers a cloud-managed Wi-Fi infrastructure enabled with proximity beacons. Together, Aerohive and Radius Networks provide complementary cloud platforms for helping these organizations meet the demands of today’s increasingly connected customers who are seeking more personalized student education, patient care and shopper experiences.

Also:

Building Proximity Applications with iBeacon — from shop.oreilly.com
Pinpoint Location Services with Bluetooth Low Energy
By Matthew Gast
Publisher: O’Reilly Media
May 2014

Some innovative ideas in this concept video of the future classroom

On 08/25/2014, in 21st century, blended learning, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, learning spaces, smart classrooms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
With thanks to Mr. Jeff Finder at
Faculty Row for this resource!

Also, take note of how
interdisciplinary this piece is,
encompassing Daniel Nemroff’skills
in filmmaking, visual effects,
photography, & graphic design — but also
his visionary thinking and his awareness
of what might be effective uses of
educational technologies.

Best of Beacons – August 1 Video Edition [Jason Smith]

On 08/05/2014, in Apple, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), business, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, hybrid learning, interactivity, machine-to-machine communications, marketing/social marketing, by Daniel Christian

Harvard MOOCs up ante on production quality — from educationnews.org by Grace Smith

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

It’s called HarvardX, a program begun two years ago, that films professors who are creating lessons that act as an adjunct to their coursework. The catch is, the production value is equally proportioned to the subject matter. The underproduced in-class lecture being filmed by a camera at the back of the lecture hall is being updated, in a big way.

Two video studios, 30 employees, producers, editors, videographers, composers, animators, typographers, and even a performance coach, make HarvardX a far cry from a talking head sort of online class.

The Harvard idea is to produce excellent videos, on subject matters that might be difficult to pull off in a lecture hall or class. Then, to bring these videos into the class for enrichment purposes. An example is Ulrich’s online class, “Tangible Things”.

Also see:

Sea change of technology: Education — from the Harvard Gazette, Christina Pazzanese, May 26, 2014

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

After centuries of relative torpor, technology breakthroughs have begun to reshape teaching and learning in ways that have prompted paradigm shifts around pedagogy, assessment, and scholarly research, and have upended assumptions of how and where learning takes place, the student-teacher dynamic, the functions of libraries and museums, and the changing role of scholars as creators and curators of knowledge.

“There are massive changes happening right now,” said Robert A. Lue, the Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and faculty director of HarvardX (harvardx.harvard.edu). “What has brought it into particularly tight focus now is that the revolution in online education has raised a whole host of very important questions about: What do students do with faculty face-to-face; what is the value of the brick-and-mortar experience; and how does technology in general really support teaching and learning in exciting, new ways? It’s been a major catalyst, if you will, for a reconsideration of how we teach in the classroom.”

…

Classrooms of the future are likely to resemble the laboratory or studio model, as more disciplines abandon the passive lecture and seminar formats for dynamic, practice-based learning, Harvard academicians say.

“There’s a move away from using the amphitheater as a learning space … toward a room that looks more like a studio where students sit in groups around tables, and the focus is on them, not on the instructor, and the instructor becomes more the ‘guide outside’ rather than the ‘sage onstage,’ facilitating the learning process rather than simply teaching and hoping people will learn,” said Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

It’s a shift that’s changing teaching in the humanities as well. “It’s a project-based model where students learn by actually being engaged in a collaborative, team-based experience of actually creating original scholarship, developing a small piece of a larger mosaic — getting their hands dirty, working with digital media tools, making arguments in video, doing ethnographic work,” said Jeffrey Schnapp, founder and faculty director of metaLAB (at) Harvard, an arts and humanities research and teaching unit of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

From DSC:
HarvardX is a great example of using teams to create and deliver learning experiences.

Also, the “Sea change…” article reminded me of the concept of learning hubs — whereby some of the content is face-to-face around a physical table, and whereby some of the content is electronic (either being created by the students or being consumed/reviewed by the students). I also appreciated the work that Jeff Schnapp is doing to increase students’ new media literacy skills.

Elucidating blended learning on Khan Academy [Horn]

On 05/05/2014, in blended learning, education, education reform, education technology, hybrid learning, K-12 related, by Daniel Christian

Elucidating blended learning on Khan Academy — from educationnext.org by Michael Horn

Excerpt:

At its simplest, people understand the basic “what”: that blended learning is about combining online learning with traditional schools to create an integrated learning experience, but they too often overlook how important it is to the definition that students have some control over the time, place, path, and/or pace of their learning.

Similarly, too often many people think blended learning is all about the technology and don’t see blended learning as a key driver in changing the education system itself from a factory model that standardizes the way we teach and test to one that puts students at the center of their learning and can personalize for their different learning needs. Misconceptions abound.

…

In our latest effort to provide educators and the public with a meaningful understanding of what blended learning is, what it’s purpose can be, what it looks like, and how to go about designing a robust blended-learning environment that can personalize learning for students, we partnered with the Silicon Schools Fund once again to move the video work we’ve done on blended learning to the Khan Academy platform.

In this “course” on blended learning, we have modularized the video resources; they are now free and discoverable both as part of an integrated sequence as well as in discreet objects organized by topic, so that people can personalize their learning about blended learning to get the resource they need when they need it.

Also see:

7 ways to transform education by 2030 — from edudemic.com by Julie Wright

Here are 7 big ideas for transforming the educational experience before 2030:

Change the focus from rote learning – the memorization of specific facts and figures – to the development of lifelong learners who are able to think critically and solve problems.
Encourage learning through cross-disciplinary and collaborative projects that are relevant and useful to their community.
Create an environment where students work in fluid groupings that combine students of different ages, different abilities and different interests.
Shift the role of the teacher from “chalk-and-talk” orators to curators of learning, helping students grow their knowledge and skills.
Measure learning progress using qualitative assessments of a student’s skills and competencies, rather than using high-stakes examinations.
Ensure that all groups – teachers, parents, governments and students – have a seat at the table when building the framework for learning.
Empower students and teachers to experiment with new ideas in an environment where they can fail safely and develop confidence to take risks.

“Learning Hubs” — could be very powerful/beneficial, esp. for lifelong learners!

On 05/01/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, blended learning, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, hybrid learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The idea of a learning hub — where some of the learning content is accessed electronically and where some of the learning takes place in a face-to-face manner — seems to be picking up steam. Conceptually, it makes a huge amount of sense, especially if it’s done well. It combines the best of online learning and face-to-face learning. Though not new, blended or hybrid learning, has often been said to be the Holy Grail of learning. So some of the learning could be accessed remotely — via a live videoconference or via a previously recorded lecture — and some of the learning could take place around a table.

Let's take the best of both worlds -- online learning and face-to-face learning

With that in mind, it was interested to see the following postings:

N.Y. Public Library Plans Face-to-Face ‘Classes’ for MOOC Students — from chronicle.com by Steve Kolowich
Excerpt:
In a pilot program with Coursera, the New York Public Library plans to organize meet-ups at which people taking massive open online courses can gather and discuss the courses with help from “trained facilitators.”The partnership is part the MOOC company’s effort to build an infrastructure for in-person learning around its free online courses. Research has suggested that MOOC students who receive offline help earn higher scores on their assessments.
.
New Learning Hubs Locations Hosted by The New York Public Library and Seven Other International Partners– — coursera.com
Excerpt:
[On April 30th] we are happy to announce eight new Learning Hubs partners including The New York Public Library, the largest library system in the US and our first domestic Learning Hubs network. Fitting we think that one of our first US Learning Hubs partners is located in New York, Coursera’s most popular city in the world by enrollment with more than 50,000 users located in New York City and 160,000 in the greater state of New York!
…
We launched the Learning Hubs program last year to give communities around the world the ability to access online courses for free, and also to engage with others in a blended learning setting. We’ve since partnered with a total of 17 trusted institutions around the world including the US Department of State to establish physical spaces where students can access the necessary technology and a global community of learners.

From DSC:
Combine that vision with the vision that I’ve put forth on this blog before — and which the recent blog posting discusses below – and you have one pumped up learning environment!

What will the active learning classroom look like in the not-so-distant future? — from lakelandlearningtechnologies.wordpress.com

The next generation interactive classroom…

1) will support students bringing their smartphones and tablets (BYOD) into the classroom. Students can expect to interact with their peers and the content / media on-the-fly, at the same time, discovering new ways to use classroom and web-based technologies to support their own learning.

2) will be increasingly wireless. Apple TV is already being used in classrooms where students and their teachers share their assignments and class projects on high definition TV screens. Emerging wireless technologies such as 802.11 ac, mean faster connection speeds and improved quality of shared media.

3) will mean classrooms are more configurable around the people using them rather than the fixtures and technology in the room. The use of multiple surfaces fosters collaboration, creativity and design, permitting students and instructors the ability to display, capture and share these interactions.

New learning spaces are emerging as a blend of the formal and informal – with flexibility driving design.

Hypermedia storytelling — from kirkbowe.com
Museum exhibitions as dynamic storytelling experiences using the latest technology

Excerpt:

The secret of many great storytellers lies in their ability to adapt delivery to their audiences, even as they speak. Storytelling is at its best when it is not a one-way monologue but rather an experience which is shaped by the teller and the listener together. Underpinning this is the notion of real-time mutual discovery.

Great museum exhibitions tell great stories. But for practical reasons they lack a dynamic edge, unable to see the faces and hear the thoughts of the people walking around them. This is because many exhibitions are, to some extent, static place-holders for the mind and soul of the curator or curation team.

One of my passions is researching into how to use technology to bring a vibrant storytelling relationship to the fore. Recently, advances in certain areas of mobile technology have begun to show me that the potential is now there for the cultural heritage sector to take advantage of it.

…

But how about the cultural sector? Many museums have already experimented with mobile interaction through the use of printed codes, such as QR codes, which visitors must scan with their devices. Bluetooth Smart removes that cumbersome step: visitors need only be with proximity of a beacon in order for your app to provide them with the contextual information you wish to deliver. The technology has many different potential applications:

– Place a beacon in each room of the exhibition. Your app then triggers a screen of scene-setting background information for the room as the visitor enters. No need to have congestion points around wall-mounted text at the door.

– Place a beacon under selected objects or cases. As visitors walk up to the object, your app detects the beacon and provides commentary, video, or a three-dimensional representation of the object. No need for visitors to type in an object number to a traditional electronic guide.

From DSC:
This has major implications — and applications — for teaching and learning spaces! For blended/hybrid learning experiments. Such technologies can bridge the physical and virtual/digital worlds!

Another interesting application, providing access to published content from a specific location only:

Imaginative use of iBeacon gives bar patrons free access to Newsstand magazines

A new pedagogy is emerging… and online learning is a key contributing factor — from contactnorth.ca

Excerpt:

THREE EMERGING PEDAGOGICAL TRENDS
Underlying these developments are some common factors or trends:

1. A move to opening up learning, making it more accessible and flexible. The classroom is no longer the unique centre of learning, based on information delivery through a lecture.

2. An increased sharing of power between the professor and the learner. This is manifest as a changing professorial role, towards more support and negotiation over content and methods, and a focus on developing and supporting learner autonomy. On the student side, this can mean an emphasis on learners supporting each other through new social media, peer assessment, discussion groups, even online study groups but with guidance, support and feedback from content experts.

3. An increased use of technology not only to deliver teaching, but also to support and assist students and to provide new forms of student assessment.

It is important to emphasize that these are emerging pedagogical trends. More experimentation, evaluation, and research are needed to identify those that will have lasting value and a permanent effect on the system.

…

Impact on Student Learning
Student learning is the other key component of an emerging pedagogy, with their success as the goal of all our efforts.

What new demands are student making in terms of how they want to be taught and assessed and what are your responses?
What new roles are students taking in their online or hybrid learning and how has this changed your teaching practice?
What new strategies for and areas of student support are being built into course structures to facilitate effective online learning?

Classrooms & learning spaces of the future

On 02/01/2014, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, blended learning, Daniel S. Christian, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, experimentation, heutagogy, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, immersion, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, maker movement, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, play, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, student-related, tablets, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, trends, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I see the following items in the classrooms/learning spaces/”learning hubs” of the future:

iBeacon-like technology, quickly connecting the physical world with the online world (i.e. keep an eye on the Internet of Things/Everything in the classroom); this may take place via wearable technology or via some other means of triggering events
Remote presence
Access to Artifical Intelligence (AI)-based resources
Greatly enhanced Human Computer Interactions (HCI) such as gesture-based interactions as well as voice and facial recognition
Interactive walls
BYOD baked into almost everything (requiring a robust networking infrastructure)
More makerspaces (see below for examples)
Tables and chairs (all furniture really) are on wheels to facilitate room configuration changes
Setups that facilitate collaborative/group work

Below are some other recent items on this topic:

To Inspire Learning, Architects Reimagine Learning Spaces — from MindShift by Allison Arieff

MakerLab_web

Excerpt:

As K–12 schools refocus on team-based, interdisciplinary learning, they are moving away from standardized, teach-to-test programs that assume a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. Instead, there is a growing awareness that students learn in a variety of ways, and the differences should be supported. The students often learn better by doing it themselves, so teachers are there to facilitate, not just to instruct. Technology is there as a tool and resource, not as a visual aid or talking head.

3D printers and laser cutters?… it’s the classroom of the future — from standard.co.uk by Miranda Bryant

Rethinking our learning spaces — from rtschuetz.blogspot.com by Robert Schuetz

CC Wikimedia – Thelmadatter

Excerpt:

Heutagogy, unlike pedagogy, focuses on self-directed learning. As learning and education become more heutaogical, shouldn’t our learning spaces accommodate this shift? What are the features and characteristics that define a modern learning space? Notice, that I have not used the word classroom. Several days of researching this topic has challenged my thinking on the concept of classroom. This verbiage has been replaced with terms like; ideation lab, innovation space, maker pods, gamer zone, and learning sector. The concept of specific learning zones is not new.

The PresenterTouch Wall — from Ideum

Also see:

Clarity Matrix MultiTouch
Interactive LCD Video WallThe Clarity™ Matrix MultiTouch LCD Video Wall is an ultra-slim profile touch screen video wall ideal for public spaces or collaboration environments. Utilizing the latest touch technology, Clarity Matrix MultiTouch enables up to 32 touch points and allows multiple users to simultaneously interact with video wall without affecting other users.

Planar announces next generation Clarity Matrix LCD video wall system — from avinteractive.com

Planar announces next generation Clarity Matrix LCD video wall system

From DSC:
In addition to video walls and large multitouch surfaces…we need to start thinking about how we might integrate the Internet of Things (IoT) into the classroom. For example, what might occur if technologies like Apple’s iBeacon were in the blended/hybrid classroom? Tony goes to corner A, and up pops a video re: XYZ for him to check out on the large multitouch display. Tony then moves across the room, to another corner of the room, and up pops a quiz or an assignment related to what Tony saw in the first corner of the room. Available on one of the windows on the video wall is of a remote specialist on the subject. Tony clicks on the “Connect with specialist” button and finds himself in a videoconference with this remote specialist/tutor on a portion of the video wall.

As learning hubs* grow, these technologies might be very useful.

* where some of the content is electronically
delivered and where some of the content
is discussed in a face-to-face manner

Reflections on “The Campus of the Future: Hybrid and Lean” [Winkler]

On 01/15/2014, in adjunct faculty, blended learning, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, distance education, education technology, elearning, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, hybrid learning, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, organizational change, reinvent, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, staying relevant, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, UK, United States, universities, videoconferencing, virtual tutoring, by Daniel Christian

The Campus of the Future: Hybrid and Lean — from edcetera.rafter.com by Kirsten Winkler

Excerpt:

When people imagine the campus of the future, two main ideas seem to come up. On the one hand, the campus experience will be blended or hybrid, meaning that even with the majority of learning taking place online, there will still be demand for activities in a classic brick-and-mortar setting. On the other hand, the campus of the future will be more like a technology startup, focused on cutting expenses and running a lean operation.

Three recent articles in Education DIVE, The Times Higher Education, Slate and Inc. underline this trend.

The above article links to:

Internet mentors could supplant traditional lecturers — from timeshighereducation.co.uk by Jack Grove
Horizon Scanning study points to a ‘new kind of pedagogy’ in higher education by 2020

Excerpt:

Traditional lecturers may soon be replaced by networks of online mentors working for several universities, a new study predicts.

In the report, titled Horizon Scanning: What will higher education look like in 2020?, the Observatory on Borderless Education suggests that academic staff are likely to be employed part-time by several universities – often working remotely via the internet – rather than relying on a single employer.

…

With one undergraduate module, Forms of Identity, already taught via video conferencing to students at both institutions, the alliance “may be pointing the way to a new kind of pedagogy”, the report says.

“Undergraduate lectures, for example, may be delivered simultaneously to any number of participating institutions, either across a whole sector or indeed across borders,” it states.

From DSC:
With adjunct faculty members playing a significant role at many institutions of higher education, I could see a scenario like this occurring. In fact, even years ago I knew an adjunct faculty member who sat behind her PC all day, servicing students at multiple universities. I’m sure that this is not a rare occurrence. Plus, we are already above 30% of the workforce working in a freelance mode, with estimations of this going to 40% or more by 2020.

Learning hubs: (how I define it)
Places of blended/hybrid learning whereby some of the content is “piped in” or made available via the Internet and whereby some of the content is discussed/worked on in a face-to-face manner.

Questions:

What if learning hubs spring up in many types of facilities, such as in schools, libraries, buildings on campuses, corporate spaces, parks, cafes, other places? How might such a trend affect the possible scenario that there will be online mentors working for several universities?
Will these mentors make enough to cover insurance costs, retirement costs, etc.?
Will this be a potential model for lifelong learning? For learning-on-demand?
How might MOOCs — and what they morph into — affect this type of scenario?
How might this scenario affect how we teach student teachers? (Will it involve more efforts/endeavors like this one?)
Could this type of scenario also happen in the corporate world?

Last comment:

I’m not saying that this sort of setup is better than a seminar-like experience that has a dozen or so students setting down with a highly-trained professor in a strictly face-to-face setting. However, that model is increasingly unobtainable/unaffordable for many people.

Could this tech make life easier for teachers and pupils? — from cnbc.com by Anmar Frangoul

Four radically different models in higher ed worth considering [Morrison]

On 12/17/2013, in 21st century, blended learning, education technology, experimentation, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, hybrid learning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Four radically different models in higher ed worth considering — from onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com by Debbie Morrison

Excerpt:

Yet there are few models in practice that offer face-to-face education experiences that are truly transformational. However, I suggest the four models presented here are worth pondering; two created from scratch, and two that changed within an existing framework.

To reiterate, the institutions discussed here are not virtual schools, each provides face-to-face undergraduate learning experiences where technology is leveraged to facilitate learning. The schools are also committed to teaching foundational subjects—courses from the humanities, yet each provides unique learning experiences that challenge the traditional model in some way. Each institution takes a different approach, though all encourage learners to choose a learning path, to be self-directed, to follow their interests, and establish their own learning goals. All seek to engage young people in learning, prepare students to think critically and to guide them to find their passion.

The Internet of Things (IoT) in the classroom [Christian]

On 12/16/2013, in blended learning, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), personalized/customized learning, platforms, second screen apps, technology (general), tools, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
First some recent/relevant postings:

IFTTT’s ingenious new feature: Controlling apps with your location — from wired.com by Kyle VanHemert

An update to the IFTTT app lets you use your location in recipes. Image: IFTTT

Excerpt:

IFTTT stands athwart history. At a point where the software world is obsessed with finding ever more specialized apps for increasingly specific problems, the San Francisco-based company is gleefully doing just the opposite. It simply wants to give people a bunch of tools and let them figure it out. It all happens with simple conditional statements the company calls “recipes.” So, you can use the service to execute the following command: If I take a screenshot, then upload it to Dropbox. If this RSS feed is updated, then send me a text message. It’s great for kluging together quick, automated solutions for the little workflows that slip into the cracks between apps and services.

If This, Then That (IFTTT)

4 reasons why Apple’s iBeacon is about to disrupt interaction design — from wired.com by Kyle VanHemert

Excerpt:

You step inside Walmart and your shopping list is transformed into a personalized map, showing you the deals that’ll appeal to you most. You pause in front of a concert poster on the street, pull out your phone, and you’re greeted with an option to buy tickets with a single tap. You go to your local watering hole, have a round of drinks, and just leave, having paid—and tipped!—with Uber-like ease. Welcome to the world of iBeacon.

It sounds absurd, but it’s true: Here we are in 2013, and one of the most exciting things going on in consumer technology is Bluetooth. Indeed, times have changed. This isn’t the maddening, battery-leeching, why-won’t-it-stay-paired protocol of yore. Today we have Bluetooth Low Energy which solves many of the technology’s perennial problems with new protocols for ambient, continuous, low-power connectivity. It’s quickly becoming big deal.

The Internet of iThings: Apple’s iBeacon is already in almost 200 million iPhones and iPads — from forbes.com by Anthony Kosner

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Because of iBeacons’ limited range, they are well-suited for transmitting content that is relevant in the immediate proximity.

From DSC:
Along the lines of the above postings…I recently had a meeting whereby the topic of iBeacons came up. It was mentioned that museums will be using this sort of thing; i.e. approaching a piece of art will initiate an explanation of that piece on the museum’s self-guided tour application.

That idea made me wonder whether such technology could be used in a classroom…and I quickly thought, “Yes!”

For example, if a student goes to the SW corner of the room, they approach a table. That table has an iBeacon like device on it, which triggers a presentation within a mobile application on the student’s device. The students reviews the presentation and moves onto the SE corner of the room whereby they approach a different table with another/different iBeacon on it. That beacon triggers a quiz on the material they just reviewed, and then proceeds to build upon that information. Etc. Etc. Physically-based scaffolding along with some serious blended/hybrid learning. It’s like taking the concept of QR codes to the next level.

Some iBeacon vendors out there include:

Data mining, interaction design, user interface design, and user experience design may never be the same again.

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.

Learning Ecosystems

Some innovative ideas in this concept video of the future classroom

Best of Beacons – August 1 Video Edition [Jason Smith]

HarvardX using a collaborative, TEAM-based approach

“Learning Hubs” — could be very powerful/beneficial, esp. for lifelong learners!

Four radically different models in higher ed worth considering [Morrison]

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