Canada

How to keep your university’s doors open [Ahluwalia]

On 01/09/2015, in 21st century, business side of he, Canada, change, changing business models, colleges, dangers of the status quo, higher education, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Post #1: How to keep your university’s doors open — from linkedin.com by Amrit Ahluwalia

Excerpt:

Over the course of this three-part series, I will address three foundational questions that lay the groundwork for any discussion around improving operational efficiency in higher ed:

Why is efficiency critical for today’s colleges and universities?
What is efficiency and what are its impacts?
How can institutions become more efficient?

So, first things first: why should postsecondary administrators even be thinking about efficiency?

Post #2

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The benefits to making these kinds of changes are innumerable. As a starting point, improving operational efficiency helps colleges and universities transform into nimble and responsive organizations, facilitating their expansion into new marketplaces.

Post #3

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Despite the tendency for higher education to be slow-moving, today’s market realities demand action, change and transformation.
…
Creating a roadmap to improving efficiency can be a challenge, though. From my perspective, what’s needed is a culture change that permeates every level of the institution.

TheTrimtabInHigherEducation-DanielChristian

Addendum on 1/12/15:

From DSC:
We/you don’t want to be looking like this!

Thomas Browning Rose captures a bleak, abandoned college

.

Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

.

108994-8547308-untitled-1149-2

108994-8547426-untitled-1194-2

Also, from the press release (emphasis DSC):

Signul, the World’s First Complete Consumer iBeacon Solution, Unveils IFTTT Integration
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Oct. 28, 2014) – IoT Design Shop, the Internet of Things innovation centre at Finger Food Studios, today announced that it is actively developing an IFTTT Channel for Signul, the world’s first personal consumer iBeacon solution. IFTTT is an online service that allows users to create tasks that combine different Internet-based services from one platform.

Signul is a complete package of hardware and an easy-to-use App. By integrating with IFTTT, Signul users will be able to easily initiate automation in other IFTTT Channels. For example, Signul will turn on your lights as you pull into your garage or turn on your home’s air conditioner or heater when you leave work.

“Our goal is to help people simplify and automate their digital lives and integrating with IFTTT dramatically expands the potential of Signul. Based on the simple premise of ‘IF This Then That’, IFTTT is quickly becoming the leading web-based automation service. And with our own Channel, users can easily use Signul to connect with some of the most popular Internet of Things devices in the marketplace,” said Trent Shumay, CTO of Finger Food Studios.

From DSC:
This is the same concept that I was trying to get at my “What if we were to combine “If This Then That” with iBeacons/sensors?” blog posting. This concept has enormous potential for learning at all levels — K-12, higher ed, and in the corporate/business world. It gets at the intersection/blending of the physical world with the digital world. Where you are and what you are near will allow you to automatically bring up relevant resources.

One can see this concept being played out in things like campus tours, in setting up and running chemistry or physics experiments, in touring art galleries, and more. And if it’s implemented with a level of intrigue and digital storytelling baked into it, this could be a very powerful way to engage our students (as well as employees)! In fact, such a concept has implications for ubiquitous, lifelong learning.

DanielChristian-Combining-Digital-Physical-Worlds-Oct2014

Stephen Downes: ‘This is the next era of learning’ — from online-educa.com

Excerpts:

This year we are building on work we have undertaken over the last few years to develop and deploy the next generation of learning technologies, which we are calling ‘learning and performance support systems’. This is the outcome of an internal prototype called Plearn – ‘Personal Learning Environment and Research Network’ – and develops the idea of learning support based on personal and individual needs. This is not simply ‘personalised’ learning, it is a step beyond that. Rather than offering a customised version of some generic offering, we propose to enable each learner to develop their own custom programme from the ground up.

Our application, which launches in a limited beta September 30, provides individual learners with the tools and support necessary to access learning from any number of providers – not just educational institutions, but also their friends and mentors, their current and future employers, community and social programmes, and much more. Built on current and evolving learning technology standards, it provides access to MOOCs, to traditional learning management systems, to stand-alone courses and software, and even to the world of the Internet of things.

At the core of LPSS is a system we call the ‘personal learning record’ (PLR). A person’s LPSS system keeps track of everything related to learning – exercises followed, tests taken, games and simulations attempted, work read – and stores that all in a single location. In this way, unlike a learning management system, it combines data from the learning environment, the work environment and even the social environment, thus enabling adaptive learning software to close the loop between learning and performance. The PLR is also combined with a learner’s personal library and their personal e-portfolio, and links to credentials offered by and stored by learning institutions, employers, and social network activities, such as badges.

Also see:

With a shout out to
Ana Cristina Pratas for her Scoop on this

Also see:

Internet Trends 2014 — Mary Meeker [KPCB]

On 05/29/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Asia, business, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, data related items, disruption, emerging technologies, Europe, global / globalization, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, innovation, interactivity, internet, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, pace of change, platforms, social media, society, strategy, streams of content, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, television, trends, TVs, UK, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Example slides:

These are the surprising jobs you’ll be doing by the 2030s [Dvorsky]

On 05/22/2014, in Canada, career development, future, robotics, workplace, by Daniel Christian

These are the surprising jobs you’ll be doing by the 2030s — from io9.com by George Dvorsky

These Are The Surprising Jobs You'll Be Doing By The 2030s

Excerpt:

As our technological and sociological realities change, so too do our jobs. But just what, exactly, will we be doing 15 years from now? Here are some completely unexpected jobs you’ve almost certainly never heard of—but likely will soon.

Indeed, the landscape of careers is changing. But knowing which vocations are around the corner is not obvious. This is why the Canadian Scholarship Trust, as part of its Inspired Minds campaign, recently collaborated with the foresight experts at Idea Couture (a team that included scifi author Karl Schroeder). Together, they came up with 10 jobs that are likely to appear within the next 15 years or so, along with the skills and education required.

The end result is Careers 2030—an intriguing piece of speculative work designed to inspire conversations—between parents and kids, teachers and students, and so on—about what the world of work might look like in the near future. To learn more, we contacted Jayar LaFontaine, a Foresight Strategist at Idea Couture.

From DSC:
As this article illustrates, we need to be more inventive in the jobs that we think of, create, recognize, and pay for.

20 forecasts for 2014-2030 from the World Future Society
Trends and breakthroughs likely to affect your work, your investments, and your family

Excerpts:

At the outset, let me say that futurists do not claim to predict precisely what will happen in the future. If we could know the future with certainty, it would mean that the future could not be changed. Yet this is the main purpose of studying the future: to look at what may happen if present trends continue, decide if this is desirable, and, if it’s not, work to change it.

The main goal of studying the future is to make it better. Trends, forecasts, and ideas about the future enable you to spot opportunities and threats early, and position yourself, your business, and your investments accordingly.

How you can succeed in the age of hyperchange
Look how quickly our world is transforming around us. Entire new industries and technologies unheard of 15 years ago are now regular parts of our lives. Technology, globalization, and the recent financial crisis have left many of us reeling. It’s increasingly difficult to keep up with new developments—much less to understand their implications.

And, if you think things are changing fast now, you haven’t seen anything yet.

In this era of accelerating change, knowledge alone is no longer the key to a prosperous life. The critical skill is foresight.

7 ways to spot tomorrow’s trends today

Scan the media to identify trends
Analyze and extrapolate trends
Develop scenarios
Ask groups of experts
Use computer modeling
Explore possibilities with simulations
Create the vision

Layar now on Google Glass (From DSC: Consider the educationally-related applications of these techs.)

On 03/20/2014, in Augmented Reality (AR), Canada, chemistry, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Europe, Google, by Daniel Christian

Layar’s industry leading Augmented Reality app now available on Google Glass — from layar.com

Excerp:

AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, TORONTO – March 19th, 2014 – Layar, the world’s number one provider of Augmented Reality (AR) and Interactive Print products and services, today announced the availability of its industry leading mobile app on Google Glass. Glass users can go to Layar.com/Glass to download the app and see instructions for how to install it. By just saying “Ok Glass, scan this,” users can easily experience any of the platform’s over 200,000 Interactive Print pages and 6,000 location-based Geo Layers.

With Interactive Print, static print content comes alive with videos, photo slideshows, links to buy and share and immersive 3D experiences. Glass users can now access Layar’s rapidly growing platform of Interactive Print campaigns, including magazines like Men’s Health, Inc. and Glamour, as well as newspapers, advertising, art and more. Geo Layers allow users to see location-based information – including points-of-interest like local real restate listings, geotagged media like nearby photos and tweets, 3D art and more – in an augmented, “heads up” view using the camera on the Glass device.

Excerpt of video:

From DSC:
Using Layar’s Creator app, there could be numerous and creative applications of these technologies within the realm of education. For example, in a Chemistry class, one could have printouts of some of the types of equipment one would use in an experiment.

Looking at a particular piece of paper (and having loaded the app) would trigger a pop-up with that piece of equipment’s name, function, and/or other information as well as which step(s) of the experiment that you will be using that piece of equipment on.

Or, one could see instructions for how to put things together using this combination of tools. A set of printed directions could pop up a quick video for how to execute that step of the directions. (I sure could have used that sort of help in putting together our daughter’s crib I tell ya!)

Ten programs to help your child become more entrepreneurial (Johne)

On 03/19/2014, in business, Canada, career development, communications, entrepreneurship, innovation, student-related, United States, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Ten programs to help your child become more entrepreneurial — from Marjo Johne

Excerpt:

You’re never too young to learn the lessons of entrepreneurship. Education and business leaders say that even kids who don’t aspire to run their own business will have a competitive edge later in life if they’re armed with entrepreneurial skills such as innovative thinking, financial literacy and effective communication.

So where can kids today pick up these valuable skills? Here’s our list of top 10 entrepreneurship programs for young Canadians, from kindergarten tots to high school teens.

From DSC:
Though the target audience here is Canadians, the topic applies to most every nation in the world. Today’s youth will need to be able to pivot, to change on a dime, to freelance. In fact, Intuit’s 2020 study shows that within the U.S., the workforce will be 40%+ contingent workers by 2020.

Another workforce related item:

New Problems, New Approaches: The Rise of the Generalist — from innovationexcellence.com by Reuven Gorsht
Excerpt:
Almost every company as we know it has specialist organizations to support its business priorities. Organizations such as Finance, HR, IT and Marketing have been in existence for as long as we can remember. In most companies, domain expertise, efficiency and process execution dominate the agenda for these organizations. You get hired, promoted and measured based on your expertise and value-add in your particular specialization. This is all good, but what happens when the organization needs to solve a big hairy problem or launches a new business model that requires all-hands on deck? While some companies have been successful in bringing together cross-functional teams to work together towards a common goal, the teams often have limited perspective and the lack of the capability to connect the dots. The result: problems are not getting fixed.

Look back in anger? A review of online learning in 2013 [Bates]

On 12/16/2013, in Canada, higher education, online learning, teaching & learning, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Look back in anger? A review of online learning in 2013 — from Tony Bates

Excerpt:

No single solution to this issue seems to have been found, but many Canadian institutions now have established central units that report to the Provost and serve the faculties directly. As well as including support for online learning, these units now also cover general faculty development as well as distance learning. This has the advantage of facilitating the transfer of teaching innovations from one academic department throughout the institution. In some institutions these centres for teaching, learning and technology have grown rapidly, with some numbering more than 60 staff.

From DSC:
This solid posting from Dr. Tony Bates also includes a recap of his top postings for 2013:

13,190

What’s right and what’s wrong about Coursera-style MOOCs (2012)

8,814

Can you teach ‘real’ engineering at a distance? (2009)

5,800

What Is Distance Education? (2008)

5,652

The world’s largest supplier of free online learning? (2012)

5,146

Outlook for online learning in 2013:

5,138

Online learning in California generates controversy

4,992

What’s going on at Athabasca University?

3,440

MOOCs, MIT and Magic

3,226

E-learning quality assurance standards,… and research (2010)

2,977

Stephen Downes: Heading up a new initiative in Canada where individuals can access/get credit for learning from any education provider at all

On 12/10/2013, in 21st century, Canada, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, new business models, professional development, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Learning and Performance Support Systems — from Stephen Downes

Excerpt:

This post is to introduce you to our Learning and Performance Support Systems program, a new $19 million 5-year initiative at the National Research Council that I will be leading.

If I had to depict LPSS in a nutshell, I would describe it as a combination of the MOOC project we’ve been working on over the last few year, as well as our work in Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). The objective is to build a system where individuals can access, and get credit for, learning from any education provider at all, whether from home, the workplace, or at a school.

What follows is a version of the case we presented to NRC senior executive in order to have this program approved. They supported our proposal, and for the last few weeks I have been engaged in developing the program implementation with a large team of NRC colleagues.

…

Learning and Performance Support Systems
The LPSS program will deliver software algorithms and prototypes that enable Canada’s training and development sector to offer learning solutions to industry partners that will address their immediate and long term skills challenges.

…

I originally saw this via Tony Bates at:

Massive funding for the development of Canadian online training tools and services

From DSC:
Congratulations Stephen! May these efforts help many people reinvent themselves and stay marketable — while helping them pursue their gifts, passions, abilities.

Also see:

The Slow Death of the Carnegie Unit & the Future of Education — from etale.org by Bernard Bull
Excerpt:
Consider that the Carnegie Unit preceded the contemporary concept of learning objectives, outcomes, or standards (which have their own potential forthcoming disruptions).

State of Play: The Multiplatform Transmedia Industry [Hayes]

On 11/16/2013, in Australia, Canada, transmedia, by Daniel Christian

State of Play: The Multiplatform Transmedia Industry — from personalizemedia.com by Gary Hayes; with thanks to the Scoop on this by The Digital Rocking Chair
The State of Play of the Multiplatform / Transmedia Industry across 10 scales of measurement

Also see:

Navigating the Expanding Transmedia Multiplatform Universe and State of the Industry — some of Gary’s slides from his keynote presentation at the 2013 Merging Media conference

A new pedagogy is emerging..and online learning is a key contributing factor — from Contact North ; with thanks to Stephen Downes (@oldaily) for putting this on The MOOC Newsletter

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What is clear is that major changes in the way we teach post-secondary students are being triggered by online learning and the new technologies that increase flexibility in, and access to, post-secondary education.

…

What drives the development of this new pedagogy? Changes in society, student expectations, and technology are motivating innovative university and college professors and instructors to re-think pedagogy and teaching methods.

…

As professors and instructors become more familiar with digital technologies for teaching and learning, pedagogical challenges and strategies are emerging. The developments listed below have had an impact on how teaching is structured and how and where learning happens.

What happened in online learning over the summer? [Parts 1, 2, and 3 by Tony Bates]

On 08/20/2013, in adjunct faculty, Canada, community colleges, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, society, universities, by Daniel Christian

What happened in online learning over the summer? – 2 — by Tony Bates

Excerpt:

MOOCs
Peters, M. (2013) Massive Open Online Courses and Beyond: the Revolution to Come Truthout, August 17

This is an excellent, comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of where MOOCs are going.

What Michael Peters does is to set MOOCs within ‘a wider set of socio-technological changes that might be better explained within a theory of postindustrial education focusing on social media as the new culture.‘

.

Also see:

What happened in online learning in the summer? – 1 — by Tony Bates
What happened in online learning in the summer? – 3 — by Tony Bates

iPad still dominates in latest tablet web usage numbers — from ipadinsight.com by Patrick Jordan

From DSC:
This is especially important data given the ever increasing trend towards mobility as well as when you are considering which ecosystem(s) to build up and around (i.e. consider things such as BYOD, what apps and platforms your students are going to develop for, digital textbooks, smartphone/tablet-based “clickers,” etc.)

My reflections on Katherine Brodsky’s interesting article: “The new storytelling frontier”

On 06/11/2013, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, Canada, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, immersion, innovation, interactivity, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, memory, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, online media, participation, play, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, story, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, television, transmedia, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

The New Storytelling Frontier — from huffingtonpost.ca by Katherine Brodsky

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Long gone are the days of static content. Consumers are looking for more and transmedia storytelling offers an increasingly popular approach for creating property-based universes. Transmedia content itself is also evolving. It’s becoming more dynamic, more interactive, offering greater opportunities to engage audiences with creative user-generated content that adds to the storytelling experience. It is becoming more communal.

…

Although traditional models allow for greater control of content, strategies that can engage fans more actively and allow them to express themselves and even contribute to the development of a show, get them more involved and, ultimately, more willing to buy in.

From DSC:
As the use of storytelling is a powerful tool for learning, I can’t help but wonder…

What might be some creative possibilities arising from the developing world of transmedia that students and/or educational organizations could develop?
In what ways could we build more interactivity and social networking into our “digital textbooks” and mobile-based applications?
Would transmedia-based content help maintain interest, engagement, attention?
Would it help establish longer term memories/recall?
How might it help build students creativity and foster more experimentation/play/participation?
What roles might students play? (Writer, videographer, sound designer, actress, programmer, game designer, project manager, entrepreneur, etc.)
What tools and skills would students need to create their own transmedia-based experiences?
What new forms of storytelling might evolve from these efforts?
Could transmedia work its way into blended learning models?
Are new opportunities for immersing oneself in a particular subject matter becoming more available through transmedia-based experiences?
Could streams of content be wrapped in transmedia-based experiences?

Learning Ecosystems

How to keep your university’s doors open [Ahluwalia]

This concept has HUGE implications for learning at all levels [K-12, HE, corporate world/training & dev]

These are the surprising jobs you’ll be doing by the 2030s [Dvorsky]

20 forecasts for 2014-2030 from the World Future Society

Layar now on Google Glass (From DSC: Consider the educationally-related applications of these techs.)

Look back in anger? A review of online learning in 2013 [Bates]

State of Play: The Multiplatform Transmedia Industry [Hayes]

What happened in online learning over the summer? [Parts 1, 2, and 3 by Tony Bates]

iPad still dominates in latest tablet web usage numbers [Jordan] — esp. important when considering ecosystems

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