collaboration

What Does “Learner-Centered” Higher Ed Really Look Like? Insights from Leaders at SXSW EDU — from wgulabs.org by Nicole Barbaro

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What does the future of higher ed look like? Leaders from across the education sector dove deep into this question at the annual SXSW EDU conference that was held in Austin, Texas [last] month. During his keynote session, US Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, echoed the need for transformation by stating, “We’re closer to a reset in education than ever before. Let’s not build back something that wasn’t working for everyone.”

So, how should higher ed build back?

As a “learner-centered” ecosystem. Leaders across education agree that we must put students at the center of our design. But what does it look like in practice to be learner-centered?

A learner-centered future breaks down institutional silos and works in networks to innovate and support students. And with the ubiquity of online learning in today’s higher ed ecosystem, there’s no reason not to collaborate. “There is no possible future in which online education is not an integral part of higher ed.” affirmed Executive Director of the University Innovation Alliance, Bridget Burns during a panel discussion at SXSW EDU.

Now we just need a “Likewise TV” for learning-related resources! [Christian]

On 03/29/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 5G, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Alternatives, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), Hyflex learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, law schools, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, marketplaces, media/film, microlearning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), online learning, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, skills, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, society, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, tools, TVs, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Likewise TV Brings Curation to Streaming — from lifewire.com by Cesar Aroldo-Cadenas
And it’s available on iOS, Android, and some smart TVs

All your streaming services in one place. One search. One watchlist. Socially powered recommendations.

Entertainment startup Likewise has launched a new recommendations hub that pulls from all the different streaming platforms to give you personalized picks.
…
Likewise TV is a streaming hub powered by machine learning, people from the Likewise community, and other streaming services. The service aims to do away with mindlessly scrolling through a menu, looking for something to watch, or jumping from one app to another by providing a single location for recommendations.
…
Note that Likewise TV is purely an aggregator.

Also see:

From DSC:
Now we need this type of AI-based recommendation engine, aggregator, and service for learning-related resources!

I realize that we have a long ways to go here — as a friend/former colleague of mine just reminded me that these recommendation engines often miss the mark. I’m just hoping that a recommendation engine like this could ingest our cloud-based learner profiles and our current goals and then present some promising learning-related possibilities for us. Especially if the following graphic is or will be the case in the future:

Here’s what I’ve learned about building skills and how skills shape your career.
A visual thread (1/11) ?

1. Degrees don’t age well. Your current skills and skill level tell organizations more about your real value. pic.twitter.com/Z1edxrYAB1

— Jeff Kortenbosch ?? (@jeffkortenbosch) March 13, 2022

Also relevant/see:

Samsung’s New M8 Monitor Combines Entertainment and Work — from lifewire.com by Cesar Cadenas

From DSC:
Some interesting/noteworthy features:

“The 32- inch display has Wi-Fi capabilities to supports multiple streaming services, can stream smartphone content, and comes with a removable SlimFit Cam.”
The M8 has Wi-Fi connectivity for its native streaming apps so you won’t have to connect to a computer to watch something on Netflix. And its Far Field Voice mic can be used w/ the Always On feature to control devices like Amazon Alexa with your voice, even if the monitor is off.
“You can also connect devices to the monitor via the SmartThings Hub, which can be tracked with the official SmartThings app.”

I wonder how what we call the TV (or television) will continue to morph in the future.

Addendum on 3/31/22 from DSC:
Perhaps people will co-create their learning playlists…as is now possible with Spotify’s “Blend” feature:

Today’s Blend update allows you to share your personal Spotify playlists with your entire group chat—up to 10 users. You can manually invite these friends and family members to join you from in the app, then Spotify will create a playlist for you all to listen to using a mixture of everyone’s music preferences. Spotify will also create a special share card that everyone in the group can use to save and share the created playlist in the future.

Intel plans to pump $100M into Ohio and US higher ed [Bauer-Wolf]

On 03/28/2022, in career development, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, funding / grants, higher education, skills, STEAM-related, United States, universities, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Intel plans to pump $100M into Ohio and US higher ed — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Dive Brief:

Technology giant Intel will provide $50 million in grants to Ohio colleges over the next decade, and it will spend another $50 million for development of STEM curricula at other two- and four-year institutions across the U.S.
The latter investment will be matched by the U.S. National Science Foundation, which is giving $50 million for research and curriculum initiatives. The entire pot of money will help establish semiconductor manufacturing education at institutions nationwide.
State leaders and the company are touting the funding as an opportunity to bolster workforce development amid a national worker shortage in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

The Conversation: Twitter Trends 2022 — from marketing.twitter.com

Excerpt:

Billions of Tweets reveal tomorrow’s big movements.

The biggest movements start quietly. An idea becomes conversation becomes a seismic cultural shift. And if you want in on what’s next, listen to what people on Twitter are saying right now.

To help you out, we analyzed¹billions of Tweets over a two-year period to find three must-know trends about to go big. From The Great Restoration to Fan-Built Worlds to Finance Goes Social, the talk on Twitter reveals the underlying shifts in power shaping where the world is going.

Best from the brightest: Key ideas & insights for L&P Professionals — from tier1performance.com by Will Thalheimer; with thanks to Christy Tucker for this resource
Gather your learning and performance team together, share conversations with your friends in the field—this trove of gold from 2021 is the bedrock for our evolving and improving work in 2022.

To help fight our FOMO (fear of missing out), I’ve asked 48 thought leaders in the L&P field to share their favorite content from 2021—stuff they created or were involved in, ideas they think are critically important to folks like you and me as L&P professionals. They shared articles, blog posts, podcast episodes, videos, and eLearnings. They also shared their recommendations for other thought leaders and other content—and the most important trends impacting our work for 2022.

I looked at every one of their recommendations and I am blown away by the insights you’ll find in the content shared below. This is a formidable treasure trove from some of the best minds in our field.

Will Thalheimer

You Sleuth is a family-friendly outdoor game that requires a moderate amount of walking. You can play by yourself or with a group of friends or family. If you are looking for something new that will stimulate your mind while sneaking in a little exercise and fresh air then register today. Read the rest of the FAQ for more details about how You Sleuth works.

From DSC:
What might this look/work like for learning-related applications? Also, if you are studying to be an actor or actress, might there be some new opportunities for you here!? If you are a writer, might there be some new sorts of collaborations opening up here? As the next version of the internet is developed, what new affordances/opportunities might exist in this area?

Amazon Boosts Upskilling Opportunities for Hourly Employees by Partnering with More Than 140 Universities and Colleges to Fully Fund Tuition

On 03/04/2022, in Amazon, collaboration, formal learning, funding / grants, higher education, reinvent, skills, society, by Daniel Christian

Amazon Boosts Upskilling Opportunities for Hourly Employees by Partnering with More Than 140 Universities and Colleges to Fully Fund Tuition — from press.aboutamazon.com

Excerpt:

Amazon employees in the U.S. will benefit from new Career Choice partnerships with Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University–Global, Western Governors University, National University, and numerous local universities
Amazon also partners with GEDWorks and Smart Horizons to provide employees with free high school completion and GED preparation, Voxy EnGen and goFLUENT to provide English language proficiency training, and Outlier to provide college preparation courses
New benefits are part of Amazon’s Career Choice program and move the company closer to meeting its Upskilling 2025 pledge—a $1.2 billion commitment to upskill more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025

Also see:

Amazon’s Employees Can Go to College, Free. What’s in It for Higher Ed? — from chronicle.com by Abbi Ross

Amazon’s announcement is an eye-catching development in the yearslong effort across higher education to enroll more adult learners and increase the share of the U.S. population that has some education beyond high school. While the jury’s still out on whether tuition-benefit programs deliver on all their promises, as most are relatively new, they have become an increasingly popular offering for major corporations. Last fall, Amazon announced a $1.2 billion investment to expand its efforts.

Amazon employees will have choices. They can enroll at a local participating college and take a few courses en route to a certificate or credential, or they can enroll in a full associate- or bachelor’s-degree program

From DSC:
After checking out the following two links, I created the graphic below:

Readability initiative > Better reading for all. — from Adobe.com
We’re working with educators, nonprofits, and technologists to help people of all ages and abilities read better by personalizing the reading experience on digital devices.
The Readability Consortium > About page

Also related/see:

Microsoft Education Unveils Expanded Literacy, Accessibility Tools for Students and Teachers — from thejournal.com by Kristal Kuykendall
Announcing an expanded literacy portfolio to reach every learner — from educationblog.microsoft.com by Paige Johnson
What Kids Are Reading — from renaissance.com

The best lighting for video conferencing, according to experts [Webex]

On 03/02/2022, in A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, business, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital video, distance education, education technology, higher education, ideas, instructional design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, legislatures / government / legal, library / librarians, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, tools, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, Virtual courts and law firms, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The best lighting for video conferencing, according to experts— from blog.webex.com

Contents:

What is the best lighting for video conferencing?
Where should the light be for a video call?
What kind of lighting is best for video meetings?
What are the best lighting products for a video conference?
What is the best lighting for video conferencing on-the-go?
Good lighting means good communication:

Accelerated Digital Skills and the ‘Bootcamp Boom’. [holoniq.com]

On 03/01/2022, in Africa, Alternatives, Asia, Australia, business, Canada, career development, changing business models, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, education technology, Europe, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, India, innovation, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, marketplaces, new business models, organizational change, platforms, programming, reinvent, skills, staying relevant, STEAM-related, technology (general), universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Accelerated Digital Skills and the ‘Bootcamp Boom’. — from holoniq.com
The market for accelerated digital skills is stepping up to a whole new level. Bootcamps, among others, are evolving rapidly to meet the opportunity.

Excerpt:

Tech Bootcamps re-skilled and up-skilled over 100,000 professionals globally in 2021, up from less than 20,000 in 2015. We expect this number to reach over 380,000 by 2025 representing over $3B of expenditure with significant upside as tech up-skilling models and modes overlap and converge. Governments, employers, universities and colleges everywhere are embracing rapid, high ROI training to build capacity in software, marketing, cyber and tech sales to drive their economies and growth.

Also from holoniq.com, see:

Global EdTech 1000. 2021 Stats and 2022 Applications Open
Benchmarking the 2021 Global EdTech 1000 as we open applications for 2022

Also relevant/see:

What’s the most effective way to find qualified tech candidates in unlikely places? — from

Why the World’s First Virtual Reality High School Changes Everything [Steve Grubbs]

On 03/01/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, accreditation, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), change, changing business models, collaboration, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, copyright/ownership/NFTs, creativity, credentialing, cryptocurrencies, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, graphics, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, interactivity, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, Metaverse, multimedia, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, parents/guardians, participation, platforms, simulations, social learning / networks, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, United States, vendors, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, wearables, web-based collaboration, Web3, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

Why the World’s First Virtual Reality High School Changes Everything — from steve-grubbs.medium.com by Steve Grubs

Excerpts:

The recipe required key ingredients to happen. In addition to an accredited school to manage students, admissions and the for-credit learning, it also needed a platform. That’s where EngageVR comes in. There are other platforms that will ultimately host schools, perhaps AltSpace, Horizon or others, but the first is on Engage.
…
The bottom line is this: creators, coders, educators, entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, parents and students all played a role in finally bringing the first global virtual reality high school to life. It won’t be the last school to open in the metaverse, but to all those involved in this inaugural launch — the Neil Armstrongs of your age — a special tip of the hat today for having the vision and the willingness to launch a better and more equitable era of education.

Also see:

World’s First Metaverse VR High School Speech & Debate Tournament Announced for March — from victoryxr.com
NFT in Edu: What Does the Future Hold? — from gettingsmart.com by Rachelle Dené Poth
Geo Guessing Is Even More Fun In VR On The Meta Quest — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

Preparing your business for the metaverse — from currency.com by Raphael Sanis

Contents

Also see:

Get Ready To Market In The Metaverse — from forbes.com by Sarah Malcolm
Exploring the metaverse: What laws will apply? — from dlapiper.com by Tom K. Ara, Mark F. Radcliffe, Michael Fluhr, & Katherine Imp
Meta’s AI Tech Lets You Craft VR Worlds With Your Voice — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
HTC Vive Announces Viveverse, A Cross-Platform Metaverse — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick

What Do We Mean by Accessibility, Inclusion & Belonging? [Howard]

On 02/27/2022, in accessibility / UDL, assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), collaboration, communities of practice, Emotion, neurodivergent/special needs, participation, by Daniel Christian

What Do We Mean by Accessibility, Inclusion & Belonging? — from inclusionhub.com by Jeffrey Howard
Accessibility, also referred to as a11y, is about ensuring systems are designed so everyone can fully participate in public or professional life, while inclusion means everyone has the resources and opportunities they need to realize that. Belonging goes one step further, fostering a culture where everyone feels accepted and supported.

Excerpts:

In this spirit, “a11y” has become a globally recognized rallying cry for greater accessibility—the 11 referring to the software engineering convention of shortening long words to the number of letters they use. A11y has transformed into a symbol for increased accessibility, inclusion, and belonging.

So, if accessibility ensures everybody has the means or tools to reach the table, and inclusion guarantees a seat and relevant opportunities, belonging encourages an emotionally and socially supportive space where each person feels welcome and valued.

It’s easy to tell the difference between when you feel merely tolerated and when you belong.

Why some teams boost motivation while others totally sap it — from psyche.co by Ann-Kathrin Torka, Jens Mazei, Joachim Hüffmeieris, and edited by Matt Huston. With thanks to Mr. Tom Barrett for this resource via his weekly newsletter.

Excerpts:

In contrast, when people perceive their contribution to the team’s outcome as indispensable, they tend to show greater effort than they would when working alone. These ‘effort gains’ can be due to team members aiming to be prosocial: they care about others and want to make a difference to the team. By helping their team succeed, members also feel better about themselves – they can see themselves as helpful and competent human beings.
…
Managers, instructors, coaches, and other leaders can use this knowledge to design teamwork that boosts team members’ efforts. Remember the student from the introduction: maybe she felt that she could not contribute much to the academic team because the project did not include a specific (sub-)taskfor her to work on and to feel responsible for. If the instructor or a teammate had broken down the project into subtasks for each member, she might have felt that her efforts were indispensable.

What Workplace Design Can Learn From Higher Education Facilities [Rudy & Foster]

On 02/19/2022, in business, change, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, design, health, higher education, learning spaces, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

What Workplace Design Can Learn From Higher Education Facilities — from workdesign.com by Sandi Rudy and James Foster

Excerpt:

Our built environments are always changing and evolving, but now more than ever, workplace design is experiencing a major identity crisis. While the concept of “going to the office” is no longer standard practice for many, for some, it will always be the preferred, and for most, having the option is a giant plus. But in the interest of ensuring the evolving nature of knowledge work and knowledge workplaces keeps pace with employee needs, workplace design can find inspiration in education facilities with now proven solutions for improved wellness and increased overall performance. And with this new way of thinking, perhaps workplace design will once again take the grade.

The adoption of and success with flexible furniture and spaces such as that in many higher ed environments, which accommodates a range of uses and learning or working styles is now influencing today’s office designs. Credit: Bob Pluckebaum

Learning Ecosystems

Best from the brightest: Key ideas & insights for L&P Professionals [Thalheimer]

You Sleuth = The game of Clue + Augmented Reality (AR). DC: What might this look/work like for learning-related applications?

Amazon Boosts Upskilling Opportunities for Hourly Employees by Partnering with More Than 140 Universities and Colleges to Fully Fund Tuition

What Do We Mean by Accessibility, Inclusion & Belonging? [Howard]

What Workplace Design Can Learn From Higher Education Facilities [Rudy & Foster]

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