digital learning

iBeacons in the classroom and on campus

On 09/29/2014, in 21st century, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, mobile technologies, Near Field Communication (NFC), tools, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The bridging of the physical world with the digital world presents many powerful scenarios for learning. Via the use of iBeacons (or similar devices), one could imagine students going to different places within a learning space and having a variety of relevant items and applications automatically open on their mobile devices.

Examples:

In a chemistry lab, students could go to the supplies area and see a video or a PDF listing of what they need for that day’s experiment — also taking in any warnings of the use of the equipment (hazardous materials, use of fire, etc.); then they could go to the hands-on lab area, and if they’ve struggled to do the experiment for _______ minutes, they could watch the first __ steps (or the experiment in its entirety); finally, the last area would initiate a webpage, video, or blog that summarizes what they should have learned and experienced if the lab was properly done
.
In an art gallery, the iBeacons could initiate a video from the artist on a particular piece, explaining what they were trying to achieve, what materials they used, how long it took them to create/design, and any inspirational messages that they want to relay to budding artists
.
On campus tours, iBeacons could control what takes place on a school’s Virtual Tour app
.

This video by Paul Hamilton captures a bit of what I’m trying to get at w/ the use of iBeacons in the classroom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S04viOYnSg4&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

Also see:

Building Applications with iBeacon
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920033813.do

Other resources to check out:

Getting Started with iBeacon — from apple.com
Introduction to iBeacon
iBeacon for developers — from apple.com
http://www.fosbury.co/beacon-comparison
Beacons at the museum: Pacific Science Center to roll out location-based Mixby app next month — from geekwire.com by Todd Bishop
Aerohive Networks Delivers World’s First iBeacon™ and AltBeacon™ – Enabled Enterprise Wi-Fi Access Points
Building Proximity Applications with iBeacon — from shop.oreilly.com ß does this look like something you all could do/want to do?
http://blog.fosbury.co/the-exciting-impacts-of-ios8-on-ibeacon
iBeacon and Education: Bringing Beacons to the Classroom
storify.com/Jason_Smith/
beekn.net
The blog out at roamable.ca
Creating an iBeacon proximity feature for mLearning — from roamable.ca
The Future of iBeacon: Trends for the Year Ahead – from beekn.net guest post by Stefan Wolpers

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:

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, 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, 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

The Evolution of Texting in Television and Film [Romano; Zhou]

On 08/26/2014, in digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, elearning, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, interface design, internet, media/film, television, training / L&D, TVs, user experience (UX), user interface design, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film — by Tony Zhou

Is there a better way of showing a text message in a film? How about the internet? Even though we’re well into the digital age, film is still ineffective at depicting the world we live in. Maybe the solution lies not in content, but in form.

From DSC:
With a shout out/thanks to Krista Spahr,
Senior Instructional Designer at Calvin College, for this resource

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.

2014 Student and Faculty Technology Research Studies — from educause.edu / ECAR

From the ECAR RESEARCH HUB
This hub contains the 2014 student and faculty studies from the EDUCAUSE Technology Research in the Academic Community research series. In 2014, ECAR partnered with 151 college/university sites yielding responses from 17,451 faculty respondents across 13 countries. ECAR also collaborated with 213 institutions to collect responses from more than 75,306 undergraduate students about their technology experiences.

Key Findings

Faculty recognize that online learning opportunities can promote access to higher education but are more reserved in their expectations for online courses to improve outcomes.
Faculty interest in early-alert systems and intervention notifications is strong.
The majority of faculty are using basic features and functions of LMSs but recognize that these systems have much more potential to enhance teaching and learning.
Faculty think they could be more effective instructors if they were better skilled at integrating various kinds of technology into their courses.
Faculty recognize that mobile devices have the potential to enhance learning.

Excerpts from infographic:

Could this relate to education/training as well? –> “Living social: How second screens are helping TV make fans” [nielsensocial.com]

On 08/06/2014, in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, learner profiles, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, media/film, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, streams of content, technologies for your home, television, TVs, by Daniel Christian

Living social: How second screens are helping TV make fans — from nielsensocial.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Television viewing used to be an experience strictly between viewer and show, with water cooler talk coming the day after. The rise of social TV has changed that relationship, and according to a study by Nielsen, more and more Americans are quickly warming up to this new behavior. With tablets, smartphones and laptops at their side, TV viewers can follow their favorite shows, share content and connect with fellow fans before, during and after a program.

From DSC:
Instead of TV/entertainment-oriented programs, how about a service that offers cloud-based, scaffolded streams of content that are more educational/training-related in nature, complete with digital playlists of interactive content that can be offered up on the main display, while lifelong learners interact and discuss the content via their PLNs, cohorted groups of learners within their learning hubs, etc.?

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

On 08/05/2014, in Apple, blended learning, 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

Reflections on “C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom” [Dreier]

On 07/21/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communities of practice, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, second screen apps, social learning / networks, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, telecommunications, television, training / L&D, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom — from streamingmedia.com by Troy Dreier
Business leaders now have an on-demand video network to call their own, thanks to one Bloomberg host’s online venture.

Excerpt:

Bringing some business acumen to the world of online video, C-Suite TV is launching today. Created by Bloomberg TV host and author Jeffrey Hayzlett, the on-demand video network offers interviews with and shows about business execs. It promises inside information on business trends and the discussions taking place in the biggest boardrooms.

The Future of TV is here for the C-Suite — from hayzlett.com by Jeffrey Hayzlett

Excerpt:

Rather than wait for networks or try and gain traction through the thousands of cat videos, we went out and built our own network.

See also:

Mind your own business
From the About page:
C-Suite TV is a web-based digital on-demand business channel featuring interviews and shows with business executives, thought leaders, authors and celebrities providing news and information for business leaders. C-Suite TV is your go-to resource to find out the inside track on trends and discussions taking place in businesses today. This online channel will be home to such shows as C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett, MYOB – Mind Your Own Business and Bestseller TV with more shows to come.

From DSC:
The above items took me back to the concept of Learning from the Living [Class] Room.

Many of the following bullet points are already happening — but what I’m trying to influence/suggest is to bring all of them together in a powerful, global, 24 x 7 x 365, learning ecosystem:

When our “TVs” become more interactive…
When our mobile devices act as second screens and when second screen-based apps are numerous…
When discussion boards, forums, social media, assignments, assessments, and videoconferencing capabilities are embedded into our Smart/Connected TVs and are also available via our mobile devices…
When education is available 24 x 7 x 365…
When even the C-Suite taps into such platforms…
When education and entertainment are co-mingled…
When team-based educational content creation and delivery are mainstream…
When self-selecting Communities of Practice thrive online…
When Learning Hubs combine the best of both worlds (online and face-to-face)…
When Artificial Intelligence, powerful cognitive computing capabilities (i.e., IBM’s Watson), and robust reporting mechanisms are integrated into the backends…
When lifelong learners have their own cloud-based profiles…
When learners can use their “TVs” to tap into interactive, multimedia-based streams of content of their choice…
When recommendation engines are offered not just at Netflix but also at educationally-oriented sites…
When online tutoring and intelligent tutoring really take off…

…then I’d say we’ll have a powerful, engaging, responsive, global education platform.

Transmedia and education: How transmedia is changing the way we learn

On 06/12/2014, in creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, ideas, innovation, interactivity, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, story, storytelling, by Daniel Christian

Transmedia and education: How transmedia is changing the way we learn — from thedigitalshift.com by Carolyn Sun

From

Transmedia -Illustration By Oanh Le

Excerpt:

Transmedia, a broad descriptive word that literally translated means “across media” and encompasses many strategies that transverse industries, is generally regarded as the use of multiple media platforms to tell a story or story experience. Though the word “transmedia” is thought to have entertainment franchise origins, its adaptation for education purposes is both valuable and becoming more and more common. While teachers like Sansing are using coding and programming in their language arts instruction, others are taking advantage of increasingly sophisticated apps and interactive media for classroom use.

Also see:

The Science of Storytelling [Infographic] — from socialtimes.com by Christie Barakat
The chemical and psychological makeup of our minds affects how we consume content: Our brains are wired to connect with compelling stories.

The New Digital Learning Playbook, Advancing College and Career Ready Skill Development in K-12 Schools [tomorrow.org]

On 06/05/2014, in 21st century, digital learning, education, education technology, engagement / engaging students, K-12 related, learning, online learning, parents/guardians, professional development, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

The New Digital Learning Playbook, Advancing College and Career Ready Skill Development in K-12 Schools | from tomorrow.org | June 2014
The second in a two part series to document the key national findings from Speak Up 2013.

Key Findings from this year’s report include:

Infographic: The New Digital Learning Playbook: The Digital Content Story
More than 40 percent of high school principals are now offering online classes for students in math, science, history and English/language arts. Only 17 percent of high schools are not offering online classes, according to school principals.
Principals are offering online learning for multiple reasons, including providing academic remediation (66 percent), keeping students engaged in staying in school (63 percent) and providing options for students that need credit recovery (61 percent).
Teachers who teach online classes, in particular, see a strong correlation between the use of technology and students’ college and career ready skill development. More than half of these teachers say technology use helps students understand how to apply academic concepts to real world problems (58 percent), take ownership of their learning (57 percent) and develop problem solving and critical thinking skills (57 percent).
The professional development requests of teachers are fairly common among new and veteran teachers. Even new teachers, who are presumed to be more digitally native and comfortable with technology, have a wish list of professional development support. The rookie teachers have a greater interest than other teachers in learning more about incorporating games and using social media with both students and parents.
Parental support of mobile device as part of learning does not appear to have an economic, community type or grade level bias. Around 60 percent of all parents said they would like their children to be in a class where using one’s own mobile device was allowed. Two-thirds said they would purchase a mobile device for their child to use within class, if that was allowed by the school.
Two-thirds of community members and a similar number of parents of school-aged children expressed support for paying $.50 more per month on their phone bill if those funds were used to increase school access to the Internet for student learning.
One-third of elementary school teachers (32 percent) report using games in their classrooms. The top two reasons given for using games within instruction were increasing student engagement in learning (79 percent) and providing a way for teachers to address different learning styles in the classroom (72 percent).

What new affordances might be coming down the pike from our “Smart/Connected TV’s”?

On 06/03/2014, in Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, passions, personalized/customized learning, streams of content, technologies for your home, telecommunications, television, TVs, by Daniel Christian

Goodbye, TV Channels—And Hello, TV Apps — from readwrite.com by Adriana Lee
How a small change in language represents a universal shift in the television experience.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

But television is evolving. Increasingly, it’s all about the apps now—browsable, downloadable, interactive TV applications. You can thank the swelling ranks of streaming services and devices for that.

The software applications they’re delivering to our living rooms are growing in number and prominence. And they’re starting to eclipse the passive, one-way broadcasts we once fought over for two-way, interactive experiences that let you share democratically among multiple users (née viewers) across mobile devices and computers.

…

According to research firm NPD Group, the smart television business has begun to boom. In the beginning of 2013, there were 140 million Internet-ready TVs in American homes. By 2015, it will grow 44 percent, to 202 million. And by that time, nearly two-thirds of them will actually be connected to the Internet, compared to just 56 percent now.

…

How they connect is important. When it comes to television, “apps” are where it’s at, not ye olde “TV channels.” It’s just a shift in language, true—but it’s also a shift in thinking.

In a multi-screen future, phones don’t control TVs, TVs control phones — from foxnews.com by Alex Tretbar

Excerpt:

Right now, most “second-screen” usage is more distracting than it is enriching, but that’s about to change. Soon your tablet will spring to life when you tune into your favorite show, and you’ll have more opportunities than ever to engage. The million-dollar buzzword here is Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR. But, before we get too far into that, let’s start at the beginning: the screen itself.
…
Navin wants his apps to automatically deliver content viewers might otherwise seek out manually. This might mean recommendations, related video, social-media discussions, or even a simple plot synopsis.

What television will look like in 2025, according to Netflix — from wired.com by Issie Lapowsky

Excerpts:

People have traditionally discovered new shows by tuning into the channels that were most aligned with their interests. Love news? Then CNN might be the channel for you. If it’s children’s programming you want, Nickelodeon has you covered. And yet, none of these channels can serve 100 percent of their customers what they want to watch 100 percent of the time.

According to Hunt, this will change with internet TV. He said Netflix is now working to perfect its personalization technology to the point where users will no longer have to choose what they want to watch from a grid of shows and movies. Instead, the recommendation engine will be so finely tuned that it will show users “one or two suggestions that perfectly fit what they want to watch now.”

“I think this vision is possible,” Hunt said. “We’ve come a long way towards it, and we have a ways to go still.” He said Netflix is now devoting as much time and energy to building out that personalization technology as the company put into building the infrastructure for delivering that content in the first place.

…

“The stories we watch today are not your parents’ TV,” Hunt said, “and the stories your kids watch in 2025 will blow your mind away.”

And by the year 2025, he told his audience, everyone will own a smart TV.

TV transformed by smart thinking — from theaustralian.com.au/ by

Excerpt:

As LG puts it, your apps to the right of the cards are “the future” — what you will watch, while the display of your recently used apps, to the left of the cards, is “the past” — so the launcher is an amalgam of your past, present and future viewing activity

From DSC:
“…everyone will own a smart TV by 2025.” Well, maybe not everyone, but many of us will have access to these Internet-connected “TV’s” (if they are even called TV’s at that point).

I hope that Netflix will license those personalization technologies to other vendors or, if not, that some other vendor will create them for educationally-related purposes.

Can you imagine a personalization engine — focused on education and/or training — that could provide the scaffolding necessary for learning about many topics? i.e. digital playlists of learning. Streams of content focused on education. Such engines would remember where you left off and what you still need to review…what you have mastered and what you are still struggling with…what you enjoy learning about…your learning preferences…and more.

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

Addendum:
How Samsung is enabling the future of social TV — from lostremote.com by Natan Edelsburg

Reflections on “The seven habits of highly effective digital enterprises” [Olanrewaju, Smaje, & Willmott]

On 06/03/2014, in business, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, by Daniel Christian

The seven habits of highly effective digital enterprises — from mckinsey.com by Tunde Olanrewaju, Kate Smaje, and Paul Willmott
To stay competitive, companies must stop experimenting with digital and commit to transforming themselves into full digital businesses. Here are seven habits that successful digital enterprises share.

Excerpt:

The age of experimentation with digital is over. In an often bleak landscape of slow economic recovery, digital continues to show healthy growth. E-commerce is growing at double-digit rates in the United States and most European countries, and it is booming across Asia. To take advantage of this momentum, companies need to move beyond experiments with digital and transform themselves into digital businesses. Yet many companies are stumbling as they try to turn their digital agendas into new business and operating models. The reason, we believe, is that digital transformation is uniquely challenging, touching every function and business unit while also demanding the rapid development of new skills and investments that are very different from business as usual. To succeed, management teams need to move beyond vague statements of intent and focus on “hard wiring” digital into their organization’s structures, processes, systems, and incentives.

From DSC:
“The age of experimentation with digital is over. … To take advantage of this momentum, companies need to move beyond experiments with digital and transform themselves into digital businesses.”

Though this may be true for the corporate world (the audience for whom this piece was written), the experimentation within higher education is just beginning. With that said, I still couldn’t help but wonder if some of these same habits might apply to the world of higher education. For example, three habits that the article mentioned jumped out at me as being highly relevant to those of us working within higher education:

1. Be unreasonably aspirational

4. Challenge everything

7. Be obsessed with the customer
Rising customer expectations continue to push businesses to improve the customer experience across all channels. Excellence in one channel is no longer sufficient; customers expect the same frictionless experience in a retail store as they do when shopping online, and vice versa.

A potentially-related item, at least from the perspective of the higher ed student of the near future:

Accelerating the digitization of business processes — from by Shahar Markovitch and Paul Willmott
Customers want a quick and seamless digital experience, and they want it now.
Excerpt:
Customers have been spoiled. Thanks to companies such as Amazon and Apple, they now expect every organization to deliver products and services swiftly, with a seamless user experience.

Learning Ecosystems

The Evolution of Texting in Television and Film [Romano; Zhou]

Some innovative ideas in this concept video of the future classroom

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

What new affordances might be coming down the pike from our “Smart/Connected TV’s”?

Reflections on “The seven habits of highly effective digital enterprises” [Olanrewaju, Smaje, & Willmott]

Categories

Tags