digital learning

Mezzanine – A beginning of what “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” might look like…?

On 05/16/2013, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, blended learning, collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, experimentation, face-to-face, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, interactivity, internet, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, nursing, online learning, social learning / networks, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telepresence, television, training / L&D, TVs, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From the Oblong.com website:

Mezzanine™ is a collaborative conference room solution that introduces multi-user, multi-screen, multi-device collaboration. This is next-generation communication: share any content from any device with anyone, anywhere.

Mezzanine transforms creative teamwork, executive meetings, and sales presentations into real-time, collaborative work sessions. Mezzanine expands on existing telepresence technology by providing what we call InfoPresence™—the incorporation of multiple users, multiple devices, and multiple streams of information in the collaboration environment. The future of conference room collaboration is here.

A Mezzanine workspace lets any person on a network bring their own device and share content and applications with any colleague, anywhere in the world, interactively. Mezzanine is a collaborative conference room solution combining presentation design and delivery, application sharing, whiteboard capture, and video conferencing, all within a framework of multi-participant control.

Also see:

Oblong Technovates with LA High School
.
Oblong at OME
Oblong Industries recently participated at OME, a summit hosted by UC San Francisco. The two-day summit focused on charting the future of precision medicine—an emerging field combining big data with clinical research and patient care to deliver insights and advances in treatment that is more targeted and enables improved patient outcomes.

Tagged with: 21st century • A/V • blended learning • Bring your own device (BYOD) • collaboration • communications • corporate / business world • corporate training / universities • Daniel S. Christian • digital audio • digital learning • digital video • educational gaming • educational technology • health • hybrid learning • innovation • learning ecosystem • Nursing • online learning • smart classrooms • technologies for the home • telecommunications • telepresence • tools • vendors • videoconferencing • vision • web-based collaboration

Interactive whiteboards are front and center in college classrooms [edtechmagazine.com]

On 05/13/2013, in A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital video, education technology, engagement / engaging students, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Interactive whiteboards are front and center in college classrooms — from edtechmagazine.com
A look at whiteboards at New York’s Touro College.

From DSC:
We currently have 3 types of Interactive WhiteBoards (IWB’s) on our campus: Epson BrightLinks, SMART Boards, and/or an Eno Board from PolyVision.

However, the idea of using mobile interactive whiteboards is becoming increasingly popular — i.e. being able to annotate on an iPad, for example, and having everyone in the class see these annotations. I’ve seen some K-12 folks use Apple TV for this type of thing, but Apple’s multi-cast wireless protocol doesn’t work as well for us in a campus environment. I’ve also seen/heard of people using one of the following solutions listed below as well. (I wish I had more time to check each of them out, but I’ll simply list them for you here.)

AirServer
Doceri Desktop
“With built-in remote desktop control you can access and annotate over files resident on your Windows PC or Mac and present them to your classroom or audience when a projector is connected.”
Splashtop Whiteboard
“This app allows me to not only control my computer remotely but I am able to see my entire desktop on my iPad and then mark up over ANY text or video!”
ExplainEverything.com
Nearpod.com
Doodlecastpro.com
Educreations
Scribbeo
“Annotate video & images directly on screen” http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scribbeo/id496099951?mt=8
Coach’s Eye
“Annotate your video using lines, arrows, circles, squares and freehand tools.” http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coachs-eye/id472006138?mt=8
Ink2Go
“You can easily write on top of any other application that is currently active on the desktop, even on a running video.” http://ink2.eyepowergames.com/

Tagged with: A/V • collaboration • Daniel S. Christian • digital learning • digital video • educational technology • engagement • interactivity • Keeping students engaged • tools • vendors • Wireless

A solid article explaining why iOS-based devices are tough on the campus (true for the enterprise as well)

On 05/09/2013, in Apple, corporate / business world, digital learning, mobile learning, platforms, technologies for your home, by Daniel Christian

IT does not love iPads — from by Michelle Fredette
Students and faculty may love them, but IT personnel get a major headache when they try to integrate Apple tablets–and the company’s TV technology–in an enterprise setting.

From DSC:
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) train has arrived. As such, this is a huge issue and as you can tell from reading Michelle’s article, there is no silver bullet out there (at least not as of 5/9/13). I sure wish all of the relevant vendors could get behind a secure, efficient, reliable standard here…or at least have Apple come up with something that would get past the multi-cast issues for wireless networks (i.e. what works great for the consumer at home doesn’t work well on a campus or throughout an enterprise). It also adds to the already difficult job we in IT have when the targets are constantly moving — and moving faster than ever. Add to that the need to consider entire ecosystems/platforms these days.

Tagged with: Apple • IT • platforms • technologies for the home • Wireless

The folks needed to create the next generation of learning: Computers can’t touch this. [Christian]

On 05/03/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, analytics, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), collaboration, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, faculty/staff, global / globalization, graphics, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, music, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, photography, play, reinvent, research, second screen apps, simulations, social learning / networks, social media, society, story, storytelling, streams of content, teachers, telepresence, television, trends, TVs, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, videoconferencing, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web design and production, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
What we need is a major hackathon — or an organization with deep pockets — that can bring together folks from a variety of disciplines including:

Subject Matter Experts
Instructional Designers
Cognitive Psychologists
Computer Scientists and/or those exerienced with learning analytics/data mining, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Those gifted in film/media/videography/photography
Great storytellers/writers (including writing for transmedia-based learning experiences)
Folks who can create engaging, educational games
Designers
- Web
- Graphic
- Interface
- User experience
- User interaction
- Those gifted in creating multimedia-based content
Musicians
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) experts
Mobile learning experts
Those knowledgeable with second screens/M2M communications
Animators
Illustrators
Social media experts
Accessibility experts
Researchers
Those gifted in creating augmented reality-based apps
Legal/copyright experts
& others

We need for these specialists to collaborate in order to create the next generation of learning. Anyone who can bring these skillsets together and experiment with creating materials will have significantly contributed something to the current generations and to future generations!

And, in the words of M.C. Hammer, computers “can’t touch this!” Why? Because “learning is messy!”

What fields did I miss?
Please leave your thoughts and
feedback in the comments section.

Beyond the Page: Transmedia Storytelling — from macict.edu.au by Cathie Howe

Below are some excerpted slides from:
Rethinking literacy through transmedia storytelling final from Cathie Howe and Katy Lumkin

From DSC:
Transmedia storytelling ties in very nicely with my thoughts re: Learning from the Living [Class] Room!

Excerpts from transmedia storytelling presentation by Gianluca Fiorelli

On 04/25/2013, in career development, communications, computer science, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, informal learning, innovation, interactivity, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, media/film, multimedia, new business models, new media literacies, online media, participation, platforms, play, programming, social media, story, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, trends, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Notes from DSC:

Some of the material in this presentation or the website may not be appropriate for a younger audience.
Notice how many potential jobs/roles/positions/skillsets can be explored here!

From DSC:
The word Bible is here not quite I think of as the Bible…but you’ll get the point if you review Gianluca’s presentation.
.

Questions from DSC:

What opportunities might be presented by this type of trend within the worlds of education/training? (i.e. within K-12, higher ed, the corporate world)
What sorts of streams of contents could be created for educational/training-related purposes?
What sorts of open doors are now present within the world of communications? For a church, a school, a college, a business?
How can we incorporate the use of story more effectively in our teaching and learning environments? (If we could do this, we could greatly increase our students’ ROI.)

Reflections on “25% find company training/e-learning of no value – according to the Learning in the Workplace 2013 survey results” [Hart]

On 04/22/2013, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, business, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, elearning, face-to-face, streams of content, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, using teams, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
This data further supports my thoughts on helping people build their own learning ecosystems — something Jane points out as well when she states that “workers find other (self-organised and self-managed) ways of learning at work far more valuable – with team collaboration being the highest rated.”

I recommend helping folks learn how to create their own blogs and learn how to subscribe to others’ blogs, access relevant wikis, use Twitter, employ Google Alerts, etc.

Provide each employee with some relevant names/blogs/websites/etc. to get employees started (i.e. of some knowledgeable accountants, legal counsel, product designers, engineers, digital marketing experts, cloud computing strategists, programmers for mobile computing apps, etc.). I realize this presents issues with companies’ sensitive information such as patents and/or intellectual property. But if Harold Jarche is correct in saying that we live in a post-jobs world, what we know of the modern corporation may be very different in just a few years anyway. (i.e. You’re on your own. You are your own corporation/business; so build your own brand and expertise. Build your own valuable network of peers/colleagues — who you can contribute to as well as to learn from.)

Admittedly, this changes some of the roles of the training department from creating e-learning modules to becoming excellent researchers, social media experts, quasi-librarians, etc.

(Come to think of it, I wonder if that might happen in higher ed as well — i.e. provide students with the relevant/key experts, important thinkers, streams of content, etc.)

streams-of-content-blue-overlay

Tagged with: blogging • collaboration • corporate / business world • corporate training / universities • e-learning • face-to-face • L&D • streams of content • training • videoconferencing • web-based collaboration

BII REPORT: Here’s why the “second screen” industry is set to explode — BusinessInsider.com

On 04/19/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, analytics, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, game-changing environment, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, television, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

BII REPORT: Here’s why the “second screen” industry is set to explode — BusinessInsider.com

Excerpt:

Here’s why the second screen industry will ultimately succeed:

Usage is growing rapidly
And mass acceptance isn’t even necessary
Second screen isn’t really a new activity
Second screen apps and sites are bridges

From DSC:
As this article alludes to, I wouldn’t rule the living room out in terms of where interactive, multimedia-based, educationally-related, second screen-based applications will turn up (apps backed up by data mining, AI, and opportunities for social learning). This area is poised for some serious growth.

My reflections on “Four Reasons Why Kids Should Learn Programming” by O’Dell

On 04/16/2013, in computer science, digital learning, educational games / serious games, K-12 related, programming, by Daniel Christian

DSC’s comments on “Four Reasons Why Kids Should Learn Programming” — from tynker.com by Jolie O’Dell

.I like this blog posting and others have discussed this topic before…but I respectively disagree with one of the assertions: Programming is not easy — at least it wasn’t for me. I think that’s true for others, as why else is it so hard to find good programmers and why are they paid so well? Most people I know do not think like programmers do — it’s a different way of thinking. I’ve tried a couple different languages (albeit at a beginning level!), and while I greatly appreciate what programmers do, I am the first to tell you that I am not a programmer. At least within web design and development types of tasks/careers, people tend to either gravitate towards the front end OR the back end — though there are exceptions to this rule of thumb who can do both types of tasks well.

So while I agree that students should learn some type of coding, we need more tools/services like this that aim to make programming fun, enjoyable, understandable, and relevant.

About
Tynker is a new computing platform designed specifically to teach children computational learning and programming skills in a fun and imaginative way. Tynker is inspired by Scratch from MIT. It is a completely browser-based implementation written using Open Web standards such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3 and does not use Flash.
.

Also see:

Check out this learn-to-code platform just for kids— from venturebeat.com by Jolie O’Dell
Why your 8 year old should be coding — from venturebeat.com by Jolie O’Dell
Excerpt:
The startup is Tynker; it makes a web-based learning platform and a visual programming language for teachers and kids in K-12 classrooms. In a discussion with its co-founder, we found out why teaching kids how to code is so important to him.

Tagged with: educational gaming • engagement • K-12 • love of learning • programming

The connected TVs are here… interactive programming & native apps will follow— from venturebeat.com by Habib Kairouz

Excerpt:

Innovative devices have always fueled new application ecosystems. The software industry was enabled by the WinTel PC platform; and hundreds of thousands of websites were built once the PCs became “connected.” In the last few years, we have witnessed the same trend in mobile; more than 700,000 apps have been created for Web-enabled phones. We’ll soon see connected TVs fueling a similar ecosystem of interactive programming and native apps. With nearly a quarter of all U.S. households currently using connected TVs (according to eMarketer), we have reached the tipping point of mass adoption.

As opposed to the disastrous impact the Internet had on the print industry, I see the innovation of the connected TV market as a tremendous, yet accretive, evolution as opposed to a threat. Here’s why:

Tagged with: career development • Daniel S. Christian • innovation • learning from the living [class] room • MOOCs • programming • smart classrooms • Smart/Connected TV • TV • Walmart of Education

My reflections on “MOOCs of Hazard” – a well-thought out, balanced article by Andrew Delbanco

On 04/10/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, analytics, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, computer science, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital learning, digital storytelling, disruption, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, programming, real-world assignments, reinvent, second screen apps, simulations, social learning / networks, storytelling, streams of content, TVs, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, by Daniel Christian

From DSC: Below are my reflections on MOOCs of Hazard — from newrepublic.com by Andrew Delbanco — who asks: Will online education dampen the college experience? Yes. Will it be worth it? Well…

.
While I’m not sure that I agree with the idea that online education will dampen the college experience — and while I could point to some amazing capabilities that online education brings to the table in terms of true global exchanges — I’ll instead focus my comments on the following items:

1) Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are recent experiments — ones that will continue to change/morph into something else.
They are half-baked at best, but they should not be taken lightly. Christensen, Horn, Johnson are spot on with their theories of disruption here, especially as they relate to innovations occurring within the virtual/digital realm. For example, the technologies behind IBM’s Watson could be mixed into the list of ingredients that will be used to develop MOOCs in the future. It would be a very powerful, effective MOOC indeed if you could get the following parties/functionalities to the table:

IBM — to provide Watson like auto-curation/filtering capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, as well as data mining/learning analytics expertise, joined by
Several highly-creative firms from the film/media/novel/storytelling industry, who would be further joined by
Experts from Human Computer Interaction (HCI)/user interface/user experience design teams, who would be further joined by
Programmers and interaction specialists from educational gaming endeavors (and from those who can design simulations), joined by
Instructional designers, joined by
The appropriate Subject Matter Experts who can be reached by the students as necessary, joined by
Those skilled in research and library services, joined by
Legal experts to assist with copyright issues, joined by
Other specialists in mobile learning, 3D, web development, database administration, animation, graphic design, musicians, etc.

It won’t be long before this type of powerful team gets pulled together — from some organizations(s) with deep pockets — and the content is interacted with and presented to us within our living rooms via connected/Smart TVs and via second screen devices/applications.

2) The benefits of MOOCs

For colleges/universities:
- MOOCs offer some serious marketing horsepower (rather than sound pedagogical tools, at this point in time at least)
- They are forcing higher ed to become much more innovative
- They provide great opportunities to build one’s personalized learning networks, as they bring forth those colleagues who are interested in topic A, B, or C
- They move us closer to team-based content creation and delivery
  .
For students:
- They offer a much less expensive option to go exploring disciplines for themselves…to see if they enjoy (and/or are gifted in) topic A, B or C
- They provide great opportunities to build one’s personalized learning networks, as they bring forth those colleagues who are interested in topic A, B, or C
- They provide a chance to see what it’s like to learn about something in a digital/virtual manner

3) The drawbacks of MOOCs:

MOOCs are not nearly the same thing as what has come to be known as “online learning” — at least in the higher ed industry. MOOCs do not yet offer what more “traditional” (can I say that?) online learning provides: Far more support and pedagogical/instructional design, instructor presence and dialog, student academic support services, advising, more student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction, etc.
.
MOOCs are like drinking from a firehose — there are too many blogs/RSS feeds, twitter feeds, websites, and other resources to review.

4) It would be wise for all of us to be involved with such experiments and have at least a subset of one’s college or university become much more nimble/responsive.

Also see:

Delbanco’s interview in The Hedgehog Review

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • 24x7x365 • A/V • adjunct faculty • AI • analytics • Bring your own device (BYOD) • cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related • computer science • creativity • cross-disciplinary assignments • customized learning • Daniel S. Christian • data mining • design • digital storytelling • faculty-staff • graphic design • instructional design • interaction design • interface design • Learning Agents • learning from the living [class] room • Media/film • multimedia • online learning • online tutoring • personalized learning • programming • second screen apps • simulations • Smart/Connected TV • Using teams • vendors • virtual reality / worlds / learning • virtual tutoring • visual design • Walmart of Education • web design

Dual screen: The evolution of the second screen [Lai]

On 04/04/2013, in A/V -- audio/visual, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, innovation, interactivity, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, second screen apps, smart classrooms, streams of content, TVs, by Daniel Christian

Dual screen: The evolution of the second screen — from blog.brightcove.com by Albert Lai

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Educational Gamification
In a previous post, we asked readers to suggest their ideas for dual screen applications. One of the more intriguing responses was the suggestion to create companion educational games to accompany associated video content.

In a dual screen experience, as video content is displayed on the television, the application can engage the viewer with relevant and education activities, from content reinforcement to spelling to trivia to memory “games.” One can imagine an interactive amalgamation of Dora the Explorer, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Schoolhouse Rock!

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

Addendum on 4/8/13:

First Quarter, 2013: Are we on track? An update to the definitive research “The 2nd Screen: Transforming video consumption”— from digitalvideospace.blogspot.com
Excerpt:
The first 3 months of 2013 has been explosive for 2^nd Screen. Apps have improved, new apps have continued to launch, clear evidence of growth in the revenue associated with the market can be seen, and the convergence of 2^nd Screen companion experiences and 2^nd Screen viewing experiences has continued.

Tagged with: A/V • Bring your own device (BYOD) • Daniel S. Christian • digital learning • e-learning • educational gaming • educational technology • emerging technologies • learning ecosystem • learning from the living [class] room • learning spaces • machine-to-machine communications • online learning • second screen apps • smart classrooms • Smart/Connected TV

New test for computers: Grading essays at college level [Markoff]

On 04/04/2013, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, reinvent, staying relevant, by Daniel Christian

New test for computers: Grading essays at college level — from nytimes.com by John Markoff
.

Gretchen Ertl for The New York Times
EdX, a nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
will release automated software that uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers.

Excerpt:

EdX, the nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to offer courses on the Internet, has just introduced such a system and will make its automated software available free on the Web to any institution that wants to use it. The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers, freeing professors for other tasks.

Tagged with: AI • cost of getting an education • dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • disruption • game-changing environment • higher education • reinvent • staying relevant • Walmart of Education

Previous Entries Next Entries

Learning Ecosystems

Interactive whiteboards are front and center in college classrooms [edtechmagazine.com]

A solid article explaining why iOS-based devices are tough on the campus (true for the enterprise as well)

Reflections on “25% find company training/e-learning of no value – according to the Learning in the Workplace 2013 survey results” [Hart]

Dual screen: The evolution of the second screen [Lai]

Categories

Tags