Khan Academy founder proposes a new type of college — from chronicle.com by Alisha Azevedo

The One World Schoolhouse

Excerpt:

Salman Khan’s dream college looks very different from the typical four-year institution.

The founder of Khan Academy, a popular site that offers free online video lectures about a variety of subjects, lays out his thoughts on the future of education in his book, The One World School House: Education Reimagined, released last month. Though most of the work describes Mr. Khan’s experiences with Khan Academy and his suggestions for changing elementary- and secondary-school systems, he does devote a few chapters to higher education.

 

Will Richmond on Top 2013 TV Trends [from Videomind by Greg Franzese]

Will Richmond on Top 2013 TV Trends -- from Videomind by Greg Franzese -- 11-29-2012

 

From DSC:
I continue to watch this space as the foundations are being put into place for what I’m calling, “Learning from the Living [Class] Room.”

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Learning from the living room -- a component of our future learning ecosystems -- by Daniel S. Christian, June 2012

 

An innovative, sharp concept for a potential Apple TV

An à la carte Apple TV concept integrates Siri, FaceTime, and cable/satellite providers (Gallery) — from 9to5mac.com by Jordan Kahn

Example “screenshots” from this concept:

Apple TV Concept - Nov 2012

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Also see:

 

From DSC:
This relates to what I’m calling “Learning from the Living [Class] Room”

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

 

 

The education giant adapts — from MIT Technology Review by Jessica Leber
Pearson is the world’s largest book publisher. Now it wants to be a one-stop shop for digital education.

Excerpt:

Pearson pulled this off with a decade-long string of acquisitions that helped it shift its emphasis from selling books to selling education services. The London-based company styles itself as the “world’s leading learning company,” even if that learning isn’t delivered through traditional books. These days, Pearson is more like an IT department for classrooms and schools. It sells technology infrastructure, software, and consulting services to schools—services that in turn help deliver the vast stock of textbook content Pearson owns. The company says its revenue from online content and services will surpass those of the traditional publishing business this year.

From DSC:
I congratulate Pearson on reinventing itself.  The words of Steve Jobs ring in my mind…something about cannibalizing one’s business before someone else does it for you.  Several other words and phrases come to my mind after seeing the above article — that regular readers of this blog and my archived website will instantly recognize:

  • Dangers of the status quo
  • Staying relevant
  • Survival
  • Disruption/change
  • New business models
  • Game-changing environment
  • Using teams of specialists

Also relevant here/see:

 

 

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Also see:

 

From DSC:
I’m also reminded of what I’d like to see in a digital textbook — a series of “layers” that people — with various roles and perspectives on the content — could use to comment on and annotate an article:

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From DSC:
I understand that Mr. George Lucas is going to express his generosity in donating the $4.05 billion from the sale of Lucasfilm to education.

Here’s a question/idea that I’d like to put forth to Mr. Lucas (or to the United States Department of Education, or to another interested/committed party):

Would you consider using the $4+ billion gift to build an “Online Learning Dream Team?”

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Daniel Christian -- The Online Learning Dream Team - as of November 2012

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 Original image credit (before purchased/edited by DSC)
yobro10 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

 

From DSC:
What do you think? What other “players” — technologies, vendors, skillsets, etc. — should be on this team?

  • Perhaps videography?
  • Online tutoring?
  • Student academic services?
  • Animation?
  • Digital photography?

 

Broadband, broadcast lines erode as TV shifts to a mobile, multiscreen media landscape — from by Joseph O’Halloran back from 2/11/2012

Excerpt:

[Q2 2012] research from online video firm Ooyala has confirmed the trend that viewers around the world are embracing mobile, multiscreen experiences for both long-form and short-form content.

The Ooyala Global Video Index Report for the second quarter of 2012 reveals that online video uptake may be rising across the world but that engagement patterns vary by country and region, with a number of global video hot spots. For example, in the UK the survey revealed that 15% of the total time spent watching online video occurs on mobile phones and tablets, while 11% of the total time spent watching online video in China occurs on tablets and smart phones.

From DSC:
Though this report summarizes data from Q2 2012, it shows the developing trends on some of the ways that people are using their devices (throughout the globe).  I will continue to watch this space  for what happens with learning-based applications; especially those apps using 2 screens.
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Also see:

How students can create their own e-textbooks on an iPad — from edudemic.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

In July, Greg Kulowiec and I taught a workshop on Creating Digital Course Content. One of our participants, a high school math teacher, initially set out to create his own textbook. However, as we started exploring BookCreator, he realized that the real value may be in the students creating their own collection of books over the course of the year.

From DSC:
I like this idea of giving students more tools to create their own content.

When talking to an ed tech contact from Ohio at this summer’s Moodlemoot, he mentioned that in his 20 districts, there’s a new paradigm now — students are creating the content.

Perhaps this is the answer to the oft-asked question, “WHO will create and maintain the content?”

  • Publishers?
  • Teams of specialists within a school district, college, or university?
  • Teachers and faculty members? 
  • Or will it be the students themselves, guided by their teachers and faculty members?

A close-up look at Amazon’s new Kindles — readwriteweb.com

Excerpt:

After a big corporate self-hug as CEO Jeff Bezos took the stage, Amazon focused on three key items: new Kindle Readers, new Kindle Fires, and enhancements to the Amazon ecosystem tying them all together. (For more analysis on the new products and services, see What The New Kindle Means To Amazon.)

 

Amazon assaults iPad turf with high-end Kindle Fire HD– from CNET.com by Jay Greene
The new Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE tablet, which will run consumers $499 without a data plan, moves Amazon from the low end f the market onto the iPad’s turf.

Everything you need to know about today’s Amazon Kindle event in LA — from thenextweb.com by Harrison Weber

Hands on with Amazon’s 7″ Kindle Fire HD and hands-off with the 8.7″ model — from thenextweb.com by Matthew Panzarino

Why e-readers evolved a lot today: Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Glo — from gigaom.com
With the releases of the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Glo today, we saw an evolution in e-readers. The devices don’t have more tablet-like features, but they should still provide much better reading experiences than older models.

Amazon goes Kindle Fire HD 4G crazy to compete with Apple’s iPad — from fastcompany.com by Noah Robischon
Rumors of a mobile phone and Apple TV competitor remained just that, but a range of Kindle devices including a $69 Kindle, a “Paperwhite” e-reader, and the high-end Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE, shows that Amazon is stepping up to Apple.

 

iTunes U Course Manager hands on — from UCL – London’s Global University  by Matt Jenner

Excerpt:

iTunes U is known as a wonderful platform for finding recorded lectures and podcasts from academics and institutions across the world. But recently it’s also become a location for entire courses, with students, multiple resources and some interaction all happening on devices such as the iPad. It’s all very Apple-based, which means anyone without this hardware can’t access it and thus it remains a little elitist. BUT there’s still some good reasons to look into it – and I hope this begins to explain why.

From DSC:
Thanks Matt for the helpful screenshots and overview of what iTunes U is offering these days!

If Apple were to devote more resources to create a fully-stocked CMS/LMS, they could add a significant piece to the overall ecosystem they continue to build.  But this time, it would have significant benefits to those who want to learn and to reinvent themselves over time.

For example, what if:

  • Faculty members worked with students to create the textbooks using iBooks Author?
  • And the textbooks were free?
  • iPads were used in BYOD type of settings and audio/video/text/graphics-based files could be “beamed” up to a larger presentation display? (Or all of the materials that they would need are already on the iPad from their orientation day and onward — and would constantly be updated throughout their collegiate days?  In fact, a supplemental charge could provide the ability for alumni to subscribe to constantly updated streams of content as well.)
  • CMS/LMS functions like discussion boards, wikis, blogs, podcasts, videoconferencing and more could be built into iTunes U?

Could be a potent learning setup as such cloud-based materials are available to everyone throughout the globe — at very attractive prices.

 

Internet2 eTextbook Spring 2012 Pilot: Final Project Report
August 1, 2012

Participating Institutions:

  • Cornell University
  • Indiana University
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Wisconsin

 

 

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