distance education

From DSC:
Swivl allows faculty members, teachers, trainers, and other Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to make recordings where the recording device swivels to follow the SME (who is holding/wearing a remote). Recordings can be automatically sent to the cloud for further processing/distribution.

My request to you is:
Can you extend the Swivl app to not only provide recordings, but to provide rough draft transcripts of those recordings as well?

This could be very helpful for accessibility reasons, but also to provide students/learners with a type of media that they prefer (video, audio, and/or text).

Designing learning spaces for both online and on-campus delivery [Schaffhauser]

On 06/24/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, distance education, hybrid learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, online learning, smart classrooms, telecommunications, telepresence, universities, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

Designing learning spaces for both online and on-campus delivery — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser
Purdue University found a way to create a flexible and inviting learning space for on-campus learners while also delivering high-quality audio and video recording for distance students.

Purdue’s new Engineering Professional Education classrooms
are designed for lecture capture while providing a flexible
space for on-campus students. (Photo by Phil Conrad)

From DSC:
Couple this with the concept of having the same student be able to attend in either a face-to-face manner or via online and you’re providing some serious opportunities for:

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC2

Very interesting & powerful possibilities: “Oculus Rift technology may improve online learning”

On 06/22/2015, in distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, online learning, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Oculus Rift technology may improve online learning — from educationnews.org

Excerpt:

A professor at Penn State is experimenting with how the immersive virtual reality system Oculus Rift and related technologies can be used to improve online learning.

Assistant professor of engineering design and industrial engineering Conrad Tucker and his students have been designing virtual reality technology with the goal of using it for distance learning that is more effective by introducing a tactile element that previously could only be achieved in an in-person classroom.

Their study has found that it’s working. Using the Oculus Rift goggles and a haptic glove, which allows users to interact with the world as if they were really using their hands, improves student performance compared to a traditional flat screen and traditional keyboard and mouse controls.

54 undergraduate engineering students were given the task of assembling a virtual coffee pot from disparate pieces. Half did this with the virtual reality technology, and the rest used a simple computer program. The median time for the virtual reality group was 23.21 seconds, but those using a keyboard and mouse took a median of 49.04 seconds — more than double the time.

Preparing for the Digital University: A review of the history & current state of distance, blended, & online learning [Siemens, Gasevic, Dawson]

On 04/30/2015, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, Australia, blended learning, Canada, change, distance education, education technology, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, history, hybrid learning, innovation, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, organizational change, pace of change, pedagogy, research, social learning / networks, strategy, student-related, teaching & learning, teaching online, technology (general), trends, UK, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt:

It is our intent that these reports will serve to introduce academics, administrators, and students to the rich history of technology in education with a particular emphasis of the importance of the human factors: social interaction, well-designed learning experiences, participatory pedagogy, supportive teaching presence, and effective techniques for using technology to support learning.

The world is digitizing and higher education is not immune to this transition. The trend is well underway and seems to be accelerating as top universities create departments and senior leadership positions to explore processes of innovation within the academy. It is our somewhat axiomatic assessment that in order to understand how we should design and develop learning for the future, we need to first take a look at what we already know. Any scientific enterprise that runs forward on only new technology, ignoring the landscape of existing knowledge, will be sub-optimal and likely fail. To build a strong future of digital learning in the academy, we must first take stock of what we know and what has been well researched.

During the process of completing this report, it became clear to us that a society or academic organization is required to facilitate the advancement and adoption of digital learning research. Important areas in need of exploration include faculty development, organizational change, innovative practices and new institutional models, effectiveness of teaching and learning activities, the student experience, increasing success for all students, and state and provincial policies, strategies, and funding models. To address this need, we invite interested academics, administrators, government and industry to contact us to discuss the formation of an organization to advocate for a collaborative and research informed approach to digital learning.

February 2015
George Siemens
Dragan Gasevic
Shane Dawson

New from Educause: Higher Ed IT Buyers Guide

On 04/16/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, analytics, assistive technologies, Bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, data related items, digital learning, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, funding / grants, higher education, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, media/film, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, online learning, online media, open courseware and systems, productivity / tips and tricks, smart classrooms, social media, student-related, technology (general), telecommunications, training / L&D, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

New from Educause:
Higher Ed IT Buyers Guide

Excerpt:

Quickly search 50+ product and service categories, access thousands of IT solutions specific to the higher ed community, and send multiple RFPs—all in one place. This new Buyers Guide provides a central, go-to online resource for supporting your key purchasing decisions as they relate to your campus’s strategic IT initiatives.

Find the Right Vendors for Higher Education’s Top Strategic Technologies

Three of the Top 10 Strategic Technologies identified by the higher education community this year are mobile computing, business intelligence, and business performance analytics.* The new Buyers Guide connects you to many of the IT vendors your campus can partner with in the following categories related to these leading technologies, as well as many more.

View all 50+ product and service categories.

“Who is taking MOOCs? Teachers, says MIT-Harvard study”; plus other MOOC-related items

On 04/07/2015, in corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, distance education, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, professional development, teachers, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Who is taking MOOCs? Teachers, says MIT-Harvard study — from pbs.org by Kirk Carapezza, WGBH

Excerpt:

A new MIT-Harvard study released on [April 1st] finds that nearly 40 percent of learners who take open online courses are teachers. That finding has researchers wondering whether they can better design online courses once predicted to upend students’ experience to meet teachers’ needs.

The study describes two years of open online courses launched on MIT and Harvard’s non-profit online initiative, edX. It explores 68 certificate courses and 1.7 million participants.

“We know who these people are,” said Harvard Associate Professor Andrew Ho, co-author of the study.

HarvardX and MITx: Two Years of Open Online Courses Fall 2012-Summer 2014

Abstract:
What happens when well-known universities offer online courses, assessments, and certificates of completion for free? Early descriptions of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have emphasized large enrollments, low certification rates, and highly educated registrants. We use data from two years and 68 open online courses offered by Harvard University (via HarvardX) and MIT (via MITx) to broaden the scope of answers to this question. We describe trends over this two-year span, depict participant intent using comprehensive survey instruments, and chart course participation pathways using network analysis. We find that overall participation in our MOOCs remains substantial and that the average growth has been steady. We explore how diverse audiences — including explorers, teachers-as-learners, and residential students — provide opportunities to advance the principles on which HarvardX and MITx were founded: access, research, and residential education.

Keywords:
MOOC, massive open online course, HarvardX, MITx, edX, online learning, distance education, higher education, residential learning

Study on MOOCs provides new insights on an evolving space — from newsoffice.mit.edu
Findings suggest many teachers enroll, learner intentions matter, and cost boosts completion rates.

Excerpt:

[On April 1], a joint MIT and Harvard University research team published one of the largest investigations of massive open online courses (MOOCs) to date. Building on these researchers’ prior work — a January 2014 report describing the first year of open online courses launched on edX, a nonprofit learning platform founded by the two institutions — the latest effort incorporates another year of data, bringing the total to nearly 70 courses in subjects from programming to poetry.

“We explored 68 certificate-granting courses, 1.7 million participants, 10 million participant-hours, and 1.1 billion participant-logged events,” says Andrew Ho, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The research team also used surveys to gain additional information about participants’ backgrounds and their intentions.

August LearnMoodle MOOC is now enrolling — from moodlenews.com by Joseph Thibault

9 free MOOCs for corporate training — from elearningindustry.com

Excerpt:

MOOCs for corporate training offer a wide range of benefits but due to the broad range of courses available today, finding the right ones for skill set development and corporate training can often be a time consuming and frustrating task. To make the process easier, I’d like to share some of the top MOOCs for corporate training that you may want to consider.

Over 120 MOOCs and courses coming up in the month of April 2015 — from edtechreview.in

From 2014:
Ten big reasons for the rise of corporate MOOCs — from trainingzone.co.uk by Donald Clark

The increasing popularity of MOOCs, open-education resources such as OpenStax College, and freely available course content on platforms such as iTunes U brings an incredible opportunity for high school teachers and college instructors to collaborate and enhance each other’s instruction.

– from Mind the Gap: Connecting K–12 and Higher Education
Educators to Improve the Student Experience –from educause.edu
by Matthew W. Stoltzfus, Ben Scragg, and Cory Tressler

If the NBA & NHL can do this, what about applying this in education & training?

On 03/16/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, business, changing business models, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, formal learning, future, global / globalization, health, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, immersion, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, play, second screen apps, social learning / networks, technologies for your home, training / L&D, transmedia, TVs, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt:

AUSTIN, TX – Virtual reality is featured prominently at South By Southwest Sports this year, from using it to better train athletes with Oculus Rift to how it could transform the fan experience watching basketball, football and hockey at home.
…
The NHL had its first successful test of a 360-degree virtual reality experience at its Stadium Series game between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings last month, mounting cameras around the glass that filmed HD images in the round.

Excerpt:

When basketball lovers aren’t able to trek to stadiums near and far to follow their favorite teams, it’s possible that watching games on a bar’s widescreen TV from behind bowls of wings is the next best thing. This may no longer be true, however, as a wave of court-side, 3D virtual game experiences is becoming available to superfans with Oculus gear.

Earlier this month, NextVR showed off its new enhanced spectator experiences at the 2015 NBA All-Star Technology Summit with virtual reality (VR) footage of an October 2014 Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers match-up in Rio de Janeiro. The NBA also already announced plans to record VR sessions of the NBA All-Star Game, the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and the Sprite Slam Dunk event and practice.

From DSC:
In the future, will you be able to “pull up a seat” at any lecture — throughout the globe — that you want to?

Alternatively, another experiment might relate to second screening lectures — i.e., listening to the lecture on the main/large screen — in your home or office — and employing social-based learning/networking going on via a mobile device.

Consider this article:

Twitter Aims To Hook TV Viewers With Radical New Mobile Service
Twitter’s TV Timeline lets viewers focus on one show while second-screening

TV-friendly social network Twitter is testing a new Social TV service on iPhones which provides users with content and interaction about only one TV show at a time.

The aim is to give users significantly better engagement with their favourite shows than they presently experience when they follow a live broadcast via a Twitter hashtag.

This radical innovation in Social TV design effectively curates just relevant content (screening out irrelevant tweets that use a show’s hashtag) and presents it in an easy-to-use interface.

If successful, the TV Timeline feature will better position Twitter as it competes with Facebook to partner with the television industry and tap advertising revenue related to TV programming.

Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision – some sharp innovations here!

On 02/27/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), business, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, mobile learning, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, second screen apps, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Example snapshots from
Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision

Why you now need a team to create and deliver learning [Christian & Grush]

On 02/26/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, analytics, animation, attention, blended learning, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, copyright/ownership/NFTs, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, expectations, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, programming, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, trends, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, web design and production, writing, by Daniel Christian

My thanks to Mary Grush at Campus Technology for her continued work in bringing relevant topics and discussions to light — so that our institutions of higher education will continue delivering on their missions well into the future. By doing so, learners will be able to continue to partake of the benefits of attending such institutions. But in order to do so, we must adapt, be responsive, and be willing to experiment. Towards that end, this Q&A with Mary relays some of my thoughts on the need to move more towards a team-based approach.

When you think about it, we need teams whether we’re talking about online learning, hybrid learning or face-to-face learning. In fact, I just came back from an excellent Next Generation Learning Space Conference and it was never so evident to me that you need a team of specialists to design the Next Generation Learning Space and to design/implement pedagogies that take advantage of the new affordances being offered by active learning environments.

Combine these concepts into a multitouch, interactive “video wall” or Smart TV-related apps: Some incredible opportunities for collaborative learning!

On 02/16/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, business, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, multi-touch, multimedia, online learning, online media, participation, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, project-based learning, second screen apps, smart classrooms, streams of content, teaching online, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, TVs, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Check out some of the functionality in these solutions. Then imagine if these solutions were in the size of an entire wall in a classroom or in a corporate L&D facility. Whew!

Some serious opportunities for collaboration would arise for remote learners –as well as those located in the face-to-face setting
What new affordances would be present for those teaching in K-12, higher ed, or trainers working within the training/learning and development fields? Conversations/discussions would be recorded — to be picked up at the next session. In the meantime, learners could review the discussions at their own pace.
What if all of this were possible in your future Smart/Connected TV?
I’m also talking here about a vendor that could offer solutions that K-12 systems and institutions of higher ed could afford; some of the solutions below have much of what I’m envisioning here, but are out of the price range. Or the product is multitouch and fairly large, but it doesn’t offer the collaborative features of some of the other products here.

Ideum’s touch walls come close to what I’m talking about in this posting. If they could add some functionality for seeing/bringing in/collaborating with remote learners — as found in Mezzanine — then that would be great!

Also see:

Also see bluescape — but these excellent, innovative solutions are out of the price range for most K-12 and higher ed institutions:

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, mirroring and/or multiple devices, 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.

From the WSJ’s Morning Ledger:

The online MBA comes of age.
You’d think that of all the academic pursuits, business school would remain most immune to online learning. Beyond studies, MBA programs offer up-and-coming C-suiters access to the graduate-level schmoozing that could come in handy later on. Nevertheless, the online MBA program is growing, Delta Sky Magazine’s Kevin Featherly reports. What they lack in post-exam cordials with the professor, they make up for in a more diverse, more experienced student body, say advocates. “In ground-based programs, you’re connected to a more local audience,” the dean of the University of Bridgeport’s Ernest C. Trefz School of Business tells Delta. “In the online program, you’re interacting with business professionals from around the world.” But not everything is so encouraging. A professor at Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina tells Mr. Featherly how surprised he was “when a course designer suggested he use a cartoon character to illustrate a hard-core economics principle.”

Also see:

From DSC:
Consider this. Steve Jobs lived by the philosophy of cannibalizing Apple’s own business, as he held that Apple needed to cannibalize itself or someone else would do it for them. And here’s the key thing to consider: Apple is the largest company in the world, based on market cap (505.92B as of this morning) and market value.

The point is, we in higher ed can’t be afraid of change. We must change. It’s time for more Trimtab Groups within higher education.

Reflections on “Time to retire from online learning?” [by Tony Bates]

On 04/17/2014, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, data related items, distance education, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Time to retire from online learning? – by Tony Bates

Excerpts:

Teaching in higher education is about to go through as major a revolution as one can imagine. This is not going to be easy; indeed it could get brutal.
…
…this is not a profession where you can be half in and half out. Dabbling in online learning is very dangerous (politicians please note).
…
Lastly, I am concerned that the computer scientists seem to be taking over online education. Ivy League MOOCs are being driven mainly by computer scientists, not educators. Politicians are looking to computer science to automate learning in order to save money. Computer scientists have much to offer, but they need more humility and a greater willingness to work with other professionals, such as psychologists and teachers, who understand better how learning operates. This is a battle that has always existed in educational technology, but it’s one I fear the educators are losing. The result could be disastrous, but that’s a theme for a whole set of blog posts.

From DSC:
I am very grateful for Tony’s work! He has helped many, many people develop their own learning ecosystems in a variety of ways throughout these last 45 years. As I, too, am passionate about online learning, I have really appreciated Tony’s insights and writings about topics that related to online and distance learning. I was glad to hear that Tony will continue to write in the future.

What educationally-related affordances might we enjoy from these TV-related developments?

On 04/09/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bring your own device (BYOD), communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, lifelong learning, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, TVs, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

CONTENTS

Content discovery and synchronization
With access to rich data about their subscribers and what they do, operators can improve recommendation, encourage social TV and exploit second screen synchronization.
Recordings get more personal
One of the next big steps in multiscreen TV is giving people access to their personal recordings on every screen. This is the moment for nPVR to finally make its entrance.
Evolving the User Experience
As service providers go beyond household level and address individuals, the role of log-ins or context will become important. There is a place for social TV and big data.
The role of audio in personalization
Audio has a huge impact on how much we enjoy video services. Now it can help to personalize them. ‘Allegiance’ based audio choices are one possibility.
Making advertising more targeted
Addressable advertising is in its infancy but has a bright future, helping to fund the growth of on-demand and multiscreen viewing.

Some excerpts from this report:

Good content should be matched by good content discovery , including recommendations. The current state-of -the-art is defined by Netflix.

…

Today’s TV experience is worlds apart from the one we were talking about even five years ago. We’ve witnessed exponential growth in services such as HD and have moved from a model in which one screen is watched by many, to many screens (and devices) being available to the individual viewer, what is today called TV Everywhere. Having multiscreen access to content is driving the demand for a more personalised experience, in which the viewer can expect to see what they want, where, and when. While video on-demand (VOD) has been a great method for delivering compelling content to viewers, it is not always a truly seamless TV-like experience, and traditionally has been limited to the living room. The growing demand for the personalised experience is driving seismic change within the TV industry, and we’ve seen great strides made already, with time-shifted TV and nPVR as just two examples of how we in the industry can deliver content in the ways viewers want to watch. The next step is to move towards more advanced content discovery, effectively creating a personalised channel or playlist for the individual user.

…

As the tools become available to deliver personalized experiences to consumers, content owners can better create experiences that leverage their content. For example, for sports with multiple points of action, like motor racing, multiple camera angles and audio feeds will allow fans to follow the action that is relevant to their favourite racing team. And for movies, access to additional elements such as director’s commentaries, which have been available on Blu-ray discs for some time, can be made available over broadcast networks.

From DSC:
Some words and phrases that come to my mind:

Personalization.
Data driven.
Content discovery and recommendation engines (which could easily relate to educational playlists)
Training on demand
Learning agents
Web-based learner profiles
Learning hubs
What MOOCs morph into
More choice. More control.
Virtual tutoring
Interactivity and participation
Learning preferences
Lifelong learning
Reinventing oneself
Streams of content
Learning from The Living [Class] Room

The connected TV landscape: Why smart TVs and streaming gadgets are conquering the living room

On 02/07/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bring your own device (BYOD), business side of he, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, experimentation, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, TVs, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

The connected TV landscape: Why smart TVs and streaming gadgets are conquering the living room — from businessinsider.com.au by Mark Hoelzel

In the connected TV world, an app is analogous to a TV channel.

Some key points:

In total, there will be more than 759 million televisions connected to the Internet worldwide by 2018, more than doubling from 307.4 million at year-end 2013.
Globally, shipments of smart TVs will reach a tipping point in 2015, when they will overtake shipments of traditional TVs.
Two tendencies dominate the connected TV ecosystem: closed and open approaches.
Despite platform fragmentation, HTML5 offers at least a faint hope for increased unification between connected TVs, just as it does on mobile.
How will developers and operating system operators monetise smart TV apps? Media downloads, subscriptions and — to a much lesser degree — advertisements will drive the dollars. Smart TV platform operators have begun experimenting with ads.

From DSC:
If in a connected TV world, an app is analogous to a TV channel…then I say let’s bring on the educationally-related, interactive, multimedia-based apps!

Learning Ecosystems

Designing learning spaces for both online and on-campus delivery [Schaffhauser]

Very interesting & powerful possibilities: “Oculus Rift technology may improve online learning”

“Who is taking MOOCs? Teachers, says MIT-Harvard study”; plus other MOOC-related items

The Online MBA comes of age [WSJ]

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