Colleges embrace MP4 technology for delivering instruction — from eSchoolNews.com by Dennis Carter

University Alliance promotes live chats, streaming lecture video, and message boards through students’ mobile devices

Four universities are giving students the chance to complete certificate and degree programs by downloading class material to mobile devices like iPhones and iPods in a distance-learning initiative that one day could be commonplace in higher education. The University Alliance, one of the country’s largest online education facilitators, announced earlier this month that students enrolled in web-based courses at Villanova University, the University of San Francisco, Tulane University, and the University of Notre Dame will be able to watch course lectures in MP4 video format on their mobile devices.

Moderning classrooms

From DSC:
For those of us in higher education, what occurs in K-12 affects us, as it affects our incoming students’ expectations. We need to prepare now for our students of tomorrow! And congratulations to those of you in K-12 who are working hard to keep your students engaged, growing, challenged, participating, and learning!


From DSC:
I signed up and downloaded a whitepaper from intelliresponse.com entitled, “Going Mobile: Web Self-Service for Students — Learn how higher education institutions can embrace the new multi-channel eco-system for student self-service (via Mobile, Social Media, Web)”.

I thought it was interesting how the term eco-system weaved its way through this company’s marketing literature. But it also relayed some more data on the increasing amount of mobile devices out there (now and expected in the near future).  If we were to substitute the word “learning” in place of the words “self-service”, this topic becomes very relevant to this blog.

Here are a couple graphics from the paper:

Going Mobile: Web Self-Service for Students Learn how higher education institutions can embrace the new multi-channel eco-system for student self-service (via Mobile, Social Media, Web)

Mobile self-service

The Future of Higher Education: Beyond the Campus — from iangardnergb.blogspot.com

“Lots and lots at the time being on the future of HE, especially in the UK due to the funding cuts, imminent election, etc. One of the latest reports is a joint one from JISC, SERF, EDUCAUSE and CAUDIT, showing many issues are not just affecting the UK.

Abstract:
Higher education’s purpose is to equip students for success in life—in the workplace, in communities, and in their personal lives. While this purpose may have remained constant for centuries, the world around colleges and universities is undergoing significant change. Higher education is under pressure to meet greater expectations, whether for student numbers, educational preparation, workforce needs, or economic development. Meanwhile, the resources available are likely to decline. New models, an intense focus on the student experience, and a drive for innovation and entrepreneurism will ensure that higher education continues to meet society’s needs. Information technology supports virtually every aspect of higher education, including finances, learning, research, security, and sustainability, and IT professionals need to understand the range of problems their institutions face so they apply IT where it brings greatest value. Creating this future will require collaboration across organizational and national boundaries, bringing together the collective intelligence of people from backgrounds including education, corporations, and government.

From DSC:
Many quotes jumped off of the pages of the report, but here’s one of them:

Higher education represents a complex, adaptive system that is influenced by larger societal trends and information technology. If higher education is adaptive, what will its future be?

How can liberal education prepare students for the future? — NITLE

We conclude our blog conversation series on the future of liberal education, elicited by the recent AAC&U conference, with an appropriate nod to the future.

One panel* addressed an intriguing topic: how do we prepare students for a future that doesn’t yet exist?

Discussion hit on a series of topics, which we can abstract and summarize here:

There are two ways to prepare for events, reactive and creative (shaping new things).  What learning attributes do we associate with both of these?

  • Adaptability of beliefs, behaviors, assumptions
  • Imagination
  • Innovation (implementing new ideas) <– From DSC: There’s that word again

NITLE.org

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From Campus Technology’s latest edition — quote below from Geoff Fletcher, Editorial Director

What do students want? -- from Campus Technology's February 2010 Ed.

Per Geoff: Innovation is in. Innovation has always been in, but it really is in these days: According to economists, innovation will be America’s [or substitute any nation — per DSC] hedge in an increasingly-competitive global economy, but only if our education system is good enough — is innovative enough — to foster the same creativity and inventiveness in our students.

Per DSC:
Wow…do we have our work cut out for us. From so many of the articles and postings I’ve seen over the last few years, innovation and change comes hard to those of us in the world of education. Are we giving the students the chances to be innovative and creative? Are we encouraging those traits in them? If not, what will it take to turn the tides here?

Also, I’d like to comment on students’ expectations — in that we should not underrate them! (Particularly in light of the higher costs of obtaining an education and the movement towards a more consumer-based mindset of our students.) I wonder how long will it be before prospective students take a good, long, hard look at what assistance/training/education an institution of higher education will offer them in developing their learning networks? What technologies does that institution support? What philosophies does that school have concerning how open to be here? Hmmm…

Finally, this edition sports a great article (starting on page 23) entitled, “Managing the Student for Life” — I’ve often thought that more colleges and universities should focus more heavily on lifelong learning possibilities, and then to market themselves as being able to assist a person from age 18 – until “death-do-we-part”.  🙂

Managing the student for life


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