FaceVsion’s TouchCam V1 does SkypeHD at 720p for $69.99 — from FaceVsion by Tim Stevens
On 01/22/2011,
in A/V -- audio/visual, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, global / globalization, tools, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
On 01/20/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, animation, blended learning, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, immersion, informal learning, innovation, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, marketplaces, media/film, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, play, podcasting, simulations, social learning / networks, social media, strategy, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The other day, I created/posted the top graphic below. Take the concepts below — hook them up to engines that use cloud-based learner profiles — and you have some serious potential for powerful, global, ubiquitous learning! A touch-sensitive panel might be interesting here as well.
Come to think of it, add social networking, videoconferencing, and web-based collaboration tools — the power to learn would be quite impressive. Multimedia to the nth degree.
Then add to that online marketplaces for teaching and learning — where you can be both a teacher and a learner at the same time — hmmm…
.
.
From DSC:
Then today, I saw Cisco’s piece on their Videoscape product line! Check it out!
.
.
.
.
.
.
On 01/19/2011,
in curriculum, digital learning, global / globalization, India, instructional design, online learning, online media, online tutoring, publishing, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
A global push continues to be evident in some of the things that Pearson has been up to in the last year:
- Pearson takes controlling stake in India’s TutorVista — from WSJ (1/11)
- Pearson acquires TutorVista: expands Pearson’s business in education in India and in global online tutoring — from Pearson (1/11)
- Pearson to offer degrees in the UK — from Pearson (12/2010)
- Pearson VUE opens Dubai office and appoints local Arabic-speaking team — from Pearson (11/2010)
- Pearson acquires The Administrative Assistants Ltd.; extends leadership in student information systems — from Pearson (11/2010)
- Pearson to open fifty new English language centres in China — from Pearson (11/2010)
- Pearson to acquire 75% stake in CTI Education Group, a leading higher education company in South Africa — from Pearson (11/2010)
- Pearson eCollege, National Academy Foundation partner to provide online teacher professional development — from Pearson (9/2010)
- Pearson to acquire America’s Choice: plans to extend reach of school improvement services — from Pearson (8/2010)
- Pearson to acquire Wall Street Institute: acquisition extends Pearson’s position as world leader in English language teaching — from Pearson (7/2010)
- Pearson raises earnings guidance — from Financial Times
- Pearson, the publishing group that owns Penguin books and the Financial Times, raised its full-year earnings forecasts for the third time in less than six months, thanks to strong growth in computer-based learning products and in the developing world.
On 01/15/2011,
in disruption, global / globalization, Google, languages and translation, tools,
by Daniel Christian
Realtime voice translation moves closer — from Education Stormfront blog
Excerpt:
There are some industries, such as education that have been shielded from globalization so far because of the language barrier. This is about to fall.
On 01/15/2011,
in Australia, budgets, economics, education reform, Europe, global / globalization, India, K-12 related, Michigan, online learning, open courseware and systems, relationships, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Half of Detroit’s schools may close — from good.is
Financial mismanagement and declining enrollment are ringing a death knell for Detroit’s schools. According to Detroit Public School Emergency Manager Robert Bobb, to close a $327 million budget deficit, he’ll need to shut half of the city’s campuses over the next two years.
Under the plan, the 142 current schools in the district would be reduced to 72 by the 2012-13 school year. What will happen to the students attending those schools? Bobb plans to shift them over to the remaining campuses, raising class sizes to 62 students per teacher.
From DSC:
Seriously…this is crazy and completely unfair! Those of us who have more resources need to step in and help out. But how can we best do this? How can folks outside of the Detroit area make a solid, helpful impact? Coming from the tech side of the house, I’d like to see us offer FREE materials…online.
That assistance could come from private corporations, individuals, colleges, universities or for-profit organizations such as K12 Inc. Another idea along the lines of individuals, is to allocate $1-$5 billion from the amounts being donated by some of the nation’s wealthiest people. Use those funds to make outstanding educational materials that engage our youth. Then we could offer those incredibly-well done, multimedia-based, interactive, engaging, highly-sophisticated materials FREELY to anyone who wants access to them — whether inside or outside the United States. This would be a massive undertaking from a curricular, instructional design, programming, production, etc. standpoint. But WOW! What a difference it could make to level the playing field!
Perhaps working with vendors, some of the funding could be used for loaning out the devices needed to “play” and interact with the materials, and perhaps some other funding could be allocated to the city of Detroit to provide wireless access throughout the city and surrounding suburbs.
Also see:
The $600 billion challenge– from Fortune
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation’s billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy.
2 Corinthians 5:19-20 — from BibleGateway.com’s Verse of the Day
“that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them (emphasis DSC). And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
On 01/10/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Australia, collaboration, global / globalization, Google, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
A classroom without walls – Google Teacher Academy Application — from murcha.wordpress.com
Educators in Australia are being given an opportunity to be certified as Google Teachers in an Academy that is coming to Sydney in March. Part of this process is to make a 1 minute video showing on either “Motivation and Learning” or “Classroom Innovation.”
I wish to thank @edsaid for telling me how to add videos to my wordpress blog. It is to much appreciated and I will now be able to add more engaging features to my posts with this knowledge.
Here is my movie reflecting some of the connections, global interactions and collaboration that has taken place beyond our classroom walls. It is very difficult to summarize in 1 minute some of the amazing activities that we have been involved in, but it gives the viewer a glimpse and hopefully a taste for more. If you are interested in applying, check out the Google Academy. Thank you to my wonderful personal learning network and global colleagues.
On 01/03/2011,
in education, education reform, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, trends,
by Daniel Christian
Time for education innovation— from edReformer.com by Tom Vander Ark (emphasis DSC)
The growth of media and communications technology, the rise of a new generation of students and teachers equipped to use technology, and the shifts within schools and educational systems themselves create new fertile ground for education innovation. Taken all together these major changes can be understood as The Big Shifts in education.
The Big Shifts are comprised of the Technology Shift, the Global Shift, and the Learning Shift.
On 01/03/2011,
in 21st century, corporate universities / corporate training, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, personalized/customized learning, training / L&D,
by Daniel Christian
The world is my school: Welcome to the era of personalized learning — from the January/February issue of The Futurist by Maria H. Andersen — with special thanks to Paul Simbeck Hampson for this item
“Future learning will become both more social and more personal, says an educational technology expert.”
On 12/27/2010,
in 24x7x365 access, accreditation, adjunct faculty, blended learning, career development, content development, aggregation, repositories, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, e-books, e-readers, educational games / serious games, elearning, faculty, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, informal learning, leadership, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, open courseware and systems, personalized/customized learning, strategy, training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning,
by Daniel Christian
eLearning predictions for 2011 and beyond — from Web Courseworks.com by Jon Aleckson
Excerpts:
This summer I attended the 2010 Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Some very interesting topics came up in the facilitated Think Tanks, and I wanted to share some of the predictions that were developed from these active group discussions regarding where eLearning will go in the next ten years.
…
Below you will find a table that summarizes the different opportunities and challenges that were predicted to arise in the next ten years by the participants in the conference Think Tanks and by [Jon Aleckson].
| Opportunities | Challenges | |
| Learner |
|
|
| K-12 Instruction |
|
|
| Corporate Training |
|
|
| Content |
|
|
| Learning Environment |
|
|
| Faculty |
|
|
| Administration & Management |
|
|
| International Perspectives |
|
|
On 12/22/2010,
in art, global / globalization, higher education, languages and translation, MBA, media/film,
by Daniel Christian
Per Mark Macho:
You and your students might enjoy www.10muses.com. There is instant access to the TVchannel sites of the whole world for a starter, arts around the world and much else, popular fun but also a simple way to learn about how others around the world perceive our time and its innovations.
Our tagline is ‘the global view.’
If you look at ,say the New York Times, you will get news from China, but filtered through an American reporter and an American editor. We grouped media so someone could see what the Chinese themselves are saying.
We provide the links to the preeminent publications. But whether it is about design or politics it is all ‘straight from the horse’s mouth.’
I am American and I think our inability or rather failure to really see other perspectives is harming us in every way–in the wallet, in defense, in noticing developments.
As you will notice there is a place on every topic to ask questions and get an answer from someone on the ground who really knows. What is the best club for House music in Moscow?…for instance. We have team members from every continent.
From DSC:
I don’t know much about this site, but being able to get another perspective — from someone in another country — seems like a good thing to me. Thanks Mark for the resource.
On 12/17/2010,
in global / globalization, internet, telecommunications, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
This slide was from an EDUCAUSE Live! Webcast on 16 Dec 2010 by H. David Lambert, president and CEO, Internet2:
.
From DSC:
To me, it again reinforces the great need to be connected to networks of subject matter experts (SME’s) within a discipline. Without such personal learning networks, there is a chance that what a professor is teaching may not be entirely accurate and up-to-date.
On 12/10/2010,
in computer science, future, global / globalization, psychology, relationships, science, simulations,
by Daniel Christian
.
“Surviving the future is an unsettling glimpse into the human psyche right now, as our culture staggers between a fervent belief in futuristic utopian technologies on the one hand, and dreams of apocalyptic planetary payback on the other. Thought provoking and visually stunning, Surviving the Future looks at the stark and extreme choices facing our species as we prepare ourselves for the most challenging and consequential period in our history.”
— from http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2010/survivingthefuture/
.
As seen as CBC-TV on Thursday Oct-21-2010
.
— originally from http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2010/11/surviving-future.html
From DSC:
Although I don’t agree with many things in this piece, it’s important to reflect upon some of the sometimes exciting and sometimes disturbing things in this piece. Looking at some of the enormous challenges and potential directions ahead of us this century, it’s all the more important that our hearts are hearts of flesh, not hearts of stone!