From DSC:
What does this have to do with learning? Keep your eye on the convergence of the television, the telephone, and the computer. This involves the software side of things as well (with technologies like WebRTC). I have it that in the future, it will have everything to do with learning and will greatly accelerate one of the other massive trends on my radar, the “Walmart of Education.”
![The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian-July-2012.jpg)
From DSC:
There’s something here for classrooms/education — even for the living rooms of the future!
Little Mermaid Second Screen Live makes iPads part of the movie world — from gigaom.com by Liz Shannon Miller
Summary:
Disney advertises the Second Screen Live experience as a rebellion: “Break the rules — bring your iPad to the movies!” But it’s less a trip to the movies and more a fully interactive experience.
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As the film began, so did the games. Most second-screen experiences I’ve tried have been largely passive, but Little Mermaid demanded the audience’s attention right from the beginning with games, trivia questions and other forms of interactivity for all ages.
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The action on the big screen even froze from time to time for more complex games, and there were moments of seemingly new animation inserted at key plot points, as well.
Introducing…the Learning Dashboard — from khanacademy.org
Excerpt:
The new learning dashboard is your personal homepage on Khan Academy. The dashboard gives you an easy way to find the best next things for you to do. It has a bunch of really cool things designed to help you learn math, and soon other subjects, really well on your own or with a coach. You can access it when you’re signed in by clicking on the Khan Academy logo at the top of the page.
From DSC:
Think of the power of this in a blended learning environment! Use the dashboard to gain more choice, more control. See your progress. Then go to your teacher, professor, trainer, supervisor, subject matter expert, etc. to get guidance, extra help, etc. It also plays into what I envision in the “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” environment that continues to form in front of our very eyes.
Job market embraces Massive Online Courses — from online.wsj.com by Douglas Belkin and Caroline Porter
Seeking better-trained workers, AT&T, Google and other firms help design and even fund web-based college classes
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Big employers such as AT&T Inc. and Google Inc. are helping to design and fund the latest round of low-cost online courses, a development that providers say will open the door for students to earn inexpensive credentials with real value in the job market.
New niche certifications being offered by providers of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, are aimed at satisfying employers’ specific needs. Available at a fraction of the cost of a four-year degree, they represent the latest crack in the monopoly traditional universities have in credentialing higher education.
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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with its MOOC partner edX, is starting a course sequence called the XSeries, and plans to ask for input from a consortium of about 50 companies, including United Parcel Service Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. For up to $700, students will be able to take a test and earn a “verified certificate” in subjects like computer science and supply-chain management.
Meanwhile, companies such as Yahoo Inc. have begun reimbursing employees who take certified courses from Coursera, another MOOC provider.
Circle Twelve introduces new video conferencing and immersive multi-user collaboration system — from businesswire.com
DiamondTouch Immersion is a new video conferencing system from Circle Twelve designed for connecting two remotely located teams. It combines a the multi-user DiamondTouch table with a second display for video conferencing. It features several patented technologies, including the multi-user DiamondTouch table hardware used for interacting with shared content and collaborative whiteboarding, a method for indicating which remote user is interacting (check out the virtual arms at 3:45), and a multi-camera system so you can see all the people at the remote table. More information at http://www.circletwelve.com/products/…
From DSC:
Can you imaging this type of web-based collaboration in blended learning environments?!!
Also see:
Purdue software boosts graduation rate 21 percent — from purdue.edu
Excerpt:
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A data-mining and analysis software program called Signals developed by Purdue University has increased six-year graduation rates by 21.48 percent, according to a recent review of data from the 2007 cohort of students.
The increased graduation rates were for students who were in two or more Signals-enabled classes compared to students who had not taken any Signals-enabled courses. Students who had taken just one Signals-enabled course graduated 20.87 percent higher than those who had taken none.
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The Signals software looks at students’ online academic behaviors, such as whether they opened a reading assignment or completed a set of math exercises. It combines this information with demographic information about the student, such as his or her standardized test scores, high school GPA, and current grades. In all the system uses more than 20 reference datapoints.
Signals then displays a simple and intuitive red, yellow or green signal on the student’s course website to let them know how they are doing in that course.
From DSC:
It seems to me that this is the type of underlying technology/toolset that holds enormous potential for online and blended learning environments. It’s similar to what IBM’s Watson seems to be doing for determining effective plans of action for cancer patients. The software takes in data from numerous different areas to form a list of the most potentially-effective plans of action (along with the %’s of how likely those items are the causes of actual concern).
Above graphic from:
IBM’s Watson interns at Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Also see:
IBM’s Watson supercomputer to diagnose patients
Watson will initially be used to help treat cancer patients
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
“The implications for healthcare are extraordinary,” said Lori Beer, WellPoint’s executive vice president of Enterprise Business Services. “We believe new solutions built on the IBM Watson technology will be valuable for our provider partners, and more importantly, give us new tools to help ensure our members are receiving the best possible care.”
Addendums on 9/27:
True personalization is the next big thing in multiscreen TV — from .v-net.tv by John Moulding
From DSC:
Not a far stretch to see some applications of this in the future aimed at learning objects/learning agents/and personalized streams of content.
Addendum:
(With thanks going out to Mr. Richard Byrne over at the Free Technology for Teachers blog for this item)
Bookless public library opens in Texas — from npr.org by Bill Chappell with thanks to Laura Goodrich/Don Tapscott for this resource
Excerpt:
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EdX announces partnership with Google — from web.mit.edu; w/ thanks to Mr. John Shank for the Scoop on this
Google and edX to collaborate on an open-source learning platform and research, among other things.
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
As part of the collaboration with Google, edX plans to build out and operate MOOC.org, a new website that will help educational institutions, businesses and teachers build and host online courses for a global audience. The site — slated to go live next year — will be powered by Open edX and built on Google infrastructure.
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EdX, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Cambridge, is a nonprofit organization comprised of 28 leading global institutions, called the xConsortium. According to EdX, its aims are to transform online and on-campus learning through novel methodologies, gamelike experiences and research, among other things.
Also see:
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Excerpt:
Today, Google will begin working with edX as a contributor to the open source platform, Open edX. We are taking our learnings from Course Builder and applying them to Open edX to further innovate on an open source MOOC platform. We look forward to contributing to edX’s new site, MOOC.org, a new service for online learning which will allow any academic institution, business and individual to create and host online courses.
Also see:
Also see:
From DSC:
Creating media-rich, professionally-done, well-designed, interactive materials can be expensive — especially if back-end analytics, programming, AI, etc. are called for. Such capital-intensive work may require the use of teams…of partnerships…of alliances…of consortia.
Once created though, such materials could be made available at a low cost, as the costs would be spread out on a large number of people/institutions — i.e. The Walmart of Education.
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Also see:
Wearable tech at the workplace — from connectedworldmag.com
Excerpt:
Wearable sensors are the latest tech-related fashion craze, but not just for consumers. Businesses could soon make use of sensors affixed to hats, watches, glasses, and more. Equipped to provide workers with much-need data about the surrounding environment, these devices may soon invade the job and redefine the workplace—much like tablets and smartphones did just a few years back.
Naturally, businesses have been discussing how something like Google Glass could be used at work. Even the BYOD (bring your own device) phenomenon has the potential to extend to wearable technology, with workers bringing their personal smart watches and glasses for use at work. However, the potential for wearable sensors could be much greater, with specific applications created for targeted industries.
From DSC:
Some serious potential for mobile/distance learning here. What if, instead of a surgeon, that person was an archaeologist on a dig speaking to students in their living rooms, on mobile devices, and/or in classrooms somewhere else…? An electrician fixing a broken transformer on the electrical grid and talking through what she is fixing…? The possibilities are numerous.
See Andrew Vanden Heuvel’s work on this as well:
Moving back to the surgery…one last thought/idea here:
Excerpt:
But existing MOOC providers like Udacity and Coursera aren’t the only ones using free online education to prepare people for jobs. The Muse, a career advice and job search site, recently launched Muse University, which trains students in subjects like landing a promotion and management 101. Aquent, a Boston-based staffing company for digital marketing professionals, also recently launched a MOOC platform of its own called Aquent Gymnasium. Its first class, Coding for Designers, launched in July, and so far, more than 8,000 students have enrolled. The goal of that class, says Andrew Miller, program director of Aquent Gymnasium, is to help designers trained in the print medium understand coding well enough that they can design for a digital medium. It’s a skill, Miller says, that Aquent’s clients were clamoring for. “Most designers can make pictures, and that’s it. Nowadays, people want designers who can produce prototypes,” he says. “We’re not trying to turn designers into developers. We’re trying to turn them into designers developers want to work with.”
Four facts about the emerging contingent workforce — from switchandshift.com by Carleen MacKay; with thanks to Donna Svei (@AvidCareerist) for tweeting this
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
Like it or not, the shift to a contingent workforce is absolute and irrevocable for many at all levels of experience. Taken together, professionals and non-professionals, it is estimated that 1 in 3 people (42 million) now work as contingent workers. Other experts estimate that by 2020, up to 50% of the workforce will be contingent.
Lesson: The changes in the workplace are structural, not cyclical. Certain jobs are gone forever and others are on the chopping block of time. Your task is to stay ahead of future changes.
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The opportunity to contribute is driven by the alignment between current knowledge and market-driven demand. Opportunities are not limited by any particular career choice nor are they limited by degree. However, if you are to do well in the contingent world, you need to remain on the cutting-edge just as organizations must. Lifetime learning, a once-upon-a-time buzz phrase, is now a reality for those who would enjoy the fruits of the tree of knowledge.
Lesson: To the learners go the rewards.
From DSC:
Consider the graphic from the above article:
With these current, massive changes to the workforce like this…will our current level of responsiveness within institutions of higher education be able to get us there?
From DSC:
What if the objects you touched you just wanted to know more about…? This could tie into educationally-related applications at that point!
IBM and USTA captivate tennis fans with immersive second screen experience — from MarketWatch.com
Analytics, cloud, mobile and social computing technologies deliver US Open to fans’ fingertips
Excerpt:
The innovative digital US Open environment provides fans, players, broadcasters and media with access to a range of Big Data insights streaming from the courts, including stats, facts, videos, live scoring, and historical and real-time analysis of tennis data served to tablets, smartphones, PCs and other devices.
Also see:
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From DSC:
Questions I wonder about:
Somewhat-related items:
College students bring targeted media to doctors’ waiting rooms — from entrepreneur.com by Michelle Goodman
Excerpt:
Their idea was to sell doctors’ offices prepackaged video segments containing tips on diet, exercise and other lifestyle tweaks patients could make to improve their health. A TV screen in the reception area would broadcast this programming, modeled after segments on shows such as Today, while patients waited for appointments.
To test the idea, Agarwal, Shah and classmate Derek Moeller bought TVs and DVD players, culled content from the internet and distributed the equipment and “shows” to 50 doctors in five states.
Is connectivity a human right? — by Mark Zuckerberg
Also see:
