library / librarians

What is a learning ecosystem? And how does it support corporate strategy? [Eudy]

On 07/24/2018, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adjunct faculty, blended learning, business, career development, change, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, face-to-face, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, hybrid learning, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, lifelong learning, microlearning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, project-based learning, relationships, RSS, simulations, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), tools, training / L&D, universities, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

What is a learning ecosystem? And how does it support corporate strategy? — from ej4.com by Ryan Eudy

Excerpt:

A learning ecosystem is a system of people, content, technology, culture, and strategy, existing both within and outside of an organization, all of which has an impact on both the formal and informal learning that goes on in that organization.

The word “ecosystem” is worth paying attention to here. It’s not just there to make the term sound fancy or scientific. A learning ecosystem is the L&D equivalent of an ecosystem out in the wild. Just as a living ecosystem has many interacting species, environments, and the complex relationships among them, a learning ecosystem has many people and pieces of content, in different roles and learning contexts, and complex relationships.

Just like a living ecosystem, a learning ecosystem can be healthy or sick, nurtured or threatened, self-sustaining or endangered. Achieving your development goals, then, requires an organization to be aware of its own ecosystem, including its parts and the internal and external forces that shape them.

From DSC:
Yes, to me, the concept/idea of a learning ecosystem IS important. Very important. So much so, I named this blog after it.

Each of us as individuals have a learning ecosystem, whether we officially recognize it or not. So do the organizations that we work for. And, like an ecosystem out in nature, a learning ecosystem is constantly morphing, constantly changing.

We each have people in our lives that help us learn and grow, and the people that were in our learning ecosystems 10 years ago may or may not still be in our current learning ecosystems. Many of us use technologies and tools to help us learn and grow. Then there are the spaces where we learn — both physical and virtual spaces. Then there are the processes and procedures we follow, formally and/or informally. Any content that helps us learn and grow is a part of that ecosystem. Where we get that content can change, but obtaining up-to-date content is a part of our learning ecosystems. I really appreciate streams of content in this regard — and tapping into blogs/websites, especially via RSS feeds and Feedly (an RSS aggregator that took off when Google Reader left the scene).

The article brings up a good point when it states that a learning ecosystem can be “healthy or sick, nurtured or threatened, self-sustaining or endangered.” That’s why I urge folks to be intentional about maintaining and, better yet, consistently enhancing their learning ecosystems. In this day and age where lifelong learning is now a requirement to remain in the workforce, each of us needs to be intentional in this regard.

“The scary amount that college will cost in the future” DC: This line of thinking — and trend — needs to come to an end.

On 05/18/2018, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, microlearning, more voice more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, parents/guardians, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, smart classrooms, society, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, trends, United States, universities, youth, by Daniel Christian

The scary amount that college will cost in the future — from cnbc.com by Annie Nova

Excerpt:

Think college is expensive now? Then new parents will probably want to take a seat for this news.

In 2036, just 18 years from now, four years at a private university will be around $303,000, up from $167,000 today.

To get a degree at a public university you’ll need about $184,000, compared with $101,000 now.

These forecasts were provided by Wealthfront, an automated investment platform that offers college saving options. It uses Department of Education data on the current cost of schools along with expected annual inflation to come up with its projections.

Excerpted graphic:

From DSC:
We had better be at the end of the line of thinking that says these tuition hikes can continue. It’s not ok. More and more people will be shut out by this kind of societal gatekeeper. The ever-increasing cost of obtaining a degree has become a matter of social justice for me. Other solutions are needed. The 800 pound gorilla of debt that’s already being loaded onto more and more of our graduates will impact them for years…even for decades in many of our graduates’ cases.

It’s my hope that a variety of technologies will make learning more affordable, yet still provide a high quality of education. In fact, I’m hopeful that the personalization/customization of learning will take some major steps forward in the very near future. We will still need and want solid teachers, professors, and trainers, but I’m hopeful that those folks will be aided by the heavy lifting that will be done by some powerful tools/technologies that will be aimed at helping people learn and grow…providing lifelong learners with more choice, more control.

I love the physical campus as much as anyone, and I hope that all students can have that experience if they want it. But I’ve seen and worked with the high costs of building and maintaining physical spaces — maintaining our learning spaces, dorms, libraries, gyms, etc. is very expensive.

I see streams of content becoming more prevalent in the future — especially for lifelong learners who need to reinvent themselves in order to stay marketable. We will be able to subscribe and unsubscribe to curated streams of content that we want to learn more about. For example, today, that could involve RSS feeds and Feedly (to aggregate those feeds). I see us using micro-learning to help us encode information and then practice recalling it (i.e., spaced practice), to help us stop or lessen the forgetting curves we all experience, to help us sort information into things we know and things that we need more assistance on (while providing links to resources that will help us obtain better mastery of the subject(s)).

Fantastic work from OMA on the Qatar National Library in Doha!

On 04/21/2018, in architecture, learning spaces, library / librarians, by Daniel Christian

OMA’s Qatar National Library opens in Doha — from dezeen.com by India Block

Excerpt:

Dutch architecture firm OMA has completed its Qatar National Library building in Doha, which features tiers of marble bookcases set within a single open-plan space. The OMA-designed building, which opened earlier this week, houses several collections of Qatar’s most important texts and manuscripts on Arab-Islamic civilisation.

The Link to Content in 21st-Century Libraries [Lippincott]

On 02/09/2018, in 21st century, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, higher education, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, student-related, universities, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

The Link to Content in 21st-Century Libraries — from er.educause.edu by Joan Lippincott

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

At the 2017 Designing Libraries for the 21st Century annual conference, architect Craig Dykers asked the audience what he described as a rhetorical question: Are libraries places for information, with people in them, or are they places for people, with information in them? He concluded that ideally, today’s libraries, as they have always been, are places for the interaction of people, knowledge, and technologies. One reason that library renovations have brought record numbers of people into the physical building is that the notion of how people interact with content began to expand when available technologies were introduced to libraries in the 1990s. Two specific concepts motivated many of the changes in library spaces beginning at that time. First was the realization that libraries could become places for students and faculty to create content rather than places merely to access content. Second was an increased emphasis in higher education pedagogy on active, collaborative learning, in contrast to the traditional, passive lecture mode. These trends led to some pervasive changes in library space configurations, but sometimes the emphasis on information or content got lost along the way.

Architect Craig Dykers asked the audience what he described as a rhetorical question: Are libraries places for information, with people in them, or are they places for people, with information in them? He concluded that ideally, today’s libraries, as they have always been, are places for the interaction of people, knowledge, and technologies.

From DSC:
I agree with my friend and colleague, Mr. Eric Kunnen (Associate Director, eLearning and Emerging Technologies at GVSU), when he mentions on Twitter that it would have been good to highlight the beautifully done Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons in this solid article.

DC: Very sharp design/architecture! –> “A Futuristic New Library in China Features Illusion of Endless Bookshelves”

On 11/27/2017, in 21st century, architecture, Asia, learning spaces, library / librarians, reading, by Daniel Christian

A Futuristic New Library in China Features Illusion of Endless Bookshelves — from booooooom.com

From DSC:
Reading the item below prompted me to return to a thought/question that I’ve had several times now…in the future, will students be able to choose “where” they want to study? One of our daughters would probably be able to focus better if she were able to be transported to a place of her choosing — perhaps by a stream of running water.

Anyway, it’s an interesting thought/question to consider. It would certainly provide:

Thanks to VR, your office will resemble a tropical island — from thenextweb.com by Amber Leigh Turner

Excerpt:

For example, the idea of being able to teleport their employees to worlds outside of the office – including on a beach on an island a thousand miles away – may help boost employees’ productivity while reducing their stress level.

Mure VR, an Icelandic company, has found a way to integrate virtual reality with your work with the introduction of Breakroom. According to their website, “Breakroom is the way to turn your virtual reality headset into a multi-monitor system. You open a relaxing virtual environment and open your regular Windows applications as a floating 2D monitor within the virtual world. You are no longer limited by the physical computer monitor and can surround yourself with applications.”

Breakroom allows employees to escape workplaces by creating a workspace – such as on the beach, or in a park – that is stress-reducing, while tailored specifically to their needs. Becoming immersed in your work and blocking out the distractions that come with now-popular open office environments is a practical way that Mure VR is bringing virtual reality into the workplace.

Also here’s another application of virtual reality:

Using virtual reality to teach medical students empathy for elders — from unionleader.com by Gretchen Grosky

Excerpt:

“We are Alfred” is a pioneering virtual reality program where students don a headset to experience first-hand what it is like to be an older adult living with these common conditions.

Students at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine – the state with the oldest population in the country – are among the first in the world to use this program as a means to learn empathy for their patients.

“We’re trying to get our students to understand the person-to-person approach of caring for people and working with people,” said Dr. Marilyn R. Gugliucci, professor and director of geriatrics education and research at the college. “We don’t want to just teach in a classroom. They’ve got to know people to help heal people.”

Purdue Opens Combo Library/Active Learning Center [Schaffhauser]

On 08/23/2017, in active learning, higher education, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, student-related, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Purdue Opens Combo Library/Active Learning Center — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

Purdue University students will be attending classes starting this week in a new “active learning center” that integrates flexible classroom and study spaces with library resources and a bakery. The university opened the four-level Thomas S. and Harvey D. Wilmeth Active Learning Center (WALC) after two years of construction.
…
The center includes 27 active learning classrooms, some with a traditional setup of desks, and others with collaboration tables. The building also houses the Data Visualization Experience Lab of Purdue (D-VELoP) and the Hiler Theater, both of which offer room for classes as well as spaces for students to work in after class. An on-site Au Bon Pain bakery sells coffee and baked goods.

From DSC:
With 27 active learning classrooms (ALCs) in this new facility, this is a major endorsement of ALCs by Purdue.

Five lessons for libraries looking to innovate in the 21st Century [Wilansky]

On 08/04/2017, in 21st century, education, experimentation, ideas, innovation, journalism, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, love of learning, productivity / tips and tricks, society, by Daniel Christian

Five lessons for libraries looking to innovate in the 21st Century — from knightfoundation.org by Laura Sue Wilansky

Excerpt:

In June, Knight Foundation sent a cohort of U.S. librarians from institutions around the country to the Next Library Conference, an annual gathering held in Aarhus, Denmark that brings together library leaders from around the world to discuss innovative programs, services and ideas in the field. 20 U.S. librarians from 11 cities joined hundreds of colleagues who attended the conference from around the globe, from China to Kenya to the Caribbean.

The goal was to spread best practices in library innovation, while helping their capacity to meet new digital age demands. The initiative is part of Knight’s larger work to help libraries better serve 21st century information needs. We believe libraries are essential to addressing information challenges and creating opportunities for communities to engage with information, new ideas and each other. The conference was an opportunity to connect U.S. libraries in order to share practices and approaches being used to attract new patrons around the world, as well as gather insights from them that can help to further inform our strategy.

Here are some of the lessons the librarians brought home…

“We need to focus intently on making our buildings locations for experimentation, innovation, education, recreation and relaxation.”

Australian Library Design Awards 2017 [designinglibraries.org.uk]

On 06/26/2017, in architecture, Australia, ideas, learning spaces, library / librarians, UK, by Daniel Christian

Australian Library Design Awards 2017 — from
The Australian Library and Information Association has announced the five winners of its inaugural Library Design Awards at its conference in Melbourne.

Excerpt:

Thirty-three stunning libraries were entered in the awards and there is a winner in each category: public, school, academic and special libraries all feature in the entries.

The Australian Library Design Awards were created to showcase the best in contemporary library interiors and exteriors in Australia, and to celebrate the investment in libraries made by Australia’s institutions, corporations, local, state and territory governments.

Oculus Education Pilot Kicks Off in 90 California Libraries

On 06/15/2017, in attention, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Facebook / Meta Platforms, innovation, library / librarians, society, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Oculus Education Pilot Kicks Off in 90 California Libraries — from oculus.com

Excerpt:

Books, like VR, open the door to new possibilities and let us experience worlds that would otherwise be beyond reach. Today, we’re excited to bring the two together through a new partnership with the California State Library. This pilot program will place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state, letting even more people step inside VR and see themselves as part of the revolution.

“It’s pretty cool to imagine how many people will try VR for the very first time—and have that ‘wow’ moment—in their local libraries,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “We hope early access will cause many people to feel excited and empowered to move beyond just experiencing VR and open their minds to the possibility of one day joining the industry.”

Also see:

Oculus Brings Rift to 90 Libraries in California for Public Access VR — from roadtovr.com by Dominic Brennan

Excerpt:

Oculus has announced a pilot program to place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state of California, from the Oregon border down to Mexico. Detailed on the Oculus Blog, the new partnership with the California State Library hopes to highlight the educational potential of VR, as well as provide easy access to VR hardware within the heart of local communities.

“Public libraries provide safe, supportive environments that are available and welcoming to everyone,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “They help level the playing field by providing educational opportunities and access to technology that may not be readily available in the community households. Libraries share the love—at scale.”

7 things you should know about artificial intelligence in teaching and learning — from Educause Learning Initiative (ELI)

Abstract:

The term artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that undertake tasks usually thought to require human cognitive processes and decision-making capabilities. To exhibit intelligence, computers apply algorithms to find patterns in large amounts of data—a process called machine learning, which plays a key role in a number of AI applications. AI learning agents have the potential to function like adaptive learning but at a much more sophisticated and nuanced level, potentially giving every student a computer-simulated personal mentor. Many colleges and universities are developing AI projects that aid teaching and learning.

7 things you should know about the evolution of teaching and learning professions — from Educause Learning Initiative (ELI)

Abstract

For this issue of the 7 Things, we asked a set of seven community leaders—who come from different walks of life in the community—to offer a short meditation on the evolution of the profession. In this issue you will find comments from professionals such as an instructional designer, a CIO, an accessibility expert, and a librarian. We hope that this issue and the spotlight it casts on the evolution of our profession will encourage us to begin further conversations about where we are headed and how we can help one another to achieve our professional goals.

Chief information officers are fast becoming chief innovation officers. It is increasingly critical for the CIO to be an advocate and leader of transformational change on campus rather than a director and manager of IT operations.

A key “big picture” area is the mission of teaching and learning. How do the systems we select today enable improved learning opportunities over the next three years? Will this solution empower students and faculty for years to come or merely meet a tactical need today?

There are increasing opportunities for librarians to work as partners with faculty to develop challenging assignments that encourage students to create a project with an output of a video, podcast, website, data visualization, blog, or other format.

“Support” connotes a hierarchy that doesn’t recognize that staff are valuable assets who play an important role in postsecondary education. We need to find a new language that promotes the ethos of service and servant leadership, within the context of describing ourselves as non-faculty educators and alternative academics.

Once, we thought the faculty role was expanding such that instructors would become learning designers and proto-technologists. Instead, an increasingly competitive and austere landscape is putting competing pressures on faculty, either around research expectations or expanded teaching responsibilities, preventing most from expanding their roles.

NMC Horizon Report > 2017 Library Edition — from nmc.org

Excerpt:

What is on the five-year horizon for academic and research libraries? Which trends and technology developments will drive transformation? What are the critical challenges and how can we strategize solutions? These questions regarding technology adoption and educational change steered the discussions of 77 experts to produce the NMC Horizon Report: 2017 Library Edition, in partnership with the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur, Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), ETH Library, and the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six developments in technology profiled in this report are poised to impact library strategies, operations, and services with regards to learning, creative inquiry, research, and information management. The three sections of this report constitute a reference and technology planning guide for librarians, library leaders, library staff, policymakers, and technologists.

Planning & Designing Academic Library Learning Spaces: Expert Perspectives of Architects, Librarians, & Library Consultants

On 12/07/2016, in 21st century, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, smart classrooms, by Daniel Christian

Planning and Designing Academic Library Learning Spaces: Expert Perspectives of Architects, Librarians, and Library Consultants
This research report was based on interviews with 49 architects, librarians, and library consultants who led a total of 22 academic library projects in the U.S. and Canada.

In this shifting and complex landscape, the role of academic libraries is not fully known. For many librarians and architects who are creating physical and virtual learning spaces in libraries, the million-dollar design question remains: “Is there a model that can stand the test of time as effectively as a centralized print collection has done for hundreds of years, so that libraries remain useful to students and faculty into the future?”

In the future, I’d like to see holograms provide stunning visual centerpieces for libraries, classrooms, & more. [Christian]

On 12/02/2016, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, architecture, art, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), Daniel S. Christian, design, digital learning, drama/theater, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, Mixed Reality (MR), multimedia, music, platforms, simulations, smart classrooms, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In the future, I’d like to see holograms provide stunning visual centerpieces for the entrance ways into libraries, or in our classrooms, or in our art galleries, recital halls, and more. The object(s), person(s), scene(s) could change into something else, providing a visually engaging experience that sets a tone for that space, time, and/or event.

Eventually, perhaps these types of technologies/setups will even be a way to display artwork within our homes and apartments.

Image from 900lbs.com

The New Media Consortium (NMC) has released Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief in conjunction with the 2016 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference.
…
In analyzing the progress and gaps in this area, the NMC’s report has identified a need for higher education leaders and technology companies to prioritize students as makers, learning through the act of content creation rather than mere consumption. Additionally, the publication recommends that colleges and universities establish productive collaborations with industry, government, and libraries to provide students with access to the latest technologies and tools.
…
Based on the variety and complexity of these results, NMC cannot identify just one model of digital literacy. Instead three different digital literacies are now evident, each with distinct standards, potential curriculum, and implications for creative educators.

The aim of this publication is to establish a shared vision of digital literacy for higher education leaders by illuminating key definitions and models along with best practices and recommendations for implementing successful digital literacy initiatives.

To be digitally literate, you need to be:
fluent at critical thinking, collaborating,
being creative, and problem-solving in
digital environments.

Computer science and digital media classes can instruct on everything from office productivity applications to programming and video editing, for example. Sociology courses can teach interpersonal actions online, such as the ethics and politics of social network interaction, while psychology and business classes can focus on computer-mediated human interaction. Government and political science classes are clearly well equipped to explore the intersection of digital technology and citizenship mentioned above. Communication, writing, and literature classes have the capacity to instruct students on producing digital content in the form of stories, arguments, personal expression, posters, and more.

From DSC:
If faculty members aren’t asking students to create multimedia in their assignments and/or take part in online/digitally-based means of communications and learning, the vast majority of the students won’t (and don’t) care about digital literacy…it’s simply not relevant to them: “Whatever gets me the grade, that’s what I’ll do. But no more.”

This type of situation/perspective is quite costly. Because once students graduate from college, had they built up some solid digital literacy — especially the “creative literacy” mentioned above — they would be in much better shape to get solid jobs, and prosper at those jobs. They would be much better able to craft powerful communications — and reach a global audience in doing so. They would have honed their creativity, something increasingly important as the onward march of AI, robotics, algorithms, automation, and such continues to eat away at many types of jobs (that don’t really need creative people working in them).

This is an important topic, especially as digitally-based means of communication continue to grow in their usage and impact.

Part of digital literacy is not just understanding how a tool works but also why it is useful in the real world and when to use it.

Learning Ecosystems

Fantastic work from OMA on the Qatar National Library in Doha!

DC: Very sharp design/architecture! –> “A Futuristic New Library in China Features Illusion of Endless Bookshelves”

Five lessons for libraries looking to innovate in the 21st Century [Wilansky]

Australian Library Design Awards 2017 [designinglibraries.org.uk]

Oculus Education Pilot Kicks Off in 90 California Libraries

“7 things you should know about” for AI in teaching/learning as well as the evolution of teaching/learning professions [educause]

Planning & Designing Academic Library Learning Spaces: Expert Perspectives of Architects, Librarians, & Library Consultants

Categories

Tags