Example snapshots from
Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision
On 12/18/2014,
in Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, Microsoft, online learning, online media, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt from Khan Academy lands on the Xbox One bringing free education videos to your TV — from winbeta.org by Fahad Al-Riyami; with thanks to Keith W. O’Neal for posting this on Twitter
First available on the web, then on mobile devices, Khan Academy is now available on the Xbox One console too. The app provides access to thousands of educational videos on a range of different topics. The non-profit organization provides its video’s complete free of charge and makes them available to anyone in the world. No ads, and no regional restrictions.
![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)
On 12/09/2014,
in 21st century, Apple, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, emerging technologies, future, generational differences, Google, media/film, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile technologies, trends, TVs,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpts:
Some notes:
- Google is now bigger than all newspapers, magazines and dwarfs big media
- YouTube reaches more 18-34 year olds than any cable network
- YouTube is closing in on broadcast-network revenue
- TV now has to share attention with digital
- TV still massive, digital video still a blip
- Basically, Google is swallowing the world…
On 06/25/2014,
in Amazon, Apple, business, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, future, game-changing environment, Google, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, lifelong learning, Microsoft, mobile learning, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, platforms, programming, second screen apps, strategy, streams of content, student-related, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), trends, TVs, ubiquitous learning,
by Daniel Christian
Mobile Megatrends 2014…uncovering major mobile trends in 2014 — from visionmobile.com
Excerpt:
This report examines five major trends that we expect to shape the future of mobile in the coming years:
- Apps: The Tip of the Iceberg
- Mobile Ecosystems: Don’t Come Late to the Game
- OTT Squared: Messaging Apps are the new Platforms
- Handset Business Reboot: Hardware is the new Distribution
- The Future of HTML5: Beyond the Browser
From DSC:
In looking at the below excerpted slide from this solid presentation, I have to ask…
“Does this same phenomenon also apply to educationally-related products/services?”
…
Yes, I think it does.
That is, the educationally-related products and services of an organization will compete not by size, but how well the experience roams across screens. Lifelong learners (who are using well-designed learning experiences) will be able to tap into streams of content on multiple devices and never skip a beat. The organizations who provide such solid learning experiences across multiple “channels” should do well in the future. This is due to:
- The affordances of cloud-based computing
- The increasing power of mobile computing
- The convergence of the television, the telephone, and the computer — which is opening up the door for powerful, interactive, multi-directional communications that involve smart/connected televisions
- Generation Z’s extensive use of screens*
* From Here Comes Generation Z — bloombergview.com by Leonid Bershidsky
If Y-ers were the perfectly connected generation, Z-ers are overconnected. They multi-task across five screens: TV, phone, laptop, desktop and either a tablet or some handheld gaming device, spending 41 percent of their time outside of school with computers of some kind or another, compared to 22 percent 10 years ago.
On 04/08/2014,
in Apple, CMS/LMS, digital learning, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education technology, Google, higher education, Microsoft, student-related, tablets,
by Daniel Christian
8 surprising facts about undergrads and ed-tech — from eCampusNews.com by Meris Stansbury
Excerpt:
It’s not every day, after scouring headlines from dozens of news sources, that news—especially education technology news—can surprise a seasoned education writer; but in recent research provided by EDUCAUSE, as well as a spiffy new infographic, many details on how undergraduate students are using ed-tech are fascinating…in that they’re not always as ‘cutting-edge’ as some may think.
On 03/29/2014,
in Apple, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, Microsoft, mobile learning, mobile technologies, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, tablets, tools,
by Daniel Christian
Microsoft expands cloud services for mobile scenarios — from Microsoft.com
Office for iPad and Enterprise Mobility Suite showcase Microsoft’s mobile-first, cloud-first approach.
Excerpt:
SAN FRANCISCO — March 27, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. on Thursday announced several new and updated applications and services including Microsoft Office for iPad and free Office Mobile apps for iPhone and Android phones. Microsoft also announced the Enterprise Mobility Suite, a comprehensive set of cloud services to help businesses manage corporate data and services on the devices people use at work and at home. In addition, the company announced the upcoming availability of Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium and enhancements to Windows Intune.
“Microsoft is focused on delivering the cloud for everyone, on every device. It’s a unique approach that centers on people — enabling the devices you love, work with the services you love, and in a way that works for IT and developers,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer for Microsoft.
March 27, 2014
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discusses the intersection of cloud and mobile at an event in San Francisco.
Microsoft CEO Nadella pulls the trigger on long-gestating Office apps for iPad — from businessweek.com by Joshua Brustein
Excerpt:
Read-only versions of the iPad apps are available for free. To create and edit documents, customers will need a subscription to Microsoft’s Office 365 software, which costs individual users $99 a year. By making the iPad app part of its wider software package, Microsoft avoids splitting revenue with Apple (AAPL), which takes a cut of the money that developers make through its App Store. Because the full versions are only offered as part of a wider package, it also means all those bosses who want their employees tapping out spreadsheets on their iPads while they wait in the airport will have to start ponying up for Office 365.
Microsoft and Office in a multi-platform world — from techcrunch.com by Alex Wilhelm
Microsoft finally brings Office to the iPad — from forbes.com by Parmy Olson
Excerpt:
Microsoft Office is at last coming to the iPad, marking an important step for the software giant as it races to catch up with the move to mobile. Microsoft general manager Julia White said that as of 11am Pacific Time on Thursday, key Office programs Word, Excel and PowerPoint would be available on the App Store for the iPad.
Microsoft’s popular email application, Outlook, was notably absent from the list of available programs. The apps are free but users will require a subscription to Microsoft’s Office 365 service to use them.
Office for iPad review: Surprisingly worth the wait — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington (@drizzled)
On 11/11/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), convergence, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), interactivity, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, Microsoft, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, streams of content,
by Daniel Christian
Xbox, watch TV: inside Microsoft’s audacious plan to take over the living room — from by Nilay Patel
Can the Xbox One finally kickstart the TV revolution?
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Taking over your cable box also means the Xbox can overlay your TV signal with interesting information: a voice-activated channel guide, pop-up notifications when you get a Skype call and Xbox Live invites, a new NFL app that shows you real-time fantasy stats. You can even snap the TV window to the side of the screen while you play games. Your nasty cable interface is still there, but it allows the Xbox One to replace the cable box as the primary living-room entertainment device and go from gaming console to major new computing platform.
…
So the entire Xbox One is designed around what you might call a bold compromise: instead of directly integrating TV, the system hijacks it. Rather than plugging your cable box and Xbox into the TV separately, you first plug the cable box into the Xbox, and then the Xbox into the TV. Your cable box is still there, and still doing all the heavy lifting of providing TV, but now it’s doing it in service of the overall Xbox One experience. Smith describes it as “augmenting” the cable box experience in an effort to eliminate the friction of switching between games, apps, and TV.
From DSC:
The battle for the living room continues. I hope that we can eventually leverage these developments not just for entertainment, but for creating, contributing, sharing, absorbing, and discussing streams of content. The creative possibilities involving transmedia-based storytelling are exciting in this type of environment as well.
On 11/01/2013,
in Apple, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, entrepreneurship, Google, ideas, innovation, interactivity, Microsoft, platforms, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Some items re: Steam and OUYA — with a thanks going out to Mr. Steven Chevalia for the information here
For the past 20 years, the video game industry has been controlled by three primary companies:
- Nintendo (Nintendo, Gamecube, Wii)
- Sony (Playstation)
- Microsoft (Xbox)
However, the past two years have shown an increased interest in hardware solutions from 3rd parties, such as:
- OUYA is a 3rd party console that was designed to be a gaming system with a lower cost and was meant for all open-source games.
(Further details at wikipedia.org)
- Steam is a 3rd party that sells and updates all their games digitally. They offer all the same games as most of the consoles (listed above) and will soon be offering their own console, which will connect to the internet and allow you to play any game that you own on their service.
(Further details at wikipedia.org)
These smaller, lesser known devices are prime targets for educational and kid-friendly material. (NOTE: Not all of the games available via these sites are appropriate for kids, as many of the games therein are meant for older audiences.) It is likely that iTunes U, YouTube, etc. will all be viewable on these consoles and the games made for them will be able to be made by smaller companies that can’t compete on the market with Nintendo, Playstation, or Xbox-based games.
On 10/06/2013,
in consortiums, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, Microsoft, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, strategy, surviving, using teams, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Microsoft joins Degreed’s crusade to ‘jailbreak the degree’ – from gigaom.com by Ki Mae Heussner
Excerpt:
Degreed, a San Francisco startup taking on traditional degrees and diplomas with a digital credential that reflects lifelong learning, has recruited its first corporate partner to its corner.
This week the startup said it will launch a partnership with Microsoft Virtual Academy, the tech giant’s online IT training site, which will give students who complete the program’s classes a way to display their achievements on Degreed.
From DSC:
AT&T and Georgia Tech.
Google and edX.
Microsoft and Degreed.
IBM sending Watson to school and partnering with 1000+ universities (see here and here).
JP Morgan and University of Delaware (see this addendum from 10/7/13)
Is there a new trend forming here?
On 09/18/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Apple, blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, disruption, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future of higher education, global / globalization, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, smart classrooms, storytelling, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, transmedia, TVs, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
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)
