From DSC:
I understand that Mr. George Lucas is going to express his generosity in donating the $4.05 billion from the sale of Lucasfilm to education.

Here’s a question/idea that I’d like to put forth to Mr. Lucas (or to the United States Department of Education, or to another interested/committed party):

Would you consider using the $4+ billion gift to build an “Online Learning Dream Team?”

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Daniel Christian -- The Online Learning Dream Team - as of November 2012

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 Original image credit (before purchased/edited by DSC)
yobro10 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

 

From DSC:
What do you think? What other “players” — technologies, vendors, skillsets, etc. — should be on this team?

  • Perhaps videography?
  • Online tutoring?
  • Student academic services?
  • Animation?
  • Digital photography?

 

IBM’s Watson expands commercial applications, aims to go mobile  — from singularityhub.com by Jason Dorrier

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From DSC:
This relates to what I was trying to get at with the posting on mobile learning.  I would add the word “Education” to the list of industries that the technologies encapsulated in Watson will impact in the future. Combine this with the convergence that’s enabling/building the Learning from the Living [Class] Room environment, and you have one heck of an individualized, data-driven, learning ecosystem that’s available 24 x 7 x 365 — throughout your lifetime!!!

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IBM Watson-Introduction and Future Applications

 

 


Also relevant here are some visions/graphics I created from 2012 and from 2008:


 

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The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

 

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Why couldn't these channels represent online-based courses/MOOCs? Daniel Christian - 10-17-12

 

 

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The power and potential of mobile learning [Christian]

The power and possibility of mobile learningas cross posted from evoLLLution.com (for LifeLong Learning)
Daniel S. Christian | October 2012

As I sat down to write about mobile learning, I struggled with narrowing down the scope of what I was going to attempt to address.  Which angle(s) should I take?

And then I reflected on my morning so far. I helped my daughter wake up to the sounds of a song coming from my iPhone.  She opened one eye, then the other, and soon, she was dancing around the room.  Success!

I then proceeded to listen to my iPhone as I drove my car into work – it gave me the energy I needed to start my internal engines.  (By the way, the idea of automobile-based technologies continues to grow, opening up further possibilities; but that’s a topic for another day.)

Then I caught up with a friend for coffee and he reached for his iPad.  He showed me an app for the local Art Prize competition that’s currently going on in our area.  He mentioned that if a person wasn’t in the immediately vicinity of the Art Prize event, that person could not vote on any of the pieces.  However, if the GPS-based coordinates were within the approved range, a person could use that app to:

  • Vote on which pieces of artwork that they liked
  • Find out where the artwork was located (at numerous locations on a map)
  • Learn more about the pieces themselves – what the pieces were made of, hear the artists’ thoughts on why they created what they created, etc.

So by the time I pulled up to my PC at 9:00am, I had already been positively impacted by mobile technology in several ways.  The common words and phrases that are often used to describe mobile learning and mobile technologies rang true and popped back into my mind: ubiquitous, always on, always connected, 24x7x365, convenient, etc.

As I enjoy peering into the future as well as pulse checking a variety of items, I would like to ask the following questions concerning the potential power and possibility of mobile learning as well as the relevant, emerging set of technologies that enable it:

  • Q:  What happens when the technologies behind IBM’s Watson and Apple’s Siri get perfected and integrated into learning-based products and services? What types of devices will be able to tap into those products and services?
    A:  IBM’s Watson beat the best human players in a game of Jeopardy and is now being used as a data analytics engine for the medical community, wading through terabytes of patient healthcare information and research data in order to determine how best to treat illnesses.  So, such technologies hold some serious promise in terms of at least addressing the lower to mid-levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. For 2012, tablets, smart phones, laptops, notebooks would be likely candidates of accessing these types of products/services. But we are just at the embryonic stages of the Smart/Connected TV, and I have it that such a device will become an important and commonly-used mechanism for accessing such cloud-based applications and services in the future.
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  • Q: Will students of all ages have access to their own virtual tutors so to speak? From any device at any time?
    A: Yes; this is highly likely, especially given the current (and increasing) levels of investments being made in educational technology related areas.  It’s very feasible to think that Apple, IBM, Google, Microsoft, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, or some other organization with deep pockets will develop such virtual tutoring products and services.
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  • Q:  What will happen when a virtual tutor is unable to resolve or address the student’s issue to the student’s satisfaction?  Will the student be able to instantly access a human tutor – with the option of keeping the existing work/issue/problem visible to the human tutor?
    A:  Yes, again…highly likely. This will open up new opportunities for faculty members, teachers, instructors, trainers, and tutors.  Getting experience in teaching online is a solid career move at this point in history.  (Also relevant will be those people creating applications and technically supporting them. An understanding of web-based videoconferencing and collaboration tools will be helpful here.)
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  • Q:  How will the convergence of the television, the computer, and the telephone impact what can be done with learning-based applications and experiences?
    A:  We are just beginning to see the ecosystems changing and adapting to deal with the convergence of the television, the computer, and the telephone.  The Smart/Connected TV – along with “second screen” based applications – is being driven by innovations involving the entertainment, marketing, and advertising industries.  But it’s not a stretch to think that educationally-related content will be right behind such innovative solutions.
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  • Q:  How will the multiple screens phenomenon affect how content can be consumed and discussed?
    A:   I created a couple of graphics along these lines that attempt to capture a potential vision here. I call it “Learning from the Living [Class] Room,” and it continues to develop in front of our eyes. We could be watching a “lecture” on a big screen and simultaneously interacting with people throughout the world on our smaller screens.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

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Learning from the living room -- a component of our future learning ecosystems -- by Daniel S. Christian, June 2012

  • Q:  How will mobile conferencing affect what can be achieved?
    A:  Mobile-based conferencing will provide 24x7x365 opportunities for learning – and communications – to occur.  Such technologies have applications even in more traditional face-to-face classroom settings.  For a few possibilities here, see how mobile technologies are used in this vision by Intel  as well as in this vision by Corning.

 

Great vision from Intel!

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Great vision from Corning!

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  • Q:  What sort of creative doors are opened when a story can be told across a variety of “channels” and means?  And what sorts of skill sets do we need to start building – or continue to build – in order to help students find work in these emerging fields?
    A:  Create a Google Alert on transmedia and/or transmedia-based storytelling and you will get a sense of what’s happening in this arena.  There will be huge opportunity for creative, innovative folks out there!  Being versed in new media would be a solid idea if one hopes to pursue careers in these burgeoning fields. That is, building at least a rudimentary skill set of how to creatively use text, graphics, animations, digital audio, digital video, and interactive programming to deliver and obtain information would be very beneficial here.
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  • Q:  What types of analytics will be tracked and fed into one’s cloud-based learner profile?
    A:  It will depend upon where we want such technologies to take us.  However, think about the applications and implications of this approach if a web-based profile were used to:

    • Feed a workplace-based exchange – matching buyers and sellers of services
    • Inform a learning agent on which topics/disciplines that person wants to learn more about – helping that person obtain a highly-personalized, customized, relevant, engaging, productive learning experience with a solid ROI
    • Inform a cloud-based app on what prior knowledge one has and where to begin the “next lesson”
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  • Q:  Will courses become apps?  Will what we know of TV programs become apps and, if so, how will that affect what each of us can contribute to our own communities of practice?
    A:  Just as the web has enabled individuals to deliver their own podcasts, information, etc. – essentially becoming their own radio stations to a degree – the ecosystems being built up around the Smart/Connected TVs could help each of us become our own TV station. The potential is huge in terms of further developing and sharing knowledge within communities of practice.
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  • Q:  Will educational gaming dove-tail nicely with mobile learning and emerging technologies such as augmented reality, 3D, and connected television?
    Yes, the synergies and foundational pieces are already coming into place.
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  • Q:  How will the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) situation affect what can occur in the face-to-face classroom?
    A:  Students will be able to seamlessly and efficiently contribute content to the discussions in a face-to-face classroom without breaking the flow of the classroom.  An example graphic can be found here.

 

A piece of the Next Generation Smart Classroom -- Daniel Christian -- June 2012

 

The topics and potential routes that additional articles could take are almost endless.  But I think it’s safe to say that mobile, lifelong learning is here to stay.

Listed below are some recent articles and resources if you are interested in pursuing the topic of mobile learning.  I also have a section on my Learning Ecosystems blog dedicated to mobile learning.

If you are interested in what I’m calling Learning from the Living [Class] Room, you might be interested in these postings.

 

Some recent articles/resources regarding mobile learning:

 

Addendum:

 

Tagged with:  

Apple TV and the transformation of web apps into tablet and TV dual screen apps — from brightcove.com by Jeremy Allaire

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Excerpts:

Importantly, designers and developers need to shed the concept that “TVs” are for rendering video, and instead think about “TVs” as large monitors on which they can render applications, content and interactivity that is supported by a touch-based tablet application.

The key concept here is that this pervasive adoption of TV monitors is the tip of the spear in creating a social computing surface in the real world.

Specifically, Apple has provided the backbone for dual screen apps, enabling:

  • Any iOS device (and OSX Mountain Lion-enabled PCs) to broadcast its screen onto a TV. Think of this as essentially a wireless HDMI output to a TV. If you haven’t played with AirPlay mirroring features in iOS and Apple TV, give it a spin, it’s a really exciting development.
  • A set of APIs and an event model for enabling applications to become “dual screen aware” (e.g. to know when a device has a TV screen it can connect to, and to handle rendering information, data and content onto both the touch screen and the TV screen).


[Jeremy listed several applications for these concepts:  Buying a house, buying a car, doctor’s office, kids edutainment, the classroom, retail electronics store, consuming news, consuming video, sales reporting, board games.]

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Also see:

 
From DSC:
Graphically speaking — and approaching this from an educational/learning ecosystems standpoint — I call this, “Learning from the Living [Class] Room.

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The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

 

 

Learning from the living room -- a component of our future learning ecosystems -- by Daniel S. Christian, June 2012

 

 

Related item:

Showcase: Examples of mobile technology used for teaching and learning — from AcademicImpressions.com by Daniel Fusch

Excerpt:

With more students bringing smartphones and tablets to campus — and expecting to access information and course content via mobile devices — it continues to be urgent for faculty developers and instructional technologists to explore the affordances of these devices and the opportunities for using them to enhance teaching and learning. In our past article, “Piloting Mobile Learning,” we offered a review of how to pursue a pilot project effectively.

Today’s article offers a brief summary of the most critical affordances of mobile devices and a showcase of examples from Boise State University’s mLearning Scholars program. The program is part of the university’s Mobile Learning Initiative, “a multi-year project to identify and support key uses of mobile technology that will impact the ways we teach and learn,” and mLearning Scholars supports two cohorts of faculty in exploring these questions. One cohort consists of faculty making their first forays into mobile learning; the second cohort consists of faculty with some degree of fluency in mobile technologies, who are now addressing very targeted research questions.

We turned to Dale Pike, director of academic technologies at Boise State University and a lead thinker on the adoption of mobile technologies in the classroom. We asked Pike about the affordances he most wanted to direct attention to. He also offered several key examples from the mLearning Scholars program.

See this posting from onlinecolleges.com re: 20 solid blogs about mobile learning

 

Tagged with:  

The mobile learning ecosystem I – 10 important questions  — from upsidelearning.com by Abhijit Kadle

Excerpt:

Mobile technology penetration is racing ahead in the corporate workplace, with the BYOD (bring your own device) movement affecting companies in varied ways. During some time off earlier this month, I’ve been ruminating how a ‘mobile learning ecosystem’ evolves in an organization; here are ten questions I asked. Thought you might find them interesting. This is probably the first in a series of three post, the first in which I pose questions, in the second I try to analyze the components and ‘ecosystem’ in the manner of actor/resource/process, and in the last attempt to draw some conclusions on how L&D may be able to assist the development of such ecosystems.

 

Also, speaking of asking questions about our learning, see:

  • What should be my (our) guiding questions?  — from dangerouslyirrelevant.org by Scott McLeod
    Excerpt:
    I believe that guiding questions are important. As our world changes radically and rapidly, we may not have answers (yet) but we can at least try to ask the right questions. Here are some guiding questions that I’ve been bouncing around for my own work with educators, schools, communities, and policymakers [note that they’re often very different from the questions that most educational reformers, legislators, and the public are asking right now]:

Educreations grabs $2.2M from Accel, NewSchools to turn your iPad into your classroom — from techcrunch.com by Rip Empson

Excerpt:

Khan Academy has attracted the attention of millions of students and parents (and has even impressed Bill Gates) by flipping the traditional classroom and homework model on its head with videos on a variety of academic subjects. While it’s easy to admire Khan’s devotion to teaching, the truth is he’s not a trained educator. There are millions of professional teachers who would relish the opportunity to create their own educational videos and interactive lessons, but the vast majority lack the resources to flip their own classrooms.

Also see:

8 things to know about the new Microsoft Office  — from inc.com by Christina DesMarais

Microsoft starts integrating Skype into Office — from techcrunch.com by Frederic Lardinois

Next version of Microsoft Office puts emphasis on subscriptions with Office 365 — from techcrunch.com by Frederic Lardinois

Licensing is the Achilles Heel for the new Microsoft Office — from techcrunch.com by Alex Williams

Microsoft’s new Office: The cloud finally takes center stage — from cnet.com by Mary Jo Foley
A public preview of Microsoft’s coming Office 2013 client is out today. But Office 365 and SkyDrive are the real stars of the new Office show.

New Microsoft Office taps into the cloud — from cnet.com by Lance Whitney
Like Windows 8, the new version of Office will let you sign in with an online account, providing you with the same settings across different devices.

The new Microsoft Office — in pictures – from cnet.com

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http://news.cnet.com/2300-10805_3-10012965-15.html

 

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New Microsoft Office to embrace Windows 8 touch-screen tablets — from cnet.com by Lance Whitney
Demoing the applications in the new Office suite today, Microsoft emphasized the ability to integrate with Windows 8 using taps and other touch-based gestures.

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 to be bundled on all Windows RT tablets

Hands On: Microsoft Office 2013 and Office 365 — from PCMag.com by Jill Duffy

New Microsoft Office ropes in Skype, Yammer, SkyDrive — from gigaom.com by Barb Darrow

What the new Microsoft Office gets wrong — from fastcodesign.com by Austin Carr
Microsoft unveiled a preview of its latest version of Office, and the design is a schizophrenic mess. Here’s why.

Office 15: Microsoft’s Best Bet For Beating Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive — from FastCompany.com by Austin Carr
With one billion Office users worldwide, the newest upgrade to Microsoft’s productivity suite could give the company a significant hold on the cloud, which Gartner estimates will become a $149 billion industry by 2015.

 

 

When the technologies behind Watson and Siri get perfected and integrated into the “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” environment [Christian]


From DSC:

When the technologies behind IBM’s Watson and Apple’s Siri get perfected and integrated into products and services that will make up the near future “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” environment— there will be:


 

  • A high degree of personalization and customization — available 24x7x365 on multiple kinds of devices
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  • The option to turn on tracking and analytics — reporting from which can be moved into the learner’s cloud-based profile upon completion of the unit/activity/badge
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  • Students of all ages will have access to their own virtual tutors so to speak
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  • When a virtual tutor is unable to resolve or address the student’s issue to the student’s satisfaction, the student will be able to instantly access a human tutor (with the option of keeping the existing work/issue/problems visible to the human tutor)

 

IBM's Watson -- incredible AI!

 

 

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

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Addendums:

 
 

“Learning from the living room” — Part I [Christian]

Learning from the living room -- a component of our future learning ecosystems -- by Daniel S. Christian, June 2012

 

 

Legal size PDF here

 

 

Addendum on 7/3/12 from an article I wrote for EvoLLLution.com (for LifeLong Learning):
Establishing better collaboration between the corporate world and higher education [Christian]

In the near future, perhaps we could have second screen-based activities whereby corporate leaders are giving TED-like presentations or expressing the current issues in their worlds via a program on Smart TVs, and the students are communicating and collaborating about these presentations via tablets or smart phones.  Perhaps there will be electronic means whereby students could submit their ideas and feedback to the presenting companies (and whereby selected ideas could be rewarded in terms of free products or services that the company produces).

Blackboard launches mobile beta program for Blackboard Collaborate — from Blackboard.com
Company plans to bring live classes and collaboration to mobile devices

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Blackboard Inc. today announced the launch of a Beta program for an interactive mobile application for Blackboard Collaborate, the leading Web conferencing platform built for education. The new app would let learners participate in live Web conferencing sessions from smartphone and tablet devices, significantly expanding access to sessions delivered through the platform.

The app, Blackboard Collaborate Mobile, would let users join a live Web conference through a learning management system (LMS) link, email link or calendar invite. After the session launches automatically, users would access a range of interactive tools enabling them to view content, communicate through chat and audio, respond to surveys, raise a hand, see the status of other participants, join breakout rooms and more.

© 2024 | Daniel Christian