iPad studies at Abilene Christian U. dig deep into learning outcomes — from ConvergeMag.com by Tanya Roscorla
On 10/06/2011,
in assessment, education technology, higher education, mobile learning, mobile technologies,
by Daniel Christian
On 10/05/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, convergence, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, expectations, future, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, programming, technology (general), television, tools, trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, videoconferencing,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC: Expectations, today, are getting hard to beat
Since Apple’s event yesterday, I’ve heard some conversations on the radio and reviewed several blog postings and articles about Apple’s announcements…many with a sense of let down (and some with the usual critical viewpoints by the backseat drivers out there who have never tried to invent anything, but who sure like to find fault with everyone else’s inventions and innovations).
It made me reflect on how high our expectations are becoming these days! It wasn’t enough that iCloud is coming on 10/12 (and who knows the directions that will take society in). It wasn’t enough to introduce some serious software-based innovations such as Siri (which bring some significant advancements in the world of artificial intelligence) or AirPlay for the iPhone. It wasn’t enough to enter into the multi-billion dollar card industry with their new Cards app for the iPhone. Wow…tough crowd.
What might these announcements — and expectations — mean for education?
Well…I can see intelligent tutoring, intelligent agents, machine-to-machine communications, the continued growth of mobile learning, learning from the living room, the initiation of programs/events caused by changes in one’s location, continued convergence of the television/computer/telephone, continued use of videoconferencing on handheld devices, cloud-based textbooks/apps, and more.
On 10/04/2011,
in Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), mobile technologies, telecommunications,
by Daniel Christian
Some items from Apple today:
- iCloud goes live on October 12
- iPhone 4S launches October 14, $199, $299, $399, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, US & International
- New iPod Nano Is Clock and Fitness Watch in One
- Apple iPhone 4S: The 4 most important features
- Apple Unveils Siri, the iPhone 4S Voice Assistant
Apple has unveiled Siri, a new iPhone 4S feature that lets you complete tasks on your phone by talking to it. During an on-stage demo at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA, Apple VP Scott Forstall demonstrated Siri’s ability to process natural language and respond accordingly. When he asked the iPhone 4S, “What’s the weather like today?”, it responded with the weather forecast. It is capable of parsing natural human language, rather than simple commands. - AirPlay Mirroring coming to iPhone 4S, not just for iPads
- New iPod touch: cheaper, iOS 5, and now in white
- Apple Unveils iPhone 4S: Faster CPU, Better Camera and Voice Controls
On 09/28/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Apple, architecture, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, convergence, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, emerging technologies, future, Google, innovation, Microsoft, mobile technologies, multimedia, strategy, technology (general), telepresence, television, tools, trends, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
This posting evolved after having read $500 billion TV market new battlefield for Internet companies (from forbes.com and the Trefis Team therein) as well as the posting at Future TV disruption – Forbes says it’s worth half a trillion dollars for Internet companies (from appmarket.tv).
As the convergence — and the movement of data/apps/content/services towards the cloud — continues, I wanted to jot down some thoughts re: the current field:
- Apple, Google, Cisco and Microsoft seem to be solid players to watch in terms of cloud-based computing architectures, tools, and functionality — something to keep in mind when planning for the future directions of your organization’s set of tools and technologies.
- Personally, I vote for vendors that “get the web.” Apple and Google have traditionally been very solid innovators on the web and have turned in solid report cards in terms of innovation, performance, and web-based applications. (Adobe — with their Macromedia purchase years ago and their current lineup of tools — has also done a pretty good job, but doesn’t have the arsenal to make my top 4 picks here.)
- I don’t need to say much about Apple in terms of innovation — as they have out innovated every company on the planet while becoming the world’s most valuable company in terms of market cap. Apple is on the verge of adding enormously powerful, cloud-based functionality and apps to their ecosystem when they introduce iCloud this fall (and perhaps a web-connected/smart TV type of device in the future). They have proven themselves to be #1 in terms of working with multimedia-based content — its creation and distribution. Given the continuing trend of the convergence taking place with computers, telephones, and televisions, the ability to create and work with multimedia is key for many technology-related vendors, and, in my mind, Apple leads in this area.
- Google has shown themselves to be solid innovators as well — and they “get the web.” Their current set of web-based apps — including Google Docs, Calendar, Hangouts, Reader, Alerts, etc. — provide a solid menu of web-based apps to choose from.
- Cisco has proven themselves to be innovative as well, and owns some powerful technologies in their WebEx Meeting Center, Videoscape, networking infrastructures, and some of its other tools.
- Though traditionally not a leader/innovator on the web, I think that Microsoft has deep pockets and they are a savvy business (having just purchased Skype as an example). So with SharePoint, Skype and Office 365, Microsoft is laying the foundation for a solid, web-based collaboration space.
Having said this, one can see that it is getting harder to practice the KISS principle in the IT departments out there. But where we can do so, it makes sense to do so — as there is less finger pointing and more accountability. It’s easier to support a fewer amount of tools and, often times, it seems that things simply work better with a reduced amount of vendors/technologies involved.
So I’ll wrap up this posting by listing some of the things that I’m trying to (simultaneously) keep in mind:
- Web-based collaboration tools such as videoconferencing, shared interactive whiteboards, shared document creation, calendars/scheduling, form creation and reporting tools, chat, other
- Cloud-based content/data/apps/services
- Synchronization across multiple types of devices
- Web-based updates (think publishers’ content in addition to apps)
- Storage plans and pricing
- Types of integration and tools a vendor provides on the cloud
- The end user experience and the usability of proposed solutions
- A vendor’s strategic direction(s) for the future
On 09/02/2011,
in education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, mobile learning, mobile technologies, professional development, social learning / networks,
by Daniel Christian
On 09/01/2011,
in 24x7x365 access, Apple, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, elearning, higher education, K-12 related, lifelong learning, love of learning, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, online learning, online media,
by Daniel Christian
Also see:
On 08/31/2011,
in A/V -- audio/visual, convergence, education technology, homeschooling/homeschoolers, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, mobile learning, mobile technologies, technologies for your home, television,
by Daniel Christian
Elgato EyeTV Mobile dongle brings live TV to the iPad 2 — from engadget.com by Terrence O’Brien
On 08/25/2011,
in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, digital audio, digital learning, higher education, K-12 related, memory, metacognition / metacognitive skills, mobile learning, mobile technologies, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
On 08/25/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, analytics, art, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), blogs / blogging / vlogging, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, convergence, creativity, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, drama/theater, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), economics, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, engineering, expectations, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning theories, liberal arts, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, memory, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, music, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, pace of change, passions, pedagogy, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, publishing, reading, reinvent, robotics, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, tools, trends, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, writing,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Immediately below is a presentation that I did for the Title II Conference at Calvin College back on August 11, 2011
It is aimed at K-12 audiences.
From DSC:
Immediately below is a presentation that I did today for the Calvin College Fall 2011 Conference.
It is aimed at higher education audiences.
Note from DSC:
There is a great deal of overlap here, as many of the same technologies are (or will be) hitting the K-12 and higher ed spaces at the same time. However, there are some differences in the two presentations and what I stressed depended upon my audience.
Pending time, I may put some audio to accompany these presentations so that folks can hear a bit more about what I was trying to relay within these two presentations.
On 08/25/2011,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, computer science, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, internet, liberal arts, lifelong learning, media/film, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, music, new business models, new media literacies, online media, pace of change, presentations, programming, quality, research, science, society, staying relevant, storytelling, strategy, student-related, technologies for your home, technology (general), television, tools, United States, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
I want to post a thank you note to Mr. Steven P. Jobs, whom you most likely have heard has resigned as Apple’s CEO. Some articles are listed below, but I want to say thank you to Steve and to the employees of Apple who worked at Apple while he was CEO:
- Thank you for working hard to enhance the world and to make positive impacts to our world!
- Thank you for painstakingly pursuing perfection, usability, and excellence!
- Thank you for getting back up on the horse again when you came out of a meeting with Steve, Tim and others and you just got reamed for an idea or implementation that wasn’t quite there yet.
- Thanks go out to all of the families who were missing a dad or mom for long periods of time as they were still at work cranking out the next version of ____ or ____.
- Thanks for modeling what a vocation looks like — i.e. pursuing your God-given gifts/calling/passions; and from my economics training for modeling that everyone wins when you do what you do best!
Thanks again all!
- Steve Jobs’s Best Quotes — WSJ
- Steve Jobs: The End Of An Era — Techcrunch
- Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO –– wired.co.uk
- Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO “effective immediately” — arstechnica.com
- Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple — engadget.com
- 10 iconic Steve Jobs moments [videos] — from mashable.com
On 08/18/2011,
in digital learning, leadership, mobile learning, mobile technologies, new media literacies, strategy, student teaching/teacher education,
by Daniel Christian
Abilene Christian U supports teachers through Digital Learning Institute — from convergemag.com by Tanya Roscorla
Excerpt:
This summer, Abilene Christian University in Texas hosted its first K-12 Digital Learning Institute for teachers. And this school year, the university will observe teachers’ lessons as they apply what they learned about mobile technology to their classes.
On 08/17/2011,
in mobile learning, mobile technologies, Near Field Communication (NFC),
by Daniel Christian
Near Field Communication (NFC): A Quick Guide to the Future of Mobile — from Mashable.by Sarah Kessler
Excerpt:
NFC allows a device, usually a mobile phone, to collect data from another device or NFC tag at close range. In many ways, it’s like a contactless payment card that is integrated into a phone. In other ways, it’s similar to Bluetooth, except that instead of programming two devices to work together, they can simply touch to establish a connection.
So why are some of the world’s most influential companies so excited about it? We’ve compiled notes on what NFC is, why its useful and how it’s starting to permeate the product world.
Also see:
- Machine-to-Machine Communications as a Subset of Internet of Things — from cisco.com by Monique Morrow
On 08/17/2011,
in Augmented Reality (AR), digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, Google, higher education, mobile learning, mobile technologies, research,
by Daniel Christian
MIT launches Center for Mobile Learning with support from Google — from readwriteweb.com by Jon Mitchell
Excerpt:
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced the creation of a new Center for Mobile Learning. The center will be housed at the MIT Media Lab. Google supported the creation of the center with a grant from Google University Relations. The center’s first project will be the adoption and further development of App Inventor for Android, a do-it-yourself tool for building apps for Google’s Android mobile OS with no programming skills required.
From the announcement
The Center, housed at the Media Lab, will focus on the design and study of new mobile technologies and applications, enabling people to learn anywhere anytime with anyone. Research projects will explore location-aware learning applications, mobile sensing and data collection, augmented reality gaming, and other educational uses of mobile technologies.
The rise of the mobile workforce [Infographic from Gist] — from Mashable.com by Ben Parr