online learning

Interesting concepts embedded at Coursmos.com

On 10/14/2013, in 21st century, higher education, innovation, instructional design, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, love of learning, online learning, streams of content, by Daniel Christian

From coursmos.com

Complete a micro-course in just one hour or less.
Learn just what you need or are interested in right now.
Expand any lesson as a separate micro-course.
Request a new micro-course and get it in a few days.

From DSC:
Would be interesting if this type of model gets integrated into Learning from the Living [Class] Room type of approach. It brings to my mind “just-in-time learning” as well as the idea of tapping into “streams of content.”

Also see:

Video: Enstitute: The entrepreneurial alternative to college — from PBS NewsHour Online

Humanizing your online class [Pacansky-Brock]

On 10/14/2013, in online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Humanizing your online class — from InsideHigherEd.com and Academic Partnerships, by Michelle Pacansky-Brock

From DSC:
Resources include the recording of this recent webinar, the accompanying slides, etc. Also see:

Humanizing Your Online Class Webinar: A Success! — from facultyecommons.org

B of A partners with Khan Academy to help people develop better money habits

On 10/14/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, business, collaboration, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, elearning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Thanks to Krista Spahr, Senior Instructional Designer at Calvin College, for this resource.

It’s interesting to see the lines blurring between the workplace, higher education, and even K-12. Pooling resources, establishing more collaborations, etc. may be part of our future — especially if it initially costs a lot create the materials. But then — as with the Walmart of Education — there is some serious volume underlying these trends.

It appears from the introductory piece here that Sal’s not out to make money with this — he’s trying to stay true to their mission.

Harvard Business School launching online learning initiative [Lavelle & Zlomek]

On 10/10/2013, in 21st century, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, MBA, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, organizational change, United States, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Harvard Business School launching online learning initiative — from businessweek.com by Louis Lavelle and Erin Zlomek

Excerpt:

Harvard Business School is quietly developing its first online learning initiative, which it hopes will make HBS the world’s top provider of high quality online business education.

The move has the potential to shake up the nascent online education market and give the elite business school a toehold in the world of MOOCs, or massive open online courses. It’s a high-stakes gamble for HBS, which has one of the world’s best-known—and carefully burnished—educational brands.

Smart Machines: IBM’S Watson and the era of cognitive computing [Kelly &Hamm]

On 10/09/2013, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, computer science, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, programming, research, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Smart Machines: IBM’S Watson and the era of cognitive computing — from cup.columbia.edu by John E. Kelly III, Director of IBM Research, and Steve Hamm, writer at IBM and former business and technology journalist

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Computers today are brilliant idiots. They have tremendous capacities for storing information and performing numerical calculations-far superior to those of any human. Yet when it comes to another class of skills, the capacities for understanding, learning, adapting, and interacting, computers are woefully inferior to humans; there are many situations where computers can’t do a lot to help us.

…

But the goal is not to replicate human brains or replace human thinking with machine thinking. Rather, in the era of cognitive systems, humans and machines will collaborate to produce better results, each bringing its own skills to the partnership. The machines will be more rational and analytic-and, of course, possess encyclopedic memories and tremendous computational abilities. People will provide judgment, intuition, empathy, a moral compass, and human creativity.

From DSC:
Consider what Watson “read in” to come up with some recommendations:

Watson

Addendum on 10/14/13 (emphasis DSC):

Watson is being used to assist with the treatment of cancer patients. According to an article from medicalnewstoday.com, Watson is “revolutionizing cancer care and research and speeding up progress for patients.”

In that same article, it mentions that, so far, Watson has ingested:

Over 600,000 pieces of medical evidence
2,000,000 pages of text from 42 academic journals and clinical trials based on oncology research
A huge number of patients’ records spanning decades of cancer treatment history, including medical records and patient outcomes. Watson can sift through 1.5 million pieces of such records and provide doctors with evidence-based treatment options within seconds.

One of IBM’s General Managers who works with Watson said:

“breakthrough capabilities bring forward the first in a series of Watson-based technologies, which exemplifies the value of applying big data and analytics and cognitive computing to tackle the industry’s most pressing challenges.”

Higher Education: New Models, New Rules [Soares, Eaton, & Smith]

On 10/07/2013, in accreditation, budgets, business side of he, change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, new business models, online learning, policy, by Daniel Christian

Higher Education: New Models, New Rules — from educause.com by Louis Soares, Judith S. Eaton, and Burck Smith
What are the new rules that will accompany future new models in higher education? Three essays address this question by exploring state higher education policy, accreditation for non-institutional education, and the disaggregation of the current higher education model.

Excerpt from Burck’s essay:

Accordingly, the government spurs “supply” by paying for colleges and universities and spurs “demand” by paying for students. Accreditors determine who can receive these funds. All of this worked well for sixty years. Until, suddenly, it doesn’t.

Berklee online degrees would cost half of campus study programs [Rocheleau]

On 10/07/2013, in change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, music, new business models, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Berklee online degrees would cost half of campus study programs — from bostonglobe.com by Matt Rocheleau

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Berklee College of Music announced Wednesday that it will begin offering bachelor’s degrees online in fall 2014 that will cost less than half of what students pay to take courses on its Boston campus.

The college said it will become the first nonprofit music institution to offer accredited bachelor’s degrees online. The degrees include professional studies in music business and music production.

“This is all about expanding access,” said Debbie Cavalier, vice president of online learning and continuing education for Berklee Online. “This is a way to provide access to people across the world who want to learn from Berklee faculty, but aren’t able to study here on our campus in Boston.”

From DSC:
This is yet another example of The Walmart of Education trend that continues to develop.

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.”

Harvard plans to boldly go with ‘Spocs’ [Coughlan]

On 09/30/2013, in future of higher education, game-changing environment, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, pace of change, United States, by Daniel Christian

Harvard plans to boldly go with ‘Spocs’ — from bbc.co.uk by Sean Coughlan

Excerpts:

Harvard…is moving on to Spocs – which stands for small private online courses.

…

At Harvard, more people have signed up for Moocs in a single year than have attended the university in its entire 377-year history. That’s a great success story in opening up education, but what do you do with all those hungry minds?

Enter the Spoc. And the clue is in the “small, private” part of the name. These courses are still free and delivered through the internet, but access is restricted to much smaller numbers, tens or hundreds, rather than tens of thousands.

The new learning dashboard at Khan Academy

On 09/27/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, blended learning, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, online learning, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

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 [Belkin & Porter]

On 09/27/2013, in 21st century, accreditation, business, business side of he, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, innovation, learner profiles, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, online learning, open courseware and systems, professional development, training / L&D, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

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.

…

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.

Check out what “The Air Force Collaboratory” is doing.

On 09/24/2013, in future of higher education, innovation, learner profiles, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, project-based learning, real-world assignments, social learning / networks, STEAM-related, United States, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Per Candace Opstvedt from Digital BrinQ:

The Air Force Collaboratory is “an interactive online platform that invites STEM inclined students, educators and innovators to solve some of the Air Force’s toughest challenges. Over 900 ideas have already been submitted by participants in the first project, and we are confident that the “Mind of a Quadrotor” project will be just as successful.

“Mind of a Quadrotor” became active starting on September 1, 2013, and will remain open through October 31. Anyone with an idea can submit their plan for how quadrotors can be used to perform certain actions autonomously; that is with minimal human intervention.

To give you a little more background, check out The Air Force Collaboratory website. You can also check out project highlights and information at, http://www.good.is/stem.

From DSC:
(At least) a few things strike me as noteworthy here:

Note the potential power of a web-based learner profile like this. Create a web-based profile. Choose project. Earn badges/achievements. Solve topics. Follow your activity (i.e. progress). Hmmmmmmm…..interesting….
The use of crowdsourcing to identify/create solutions for existing problems.
Presenting real-world problems/projects and asking for real-world solutions.

True personalization is the next big thing in multiscreen TV [Moulding]

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.

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

Addendum:
(With thanks going out to Mr. Richard Byrne over at the Free Technology for Teachers blog for this item)

Wharton puts first-year MBA courses online for free [Lavelle]

On 09/17/2013, in career development, MBA, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, new business models, online learning, professional development, by Daniel Christian

Wharton puts first-year MBA courses online for free — from businessweek.com by Louis Lavelle

Excerpt:

Getting a Wharton MBA involves taking off from work for two years, moving to Philadelphia, and spending about $200,000 on tuition and expenses. Now, with the addition of three new courses on the online learning platform Coursera, you can get much of the course content for free.

While you won’t get the full Wharton on-campus experience—or an internship, career services, or alumni network, for that matter—the new courses in financial accounting, marketing, and corporate finance duplicate much of what you would learn during your first year at the elite business school, says Don Huesman, managing director of the innovation group at Wharton.

Learning Ecosystems

Interesting concepts embedded at Coursmos.com

Humanizing your online class [Pacansky-Brock]

B of A partners with Khan Academy to help people develop better money habits

Harvard Business School launching online learning initiative [Lavelle & Zlomek]

Higher Education: New Models, New Rules [Soares, Eaton, & Smith]

Berklee online degrees would cost half of campus study programs [Rocheleau]

Harvard plans to boldly go with ‘Spocs’ [Coughlan]

Job market embraces Massive Online Courses [Belkin & Porter]

Wharton puts first-year MBA courses online for free [Lavelle]

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