participation

Don’t raise a hoop jumper [Eichholz]

On 04/15/2015, in education, education reform, entrepreneurship, ideas, innovation, K-12 related, love of learning, motivation, parents/guardians, participation, passions, by Daniel Christian

Don’t raise a hoop jumper — from by Terri Eichholz

Excerpt:

Yesterday, a dad forwarded this fabulous post from the TED blog. It includes the video of Jane Andraka’s TEDx talk. If that name sounds a bit familiar, but you can’t quite place it, Mrs. Andraka is the mother of two successful young men. One of them is Jack Andraka, a teenager who developed an early-detection test for pancreatic cancer. The other son, Luke, won an international science fair and the MIT Think Award.

Mrs. Andraka speaks about how she helped her sons find their passions, and the responsibility that all parents have to do so. In the Q&A included in the blog post, she says the following,

I saw all these kids who had made themselves into little hoop-jumpers. All of a sudden, for seniors in high school in October, it’s, “Oh, jeez, I need to join some clubs and get my grades up, and then I’ll go to Harvard.” And then whining, “Well, I got all ‘A’s, and I joined Model U.N.” But that’s just not what it’s about. You have to make your own self remarkable. Make them say, “Wow, this couldn’t be any other child.” Don’t be like everybody else.

Also see:

Resources, ideas, questions, & more regarding the topic of learning spaces

On 03/17/2015, in active learning, collaboration, communications, higher education, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, participation, pedagogy, smart classrooms, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Below are some resources, ideas, questions, and more regarding the topic of learning spaces:

Per Jeanne Narum (Principal, Learning Spaces Collaboratory and Founding Director, Project Kaleidoscope), we’ve been asking the following key questions for several years now:

What do we want our learners to become?
What experiences make that becoming happen?
What spaces enable those experiences?
How do we know?

The Learning Spaces Collaboratory

NOTE:
Be sure to see The LSC Guide: Planning for Assessing 21st Century Spaces for 21st Century Learners

Derek Bruff’s Learning Spaces gallery

Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics – a meta-analysis of 225 studies

Abstract
To test the hypothesis that lecturing maximizes learning and course performance, we metaanalyzed 225 studies that reported data on examination scores or failure rates when comparing student performance in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses under traditional lecturing versus active learning. The effect sizes indicate that on average, student performance on examinations and concept inventories increased by 0.47 SDs under active learning (n = 158 studies), and that the odds ratio for failing was 1.95 under traditional lecturing (n = 67 studies). These results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning. Heterogeneity analyses indicated that both results hold across the STEM disciplines, that active learning increases scores on concept inventories more than on course examinations, and that active learning appears effective across all class sizes—although the greatest effects are in small (n ? 50) classes. Trim and fill analyses and fail-safe n calculations suggest that the results are not due to publication bias. The results also appear robust to variation in the methodological rigor of the included studies, based on the quality of controls over student quality and instructor identity. This is the largest and most comprehensive metaanalysis of undergraduate STEM education published to date. The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.

Building Community with FLEXspace: The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange — from educause.com by Lisa Stephens

Key Takeaways

FLEXspace is a large-scale community solution to capture detailed information, images, and video of learning environment exemplars.
The ELI Seeking Evidence of Impact principles encouraged further development of FLEXspace.
Discussions are underway on how to leverage and combine the Learning Space Rating System and FLEXspace.

Seven Principles for Classroom Design: The Learning Space Rating System — from educause.com by Malcolm Brown

Key Takeaways

The Learning Space Rating System tool enables scoring a classroom’s design to see how well it supports active learning.
If the design meets the criteria for a specific credit, a point or points are added to a compiled score.
The higher the score, the better the design for active learning.

Steelcase Education

Herman Miller Education

Gordana Latinovic’s Learning Spaces on Pinterest

Kelley Tanner’s Learning Spaces on Pinterest

Greg Swanson’s Learning Spaces on Pinterest

Bill Duncan’s Learning Spaces on Pinterest

The SCALE-UP Project
The primary goal of the Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project is to establish a highly collaborative, hands-on, computer-rich, interactive learning environment for large-enrollment courses.

Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision – some sharp innovations here!

On 02/27/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Augmented Reality (AR), business, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, mobile learning, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, platforms, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Example snapshots from
Microsoft’s Productivity Future Vision

Combine these concepts into a multitouch, interactive “video wall” or Smart TV-related apps: Some incredible opportunities for collaborative learning!

On 02/16/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, business, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, multi-touch, multimedia, online learning, online media, participation, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, project-based learning, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, streams of content, teaching online, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Check out some of the functionality in these solutions. Then imagine if these solutions were in the size of an entire wall in a classroom or in a corporate L&D facility. Whew!

Some serious opportunities for collaboration would arise for remote learners –as well as those located in the face-to-face setting
What new affordances would be present for those teaching in K-12, higher ed, or trainers working within the training/learning and development fields? Conversations/discussions would be recorded — to be picked up at the next session. In the meantime, learners could review the discussions at their own pace.
What if all of this were possible in your future Smart/Connected TV?
I’m also talking here about a vendor that could offer solutions that K-12 systems and institutions of higher ed could afford; some of the solutions below have much of what I’m envisioning here, but are out of the price range. Or the product is multitouch and fairly large, but it doesn’t offer the collaborative features of some of the other products here.

Ideum’s touch walls come close to what I’m talking about in this posting. If they could add some functionality for seeing/bringing in/collaborating with remote learners — as found in Mezzanine — then that would be great!

Also see:

Also see bluescape — but these excellent, innovative solutions are out of the price range for most K-12 and higher ed institutions:

Transmedia Literacy: Expanding the Media Literacy Frontier [Rutledge]

On 12/22/2014, in attention, digital storytelling, engagement / engaging students, innovation, new media literacies, participation, psychology, story, storytelling, transmedia, by Daniel Christian

Transmedia Literacy: Expanding the Media Literacy Frontier — from div46amplifier.com by Pamela Rutledge, PhD, MBA; Director, Media Psychology Research Center Adjunct Faculty, Fielding Graduate University

Excerpt:

Media literacy is an increasingly pressing issue for media psychologists and educators who strive to prepare people of all ages to function well in a media-rich, globally connected world. The ever-expanding integration of media technologies in our daily lives, from social media platforms to mobile apps, have challenged our understanding of just what it means to be literate in the 21^st century (Hobbs & Jensen, 2009). The emerging trend of transmedia storytelling will continue to push the envelope even farther. Transmedia storytelling goes beyond the need to segment such skills as search and collaboration. It demands the ability to recognize, understand, and interact with narrative threads across multiple modalities, not just within them.

Transmedia storytelling is the design and distribution of a story that is coordinated across multiple media channels. Each channel offers unique content, using the strengths of each medium to its best advantage to build a larger, richer story. Transmedia storytelling is intentionally designed for participation, drawing the audience in as co-creators to expand and develop the narratives.

Transmedia storytelling may not seem particularly different or profound until you consider that all information is translated into narrative in our meaning-making brains. We embody the stories we tell. Stories are how we assign causality, consciously process sensory input and imagery, and create associations so we can commit experience to memory. Stories are how we make sense of our selves, our lives, and our futures in the world around us (Polkinghorne, 1988).

Here’s a peek at the Minerva Project’s classroom of the future — from washingtonpost.com by Matt McFarland
Check out five ideas that could impact the way we live, work and play.

Excerpt:

“Think of the fanciest version of Google Hangouts or Skype designed to be a classroom,” explains a student. “It’s very different than a traditional classroom, but in a way it’s what a traditional classroom distilled down to its purest form I feel like would look like,” says another.

Also see:

MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning; also Karl Kapp’s course on the Gamification of Learning

On 11/19/2014, in assessment, attention, creativity, educational games / serious games, engagement / engaging students, participation, pedagogy, by Daniel Christian

MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning

Excerpt:

How can games unlock a rich world of learning? This is the big question at the heart of the growing games and learning movement that’s gaining momentum in education. The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning [PDF] explains key ideas in game-based learning, pedagogy, implementation, and assessment. This guide makes sense of the available research and provides suggestions for practical use.

The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning started as a series of blog posts written by Jordan Shapiro with support from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and the Games and Learning Publishing Council. We’ve brought together what we felt would be the most relevant highlights of Jordan’s reporting to create a dynamic, in-depth guide that answers many of the most pressing questions that educators, parents, and life-long learners have raised around using digital games for learning. While we had educators in mind when developing this guide, any lifelong learner can use it to develop a sense of how to navigate the games space in an informed and meaningful way.

Also see Karl Kapp’s course out on Lynda.com:

.

Team-based content creation/delivery is pulling ahead of the pack!

On 11/04/2014, in A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, higher education, immersion, innovation, interactivity, learning ecosystem, love of learning, media/film, Michigan, multimedia, online learning, participation, play, psychology, real-world assignments, relationships, religion, social learning / networks, social media, society, sociology, story, storytelling, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, transmedia, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Last week I attended the 20th Annual Online Learning Consortium International Conference. While there, I was inspired by an excellent presentation entitled, “A Disruptive Innovation: MSU’s Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse – Are You Ready to Survive a New Way of Learning?“ The four team members from Michigan State University included:

Glenn R. Stutzky | Course Instructor
Keesa V. Muhammad | Instructional Designer
Christopher Irvin | Instructional Designer
Hailey Mooney | Course Librarian

Check out the intro clip on the website about the course:

From the description for the presentation:

This session highlights MSU’s award winning, groundbreaking online course that fuses social theory, filmmaking, social media, and viral marketing while students survive an apocalyptic event. http://zombie.msu.edu/

MSU created and used powerful digital storytelling and multimedia to overlay real, experiential, immersive learning. Important content was relayed, but in a way that drew upon your emotions, your ability to solve problems and navigate in a world where you didn’t have all of the information, your ability to work with others, and more.

“This innovative course integrates current research and science on catastrophes and human behavior together with the idea of a zombie apocalypse. In doing so, we actively engage with students as they think about the nature, scope, and impact of catastrophic events on individuals, families, societies, civilizations, and the Earth itself.”

“Our innovative approach to teaching and learning features: students as active participants, the instructor becomes the facilitator, storytelling replaces lectures, zombies become the catalyst of teaching, a “zombrarian” (librarian) drives research, and the students emerge as digital storytellers as a way of assessing their own learning.”

Others outside MUS have found out about the course and have requested access to it. As a result of this, they’ve opened it up to non-credit seeking participants and now various people from police forces, Centers for Disease Control, and others are able to take the course. To make this learning experience even more accessible, the cost has been greatly reduced: from $1600+ to just $500. (So this talented team is not only offering powerful pedagogies, but also significant monetary contributions to the university as well.)

For me, the key thing here is that this course represents what I believe is the direction that’s starting to really pull ahead of the pack and, if done well, will likely crush most of the other directions/approaches. And that is the use of teams to create, deliver, teach, and assess content – i.e., team-based learning approaches.

So many of the sessions involved professional development for professors and teachers – and much of this is appropriate. However, in the majority of cases, individual efforts aren’t enough anymore. Few people can bring to the table what a talented, experienced group of specialists are able to bring. Individual efforts aren’t able to compete with team-based content creation and delivery anymore — and this is especially true online, whereby multiple disciplines are immediately invoked once content hits the digital realm.

In this case, the team was composed of:

The professor
Two Instructional Designers
and a librarian

The team:

Developed websites
Designed their own logo
Marketed the course w/ a zombie walking around campus w/ brochures and a walking billboard
Used a Twitter stream
Used a tool called Pensu for their students’ individual journals
Made extensive use of YouTube and digital storytelling
Coined a new acronym called MOLIE – multimedia online learning immersive experience
Used game-like features, such as the development of a code that was found which revealed key information (which was optional, but was very helpful to those who figured it out). The team made it so that the course ended differently for each group, depending upon what the teams’ decisions were through the weeks
Used some 3D apps to make movies more realistic and to create new environments
Continually presented new clues for students to investigate. Each team had a Team Leader that posted their team’s decisions on YouTube.

They encouraged us to:
THINK BIG! Get as creative as you can, and only pull back if the “suits” make you! Step outside the box! Take risks! “If an idea has life, water it. Others will check it out and get involved.”

In their case, the idea originated with an innovative, risk-taking professor willing to experiment – and who started the presentation with the following soliloquy:

Syllabi are EVIL

Syllabi are EVIL and they must die!
Listen to me closely and I’ll tell you why.
Just want students to know what is known?
See what’s been seen?
Go – where we’ve been going?
Then the Syllabus is your friend,
cuz you know exactly where you’ll end.
But if you want to go somewhere new,
see colors beyond Red, Green, and Blue.
Then take out your Syllabus and tear-it-in-half,
now uncertainty has become your path.
Be not afraid because you’ll find,
the most amazing things from Creative Minds,
who have been set free to FLY,
once untethered from the Syllabi.

Glenn Stutzky
Premiered at the 2014
Online Learning Consortium International Conference
October 29, 2014

“The number of infected in Michigan has reached critical mass.” CSM Quintero #sw290 pic.twitter.com/F6m8ZaoRyG

— MSU Zombie (@MSUZombies) June 19, 2014

They started with something that wasn’t polished, but it’s been an iterative approach over the semesters…and they continue to build on it.

I congratulated the team there — and do so again here. Excellent, wonderful work!

By the way, what would a creative movie-like trailer look like for your course?

iBeacons, sensors, & similar M2M communications: Connecting the physical world with the digital world

On 10/16/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, blended learning, communications, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, ideas, innovation, interactivity, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, library / librarians, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, mobile technologies, Near Field Communication (NFC), participation, pedagogy, platforms, play, second screen apps, smart classrooms, tablets, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), wearables, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
iBeacons, sensors, & similar machine-to-machine (M2M) communications: Connecting the physical world with the digital world while opening up enormous possibilities for education & training-related applications.

DanielChristian-Combining-Digital-Physical-Worlds-Oct2014

What if we were to combine “If This Then That” with iBeacons/sensors?

On 10/08/2014, in 21st century, active learning, Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), Bring your own device (BYOD), convergence, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, participation, project-based learning, second screen apps, smart classrooms, teaching & learning, technology (general), tools, training / L&D, transmedia, ubiquitous learning, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, wearables, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I’m thinking out loud again…

What if were were to be able to take the “If This Then That (IFTTT)” concept/capabilities and combine it with sensor-based technologies? It seems to me that we’re at the very embryonic stages of some very powerful learning scenarios, scenarios that are packed with learning potential, engagement, intrigue, interactivity, and opportunities for participation.

For example, what would happen if you went to one corner of the room, causing an app on your mobile device to launch and bring up a particular video to review? Then, after the viewing of the video, a brief quiz appears after that to check your understanding of the video’s main points. Then, once you’ve submitted the quiz — and it’s been received by system ABC — this triggers an unexpected learning event for you.

Combining the physical with the digital…

Establishing IFTTT-based learning playlists…

Building learning channels…learning triggers…learning actions…

Setting a schedule of things to do for a set of iBeacons over a period of time (and being able to save that schedule of events for “next time”).

Hmmm…there’s a lot of potential here!

Now throw augmented reality, wearables, and intelligent tutoring into the equation! Whew!

We need to be watching out for how machine-to-machine (M2M) communications can be leveraged in the classrooms and training programs across the globe.

One last thought here…
How are we changing our curricula to prepare students to leverage the power of the Internet of Things (IoT)?

How an interactive book, ‘Alice,’ is making $70K a week on iOS [Cheredar]

On 09/30/2014, in Apple, art, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, Google, interactivity, K-12 related, mobile learning, multi-touch, multimedia, participation, storytelling, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

.

Excerpt:

Alice is presented as a mobile app, but it’s technically a book that can be read on iPads and Android tablets. The story is based on the classic Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and it features beautiful illustrations you can interact with by touching the tablet screen, as well as an engaging narrator reading each page.

“Regular e-books have limitations, and I wanted to create a new level of engagement. I wanted to combine interactive experience along with film ‘feel,’” Paletz said in an interview. “The application is an art book, a conceptual book, and an educational book all in one, so it has something for everyone.”

From DSC: With a shout out to
Laura Devaney who posted this on Twitter.

Some items re: creativity and how to promote it

On 09/15/2014, in art, creativity, entrepreneurship, experimentation, ideas, innovation, participation, play, by Daniel Christian

Opening minds to critical knowledge on play, creativity and learning — from legofoundation.com

Cultures of Creativity (foundation research) — from legofoundation.com
Cultures develop when people find ways to play, make, and share. This report describes how human cultures can be characterised by their similarities rather than their differences, and emphasises the importance of recognising playfulness and creativity to develop societies prepared to accommodate the rapid changes associated with technology and globalisation.

Cultures of Creativity, nurturing creative mindsets (video) — from legofoundation.com
Creativity is one of the most important competencies of the 21st Century. Yet, the puzzling question is how to nurture it? Children are creative from the day they are born and the film describes how to support creativity across cultures. The content is based on the report, Cultures of Creativity, published by the LEGO Foundation, 2013. Authors: David Gauntlett and Bo Stjerne Thomsen and 20 leading international experts on play, learning and creativity.com

Inviting the world to play –– from cardboardchallenge.com/
This fall, the Imagination Foundation invites the world to participate in our 3rd Annual Global Cardboard Challenge.

.

With a shout out to Mitch Resnick for posting
these resources on Twitter. Mitch is going to be talking about
“Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society” this Wednesday w/ Adobe.

From Calvin College-based staff and faculty:

A whack on the side of the head : how to unlock your mind for innovation / Roger von Oech ; foreword by Nolan Bushnell ; illustrated by George Willett.
Von Oech, Roger. (Author)
Sparks of genius : the thirteen thinking tools of the world’s most creative people by Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein
The learner-directed classroom : developing creative thinking skills through art — edited by Diane B. Jaquith, Nan E. Hathaway ; foreword by Patrick Fahey.
Jaquith, Diane B. (Added Author). Hathaway, Nan E. (Added Author).
Nurturing creativity in the classroom — edited by Ronald A. Beghetto, James C. Kaufman.
Beghetto, Ronald A., 1969- (Added Author). Kaufman, James C. (Added Author).
Improving Learning of Computational Thinking Using Creative Thinking Exercises in CS-1 Computer Science Courses — by Miller, Soh, Chiriacescu, et al. (2013)
Fostering the Creative Development of Computer Science Students in Programming and Interaction Design — by Ferreira (2013)
Integrating Creativity into Computer Networks Course Teaching — by Hsiao, Liang, & Lin (2003)
Pixar Cofounder Ed Catmull on failure and why fostering a fearless culture is the key to groundbreaking creative work – from brainpickings.org by Maria Popova
Why the greatest enemy of creative success is the attempt to fortify against failure.
Excerpt:
We need to think about failure differently. I’m not the first to say that failure, when approached properly, can be an opportunity for growth. But the way most people interpret this assertion is that mistakes are a necessary evil. Mistakes aren’t a necessary evil. They aren’t evil at all. They are an inevitable consequence of doing something new (and, as such, should be seen as valuable; without them, we’d have no originality). And yet, even as I say that embracing failure is an important part of learning, I also acknowledge that acknowledging this truth is not enough. That’s because failure is painful, and our feelings about this pain tend to screw up our understanding of its worth. To disentangle the good and the bad parts of failure, we have to recognize both the reality of the pain and the benefit of the resulting growth.
How Disney’s Imagineers keep the magic ideas coming – from fastcompany.com by Rebecca Greenfield
Peter Rummell, the former chairman of Disney’s Imagineers, shares inside stories and secrets about how Disney’s teams work together to make magic happen again and again.
10 ways to teach innovation — from blogs.kqed.org/mindshift by Thom Markham
Excerpt:
One overriding challenge is now coming to the fore in public consciousness: We need to reinvent just about everything. Whether scientific advances, technology breakthroughs, new political and economic structures, environmental solutions, or an updated code of ethics for 21st century life, everything is in flux—and everything demands innovative, out of the box thinking. The burden of reinvention, of course, falls on today’s generation of students. So it follows that education should focus on fostering innovation by putting curiosity, critical thinking, deep understanding, the rules and tools of inquiry, and creative brainstorming at the center of the curriculum. This is hardly the case, as we know. In fact, innovation and the current classroom model most often operate as antagonists. The system is evolving, but not quickly enough to get young people ready for the new world. But there are a number of ways that teachers can bypass the system and offer students the tools and experiences that spur an innovative mindset. Here are ten ideas…
How schools kill creativity — from TED.com by Sir Ken Robinson
Barriers to Creativity in Education: Educators and Parents Grade the System [Adobe]
Perhaps some ideas at a Do It Yourself (DIY) type of site could be relevant, such as org/skills/innovator
Perhaps have the students use digital storytelling in an assignment, see:
Digital Storytelling Helps Students Practice Essential Skills – from elearningindustry.com by Tiziana Saponaro
5 reasons why you should be using storytelling in training – from dashe.com by Ben Nesvig
Excerpt:
Storytelling has been a popular tool for learning since the dawn of civilization, but thanks to technology bringing new mediums for storytelling, it has been on the rise in training in the workplace. Despite the fact that storytelling is a powerful vehicle for teaching, some still prefer to do a “data dump” because it’s easier than constructing a narrative, though not more effective. Below I provide 5 reasons why storytelling should be used more frequently in the workplace.
Mesmerizing fairy tale on the power of transmedia storytelling – from frametales.com by DRAFTFCB Madrid and posted by Filip Coertjens
Expanding learning opportunities with transmedia practices – Parts 1-6 [Laura Fleming]
erikjohanssonphoto.com

AdobeMax2013-ErikJohansson

Reflections on “Beacons at the museum: Pacific Science Center to roll out location-based Mixby app next month” [Bishop]

On 09/03/2014, in 21st century, active learning, art, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, Bring your own device (BYOD), Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mobile learning, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), participation, platforms, real-world assignments, tablets, teaching & learning, technology (general), training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), workplace, by Daniel Christian

Beacons at the museum: Pacific Science Center to roll out location-based Mixby app next month — from geekwire.com by Todd Bishop

Excerpt:

Seattle’s Pacific Science Center has scheduled an Oct. 4 public launch for a new system that uses Bluetooth-enabled beacons and the Mixby smartphone app to offer new experiences to museum guests — presenting them with different features and content depending on where they’re standing at any given moment.

Also see:

Pacific Science Center to Debut New Digital Experience — from pacificsciencecenter.org

From DSC:
The use of location-based apps & associated technologies (machine-to-machine (M2M) communications) should be part of all ed tech planning from here on out — and also applicable to the corporate world and training programs therein.

Not only applicable to museums, but also to art galleries, classrooms, learning spaces, campus tours, and more. Such apps could be used on plant floors in training-related programs as well.

Now mix augmented reality in with location-based technology. Come up to a piece of artwork, and a variety of apps could be launched to really bring that piece to life! Some serious engagement.

Digital storytelling. The connection of the physical world with the digital world. Digital learning. Physical learning. A new form of blended/hybrid learning. Active learning. Participation.

Addendum on 9/4/14 — also see:

Aerohive Networks Delivers World’s First iBeacon™ and AltBeacon™ – Enabled Enterprise Wi-Fi Access Points
New Partnership with Radius Networks Delivers IoT Solution to Provide Advanced Insights and Mobile Experience Personalization

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aerohive Networks® (NYSE:HIVE), a leader in controller-less Wi-Fi and cloud-managed mobile networking for the enterprise market today announced that it is partnering with Radius Networks, a market leader in proximity services and proximity beacons with iBeacon™ and AltBeacon™ technology, to offer retailers, educators and healthcare providers a cloud-managed Wi-Fi infrastructure enabled with proximity beacons. Together, Aerohive and Radius Networks provide complementary cloud platforms for helping these organizations meet the demands of today’s increasingly connected customers who are seeking more personalized student education, patient care and shopper experiences.

Also:

Building Proximity Applications with iBeacon — from shop.oreilly.com
Pinpoint Location Services with Bluetooth Low Energy
By Matthew Gast
Publisher: O’Reilly Media
May 2014

From Steelcase: How Classroom Design Affects Student Engagement

On 07/23/2014, in active learning, collaboration, engagement / engaging students, higher education, learning spaces, more voice more choice more control, motivation, participation, research, smart classrooms, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Also see:

Report: Classroom Design Improves Student Engagement — from campustechnology.com by Joshua Bolkan | 07/22/14
Classrooms designed for active learning can improve student engagement, according to new research from Steelcase, a company that provides furniture for use in educational settings.

Excerpt:

Findings of the study, which was conducted by Lennie Scott Webber, director of education environments globally at Steelcase Education and appeared in the peer-reviewed Planning for Higher Education Journal, include:

Seventy-two percent of students surveyed said that making their classroom more flexible improved their motivation to attend class;

Eighty-four percent of participating students said they were more engaged in classroom activities in a flexible classroom;

Seventy-two percent of students surveyed told researchers that they believed they would earn a higher grade in the flexible classroom;

Students rated the flexible classroom higher on 12 different measures of engagement, such as collaboration, focus, comfort with participation and active involvement; and

When measured, student engagement levels were higher in the flexible classrooms than in the traditional classroom with row and columns of desks.

Reflections on “C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom” [Dreier]

On 07/21/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communities of practice, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, telecommunications, television, training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom — from streamingmedia.com by Troy Dreier
Business leaders now have an on-demand video network to call their own, thanks to one Bloomberg host’s online venture.

Excerpt:

Bringing some business acumen to the world of online video, C-Suite TV is launching today. Created by Bloomberg TV host and author Jeffrey Hayzlett, the on-demand video network offers interviews with and shows about business execs. It promises inside information on business trends and the discussions taking place in the biggest boardrooms.

The Future of TV is here for the C-Suite — from hayzlett.com by Jeffrey Hayzlett

Excerpt:

Rather than wait for networks or try and gain traction through the thousands of cat videos, we went out and built our own network.

See also:

Mind your own business
From the About page:
C-Suite TV is a web-based digital on-demand business channel featuring interviews and shows with business executives, thought leaders, authors and celebrities providing news and information for business leaders. C-Suite TV is your go-to resource to find out the inside track on trends and discussions taking place in businesses today. This online channel will be home to such shows as C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett, MYOB – Mind Your Own Business and Bestseller TV with more shows to come.

From DSC:
The above items took me back to the concept of Learning from the Living [Class] Room.

Many of the following bullet points are already happening — but what I’m trying to influence/suggest is to bring all of them together in a powerful, global, 24 x 7 x 365, learning ecosystem:

When our “TVs” become more interactive…
When our mobile devices act as second screens and when second screen-based apps are numerous…
When discussion boards, forums, social media, assignments, assessments, and videoconferencing capabilities are embedded into our Smart/Connected TVs and are also available via our mobile devices…
When education is available 24 x 7 x 365…
When even the C-Suite taps into such platforms…
When education and entertainment are co-mingled…
When team-based educational content creation and delivery are mainstream…
When self-selecting Communities of Practice thrive online…
When Learning Hubs combine the best of both worlds (online and face-to-face)…
When Artificial Intelligence, powerful cognitive computing capabilities (i.e., IBM’s Watson), and robust reporting mechanisms are integrated into the backends…
When lifelong learners have their own cloud-based profiles…
When learners can use their “TVs” to tap into interactive, multimedia-based streams of content of their choice…
When recommendation engines are offered not just at Netflix but also at educationally-oriented sites…
When online tutoring and intelligent tutoring really take off…

…then I’d say we’ll have a powerful, engaging, responsive, global education platform.

Learning Ecosystems

Transmedia Literacy: Expanding the Media Literacy Frontier [Rutledge]

MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning; also Karl Kapp’s course on the Gamification of Learning

Some items re: creativity and how to promote it

From Steelcase: How Classroom Design Affects Student Engagement

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