Best camera for vlogging 2019: 10 perfect choices tested — from techradar.com by Matthew Richards
Here are our top 10 vlogging camera picks
From DSC:
Also, with a different kind of camera in mind…and with a shout out to Mr. Charles Mickens (CIO / Associate Dean of Innovation and Technology at the WMU-Cooley Law School) see the amazing Light L16 Camera:
A Little Bit of Light from light on Vimeo.
The above was from Jane’s posting 10 Trends for Digital Learning in 2018 — from modernworkplacelearning.com by Jane Hart
Excerpt:
[On 9/24/18], I released the Top Tools for Learning 2018 , which I compiled from the results of the 12th Annual Digital Learning Tools Survey.
I have also categorised the tools into 30 different areas, and produced 3 sub-lists that provide some context to how the tools are being used:
3 – Web courses are increasing in popularity.
Although Coursera is still the most popular web course platform, there are, in fact, now 12 web course platforms on the list. New additions this year include Udacity and Highbrow (the latter provides daily micro-lessons). It is clear that people like these platforms because they can chose what they want to study as well as how they want to study, ie. they can dip in and out if they want to and no-one is going to tell them off – which is unlike most corporate online courses which have a prescribed path through them and their use is heavily monitored.
5 – Learning at work is becoming personal and continuous.
The most significant feature of the list this year is the huge leap up the list that Degreed has made – up 86 places to 47th place – the biggest increase by any tool this year. Degreed is a lifelong learning platform and provides the opportunity for individuals to own their expertise and development through a continuous learning approach. And, interestingly, Degreed appears both on the PPL100 (at 30) and WPL100 (at 52). This suggests that some organisations are beginning to see the importance of personal, continuous learning at work. Indeed, another platform that underpins this, has also moved up the list significantly this year, too. Anders Pink is a smart curation platform available for both individuals and teams which delivers daily curated resources on specified topics. Non-traditional learning platforms are therefore coming to the forefront, as the next point further shows.
From DSC:
Perhaps some foreshadowing of the presence of a powerful, online-based, next generation learning platform…?
Production Values for Audio Podcasts, Part I — from learningsolutionsmag.com by Jeff D’Anza
Excerpts:
There are a number of production values that narrative podcasters find effective for grabbing listener attention and keeping their audiences engaged in the story; you could think of these as technical elements of professional audio quality. They range from techniques for improving content when applied to script writing to methods applied to audio recording and editing. The most successful professional podcasters use these elements to create immersion in the audio environment and to eliminate audio distraction. The result is the creation of a kind of audio theater. Here are four basic practices to embrace while creating your narrative podcasts.
Production Values for Audio Podcasts, Part II — from learningsolutionsmag.com by Jeff D’Anza
Excerpts:
In this article, I will continue with more production tricks that can substantially increase the quality of your narrative podcasts.
Use music to reset scenes
It’s not revolutionary to suggest that learners tend to have short attention spans, and the case is no different when it comes to narrative podcasts. Every so often you need to reset your learners’ brains in order to keep their attention level high.
One excellent way to accomplish this is through the use of musical breaks. Music breaks can function as a type of auditory palate cleanser, allowing the brain a few moments to stop focusing on information that is being presented and prepare the learner to be ready for the next section of content.
Also:
From DSC:
Seems to me there’s some wisdom here for instructional designers as well as professors, teachers, and trainers who are creating learning/training related content and/or who are flipping their classrooms.
About Law2020: The Podcast
Last month we launched the Law2020 podcast, an audio companion to Law2020, our four-part series of articles about how artificial intelligence and similar emerging technologies are reshaping the practice and profession of law. The podcast episodes and featured guests are as follows:
The podcasts are short and lively, and we hope you’ll give them a listen. And if you haven’t done so already, we invite you to read the full feature stories over at the Law2020 website. Enjoy!
From DSC:
Why aren’t we further along with lecture recording within K-12 classrooms?
That is, I as a parent — or much better yet, our kids themselves who are still in K-12 — should be able to go online and access whatever talks/lectures/presentations were given on a particular day. When our daughter is sick and misses several days, wouldn’t it be great for her to be able to go out and see what she missed? Even if we had the time and/or the energy to do so (which we don’t), my wife and I can’t present this content to her very well. We would likely explain things differently — and perhaps incorrectly — thus, potentially muddying the waters and causing more confusion for our daughter.
There should be entry level recording studios — such as the One Button Studio from Penn State University — in each K-12 school for teachers to record their presentations. At the end of each day, the teacher could put a checkbox next to what he/she was able to cover that day. (No rushing intended here — as education is enough of a run-away train often times!) That material would then be made visible/available on that day as links on an online-based calendar. Administrators should pay teachers extra money in the summer times to record these presentations.
Also, students could use these studios to practice their presentation and communication skills. The process is quick and easy:
I’d like to see an option — ideally via a brief voice-driven Q&A at the start of each session — that would ask the person where they wanted to put the recording when it was done: To a thumb drive, to a previously assigned storage area out on the cloud/Internet, or to both destinations?
Providing automatically generated close captioning would be a great feature here as well, especially for English as a Second Language (ESL) students.
Workplace learning trends 2018 — from elearninglearning.com
Excerpt:
The beginning of a year is a great time to take stock of the year gone by and plan for the year ahead. In this blog post, we will have a quick glimpse of what we believe would be some of the key trends in workplace learning this year.
Also see:
Learning Experience Design Trends For 2018 — from elearninglearning.com. & theelearningcoach.com by
8 Ways Things are Changing for Practitioners
2018 Tech Trends For Journalism Report — from the Future Today Institute
Key Takeaways
Those in the news ecosystem should factor the trends in this report into their strategic thinking for the coming year, and adjust their planning, operations and business models accordingly.
2017 Tech Trends Annual Report — from the Future Today Institute; this is the first I’ve seen this solid report
Excerpts:
This year’s report has 159 trends.
This is mostly due to the fact that 2016 was the year that many areas of science and technology finally started to converge. As a result we’re seeing a sort of slow-motion explosion––we will undoubtedly look back on the last part of this decade as a pivotal moment in our history on this planet.
…
Our 2017 Trend Report reveals strategic opportunities and challenges for your organization in the coming year. The Future Today Institute’s annual Trend Report prepares leaders and organizations for the year ahead, so that you are better positioned to see emerging technology and adjust your strategy accordingly. Use our report to identify near-future business disruption and competitive threats while simultaneously finding new collaborators and partners. Most importantly, use our report as a jumping off point for deeper strategic planning.
Also see:
Emerging eLearning Tools and Platforms Improve Results — from learningsolutionsmag.com
DevLearn Attendees Learn How to ‘Think Like a Futurist’ — from learningsolutionsmag.com
Excerpt:
How does all of this relate to eLearning? Again, Webb anticipated the question. Her response gave hope to some—and terrified others. She presented three possible future scenarios:
In an attempt to end on a strong positive note, Webb said that “the future hasn’t happened yet—we think” and encouraged attendees to take action. “To build the future of learning that you want, listen to weak signals now.”
From DSC and Adobe — for faculty members and teachers out there:
Do your students an enormous favor by assigning them a digital communications project. Such a project could include images, infographics, illustrations, animations, videos, websites, blogs (with RSS feeds), podcasts, videocasts, mobile apps and more. Such outlets offer powerful means of communicating and demonstrating knowledge of a particular topic.
As Adobe mentions, when you teach your students how to create these types of media projects, you prepare them to be flexible and effective digital communicators. I would also add that these new forms and tools can be highly engaging, while at the same time, they can foster students’ creativity. Building new media literacy skills will pay off big time for your students. It will land them jobs. It will help them communicate to a global audience. Students can build upon these skills to powerfully communicate numerous kinds of messages in the future. They can be their own radio station. They can be their own TV station.
For more information, see this page out at Adobe.com.
From DSC:
This is where we may need more team-based approaches…because one person may not be able to create and grade/assess such assignments.
From DSC:
The following graphic from “The Future of Work and Learning 1: The Professional Ecosystem” by Jane Hart is a wonderful picture of a learning ecosystem:
Note that such an ecosystem involves people, tools, processes and more — and is constantly changing. As Jane comments:
But the point to make very clear is that a PES is not a prescribed entity – so everyone’s PES will be different. It is also not a fixed entity – organisational elements will change as the individual changes jobs, and personal elements will change as the individual adds (or removes) external people, content and tools in order to maintain an ecosystem that best fits their needs.
Jane also mentions the concept of flows of new ideas and resources. I call these streams of content, and we need to both contribute items to these streams as well as take things from them.
So while Jane and I are on the same page on the vast majority of these concepts (and I would add Harold Jarche to this picture as well, whom Jane mentions with his Personal Knowledge Mastery (PKM) process), Jane broadens the scope of what I normally refer to as a learning ecosystem when she mentions, “it isn’t just about learning, but just as much about doing a job.”
Anyway, thanks Jane for your posting here.
Where are all the Kidcasts? — from theatlantic.com by Stephanie Hayes
Kids learn from podcasts, so why aren’t adults making more for them?
Excerpt:
The obvious follow-up question is why? Podcasts for kids seem like such a no-brainer. Podcasts could offer a solution to kids overdosing on dreaded “screentime,” a way to entertain and educate kids without fear of burning their retinas or letting their imaginations go to ruin. Plus, they could fit seamlessly into existing routines, filling long car trips or down-time before bed.
“One argument we’ve heard is that kids won’t sit through podcasts if they’re not being engaged visually,” said Molly Bloom, one of the producers of the children’s podcast Brains On!, echoing a sentiment I heard many times while researching this article. “But kids are used to hearing stories all the time.”
Microlearning: The e-Learning method taking off around the world — from educators.co.nz by Catherine Knowles
Excerpt:
Technology is disrupting traditional learning bringing new methods and tools into educational institutions and businesses.
Microlearning, for instance, has displayed great potential for growth, according to Association Learning + Technology 2016 – a report published by Tagoras and sponsored by YM Learning.
The report looks at the use of technology to enable and enhance learning in the continuing education and professional development market and provides insight into how the role technology plays in learning has and will evolve.
In fact, among five emerging types of learning (microlearning, massive open online courses (MOOCs), flipped classes, gamified learning, and microcredentials), microlearning shows the highest rate of adoption – and arguably the greatest potential for growth.
Podcasting is perfect for people with big ideas. Here’s how to do it — from by Todd Landman
Surprisingly few academics have learned how to podcast – but it’s a great way to reach a wider audience
Excerpt:
In the face of conflict in the Middle East, the flow of refugees to Europe and the violence associated with Islamic State and other militants, there has never been a more important time to talk about human rights. And talk about them is what I do – not in a lecture hall or at conferences with academics, but in a podcast series. Let me explain why.
I have worked as a political scientist for 25 years, focusing on human rights problems such as the struggle for citizenship rights in Latin America and the relationship between inequality and human rights violations.
I am part of a wide network of people dedicated to producing sound evidence on human rights, and my work has been communicated through articles, books and reports. But I am limited in my ability to reach the people I would most like to engage and influence – those who do not have an academic understanding of human rights but might benefit from finding out about it.
There is a new breed of academic who understands this and is committed to bridging the gap between academia and the real world. Many blog, actively seek media coverage of their research and appear on radio and television to shed light on the issues of the day.
From DSC:
Some of the tools that Landman mentioned were:
Some other tools to consider:
From DSC:
The above articles point to the idea — and the need — of creating “streams of content” — something that I wish more professors, teachers, staff, administrators, trainers, and instructional designers would create. Blogs, podcasts, and the use of Twitter come to my mind. Such channels could really help build others’ learning ecosystems.
Many professors and academics — folks who have so much information to share with the world — often produce works just for other academics in their discipline to review/check out. Such bubbles don’t have the impact that would occur if professors created streams of content for members of society to check out and learn from. Such mechanisms would also hopefully strip away some of the more academic sounding language and would get to the point.
Also see:
From DSC:
Imagine what learning could look like w/ the same concepts found in the Skreens kickstarter campaign? Where you can use your mobile device to direct what you are seeing and interacting with on the larger screen? Hmmm… very interesting indeed! With applications not only in the home (and on the road), but also in the active classroom, the boardroom, and the training room.
See
Skreens.com
&
Learning from the Living [Class] Room
![The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian-July-2012.jpg)
From DSC:
Some of the phrases and concepts that come to my mind:
Addendum:
Check out this picture from Meet the winners of #RobotLaunch2015
Packed house at WilmerHale for the Robot Launch 2015 judging – although 2/3rds of the participants were attending and pitching remotely via video and web conferencing.
