UK

Mesmerizing fairy tale on the power of transmedia storytelling — from frametales.com by DRAFTFCB Madrid and posted by Filip Coertjens; with thanks to the Scoop on this from Laura Fleming (@NMHS_lms)

BBC iWonder: Introducing Interactive Guides — from bbc.co.uk by Andrew Pipes

See this piece as an example of what they’ve come up with.

Interactive guides on three screens

The BBC article also pointed to a bit older,
but very creative piece from the NYT entitled:
Snow Fall

Transmedia Story Stream: Don’t just read a book–play it! — from bleedingcool.com by Dan Wickline; with thanks to Digital Rocking Chair for the Scoop on this

Excerpt:

Instead of downloading a static book, Transmedia Story Stream allows readers to log into story worlds filled with fans, activities, and extended narrative that can include video, audio, casual video games or live gatherings. And just like in a video game, the book will award fans for participating in the story. Fans can earn points and badges, collect digital goodies to share, earn money for spreading word of mouth, participate in a live chat with an author or illustrator right in the book or win a phone call with a character in a story.

Transmedia Story Stream

Also see:

Onze helden zijn terug!

CleverWayToReopenRennovatedSpace-Amsterdam-April2013

HarperCollins, Google’s Niantic Labs, 20th Century Fox collaborate w/ bestselling author on next gen cross-media project, Endgame — from corporate.harpercollins.com, w/ thanks to @myweb2learn for the resource

Excerpt of Press Release (emphasis DSC):

ENDGAME is a fully integrated, multimedia experience that will combine a trilogy of young adult novels, fifteen original e-book novellas, YouTube videos, search and image results, mapping coordinates, social media, and interactive gaming in one revolutionary creative project. Each book in the ENDGAME trilogy will feature an interactive puzzle comprised of clues and riddles throughout the text.

…

“We are excited to work with James Frey and Full Fathom Five on this groundbreaking series,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO, HarperCollins Publishers. “This is a spectacular story that embodies the future of publishing—great content, interactivity and a multimedia experience.”

…

Google’s Niantic Labs is developing a location-based augmented reality game that will bring ENDGAME to life in the real world. The game builds on the success of “Ingress,” which defined a new category of entertainment that marries video games with the physical world. The mobile experience will allow players around the world to join in the battle to unlock the mysteries and secrets of ENDGAME. Google Niantic will also be publishing six ENDGAME novellas exclusively at the Google Play store. The game is expected to launch on Android and iOS devices in late 2014.

“James has a great vision for telling stories in an integrated way across books, film, social media, and mobile games,” John Hanke, VP of Product, Niantic Labs at Google, said. “We are delighted to bring our technology and expertise to bear on a project that is helping to define the future of entertainment.”

From DSC:
If successful, I’d love to see some applications of this sort of experiment applied towards education/learning — i.e. towards K-12, higher ed, and the corporate training/L&D departments. The experiment emphasizes where I think successful learning is also going — towards the use of TEAM-based content creation and delivery.

Reflections on “The Campus of the Future: Hybrid and Lean” [Winkler]

On 01/15/2014, in adjunct faculty, blended learning, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, distance education, education technology, elearning, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, hybrid learning, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, organizational change, reinvent, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, staying relevant, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, UK, United States, universities, videoconferencing, virtual tutoring, by Daniel Christian

The Campus of the Future: Hybrid and Lean — from edcetera.rafter.com by Kirsten Winkler

Excerpt:

When people imagine the campus of the future, two main ideas seem to come up. On the one hand, the campus experience will be blended or hybrid, meaning that even with the majority of learning taking place online, there will still be demand for activities in a classic brick-and-mortar setting. On the other hand, the campus of the future will be more like a technology startup, focused on cutting expenses and running a lean operation.

Three recent articles in Education DIVE, The Times Higher Education, Slate and Inc. underline this trend.

The above article links to:

Internet mentors could supplant traditional lecturers — from timeshighereducation.co.uk by Jack Grove
Horizon Scanning study points to a ‘new kind of pedagogy’ in higher education by 2020

Excerpt:

Traditional lecturers may soon be replaced by networks of online mentors working for several universities, a new study predicts.

In the report, titled Horizon Scanning: What will higher education look like in 2020?, the Observatory on Borderless Education suggests that academic staff are likely to be employed part-time by several universities – often working remotely via the internet – rather than relying on a single employer.

…

With one undergraduate module, Forms of Identity, already taught via video conferencing to students at both institutions, the alliance “may be pointing the way to a new kind of pedagogy”, the report says.

“Undergraduate lectures, for example, may be delivered simultaneously to any number of participating institutions, either across a whole sector or indeed across borders,” it states.

From DSC:
With adjunct faculty members playing a significant role at many institutions of higher education, I could see a scenario like this occurring. In fact, even years ago I knew an adjunct faculty member who sat behind her PC all day, servicing students at multiple universities. I’m sure that this is not a rare occurrence. Plus, we are already above 30% of the workforce working in a freelance mode, with estimations of this going to 40% or more by 2020.

Learning hubs: (how I define it)
Places of blended/hybrid learning whereby some of the content is “piped in” or made available via the Internet and whereby some of the content is discussed/worked on in a face-to-face manner.

Questions:

What if learning hubs spring up in many types of facilities, such as in schools, libraries, buildings on campuses, corporate spaces, parks, cafes, other places? How might such a trend affect the possible scenario that there will be online mentors working for several universities?
Will these mentors make enough to cover insurance costs, retirement costs, etc.?
Will this be a potential model for lifelong learning? For learning-on-demand?
How might MOOCs — and what they morph into — affect this type of scenario?
How might this scenario affect how we teach student teachers? (Will it involve more efforts/endeavors like this one?)
Could this type of scenario also happen in the corporate world?

Last comment:

I’m not saying that this sort of setup is better than a seminar-like experience that has a dozen or so students setting down with a highly-trained professor in a strictly face-to-face setting. However, that model is increasingly unobtainable/unaffordable for many people.

The first School in the Cloud opens in the UK — from blog.ted.com by Sarah Schoengold; with thanks to Lisa Duty (@LisaDuty1) for posting this resource on Twitter

A group of students explores a question at the Killingworth School in the Cloud.

A group of students explores a question at the Killingworth School in the Cloud,
as a volunteer member of the “Granny Cloud” gives them guidance from the screen.

…

“SOLE” –> Stands for “Self-Organized Learning Environment.”

Excerpt:

Sugata Mitra has opened the doors of the world’s first School in the Cloud.

Located inside George Stephenson High School in Killingworth, England, this one-room learning lab is a space where students can embark on their own learning adventures, exploring whatever questions most intrigue them. Students even designed the interior of the space — which has colorful beanbags scattered throughout and (very appropriately) fluffy clouds painted on the walls.

…

The Killingworth School in the Cloud is run by a committee of 12-year-old students, who manage a schedule to let different classes and groups use the lab in time slots before, during and after school.

Also see:

The next phase of online education: 24/7 digital video channels — from fastcoexist.com by Ariel Schwartz
Want a new skill? Now you can channel flip at any time of day, just like on TV.

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

Addendum:

Top 10 Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom –from edtechreview.in

Top 10 Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

Excerpt:

As education advances with the help of technology, it becomes very clear that the modern day classroom needs are very different from the conventional classroom needs.

The evolved 21^st century classroom is a productive environment in which students can develop the skills they will require in the workplace and teachers are facilitators of their learning. The focus of a 21^st century classroom is on students experiencing the environment they will enter as modern day workers and developing their higher order thinking skills, effective communication skills, collaboration skills, making them adept with using technology and all other skills that they will need in the 21^st century workplace.

Lecturers need research time off campus to best teach students [Tickle]

On 12/23/2013, in adjunct faculty, faculty/staff, higher education, pedagogy, real-world assignments, student-related, teaching & learning, UK, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Lecturers need research time off campus to best teach students — from theguardian.com by Louise Tickle; with thanks to strategic foresight practitioner Marie Conway for this resource on her University Futures Update

Louise Tickle meets four university teachers whose work in the field enriches their students’ learning

John Roberts

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Roberts’ new film, Day of the Flowers, is set in Scotland and Cuba and features ballet star Carlos Acosta. The lecturer invited students on to set as both extras and assistants, and used their observations of the practical reality of film-making to spark tutorial discussions. In the current debate around higher tuition fees and what purpose universities exist to serve, he argues that providing students with a combination of practice and theory is vital in equipping them for working life.

This means, he says, that it’s “vital” for lecturers to have a professional life away from university, “and really be engaged in their own industry in order to be the best teachers they can be and offer something special to students.” The chance to gain genuine insight into working practice, particularly in highly competitive industries, is the holy grail for soon-to-be graduates desperate to stand out from the crowd. And applying academic study into practical reality can feel hard to do, so an academic who takes the trouble to involve students in their professional practice is likely to be very popular indeed.

…

Close contact with someone working on the “inside” also means that students start to grasp more about the realities of what her working life is like.

From DSC:
Trying to change higher education is sooooo tough because no one person has all of the knowledge, wisdom, time, and energy that’s required. Faculty members — like Staff and Administration — are often just trying to stay afloat. With calls for increased productivity, it’s hard to create/experience the sorts of valuable opportunities described in the above article. However, I do think that if faculty members were also practicing their trade in a professional manner, they could stay abreast of what the markets require — what skillsets are key, how the employment landscape in their fields are changing, etc.

School starting age: the evidence [University of Cambridge]

On 12/03/2013, in assessment, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, love of learning, play, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
With a huge thank you/shout out to Dr. Kate Byerwalter, Professor of Psychology at Grand Rapids Community College, for this resource. Per Dr. Byerwalter (emphasis DSC):

I am a big supporter of play for younger children– the benefits are cognitive as well as social and emotional. But this new push towards early academics and testing is taking away time for play.

…one study (in the linked item above) found that kids who waited to start formal schooling until age 7 (when many cultures consider kids to be more responsible, etc.) had the same reading ability at age 11 as kids who began reading at age 5, and the kids who started later had better attitudes about reading and better text comprehension..

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

This is a brief review of the relevant research evidence which overwhelmingly supports a later start to formal education. This evidence relates to the contribution of playful experiences to children’s development as learners, and the consequences of starting formal learning at the age of four to five years of age.

From DSC:
First of all, here in the United States…I can’t help but think that the push for more “standardized testing” — as well as the Common Core being throttled at full-steam ahead — are like run-away trains (here’s but one example); that is, if you wanted to do so, they are very hard to stop. The unanswered question (at least for me) is, “Will they cause an enormous amount of damage when they have finally run their course?”

Secondly, as students get older, I think the word balance comes in to play here.

Balance in assessment. Balance in play. Balance in times to rest (see this important posting from a teacher now teaching in Finland for his thoughts on this topic). Balance in the offerings (arts, music, etc.) as well as STEM-related offerings.

Lastly, this entire posting/topic makes me think of the janitor from my college days at Northwestern. Occasionally, if I was rushing too much to get to my next class, he used to yell to me, “Take it eeeassssyyy young man!”

If we don’t heed these words of wisdom, how will these run-away trains affect students’ learning experiences and their viewpoints on education/learning? Given the pace of change and the shrinking 1/2 lives of information….we need them to at least like learning; as they will have many years of needing to do so ahead of them.

Also see:

The importance of play
Dr. David Whitebread
University of Cambridge
With Marisol Basilio, Martina Kuvalja and Mohini Verma
A report on the value of children’s play with a series of policy recommendations
April 2012

Streaming International: How the Internet has made TV a global medium [McWalters]

On 11/05/2013, in Asia, Australia, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, Europe, global / globalization, India, internet, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, technologies for your home, television, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

Streaming International: How the Internet has made TV a global medium — from sparksheet.com by Maura McWalters

Excerpt:

Television used to be one of America’s biggest exports. But the internet is bringing content from Asia, India and the Middle East into U.S. homes – and new advertising opportunities along with it, reports TV columnist Maura McWalters.

Reflections on “U.S. teams up with operator of online courses to plan a global network” [Lewin]

On 11/01/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, accreditation, Asia, Australia, blended learning, budgets, business side of he, career development, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education technology, elearning, entrepreneurship, Europe, experimentation, face-to-face, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, hybrid learning, ideas, informal learning, innovation, internet, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, participation, professional development, reinvent, social learning / networks, staying relevant, STEAM-related, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, training / L&D, UK, United States, virtual field trips, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

U.S. teams up with operator of 0nline courses to plan a global network — from nytimes.com by Tamar Lewin

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Coursera, a California-based venture that has enrolled five million students in its free online courses, announced on Thursday a partnership with the United States government to create “learning hubs” around the world where students can go to get Internet access to free courses supplemented by weekly in-person class discussions with local teachers or facilitators.

The learning hubs represent a new stage in the evolution of “massive open online courses,” or MOOCs, and address two issues: the lack of reliable Internet access in some countries, and the growing conviction that students do better if they can discuss course materials, and meet at least occasionally with a teacher or facilitator.

“Our mission is education for everyone, and we’ve seen that when we can bring a community of learners together with a facilitator or teacher who can engage the students, it enhances the learning experience and increases the completion rate,” said Lila Ibrahim, the president of Coursera. “It will vary with the location and the organization we’re working with, but we want to bring in some teacher or facilitator who can be the glue for the class.”

From DSC:
Some thoughts here:

1) When institutions of higher education cling to the status quo and disregard the disturbing trajectories at play*…when we don’t respond, people — and governments it seems — will find other options/alternatives.

* Such as middle class incomes that continue to decline
while the price of higher education continues to escalate

2) I wonder if this type of setup might predominate in some countries.
i.e. blended learning types of setups in learning centers around the world where people can come in at any time to learn with a relevant Community of Practice, aided by faculty, teachers, trainers, coaches, etc. Some of the content is “beamed in” and shared electronically, while some of the learning involves face-to-face discussions/work. Will schools become more community centers where we will pool resources and offer them to people 24×7?

Also see:

The New Innovator’s Dilemma — from huffingtonpost.com by Michael Moe and Ben Wallerstein; with thanks to Lisa Duty for the Tweet on this
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Increasingly, we’re worried that a generation of entrepreneurs is facing a “new innovators dilemma” — where innovation is stymied by regulatory and political environments focused on outdated needs and the wrong set of “customers.” The truth is, Silicon Valley investors and techies will get by just fine without addressing our big, societal problems. But if we encourage our nation’s top entrepreneurs to join search engines and social networks, we will miss the opportunity to apply their genius to solving society’s most pressing problems.
…
This isn’t about the classic political divide of right versus left. This is about policies and regulations written in a different era that are not easily translated to modern technology. It’s no secret that the challenge stems, in part, from the motivations of regulators and the politics of protecting the status quo.
…
Change is difficult. And no one is arguing that the transportation, hospitality, and higher education industries don’t need to be regulated. New approaches, in particular, warrant close scrutiny. But if we are ever going to experience the sort of revolutionary change that technology might afford to virtually every sector of the American economy, we need to be willing to rethink the traditional ways of regulation to make innovation easier and more responsive to the consumers and students these regulations were originally enacted to protect.

Addendum 11/1/13:

MOOCs are about to shake up the corporate and non-profit world — from corporatelearningnetwork.com by Inge de Waard

More choice. More control. “An interactive video performance from the London Symphony Orchestra”

On 10/16/2013, in A/V -- audio/visual, innovation, interactivity, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, music, streams of content, TVs, UK, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
With thanks to Nicola Ryan (@Nicola_Ryan) for this resource.

Here it is: The Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 — from c4lpt.co.uk by Jane Hart

Excerpt:

The Top 100 Tools for Learning 2013 list (released today, 30 September 2013) was compiled from the votes of over 500 learning professionals (from education and workplace learning) from 48 countries. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s list. For a fuller analyis, visit Analysis 2013

Twitter retains its no 1 position for the 5^th year running
Google Drive/Docs moves up to #2.
PowerPoint moves up to #5.
Evernote moves into the top 10 at #6.
Google +/Hangouts moves into the top 10 at #10.
There are 10 new tools on the list topped by Feedly (an RSS reader/aggregator) at #19 and Coursera (a MOOC platform) at #38, and 3 returning tools to the list, including Storify at #58.
The highest movers within the list are Skydrive (Windows file storage area) at #43 up 55 places since last year, and Keynote and iMovie up 40 and 32 places respectively (showing the increase in popularity of Apple software).
A significant descent down the list for some tools including Google Sites (down 60 places) and Wikispaces (down 50 places).
Tools moving off the list include Google Reader (now retired by Google), Bing and Scribd.
Although the list is still dominated by free online social tools, a number of e-learning authoring tools have had a good showing this year.
As for trends over the last 5 years, it is interesting to note that Firefox (#1 in 2007) is now at #97 on the list, and Delicious (#1 in 2008) is now at #60. What will topple Twitter from the top of the list?

Work-based learning schemes: the future of employment [Belliveau]

On 09/03/2013, in 21st century, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education reform, future, innovation, professional development, real-world assignments, student-related, surviving, training / L&D, trends, UK, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Work-based learning schemes: the future of employment — from hrzone.com by Vincent Belliveau; with thanks to Roger Francis for Scooping this item

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Apprenticeships are run by colleges who partner with local organisations to offer work experience. However, businesses are now going one step further and introducing their own work placement schemes. John Lewis recently revealed plans to develop its internal vocational qualifications programme through the ‘University of John Lewis’. The scheme offers a range of work based qualifications, giving staff the opportunity to gain externally recognised credentials and progress in their career simultaneously. This is a part of a growing trend, with accountancy firms KPMG and PwC and fast food restaurants KFC and McDonalds offering similar opportunities, transforming how they recruit and develop.

These schemes are beneficial to both the organisation and the candidate. By employing new recruits, businesses do not need to compensate for the bad habits that employees may have picked up at a different organisation or at university, allowing them to shape the candidates they want. By taking the time to introduce a programme that invests in employees futures, companies such as John Lewis will build employee loyalty and by association, productivity in their organisation.

Also see:

IBM’s Department of Education — from nextcity.org by Greg Lindsay

Learning Ecosystems

Some sharp, creative ways to tell a story! Involves team-based content creation & delivery.

The future of publishing? Applications for learning?

Streaming International: How the Internet has made TV a global medium [McWalters]

More choice. More control. “An interactive video performance from the London Symphony Orchestra”

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