Also see:
Group video calling comes to iPhone & Android in Fring beta test — from Mashable.com by Jennifer Van Grove
Daniel Christian:
A Vision of Our Future Learning Ecosystems
In the near future, as the computer, the television, the telephone (and more) continues to converge, we will most likely enjoy even more powerful capabilities to conveniently create and share our content as well as participate in a global learning ecosystem — whether that be from within our homes and/or from within our schools, colleges, universities and businesses throughout the world.
We will be teachers and students at the same time — even within the same hour — with online-based learning exchanges taking place all over the virtual and physical world. Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) — in the form of online-based tutors, instructors, teachers, and professors — will be available on demand. Even more powerful/accurate/helpful learning engines will be involved behind the scenes in delivering up personalized, customized learning — available 24x7x365. Cloud-based learner profiles may enter the equation as well.
The chances for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship that are coming will be mind-blowing! What employers will be looking for — and where they can look for it — may change as well.
What we know today as the “television” will most likely play a significant role in this learning ecosystem of the future. But it won’t be like the TV we’ve come to know. It will be much more interactive and will be aware of who is using it — and what that person is interested in learning about. Technologies/applications like Apple’s AirPlay will become more standard, allowing a person to move from device to device without missing a beat. Transmedia storytellers will thrive in this environment!
Much of the professionally done content will be created by teams of specialists, including the publishers of educational content, and the in-house teams of specialists within colleges, universities, and corporations around the globe. Perhaps consortiums of colleges/universities will each contribute some of the content — more readily accepting previous coursework that was delivered via their consortium’s membership.
An additional thought regarding higher education and K-12 and their Smart Classrooms/Spaces:
For input devices…
The “chalkboards” of the future may be transparent, or they may be on top of a drawing board-sized table or they may be tablet-based. But whatever form they take and whatever is displayed upon them, the ability to annotate will be there; with the resulting graphics saved and instantly distributed. (Eventually, we may get to voice-controlled Smart Classrooms, but we have a ways to go in that area…)
Below are some of the graphics that capture a bit of what I’m seeing in my mind…and in our futures.
Alternatively available as a PowerPoint Presentation (audio forthcoming in a future version)
— from Daniel S. Christian | April 2011
Addendum on 4-14-11:
The complete educator’s guide to using Skype effectively in the classroom — from The Edublogger by Sue Waters
Skype Community Comes to the Classroom — from The Journal by David Nagel
 Skype in the classroom offers teachers a free platform for communications and collaboration. |
Skype has launched a global community for educators called Skype in the classroom.
The free service is focused on connecting teachers from around the world to allow them to communicate, collaborate on projects, draw expertise from one another, and share learning materials and best practices. It also serves as a launchpad for connecting students with their peers in classrooms across the planet using Skype video.
Addendum on 4/1/11:
Cisco, Polycom Top Video Conferencing/Telepresence Market — from The Web Conferencing Blog by David Chao
GoTo Meeting, Centra, Wimba, and other web conferencing solutions…be afraid, be very afraid — from Kaplan EduNeering by Karl Kapp
Excerpt:
PowerPoint is slowly starting to broaden its capabilities and will, I predict, soon infringe on some well known software applications in the field of e-learning such as…web conferencing tools (and others).
This video is one of the first inroads PowerPoint is making into the Web Conferencing software and I don’t think they are going to stop here.
Will it be PowerPoint 2014 with full capabilities and robust conferencing, when will they announce a more robust authoring capability? Will PowerPoint ever be SCORM compliant…..?
Doing online presentations: Some tips from the front lines — from Brandon-Hall.com by Tom Werner
Notes and most of the slides from the Keynotes [11.02MB]
John Chambers, CEO, Cisco
John reflects on why he believes we are better positioned than ever, as a global community, to take advantage of the major transitions that are occurring in education and technology today.
Michael Stevenson, Vice President, Global Education, Cisco
Michael discusses the journey for 21st century learning around the world, and how Cisco is working on critical partnerships to advance education transformation globally.
Gregory B. Whitby, Executive Director of Schools, Diocese of Parramatta
Leading learning for today’s world requires a deep understanding of learners, pedagogy, content and cultural change. Good teachers positively influence student learning outcomes so every school leader has a responsibility to lead and sustain educational change.
Salman Khan, Founder, Khan Academy
There is a lot of talk of how to use technology to improve technology, but very little discussion about using technology to RETHINK education. Salman Khan will outline his path to building the Khan Academy–used by over 1 million students every month–and think through what it means for transforming what happens inside and outside of the classroom.
Gay Krause, Founder, Krause Center for Innovation
The Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) was established to design and implement innovative professional development emphasizing technology integration and STEM subjects, to support the diverse workforce needed to compete in the knowledge economy. Our programs include: (1) MERIT (Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology) for enhancing curriculum, pedagogy, and technology skills for educators; (2) FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence) for using Internet technology to support student learning in Algebra; (3) FASTTech – short technology classes to enhance software-based skills. This presentation will address what we’ve learned from our ten years of professional development experience as well as the recommended future direction for PD in order to train educators to guide students to succeed in a global economy.
Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director, Council Chief State School Officers
What do today’s graduates need to know to succeed in tomorrow’s world? In the US and around the globe there are heightened expectations for education, and the multiple attributes students need to acquire to become active contributors in a complex global society. In this session, you will learn how the Council of Chief State School Officers is reshaping American public education, through clear, focused standards, more robust assessment designs, and accountability systems; redesign of our education workforce: and enhanced and dynamic information systems.
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Notes and most of the slides from the College and University Breakout Session [9.52MB]
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DEMO: SocialEyes wants to make video social networking a reality — from VentureBeat.com by Anthony Ha
The Future of television: Sweeping change at breakneck speed — from Cisco by Scott Puopolo, Carlos Cordero, William Gerhardt, Kate Griffin, Leszek Izdebski, and David Parsons, Cisco IBSG Service Provider Practice
10 reasons you won’t recognize your television in the not-too-distant future
Also see their blog posting on this.
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Reminds me of a graphic I created a while back…
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Also see:
