Learning Ecosystems

[Concept] The new “textbook”: A multi-layered approach — from Daniel S. Christian
I’ve been thinking recently about new approaches to relaying — and engaging with — content in a “textbook”.

For a physical textbook

When opening up a physical textbook to a particular page, QR-like codes would be printed on the physical pages of the textbook.  With the advent of augmented reality, such a mechanism would open up some new possibilities to interact with content for that page. For example, some overall characteristics about this new, layered approach:

• Augmented reality could reveal multiple layers of information:
  • From the author/subject matter expert as well as the publisher’s instructional design team
    • Main points highlighted
    • Pointers that may help with metacognition, such as potential mnemonics that might be helpful in moving something into long-term memory
    • Studying strategies
  • A layer that the professor or teacher could edit
    • Main points highlighted
    • Pointers that may help with metacognition, such as potential mnemonics that might be helpful in moving something into long-term memory
    • Studying strategies
  • A layer for the students to comment on/annotate that page
  • A layer for other students’ comments

For an electronic-based textbook

• The interface would allow for such layers to be visible or not — much like Google’s Body Browser application
• For example, in this graphic, comments from the SME and/or ID are highlighted on top of the normal text:

Advantages of this concept/model:

• Ties physical into virtual world
• We could economically update information (i.e. opens up streams of content)
• Integrates social learning
• Allows SMEs, IDs, faculty members to further comment/add to content as new information becomes available
• Instructors could highlight the key points they want to stress
• Many of the layers could offer items that might help with students’ meta-cognitive processes (i.e. to help them learn the content and move the content into long-term memory)
• One could envision the textbook being converted into something more akin to an app in an online-based store — with notifications of updates that could be constantly pushed out

Addendum (5/26):

• Mobile Augmented Reality: Creating 21st Century Classroom Resources — from k12mobilelearning.com by Johnny Kisso