The graphic below is from:
How strong is the business/IT relationship in your industry? — from Gartner.com by Mark P. McDonald; with thanks to Mr. Stephen Landry for putting this resource out on LinkedIn.
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On 04/27/2013,
in dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, IT in HE,
by Daniel Christian
On 04/25/2013,
in corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, game-changing environment, innovation, IT in HE, leadership, organizational change, pace of change, strategy, technology (general), workplace,
by Daniel Christian
The IT conversation we should be having — from HBR.org by Jim Stikeleather
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
It is a conversation about the increasing importance of information technology and the role it must assume in every enterprise, regardless of size, industry or geography.
…
Our observations:
- CEOs are demanding more visible value from their CIOs, in terms of generating revenue, gaining new customers, and increasing customer satisfaction.
- Increasingly, the CIO and IT must be seen less as developing and deploying technology, and more as a source of innovation and transformation that delivers business value, leveraging technology instead of directly delivering it.
- The CIO must be responsible and accountable if technology enables, facilitates or accelerates competition that the C-suite didn’t see coming, or allows the enterprise to miss opportunities because the C-suite did not understand the possibilities technology offered.
- CIOs today must adapt or risk being marginalized.
From DSC:
This is critical in the higher ed space as well!
The majority of the higher education industry still isn’t getting it — we are operating in a brand new ball game where technology must be used strategically. It’s not just about building and maintaining the infrastructure/plumbing anymore (though that is extremely important as well). It’s about the strategic, innovative use of IT that counts from here on out.
On 04/04/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, dangers of the status quo, future of higher education, game-changing environment, personalized/customized learning, reinvent,
by Daniel Christian
Review of higher ed adaptive learning products — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark
Excerpt:
Last week we reviewed an EdGrowth white paper, A Case for Accelerating Adaptive Learning in HigherEd. Yesterday EdGrowth released a second paper that includes 8 profiles of adaptive learning providers.
Also see:
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ADAPTIVE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A REALITY CHECK
Education Growth Advisors Report Makes Case for Accelerating Adaptive Learning in Higher Education
STAMFORD, CT (March 13, 2013) — Today, the higher education marketplace is thick with companies and organizations claiming to have “personalized learning” or “adaptive learning” capabilities. Companies are using this language in their sales and marketing efforts, creating confusion for institutions as they grapple with determining an approach to personalized learning that matches their students’ and instructors’ needs. But if one cuts through the clutter, adaptive learning may be one key capable of actually unshackling higher education from the “Iron Triangle” of cost, access and quality, according to a white paper by Education Growth Advisors. The white paper, entitled “Learning to Adapt: A Case for Accelerating Adaptive Learning in Higher Education”, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, explores the current adoption, opportunities, barriers, advancements, solutions and case studies of adaptive learning in higher education.
Also see:
On 03/27/2013,
in budgets, business side of he, cost of getting a degree, future of higher education, game-changing environment, legislatures / government / legal,
by Daniel Christian
Improving postsecondary education through the budget process: Challenges & opportunities — from The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO)
Excerpt:
The report, Improving Postsecondary Education Through the Budget Process: Challenges & Opportunities, discusses:
- the challenges associated with the current higher education funding landscape;
- efforts at the state level to fund results/performance, restrict tuition increases, expand access, improve information and increase cost-efficiency; and
- opportunities for state and higher education officials to work together to improve postsecondary education and reduce costs.
Downloads
On 03/25/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, change, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, marketplaces, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online tutoring, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, streams of content, ubiquitous learning, virtual tutoring,
by Daniel Christian
Also, the PDF file of this article is here.
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From DSC:
Though the title of this article I wrote says 10 years, it may be more or less (and given the pace of change, I would lean towards sooner rather than later).
If you haven’t read Christensen’s/Horn’s/Johnson’s work re: disruption — such as Disrupting Class and/or The Innovator’s Dilemma — it would be worth your time to do so. They are right on the mark. What they have been asserting is happening within higher education. The article briefly addresses face-to-face learning and hybrid learning as well. Readers of this blog will know that I have been pressing for higher ed to reinvent itself in order to stay relevant. There is danger in the status quo, especially when the conversation continues to move away from traditional higher education.
See other perspectives out at evoLLLution.com as well.
On 03/21/2013,
in education technology, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education,
by Daniel Christian
Some further items re: the future of higher education from evoLLLution.com:
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- How edupreneurs will shape the future higher education marketplace — by Dennis Yang | President and Chief Operating Officer, Udemy
. - The hand-in-hand evolution of higher education institutions and edupreneurs –by George Siemens | Director of the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute, Athabasca University
. - The future possibilities for technology in higher education — by Bryan Alexander | Senior Research Fellow, National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education
. - The shift to digitizing classrooms and how institutions can play a part — by Nik Osborne | Chief of Staff, Indiana University
The future of higher ed according to Richard DeMillo; some thoughts/perspectives worth reflecting on
On 03/20/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, accreditation, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, internet, journalism, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, surviving,
by Daniel Christian
Traditional institutions will close, number of colleges and universities will rise (audio and transcript) — from evoLLLution.com (where LLL stands for lifelong learning) by Richard DeMillo | Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities, Georgia Institute of Technology
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
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Well, for me, it always boils down to value. People misunderstand this as assigning value based on salaries or employability, but I mean value in the larger sense. You have to have a reason to ask students to pay more than the marginal costs of delivering education. And with all these revolutions in technology for course delivery, that marginal cost is going to zero very, very quickly [think journalism]. So, every institution that’s going to survive, I think, over the next 50 years, is going to have to make that case. Why is it that tuition at this institution is justified?
The interesting thing about this is it’s going to be accelerated because the old bureaucracies, the old institutional models… are crumbling. At least, their boundaries are crumbling. Let me tell you what I mean by that.
The accrediting agencies, which I think traditionally have had — at least for the last 120 years or so—an institutional focus, are now shifting their focus to students; to competencies, to demonstrations of what students know. And that really starts to cut against institutional entitlement.
I think the conclusion of all this is that, as it becomes harder and harder for… a “Me-Too Institution” to argue for a marginal increase in price, the amount of money that those institutions are going to have available to them to spend on anything but core mission for students is also going to go to zero. So, this is kind of a virtuous cycle; … institutions that are unable to make the value proposition will find themselves more and more strapped for discretionary funds in order to move themselves into a different space. And that’s an ending that’s not very good for most institutions.
From DSC:
How will our/your organization keep from becoming a commodity? What are we/you all going to bring to the table that’s different, unique, and worth paying for?
Also see:
- Higher Education’s turn in the vortex of change — from evoLLLution.com by Karen Sibley | Dean of Continuing Education, Brown University
Excerpt:
Here’s the mind-bending question that prompts this thought:
What will brand value and marketing in higher education look like in 2023?
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MOOCS likely to be integrated into traditional university programming — from evoLLLution.com by Larry Cooperman | Director of OpenCourseWare, UC Irvine
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Traditional instructors will remain, but online learning heralds a new breed — from evoLLLution.com by Pepper Lynn Werner | Doctoral Student, University of Wyoming
On 03/19/2013,
in business side of he, cost of getting a degree, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, global / globalization, higher education, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, new business models, online learning,
by Daniel Christian
The professors who make the MOOCs — from The Chronicle by Steve Kolowich
Excerpt:
Like many professors at top-ranked institutions, Mr. Sedgewick was very skeptical about online education. But he was intrigued by the notion of bringing his small Princeton course on algorithms, which he had taught for five years, to a global audience. So after Princeton signed a deal with an upstart company called Coursera to offer MOOCs, he volunteered for the front lines.
Dave Chidley for The Chronicle
On 03/06/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, vendors, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Harvard’s plan to dominate higher education — from jumpthecurve.net by Jack Uldrich
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Critics of online education and MOOCs may delude themselves by thinking an online course can never offer the same level of intimacy or interaction as a traditional college course but they are missing a key component of the MOOC movement: analytics.
What Harvard and other MOOC providers understand is that every time a student interacts with the material on an online course, she provides the institution feedback that allows it to learn a little more about how that student learns. Armed with this information they can then offer future courses designed not only to meet that individual’s specific educational needs but which are delivered in a manner personally tailored to his or her unique learning style.
…
Imagine Harvard charges a $100 accrediting fee to every student who takes one of its free courses. If one million students—students who formerly populated state universities and colleges—opt instead to take just one accredited course a year from Harvard that amounts to $100 million a year.
From DSC:
Readers of this blog will know that I think MOOCs are in an iterative process of morphing into something else, something new. MOOCs are half-baked at this point. I say that because it’s like drinking from a firehose (at least as of early March 2013). But what Jack Uldrich points out is what I was trying to get at in the graphic below. That is, if technologies that can capture, filter, curate, provide relevant information based upon analytics, one doesn’t have to drink from a fire hose anymore…the drinking fountain now becomes a better metaphor.
On a potentially related note — and a veeeerrrryyyy interesting question asked at this article out at Chief Learning Officer:
- Apple keeps a tight lid on what goes on in its learning organization, Apple University. Why?
From Apple’s Secret Training Ground
Either one of these forces could create what I’ve been calling “The Forthcoming Walmart of Education” (since 2008). As Smart/Connected TVs proliferate, Apple’s developing infrastructure and ecosystem could easily fill the bill.
On 03/06/2013,
in budgets, business side of he, change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, liberal arts, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education,
by Daniel Christian
The Professors’ Big Stage — op-ed from the New York Times by Thomas Friedman
Excerpt:
I just spent the last two days at a great conference convened by M.I.T. and Harvard on “Online Learning and the Future of Residential Education” — a k a “How can colleges charge $50,000 a year if my kid can learn it all free from massive open online courses?”
On 03/04/2013,
in future of higher education, game-changing environment, online learning,
by Daniel Christian
The newest revolution in higher ed — from The Boston Globe by Drew Faust (president of Harvard Univeristy) and L. Rafael Reif (president of MIT)
Excerpt:
In 1837, the Massachusetts Board of Education devoted part of its first annual report to praising a recent classroom innovation called the blackboard. This “invaluable and indispensible” innovation enabled the “rapid and vivid communication of knowledge.” It created opportunities for teachers to engage learners in ways that had been unimaginable just a generation earlier.
The same and more will be said of online learning tools. We are at the beginning of a technology-led revolution in pedagogy: Our innovation is not the blackboard, but instead an evolving suite of tools that allows interactive learning online. While one outcome of this revolution has rightly caught the world’s attention — the power to democratize access to education on a scale never seen in history — we are just as excited about the promise that these new tools hold for colleges and universities throughout the world.
On 02/26/2013,
in Daniel S. Christian, education technology, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, higher education, innovation, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, telepresence, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
In Cisco’s classroom of the future, your professor is just an illusion — from fastcoexist.com by Ariel Schwartz
New telepresence software could let you take a class from anywhere and appear as if you’re in the classroom.
On 02/20/2013,
in business side of he, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, staying relevant, surviving,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
While I think MOOCs have a ways to go, I continue to support them because they are forcing higher ed to innovate and experiment more. But the conversation continues to move away from traditional higher ed, as the changes — especially the prices — aren’t changing fast enough.
Besides President Obama’s repeated promptings for higher to respond and to become more cost effective — as well as his mentioning that the U.S. Government will be pursuing new methods of accreditation if the current institutions of higher ed don’t respond more significantly — here is yet another example of the conversation moving away from traditional higher ed.
I wonder…
How small/large is the window of time before traditional higher ed is moved into the “Have you driven a Ford lately?” mode…? It seems that it’s much harder to get customers to come back once they’ve lost their trust/patience/belief/support/etc. in an organization or institution. As Ford has shown, it can be done, but my point is that there is danger in the status quo and broken business relationships can take a long time to heal — while opening up opportunities for others to step in (such as Toyota, Honda, and others in the case of the automotive industry).
Again, we see whether in higher ed, K-12, or in the corporate world, the key thing is to learn how to build one’s own learning ecosystem.
With thanks to Stephen Downes for mentioning the item below in his presentation here.
Other examples of the conversation moving away from traditional higher ed:
- Educating the Future: The End of Mediocrity –by Rob Bencini
Students facing uncertain future opportunities (but very certain debt loads) may increasingly turn away from private colleges and universities that offer little more than a diploma. Instead, they’ll seek more-affordable alternatives for higher education, both real and virtual.
- The Half-Life of a College Education — from futuristspeaker.com by Thomas Frey
Excerpt:
6.) Expanding number of long tails courses – In much the same way “hit” television shows attract millions of viewers while niche TV shows are proliferating, far more niche courses will be developed as traditional college gatekeepers get circumvented.
On 02/14/2013,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, collaboration, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online tutoring, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, streams of content, ubiquitous learning, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Below are some reflections after seeing these items:
- IBM’s Watson is better at diagnosing cancer than human doctors — from wired.co.uk by Ian Steadman
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- Watson is now commercially available, set to help doctors treat cancer — from singularityhub.com by Peter Murray
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- Watson supercomputer goes to college, Revenge Of The Nerds style antics imminent — not an exemplary article from geekosystem.com, but the underlying topic has enormous implications
Excerpt:
…the team developing Watson is sending the computer to college, where it will bone up on coursework in English and math.
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While the original Watson will be staying put at the IBM research center it calls home, the hardware to run the program is being installed at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York, where researchers and grad students will be spend the next three years teaching Watson all they can while also hoping to learn more about how the software learns and make it more effective.
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From DSC:
The current set of MOOCs are very powerful, but, like a bush that needs pruning, they can become unwieldy and hard to control. Not only do the current set of MOOCs help me to see the importance of instructional design, but trying to drink from the firehose often presents problems (i.e. wading through thousands of tweets, hundreds of blog posts, etc.). How can we still provide openness and yet provide people with better methods/tools for setting their desired level of drinking from this firehose? Tags are helpful, but for most people, they are not doing enough to filter/curate the content at this point.
Enter the technologies being developed in IBM’s Watson, Apple’s SIRI, or in Knewton’s product lines. End-user controllable setting might include:
- Full throttle — like current form of MOOCs — thousands of tweets, hundreds of blog posts, etc.
- IBM Watson-enabled curation/filtering only — each individual adjusts how many items they want to see in the various portions of the interface (see above); these settings control how many items and/or streams of content get presented to you
The ideas involving learning agents, artificial intelligence, intelligent tutoring, intelligent systems and more seem to get roped in here…hmm…just thinking out loud and sharing potentially-useful ideas.
On 02/13/2013,
in accreditation, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, future of higher education, higher education, reinvent, staying relevant, surviving, universities,
by Daniel Christian
Also see:
On notice, again — from insidehighered.com by Libby A. Nelson
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday night called for major changes to the criteria accreditors use to evaluate colleges, asking Congress to either require accreditors to take college prices and educational value into account or to create an alternative system based on “performance and results.” Either could mark a significant shift in how the federal government judges higher education quality and eligibility for financial aid programs.
From DSC:
- This speaks directly to higher ed’s ability — or inability — to stay relevant, be responsive, and to reinvent itself.
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- Accreditation teams should include many others who do not work for — nor are in any way connected to — a current institution of higher education.
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- If higher ed can’t respond, the conversation will continue to move away from traditional pathways/institutions and people will find their own ways of getting ahead/surviving.