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We need a “Fab Lab for Education” [Hernandez]

On 05/17/2012, in A/V -- audio/visual, education, education technology, emerging technologies, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, learning spaces, smart classrooms, student teaching/teacher education, by Daniel Christian

We need a “Fab Lab for Education” — from innosightinstitute.org by Alex Hernandez

Excerpt:

In my dreams, [insert city] would open a Fab Lab for Education.

The Fab Lab for Education is a place where educators with big ideas can prototype new approaches to education and operate them for six weeks at a time with real kids. In other sectors, fab labs are mini-workshops where inventors can make “almost anything” without re-tooling an entire factory. Educators should have a place to try amazing, new ideas without “re-tooling” a whole school.

For educators, getting selected to prototype their big idea is a huge honor and people travel across the country to see their work. By the way, they don’t have to quit their jobs to do this and everyone knows that not all the programs will succeed.

The Fab Lab for Education is a highly flexible and customizable space, kind of like the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Philanthropists stock the lab with all the things needed to test out new ideas: 3-D printers, legos, amazing books, art supplies, post-it notes…  basically whatever the educators need.

…

The Fab Lab for Education team has five jobs…

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Additional reflection from DSC:
Great, innovative thinking Alex on this posting. Speaking of such dreams, it’s my dream to have such a place here on campus where folks could “kick the tires” on various technologies — where educators, faculty members, etc. could collaboratively work with each other and with educational technologists.  Before a “standard” gets put into place (i.e. such as an implementation of an interactive whiteboard), such a facility could help people test out a variety of potential pathways.  Ideas emerge and they morph into something else. Innovation could occur. Emerging technologies could be identified and tested out.

Other thoughts:

  • This would be a great place for our future educators/student teachers to have access to as well
  • Ideas/innovations arising from some of these facilities might be eligible for patents and additional income streams to keep such facilities open/sustainable
  • Successful approaches could be shared with other school districts, colleges, universities
  • Human Computer Interaction (HCI)-related work could be a piece of this vision — esp. in regards to developing the next gen Smart Classroom and learning spaces

 


 

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Higher ed: Are the sizes of our responses in proportion to the sizes of the changes coming at us?

On 05/14/2012, in change, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, leadership, strategy, by Daniel Christian

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Several items from InsideHigherEd.com providing further evidence that higher ed is in a game-changing environment

On 05/07/2012, in future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, by Daniel Christian

College credit without college — from InsideHigherEd.com by Paul Fain (below emphasis per DSC)

Excerpt:

The Internet takes college courses out of the classroom. But prior learning assessment takes college outside of college.
…
But prior learning assessment mostly occurs behind the scenes, partially because colleges avoid loudly advertising that they believe college-level learning can occur before a student ever interacts with faculty members. That low profile is ending, however, as prior learning is poised to break into the mainstream in a big way. The national college completion push and the expanding adult student market are driving the growth. And ramping up to meet this demand are two of the field’s early adopters — the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and the American Council of Education — which may soon be even bigger players in determining what counts for college credit.

A fractional idea — from InsideHigherEd.com by Kaustuv Basu

Excerpt:

A talented Ph.D. candidate labors for years and ultimately gets a doctoral degree in biology. He fails to find a job as a faculty member at a research university and eventually ends up teaching at a high school. But he still yearns to do scholarly research.

A paper released last week by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a body devoted to entrepreneurial ideas, offers a solution for people who once harbored dreams of conducting quality research, but instead ended up working outside the university system doing little or no research. The authors of the paper, Samuel Arbesman and Jon Wilkins, said these scholars, who tend to be underemployed, could be put to work as researchers under a system called “fractional scholarship.”

New college, new model — from InsideHigherEd.com by Paul Fain

Excerpt:

Not much is truly unique in higher education. The industry is too big, and most experiments have been tried before. But the new Ameritas College sure sounds different.

Ameritas, launched last week, blends for-profit and nonprofit elements and has a singular focus on Latinos who are working adults. It is part of Brandman University, a private, nonprofit institution with 26 campuses in California and Washington. Co-located at four campuses in Southern California’s Inland Empire, Ameritas will offer relatively low-cost, accelerated associate and bachelor degree tracks. Its curriculum is designed to “crack the code” of helping Latinos get to graduation, administrators said.

 

 

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The Campus Tsunami [Brooks]

On 05/04/2012, in 21st century, change, changing business models, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, education technology, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, new business models, online learning, staying relevant, surviving, by Daniel Christian

The Campus Tsunami — from The New York Times by David Brooks

Excerpts:

But, over the past few months, something has changed.The elite, pace-setting universities have embraced the Internet. Not long ago, online courses were interesting experiments. Now online activity is at the core of how these schools envision their futures.

…

What happened to the newspaper and magazine business is about to happen to higher education: a rescrambling around the Web.

From DSC:
What David Brooks said in this last bolded sentence (above) is what I have been saying, but in a slightly different way:

Other industries have been up to bat, and the Internet was pitching.  Higher education used to be on deck. But now, higher education is at bat.

 

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Reflections: What are we modeling in higher ed and what are the goals — and states of the hearts — of students about to enter the workplace? What about our hearts?

On 05/04/2012, in Daniel S. Christian, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, higher education, morals/values, by Daniel Christian

For Indiana University business grads, a tough final lesson
Those who failed to pick up tickets for ceremony now face black-market prices.

 Excerpt:

“I can’t believe it. It’s absolutely distressing,” said Beatty, a senior from Fishers who missed the pickup time for free graduation tickets for herself and her parents last month and now faces paying several hundred dollars to attend the ceremony in the auditorium on the Bloomington campus.

“My parents spent $70,000 to send me here the last four years, and they won’t be able to attend,” she said Wednesday. “It’s really opened my eyes about Kelley students. What have we been taught here? Why are my fellow Kelley classmates charging me extortion rates?”

From DSC:
I can’t comment on Beatty or the other students who didn’t take immediate action to acquire their tickets to the event (perhaps that’s one lesson to be learned here).  But more troubling to me were the reflections I had after reading this article:

  • What lessons did these soon-to-be graduates really learn here? It seems that these students have learned to make a buck in whatever way they can.  After all, that’s capitalism, right? (But capitalism without true stewardship, values, leadership, and caring about others can be destructive — as we are witnessing and experiencing these days within the United States…and most likely within higher ed as well.)
  • What was modeled by IU? Were the “customers” treated right after spending tens of thousands of dollars at IU? What are the rest of us doing along these lines within higher ed?

Which got me to thinking…what are the motivations of today’s graduates as they enter the workplace? What are their goals in life? What are institutions of higher ed really teaching and modeling about such goals? 

Which got me to thinking…what are the states of their hearts? Our hearts? 

Deep thoughts from just a graduation event…
but the streams we swim in run deep and
we don’t have know how powerful they really
are until we try swimming upstream.

Daniel

 

 

 

 

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The “Innovator’s Dilemna” strikes again; another solid example of the need to reinvent one’s organization.

On 05/02/2012, in business, change, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, higher education, reinvent, staying relevant, surviving, by Daniel Christian

Sayonara Sony: How industrial, MBA-style leadership killed a once great company — from forbes.com by Adam Hartung

Excerpt:

Who can forget what a great company Sony was, and the enormous impact it had on our lives?  With its heritage, it is hard to believe that Sony hasn’t made a profit in 4 consecutive years, just recently announced it will double its expected loss for this year to $6.4 billion, has only 15% of its capital left as equity (debt/equity ration of 5.67x) and is only worth 1/4 of its value 10 years ago!

 

From DSC:
Blockbuster, Kodak, and now Sony — and I’m sure there are countless others who have moved in and out of prosperous times — but those three come instantly to my mind as more recent examples of The Innovator’s Dilemna — which strikes again!

It reminds me of a Steve Jobs’ quote (and I’ll use the item found at Yastrow.com)

One of Jobs’ business rules was to never be afraid of cannibalizing yourself. “If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will,” he said. So even though an iPhone might cannibalize the sales of an iPod, or an iPad might cannibalize the sales of a laptop, that did not deter him.

 

Addendum (with emphasis from DSC):
Another thought comes from Guy Kawasaki’s talk at TEDxHarkerSchool entitled, “The 12 Lessons I Learned from Steve Jobs”

  • You need to jump to the next curve — don’t duke it out w/ others on the current curve (DSC: Like from the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull...don’t fight it out on the beach with the other seagulls. Instead, learn how to fly. <– that’s been my prayer, LORD teach me how to fly.)
  • Customers cannot tell you what they need  — they can only describe things in terms of what they already have; bigger, faster, cheaper, status quo
  • Challenging your mind is a sign of intelligence  (DSC: Reinvent, staying relevant, be able to completely reverse a viewpoint, cannibalizing own business)
  • “Experts” are clueless
  • The biggest challenges beget the best work
  • Design counts
  • Use big graphics and big fonts
  • Value does not equal price

 

 

 

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Barriers to Adoption of Online Learning Systems in U.S. Higher Education [Bacow, Bowen, Guthrie, Lack, Long]

On 05/01/2012, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, changing business models, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, learner profiles, online learning, organizational change, personalized/customized learning, United States, by Daniel Christian

Barriers to adoption of online learning systems in U.S. Higher Education - May 1, 2012

 

Excerpt from the preface:

Digital technology has already changed the way colleges and universities function, but no matter how significant those changes feel today, real transformation is just beginning. Every day, a new program in online learning is announced, and on the horizon is the promise of using new adaptive learning technologies —or what we have come to call Interactive Learning Online—to educate more students than ever before at lower cost and with similar or even better learning outcomes.

This Ithaka S+R report is the first in a series that will provide leaders in higher education insight into what has been learned from online learning efforts to date and new research to help them move forward with the development and deployment of more advanced systems in the future.

Many of the lessons in this report can readily be applied locally; that is, they will help leaders make sound decisions for their own institutions. We have also identified two critical issues that if addressed at a system-level, will lead to better outcomes for all: the need for open, shared data on student learning and performance tracked through interactive online learning systems, and the need for investment in the creation of sustainable and customizable platforms for delivering interactive online learning instruction. We hope this report will help to stimulate discussion and planning among leaders on these important topics.

 

Also see:

  • Tempering the Rise of the Machines— from insidehighered.com by Steve Kolowich
    Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
    The report, called “Barriers to Adoption of Online Learning Systems in U.S. Higher Education,” was co-written by Lawrence S. Bacow and William G. Bowen, the former presidents of Tufts and Princeton Universities, respectively, along with several Ithaka analysts. It was bankrolled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report contained little advocacy one way or another; rather, the authors appeared to strive for a dispassionate analysis driven by a general sense that the rise of machine learning is inevitable and universities should be prepared. Their findings were based on interviews with senior administrators at 25 public and private, four-year and two-year colleges, including “deep dive” analyses at five of them.
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Yes, University of Phoenix is disruptive; no, that doesn’t make it the end-all [Horn]

On 04/12/2012, in business side of he, disruption, higher education, new business models, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Yes, University of Phoenix is disruptive; no, that doesn’t make it the end-all — from Disrupting Class by Michael Horn

Excerpt:

A disruptive innovation is one that transforms a sector by introducing a product or service that is more convenient, simple to use, and/or affordable than the existing products or services in a market. Disruptions tend to start as not as good as the existing products or services as judged by their historical measures of performance, and then, over time, they are able to march up market such that they are able to handle more complicated tasks. Many people flock to the disruptive innovation over time as it becomes good enough, as the customers are delighted by something that carries this new value proposition around convenience, simplicity, and/or affordability. As a result of these dynamics, disruptive innovations first serve nonconsumers (people who previously could not participate in the market) or people who have been overshot by the incumbents in the market. A critical thing to keep in mind is that this process does not occur over night; sometimes it occurs over several decades. And not every incumbent or traditional institution will be wiped away. Some will continue to perform important jobs for which a, relatively speaking, small set of customers are willing to pay.

Lastly, for something to be a disruptive innovation, it has to have two components: a technology enabler and a business model that together allow it to extend a low-cost value proposition up market.

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Everybody’s worried now [Kiley]

On 04/11/2012, in changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, reinvent, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, by Daniel Christian
Everybody’s worried now — from InsideHigherEd.com by Kevin Kiley
Excerpts:

EASTON, PA. — A year ago, the notion that Smith College — with a $1 billion endowment, high student demand, and frequently cited educational quality — was raising existential questions, particularly about its economic model, seemed a fairly radical notion.

But an idea that seemed striking in the past  — that elite liberal arts colleges might have to make significant changes in the next few years if they are to remain relevant (or present) in the current educational market — is now the hottest topic in the sector.

A conference this week here at Lafayette College entitled “The Future of the Liberal Arts College in America and Its Leadership Role in Education Around the World,” drew more than 200 college administrators, including about 50 college presidents, out of an invite list of U.S. News and World Report’s list of top national liberal arts colleges. Judging by the turnout, the discussion, and the fact that several other conferences addressing these questions are scheduled over the next few months, it’s clear that the questions are on everybody’s mind.

…

In his opening talk Monday night, Lafayette President Daniel H. Weiss laid out four major challenges facing liberal arts colleges — affordability, public skepticism about the value of a liberal arts degree and college in general, decline in the share of U.S population who fit the demographic patterns of students who traditionally attend liberal arts colleges, and questions about how to incorporate technology into the college and serve a generation of students that is increasingly networked — most of which was addressed in various forms throughout the day Tuesday.

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From DSC:
Many people haven’t liked the messages that I’ve been trying to get across these last several years:

  • That the price of higher education is too high.
  • These high prices have changed — and continue to change — the dynamics of our classrooms across America (and inside our students’ heads/thinking).
  • The predominant business models are not sustainable.
  • We are in a game-changing environment and the perfect storm continues to develop.
  • We must reinvent ourselves to stay relevant and helpful to future generations. The costs of not doing so are enormous and truly have life-long impact.
  • We need to experiment with new business models.
  • There is danger in the status quo.
  • That far more affordable means of obtaining an education are going to continue to materialize (and then asking, what do we want to do about this? How can we ride this wave and not get crushed by it?)
  • The future will have team-based content with extensive analytics — being enabled by a growing set of powerful technologies.

I am encouraged by this conference — and the turnout of 200 college admins and 50 college presidents — because it appears that this perfect storm within higher ed is now being taken more seriously.

Also relevant:

  • The world changed, colleges missed it — from The Huffington Post by Tom Vander Ark
    Excerpt:
    A bunch of colleges are going out of business, only they don’t know it. They pretend that trimming costs and jacking tuition is a solution. They haven’t come to terms with a world where anyone can learn anything almost anywhere for free or cheap.
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In U.S., while the real median household incomes continue to decrease, tuitions continue to increase.

On 04/10/2012, in cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, higher education, staying relevant, United States, by Daniel Christian

 

"The American Dream: Fraying of the Folklore" San Francisco Chapter of the National Association of Business Economics. February 29, 2012

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From DSC:

Note the troubling picture here for higher ed — the real median household income continues to decrease in the last several years, yet in those same years, there have still been increases in the cost of tuition.  That is, I’ll bet the going rates of higher ed degrees in California are not at their 1998 prices/levels.

 

Staying Relevant

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Also see:

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Connecting two worlds: Collaboration between Higher Education and Corporate Learning [Masie]

On 03/28/2012, in collaboration, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, higher education, IT in HE, universities, by Daniel Christian

Connecting Two Worlds: Collaboration between Higher Education and Corporate Learning -- from Elliott Masie

Per today’s Learning TRENDS from Elliott Masie — #717 – Updates on Learning, Business & Technology:

College & Corporate Learning – Collaboration Article: I have written the cover story article for EDUCAUSE – on “Collaboration Between Higher Education and Corporate Learning”.  There are so many areas where corporations and colleges are facing similar challenges and opportunities – from pushing the Learning Management Systems, to changing faculty teaching modes to getting research on the efficiency and impact of various learning technologies.  Yet, there is very little structured collaboration between our two worlds.  EDUCAUSE represents the technology directors of several thousand colleges and universities and we will be working closely with them to bridge the gap.

Related item/example added on 3/30/12:

 

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2011 Year in Review: Global Changes in Tuition Fee Policies and Student Financial Assistance. [Marcucci & Usher]

On 03/26/2012, in Africa, Asia, Australia, budgets, business side of he, Canada, cost of getting a degree, Europe, funding / grants, global / globalization, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

2011 Year in Review: Global Changes in Tuition Fee Policies and Student Financial Assistance.

Excerpt:

All around the world, the pace of change in higher education is accelerating. In the face of continued increases in participation, demographic change and – in the west at least – profound fiscal crises, higher education institutions are increasingly being required to raise funds from students as opposed to relying on transfers from governments. Indeed, the pace of policy change is coming so quickly that it is difficult to keep track of all the relevant developments in different parts of the world.

In this, the second edition of Year in Review: Tuition Fees and Student Assistance, we outline the major changes related to higher education affordability around the world in 2011. In order to keep our sample manageable, we have kept our inquiries to a selection of 40 countries that collectively best represent the global situation:

The G-40 consists of: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam.

Marcucci, Pamela and Usher, Alex (2012). 2011 Year in Review:
Global Changes in Tuition Fee Policies and Student Financial Assistance.
Toronto: Higher Education Strategy Associates.

 

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What would a disrupted education system look like? [Siemens]

On 03/16/2012, in Canada, disruption, education, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, India, learning ecosystem, open courseware and systems, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

What would a disrupted education system look like? -- from GeorgeSiemens

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Tablets impacting corporate and higher ed IT groups

On 03/15/2012, in corporate / business world, higher education, IT in HE, smart classrooms, tablets, trends, by Daniel Christian

Tablet ownership triples among college students –– from The Chronicle by Nick DeSantis

Excerpt:

The number of college students who say they own tablets has more than tripled since a survey taken last year, according to new poll results released today. The Pearson Foundation sponsored the second-annual survey, which asked 1,206 college students and 204 college-bound high-school seniors about their tablet ownership. The results suggest students increasingly prefer to use the devices for reading.

Tablet adoption surging in enterprise — from All Things Digital by John Paczkowski

Excerpt:

Tablet adoption is increasing among corporate tech buyers. ChangeWave Research recently polled a group of 1,604 business IT buyers and found that 22 percent of them planned to purchase tablets for their employees sometime in the second quarter of 2012. Of those, 84 percent say they’re likely to buy Apple iPads — an increase of 7 percentage points from ChangeWave’s November 2011 survey.

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InsideHigherEd’s 2012 Survey of College & University Presidents

On 03/08/2012, in budgets, business side of he, colleges, higher education, leadership, universities, by Daniel Christian

Inside Higher Ed's 2012 Survey of College & University Presidents

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