innovation

It’s a 401(k) world — from nytimes.com by Thomas Friedman

Excerpts:

Something really big happened in the world’s wiring in the last decade, but it was obscured by the financial crisis and post-9/11. We went from a connected world to a hyperconnected world.

…

…the combination of these tools of connectivity and creativity has created a global education, commercial, communication and innovation platform on which more people can start stuff, collaborate on stuff, learn stuff, make stuff (and destroy stuff) with more other people than ever before.

…

But this huge expansion in an individual’s ability to do all these things comes with one big difference: more now rests on you.

…

Government will do less for you. Companies will do less for you. Unions can do less for you. There will be fewer limits, but also fewer guarantees. Your specific contribution will define your specific benefits much more. Just showing up will not cut it.

From DSC:
Makes me reflect on if we’re preparing our youth for the world that they will encounter. Makes me wonder…how does all of this emphasis on standardized tests fit into this new/developing world? Does the Common Core address these developing needs/requirements for survival? Are we preparing students to be able to think on their feet? To “pivot?” To adapt/turn on a dime? Or does K-20 need to be rethought and reinvented?

It seems that creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning are becoming more important all the time.

What say ye teachers and professors? If your students could have a super job tomorrow, would they come back to your class/school/program? If not, what would make them come back — and w/ eagerness in their step? That’s where we need to head towards — and I think part of the solution involves more choice, more control being given to the students.

The new term (at least to me) that is increasingly coming to my mind is:

Heutagogy — from Wikipedia (emphasis DSC)

In education, heutagogy, a term coined by Stewart Hase of Southern Cross University and Chris Kenyon in Australia, is the study of self-determined learning. The notion is an expansion and reinterpretation of andragogy, and it is possible to mistake it for the same. However, there are several differences between the two that mark one from the other.

Heutagogy places specific emphasis on learning how to learn, double loop learning, universal learning opportunities, a non-linear process, and true learner self-direction. So, for example, whereas andragogy focuses on the best ways for people to learn, heutagogy also requires that educational initiatives include the improvement of people’s actual learning skills themselves, learning how to learn as well as just learning a given subject itself. Similarly, whereas andragogy focuses on structured education, in heutagogy all learning contexts, both formal and informal, are considered.

Tagged with: assessment • career development • communications • Connectivism • dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • education reform • global • heutagogy • higher education • innovation • K-12 • Lifelong learning • more choice more control • motivation • reinvent • staying relevant

Reflections on “Why the lean start-up changes everything” [Blank]

On 05/03/2013, in corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, entrepreneurship, experimentation, higher education, innovation, reinvent, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

But recently an important countervailing force has emerged, one that can make the process of starting a company less risky. It’s a methodology called the “lean start-up,” and it favors experimentation over elaborate planning, customer feedback over intuition, and iterative design over traditional “big design up front” development. Although the methodology is just a few years old, its concepts—such as “minimum viable product” and “pivoting”—have quickly taken root in the start-up world, and business schools have already begun adapting their curricula to teach them.

From DSC:
This fits into my thinking/recommendation that each institution of higher education should create a much smaller, more nimble group within itself — whose goal is to experiment, pivot, adapt, etc. — in order to find out what’s working and what’s not working. It’s why I have categories and tags for words like “experimentation,” “staying relevant,” “reinvent,” “innovation,” “surviving,” and “disruption.”

The trick is/will be how NOT to be a commodity –what’s going to differentiate your college or university?

Tagged with: corporate / business world • creativity • Daniel S. Christian • disruption • entrepreneurship • experimentation • higher education • innovation • reinvent • staying relevant • strategy • surviving

Innovations class — by Don Wettrick

On 04/29/2013, in 21st century, innovation, K-12 related, real-world assignments, staying relevant, student-related, by Daniel Christian

This Innovations class was started by instructor Don Wettrick because he felt the need to combine project based learning (or passion based learning) with 21^st century skills. Built on the “Three Cs” (critical thinking, collaboration, and communication), the Innovations class strives to seek out projects that are important to our school/ town/ state/ world. This class has four requirements:

Research a topic/ concept/ issue that would impact your community.
Collaborate with experts outside of your school.
Carry out the project with a passion!
Blog/ share your results with the world.

Also see:

Innovations: Project

and, slightly related:

To innovate, find what’s hiding in plain sight — from hbr.org by Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas

Tagged with: 21st century • innovation • K-12 • real-world assignments • staying relevant

For Ivy League grads, tech trumps Wall Street [Korosec]

On 04/29/2013, in business, career development, entrepreneurship, innovation, technology (general), workplace, by Daniel Christian

For Ivy League grads, tech trumps Wall Street — from SmartPlanet.com by Kirsten Korosec

Excerpt:

A wave of young professionals–as well as recent grads–are bypassing (or leaving) Wall Street to take jobs within the high-tech sector, reported the Wall Street Journal. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in New York City, where employments in securities and banking fell 10 percent to 163,600 jobs in the past five years. Over the same time period, high-tech employments rose 10 percent to 275,600 by mid-2010, according to data from the New York State Department of Labor, reported the WSJ.

Tagged with: business • career development • corporate / business world • entrepreneurship • innovation • technology (general) • workplace

The IT conversation we should be having [Stikeleather]

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.

Tagged with: dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • future of higher education • game-changing environment • higher education • innovation • IT • leadership • organizational change • roles • strategy • technology (general) • workplace

Education Innovation Summit 2013 [blog]

On 04/19/2013, in education technology, emerging technologies, higher education, innovation, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: educational technology • emerging technologies • higher education • innovation

40 years coming, the revolution is here [Vander Ark]

On 04/19/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, business, business side of he, change, changing business models, dangers of the status quo, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, innovation, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, personalized/customized learning, by Daniel Christian

40 years coming, the revolution is here — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Excerpt:

Moe sees learners creating a “personalized knowledge portfolio,” an unbundled sequence of learning experiences from multiple providers.

Moe sees an innovation ecosystem emerging, and calls it KaizenEDU. In this emerging ecosystem, it’s the “return on education” that matters. Moe argues the entrepreneurs that help create great learning gains are the ones that will create great shareholder value.

Healthcare gives us a picture of what that could mean for edtech. In 1970 there were 3 companies worth more than $1 billion. Last year, health care made up 13% of U.S. GDP and there were 398 companies with a market cap of more than $1 billion. Education is about 9% of GDP but there are only 5 public companies worth more than $1 billion. The difference is a result of dramatic under investment in R&D, but that’s changing!

…

The three emerging areas requiring more attention, according to Shelton, are early learning tools and resources, summer and out of school learning, and course redesign in higher education.

Tagged with: 1:1 • 24x7x365 • business side of he • change • dangers of the status quo • educational technology • entrepreneurship • game-changing environment • innovation • learning ecosystem • learning from the living [class] room • personalized learning

Online education for the pros: Udemy launches corporate training tools [Farr ]

On 04/18/2013, in change, changing business models, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, dangers of the status quo, emerging technologies, experimentation, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, learning ecosystem, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, by Daniel Christian

Online education for the pros: Udemy launches corporate training tools — from venturebeat.com by Christina Farr

Excerpt:

Online course providers typically target students, but Udemy is going after an underserved group: professionals.

Also, from Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie – April 18, 2013
#768 – Updates on Learning, Business & Technology
55,949 Readers – www.masie.com – twitter: emasie – The MASIE Center.
Host: TeleWork 2013 – A National Forum – www.telework2013.com

1. MOOC’s & Corporate Learning?
There is a great media interest in MOOC’s – the innovations for Massive Open Online Courses – where one instructor runs a course for thousands or tens of thousands of learners. I have been a student in three MOOC’s and a teacher/facilitator in three. Now, we are hearing from many learning colleagues about the applicability of the MOOC to workplace learning.

I would urge TRENDS readers to approach MOOC’s as important beta/lab experiments – where important and cool innovations are emerging in the construction, delivery and economics of educational “packages”. My experience as a MOOC learner has been exciting and mixed. While there were over 70,000 learners in one program – very few made it to the end of the program – and fewer were fully successful from a competency point of view. It was exciting to see how learners could be co-designers of the program and many resources were developed and disseminated from the learners. Finally, there were mixed models of how well the social/collaborative side of the MOOC’s worked.

As a teacher – I struggled with the format shifts reflected by MOOC’s. Were the assignments suggestions or could I predict a level of engagement of the learners. Was the content that was posted by learners legal – some added video that wasn’t within their IP ownership. And, the issue of fees were also interesting. A free MOOC will get high starts but perhaps high drop offs. When fees were added, did that take away the “open” label. It is also interesting to see colleges and universities that have never made a profit on classroom offerings think they will generate good margins by adding MOOC’s to their offerings.

It is early and really too early to predict how MOOC’s might evolve within the corporate world. I have been advocating that we take each of the letters as distinct areas for innovation:

– M: Massive dissemination of content
– O: Open content and content reuse along with curation by learners.
– O: Online resources added to both 1 mode and mixed/blended mode delivery.
– C: Course? Perhaps the MOOC might become a MOOP (Program) or MOOA (Assets)

And, is there a Competency check assumed in a MOOC – as well as certification or even college credit?

MOOC’s are important innovations. Now, we need to label them as Lab or Beta tests – and gather evidence as we experiment with the use of all or some of MOOC’s elements in corporate settings. We will be experimenting with the MOOC as a corporate model in an upcoming Learning LAB of our Learning CONSORTIUM. Interested in hearing from TRENDS readers exploring MOOC’s in our world.

The College of 2020
If #HigherEd stays way it is, w/ 19th century style lectures, w/in 10 years Google U. and Walt Disney U. to take it over – Wim Westera

Addendum on 4/19/13:

Bridging the Skills Gap — from trainingmag.com by Lorri Freifeld
Employers want certain skills. Employees don’t have them. Why? And what can organizations and Training, employees, and the educational system do to eliminate the disconnect?

Excerpt:

With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering around 8 percent and millions of people desperately looking for jobs, why are many employers claiming they can’t fill their vacant positions?

The answer: A skills gap that threatens the sustainability of businesses around the world. And while a big part of the skills gap is a shortage of people skilled in the STEM (science, technology, education, and math) industries, there also is a gap in soft skills such as communication and advanced leadership skills.

…

What is causing these skills gaps? What can—and should—employers and their Training departments, employees, and the education system be doing differently? This first article in a five-part series will address these questions. Subsequent articles will explore how corporate partnerships with colleges and universities can help bridge the divide (May/June), how to motivate employees to take advantage of skills gap training and eliminate any sense of promotion entitlement (July/August), how technology can help (September/October), and additional potential solutions and strategies for success (November/December).

From DSC:
We had better start talking STEAM not STEM from here on out (i.e. add the ARTS!). You can’t get creative thinkers without fostering some creativity.

Tagged with: corporate / business world • corporate training / universities • cost of getting an education • dangers of the status quo • experimentation • game-changing environment • innovation • MOOCs • online learning • Walmart of Education

Touchscreen interface for seamless data transfer between the real and virtual worlds [DigInfo TV]

On 04/16/2013, in A/V -- audio/visual, Asia, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, interface design, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: A/V • Asia • gesture / gesturing • human-computer interaction (HCI) • innovation

NovoED: Take free courses from Stanford University

On 04/15/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, elearning, experimentation, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, innovation, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, platforms, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

About

NovoEd is the only online learning platform that provides a connected, effective and engaging learning environment for students using a combination of techniques in crowd sourcing, design and analysis of reputation systems, and algorithm design.

NovoEd’s philosophy is to advance the online learning experience by making online courses more experiential, interactive, and collaborative. On our platform, students not only have access to lectures by thought leaders and professors from top universities, but they are also able to form teams with people around the world and work on class projects.

NovoEd uses online learning to deliver learning opportunities at massive scale. We offer courses and programs by thought leaders in a wide range of fields and in partnership with universities. By fostering online collaboration, team work and project-based learning, we nurture problem solving, collaboration, and leadership while addressing specific topics and business opportunities.

Tagged with: 21st century • 24x7x365 • cost of getting an education • dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • e-learning • experimentation • game-changing environment • Global learning • higher education • innovation • interactivity • new business models in he • online learning • platforms • Walmart of Education • web-based collaboration

The connected TVs are here… interactive programming & native apps will follow— from venturebeat.com by Habib Kairouz

Excerpt:

Innovative devices have always fueled new application ecosystems. The software industry was enabled by the WinTel PC platform; and hundreds of thousands of websites were built once the PCs became “connected.” In the last few years, we have witnessed the same trend in mobile; more than 700,000 apps have been created for Web-enabled phones. We’ll soon see connected TVs fueling a similar ecosystem of interactive programming and native apps. With nearly a quarter of all U.S. households currently using connected TVs (according to eMarketer), we have reached the tipping point of mass adoption.

As opposed to the disastrous impact the Internet had on the print industry, I see the innovation of the connected TV market as a tremendous, yet accretive, evolution as opposed to a threat. Here’s why:

Tagged with: career development • Daniel S. Christian • innovation • learning from the living [class] room • MOOCs • programming • smart classrooms • Smart/Connected TV • TV • Walmart of Education

The Internet of Things: When GE sees a $ trillion opportunity, you might want to take it seriously. [Littlewood]

On 04/04/2013, in 21st century, business, change, economics, emerging technologies, global / globalization, innovation, internet, machine-to-machine communications, trends, by Daniel Christian

The Internet of Things: When GE sees a $ trillion opportunity, you might want to take it seriously. — from thebln.com by Mark Littlewood
.

— The link/posting above is from March 12, 2013
— The item below is from November 26, 2012

Some sample images:

Tagged with: 21st century • change • corporate / business world • economics/business • emerging technologies • global • innovation • internet • machine-to-machine communications • trends

Sharp, creative work by the Queensland University of Technology in Australia

On 03/25/2013, in 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Australia, creativity, digital audio, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, immersion, innovation, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: 3D • A/V • Australia • creativity • digital audio • emerging technologies • engagement • immersion • innovation

Schools are doing Education 1.0; talking about doing Education 2.0; when they should be planning Education 3.0 [Gerstein]

On 03/22/2013, in 21st century, creativity, education, education reform, higher education, innovation, K-12 related, love of learning, more voice more choice more control, passions, by Daniel Christian

Schools are doing Education 1.0; talking about doing Education 2.0; when they should be planning Education 3.0 — from User Generated Education by Jackie Gerstein

Excerpt:

Education 3.0
Education 3.0 is based on the belief that content is freely and readily available. It is self-directed, interest-based learning where problem-solving, innovation and creativity drive education.