.

 

.

From DSC, some examples:

  • Unbundling and Unmooring: Technology and the Higher Ed Tsunami — from educause.org by Audrey Watters
  • Unbundling Higher Education | From the Bell Tower –– from lj.libraryjournal.com by Steven Bell
    Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
    Recent events in higher education suggest a new trend — earning degrees by the course from multiple providers. Are we looking at the iTunes model of unbundled higher ed? Call it alt-HE.
  • Napster, Udacity, and the Academy — from Clay Shirky
    Excerpt:
    Once you see this pattern—a new story rearranging people’s sense of the possible, with the incumbents the last to know—you see it everywhere. First, the people running the old system don’t notice the change. When they do, they assume it’s minor. Then that it’s a niche. Then a fad. And by the time they understand that the world has actually changed, they’ve squandered most of the time they had to adapt.
    .
    It’s been interesting watching this unfold in music, books, newspapers, TV, but nothing has ever been as interesting to me as watching it happen in my own backyard. Higher education is now being disrupted; our MP3 is the massive open online course (or MOOC), and our Napster is Udacity, the education startup.

    But who faces that choice? Are we to imagine an 18 year old who can set aside $250K and 4 years, but who would have a hard time choosing between a residential college and a series of MOOCs? Elite high school students will not be abandoning elite colleges any time soon; the issue isn’t what education of “the very best sort” looks like, but what the whole system looks like.

From DSC:
I understand that Mr. George Lucas is going to express his generosity in donating the $4.05 billion from the sale of Lucasfilm to education.

Here’s a question/idea that I’d like to put forth to Mr. Lucas (or to the United States Department of Education, or to another interested/committed party):

Would you consider using the $4+ billion gift to build an “Online Learning Dream Team?”

.

Daniel Christian -- The Online Learning Dream Team - as of November 2012

.

 Original image credit (before purchased/edited by DSC)
yobro10 / 123RF Stock Photo

 

 

From DSC:
What do you think? What other “players” — technologies, vendors, skillsets, etc. — should be on this team?

  • Perhaps videography?
  • Online tutoring?
  • Student academic services?
  • Animation?
  • Digital photography?

 


Some of the powerful words that, if done well, are enabled by online learning are:


Choice:

  • Of format — digital audio, digital video, text, graphics, animations, games, role playing, etc.; I can look at content from multiple angles and in multiple ways
  • Of assignment — which one works best for me? Which one interests me the most? Or if I don’t really get the assignment in one way, I can reach the learning objective in another way.

Control:

  • Of when and where I bop into my course and participate in it; it may be a brief 5-minute posting of a great and relevant article I ran across, or it may be a 3-4 hour stint
  • Of playing media — pausing, fast forwarding, rewinding, slowing down or speeding up digital video and/or digital audio

Participation:

  • I can contribute content that I created — in a variety of formats; content that I can spend some time on creating
  • I can take my time to engage in thoughtful, reflective discussions; especially helpful to those of us who don’t think very fast on our feet and need time to think about a topic and develop our responses

Communication and collaboration:

  • Between students
  • Between faculty and students

bop in

— In my mind, those are very powerful words in many peoples’ learning experiences.

 

 

 

IBM’s Watson expands commercial applications, aims to go mobile  — from singularityhub.com by Jason Dorrier

.

From DSC:
This relates to what I was trying to get at with the posting on mobile learning.  I would add the word “Education” to the list of industries that the technologies encapsulated in Watson will impact in the future. Combine this with the convergence that’s enabling/building the Learning from the Living [Class] Room environment, and you have one heck of an individualized, data-driven, learning ecosystem that’s available 24 x 7 x 365 — throughout your lifetime!!!

.

 

IBM Watson-Introduction and Future Applications

 

 


Also relevant here are some visions/graphics I created from 2012 and from 2008:


 

.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

 

.

 

.

Why couldn't these channels represent online-based courses/MOOCs? Daniel Christian - 10-17-12

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

The future of education, according to McGraw-Hill — from edcetera.com by Kirsten Winkler

Excerpt:

Certainly, there needed to be a set of skills defined to call a student college-ready, but the path of how to achieve these fixed goals should be an individual one that allows students to go after their interests and respects their individual talents. Students shouldn’t be in the same grade when they’re not on the same level. What we’re talking about is a flexible system that would depend on when a student is ready rather than when a curriculum defines they’re ready.

Such a more flexible model is inspired by some of the things that are happening in higher education already. This is a great example of how innovation taken from higher ed is making its way into high schools.

Vinet Madan used a nice metaphor when he explained this approach in our interview. It’s like the decision to take either the scenic route by the coast or the highway to get to your goal. Ultimately, both routes will take you to the destination, it’s just a personal preference.

Also see:

 

 

Also see:

Sony releases first 4K TV: The 84-inch XBR-84X900 — from CNET.com by Ty Pendlebury
Sony has announced its first 4K television, the 84-inch XBR-84X900, which features a separate stereo speaker system and passive 3D viewing.

 

Where can I buy it?

 
 
Addendum on 8/31/12 — 3 65” Presenters from Ideum

Recent installation from Ideum - August 2012

 


 From DSC:
This relates to BYOD, Smart Classrooms, and students being able to participate and contribute content to discussions:


 

A piece of the Next Generation Smart Classroom -- Daniel Christian -- June 2012

InstaEDU positions itself for the future of online education by letting students schedule specific tutors and lessons — from techcrunch.com by Billy Gallagher

Excerpt:

Popular online tutor service InstaEDU now allows students to choose particular tutors in advance and schedule future sessions. The company, which launched in public beta this past May, previously only offered on-demand tutoring.

CEO and cofounder Alison Johnston tells me the expanded services stem from feedback the company has received from students. Students had sessions with tutors they liked and wanted to follow up with another session, schedule tutoring before their next test or assignment and plan ahead to find a tutor that perfectly fits their needs.

 

[video_lightbox_vimeo5 video_id=46294572 width=800 height=600 anchor=”http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ExploringDisruptions-Mark-Elgart-August2012.jpg”]

(Click on above image to see the video)

Also see:
http://www.advanc-ed.org/

AT&T brings more second-screen features, content to U-verse customers on iPhone, iPad & iPod touch, and online — from prnewswire.com

Excerpt:

DALLAS, July 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The remote control is no longer the main device sitting next to you on the couch. Your iPhone or iPad is quickly becoming an integral part of TV watching, and AT&T* U-verse® TV customers now have access to several new features and content that bring their TV and wireless experiences together, including:

  • An expanded lineup of on demand premium and TV content available through the U-verse App for iPhone and iPod touch and AT&T U-verse App for iPad at no extra charge, including HBO®, Cinemax®, HBO, STARZ, ENCORE, MOVIEPLEX and Music Choice videos.
  • The ability to now link your iPad to your U-verse TV receiver with the AT&T U-verse App to access up to the minute sports companion content and scores from various leagues for today’s games, a review of yesterday’s games, and to see who is playing tomorrow.
  • The ability to now share information about what you are watching with friends on Facebook, and now, on Twitter through the AT&T U-verse App for iPad.
  • The ability to use your iPhone or iPod touch to control your U-verse TV with a full-featured, intuitive U-verse remote control with channel, guide, DVR, interactive app and on-demand controls, now available on the U-verse App for iPhone and iPod touch. The capability is already available today with the AT&T U-verse App for iPad.

From DSC:
Another illustration of convergence as well as another vendor taking one more step towards enabling a “Learning from the Living [Class] Room” piece of our future learning ecosystems.

.

The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV

 

 

 

Addendum:

The first principle of blended learning — from innosightinstitute.org by Heather Clayton Staker

Excerpt:

As I talk to people who want to blend online learning into students’ curriculum, the most frequent question I get is what online content is best? I respect that question, and others that sound really good too, like what does a student-centric classroom look like? Or what should be the teacher’s role?

But I am convinced that the infinitely most important question to ask first is what will motivate students to love this? My observation is that once a student’s heart is in it, the learning happens naturally, elegantly, and quickly. Imagine a classroom filled with students who want to be there, are focused, engaged, even clamoring to learn. But getting students into that righteous flow*, where they learn something because they genuinely love learning it—that’s where 90 percent of the battle is won or lost.

From DSC:
I think Heather & Co. are onto something here. One of the most important bottom lines and gifts that we can give our young people is a love for learning. 

I ask myself, if  and when students graduate from high school, what are their views on learning? Do they love it?  Are they looking forward to continuing a journey of lifelong learning? Are they prepared for being employed on a constant basis in a world of constant change?

How much more could lifelong learning be served if students developed a love of learning. Then, like Heather mentioned, “…once a student’s heart is in it, the learning happens naturally, elegantly, and quickly.”

Borrowing from a sports-related analogy…it’s like in tennis; don’t worry about the score. Play the point, mentally be in the point/moment and enjoy what you’re doing. Then the score will take care of itself. But if you are so focused on the score, you probably won’t enjoy what you’re doing and the score, most likely, will not take care of itself.

 

“Learning from the living room” — Part I [Christian]

Learning from the living room -- a component of our future learning ecosystems -- by Daniel S. Christian, June 2012

 

 

Legal size PDF here

 

 

Addendum on 7/3/12 from an article I wrote for EvoLLLution.com (for LifeLong Learning):
Establishing better collaboration between the corporate world and higher education [Christian]

In the near future, perhaps we could have second screen-based activities whereby corporate leaders are giving TED-like presentations or expressing the current issues in their worlds via a program on Smart TVs, and the students are communicating and collaborating about these presentations via tablets or smart phones.  Perhaps there will be electronic means whereby students could submit their ideas and feedback to the presenting companies (and whereby selected ideas could be rewarded in terms of free products or services that the company produces).

YouTube Video of  Marc Whitten, VP Xbox LIVE

.

SmartGlass -- from Microsoft -- June 4, 2012

 

Microsoft Unveils ‘SmartGlass’ to Connect Xbox and Windows — from the Wall Street Journal

.

Xbox Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox LIVE, announces
Xbox SmartGlass onstage at the Xbox 360 E3 media briefing Monday.

.

Also see:

Addendum 6/6/12:

© 2024 | Daniel Christian