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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

NovoED-StanfordApril2013

 

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.

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My reflections on “MOOCs of Hazard” – a well-thought out, balanced article by Andrew Delbanco

On 04/10/2013, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, analytics, animation, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, computer science, consortiums, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, cost of getting a degree, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital learning, digital storytelling, disruption, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new media literacies, online learning, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, programming, real-world assignments, reinvent, second screen apps, simulations, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, storytelling, streams of content, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, by Daniel Christian

From DSC: Below are my reflections on MOOCs of Hazard — from newrepublic.com by Andrew Delbanco — who asks:  Will online education dampen the college experience? Yes. Will it be worth it? Well…

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While I’m not sure that I agree with the idea that online education will dampen the college experience — and while I could point to some amazing capabilities that online education brings to the table in terms of true global exchanges — I’ll instead focus my comments on the following items:

 

1) Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are recent experiments — ones that will continue to change/morph into something else.
They are half-baked at best, but they should not be taken lightly. Christensen, Horn, Johnson are spot on with their theories of disruption here, especially as they relate to innovations occurring within the virtual/digital realm.  For example, the technologies behind IBM’s Watson could be mixed into the list of ingredients that will be used to develop MOOCs in the future.  It would be a very powerful, effective MOOC indeed if you could get the following parties/functionalities to the table:

  • IBM — to provide Watson like auto-curation/filtering capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, as well as data mining/learning analytics expertise, joined by
  • Several highly-creative firms from the film/media/novel/storytelling industry, who would be further joined by
  • Experts from Human Computer Interaction (HCI)/user interface/user experience design teams, who would be further joined by
  • Programmers and interaction specialists from educational gaming endeavors (and from those who can design simulations), joined by
  • Instructional designers, joined by
  • The appropriate Subject Matter Experts who can be reached by the students as necessary, joined by
  • Those skilled in research and library services, joined by
  • Legal experts to assist with copyright issues, joined by
  • Other specialists in mobile learning,  3D, web development, database administration, animation, graphic design, musicians, etc.

It won’t be long before this type of powerful team gets pulled together — from some organizations(s) with deep pockets — and the content is interacted with and presented to us within our living rooms via connected/Smart TVs and via second screen devices/applications.

2) The benefits of MOOCs
  • For colleges/universities:
    • MOOCs offer some serious marketing horsepower (rather than sound pedagogical tools, at this point in time at least)
    • They are forcing higher ed to become much more innovative
    • They provide great opportunities to build one’s personalized learning networks, as they bring forth those colleagues who are interested in topic A, B, or C
    • They move us closer to team-based content creation and delivery
      .
  • For students:
    • They offer a much less expensive option to go exploring disciplines for themselves…to see if they enjoy (and/or are gifted in) topic A, B or C
    • They provide great opportunities to build one’s personalized learning networks, as they bring forth those colleagues who are interested in topic A, B, or C
    • They provide a chance to see what it’s like to learn about something in a digital/virtual manner

3)  The drawbacks of MOOCs:
  • MOOCs are not nearly the same thing as what has come to be known as “online learning” — at least in the higher ed industry. MOOCs do not yet offer what more “traditional” (can I say that?) online learning provides: Far more support and pedagogical/instructional design, instructor presence and dialog, student academic support services, advising, more student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction, etc.
    .
  • MOOCs are like drinking from a firehose — there are too many blogs/RSS feeds, twitter feeds, websites, and other resources to review.

4) It would be wise for all of us to be involved with such experiments and have at least a subset of one’s college or university become much more nimble/responsive.

 

Also see:

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Dual screen: The evolution of the second screen [Lai]

On 04/04/2013, in A/V -- audio/visual, Bring your own device (BYOD), Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, innovation, interactivity, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, second screen apps, smart classrooms, smart/connected TV, streams of content, by Daniel Christian

Dual screen: The evolution of the second screen — from blog.brightcove.com by Albert Lai

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Educational Gamification
In a previous post, we asked readers to suggest their ideas for dual screen applications. One of the more intriguing responses was the suggestion to create companion educational games to accompany associated video content.

In a dual screen experience, as video content is displayed on the television, the application can engage the viewer with relevant and education activities, from content reinforcement to spelling to trivia to memory “games.” One can imagine an interactive amalgamation of Dora the Explorer, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Schoolhouse Rock!

 

 

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

 

 

Addendum on 4/8/13:

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4 tips for creating a Sal Khan-style instruction video…from Sal Khan [Kamenetz]

On 03/28/2013, in digital learning, instructional design, online learning, professional development, by Daniel Christian
4 tips for creating a Sal Khan-style instruction video…from Sal Khan — from fastcompany.com by Anya Kamenetz

Excerpt:

  • Keep things conversational. Emotionless is bad. Don’t talk over your audience’s head, or talk down to them either. “Not even a 6-year-old likes to be talked to like a 6-year-old.”
  • Use visuals and colors–but not too fancy. Khan favors hand-drawn diagrams.
  • Prepare carefully, then speak from your heart. Khan will sometimes write a script and throw it away. He’ll spend an hour walk figuring out how best to visualize a concept, then represent it in a quick sketch.
  • Keep it short. 10 minutes tops. Chunk down a larger concept into smaller pieces, to keep your audience hooked.
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Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses [Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, Schools]

On 03/28/2013, in MBA, productivity / tips and tricks, teaching online, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses — from jolt.merlot.org and California State University, Fullerton; by  Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, & Schools

Excerpts:

Abstract

A review of the literature revealed that established guidelines were not available to assist faculty who use video conferencing in their online graduate courses. In an effort to address this need, a self-evaluation study was completed with faculty who teach such courses. Drawing on the results of this study together with published Netiquette guidelines and a survey of other extant literature, a set of Video Conferencing Guidelines was created.

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Online Graduate Students

  • Guideline #1: Remember you are on camera and live. The advantage of video conferencing is that you can take advantage of facial expressions, inflection, and tone of voice. Remember to think before you respond to make your thoughts and ideas clear and coherent to the video conferencing participants.
  • Guideline #2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior during the video conferencing session that you would follow in real life.
  • Guideline #3: Be mindful of all video conferencing participants. Allow other participants time and opportunities to contribute to the discussion and share their ideas with the group.
  • Guideline #4: Video conferencing provides synchronous opportunities to share knowledge. It is important to consider opinions from other participants who are engaged in the video conferencing session. Strive for a fairly equal balance among the participants.
  • Guideline #5: Be mindful of your tone and expressions during the video conferencing session. This is not an anonymous session. Your voice and video are viewed by all who are participating in the chat session.
  • Guideline #6: Share your expertise and knowledge. Be an active contributor during the video conferencing session.
  • Guideline #7: Remain professional in your communication with participants.
  • Guideline #8: Respect the context of the video conferencing session. Keep video conferencing sessions within the context of the conversation. If the session is recorded do not post isolated comments that may be taken out of context. Synchronous discussions take on a life of their own; therefore, it is important to keep conversations in context.
  • Guideline #9: Be forgiving of mistakes during the video conferencing session. Video conferencing is a new communication platform. There are bound to be technical glitches; be patient with the participants during the session.
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USAToday/USDLA Mediaplanet: Online Education Report (March 2013)

On 03/26/2013, in online learning, by Daniel Christian

USAToday/USDLA Mediaplanet: Online Education Report (March 2013)

 

GoingTheDistanceUSATodayOnlineLearningMarch2013

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My thoughts on the future of higher education [Christian]

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

My thoughts on the future of higher education -- March 2013 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.

 

 

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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?

 

WalmartOfEducation-Christian2008

 

 

Also see:

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9 key strategic shifts to watch [Doig]

On 03/14/2013, in elearning, online learning, strategy, trends, by Daniel Christian

9 key strategic shifts to watch — from elearnmag.acm.org by Denise Doig

Excerpt:

There are so many great sessions at Learning Solutions 2013, it’s hard to decide which one to choose. If you follow eLearn Mag on Twitter, you may have seen some of what I am about to share. But there’s a lot more that needs to be said.

Earlier today, Marc Rosenberg led a brilliant session: ”Building eLearning Strategy for the Future: Nine Key Shifts to Watch.” He first defined what he meant by strategy, he followed with a discussion on how to be strategic vs. tactical, and then spent most of the hour breaking down the 9 key shifts to watch.

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Reflections on “Harvard’s plan to dominate higher education” [Uldrich]

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.

 

Watson-MOOCs-NewTypesCollaboration-DChristian-2-14-13

 

 

On a potentially related note — and a veeeerrrryyyy interesting question asked at this article out at Chief Learning Officer:

 

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.

 

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Keeping an eye on online test-takers [Eisenberg]

On 03/05/2013, in online learning, policy, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
More innovation from the online world… hopefully these technologies end up in the right hands…

Keeping an eye on online test-takers –– from nytimes.com by Anne Eisenberg

Excerpt:

But now eavesdropping technologies worthy of the C.I.A. can remotely track every mouse click and keystroke of test-taking students. Squads of eagle-eyed humans at computers can monitor faraway students via webcams, screen sharing and high-speed Internet connections, checking out their photo IDs, signatures and even their typing styles to be sure the test-taker is the student who registered for the class.

 

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Expert panel brings clarity to MOOCs in Business+MOOCs Hangout

On 03/05/2013, in change, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, game-changing environment, innovation, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Expert panel brings clarity to MOOCs in Business+MOOCs Hangout — fron onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com

The Business+MOOC Panel
Host: Jay Cross
Educators:  Dave Cormier, Stephen Downes, Terri Griffith and George Siemens
Business People: Jos Arets, Bert De Coutere, Lal Jones-Beyy (from Coursera) Mark Finnern,  Jerry Michalski

 

BusinessPlusMoocs-2-27-2013

 Start at 10 mins into the recording.

Also see:

 

From DSC:
Great to see folks from higher education and the corporate world collaborating here — this type of thing needs to occur more often.

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Presidents of Harvard & MIT write joint op-ed –> “The newest revolution in higher ed”

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.

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Reflections on “MOOCs and online learning: An interview with Jack Welch” [Glader]

On 02/28/2013, in corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, MBA, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, real-world assignments, by Daniel Christian

MOOCs and online learning: An interview with Jack Welch  — from edudemic.com by Paul Glader

Excerpt:

WA – What do you think of this trend in Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs? Where is it going?

JW – Tom Friedman talked about it a few weeks ago (in the New York Times). It seems a little like the stigma associated with online learning, similar to online dating sites, is washing away. Every trend is going in that direction. We can give an MBA for $30,000 and you keep your job and are moving up in a company. Contrast that with leaving a job for two years and you lose $100,000 or whatever your salary is. You pay these exorbitant MBA costs for two years – $125,000. The economics are all going in the right direction for online education. It’s just as rigorous or more rigorous because you can’t just BS the classes. Everything is going in our direction. We can offer a rigorous MBA program while we make you a better leader. The theme of our school is we teach you on Tuesday and you put it into practice on Wednesday. In other MBA programs, you learn on Tuesday and, two years later, you put it to work.

From DSC:
I continue to wonder if and when corporate training and development programs/departments will shift their attention to two main things:
  • Helping employees build their own learning ecosystems — based upon each employee’s career goals, current/near-future positions, projects that they are working on, etc.
  • Creating MOOCs — and/or what MOOCs eventually morph into — for their own companies; then selecting the cream of the crop for an interview or an immediate job offer

 

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Briefing on MOOCs for the Board of Governors [Bates]

On 02/22/2013, in Canada, higher education, leadership, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Briefing on MOOCs for the Board of Governors  — from Tony Bates

 

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