YouTube is 5 years old! — from Jane Hart
From DSC:
Wow…5 years is not traditionally a long time; look at what has occurred in these last 5 years! Man…YouTube is but one example.
On 04/21/2010,
in disruption, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, pace of change, policy, virtual K-12 schools,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Consider the following timeline of the Florida Virtual School according to this article:
1997: Florida Virtual School is founded.
2002: Hillsborough County establishes a virtual school program for high school classes.
2007: Hillsborough County starts offering middle school classes.
2008: Hillsborough County starts the elementary program.
2009: New state law requires school districts to offer full-time virtual classes for K-12 students.
Now consider that they started with 77 students.
Now consider that the “…program served more than 71,000 students during the 2008-2009 school year, according to its Web site.” (emphasis DSC)
Do not underestimate the disruptive impact of technology.
And I realize it’s not just about the technology…it’s about people.
But technology can connect people to each other at ever-increasing speeds.
On 04/17/2010,
in digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, history, internet, learning ecosystem, multimedia, new media literacies, online media, pace of change, tools,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
In an assignment for a class last week, I ran across a time-saving tool offered via timetoast.com. If you want to put together interactive timelines — without having to know programming languages or scripting languages — you might be interested in kicking the tires on this web-based tool. As an example, I was able to put together the following timeline of instructional media* in an hour or so:
Further reflections on this from DSC:
- As I was putting this timeline together, I saw how Thomas Edison and others proclaimed that technology X would make _____ obsolete…or that invention Y would change education forever. (I made a note to myself that I didn’t want to make such bold proclamations…and appear so foolish…but I’m probably too late in this area!) 🙂
- But anyway, I reflected on how school museums were first used, on how radio and instructional television had an impact for a while but then died down in terms of educational use, how the training films of WWII impacted what we know and do today, and the post WWII research in audio-visual-based arenas , and then the advent/rise of the personal computer as well as other educational technologies and the Internet……….and I thought of how disappointed people probably were after the hype ended. But then I reflected upon these technologies as seeds that were planted over time and later produced a harvest. They changed our “wineskins” (see below):
- Radio didn’t really disappear or disappoint. We still use it today; however, not necessarily for education, but we appreciate the audio it delivers to us (whether that be in music or in talkshows). Some seeds were planted…and the wineskins were changed**.
- Motion picture films and TV didn’t disappear or disappoint either, really. We still use these technologies today…but again, not necessarily for education (though some programs are definitely educational in nature and intent). We are used to viewing films and consider it second nature to watch video. So, other seeds were planted…and the wineskins were changed again.**
- Neither did the computer disappear or disappoint. We are still using computers today and they present another piece of the communications juggernaut that’s been created. Again, more seeds were planted…and the wineskins were changed yet again.**
- The Internet is here and growing as well. A significant ROI is being enjoyed with each passing day — and from educational perspectives no doubt. Again, the fields are starting to grow, and are growing quickly now. The seeds are no longer seeds and the wineskins we have today are not like the wineskins from 100+ years ago. **
So what am I saying here?
I’m saying that we are used to using/hearing/seeing audio, video, interactivity, multi-directional communications because of these technologies. They cultivated the ground for people using the technologies that we are:
- Comfortable with
- Using
- and innovating with today.
So when we employ highly-powerful, multimedia-based, educationally-beneficial items on the Net today — when we contribute podcasts, vodcasts, lectures, exercises, animations, etc. to the Net — we can thank these technologies for being the technological ancestors in the tech-family tree. They really didn’t disappoint after all. They were the seeds that were planted over time to create a wonderful harvest….a very powerful communications network…the most powerful one the world has ever known. Not bad for 100 years.
* Based upon article by Robert Reiser:
Reiser, R. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. ETR&D. Vol. 49(1). pp. 53-64.
**As Jesus once responded when asked about why his disciples didn’t fast, he replied:
16“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
These technologies created the environment…the proper wineskins…to lay the foundation for the “new wine” to be poured into our worlds without this new wine “running out” and ruining the wineskins. Can you imagine if someone had been able to introduce these technologies within 10-20 years…would they have taken? Given human nature, I doubt it. The wineskins took time to change. The thing is, the pace of change is quickening and is increasingly more difficult to keep up with.
I wonder…will the current wineskins hold? Or are our wineskins now very used to this pace of change?
On 03/24/2010,
in data related items, learning ecosystem, pace of change, publishing, research,
by Daniel Christian
Real-time scholarship — from academicevolution.com by Gideon Burton
“The tools are only getting better and better for discovery, networking, data mining, networking, collaborating, representing findings and disseminating learned communication. I pity my colleagues trapped in the print paradigm. By the time a journal article appears (or even an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education), what they report on will be secondary to the real conversation. The real scholars are the real-time scholars (emphasis DSC). We use legacy knowledge systems and respect them for what they do, but we don’t wait for them to fossilize the conversation; we’re too busy growing live knowledge with the more intellectually agile tools of mobile phones, microblogging, and live update streams.”
From DSC:
Gideon Burton expresses my viewpoints on this topic as well. The pace of exchanging information and learning about new information has picked up considerably. Those who rely on getting their information via printed journals are going to be at least 1 step behind. (This goes for textbooks as well.)
But my larger concern here is that if we aren’t connected in real-time to a global network of colleagues and peers, our knowledgebases may be a version or two behind — and worse yet, we may be relaying inaccurate information. We need a real-time, up-to-date, ever-growing, ever-adapting learning ecosystem.
Once again I ask, “Can you hear the engines roaring? As for myself, I’m trying not to come out onto the racetrack in an old “Model T”, as I have a significant co-pay on emergency room visits!
On 03/24/2010,
in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, future, future of higher education, global / globalization, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, pace of change, strategy, UK,
by Daniel Christian
Becta is Fit for the Future (March 2010)
This project will identify opportunities that technology will bring to education over the next few years…
Fit for the future is an exciting new project which aims to identify the opportunities and challenges that technology will bring the education and skills sectors over the next 5-6 years and work with leaders, practitioners and the technology industry to develop practical, real-world solutions.
The rapid pace of change and innovation in technology means that the education and skills sector constantly needs to adapt to the technical and social impact of new developments. Fit for the Future is about looking several years ahead and making decisions today that will make us ready for tomorrow’s world (emphasis DSC — and a quick comment: this is a very smart strategy).
The project began in Autumn 2009 and will run until Summer 2011. Becta is currently working with key leading educationalists, technologists, thinkers and experts to develop propositions in response to the key trends identified in the DCSF-funded programme Beyond Current Horizons.
Focusing on five themes, the ideas that these response groups generate will then be tested in real-world situations to assess if and how they could work on a wider scale.
The five themes are:
Theme 1 – Learners’ personal cloud: this theme explores the capacity of learners to constantly connect or engage with a network or school at any time or place and investigates their experiences and expectations of personal virtual environments and personalised data.
Theme 2 – Learning beyond a single setting: this theme looks at how learning is increasingly taking place across multiple institutions or places (school, home libraries, museums, employers) and explores how technology can support this in a revised 14-19 curriculum.
Theme 3 – Making the most of data: looks at how technology can be used to make better use of the huge amount of data that is constantly generated in the life of a learner and increasingly being used to build profiles about them.
Theme 4 – New Knowledge Skills: Our future economy will be heavily reliant on innovation, research and development, problem solving and digital capability. This theme aims to better understand what competencies, skills and knowledge will be required of both students and teachers, particularly in relation to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).
Theme 5 – Education across borders: Learners and educators now have access to resources not just from their immediate surroundings but from across the globe. This theme explores the potential creation of educational franchises across national boundaries supported by technology-based resources and networks.
On 03/16/2010,
in change, disruption, future, future of higher education, higher education, pace of change,
by Daniel Christian
From ICT integration to systemic transformation — from elearnspace by George Siemens
“I’m in Madrid, delivering a presentation on moving from ICT integration to systemic transformation. Spain currently has the EU Presidency and they’ve made education a core focus. Slides are available on slideshare.”
Graphics below from DSC: The graphic above shows the dramatic increase in the pace of technological adoption/change. The graphics below point to that same pace of change…can you hear the engines on the track? Can you hear the pounding waves hitting the shoreline?
Canada: ‘New workplace order’ looms as boomers head to retirement — from The Official ASTD Blog by Ann Pace
The Canadian workforce is the most culturally diverse and dynamic in the world. There is much to be gained by utilizing everyone to their full potential, but the blinding speed with which the workplace is changing requires flexibility on the part of employers (emphasis DSC).
The looming retirement of the baby boomer generation is a key development. With more than a third of the entire labour force preparing to retire over the next two decades or so, this represents one of the most significant shifts in the workplace seen in the last half-century. Employers will be faced with labour force growth that will slow to a crawl and they will need to find new and innovative ways of utilizing Canada’s current labour pool.
For more information on generations and diversity in the workplace, consider attending the session Relevant Diversity Dimensions Levels for More Effect D&I Management at the ASTD 2010 International Conference and Exposition!
On 01/21/2010,
in education technology, game-changing environment, higher education, pace of change,
by Daniel Christian
Disruptive Innovation in the Classroom — from The Journal by Bridget McCrea
One expert discusses how disruptive innovations like online learning will change the way students learn and progress.
From DSC:
I am not sure we are fully appreciating the scope of the changes about to take place throughout higher education. If we look at what the Internet has done to other industries — and the corresponding (amazingly-short) timeframes it took to turn those industries on their heads — we will begin to have a better appreciation for the massive changes coming down the pike. When the iPod was introduced in October 2003, it didn’t take Apple long to completely dominate the music distribution business. Also, take a look at journalism and how quickly things have changed there (relatively speaking). I believe higher education is next. For more background on my stance on things, you might want to check out two pages/presentations:
- The Forthcoming Walmart of Education (Dec 2008):
http://www.calvin.edu/~dsc8/walmartofeducation.htm - A Potential Vision for the Future (Spring/ Summer 2008):
http://www.calvin.edu/~dsc8/visions.htm