strategy

Seeking Evidence of Impact — from Educause

On 08/03/2010, in budgets, collaboration, strategy, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

From http://www.educause.edu/ELI/EDUCAUSELearningInitiative/SeekingEvidenceofImpact/206622

As the pace of technology change continues unabated, institutions are faced with numerous decisions and choices with respect to support for teaching and learning. With many options and constrained budgets, faculty and administrators must make careful decisions about what practices to adopt and about where to invest their time, effort, and fiscal resources. As critical as these decisions are, the information available about the impact of these innovations is often scarce, uneven, or both. What evidence do we have that these changes and innovation are having the impact we hope for?

What are the current effective practices that would enable us to collect that evidence? With the advent of Web 2.0, the themes of collaboration, participation, and openness have greatly changed the teaching and learning landscape. In light of these changes, what new methods for collecting evidence of impact might need to be developed?

Established practices and good data have made inroads in these areas. Often, however, they are scattered, disconnected, and at times in competition, making it challenging for the teaching and learning community to discover and compare their merits. Bringing these practices together and encouraging the invention of new ones will enable more institutions to measure impacts and produce data, providing a richer, evidence-based picture of the teaching and learning landscape on both the national and international level. The ELI announces a program intended to bring the teaching and learning community into a discussion about ways of gathering evidence of the impact of our innovations and current practices.

We hope to bring all types of higher education institutions and professional associations into a conversation on this theme. We envision an inclusive discussion that includes faculty members, instructional support professionals, librarians, students, and research experts in a collaborative exchange of insights and ideas.

Join us as we

Catalyze new collaborations to advance evidence-based applications of learning innovation to benefit higher education practices
Initiate a collective exploration that will serve to reinvigorate the community’s enthusiasm for and dedication to the task of identifying evidence of impact
Enable participants to become (re)acquainted with a variety of current effective practices, so they can make appropriate choices about which ones to adopt locally
Encourage the teaching and learning community to explore and discover options for new ways of gathering evidence
Inaugurate ongoing dialogues, projects, and collaborations that help to enable institutions to effectively gather and share evidence of impact

As the pace of technology change continues unabated, institutions are faced with numerous decisions and choices with respect to support for teaching and learning. With many options and constrained budgets, faculty and administrators must make careful decisions about what practices to adopt and about where to invest their time, effort, and fiscal resources. As critical as these decisions are, the information available about the impact of these innovations is often scarce, uneven, or both. What evidence do we have that these changes and innovation are having the impact we hope for?What are the current effective practices that would enable us to collect that evidence? With the advent of Web 2.0, the themes of collaboration, participation, and openness have greatly changed the teaching and learning landscape. In light of these changes, what new methods for collecting evidence of impact might need to be developed?

Established practices and good data have made inroads in these areas. Often, however, they are scattered, disconnected, and at times in competition, making it challenging for the teaching and learning community to discover and compare their merits. Bringing these practices together and encouraging the invention of new ones will enable more institutions to measure impacts and produce data, providing a richer, evidence-based picture of the teaching and learning landscape on both the national and international level. The ELI announces a program intended to bring the teaching and learning community into a discussion about ways of gathering evidence of the impact of our innovations and current practices.

We hope to bring all types of higher education institutions and professional associations into a conversation on this theme. We envision an inclusive discussion that includes faculty members, instructional support professionals, librarians, students, and research experts in a collaborative exchange of insights and ideas.

Join us as we

Catalyze new collaborations to advance evidence-based applications of learning innovation to benefit higher education practices
Initiate a collective exploration that will serve to reinvigorate the community’s enthusiasm for and dedication to the task of identifying evidence of impact
Enable participants to become (re)acquainted with a variety of current effective practices, so they can make appropriate choices about which ones to adopt locally
Encourage the teaching and learning community to explore and discover options for new ways of gathering evidence
Inaugurate ongoing dialogues, projects, and collaborations that help to enable institutions to effectively gather and share evidence of impact

From DSC: Whether you agree with everything here, you need to read this one…

On 07/21/2010, in 24x7x365 access, business, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, innovation, leadership, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, strategy, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, universities, using teams, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From Spring 2010

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From DSC:

**If you are even remotely connected to higher education, then you need to read this one!**

Most certainly, not everything that Thomas Frey says will take place…but I’ll bet you he’s right on a number of accounts. Whether he’s right or not, the potential scenarios he brings up ought to give us pause to reflect on ways to respond to these situations…on ways to spot and take advantage of the various opportunities that arise (which will only happen to those organizations who are alert and looking for them).

Moving the social networked learning (the Landing) forward

On 07/12/2010, in instructional design, leadership, pedagogy, social learning / networks, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Moving the social networked learning (the Landing) forward — George Siemens

To foster these types of interactions, programs need to think about social networking tools at a higher level than an individual course (for obvious reasons – a course is a short-term construct whereas social spaces have greater permanence). Designers, deans, and faculty should plan for social interaction at the program-level: design for social interaction between courses much in the same way that social interaction (in Moodle) is often designed into courses).

Most learners tend to the social. They seek interactions, connectedness. Sometimes, however, these interactions require a bit of social lubrication. To this end, a program director (or designer) should plan to include social events and activities in their Landing group: planned conversations, Q & A, recorded tutorials, live interactions (in Elluminate or on Skype), treasure hunts, etc.

Social connectedness needs nurturing. While we are still at the early stages or research on this, my bias is that successful uses of the Landing at a program level will be determined by fostering intentional and planned social activities. But this isn’t really anything new, is it? Any successful community has regular social events and activities – concerts, festivals, and community suppers. Finding out how to best lubricate social interactions is an important area of research.

Public School 69 teachers the first in NY to experience a new concept in K-12 education: the digital teaching platform

On 06/24/2010, in digital learning, education technology, K-12 related, professional development, strategy, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Public School 69 teachers the first in NY to experience a new concept in K-12 education: the digital teaching platform — from eSchoolNews.com

Dallas, Texas — June 23, 2010 — Public School 69 – The New Vision School, an 87-year-old school in the Bronx surrounded by single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings, has plenty of experience with technology. But this month the school catapulted to the forefront of New York’s educational technology cutting edge as the first public school in the state to introduce its teachers to a new concept emerging in K-12 education: the digital teaching platform.

This June, 12 teachers from P.S. 69 participated in a comprehensive professional development program to introduce the Time To Know digital teaching platform to their fourth and fifth grades classes this fall. Time To Know is a complete, interactive curriculum system designed specifically for today’s one-to-one computing classrooms. The digital teaching platform empowers teachers to easily manage instruction, individualize learning, assess mastery in real time, and provide immediate feedback to students. Designed around guided constructivist principles, Time To Know’s digital comprehensive curriculum helps students build 21st century skills, including problem-solving skills, higher order thinking, and cooperative learning to prepare them for high stakes tests and the future.

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“When your school test scores are in the mid-90s, it’s difficult to maintain and improve upon that level of performance. But when I saw Time To Know, I knew this was a tool to bring my school to the next level. A key benefit of the program is that it allow teachers’ individual personalities and teaching styles to shine,” said Cohen. “My teachers are thrilled with the professional development they’ve received. The Time To Know staff members are very knowledgeable about the standards for New York City and for the state, and how to meaningfully connect the standards with curriculum and assessment to improve student achievement.”

More…

Highlights from the New Media Consortium’s Summer 2010 Conference — by Alan Levine

On 06/24/2010, in education technology, multimedia, new media literacies, strategy, teaching & learning, tools, trends, by Daniel Christian

Highlights from the New Media Consortium’s Summer 2010 Conference — by Alan Levine

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Whether you were there or not, below you will find our collection of media and highlights from the 2010 Summer Conference, hosted by the University of Southern California.

USC 2010 NMC welcome web site and video
Keynotes
- Mimi Ito: Learning with Social Media: The Positive Potential of Peer Pressure and Messing Around Online– full video recording
- John Seely Brown: A New Culture of Learning – full video recording
Center of Excellence Award Winners- videos
Photo Safari Showcase -slideshow of work by participants in the Pre-Conference Digital Photography Workshop
Poster and Interactives Award Winners
Five Minutes of Fame – video coming soon
Conference Bloggers
Photos Shared in Flickr
Twitter activity: twapperkeeper archive or twitter search results
Invitation video for NMC 2011 hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison

How to create a successful M-Learning strategy — from Upside Learning

On 06/23/2010, in India, mobile learning, strategy, by Daniel Christian

How to create a successful M-Learning strategy: mLearnCon – Part I — from Upside Learning by Amit Garg

Last week I attended a day-long certificate workshop at the inaugural mLearnCon in San Diego titled Creating a successful m-learning strategy: From Planning to Implementation conducted by Judy Brown, Rovy Branon, Jason Haag, and Chris Raasch. The workshop was well designed and gave a wide range of information along with templates and charts that could be useful for the beginners and the slightly more experienced professionals in the field.

Judy had this quote on a slide which I think summarizes how important mobiles are for our future:

“Mobile phones are misnamed.They should be called ‘gateways to all human knowledge.”
–Ray Kurzweil, Futurist (at Handheld Learning ’09)

I believe this to be true and all organizations will realize this sooner or later. The pace of change is phenomenal and m-learning has truly come of age now. Now is the right time to get your m-learning strategy in place.

I’ve presented a short summary of the first session (Judy’s) which mainly covered planning part:

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Also see the slides at:
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Projections of jobs and education requirements through 2018 — Georgetown University

On 06/23/2010, in career development, change, higher education, K-12 related, strategy, student-related, workplace, by Daniel Christian

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Strategic thinking about e-learning — Tony Bates

On 06/14/2010, in elearning, higher education, online learning, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Becta is Fit for the Future (March 2010)

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.

Incorporating innovation into strategic planning that will enrich learning — from the Innovative Educator

On 03/24/2010, in innovation, K-12 related, leadership, policy, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Incorporating innovation into strategic planning that will enrich learning — from the Innovative Educator

From DSC:
Some quotes that jumped out at me include:

As innovative educators, students, leaders, and families, are well aware, technology is just a tool. In and of itself technology does not equate to either innovation or greater effectiveness.

I’ve heard one too many educational leader, teacher or parent proudly state that they are part of an innovative school as evidenced by the fact that they have laptops or Smartboards in every classroom. That is not impressive. What is impressive is when the conversation begins with how student learning is enriched in new ways and learners are engaged with innovative tools and ideas.

Here are some ideas on how your school can get started on the road to developing a strategic plan for learning…

From DSC:
The keys here for me are to have a strategy on where and how you are going to innovate. The status quo must go.

Good news from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation — from 1 to 1 Schools blog

On 03/02/2010, in education technology, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Good news from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation — from 1 to 1 Schools blog

I frequently hear negative press regarding laptop initiatives and it seems like the positive stuff is quietly released. Jeni Corn and Phil Emer from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation recently reported preliminary findings from their evaluation of NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. I’m pleased to say that they have positive results to report. I’m fortunate to be able to visit several of these schools this month and I look forward to observing classes and hearing the stories of the leaders, teachers and students.

How well has your institution integrated technology? — Tony Bates

On 02/11/2010, in education technology, policy, smart classrooms, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

How well has your institution integrated technology? — from Tony Bates

The Future of Higher Education: Beyond the Campus

On 02/07/2010, in 21st century, budgets, business side of he, change, colleges, consortiums, convergence, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education technology, engagement / engaging students, expectations, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, innovation, internet, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, mobile learning, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, pedagogy, social learning / networks, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, telecommunications, traditional / tradition, training / L&D, using teams, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

The Future of Higher Education: Beyond the Campus — from iangardnergb.blogspot.com

“Lots and lots at the time being on the future of HE, especially in the UK due to the funding cuts, imminent election, etc. One of the latest reports is a joint one from JISC, SERF, EDUCAUSE and CAUDIT, showing many issues are not just affecting the UK. “

Abstract:
Higher education’s purpose is to equip students for success in life—in the workplace, in communities, and in their personal lives. While this purpose may have remained constant for centuries, the world around colleges and universities is undergoing significant change. Higher education is under pressure to meet greater expectations, whether for student numbers, educational preparation, workforce needs, or economic development. Meanwhile, the resources available are likely to decline. New models, an intense focus on the student experience, and a drive for innovation and entrepreneurism will ensure that higher education continues to meet society’s needs. Information technology supports virtually every aspect of higher education, including finances, learning, research, security, and sustainability, and IT professionals need to understand the range of problems their institutions face so they apply IT where it brings greatest value. Creating this future will require collaboration across organizational and national boundaries, bringing together the collective intelligence of people from backgrounds including education, corporations, and government.

From DSC:
Many quotes jumped off of the pages of the report, but here’s one of them:

Higher education represents a complex, adaptive system that is influenced by larger societal trends and information technology. If higher education is adaptive, what will its future be?

Interesting…new educational models are developing…educational-related exchanges continue to form

On 02/01/2010, in budgets, business side of he, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education technology, elearning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, online learning, pace of change, virtual K-12 schools, by Daniel Christian

From DSC: Here are a couple of items to highlight the continued power of the Internet to create exchanges & new business models within the worlds of education — both for K12 as well as for higher ed:

Teachers selling their lesson plans online [1/24/10] from the Dallas Morning News by Matthew Haag — original posting from Ray Schroeder
Check out this example pricing from powerspeak:

From DSC:
The above reminds me of a graphic I did last July:

Some potential/different models of pricing -- Daniel Christian -- July 2009

Digital Directors Guild – Digital Storytelling Lessons — from free4teachers.com

On 01/25/2010, in digital storytelling, memory, multimedia, online learning, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Anyone who has followed my work knows that I am interested in digital storytelling. Why?

First of all, because of the engagement factor. Those in education and training know what one must first engage the student — draw them in and get them hooked — before anything else of any lasting substance can happen
Digital storytelling unleashes a huge amount of creativity — students can play different roles on a team: script writing, videography, illustration, music/audio creation, acting, props, etc.
This medium combines the power of multiple other types media — a very potent communication mechanism; one that is able to elicit emotion as well
There is power in a story — and, with repetition — is one of the best ways I’ve experienced of having learning “stick” with me (i.e. addresses long term memory and a greater ROI from one’s investment in education)

Thanks,
Daniel

Original posting from:
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/01/digital-directors-guild-digital.html

Learning Ecosystems

Seeking Evidence of Impact — from Educause

From DSC: Whether you agree with everything here, you need to read this one…

**If you are even remotely connected to higher education, then you need to read this one!**

Highlights from the New Media Consortium’s Summer 2010 Conference — by Alan Levine

How to create a successful M-Learning strategy — from Upside Learning

Strategic thinking about e-learning — Tony Bates

Good news from the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation — from 1 to 1 Schools blog

How well has your institution integrated technology? — Tony Bates

Digital Directors Guild – Digital Storytelling Lessons — from free4teachers.com

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If you are even remotely connected to higher education, then you *need* to read this one!

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**If you are even remotely connected to higher education, then you need to read this one!**