online media

Flipped Classroom Survey Highlights Benefits and Challenges [facultyfocus.com]

On 08/24/2015, in adjunct faculty, blended learning, digital learning, digital video, education technology, faculty/staff, flipping -- inverted learning, higher education, hybrid learning, learning, learning ecosystem, multimedia, online media, pedagogy, by Daniel Christian

Flipped Classroom Survey Highlights Benefits and Challenges — from facultyfocus.com

Excerpt/Key findings:

Results from the survey are based on the responses from the 1,089 Faculty Focus readers who completed the survey. Highlights include:

More than two-thirds (69.5%) have tried flipping an activity, class, or course, and plan to do it again. Another 5.49% have tried flipping, but don’t plan to do it again.
Roughly one-third (31.8%) of those who have flipped did so within the past year.
The majority of faculty who have flipped rated the experience as positive for themselves (70.3%) and their students (64.8%).
The top reasons for flipping include a desire to increase student engagement (79.3%) and improve student learning (75.8%).
In terms of the actual benefits, nearly three-fourths of respondents saw greater student engagement (74.9%), while just over half noticed evidence of improved student learning (54.66%).
More than 80% said students are more collaborative and 76.61% said they ask more questions, while almost half (48.75%) also noted some student resistance.
The most frequently reported barrier to experimenting with flipped learning practices came down to one word: time—a combined 70% of faculty said it was a significant or very significant challenge.
Of those respondents who are not interested in flipped learning, 38.9% said they don’t know enough about it and 27.4% felt it was a fad.

The NMC Releases the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition

On 08/19/2015, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, data related items, digital learning, education technology, learning spaces, library / librarians, maker movement, mobile learning, mobile technologies, online learning, online media, research, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

The NMC Releases the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition — from nmc.org

Excerpt:

Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in educational technology are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, giving library leaders and staff a valuable guide for strategic planning. The format of the report was designed to provide these leaders with more in-depth insight into how the trends and challenges are accelerating and impeding the adoption of technology, along with their implications for policy, leadership, and practice.

“Nowhere on university campuses has technology had a more sweeping impact than on their libraries,” says Larry Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the NMC and co-principal investigator for the project. “It is critically important for the field that the unique needs and perspectives of those who work in academic and research libraries are at the center of this second annual report.”

Should You Buy the Hype? An Inside Look at the Virtual Reality Landscape — from singularityhub.com by Howie Leibach

Excerpts:

Consequently in 2014, less than two years after the Kickstarter, Facebook acquired Oculus for $2.2 billion dollars, and in doing so legitimized the VR industry overnight.

“We’re making a long-term bet that immersive, virtual and augmented reality will become part of people’s daily life,” said Zuckerberg.

With his track record for sniffing out “what’s next” and a distribution network of 1+ billion people, many have been quick to infer VR has a very bright future. Some analysts are already predicting VR will generate $30 billion in revenue by 2020, and many of Zuckerberg’s Silicon Valley counterparts haven’t hesitated to make similar predictions.

VR is still perhaps one or two years away from going mainstream, but more consumers are being exposed to it than ever before. Advancements in headset technology regularly make front page news on CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and Wired. VR has even infiltrated the holy grail of pop-culture, prominently featured (and lampooned) on a recent episode of South Park.

But none of this VIP treatment matters if the product can’t sell. With the consumer Oculus Rift six to twelve months away, some are still on the fence, debating if they should buy the hype.

Realistically, many businesses don’t have time to wait and are already bracing for a future with VR in it. As executives scramble to invest in their own VR initiatives, many want to know what’s actually happening in the space.

Below are excerpts from Greenlight VR’s July Research Report, which investigate trends on the state of the industry, including VR growth, investments and opportunities.

Also see:

Which Way Next? A New Singularity Hub Channel to (Re)Imagine the Future — from singularityhub.com by Sveta McShane; also see all of the items on the Which Way Next? channel.

Reflections on “The 3 instructional shifts that will redefine the college professor” [Craig]

On 08/05/2015, in 21st century, active learning, adjunct faculty, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, Daniel S. Christian, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, faculty/staff, flipping -- inverted learning, higher education, ideas, instructional design, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, mobile learning, mobile technologies, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, organizational change, platforms, programming, simulations, teaching & learning, trends, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, by Daniel Christian

The 3 instructional shifts that will redefine the college professor — from edsurge.com by Ryan Craig

Excerpts:

As faculty at colleges and universities are all too aware, it’s hard to do two jobs at the same time. Since the advent of the modern research university over a century ago, faculty have effectively held down two jobs: conducting (and publishing) research and teaching students.

Arguments for the dual-role professor seem logical. Knowledge production should make one a better instructor. Students should benefit from teachers producing the latest knowledge. But there’s precious little data to support that adding the research job to the instruction job improves student outcomes.

The downside is that both jobs require significant expertise and commitment to do well.
…
There is an emerging consensus as to what works best for onground instruction. It’s called the Dynamic Classroom, and it looks like this:

Flip classroom so “transfer of information” occurs ahead of class
Incorporate technology in the classroom (handheld clickers or smartphone apps) to quickly ascertain whether students have understood key concepts
Integrate active learning techniques to improve understanding of key concepts, including peer learning, group problem solving, project-based learning and experiential learning via studios and workshops
Include “perspective transformation” exercises wherein students change their frames of reference by critically reflecting on their assumptions

From DSC:
First of all, I second the idea of splitting up the responsibilities of researching and teaching. Both roles are full-time jobs and require different skillsets. With students paying ever higher tuition bills, students deserve to take their courses from professors who know how to teach (not an easy job by the way!).

But the unbundling doesn’t — and shouldn’t — stop with the splitting up of the teaching and research roles.

Let’s look at another of the instructional shifts that Ryan considers — and that is the move towards the use of smartphones and apps:

In this environment, we can imagine one app for Economics 101 and another for Psychology 110. They are also the ideal platform for simulations and gamified learning and can tailor the user experience further by incorporating real-world inputs (e.g., location of the student) into the material. But, like the dynamic classroom, apps require an unparalleled level of development and instructional expertise—a full-time job for faculty who will be teaching online.

I think there’s some serious potential with this approach, especially given the trend towards more mobile computing and the affordances that come with using mobile technologies.

However, when we start delivering teaching and learning experiences that involve the digital/virtual realm like this, we’re instantly catapulted into a world that requires additional skills. As such, I highly doubt that the majority of faculty members have the time, interests, passions, or the abilities/gifts to code such apps. They would have to simultaneously be (or become) a programmer/developer, an instructional designer, a graphic designer, a copyright expert, an expert in accessibility, instantly knowledgeable in user interface and user experience design, as well as continue to serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) — and I could list other roles as well. That is why we need TEAMS of specialists. If the trends towards moving more of our teaching and learning experiences online and/or into such digital realms continue, then our current models simply won’t cut it anymore, at least in the majority of cases.

I appreciate Ryan’s article and second the main idea of splitting up the teaching and researching responsibilities. But again, when we’re talking developing apps, we had better be talking employing the use of teams — or the students will likely not be better off.

—–

A related quote from “In Sign of the Times for Teaching, More Colleges Set Up Video-Recording Studios” — from The Chronicle

At some colleges, media teams sit down with professors ahead of time and lay out long-term strategies to determine how video may enhance the learning experience of students in their courses.
…

The media team offers instructors a number of planning worksheets to encourage them to think more about the purpose of videos in their courses.

—–

What might our learning ecosystems look like by 2025? [Christian]

On 07/31/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), blended learning, business side of he, career development, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, disruption, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, expectations, experimentation, formal learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, informal learning, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, liberal arts, lifelong learning, marketplaces, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, social learning / networks, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, TVs, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

This posting can also be seen out at evoLLLution.com (where LLL stands for lifelong learning):

From DSC:
What might our learning ecosystems look like by 2025?

In the future, learning “channels” will offer more choice, more control. They will be far more sophisticated than what we have today.

That said, what the most important aspects of online course design end up being 10 years from now depends upon what types of “channels” I think there will be and what might be offered via those channels. By channels, I mean forms, methods, and avenues of learning that a person could pursue and use. In 2015, some example channels might be:

Attending a community college, a college or a university to obtain a degree
Obtaining informal learning during an internship
Using social media such as Twitter or LinkedIn
Reading blogs, books, periodicals, etc.

In 2025, there will likely be new and powerful channels for learning that will be enabled by innovative forms of communications along with new software, hardware, technologies, and other advancements. For examples, one could easily imagine:

That the trajectory of deep learning and artificial intelligence will continue, opening up new methods of how we might learn in the future
That augmented and virtual reality will allow for mobile learning to the Nth degree
That the trend of Competency Based Education (CBE) and microcredentials may be catapulted into the mainstream via the use of big data-related affordances

Due to time and space limitations, I’ll focus here on the more formal learning channels that will likely be available online in 2025. In that environment, I think we’ll continue to see different needs and demands – thus we’ll still need a menu of options. However, the learning menu of 2025 will be more personalized, powerful, responsive, sophisticated, flexible, granular, modularized, and mobile.

Highly responsive, career-focused track

One part of the menu of options will focus on addressing the demand for more career-focused information and learning that is available online (24×7). Even in 2015, with the U.S. government saying that 40% of today’s workers now have ‘contingent’ jobs and others saying that percentage will continue climbing to 50% or more, people will be forced to learn quickly in order to stay marketable. Also, the 1/2 lives of information may not last very long, especially if we continue on our current trajectory of exponential change (vs. linear change).

However, keeping up with that pace of change is currently proving to be out of reach for most institutions of higher education, especially given the current state of accreditation and governance structures throughout higher education as well as how our current teaching and learning environment is set up (i.e., the use of credit hours, 4 year degrees, etc.). By 2025, accreditation will have been forced to change to allow for alternative forms of learning and for methods of obtaining credentials. Organizations that offer channels with a more vocational bent to them will need to be extremely responsive, as they attempt to offer up-to-date, highly-relevant information that will immediately help people be more employable and marketable. Being nimble will be the name of the game in this arena. Streams of content will be especially important here. There may not be enough time to merit creating formal, sophisticated courses on many career-focused topics.

With streams of content, the key value provided by institutions will be to curate the most relevant, effective, reliable, up-to-date content…so one doesn’t have to drink from the Internet’s firehose of information. Such streams of content will also offer constant potential, game-changing scenarios and will provide a pulse check on a variety of trends that could affect an industry. Social-based learning will be key here, as learners contribute to each other’s learning. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will need to be knowledgeable facilitators of learning; but given the pace of change, true experts will be rare indeed.

Microcredentials, nanodegrees, competency-based education, and learning from one’s living room will be standard channels in 2025. Each person may have a web-based learner profile by then and the use of big data will keep that profile up-to-date regarding what any given individual has been learning about and what skills they have mastered.

For example, even currently in 2015, a company called StackUp creates their StackUp Report to add to one’s resume or grades, asserting that their services can give “employers and schools new metrics to evaluate your passion, interests, and intellectual curiosity.” Stackup captures, categorizes, and scores everything you read and study online. So they can track your engagement on a given website, for example, and then score the time spent doing so. This type of information can then provide insights into the time you spend learning.

Project teams and employers could create digital playlists that prospective employees or contractors will have to advance through; and such teams and employers will be watching to see how the learners perform in proving their competencies.

However, not all learning will be in the fast lane and many people won’t want all of their learning to be constantly in the high gears. In fact, the same learner could be pursuing avenues in multiple tracks, traveling through their learning-related journeys at multiple speeds.

The more traditional liberal arts track

To address these varied learning preferences, another part of the menu will focus on channels that don’t need to change as frequently. The focus here won’t be on quickly-moving streams of content, but the course designers in this track can take a bit more time to offer far more sophisticated options and activities that people will enjoy going through.

Along these lines, some areas of the liberal arts* will fit in nicely here.

*Speaking of the liberal arts, a brief but important tangent needs to be addressed, for strategic purposes. While the following statement will likely be highly controversial, I’m going to say it anyway. Online learning could be the very thing that saves the liberal arts.

Why do I say this? Because as the price of higher education continues to increase, the dynamics and expectations of learners continue to change. As the prices continue to increase, so do peoples’ expectations and perspectives. So it may turn out that people are willing to pay a dollar range that ends up being a fraction of today’s prices. But such greatly reduced prices won’t likely be available in face-to-face environments, as offering these types of learning environment is expensive. However, such discounted prices can and could be offered via online-based environments. So, much to the chagrin of many in academia, online learning could be the very thing that provides the type of learning, growth, and some of the experiences that liberal arts programs have been about for centuries. Online learning can offer a lifelong supply of the liberal arts.

But I digress…
By 2025, a Subject Matter Expert (SME) will be able to offer excellent, engaging courses chocked full of the use of:

Engaging story/narrative
Powerful collaboration and communication tools
Sophisticated tracking and reporting
Personalized learning, tech-enabled scaffolding, and digital learning playlists
Game elements or even, in some cases, multiplayer games
Highly interactive digital videos with built-in learning activities
Transmedia-based outlets and channels
Mobile-based learning using AR, VR, real-world assignments, objects, and events
…and more.

However, such courses won’t be able to be created by one person. Their sophistication will require a team of specialists – and likely a list of vendors, algorithms, and/or open source-based tools – to design and deliver this type of learning track.

Final reflections

The marketplaces involving education-related content and technologies will likely look different. There could be marketplaces for algorithms as well as for very granular learning modules. In fact, it could be that modularization will be huge by 2025, allowing digital learning playlists to be built by an SME, a Provost, and/or a Dean (in addition to the aforementioned employer or project team). Any assistance that may be required by a learner will be provided either via technology (likely via an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled resource) and/or via a SME.

We will likely either have moved away from using Learning Management Systems (LMSs) or those LMSs will allow for access to far larger, integrated learning ecosystems.

Functionality wise, collaboration tools will still be important, but they might be mind-blowing to us living in 2015. For example, holographic-based communications could easily be commonplace by 2025. Where tools like IBM’s Watson, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google’s Deepmind, and Apple’s Siri end up in our future learning ecosystems is hard to tell, but will likely be there. New forms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will likely be mainstream by 2025.

While the exact menu of learning options is unclear, what is clear is that change is here today and will likely be here tomorrow. Those willing to experiment, to adapt, and to change have a far greater likelihood of surviving and thriving in our future learning ecosystems.

What Learners Really Want — from clomedia.com by Todd Tauber
Listen to your learners: They want speed, diversity and adaptability in internal development programs.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Everyone knows most learning happens beyond the classroom walls and outside learning management systems. But new research shows just how much — and the data are startling.

In the past year, learning technology company Degreed conducted two separate surveys that show workers spend four to five times more time on self-directed learning than on internal or external learning offerings. They invest more than 14 hours a month, on average, learning on their own but just two to three hours on employer-provided learning.

Those numbers should inform how and why development needs to evolve — urgently.
…
Learners want easier and faster access to answers. Degreed found almost 70 percent of workers say the first thing they do when they need to learn something for their jobs is Google it, then read or watch what they find. About 42 percent look for a live or online course, but they do it on their own. Fewer than 12 percent turn to their learning organization first.

Learning and development people do pretty much the same thing. They are “Googling it” too, and not just because it’s expedient. By a 3.5 to 1 margin, people believe self-directed learning is more effective in helping them succeed at work than taking part in company sponsored learning. These are mature adults. They have a good idea what they need.
…
Learners want to leverage the whole learning ecosystem. Informal learning initiatives should be valued because workers believe as much as 60 percent of the knowledge and skills they use on the job comes from informal learning.

From DSC:
I agree with Todd that this is where learning ecosystems come in. Employees are trying to use a variety of tools and methods to tap into streams of up-do-date content.

To me, the charter of those involved with corporate training/development should be to help employees learn about the current set of tools available to them and how to use such tools. Then do the necessary research to give employees a place to begin using those tools — such as whom should a particular group of employees should follow on Twitter or Scoop.It, which websites/blogs are especially well done and applicable to their particular positions and area of expertise, etc.

The pace of change has changed and at times, it’s moving too fast to create formal learning materials. We need to tap into streams of content. Perhaps those in corporate U’s could even be helping to curate and create the most beneficial streams of content for their employees in key strategic areas — and doing so using small, bite-sized chunks. They could recommend — and to some degree even provide — the platforms employees could use for self-directed learning. This self-directed learning wouldn’t be all alone though — each employee would be building and interacting with folks within their own Personal Learning Network (PLN); each person’s learning ecosystem would likely look different from others’ learning ecosystems.

Also relevant/see:

Heutagogy Community of Practice

IRIS.TV Finds Adaptive Video Personalization Increases Consumption by 50% — from appmarket.tv by Richard Kastelein

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

IRIS.TV, the leading in-player video recommendation engine, reports that its programmatic video delivery technology, Adaptive StreamTM, has increased video consumption by 50% across all its clients. The results of these findings just further solidifies that consumption of online video is significantly enhanced by a personalized user experience.

By integrating Adaptive StreamTM in their video players and mobile apps, IRIS.TV’s clients are able to deliver the most relevant streams of video to their viewers, just like TV. Yet unlike TV, viewers’ feedback is captured in real-time through interactive buttons, allowing the stream to dynamically adapt to the changing preferences.

Press Release: IRIS.TV Launches Personalized End-screen for Online Video with Kaltura — from iris.tv
IRIS.TV Partners with Kaltura to offer programmatic content delivery and in-player thumbnail recommendations

Excerpt:

Los Angeles, May 4, 2015 – IRIS.TV the leading programmatic content delivery system, today announced a new dynamic, personalized end-screen plugin for Kaltura, provider of the leading video technology platform.

IRIS.TV’s new plugin for Kaltura will offer clients of both a personalized and dynamic stream of video along with a personalized end-screen framework. Publishers can now provide users with both dynamic streams of video – powered by consumption and interaction – along with thumbnail choices specific to their real-time consumption habits. This new integration supplies publishers with additional tools to deliver a more personalized viewing experience in order to maximize viewer retention and video views. The partnership is aimed to help consumers discover relevant and engaging content while viewing across all connected devices.

From DSC:
Now imagine these same concepts of providing recommendation engines and personalized/dynamic/interactive streams of content, but this time apply those same concepts to delivering personalized, digital learning playlists on topics that you want to learn about. With the pace of change and a shrinking 1/2 life for many pieces of information, this could be a powerful way to keep abreast of any given topic. Team these concepts up with the idea of learning hubs — whereby some of the content is delivered electronically and some of the content is discussed/debated in a face-to-face manner — and you have some powerful, up-to-date opportunities for lifelong learning. Web-based learner profiles and services like Stack Up could continually populate one’s resume and list of skills — available to whomever you choose to make it available to.

Along these lines, also see:

Nearly 1 billion TV sets Internet connected by 2020 — from appmarket.tv
Excerpt:

The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 965 million by 2020, up from 103 million at end-2010 and the 339 million expected at end-2014, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.Covering 51 countries, the Connected TV Forecasts report estimates that the proportion of TV sets connected to the Internet will rocket to 30.4% by 2020, up from only 4.2% at end-2010 and the 12.1% expected by end-2014. South Korea (52.7%) will have the highest proportion by 2020, followed by the UK (50.6%), Japan (48.6%) and the US (47.0%). – See more at: http://www.appmarket.tv/connected-tv/2572-nearly-1-billion-tv-sets-internet-connected-by-2020.html#sthash.BJWdCgbv.dpuf

McDonnell – HTML5 is the true Second Screen, Social TV winner — from appmarket.tv
Excerpt:
After years of evolution, the W3C has finally declared the HTML5 standard complete. When Steve Jobs “declared war on Flash” he gave HTML5 a fighting chance of dominance. In parallel, businesses started to recognise the potential of Social TV or “Second Screen” behaviour to re-invigorate old media and drive revenue to newer social platforms like Twitter. The ensuing debate centred on winners and losers, but with such a diverse global broadcasting market and no social network with dominance in all countries, could the web standard be the ultimate winner? I think it already is.

7 things you should know about developments in Instructional Design [educause]

On 06/08/2015, in adjunct faculty, colleges, community colleges, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, faculty/staff, higher education, instructional design, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, teaching & learning, universities, using teams, by Daniel Christian

7 things you should know about developments in Instructional Design — from educause.edu

Excerpt:

What is it?

In recent years, instructional design has been undergoing significant changes resulting from developments in areas including pedagogy, learning science, and technology. Whereas instructional design had often been somewhat circumscribed, almost templatized, the complexity of the learning environment is turning instructional design into a more dynamic activity, responding to changing educational models and expectations. The science of learning is showing us how people learn, leading to new educational activities, such as active learning and peer learning. Flipped classrooms, makerspaces, and competency-based learning are changing how instructors work with students, how students work with course content, and how mastery is verified. Mobile computing, cloud computing, and data-rich repositories have altered ideas about where and how learning takes place. Now anyone with a mobile device can photograph a leaf, submit the image to a database for matching, and receive prompt plant identification. In this complex climate, instructional designers face unfamiliar challenges and explore new opportunities.

…

What are the implications for teaching and learning?
Developments in the role of the instructional designer in higher education have the potential to benefit both teachers and learners in important ways. By helping align educational activities with a growing understanding of the conditions, tools, and techniques that enable better learning, instructional designers can help higher education take full advantage of new and emerging models of education. Instructional designers bring a cross-disciplinary approach to their work, showing faculty how learning activities used in particular subject areas might be effective in others. In this way, instructional designers can cultivate a measure of consistency across courses and disciplines in how educational strategies and techniques are incorporated. Designers can also facilitate the creation of inclusive learning environments that offer choices to students with varying strengths and preferences. In these and other ways, instructional designers are becoming an important part of face-to-face as well as online and blended learning environments.

LinkedIn’s Blockbuster deal w/ Lynda.com: What it means to the online learning industry [Meyer]

On 05/14/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, elearning, lifelong learning, media/film, online learning, online media, training / L&D, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

LinkedIn’s Blockbuster deal w/ Lynda.com: What it means to the online learning industry — from forbes.com by Stephen Meyer

Excerpt:

The press coverage of LinkedIn’s recent acquisition of Lynda.com for $1.5 billion has largely overlooked a key aspect of the deal. Yes, it integrates learning into a powerful social media site. Yes, per LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, it’ll “connect our members to opportunity,” giving them access to skills training that will enhance their careers.

But what does it mean to corporate e-learning? Lynda.com, based in Carpinteria, CA, used to be strictly a consumer company, but its strategy for the past couple years has clearly been to muscle into workplace training. What does the acquisition mean to market leader Skillsoft and other providers of online corporate learning? (Disclosure: I am the CEO of Rapid Learning Institute, an e-learning company)

Well, it’s an atomic bomb.

…

What’s different is that Lynda.com’s “content producers” know they’re creating a video, a medium that operates under a different set of rules from traditional learning vehicles. Content producers know that an instructionally sound e-learning module fails if people don’t watch it.

The most important thing Lynda.com does is find credentialed subject matter experts who speak comfortably in front of a camera. That’s a one-in-20 quality. Ivy League professors who excel in a classroom often look wooden on camera. You don’t have to be pretty. In fact, actors usually bomb in e-learning. You need to be credible and hold people’s attention by combining tight scripts and captivating delivery. Lynda.com’s e-learning, especially their soft-skills content, does it better than Skillsoft and other major players in the industry.

…

The message for corporate e-learning insiders is clear: The quality of content matters.

Click here to download the PDF of the report.
Click here to view the report in HTML.

Also see:

Key findings from [the April 30th, 2015 Project Tomorrow] briefing include — from projecttomorrowblog.blogspot.com

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

When students have access to technology as part of their learning, especially school-provided or enabled technology, their use of the digital tools and resources is deeper and more sophisticated.
The availability of online learning continues to increase with only 27 percent of high school principals reporting that they are not yet offering any online courses for students. Interest among students continues to grow, with 24% of high school students saying they wish they could take all their classes online – a large increase from 8% in 2013.
Almost three-quarters of students with school-provided devices as well as students with limited or non-existent technology access at school agreed that every student should be able to use a mobile device during the school day for learning.
Students connect the use of technology tools within learning to the development of college, career, and citizenship skills that will empower their future capabilities.
Digital experiences for students in a 100 percent virtual environment are much different than those in traditional schools. For instance, 72 percent of high school students in virtual schools take online tests, compared with 58 percent of traditional students.
Students see the smartphone as the ideal device for communicating with teachers (46%) and classmates (72%) and for social media (64%).
A gender bias exists in STEM interest –middle school girls are 38% less likely and high school girls are 32% less likely than their male peers to say they are very interested in a STEM career.

Excerpt from Press Release (emphasis DSC):

Students Report Digital Learning Supports Goals of Self-Directed and Collaborative Education, National Survey Finds
Nearly 60 Percent of High School Students Report Using Their Own Mobile Devices in School for Learning
Report Explores Differences Among Students in Blended Learning, Online Learning, STEM Learning and School-Sponsored Mobile Device Environments

Washington, D.C. – The ultimate learning experience for students is both highly collaborative and extremely personalized, supported by mobile devices and digital content, reports Project Tomorrow in their latest Speak Up report.

Over the last few years of the Speak Up survey, more students and administrators have signaled the importance of being able to access mobile devices in the classroom, whether through Bring Your Own Device policy consideration and implementation or through school-provided technology. This year, nearly half of teachers (47 percent) said their students have regular access to mobile devices in their classrooms. Among high school students, 58 percent said they now use their own mobile device at school to support learning activities.

From DSC:
This is a great pulse check on students’ use of ed tech — and on some things that they might be coming to expect.

As “TV” continues to morph, what new educational opportunities/affordances might result from this convergence?

On 04/17/2015, in communications, communities of practice, convergence, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, ideas, innovation, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, media/film, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, social media, technologies for your home, television, tools, transmedia, TVs, user experience (UX), vendors, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The articles below illustrate the continued convergence of multiple technologies and means of communication. For example, what we consider “TV” is changing rapidly. As this space changes, I’m looking for new opportunities and affordances that would open up exciting new approaches and avenues for educationally-related learning experiences.

Hootsuite and Tagboard team up to power social TV workflow — from adweek.com by Kimberlee Morrison

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

More and more TV viewers are engaging with second screen devices while they watch broadcasts. A new partnership between Hootsuite and Tagboard hopes to bridge the gap between television and second screen social experiences.

Tagboard is a social media aggregation and curation platform that allows users to manage incoming social media posts for display, either on television broadcasts, or on screens at live events, and Hootsuite is a social media campaign management program. Their partnership enables integration for mutual users for real-time engagement.

Capture social content on display and TV with Hootsuite and Tagboard — from blog.hootsuite.com

Excerpt:

Adding social content to live TV broadcasts and sports games is a proven way to capture and keep your audience’s attention.

But the process isn’t that easy. For one, digital teams need to ensure that they review each piece of content (to keep it safe for the big screen), and this can create complicated and slow social media workflows.

To help streamline this process, Hootsuite has integrated with Tagboard, an innovative social media display tool, to provide an easy way to capture social content and incorporate it into on-air broadcasts, live event screens, or on digital platforms.

With the Tagboard app for Hootsuite, your team can put relevant and timely social content on air within seconds—when it matters most to the viewer.

KUSA Weather Touchscreen 2 women anchors.png

Introducing the Tagboard App for Hootsuite — from blog.tagboard.com
Social TV is easier than ever with Tagboard’s new app for Hootsuite

New from Educause: Higher Ed IT Buyers Guide

On 04/16/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, analytics, assistive technologies, Bring your own device (BYOD), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, data related items, digital learning, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, funding / grants, higher education, IT in HE, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, library / librarians, media/film, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, online learning, online media, open courseware and systems, productivity / tips and tricks, smart classrooms, social media, student-related, technology (general), telecommunications, training / L&D, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, by Daniel Christian

New from Educause:
Higher Ed IT Buyers Guide

Excerpt:

Quickly search 50+ product and service categories, access thousands of IT solutions specific to the higher ed community, and send multiple RFPs—all in one place. This new Buyers Guide provides a central, go-to online resource for supporting your key purchasing decisions as they relate to your campus’s strategic IT initiatives.

Find the Right Vendors for Higher Education’s Top Strategic Technologies

Three of the Top 10 Strategic Technologies identified by the higher education community this year are mobile computing, business intelligence, and business performance analytics.* The new Buyers Guide connects you to many of the IT vendors your campus can partner with in the following categories related to these leading technologies, as well as many more.

View all 50+ product and service categories.

Teaching in a Digital Age
A.W. (Tony) Bates
Guidelines for designing teaching and learning for a digital age

The book examines the underlying principles that guide effective teaching in an age when everyone, and in particular the students we are teaching, are using technology. A framework for making decisions about your teaching is provided, while understanding that every subject is different, and every instructor has something unique and special to bring to their teaching. The book enables teachers and instructors to help students develop the knowledge and skills they will need in a digital age: not so much the IT skills, but the thinking and attitudes to learning that will bring them success.

As Tony mentions here, his intended audience is primarily:

college and university instructors anxious to improve their teaching or facing major challenges in the classroom,
school teachers, particularly in secondary or high schools anxious to ensure their students are ready for either post-secondary education or a rapidly changing and highly uncertain job market.

An example chapter:
Chapter 7: Pedagogical differences between media

Given Meerkat and Periscope, how much longer before subject matter experts are broadcasting directly to mobile devices & Smart TVs?

On 04/02/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, future of higher education, game-changing environment, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Given the introduction of Meerkat and Periscope — i.e., new apps that allow you to broadcast live to your Twitter feed — how much longer will it be before faculty members, teachers, trainers, and other subject matter experts are branding themselves and broadcasting their lectures to peoples’ mobile devices and to their Smart/Connected TVs? (The higher quality broadcasts will likely employ a team-based approach.) Is it really that big of a stretch now? Or is it not a stretch at all?

Reflections on “What does ‘learning’ have to learn from Netflix?” [Clark]

On 03/17/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, experimentation, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online media, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, staying relevant, streams of content, surviving, technologies for your home, television, user experience (UX), using teams, vendors, by Daniel Christian

What does ‘learning’ have to learn from Netflix? — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpts:

Of course, young people are watching way less TV these days, TV is dying, and when they do watch stuff, it’s streamed, at a time that suits them. Education has to learn from this. I’m not saying that we need to replace all of our existing structures but moving towards understanding what the technology can deliver and what learners want (they shape each other) is worth investigation. Hence some reflections on Netflix.

Areas discussed:

Timeshifting
Data driven delivery — Netflix’ recommendations engine
Data driven content
Content that’s accessible via multiple kinds of devices
Going global

From DSC:
I just wanted to add a few thoughts here:

The areas of micro-credentials, nano-degrees, services like stackup.net, big data, etc. may come to play a role with what Donald is talking about here.
I appreciate Donald’s solid, insightful perspectives and his thinking out loud — some great thoughts in that posting (as usual)
Various technologies seem to be making progress as we move towards a future where learning platforms will be able to deliver a personalized learning experience; as digital learning playlists and educationally-related recommendation engines become more available/sophisticated, highly-customized learning experiences should be within reach.
At a recent Next Generation Learning Spaces Conference, one of the speakers stated, “People are control freaks — so let them have more control.” Along these lines…ultimately, what makes this vision powerful is having more choice, more control.

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC

Also, some other graphics come to my mind:

Learning Ecosystems

Flipped Classroom Survey Highlights Benefits and Challenges [facultyfocus.com]

Reflections on “The 3 instructional shifts that will redefine the college professor” [Craig]

7 things you should know about developments in Instructional Design [educause]

LinkedIn’s Blockbuster deal w/ Lynda.com: What it means to the online learning industry [Meyer]

Given Meerkat and Periscope, how much longer before subject matter experts are broadcasting directly to mobile devices & Smart TVs?

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