Coppell ISD becomes first district to use IBM, Apple format — from bizjournals.com by Shawn Shinneman

Excerpt:

Teachers at Coppell Independent School District have become the first to use a new IBM and Apple technology platform built to aid personalized learning.

IBM Watson Element for Educators pairs IBM analytics and data tools such as cognitive computing with Apple design. It integrates student grades, interests, participation, and trends to help educators determine how a student learns best, the company says.

It also recommends learning content personalized to each student. The platform might suggest a reading assignment on astronomy for a young student who has shown an interest in space.

 

From DSC:
Technologies involved with systems like IBM’s Watson will likely bring some serious impact to the worlds of education and training & development. Such systems — and the affordances that they should be able to offer us — should not be underestimated.  The potential for powerful, customized, personalized learning could easily become a reality in K-20 as well as in the corporate training space. This is an area to keep an eye on for sure, especially with the growing influence of cognitive computing and artificial intelligence.

These kinds of technology should prove helpful in suggesting modules and courses (i.e., digital learning playlists), but I think the more powerful systems will be able to drill down far more minutely than that. I think these types of systems will be able to assist with all kinds of math problems and equations as well as analyze writing examples, correct language mispronunciations, and more (perhaps this is already here…apologies if so). In other words, the systems will “learn” where students can go wrong doing a certain kind of math equation…and then suggest steps to correct things when the system spots a mistake (or provide hints at how to correct mistakes).

This road takes us down to places where we have:

  • Web-based learner profiles — including learner’s preferences, passions, interests, skills
  • Microlearning/badging/credentialing — likely using blockchain
  • Learning agents/bots to “contact” for assistance
  • Guidance for lifelong learning
  • More choice, more control

 

ibmwatson-oct2016

 

 

Also see:

  • First IBM Watson Education App for iPad Delivers Personalized Learning for K-12 Teachers and Students — from prnewswire.com
    Educators at Coppell Independent School District in Texas first to use new iPad app to tailor learning experiences to student’s interests and aptitudes
    Excerpts:
    With increasing demands on educators, teachers need tools that will enable them to better identify the individual needs of all students while designing learning experiences that engage and hold the students’ interest as they master the content. This is especially critical given that approximately one third of American students require remedial education when they enter college today, and current college attainment rates are not keeping pace with the country’s projected workforce needs1.  A view of academic and day-to-day updates in real time can help teachers provide personalized support when students need it.

    IBM Watson Element provides teachers with a holistic view of each student through a fun, easy-to-use and intuitive mobile experience that is a natural extension of their work. Teachers can get to know their students beyond their academic performance, including information about personal interests and important milestones students choose to share.  For example, teachers can input notes when a student’s highly anticipated soccer match is scheduled, when another has just been named president for the school’s World Affairs club, and when another has recently excelled following a science project that sparked a renewed interest in chemistry.The unique “spotlight” feature in Watson Element provides advanced analytics that enables deeper levels of communication between teachers about their students’ accomplishments and progress. For example, if a student is excelling academically, teachers can spotlight that student, praising their accomplishments across the school district. Or, if a student received a top award in the district art show, a teacher can spotlight the student so their other teachers know about it.
 

A new “MicroMasters” online learning program offered by major universities — from hechingerreport.org by Nichole Dobo
From Hong Kong to Holland, 14 institutions join MOOC partnership

Excerpt:

A new kind of credential has entered the crowded market for online learning.

EdX, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that provides online courses, announced last week the creation of 19 “MicroMasters” courses, a new type of online educational program. These courses are tailored master’s degree-level classes that can help students hone skills that will be immediately useful in the workplace.

“I think the MicroMasters is a big next step in the evolution of education,” Anant Agarwal, the CEO of edX and an MIT professor, said in an interview last week.

These courses – offered through 14 universities including Columbia, Arizona State University and the University of Michigan, as well as some in Australia, Europe and India – are open to anyone who wants to take them. No transcripts or prerequisites required. Students don’t even need a GED to enroll.

Anyone can learn in the MicroMasters program for free, although those who wish to receive a certificate of completion must pay a $1,000 fee. That money gives the student more than a piece of paper; it also pays for extra services, such as more attention from the instructor.

 

 

edx-micromasters-sept2016

 

Also somewhat related/see (emphasis DSC):

  • An Online Education Breakthrough? A Master’s Degree for a Mere $7,000 — from nytimes.com by Kevin Carey
    Excerpt:
    Georgia Tech rolled out its online master’s in computer science in 2014. It already had a highly selective residential master’s program that cost about the same as those of competitor colleges. Some may see online learning as experimental or inferior, something associated with downmarket for-profit colleges. But the nation’s best universities have fully embraced it. Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, U.S.C. and others have also developed online master’s degrees, for which they charge the same tuition as their residential programs.Georgia Tech decided to do something different. It charges online students the smallest amount necessary to cover its costs. That turned out to be $510 for a three-credit class. U.S.C. charges online students $5,535 for a three-credit class. (Both programs also charge small per-semester fees.)

    With one of the top 10 computer science departments in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report, Georgia Tech had a reputation to uphold. So it made the online program as much like the residential program as possible.

 

 

 

If you doubt that we are on an exponential pace of change, you need to check these articles out! [Christian]

exponentialpaceofchange-danielchristiansep2016

 

From DSC:
The articles listed in
this PDF document demonstrate the exponential pace of technological change that many nations across the globe are currently experiencing and will likely be experiencing for the foreseeable future. As we are no longer on a linear trajectory, we need to consider what this new trajectory means for how we:

  • Educate and prepare our youth in K-12
  • Educate and prepare our young men and women studying within higher education
  • Restructure/re-envision our corporate training/L&D departments
  • Equip our freelancers and others to find work
  • Help people in the workforce remain relevant/marketable/properly skilled
  • Encourage and better enable lifelong learning
  • Attempt to keep up w/ this pace of change — legally, ethically, morally, and psychologically

 

PDF file here

 

One thought that comes to mind…when we’re moving this fast, we need to be looking upwards and outwards into the horizons — constantly pulse-checking the landscapes. We can’t be looking down or be so buried in our current positions/tasks that we aren’t noticing the changes that are happening around us.

 

 

 

The Training Game: High-tech Training Tools — from aviationweek.com by Jen Deglmann
Software and technology companies are working with aviation schools and maintenance facilities to create customized training virtual reality and digital programs. See the technical specs for the systems and thoughts from some of the industry’s instructors and maintenance facility trainers. This is a more in-depth look at September’s MRO Links feature on all high-tech training technology tools.

 

hightechtrainingtools-sept2016

 

Also see:

 

arvr-in-reach-inavateonthenet-sep2016

 

 

 

The ‘soft skills’ employers are looking for — from blogs.wsj.com by Kate Davidson
Communication, teamwork, punctuality and critical thinking are in high demand, an analysis of 2.3 million LinkedIn profiles shows

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Want to craft a standout resume? Try adding skills like communication, organization and punctuality.

Nearly 58% of employees who touted stellar communication skills were hired over the course of a year, according to an analysis of 2.3 million LinkedIn profiles for The Wall Street Journal.

Employers are increasingly looking for workers with strong soft skills—those traits that don’t show up in a job posting but are essential for succeeding in the workplace, like working well with others and taking initiative. But many employers say it has gotten harder to find those applicants as the labor market tightens.

Communication, at the top of the list, was followed by organization, teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, social skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, adaptability and having a friendly personality.

 

lynda-softskills-2016

 

From DSC:
Looking at the list of top skills desired by employers, there seems to be a major breakdown in the entire spectrum/continuum.

Hmmm….standardized testing doesn’t really bring out the collaborative side of us, does it?  In fact, you would likely get shown the door if you tried to collaborate (or show social skills) on a test, right?  Teamwork.  Hmmm….again, not on the exam. Punctuality? Nope…not that either. Organization…perhaps…maybe a little bit on the exam, but not much.

Which set of goals are we pursuing? Standardized testing and all of what that means…or are we trying to produce students who have the soft skills mentioned above and who can reinvent themselves over and over again (to which I’d add entrepreneurship/innovation/ability to freelance, the ability to look up and out into the future, and the ability to keep the relevant landscapes on their radars).

The answer seems to be that we’re trying to do both.  That said, the corporate world seems to be saying that the standardized testing is winning out in this clash of goals.

This is why I try to pulse check the worlds of K-12, higher ed, and the corporate space all at the same time. We are not islands. What happens in earlier phases of people’s lives matters.  What’s currently happening in the earlier portions of the continuum matters.

DanielChristian-what-should-our-learning-environments-look-and-act-like

 

 

Addendum on 9/10/16:

The Unemployable Graduate Crisis and How We Can Fix It — from linkedin.com by Alistair Cox

Excerpt:

What is going wrong?

There remains a fundamental mismatch between market demand and supply of skills. The longstanding concerns around a drought of STEM and digital talent have been well publicised, but the issue extends beyond that. Students are graduating with degrees offering neither technical nor vocational knowledge, yet these are what employers are often looking for first.

Recent research in the US found that while 87% of recent graduates feel well prepared to hit the ground running in their new job, only half of hiring managers agreed. The shortfall across hard and soft skills is plain to see – one in four roles go unfilled due to the technical skills gap and hiring managers report worrying gaps in graduates’ critical thinking, communication and leadership skills. Around the world, many graduates simply aren’t employable in the roles being created today, yet will have spent at least 3 years racking up debt to study a course that will not help them find a relevant role.

If steps are not taken to address this, then I genuinely fear for our graduates, employers and the global economy. We are already seeing the skills gap widening into a skills chasm.

 

 

FutureProofYourself-MS-FutureLab-Aug2016

 

Future proof yourselves — from Microsoft & The Future Laboratory

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Executive Summary
Explore the world of work in 2025 in a revealing evidence-based report by future consultants The Future Laboratory and Microsoft, which identifies and investigates ten exciting, inspiring and astounding jobs for the graduates of tomorrow – but that don’t exist yet.

Introduction
Tomorrow’s university graduates will be taking a journey into the professional unknown guided by a single, mind-blowing statistic: 65% of today’s students will be doing jobs that don’t even exist yet.

Technological change, economic turbulence and societal transformation are disrupting old career certainties and it is increasingly difficult to judge which degrees and qualifications will be a passport to a well-paid and fulfilling job in the decades ahead.

A new wave of automation, with the advent of true artificial intelligence, robots and driverless cars, threatens the future of traditional jobs, from truck drivers to lawyers and bankers.

But, by 2025, this same technological revolution will open up inspiring and exciting new career opportunities in sectors that are only in their infancy today.

The trick for graduates is to start to develop the necessary skills today in order to ensure they future proof their careers.

This report by future consultants The Future Laboratory attempts to show them how to do just that in a research collaboration with Microsoft, whose Surface technology deploys the precision and versatility of pen and touch to power creative industries ranging from graphic design and photography to architecture and engineering.

In this study, we use extensive desk research and in-depth interviews with technologists, academics, industry commentators and analysts to unveil 10 new creative job categories that will be recruiting tomorrow’s university students.

These future jobs demonstrate a whole new world of potential applications for the technology of today, as we design astonishing virtual habitats and cure deadly diseases from the comfort of our own sofas. It is a world that will need a new approach to training and career planning.

Welcome to tomorrow’s jobs…

 

 

65% of today’s students will be doing jobs that don’t even exist yet.

 

 

One of the jobs mentioned was the Ethical Technology Advocate — check out this video clip:

Ethical-Technology-Advocate-MS-Aug2016-

 

“Over the next decade, the long-awaited era of robots will dawn and become part of everyday life. It will be important to set out the moral and ethical rules under which they operate…”

 

 

 

 

Education Technology And Artificial Intelligence: How Education Chatbots [could] Revolutionize Personalized Learning — from parentherald.com by Kristine Walker

From DSC:
I inserted a [could] in the title, as I don’t think we’re there yet. That said, I don’t see chatbots, personal assistants, and the use of AI going away any time soon. This should be on our radars from here on out.  Chatbots could easily be assigned some heavy lifting duties within K-20 education as well as in the corporate world; but even then, we’ll still need excellent teachers, professors, and trainers/subject matter experts out there. I don’t see anyone being replaced at this point.

Excerpt:

As the equity gap in American education continues, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has been urging educators, investors and tech companies to be more open in investing time and money in artificial intelligence-driven education technology programs. The reason? Gates believed that these AI-based EdTech platforms could personalize and revolutionize school learning experience while eliminating the equity gap.

 

Also see:

Are ‘Motivation Bots’ Part of the Future of Education? — from educationworld.com

 

motivation-bots-aug-2016

 

The Motivation, Revision and Announcement bots each perform respective functions that are intended to help students master exams.

The Motivation bot, for instance, “keeps students motivated with reminders, social support, and other means,” while the Revision bot “helps students to best understand ways to improve their work” and the Announcement bot “tells students how much studying they need to do based on the amount of time available.”

 

 

 

 

Somewhat related:

Deep Learning Is Still A No-Show In Gartner 2016 Hype Cycle For Emerging Technologies — from .forbes.com by Gil Press

Excerpt:

Machine learning is best defined as the transition from feeding the computer with programs containing specific instructions in the forms of step-by-step rules or algorithms to feeding the computer with algorithms that can “learn” from data and can make inferences “on their own.” The computer is “trained” by data which is labeled or classified based on previous outcomes, and its software algorithms “learn” how to predict the classification of new data that is not labeled or classified. For example, after a period of training in which the computer is presented with spam and non-spam email messages, a good machine learning program will successfully identify, (i.e., predict,) which email message is spam and which is not without human intervention. In addition to spam filtering, machine learning has been applied successfully to problems such as hand-writing recognition, machine translation, fraud detection, and product recommendations.

 

 

 

 

Point:


 

CollegeLecture-Atlantic-July2016

 

Should colleges really eliminate the college lecture? — from theatlantic.com by Christine Gross-Loh

Excerpt:

But that lack of training is not unusual; it’s the norm. Despite the increased emphasis in recent years on improving professors’ teaching skills, such training often focuses on incorporating technology or flipping the classroom, rather than on how to give a traditional college lecture. It’s also in part why the lecture—a mainstay of any introductory undergraduate course—is endangered.

But is it the college lecture itself that’s the problem—or the lecturer?

Concerns about the lecture derive from anecdotal impressions as well as research data, including one meta analysis of 225 studies looking at the effectiveness of traditional lectures versus active learning in undergraduate STEM courses. That analysis indicated that lecturing increased failure rates by 55 percent; active learning—meaning teaching methods that are more interactive than traditional lectures—resulted in better grades and a 36 percent drop in class failure rates. High grades and low failure rates were most pronounced in small classes that relied on active teaching, supporting the theory that more students might receive STEM degrees if active learning took the place of traditional lecturing.

Still, although proponents of the movement to move away from the lecture cite data on its ineffectiveness, the debate has failed to take into account the fact that academics are rarely, if ever, formally trained in public speaking.

Many people think riveting lecturers are naturally gifted, but public-speaking skills can be, and are, taught. The art of rhetoric was practiced and taught for millennia, beginning in ancient Greece over 2,000 years ago; oratory skills were a social asset in antiquity, a way to persuade, influence, and participate in civic life.

 


Counterpoint:


 

On eliminating lectures, a reality-check: Part 1 — from rtalbert.org by Robert Talbert

Excerpt:

Today’s The Atlantic contains an article entitled “Should Colleges Really Eliminate the College Lecture?” that has really inspired me to write, in a way that the pending deadline on my book has not. Ordinarily I just ignore pieces like this except for maybe a tweet or two about them. But this time, I feel like this article has so many factually incorrect claims, glosses over so much research, and has such potential to spread bad ideas to a very wide audience that I felt the need to address its points one at a time. This is Part 1 of that response.

The article opens with a lament that, actually, I agree with completely: New Ph.D.’s do often lack the training in pedagogy that they need to be successful in their work. This training should include all forms of pedagogy, including lecture, and it should expose new instructors to the full range of pedagogies that are out there, as well as the research that informs their effectiveness (the concept of “evidence”: hold on to this idea) and the skill of selecting a combination of teaching methods that best suits the learning environment they are tasked with creating. Many universities are wising up to this need for training, but more need to get on board.

However from here, things start to go downhill…

And here, we find the lede that was buried by the headline: The whole problem with lecture is that we’re not well-trained enough in how to give great lectures. Training, insofar as it occurs at all, is focused on all these “modern” pedagogies and on technology. If we devoted as much training time to lecture as we did to the other stuff, then we’d see better results with lecturing. That is the claim as I understand it. It makes sense; but it’s wrong, and I’ll be explaining why as we go.

 

On eliminating lectures, a reality-check: Part 2 — from rtalbert.org by Robert Talbert

Excerpt:

But this time, with this article, I felt that I needed to respond — because of how thoroughly wrong it is on basic and easily-checked facts, because I’m tired of my colleagues in higher ed making teaching decisions based on their own interests rather than students’, possibly because it’s getting near the end of the summer and I’m getting punchy. Whatever the reasons, here was Part 1 of the response in which we found (by actually checking the articles to which the original linked) that many of the claims about “eliminating lecture” in the first 1/4 of the article were flat-out wrong.

This is yet another instance of one of the worst things about this Atlantic article: The stubborn insistence that teaching in any way other than pure lecture is the same thing as “eliminating lecture”.

 

But keep this in mind: The discussion about active learning and lecture is not about what’s “new” or “traditional”, “modern” or “outdated”. It is, or at least ought to be, about what works best for student learning.

 

Here we have a meta-analysis of 225 existing studies that cuts across a wide spectrum of institutional types, student demographics, and instructional styles and shows a profound impact by active learning techniques on student learning and achievement.

 

I’m not sure what your reaction will be when you read that PNAS study [here]. But I will go out on a limb and say that any college or university professor who gives half of a damn about the well-being of his or her students will read that study, and then stop and at least think for a moment about whether his or her teaching in the classroom is part of the problem or part of the solution.

 

 

On eliminating lectures, a reality-check: Part 3 — from rtalbert.org by Robert Talbert

Excerpt:

Our students need a learning environment that is supported by an instructor but which does not depend on the instructor bringing his or her “A” game to every class meeting. This is what active learning provides. It is what lecturing most definitely does not provide, and “more training” won’t change this.

 

 

 

From DSC:
As I read the article below, I couldn’t help but think of Microsoft’s recent announcement to purchase LinkedIn.com (who had already acquired Lynda.com last year).  Perhaps Microsoft’s purchase of LinkedIn (and with it, Lynda.com) will bring big data to lifelong learning, career building, and matching job providers with job seekers (i.e., online-based marketplaces/exchanges). If Microsoft doesn’t do this, perhaps IBM’s Watson will. But this is where blockchain could come in as well…to verify that someone actually took this or that module, course, training, etc.


 

How Microcredentials are Changing the Landscape of Higher and Technical Education — from evolllution.com by Michael Netzer, Associate Provost & SVP of Academic Program Development and Outreach, American Public University System

Excerpts:

Just ten years ago, one would never have considered the portability of credentials that could follow a person from location to location, allowing potential employers to verify a job candidate’s fit for a position quickly. However, that is just what has happened, and the explosion of interest in digital badging and microcredentials is changing the landscape of higher education.

Digital badges encoded with microcredentials contain meta data that links back to the issuer, performance criteria, and verification of evidence.

Ultimately, badging offers portability of acknowledged skills and abilities that can be carried anywhere to demonstrate competency. Learners can accumulate badges across institutional platforms, and the badges can be sorted, shown, or hidden by the learner to reflect achievement in the particular skills or knowledge which the learner wishes to exhibit.

 

 

 

Some relatively recent additions to the education landscape include:


 

GoogleUdacity-CodingJuly2016

 

 

treehouse-2016

 

 

Teachable-June2016

 

 

FutureLeague-2016

 

 

StackSocial-July2016

 

 

Skillshare-July2016

 

 

CenterCentre-June2016

 

 

IBMCourseraGitHub-Courses-June2016

 

 

AmazonVideoDirect-June2016

 

 

Also see:

 

MillennialsPursuingOtherOptions-Selingo-May2016

 

 

Taking competency-based credentials seriously in the workforce — from campustechnology.com by John K. Waters
Companies like AT&T and Google are expanding their partnerships with online education providers, creating new educational pathways to real jobs.

Excerpt:

But in the Age of the Internet, for-profit online education providers such as Udacity and Coursera have tweaked that model by collaborating with companies to develop programs tailored to their specific needs.

Together the two companies created the Front-End Web Developer Nanodegree program, Udacity’s first branded microcredential. (“Nanodegree” is trademarked.)

“We worked with Udacity to develop curriculum based on tangible hiring and training needs,” said John Palmer, senior vice president and chief learning officer at AT&T, in an e-mail. “Our teams collaborated on determining what skills we needed now to address the needs of our business, but also what skills would be needed five to 10 years from now — not just at AT&T, but at other tech companies.”

 

 

uCertify

uCertify-june2016

 

 

Also related:

  • Students and higher ed leaders put their faith in online classes [#Infographic] — from edtechmagazine.com by Meg Conlan
    As a growing number of students enroll in nontraditional college classes, the value of online education becomes more clear.
    Excerpt:
    As cost-effective alternatives to traditional college classes, online learning programs continue to gain steam in higher ed.
    According to statistics gathered for an Online Learning Consortium infographic, 5.8 million students are now enrolled in online courses, and the majority put tremendous stock in the quality of their education: 90 percent of students say their online learning experiences are the same or better than in-classroom options.College and university leadership agrees: The infographic states that 71 percent of academic leaders say learning outcomes for online courses are the same or better than that of face-to-face classes.

 

OnlineLearningAlternativesGrowing-June2016

 

 

 


Related postings:


Acquisitions, mergers and reinvention (not closures) will characterize higher ed’s future — from evolllution.com; an interview with Kenneth Hartman | Past President of Drexel University Online, Drexel University

Excerpts:

We’re going to see a lot of different alternative options popping up at alternative prices with alternative delivery mechanisms offering alternative credentials in the future. I don’t think a lot of institutions will be shutting down. There will be some that close, but it’s more likely that their assets will be acquired by other, stronger institutions.

These types of programs are popping up all over the country and I think the market forces tell a story. Colleges that are able to be adaptable and flexible will be the leaders in this new higher education marketplace. Adaptability, vision and flexibility are going to be critical for schools that are not heavily-endowed. If they do not have the will to do that then I think unfortunately Christensen’s prediction will probably come true. However, I’m optimistic that when the pain gets high enough, trustees of these institutions will demand that their senior leadership provide them with the way to prevent closure.

 

What a Microsoft-owned LinkedIn means for education — from campustechnology.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

Ironically, he suggested, higher ed is also the most vulnerable target of LinkedIn as it continues to work on development of a competency marketplace that could one day replace four-year degrees as the baseline requirement for employment.

The vision of this competency marketplace is that employers can identify candidates who are close matches for positions based on the competencies their jobs require. Likewise, job candidates can get information from LinkedIn about what competencies a given position requires and pursue that through some form of training, whether through a class at a local college, a bootcamp, online learning or some other form of instruction.

“The signal for universities that the world is about to change is when employers begin to drop degree requirements from job descriptions,” said Craig. And by the way, he added, that’s already happening at recognizable companies such as Google, Penguin Random House, EY and PwC, which have either eliminated that requirement from entry-level job descriptions or begun masking a candidate’s degree status from hiring managers because they “think the degrees are actually false or poor or misleading signals of ultimate job performance.”

Not only does LinkedIn have by far the largest collection of candidate profiles, but it has become the leading platform for distributing microcredentials, said Craig.

 

“You can identify education and training opportunities to remediate gaps between where you are and what the job description says you need to have to qualify. So all the pieces are there,” he said. “Currently, it’s still early, but you can see where this is going. We think that is the story of the next decade in higher education.”

 

 

12 promising non-traditional college pathways to attainment — from eddesignlab.org

Excerpt:

We hear a lot about reinventing college and how we might better design the journey from school to work. Some students want faster or more experiential pathways to prosperity, re-entry points after stop-outs or opportunities for lifelong learning. “Non-traditional pathways” is a phrase you’ll hear a lot if you hang around policy and design folks who are thinking about broadening “attainment of degrees” to include meaningful credentials that lead to career readiness. This broader college success definition is not a cop out—it’s a recognition that technology, access to micro-credentials, and access to modular learning generally are blurring the lines between vocational training, liberal arts exploration, and 21st century skill building because, increasingly, students are in a position to order all these off the menu.

Lumina Foundation strategists Holly Zanville and Amber Garrison Duncan are in the thick of these designs, and the Lab caught up with them recently to help us build a list of the most promising ways that institutions, students, and third parties are piecing together non-traditional paths to meaningful credentials. Here’s a take on our “Top 12,” but we welcome your tweaks, additions, and favorite examples.

 

Top-ranked coding bootcamp, Fullstack Academy, launches first alumni startup investment fund — from prnewswire.com
Will provide seed funding for its graduates to launch their own startups

Excerpt:

NEW YORK, June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Fullstack Academy, the Y Combinator-backed top coding bootcamp in the U.S.,  today announced  Fullstack Fund, a new initiative to invest in promising startups created by its graduates.  “Students who complete our software engineering program go on to work for great companies like Google and Amazon, but some have opted for the entrepreneurial startup environment,” said David Yang, CEO and co-founder of Fullstack Academy. “So we asked ourselves — how can we better support alumni with a strong entrepreneurial slant? The Fullstack Fund  will empower some of the amazing teams and products that are coming out of our school.”

 

 

 


 

Addendum on 6/27/16:

 


 

Addendum on 6/30/16:

 

Noodle-June2016

 

Uncollege-June2016

 

CodingDojo-June2016

 

And a somewhat related posting:

More than 90% of institutions offer alternative credentials — from campustechnology.com by Sri Ravipati
The same study to report this statistic also found that millennial students prefer badging and certificates to traditional degrees.

Excerpt:

Millennial students seem to prefer badging and certificate programs to traditional bachelor’s degrees, according to a new study from University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), Pennsylvania State University and Pearson that explored the role that alternative credentials play in higher education.

Demographic Shifts in Educational Demand and the Rise of Alternative Credentials” includes responses from 190 institutions, including community colleges (11 percent), baccalaureate colleges (12 percent), master’s colleges or universities (27 percent) and doctorate-granting universities (50 percent). Of the 190 institutions surveyed, 61 percent were public entities. Across the board, research revealed that programs offering alternative credentialing have become widespread in higher education, with 94 percent of the institutions reporting they offer alternative credentials. Alternative credentials can take the form of digital badges, certificates and micro-credentials.

 

 

 


 

Addendum on 7/11/16:

A model for higher education where all learning counts — from marketplace.org by Amy Scott

Excerpt:

Imagine it’s 2026, and you’re one of a billion people using a new digital platform called the Ledger.

So begins a new video from the Institute for the Future and ACT Foundation, envisioning a future system that would reward any kind of learning – from taking a course, to reading a book, to completing a project at work.

“Your Ledger account tracks everything you’ve ever learned in units called Edublocks,” the video’s narrator explains. “Each Edublock represents one hour of learning in a particular subject. Anyone can grant Edublocks to anyone else.”

The Ledger would use the same technology that powers bitcoin, the virtual currency, to create a verifiable record of every learning transaction, said Jane McGonigal, director of game research and development at the Institute for the Future, a think tank in Palo Alto, California.

 

Will “class be in session” soon on tools like Prysm & Bluescape? If so, there will be some serious global interaction, collaboration, & participation here! [Christian]

From DSC:
Below are some questions and thoughts that are going through my mind:

  • Will “class be in session” soon on tools like Prysm & Bluescape?
  • Will this type of setup be the next platform that we’ll use to meet our need to be lifelong learners? That is, will what we know of today as Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Content Management Systems (CMS) morph into this type of setup?
  • Via platforms/operating systems like tvOS, will our connected TVs turn into much more collaborative devices, allowing us to contribute content with learners from all over the globe?
  • Prysm is already available on mobile devices and what we consider a television continues to morph
  • Will second and third screens be used in such setups? What functionality will be assigned to the main/larger screens? To the mobile devices?
  • Will colleges and universities innovate into such setups?  Or will organizations like LinkedIn.com/Lynda.com lead in this space? Or will it be a bit of both?
  • How will training, learning and development groups leverage these tools/technologies?
  • Are there some opportunities for homeschoolers here?

Along these lines, are are some videos/images/links for you:

 

 

PrysmVisualWorkspace-June2016

 

PrysmVisualWorkspace2-June2016

 

BlueScape-2016

 

BlueScape-2015

 

 



 

 

DSC-LyndaDotComOnAppleTV-June2016

 

 

 

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

 



 

Also see:

kitchenstories-AppleTV-May2016

 

 

 

 


 

Also see:

 


Prysm Adds Enterprise-Wide Collaboration with Microsoft Applications — from ravepubs.com by Gary Kayye

Excerpt:

To enhance the Prysm Visual Workplace, Prysm today announced an integration with Microsoft OneDrive for Business and Office 365. Using the OneDrive for Business API from Microsoft, Prysm has made it easy for customers to connect Prysm to their existing OneDrive for Business environments to make it a seamless experience for end users to access, search for, and sync with content from OneDrive for Business. Within a Prysm Visual Workplace project, users may now access, work within and download content from Office 365 using Prysm’s built-in web capabilities.

 


 

 

 

Questions from DSC:

  • Which jobs/positions are being impacted by new forms of Human Computer Interaction (HCI)?
  • What new jobs/positions will be created by these new forms of HCI?
  • Will it be necessary for instructional technologists, instructional designers, teachers, professors, trainers, coaches, learning space designers, and others to pulse check this landscape?  Will that be enough? 
  • Or will such individuals need to dive much deeper than that in order to build the necessary skillsets, understandings, and knowledgebases to meet the new/changing expectations for their job positions?
  • How many will say, “No thanks, that’s not for me” — causing organizations to create new positions that do dive deeply in this area?
  • Will colleges and universities build and offer more courses involving HCI?
  • Will Career Services Departments get up to speed in order to help students carve out careers involving new forms of HCI?
  • How will languages and language translation be impacted by voice recognition software?
  • Will new devices be introduced to our classrooms in the future?
  • In the corporate space, how will training departments handle these new needs and opportunities?  How will learning & development groups be impacted? How will they respond in order to help the workforce get/be prepared to take advantage of these sorts of technologies? What does it mean for these staffs personally? Do they need to invest in learning more about these advancements?

As an example of what I’m trying to get at here, who all might be involved with an effort like Echo Dot?  What types of positions created it? Who all could benefit from it?  What other platforms could these technologies be integrated into?  Besides the home, where else might we find these types of devices?



WhatIsEchoDot-June2016

Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses the same far-field voice recognition as Amazon Echo. Dot has a small built-in speaker—it can also connect to your speakers over Bluetooth or with the included audio cable. Dot connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more—instantly.

Echo Dot can hear you from across the room, even while music is playing. When you want to use Echo Dot, just say the wake word “Alexa” and Dot responds instantly. If you have more than one Echo or Echo Dot, you can set a different wake word for each—you can pick “Amazon”, “Alexa” or “Echo” as the wake word.

 

 

Or how might students learn about the myriad of technologies involved with IBM’s Watson?  What courses are out there today that address this type of thing?  Are more courses in the works that will address this type of thing? In which areas (Computer Science, User Experience Design, Interaction Design, other)?

 

WhatIsIBMWatson-June2016

 

 

Lots of questions…but few answers at this point. Still, given the increasing pace of technological change, it’s important that we think about this type of thing and become more responsive, nimble, and adaptive in our organizations and in our careers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking about the future of work to make better decisions about learning today — from er.edcause.edu by Marina Gorbis
By looking at historical patterns and identifying signals of change around us today, we can better prepare for the transformations occurring in both work and learning.

Excerpt:

Instead of debating whether learning is for learning’s sake or as a means for earning a living, we need to think about the forces and signals of transformation and what they mean for higher education today and tomorrow.

So let’s explore these deeper transformations.1 From our experience of doing forecasting work for nearly fifty years, we at the IFTF believe that it is usually not one technology or one trend that drives transformative shifts. Rather, a cluster of interrelated technologies, often acting in concert with demographic and cultural changes, is responsible for dramatic changes and disruptions. Technologies coevolve with society and cultural norms—or as Marshall McLuhan is often quoted as having said: “We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us.” Nowhere does this apply more critically today than in the world of work and labor. Here, I focus on four clusters of technologies that are particularly important in shaping the changes in the world of work and learning: smart machines; coordination economies; immersive collaboration; and the maker mindset.

 

From DSC:
I appreciate this article — thanks Marina.

Marina’s article — and the work of The Institute for the Future (IFTF) — illustrates how important is it to examine the current and developing future landscapes — trying to ascertain the trends and potential transformations underway.  Such a practice is becoming increasingly relevant and important.

Why?

Because we’re now traveling at exponential rates, not linear rates.

 

SparksAndHoney-ExpVsLinear2013

 

We’re zooming down the highway at 180mph — so our gaze needs to be on the horizons — not on the hoods of our cars.

 

The pace has changed significantly and quickly

 

Institutions of higher education, boot camps, badging organizations, etc. need to start offering more courses and streams of content regarding futurism — and teaching people how to look up.

Not only is this type of perspective/practice helpful for organizations, but it’s becoming increasingly key for us as individuals.

You don’t want to be the person who gets tapped on the shoulder and is told, “I’m sorry…but your services won’t be necessary here anymore. Please join me in the conference room down the hall.”  You then walk down the hall, and as you approach the conference room, you notice that newly placed cardboard is covering the glass — and no one can see into the conference room anymore. You walk in, they shut the door, give you your last pay check and your “pink slip” (so to speak).  Then they give you 5 minutes to gather your belongings.  A security escort walks you to the front door.

Game over.

Pulse checking a variety of landscapes can contribute
towards keeping your bread and butter on the table.

 

 

Also see:

  • Credentials reform: How technology and the changing needs of the workforce will create the higher education system of the future — from er.educause.edu by Jamie Merisotis
    The shift in postsecondary credentialing and the needs of the 21st-century workforce will revolutionize higher education. Colleges and universities have vast potential to be positive agents of this change.
    .
  • New workers, new skills — from er.edcause.edu by Marina Gorbis
    What are the most important skills—the work skills and the life skills—that students should acquire from their educational experience, and what is the best way to teach those skills?Excerpt:
    We found that the following short list of skills not only continues to be relevant but also is even more important as meta-skills in the changing worlds of work:
  • Sense-making: the ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed
  • Social intelligence: the ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way and to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions
  • Novel and adaptive thinking: a proficiency in coming up with solutions and responses beyond those that are rote or rule-based
  • Cross-cultural competency: the ability to operate in different cultural settings, not just geographical but also those that require an adaptability to changing circumstances and an ability to sense and respond to new contexts
  • Computational thinking: the ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning
  • Media literacy: the ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms and to leverage these media forms for persuasive communication
  • Transdisciplinarity: a literacy in, and the ability to understand, concepts across multiple disciplines
  • Design mindset: the ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes
  • Cognitive load management: the ability to discern and filter data for importance and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques
  • Virtual collaboration: the ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team

While we believe that these ten skills continue to be important, two additional skills have emerged from our ethnographic interviews for these new worker categories: networking IQ and hustle.

 

Thinking about the future is like taking a jog: we can always find something to do instead, but we will be better off later if we take time to do it.

 

 

From DSC:
Let’s take some of the same powerful concepts (as mentioned below) into the living room; then let’s talk about learning-related applications.


 

Google alum launches MightyTV for cable cord-cutters — from bizjournals.com by Anthony Noto

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

MightyTV, which has raised more than $2 million in venture funding to date, launched today with a former Google exec at the helm. The startup’s technology incorporates machine learning with computer-generated recommendations in what is being touted as a “major step up” from other static list-making apps.

In this age of Roku and Apple TV, viewers can choose what to watch via the apps they’ve downloaded. MightyTV curates those programs — shows, movies and YouTube videos — into one app without constantly switching between Amazon, HBO, Netflix or Hulu.

Among the features included on MightyTV are:

*  A Tinder-like interface that allows users to swipe through content, allowing the service to learn what you’d like to watch
*  An organizer tool that lists content via price range
A discovery tool to see what friends are watching
*  Allows for group viewings and binge watching

 

From DSC:
What if your Apple TV could provide these sorts of functionalities for services and applications that are meant for K-12 education, higher education, and/or corporate training and development?

Instead of Amazon, HBO, Netflix or Hulu — what if the interface would present you with a series of learning modules, MOOCs, and/or courses from colleges and universities that had strong programs in the area(s) that you wanted to learn about?

That is, what if a tvOS-based system could learn more about you and what you are trying to learn about? It could draw upon IBM Watson-like functionality to provide you with a constantly morphing, up-to-date recommendation list of modules that you should look at.  Think microlearning. Reinventing oneself. Responding to the exponential pace of change. Pursuing one’s passions. More choice/more control. Lifelong learning. Staying relevant. Surviving.

…all from a convenient, accessible room in your home…your living room.

A cloud-based marketplace…matching learners with providers.

Now tie those concepts in with where LinkedIn.com and Lynda.com are going and how people will get jobs in the future.

 

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

 

 

BlueJeans Unveils Enterprise Video Cloud as Businesses Hang Up on Audio-Only Communications
Global Enterprises Adopt Video as a First-Line Communications Strategy

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

April 12, 2016 — Mountain View, CA—BlueJeans Network, the global leader in cloud-based video communication services, today unveiled the Enterprise Video Cloud, a comprehensive platform built for today’s globally distributed, modern workforce with video communications at the core. New global research shows that 85% of employees are already using video in the workplace and 72% believe that video will transform the way they communicate at work.

“There is a transformation happening among business today – face-to-face video is quickly rising as the preferred communications medium, offering new opportunities for deeper personal relations and outreach, as well as for improved internal and external collaboration,” said Krish Ramakrishnan, CEO of BlueJeans. “Once people experience the power of video, they ‘hang-up’ on traditional conference calling. We are seeing this happen with the emergence of video cultures that power the most innovative cultures—from Facebook and Netflix to Viacom and Del Monte.”

 

From DSC:
I wonder if we’ll see video communication vendors such as BlueJeans or The Video Call Center merge with vendors like Bluescape, Mezzanine, or T1V with their collaboration tools. If so, some serious collaboration could all happen…again, right from within your living room!

 

 

What Gen Z thinks about ed tech in college — from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith
A report on digital natives sheds light on their learning preferences.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A survey of the collegiate educational-technology expectations of 1,300 middle and high school students from 49 states was captured by Barnes and Noble. The survey, Getting to Know Gen Z, includes feedback on the students’ expectations for higher education.

“These initial insights are a springboard for colleges and universities to begin understanding the mindset of Gen Z as they prepare for their future, focusing specifically on their aspirations, college expectations and use of educational technology for their academic journey ahead,” states the survey’s introduction.

Like the millennials before them, Generation Z grew up as digital natives, with devices a fixture in the learning experience. According to the survey results, these students want “engaging, interactive learning experiences” and want to be “empowered to make their own decisions.” In addition, the students “expect technology to play an instrumental role in their educational experience.”

 

From DSC:
First of all, I’d like to thank D. Frank Smith for the solid article and for addressing the topic of students’ expectations. These messages were echoed in what I heard a few days ago at the MVU Online Learning Symposium, a conference focused on the K-12 space.

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC2

 

I want to quote and elaborate on one of the items from the report (as mentioned in the article):

“There is a need for user-friendly tools that empower faculty to design the kinds of compelling resources that will comprise the next wave of instructional resources and materials,” the report states.

Most likely, even if such tools were developed, the end goal from the quote above won’t happen. Why? Because:

  • Most faculty simply don’t have the time — they are being overrun with all sorts of other demands on their time (committees, task forces, advising, special projects, keeping up with the changes in their disciplines, etc.)
  • Even with user-friendly tools, one still needs a variety of skill sets to create engaging, sophisticated content and learning environments. Creating “the next wave of instructional resources and materials” is waaaaaay beyond the skillsets of any one person!!! Numerous skills will be required to create the kinds of learning materials that we can expect to see in the future:
    • Information architecture
    • Instructional design
    • Interaction design
    • Videography and creating/working with multiple kinds of media
    • Programming/coding
    • Responsive web design and knowing how best to design content for multiple kinds of devices
    • User experience design
    • Graphic design
    • Game design
    • Knowledge of copyrights
    • Expertise in accessibility-related items
    • The ability to most effectively write for blended and/or online-based approaches
    • Knowing how to capture and use learning analytics/data
    • Keeping up with advancements in human computer interfaces (HCI)
    • Staying current with learning space design
    • How best to deliver personalized learning
    • and much more!

This is why I continue to assert that we need a much more team-based approach to creating our learning environments. The problem is, very few people are listening to this advice.

How can I say this?

Because I continue to hear people discussing how important professional development is and how much support is needed for faculty members.  I continue to see quotes, like the above one, that puts the onus solely on the backs of our faculty members. Conferences are packed full with this type of approach.

Let’s get rid of that approach — it’s not working!  Or at least not nearly to the degree that students need it to. There may be a small percentage of faculty members who have the time and skills to pull some things off here, but even they will run into some walls eventually (depending upon the level of sophistication being pursued). None of us can do it all.

But for the most part, years have gone by and not much has changed. Rather, we need to figure out how we could use teams to create and deliver content. That would be a much wiser use of our energies and time. This perspective is not meant to dog faculty members — it’s just recognizing realities:

  • One person simply can’t do it all anymore.
  • Tools don’t exist that can pull all of the necessary pieces together.
  • Even if such tools existed, they won’t be able to keep pace w/ the exponential rate of technological changes that we’re currently experiencing — and will likely continue to experience over the next 10-20 years.

If we’re going to insist on faculty members creating the next wave of instructional materials and resources, then faculty members better look out — they don’t know what’s about to hit them.  Forget about having families. Forget about having a life outside of creating/delivering content.  And find a way to create a 50-60 hour work DAY (not week) — cause that’s how much time one will need to achieve any where’s close to mastery in all the prerequisite areas.

 

 
© 2025 | Daniel Christian