textbooks - Learning Ecosystems

The Argos Education Blog is Up [Feldstein]

On 04/07/2022, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, colleges, community colleges, digital learning, digital textbooks, education technology, experimentation, faculty, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, publishing, textbooks, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

The Argos Education Blog is Up — from eliterate.us by Michael Feldstein

Per Michael:

I’m trying to maintain some separation between my writing on e-Literate and content about Argos (the startup I co-founded with Curtiss Barnes). It won’t be perfect because I write about what I think about and right now I’m thinking about Argos-related stuff a lot. But I’m going to post about Argos-centric topics—the design, the thinking behind the company, etc.—on the new Argos blog. You can read my posts, posts by my colleagues (like the great one by Anita Delahay that’s up now), and news updates.

Read and subscribe here.

From Argos Education:

Retaking textbooks
Several disruptive teams at Carnegie Mellon University and Arizona State University have been designing, building, and distributing next-generation digital textbook replacements.

Their products are provably effective, sell for significantly less than digital products from textbook publishers, and can generate more money for the programs creating them than they cost to create.

Argos believes this model is the future. We exist to bring that future into being.

College textbooks: The final blow of higher education’s affordability crisis [Vorias]

On 08/22/2021, in colleges, cost of getting a degree, higher education, textbooks, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

DC: Agreed.
“W/ the aver cost of college being $35,720/year in the US, there should be no reason that college students should not have access to all the materials they need to be successful in their courses at no additional cost.” Via ?@ryancraigap? https://t.co/U1ODZ5JrgY

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) August 21, 2021

DC: This article has a much wider audience than you might think!

On 08/13/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), emerging technologies, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, marketing/social marketing, publishing, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

We Wondered If NFTs Could Change Education, So We Decided to Sell This Article on the Blockchain — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

Excerpts:

These digital tokens can essentially contain digital contracts outlining the rights on how the buyer and creator can use the work in the future.

Here’s where the smart contract part of NFTs comes in: If the person who buys one of Aguirre’s NFTs decides to sell it in the future, Aguirre gets a cut of that secondary sale—a 10 percent royalty that’s automatically paid back to her virtual wallet. In fact, she will get a royalty every time one of her NFTs are resold, even if that happens years later.
…
For an artist, that’s a revolutionary shift in how much control and compensation can be gained from a piece of creative work.

From DSC:
At a bare minimum…this is a highly relevant and interesting article for those involved with the legal realm as well as those involved with the worlds of education and publishing. For example, in terms of law schools, those professors who are involved with teaching property and/or contracts may want to pay extra close attention to the topic of this article.

And for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) of all shapes and sizes, listen to this item from Mark Cuban:

“The next best application is textbooks,” he responded to my email query. “They allow digital textbooks to be easily resold but more importantly they allow publishers and authors to collect royalties for every resale. Forever.”

But it doesn’t stop there, as you can tell from this article:

Tom Brady NFT’s Instantly Sells Out on DraftKings Marketplace

For those interested in this topic, also check out:

Could NFTs Play a Role in Education? — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit [Feldstein]

On 08/27/2020, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, digital learning, distance education, education technology, face-to-face, future of higher education, higher education, new business models, online learning, online media, platforms, remote teaching and learning, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit — from eliterate.us by Michael Feldstein

Excerpts:

Third, COVID-19 will accelerate the need of colleges and universities to find ways of continuing to serve their graduates for 20 or 40 years rather than for two or four. Quite simply, they will need revenue at a time when the pace and breadth of reskilling needs in the workplace is accelerating. These students will need online or blended educational experience, which will mean that more instructors will be called upon to teach using new modalities.
…
Major changes in the market
This shift online will drastically shift approaches to curricular materials at both the individual instructor and the institutional levels.
…
Meanwhile, institutions will face two pedagogy-related challenges. First, they will have to work very hard to retain students who are under increased financial stress and may struggle in an online environment more than they would in a residential program. Since the colleges will also be under financial stress, they will need to retain every student possible. They will no longer have the luxury of simply letting faculty teach however they like and accepting that some of them are not good at helping their students to succeed.

Pearson moves away from print textbooks [Kelly]

On 07/17/2019, in 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, analytics, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, bots, Bring your own device (BYOD), change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education technology, faculty, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, microlearning, mobile learning, multimedia, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, publishing, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, textbooks, tools, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Pearson moves away from print textbooks — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpt:

All of Pearson’s 1,500 higher education textbooks in the U.S. will now be “digital first.” The company announced its big shift away from print today, calling the new approach a “product as a service model and a generational business shift to be much more like apps, professional software or the gaming industry.”

The digital format will allow Pearson to update textbooks on an ongoing basis, taking into account new developments in the field of study, new technologies, data analytics and efficacy research, the company said in a news announcement. The switch to digital will also lower the cost for students: The average e-book price will be $40, or $79 for a “full suite of digital learning tools.”

Faculty Innovation Toolkit [Meyer & Schaffhauser]

On 06/08/2016, in adjunct faculty, digital textbooks, digital video, e-books, education technology, educational games / serious games, faculty, ideas, innovation, interaction design, interactivity, learning, productivity / tips and tricks, social learning / networks, social media, textbooks, tools, by Daniel Christian

Faculty Innovation Toolkit — from campustechnology.com by Leila Meyer and Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpt:

15 Sites for Free Digital Textbooks
12 Tips for Gamifying a Course
10 Tools for More Interactive Videos
4 Ways to Use Social Media for Learning

The Power of Open Educational Resources [Wiley]

On 03/17/2014, in 21st century, copyright/ownership/NFTs, cost of getting a degree, digital learning, digital textbooks, new business models, open courseware and systems, publishing, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

Excerpted slides:

This was a keynote address that was delivered
to the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA), March 2014.

With thanks to Volkmar Langer for his Scoop on this.

Bookless public library opens in Texas — from npr.org by Bill Chappell with thanks to Laura Goodrich/Don Tapscott for this resource

Excerpt:

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An artist's rendering shows computer stations at the new BiblioTech bookless public library in Bexar County, Texas. The library is holding its grand opening Saturday.

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From DSC:
If this is successful and takes off, can this also be achieved/made available from our living rooms…?

Addendums on 9/18/13:

iPad still dominates in latest tablet web usage numbers — from ipadinsight.com by Patrick Jordan

From DSC:
This is especially important data given the ever increasing trend towards mobility as well as when you are considering which ecosystem(s) to build up and around (i.e. consider things such as BYOD, what apps and platforms your students are going to develop for, digital textbooks, smartphone/tablet-based “clickers,” etc.)

McGraw-Hill & Kno offer a peek into the future of textbooks [Empson]

On 01/10/2013, in Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital textbooks, future, innovation, more voice more choice more control, online learning, publishing, second screen apps, tablets, technologies for your home, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

McGraw-Hill & Kno offer a peek into the future of textbooks: They’re dynamic, vocal, adaptive & bring stats to studying — from techcrunch.com by Rip Empson

Excerpt:

The suite leverages adaptive learning technology — one of the hottest topics in education this past year — which, simply put, seeks to personalize the educational experience by collecting data on student comprehension (knowledge, skill and confidence), employing algorithms to create customized study plans/paths based on that data. The goal being to keep students engaged (and improving) by helping them to identify and focus on areas where they’re struggling.

Prediction from DSC:
I’d like to take these developments one step further…

These developments will find their way into our living rooms, via second screen devices and interactions with Smart/Connected TVs. Highly-sophisticated, back-end, behind the scenes technologies will continue to develop (think Next Gen Knewton or IBM’s Watson) — aiding in the fulfillment of one’s learning objectives. Personalized, digital playlists will be presented and will feature multimedia-based content, with chances for more choice, more control, interactivity, social learning, and more. They will meet us where we are at (i.e. in our Zone of Proximal Development), and encourage us to keep learning via game-like interfaces…but will try not to overwhelm or discourage us. But live persons will either be instantly available to assist, and/or will help us walk through the steps, and/or perhaps we’ll go through these types of exercises in virtual cohorts (that come together quickly, then once finished with the badge or exercise, will disband).

[California] Governor Brown signs bills to provide free digital textbooks for students [Doyle]

On 10/01/2012, in digital textbooks, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, legislatures / government / legal, tablets, textbooks, trends, by Daniel Christian

[California] Governor Brown signs bills to provide free digital textbooks for students — from technapex.com by Caity Doyle

Internet2 eTextbook Spring 2012 Pilot: Final Project Report

On 08/22/2012, in digital textbooks, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

Internet2 eTextbook Spring 2012 Pilot: Final Project Report
August 1, 2012

Participating Institutions:

Cornell University
Indiana University
University of Minnesota
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin

Daniel Christian: Emerging Technologies & Trends [Presentation from 1/20/12]

On 02/08/2012, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Augmented Reality (AR), changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, ethics, future, game-changing environment, innovation, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, machine-to-machine communications, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, presentations, publishing, reinvent, relationships, robotics, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, tablets, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, technology (general), television, textbooks, tools, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

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From DSC:
In case it’s helpful, clicking on this link or on one of the images above will link you to a recent presentation that I did for an Interim course at Calvin College entitled, “Social Media for Business?” As the class had already covered a lot of the topics relating to social media, my job was to focus more on some of the recent emerging trends and technologies. I will continue to keep pulse checking on those technologies which will allow for ubiquitous, mobile (as well as from the living room), 24x7x365, multimedia-based learning.

NOTE:

Almost all of the images on the slides are linked up to web-based resources; so if you see something of interest, go ahead and click on that image/slide in order to learn more about that topic/article/etc.

Could be a good read –> “Tyranny of the textbook: An insider exposes how educational materials undermine reforms”

On 02/06/2012, in curriculum, dangers of the status quo, digital textbooks, education reform, K-12 related, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, publishing, strategy, textbooks, by Daniel Christian

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Book Description
Publication Date: December 16, 2011 | ISBN-10: 1442211415 | ISBN-13: 978-1442211414

Excerpt:

Educational reforms and standards have been a topic of public debate for decades, with the latest go-round being the State Common Core Curriculum Standards. But time and again those reforms have failed, and each set of standards, no matter how new and different, has had little impact on improving student achievement. Why? The textbooks. Textbooks sell based on design and superficial features, not because they are based on the latest research on how children learn and how well they promote student achievement. In Tyranny of the Textbook, Beverlee Jobrack, retired from educational publishing, sheds light on why this happens. She gives an engaging and fascinating look behind-the-scenes of how K-12 textbooks are developed, written, adopted, and sold. And, perhaps most importantly, she clearly spells out how the system can change so that reforms and standards have a shot at finally being effective.

Did you Know?

Reform efforts have focused on writing and rewriting standards and tests, but these rarely have any effect on the core curriculum that is published.
School districts and states don’t use effectiveness as a criterion for evaluating and purchasing textbooks.
Publishers don’t offer textbooks with better content or the latest teaching methods because teachers don’t want textbooks that require them to change their practices.
Teachers report that they don’t rely on a textbook in their class, but research shows that they do.
Three companies publish 75 percent of the K-12 educational materials.
Those three companies are producing similar programs with the same instructional strategies, none of which require teachers to change their practices significantly.
Publishers write textbooks for California and Texas. All the other markets have to make do with books only superficially adjusted for their states.

From DSC:
I originally saw this at:

When Will Curriculum Supplant Textbooks?
– from educationnext.org by A. Graham Down

Learning Ecosystems

The Argos Education Blog is Up [Feldstein]

College textbooks: The final blow of higher education’s affordability crisis [Vorias]

The Great Online Migration and Curricular Materials Product-Market Fit [Feldstein]

The Power of Open Educational Resources [Wiley]

iPad still dominates in latest tablet web usage numbers [Jordan] — esp. important when considering ecosystems

McGraw-Hill & Kno offer a peek into the future of textbooks [Empson]

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