Also see:
On 09/22/2012,
in 21st century, Augmented Reality (AR), emerging technologies, engineering,
by Daniel Christian
On 09/21/2012,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, business side of he, change, changing business models, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, internet, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, online learning, social learning / networks,
by Daniel Christian
![Higher education used to be on deck, but is now at bat. [Christian]](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HigherEducationNowAtBat-DanielChristian1.jpg "HigherEducationNowAtBat--DanielChristian")
From DSC:
My way of thinking about what’s happening to higher education these days borrows from the sport of baseball: Higher education used to be on deck; but now, we’re at bat.
I’ve watched as the former power brokers throughout many other industries reluctantly got out of the dugout, nervously began their warm up on deck, and then timidly moved up to bat as well. They were trying to cling to the status quo. Which didn’t work. We’ve all seen the results. There are new power brokers in those industries now. (Which is I why I assert that there is danger in the status quo — our organizations need to always be at the work of reinventing ourselves.)
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If I had to pick the top 2 forces driving change throughout the higher education landscape, I would have to say the cost of obtaining a degree and technology-enabled innovation.
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Control is an illusion; people will find a way.
The items below reinforced my perspectives when I saw them this morning. They inspired me to create the above graphic, something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time now.
- The internet is happening to education — from xedbook.com by George Siemens
“How did you go bankrupt?”
“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
– Hemingway
Excerpt:
Our thesis with xEducation is that the internet is happening to higher education and that successful universities of the future will be those that find ways to generate value for its many stakeholders that go beyond content provision and teaching. What exactly that value proposition is remains unclear. On the one hand, content and (recorded) lectures can easily be shared with limited costs. The internet scales content exceptionally well. The human, social, processes of learning don’t scale. Research doesn’t scale (yet). Regional and national economic value generation doesn’t scale. In these spaces where scalability does not work well, universities will likely find their new roles in society. Over the next six months, we’ll explore and test this thesis and place the discussion of higher education reform on a firmer foundation than the latest tool and popular hype.
- XEducation – the real disruption isn’t online courses, it’s their business model — from xedbook.com by Bonnie Stewart
. - Do MOOCs say anything about higher ed? — from xedbook.com by Dave Cormier
Why school?: How education must change when learning and information are everywhere [Kindle edition]
Publication date: September 10, 2012
Book description
Traditional educators, classrooms, and brick-and-mortar schools are no longer necessary to access information. Instead, things like blogs and wikis, as well as remote collaborations and an emphasis on ‘critical thinking’ skills are the coins of the realm in this new kingdom. Yet the national dialogue on education reform focuses on using technology to update the traditional education model, failing to reassess the fundamental design on which it is built.
In ‘Why School?,’ educator, author, parent and blogger Will Richardson challenges traditional thinking about education — questioning whether it still holds value in its current form. How can schools adjust to this new age? Or students? Or parents? In this provocative read, Richardson provides an in-depth look at how connected educators are beginning to change their classroom practice. Ultimately, ‘Why School?’ serves as a starting point for the important conversations around real school reforms that must ensue, offering a bold plan for rethinking how we teach our kids, and the consequences if we don’t.
Also see Will’s blog posting re: this new book –> Why School?
Excerpt:
I’m excited because it’s an opportunity, I hope, to spread a different conversation around what schools can be and, I think, need to be at this moment when our access to information and teachers and a whole bunch of other stuff is exploding. I sincerely believe that over the next couple of decades, what happens in schools is going to fundamentally change, and that there are basically two competing narratives around what that change looks like. Right now, the not so wonderful narrative is taking hold. I’m humbly hoping that Why School? can in some way serve as a support for the other more student-centered narrative to take hold.
On 09/08/2012,
in 21st century, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, digital video, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, media/film, transmedia, TVs,
by Daniel Christian
Vidmind launches cloud TV platform to let anyone create a white labeled Netflix — from betakit.com by Erin Bury
Excerpt:
Tel Aviv-based startup Vidmind came out of stealth today and debuted its cloud-based TV solution, which lets operators, broadcasters and retailers essentially create a white labeled version of Netflix. The company provides an Android-based set top box that can be branded for any company, cloud infrastructure to build a streaming TV service, back-end management for operators, clients for multiple platforms including mobile tablet and PC, and built-in second screen and social features so viewers can interact around content.
Also see:
- Vidmind launches first Open End-to-End OTT Video Platform-as-a-Service at IBC — from digitaltvnews.net
- FIOS TV exec: Cord cutting is growing, and changing the TV biz — from gigaom.com by Janko Roettgers
Many cable TV operators still argue that cord cutting doesn’t exist, but Verizon’s FIOS TV director Maitreyi Krishnaswamy thinks it’s real, and growing. But that’s not all: Krishnaswamy is also arguing that it might change the industry by putting pressure on studios.
On 09/04/2012,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Daniel S. Christian, digital storytelling, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, mirroring and/or multiple devices, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, participation, personalized/customized learning, second screen apps, social learning / networks, story, storytelling, tablets, technologies for your home, television, transmedia, trends, TVs, user experience (UX),
by Daniel Christian
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From DSC:
My interest in this? All of this ultimately relates to:
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![The Living [Class] Room -- by Daniel Christian -- July 2012 -- a second device used in conjunction with a Smart/Connected TV](http://danielschristian.com/learning-ecosystems/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian-July-2012.jpg "The-Living-Class-Room-Daniel-S-Christian---July-2012")
Addendum on 9/12/12:
- Transmedia storytelling for content creators — by Jason Konopinski
On 08/17/2012,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bring your own device (BYOD), convergence, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, flipping -- inverted learning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, homeschooling/homeschoolers, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, passions, podcasting, reading, reinvent, second screen apps, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, strategy, streams of content, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, transmedia, trends, TVs, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Your future TV is not about Tele-Vision — from FastCompany.com by Kit Eaton
Excerpt (emphasis below from DSC; also see the above categories to see how I see this as a highly-relevant component to our future learning ecosystems):
Then imagine what a hybrid of Apple’s tech and efforts like GetGlue, Shazam, and other interactive systems will be like when they’re more integrated into your 2017 smart TV. The big screen in your living room won’t be a one-way window into another world you can’t touch anymore. It’ll be a discovery engine, a way to learn facts, interact with the world, talk to people, find new and surprising content to absorb. Advertisers will love it, and companies like Nielsen–which largely has to guess all those stats about who watches which show at primetime nowadays–will be able to get accurate data…which may mean more appealing shows.
Also see:
- The future of Apple TV is every episode of every TV show on-demand using the cloud — from gizmodo.com
- Infographic: Connected TV Storm a’ Coming — from appmarket.tv by Richard Kastelein
On 08/17/2012,
in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, emerging technologies, engineering, future, human-computer interaction (HCI),
by Daniel Christian
Sharp video of the Leap Motion Controller — as taken from AI, Robotics and Sensors everywhere timeline — nextbigfuture.com
Also see:
Also see:
On 08/16/2012,
in 21st century, business side of he, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, hearts -- matters of the heart, publishing, technology (general),
by Daniel Christian
Key quote/lesson from “How Barnes & Noble destroyed itself” — from fool.com by John Maxfield
An unnecessary tragedy
What makes B&N’s story tragic from a shareholder’s and book-lover’s perspective is that it wasn’t inevitable. The company would be in an entirely different position if its leadership hadn’t pooh-poohed online retail in the late 1990s, when the now-dominant Amazon was in its infancy. Consider this from its 1998 annual report: “Although it is clear the World Wide Web, with its profound possibilities, will become a major component of the future of bookselling and publishing, we believe retail bookstores will remain the foundation of our industry . . . shopping and browsing in a bookstore is an irreplaceable experience, and it is woven securely into the fabric of our American culture [emphasis added].”
From DSC:
I love going to B&N; sipping some coffee and reading a book. So don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the physical experience of going to a bookstore. But the lesson for higher ed — as well as for the corporate world — is that technology cannot be pooh-poohed and shoved aside. Those who do so will be very sorry that they chose that route. There can be danger in pursuing the status quo.
How about your organization…is there solid representation of technology on your board/executive suite/leadership team?
My last thought here relates to my posting What happens in our hearts has very practical, relevant implications in our daily lives
In 2009, the company paid its chairman of the board, Len Riggio, nearly $600 million for B&N College, an amalgamation of campus-based bookstores that controlled the rights to the parent company’s trade name and was then owned by Riggio and his wife.
At the time, it looked like a classic covetous overreach by an executive to extract capital without selling shares. When all that’s left of B&N is a Harvard case study, however, my guess is that this blatant display of avarice and disregard for minority shareholders will be characterized more ominously as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
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Also relevant here:
- ReadWriteWeb DeathWatch: Barnes & Noble — from readwriteweb.com by Cormac Foster
On 07/24/2012,
in 21st century, career development, nursing, robotics, telepresence, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
The Avatar Economy –– from Technology Review by Matt Beane
Are remote workers the brains inside tomorrow’s robots?
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In warehouses, Kiva’s robots do the heavy lifting — –– from Technology Review by Verne Kopytoff
Fast pace, low margins have online retailers looking to automation to keep up.
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This Week In Bots: Will robots cause even more human unemployment? — from FastCompany.com byKit Eaton
The expanding landscape of tech support opportunities — from parksassociates.com
Excerpt:
The connected home phenomenon – where products and services are linked together to share computing resources and information – is reshaping the competitive landscape among service providers, retailers, and consumer electronics companies.
The lines that defined and separated the different roles for each consumer product have blurred. No longer does a service provider remain the sole provider of communications or entertainment services. A retailer or OEM may have been the primary beneficiary of extended warranty revenues; now, some service providers are offering these plans as part of their premium tech support services. These changes are creating new opportunities to provide tech support services to consumers to help manage/support these devices in the home.
The less glamorous careers: Advice and fact — from by Stephanie Brooks — with special thanks to Kelsey Doyle for bringing this to my attention
Excerpt:
Few children tout that they want to be an accountant or a petroleum engineer when they grow up, even if the expertise required by those jobs make them amongst the highest paying careers. Rather, children have big dreams about becoming actors, artists, or writers with a little bit of fame, animal care workers, and firemen, rescuing babies from blazing houses. Such careers seem glamorous to children, as they are fraught with adventure and romanticism. However, as you get older, you realize that some of your childhood career choices are not as glamorous as they originally seemed. The pay in these career paths often leave something to be desired. It can be difficult to find a legitimate job within the field, with lower demand. Some of the jobs that once seemed heroic only seem dangerous and risky. Adult practicality sets in, steering many college students towards business, marketing, and other fruitful majors with relatively high success rates within the job world.
With the recession, new graduates flounder to find jobs, accepting positions that help them pay their bills rather than fulfill their dreams. However, there are still a brave few that pursue their childhood aspirations. These tough career paths require tremendous personal drive, a touch of luck, and in many cases, the ability to handle failure, excessive stress, and potential pay cuts. The following jobs are just a handful of the most popular career choices strived for by children. Upon further examination, many of them may not be all they’re cracked up to be.
On 07/23/2012,
in 21st century, budgets, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, leadership, new business models, organizational change, pace of change, reinvent, staying relevant, strategy, universities,
by Daniel Christian
The financially sustainable university — from bain.com, a Bain Brief by Jeff Denneen and Tom Dretle
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
Still, at the majority of institutions, the pace of change is slower than it needs to be. Plenty of hurdles exist, including the belief that things will return to the way they always were. (Note: They won’t.) But the biggest obstacle is more fundamental: While leaders might have a sense of what needs to be done, they may not know how to achieve the required degree of change that will allow their institution not just to survive, but also thrive with a focused strategy and a sustainable financial base.
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Too often, stakeholders believe that the current cash crunch and need for change is a temporary phenomenon that will subside as the economy continues to improve. But those who see things this way probably haven’t been exposed to the data presented here and in other reports that show convincingly that this time is different. Faculty and other key stakeholders must be shown clear and compelling facts to disprove the “return to the status quo” notion and to clarify the corresponding negative implications and consequences of inaction.
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On 07/17/2012,
in 21st century, emerging technologies, innovation, machine-to-machine communications, telecommunications, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
On 07/17/2012,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, future of higher education, game-changing environment, new business models, online learning, United States, universities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Excerpt:
As part of a seismic shift in online learning that is reshaping higher education, Coursera, a year-old company founded by two Stanford University computer scientists, will announce on Tuesday that a dozen major research universities are joining the venture. In the fall, Coursera will offer 100 or more free massive open online courses, or MOOCs, that are expected to draw millions of students and adult learners globally.
Also see:
- Online college course company Coursera partners with 12 new universities, gains equity investors — from The Huffington Post by Anna Susman
From DSC:
Notice the equity investors here…players outside the normal/traditional higher ed landscape continue to enter. Control is an illusion. The conversation continues to move…