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Student-loan debt tops $1 trillion [Mitchell and Jackson-Randall]

On 03/22/2012, in budgets, business side of he, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, leadership, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, trends, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Student-loan debt tops $1 trillion — from WSJ.com by Josh Mitchell and Maya Jackson-Randall

Excerpt:

The amount Americans owe on student loans is far higher than earlier estimates and could lead some consumers to postpone buying homes, potentially slowing the housing recovery, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Total student debt outstanding appears to have surpassed $1 trillion late last year, said officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created in the wake of the financial crisis. That would be roughly 16% higher than an estimate earlier this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

From DSC:
Phrases/words that come to my mind include (which many readers of this blog and my archived website will instantly recognize:

  • Reinventing ourselves
  • Staying relevant /addressing our customers’ needs
  • Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Leadership
  • Vision
  • The business side of higher ed / new business models
  • Game-changing environment
  • Disruption
  • Dangers of the status quo
  • Student-related
  • Future of higher education
  • The Walmart of Education
  • Learning from the Living Room

Addendum on 3/23/12:

 

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[Trend watching] iCloud, not the new iPad, is Apple’s real key to the post-PC revolution [Frommer]

On 03/19/2012, in Apple, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, technologies for your home, trends, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

iCloud, not the new iPad, is Apple’s real key to the post-PC revolution — from ReadWriteWeb.com by Dan Frommer

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What makes the iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and gradually, even the Mac, “post-PC” devices, is the idea that they’re all tied together behind the scenes: Your work, your entertainment, your apps, everything. It’s not that they just replace a PC in your home. It’s that they go beyond what a PC ever offered.

That’s where iCloud comes into play.

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How does this vision affect jobs/employment?

On 03/15/2012, in adjunct faculty, assessment, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, trends, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Yesterday, I introduced a vision that integrates a variety of trends and emerging technologies that I’ve been keeping an eye on.

 

Click this thumbnail image to access the larger image / vision

Today, I want to focus on what this means for jobs, employment, career development — especially as it relates to higher ed and the corporate world.

As the trends are pointing out, there will be teams of specialists — with a variety of skillsets required — and each of these team members will play a different role. Some of these positions are captured in the graphic immediately below:
(many for-profit schools already have that table set)

.

 

Within higher ed, the extent to which this affects faculty members depends upon how these teams are formed. If faculty members don’t go along with this, institutions will likely reach out to adjunct faculty members — or contracted firms/help — to fill the gaps. Unless there are some other distinguishing factors, those institutions who don’t move towards a team-based approach will become irrelevant. It will be increasingly difficult for one person to develop the content that can compete with a team of specialists.  Also, organizations of excellence — who have higher initial development costs — will be able to spread these costs out over a global pool of students — resulting in a significantly cheaper alternative.  Organizations who don’t move in this direction may find that the pipelines coming into their institutions continue to get smaller.

There will be new jobs available — and changes to some existing jobs — as well, such as:

  • Virtual tutors
  • Virtual field trip guides (picture a person with some type of mobile device capturing a variety of places, events, talks, etc. in another country).
  • Curators
  • Technical support personnel specializing in building and supporting these platforms
  • Data analytics professionals
  • Artificial intelligence specialists
  • Specialized programmers
  • User interface designers
  • User experience designers
  • …and more

Roles may be altered for professors, teachers, and trainers. But teaching others how to discern quality information will likely continue to be important.

Employers may end up developing their own curriculum/cloud-based apps.  Apprentices, interns and prospective employees will be able to access these materials, with the understanding that they will be assessed at some point.

The web-based learner profiles will demonstrate where someone has been — and where they are currently at.

That’s it for now, but I will be jotting down further thoughts re: this vision from time to time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

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Reimagining the classroom teaching and learning environment — from NewClassrooms.org

On 02/02/2012, in analytics, blended learning, education reform, face-to-face, hybrid learning, K-12 related, online learning, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, reinvent, strategy, teaching & learning, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

newclassrooms.org -- reimagining the classroom teaching and learning environment

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Envisioning emerging technology for 2012 and beyond [Zappa]

On 10/31/2011, in 21st century, emerging technologies, future, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian
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An innovative, creative, imaginative vision of the future from Microsoft

On 10/28/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assistive technologies, Augmented Reality (AR), cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, e-books, e-readers, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, Near Field Communication (NFC), new media literacies, online learning, online media, personalized/customized learning, reinvent, tablets, technologies for your home, technology (general), television, tools, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

microsoft.com/office/vision/

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What if this were about education, not entertainment?

On 10/18/2011, in convergence, Daniel S. Christian, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, mirroring and/or multiple devices, social learning / networks, social media, transmedia, trends, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

U-verse TV goes social with new apps to interact with what you’re watching, while you’re watching — from appmarket.tv by Richard Kastelein

Excerpt:

The way viewers watch TV today has become a multi-screen, multi-tasking experience. According to Nielsen, nearly 30 percent of TV viewers looked up info related to a TV program while they were watching it. AT&T U-verse TV customers now have new and better ways to bring together their favorite social apps on their smartphone or tablet with what they’re watching on TV.

“Customers want their TV viewing experience to be social, without distracting from the TV show on their TV screen, and they want their choice of apps from their smartphone or tablet to work seamlessly with their TV and enhance their favorite TV shows,” said Jeff Weber, vice president of video services, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “These apps allow you to interact and share details about the shows you’re watching in simple and engaging ways. And you can do that on the devices that are in your hands or right next to you on the couch.”

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Educators share their visions for the learning device of the future [The Journal]

On 10/13/2011, in digital learning, future, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, mobile learning, smart classrooms, tools, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

 

 

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Hmmm…I wonder if Apple’s building “The Walmart of Education” that I’ve been talking about…? Potential pieces continue to be implemented.

On 10/11/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Apple, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, digital textbooks, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, MBA, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online media, open courseware and systems, personalized/customized learning, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Apple University will train executives to think like Steve Jobs — from good.is by Liz Dwyer

Excerpt:

If you want to honor Steve Jobs’ life by following in his entrepreneurial footsteps, forget heading to business school. The Los Angeles Times reports that an Apple team has been working on a top-secret project to create an executive training program called Apple University. The goal? To train people to think like Steve Jobs.

…

Apple refused to comment on the existence of Apple University, but the Times says that in 2008, Jobs “personally recruited” Joel Podolny, the dean of Yale Business School, to “help Apple internalize the thoughts of its visionary founder to prepare for the day when he’s not around anymore.” Apple analyst Tim Bajarin told the Times that, “it became pretty clear that Apple needed a set of educational materials so that Apple employees could learn to think and make decisions as if they were Steve Jobs.” Though the curriculum is still under wraps, Jobs himself oversaw the creation of the “university-caliber courses.” (emphasis DSC)

 Also see:

 

Steve Jobs’ virtual DNA to be fostered in Apple University: To survive its late founder, Apple and Steve Jobs planned a training program in which company executives will be taught to think like him, in “a forum to impart that DNA to future generations.” Key to this effort is Joel Podolny, former Yale Business School dean. Photo: Steve Jobs helped plan Apple University — an executive training program to help Apple carry on without him. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times

Steve Jobs helped plan Apple University — an executive training program to help
Apple carry on without him. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times / October 6, 2011)

From DSC:
If Apple were to choose to disrupt higher education, several other pieces of the puzzle have already been built and/or continue to be enhanced:

  • Siri — a serious start towards the use of intelligent agents / intelligent tutoring
  • An infrastructure to support 24x7x365 access and synchronization of content/assignments/files to a student’s various devices — via iCloud (available today via iTunes 10.5)
  • iTunes U already has millions of downloads and contains content from some of the world’s top universities
  • The internal expertise and teams to create incredibly-rich, interactive, multimedia-based, personalized, customized educational content
  • Students — like employees in the workplace — are looking for information/training/learning on demand — when they need it and on whatever device they need it
  • Apple — or other 3rd parties — could assist publishers in creating cloud-based apps (formerly called textbooks) to download to students’/professors’ devices as well as to the Chalkboards of the Future
  • The iPad continues to be implemented in a variety of education settings, allowing for some seriously interactive, mobile-based learning

 

 

 

 

At the least, I might be losing a bit more sleep if I were heading up an MBA program or a business school…

 

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Houston — Did you hear me? We’ve got some problems (but also some opportunities) out here!

On 10/10/2011, in 21st century, change, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, innovation, leadership, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Check out some of these announcements from The Future of State Universities 2011 Conference

 

From DSC:
Following are some of the announcements from last week’s the Future of State Universities Conference (oddly enough, I couldn’t find any blogs, recordings, etc. here…)

 

————————————————-
October 7, 2011
————————————————-

10:05 AM – 87% of the respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that public universities will undergo major structural changes in the future.

————————————————-

9:15 AM –Two thirds of students graduating with 4-year degrees last year, owed on average $23,186 in student loans. CNN Money

Student loan debt has eclipsed credit card debt at $1.0 trillion and counting.

————————————————-

In 2010 Open Universities Australia grew 35%–the largest increase on record. The Australian

————————————————-
October 6, 2011
————————————————-

3:45 PM – 57% of people surveyed by Pew and the Chronicle say that the cost of college outweighs its value. Boston Magazine

Unemployment rate for people under 25 is 54% and 9 out of 10 college grads are planning to move back in with their parents. Boston Magazine

————————————————-

2:45 PM – Only 11% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that student readiness for college is stable or increasing.

————————————————-

2:00 PM – 100% of presidents and 75% of provosts and deans that responded to the pre-conference survey believe that faculty interactions with students will change significantly in the coming years.

————————————————-

1:00 PM – Stanford professor Thrun offered his, “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online and free. 130,000 students signed up. —They will get the same lectures as students paying $50,000, same assignments, same exams, and, if they pass, “a statement of accomplishment”, but not Stanford credit. “Literally,” Thrun says, “we can probably get the same quality of education I teach in class for 1 to 2 percent of the cost.” The New York Times

————————————————-

12:25 PM – iTunes U online is running 300 million downloads a year, with 350,000 lectures offered by more than 1,000 universities worldwide. BBC News Oxford has 10 million downloads—130,000 per week. More than half the people using them are from the US and China.

————————————————-

9:45 am – 50% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that foreign universities will increasingly become competitors with U.S. universities for U.S. students.

95% believe that foreign students will be a major source of students in the future.

————————————————-

9:35 am – Did you know: global higher education enrollment increased 53% in the last decade?

Did you know: 20% of all college students in the world are studying outside of their home country.


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October 5, 2011
————————————————-

5:00 pm – Pre-conference Survey:

  • 90% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that state funding for higher education will continue to decline.
  • 85% believe that federal funding for higher education will decrease in the future.
  • 75% believe that public support for higher education is destined to decline as costs increase.
  • 13% believe that public universities are well prepared to market their online programs effectively.

 

From DSC:
Besides the words “reinvent” and  “innovation” — and the phrase “the perfect storm” — the following graphic comes to my mind yet again:

 

Staying Relevant
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From DSC: Talk about cold-hearted…who do our corporations really serve?

On 10/03/2011, in business, corporate / business world, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, MBA, motivation, relationships, society, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
How is it that corporations are sitting on trillions of dollars (estimates vary) but the unemployment rate continues to be towards the high end of historical unemployment rates? Where’s the love and compassion for one’s fellow man? (Some of Charles Dickens’ writings in The Christmas Carol come to my mind here…)

One has to ask, what’s the state of our hearts these days? Is business just about serving the almighty shareholder? Is that the ultimate goal of our businesses? Seriously…what percentage of Americans is that perspective currently benefiting? (I don’t have the answer/data, but I bet its not a majority of Americans. The lines at the soup kitchens and shelters are getting longer, not shorter.)  Corporations have — today — the power to change the situation.  But what’s the ultimate vision of our corporations?  Who do our corporations ultimately serve?

 

The State of the Heart

Some relevant articles:

  • Corporate profits at all-time high as recovery stumbles (March, 2011, The HuffingtonPost.com)
    NEW YORK — Despite high unemployment and a largely languishing real estate market, U.S. businesses are more profitable than ever, according to federal figures released on Friday. U.S. corporate profits hit an all-time high at the end of 2010, with financial firms showing some of the biggest gains, data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis show. Corporations reported an annualized $1.68 trillion in profit in the fourth quarter. The previous record, without being adjusted for inflation, was $1.65 trillion in the third quarter of 2006. Many of the nation’s preeminent companies have posted massive increases in profits this year. General Electric posted worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, while profits at JPMorgan Chase were up 47 percent to $4.8 billion.
  • Remarks by the President to the Chamber of Commerce — President Barack Obama (February 7, 2011 from U.S. Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, Washington, D.C.)
    “So if I’ve got one message, my message is now is the time to invest in America.  Now is the time to invest in America.  (Applause.)  Today, American companies have nearly $2 trillion sitting on their balance sheets.  And I know that many of you have told me that you’re waiting for demand to rise before you get off the sidelines and expand, and that with millions of Americans out of work, demand has risen more slowly than any of us would like.”
  • Hoarding, not hiring – Corporations stockpile mountain of cash (April, 2010, ABCNews.com)
  • U.S. firms build up record cash piles (June 2010, WSJ)
  • Corporate America sitting on $1 trillion in cash ($2 trillion if you count short-term investments) (Dec. 2010 from JoshuaKennon.com)
    …
    What does that mean?  It means that when the fear subsides, and companies are convinced that the world is all sunshine and roses, the turnaround can be rapid.  Putting $1 trillion of cash to work in the economy, whether in the form of new product launches, capital expenditures, or even mergers and acquisitions paying off investors for their shares of companies and forcing them to find another use for their newly freed funds, can go a long way to solving the unemployment figures.

 

Addendum on 10/4/11 to potentially address a part of the other side of the table here:

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From DSC: One of my hopes for teaching & learning

On 08/29/2011, in 24x7x365 access, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, love of learning, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, passions, quality, student-related, teaching & learning, ubiquitous learning, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Daniel S. Christian- One of my hopes for teaching and learning -- 8-28-11

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Stanford University is offering Computer Science courses online, free to anyone [Eddy]

On 08/29/2011, in 24x7x365 access, Australia, computer science, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, engineering, higher education, innovation, internet, machine-to-machine communications, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, open courseware and systems, robotics, strategy, trends, United States, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Stanford University is offering Computer Science courses online, free to anyone — from geekosystem.com by Max Eddy

 

Introduction to databases -- free online course from Stanford for fall 2011

A bold experiment in distributed education, “Introduction to Databases” will be offered free and online to students worldwide during the fall of 2011. Students will have access to lecture videos, receive regular feedback on progress, and receive answers to questions. When you successfully complete this class, you will also receive a statement of accomplishment. Taught by Professor Jennifer Widom, the curriculum draws from Stanford’s popular Introduction to Databases course. A topics list and many of the materials are available here. More information about the Stanford course can be perused here. Details on the public offering will be available by late September. Sign up below to receive additional information about participating in the online version when it becomes available.

Also see the video at:
Introduction to Databases class by Stanford University

 

Machine learning course -- free, online course from Stanford this fall

A bold experiment in distributed education, “Machine Learning” will be offered free and online to students worldwide during the fall of 2011. Students will have access to lecture videos, lecture notes, receive regular feedback on progress, and receive answers to questions. When you successfully complete the class, you will also receive a statement of accomplishment. Taught by Professor Andrew Ng, the curriculum draws from Stanford’s popular Machine Learning course. A syllabus and more information is available here. Sign up below to receive additional information about participating in the online version when it becomes available.

Also see the video at:
Machine Learning: About the class

 

From DSC:
Again, my question is…if these trends continue, what opportunities are presenting themselves? What threats are presenting themselves?  What is our response?  How will colleges/universities differentiate themselves in this developing landscape? If items like the below continue to grow…how do we respond?

 

thegreatcourses.com -- professors

 

Addendum later on 8/29/11:

 

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From DSC: My sincere thanks to Mr. Steven P. Jobs and to Apple’s employees that worked for him.

On 08/25/2011, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communities of practice, computer science, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, internet, liberal arts, lifelong learning, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, music, new business models, new media literacies, online media, pace of change, presentations, programming, quality, research, science, society, staying relevant, storytelling, strategy, student-related, technologies for your home, technology (general), television, tools, transmedia, United States, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, workplace, by Daniel Christian
Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple CEO "effective immediately"

 

From DSC:
I want to post a thank you note to Mr. Steven P. Jobs, whom you most likely have heard has resigned as Apple’s CEO. Some articles are listed below, but I want to say thank you to Steve and to the employees of Apple who worked at Apple while he was CEO:

  • Thank you for working hard to enhance the world and to make positive impacts to our world!
  • Thank you for painstakingly pursuing perfection, usability, and excellence!
  • Thank you for getting back up on the horse again when you came out of a meeting with Steve, Tim and others and you just got reamed for an idea or implementation that wasn’t quite there yet.
  • Thanks go out to all of the families who were missing a dad or mom for long periods of time as they were still at work cranking out the next version of ____ or ____.
  • Thanks for modeling what a vocation looks like — i.e. pursuing your God-given gifts/calling/passions; and from my economics training for modeling that everyone wins when you do what you do best!

Thanks again all!

 

 

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Connecting the dots to the future of technology in higher education [diFilipo]

On 07/20/2011, in 21st century, education technology, expectations, future, higher education, leadership, staying relevant, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Connecting the dots to the future of technology in higher education — from Educause by Stephen diFilipo, VP and CIO at Cecil College

Excerpts:

Technology leadership must transition to managing access rather than managing assets.

…

Students today, in the post-PC era, arrive on campus with learning modalities distinctly different from those of previous students. To that point, technology leadership must become fully engaged to ensure that teaching and learning have priority consideration.

…

One thing is certain: those technologies that will require the greatest agility and speed of adoption are yet to be developed.

…

It should be the daily goal of every person who has chosen to participate in the leadership of higher education to take every action possible to connect these dots, thus ensuring that the future academy will not become “dangerously irrelevant.”

 

 

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