7/1/09

Now in Session: The Library of Congress on iTunes U -- from the Library of Congress
In an ongoing effort to make its digital educational, historical and cultural resources available to web users across a broad spectrum of platforms, the Library of Congress today launched "The Library of Congress on iTunes U."

7 million YouTube hits make kids' choir famous -- from eSchoolNews.com
Fifth-grade chorus becomes internet sensation

Webinars Are the Virtual Media Format of Today -- from minonline.com

“Webinars are successful because the cost is low, they are easy to execute and they allow users to communicate,” says Ian McGonnigal, executive director, experience marketing, GPJ.

Study: Students want more online learning -- from eSchoolNews.com
Funding shortages, lack of teacher preparation mean schools offer less online learning than students desire, this research suggests.

David Wiley: The Parable of the Inventor and the Trucker
There was a time in the past when publishers held a monopoly on distribution and academics had no method of disseminating their work that did not involve giving away their rights and interest in their own work. The Internet has changed the status quo, however, and each of us now has equal access to a means of distribution exponentially more powerful and affordable than the paper-based distribution of yesteryear. Since we faculty already write and review the articles, and we have direct access to the most efficient distribution system in the history of humanity, why are we still handing over billions of dollars of increasingly scarce resources to journal publishers? You will find that the answers to this question have nothing to do with the creation and dissemination of knowledge or the economics of those activities.

Intelligent Virtual Environments -- from Ray Schroeder
The research goals of the British-based lab, Intelligent Virtual Environments, of the University of Teesside are to develop "new models of interactivity based on Artificial Intelligence techniques."

Maine Orders 64,000 Apple Laptops For Schools -- from InformationWeek.com
An additional 7,000 MacBooks will be ordered in the coming weeks. Maine is the only state to provide laptops to every public school student. "We have seen incredible success with our middle schools showing increased student engagement and achievement with MLTI in place and we want to bring this same opportunity to our high schools," state Education Commissioner Sue Gendron said in a statement. "This is not just about technology -- it's about using the technology to support education."

The Nation's Dropout Crisis: The Educators' Perspectives
Tuesday, July 7, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Time

Wonderful 3-D Tutorials -- from GraphicMania.net

Online Professional Training: Build IT or Buy IT? -- by Michelle R. Davis

From DSC:
The same question holds true for online-learning based materials for students. If you are going to offer online-based materials, you need to figure out how you are going to keep the materials up-to-date and WHO is going to build and maintain them.

Assessing information quality in the age of social media: one practical guide for 2009 -- Bryan Alexander, who points to this posting by Howard Reingold

Rethinking Failure, Learning, and Achievement -- from The End in Mind by Jon Mott

6/30/09

From DSC:
Deliver content in multiple ways -- let the student picks what works for them:

U.S. Push for Free Online Courses -- from InsideHigherEd.com
June 29, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Community colleges and high schools would receive federal funds
to create free, online courses in a program that is in the final stages of being drafted by the Obama administration.

Effective Practice in a Digital Age: A guide to technology-enhanced learning and teaching -- from Educause
...is designed for those in further and higher education who aim to enhance the student learning experience through apt and imaginative uses of technology. A visually rich publication, Effective Practice in a Digital Age outlines key aspects of designing learning in a technology-rich context and is structured to address the needs of experienced practitioners as well as those new to technology-based learning and teaching – the ten newly researched case studies offer a choice of pathways reflecting the diversity of approaches taken by practitioners in current UK practice.

U. of Kansas to Make Research Available Free Online -- from The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog by Marc Beja
The University of Kansas will make more of its faculty research free to the public online.

Stephen Downes Presentation
June 24, 2009 | Delivered to Ed Media, Honolulu, Hawaii

The New Learning Generation -- from elearningpapers.eu
Children and adolescents in modern societies are growing up in a world where digital technologies are ubiquitous. The widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and online services by youngsters in their everyday life for leisure, entertainment and social interaction is impacting their learning needs, requirements and expectations. They need to learn skills and competences...

• Talent competences in the new eLearning generation
• A learning community for teens on a virtual island - The Schome Park Teen Second Life Pilot project
• Storytelling and Web 2.0 Services: A synthesis of old and new ways of learning
• Web 2.0 Learning Environment: Concept, Implementation, Evaluation
• Personal Learning Environments for Overcoming Knowledge Boundaries between Activity Systems in Emerging Adulthood
  
  

UniServity announces strategic partnership with Microsoft -- from elearnity
The integration with Microsoft Live@edu, will provide c. 1.5 million learners and their teachers globally with a dynamic and integrated e-Learning solution to support their learning and collaboration within the learning environment of the UniServity cLc (connected Learning communities) Learning Platform. The new partnership combines the educational expertise and learning vision of UniServity and its award-winning online social learning platform, the UniServity cLc, with the technical expertise and scale of Microsoft and its Live@edu service to create a powerful learning environment and toolkit for learners and teachers to co-construct, collaborate, communicate and develop their skills and improve educational outcomes.

These activities were undertaken to address four research questions:

1. How does the effectiveness of online learning compare with that of face-to-face instruction?
2. Does supplementing face-to-face instruction with online instruction enhance learning?
3. What practices are associated with more effective online learning?
4. What conditions influence the effectiveness of online learning?

Key Findings:

• Few rigorous research studies of the effectiveness of online learning for K–12 students have been published.
• The meta-analysis of 51 study effects, 44 of which were drawn from research with older learners, found that:
  
  
  • Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.
  • Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.
  • Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning.
  • Most of the variations in the way in which different studies implemented online learning did not affect student learning outcomes significantly.
  • The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types. Online learning appeared to be an effective option for both undergraduates (mean effect of +0.35, p < .001) and for graduate students and professionals (+0.17, p < .05) in a wide range of academic and professional studies

New Classroom Rules -- from Robert Jacobs

1. Come to school every day, unless you would rather just go on line.
2. Come to class on time, or log into your online class anytime day or night, whenever it is most convenient to you.
3. Leave your seat only when necessary, which should be often to go collaborate with others or demonstrate something to the class.
4. Bring required materials, including your laptop and cell phone every day.
5. Talk only when permitted, text at all other times.
6. Don't Talk to your neighbors, unless you are sharing your ideas, asking for help or giving help.
7. Use polite speech when speaking, blogging, texting, Twittering, instant messaging, etc.
8. Do not cheat, but remix, re-purpose, and sample other peoples’ work and ideas and give them credit.
9. Follow the teacher's directions immediately and your peers’ directions too.
10. Be polite, courteous, and respectful at all times in both physical and virtual space.
11. Complete all assignments neatly and on time and submit on line or post to your blog or wiki, and share it with your followers on Twitter.
12. Keep your hands to yourself, but share all your ideas and knowledge with others in your Personal Learning Network.
13. Be quiet in lines, hallways, and restrooms, unless you are at home and logged into your on line classroom, in which case you can dance and play music.
14. If you need help raise your hand, but don’t wait for the teacher get help from your neighbors and post your question to your online Personal Learning Network.
15. Know what you are supposed to be learning, why, and what you will do with the knowledge.

DNATube -- from Caleb Kuntz in the T&L Digital Studio
A YouTube clone just for the sciences, most videos appear to be professionally made by scientists and professors to explain or demonstrate certain topics.

GuitarTube -- from Caleb Kuntz in the T&L Digital Studio
A YouTube clone for guitarists and people who wish to learn guitar. Each video shows chords, parts, and essentially teaches how to play numerous songs.

Singularity University Launches
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – June 25, 2009 – Singularity University (SU) — the new academic institution with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders to address “humanity’s grand challenges” — today announced the selection of 40 students to represent the inaugural class for the Graduate Summer Program (GSP). Singularity University narrowed the final 40 students from a pool of more than 1,200 candidate applications around the globe. The summer program begins on June 29, 2009, based at its campus on the NASA Ames Research Park.

6/29/09

Psalm 138:8 -- from Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day
“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.”

Cloud Confusion Amongst IT Professionals -- from VersionOne.co.uk
Buck adds, “If organisations are going to embrace cloud computing in the future it’s essential that a single, simplified explanation is adopted by everyone. Failure to cut through the confusion could result in organisations rejecting this technology and missing out on the benefits it provides.”

New Service from Discovery Education Helps Districts Embed Digital Content Directly into Curriculum -- from B2E; New Curriculum Alignment Service Highlights Digital Media's Shift From Supplemental Content To Comprehensive Instructional Solution
Silver Spring, Md. (June 25, 2009) - Discovery Education, producers of digital content and services such as Discovery Education streaming, Discovery Education Science and Discovery Education Health, announces a new curriculum alignment service headed by Discovery Education Senior Vice President of Curriculum Development, Dale Fulton. Fulton will lead a group within Discovery Education dedicated to collaborating with school districts on their goals for the integration of digital content into day-to-day classroom instruction.  Discovery Education's team of subject matter experts will comb their vast library of more than 250,000 digital content assets, including video clips, writing prompts, images, audio files, virtual labs, games, articles, assessment items, and more; and then align those resources to district pacing guides, scope and sequence documents, or instructional guides.

Investor education

Learning Leaders Fieldbook -- from The Masie Center
The Masie Center is pleased to announce their latest free e-Book, created by Learning CONSORTIUM colleagues: Learning Leaders Fieldbook

From DSC:
Several notable/relevant quotes I saw:

The future will be like:
a) a rollercoaster
b) whitewater rafting
c) Niagara Falls in a barrel…

Global competition and surging technology will cause it to look like “all of the above”.

First, do the math. Next, hang on!!
By 2010, there will be 8 billion people, 4 billion cell phones, 2 billion computers, 1 billion hosting websites, 40 million robots and our global knowledge will double every year. Eight out of ten U.S. workers will be employed in knowledge industries that will require massive technology to stay competitive globally. Learning the latest competitive hot skills, mostly through your “device”, is the only way to protect your professional career. Fast learning focused on performance and capability will be the greatest demand.

My favorite future place: eCampus! Learner-centric, 24X7 learning, support and tools – with IM Mentor!
Focus on the self-directed learner and give that professional talent a powerful mix of learning, support and competitive tools. Self-directed learners are the right talent to recruit and retain because they are also self-directed performers that have initiative, smarts and drive for success.

My thanks to Niko Solihin in the T&L Digital Studio for this find.

• Layar’s Augmented Reality Browser: Literally More Than Meets The Eye
• Demo/video
• Layar Could Be the Future of "Augmented Reality" (Video)
  "I've long fantasized about being able to walk down city streets and get information on my phone about area demographics, histories of buildings I see and block-by-block news. A new Android app being talked about today makes that fantasy feel a little closer to reality."

Items from George Siemens

"How well does our system match the activities of our learners and society as a whole - are the approaches to research, learning, and teaching within education synchronized to the dominant long term trends around information creation, sharing, and personal interactions?"

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer: Traditional media will not bounce back -- from guardian.co.uk
Global advertising economy has been permanently 'reset' at a lower level, says Microsoft chief executive

Making the Case for Mobile Computing -- from Education Week's Digital Directions by Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
Are cellphones and other mobile devices powerful learning tools or intolerable classroom distractions?

My thanks to Niko Solihin in the T&L Digital Studio for this link.

Finding and Connecting with Bloggers - 30+ Resources -- from Tony Karrer

The Student Demand for Lecture Capture Solutions -- while this is a whitepaper from Techsmith (i.e. with their own agenda), it brings up some relevant points to consider

Kids cheating with tech but are schools cheating kids? - Larry Magid, CNet news.cnet.com -- from Ray Schroeder
The results of a survey showing that 35 percent of middle school and high school students with cell phones have used them to cheat at school is indeed alarming. And perhaps more alarming is the finding that nearly a quarter of the students don't even think it's cheating. Cheating is cheating regardless of whether you use technology or old-fashioned paper notes. I'm appalled that kids may be using technology to cheat in school, but I'm just as appalled at how schools are cheating kids when it comes to technology. But in addition to admonishing kids about why it's wrong to cheat, perhaps it's also time to rethink what it means to evaluate students in the age of the Internet and omnipresent mobile devices.

6/26/09

Think Ahead: What a difference a day makes. -- from Apple
How do we create a dynamic 21st-century learning environment where today’s students can achieve and thrive? The Think Ahead event provided a day to explore, experience, and reflect on effective tools for 21st-century learning. The Apple digital learning environment is optimized for 21st-century learning by enabling collaboration, as well as content creation, distribution, and access, to maximize learning for today’s mobile lifestyle. Use the following resources to further explore creating and supporting a 21st-century learning environment...

IBM Supercomputer to Compete on Jeopardy -- back from April 26 at CIO.com; my thanks to Steven Chevalia with the T&L Digital Studio for this link
What's the best way to showcase your AI-powered supercomputer? For IBM, that solution will be to pit its question answering system, Watson, against humans on a popular game show.

6/25/09

Read Write v Read Only -- from stickylearning

Read Only is how things used to be when it comes to learning, as education for the masses was formalised in the late 1800's education it was a method on transferring knowledge. Today, too often, this is still the case. I just used the word learning, however this type of education was really about teaching. Pupils had their eyes open to receive the knowledge presented to them by the teacher - it was essentially Read Only.

As technology has progressed at a speedy rate, today's learners don't think in Read Only terms. The internet, digital media and cheap, powerful computers have provided people with an option they never had - Read Write. Learners today do not want to sit passively as the 'teacher' provides them with knowledge. They want to interact with the knowledge and ideas to make them their own, to make it meaningful.

The concept of Instructional Design now goes by the wayside, replaced instead by the idea of Learning Design. A small but important shift that puts the learner at the centre of the design process. Learning design then is about building learning experiences that allow the learner to Read Write. 

Jeremiah 23:24 -- from Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day
“Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.”

Succeeding in an outsourced and automated world -- from Tony Bates

In support of my blog posting: e-Learning and 21st century skills and competences.
Pink, D. (2008) Preparing Kids for 21st-Century Success e-SchoolNews.tv
Author Daniel Pink discusses in this short (5 minute) video what it will take for students to succeed in an outsourced and automated world–and how schools should change their approach to education accordingly. To see the video, click here.

Are kids different because of digital media? -- MacArthur Foundation Video (Dec 2006)

Resource from Online Blogucation

6/24/09

The Jack Welch MBA Coming to Web -- Wall Street Journal

Business Icon Lends His Name to New Online University Program
Noel Tichy, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and former head of GE's Crotonville executive training program, will be the dean of the Welch Institute starting in July.

Mr. Welch says he was initially skeptical of online education, but has been impressed by the Apollo Group Inc.'s University of Phoenix, which has nearly 400,000 students, and Mr. Clifford's Grand Canyon University. Last fall, he called Mr. Clifford and said he wanted a role in Chancellor.

"I'm now a believer," Mr. Welch says.

Mr. Clifford, 55, is CEO of Significant Federation LLC, Solana Beach, Calif. He previously worked in broadcasting and telecommunications, and with evangelical Christian leaders such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Bill Bright. He became interested in education after consulting with Christian organizations and universities.

Jack Welch Offering Online MBA -- newsmax.com

According to the WSJ report, EduVentures Inc. indicates that 11 percent of the roughly 18.5 million U.S. college students took most of their classes online in the fall of 2008 — a significant uptick from 1 percent 10 years ago. Online higher education will crank out revenue of $11.5 billion this year, the survey firm noted. For sure, Welch is backing a trend.

Launch of 'The Edgeless University': a new Demos report -- from JISC

The Edgeless University argues that technology in higher education is not just about virtual learning environments, but is increasingly central to the way institutions provide learning and facilitate research. Technology is making research and learning possible in new places, often outside of institutions. Far from undermining them, this is creating exciting opportunities for universities to demonstrate and capitalise on their value so will take strategic leadership from inside institutions, new connections with a growing world of informal learning, and a commitment to openness and collaboration. This is the radical role of The Edgeless University. PDF of report here.

Analysis:
The Disruption of the Traditional Textbook Model Continues -- from The Journal
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed HB 4294 June 19, and the world of textbooks will never be the same in Texas or across the country.

Recording:
Engaging eLearning Essentials: Five Secrets and Three Surprises -- Dr. Allison Rossett of San Diego State University and Antonia Chan of Amway Corporation

• Engaging eLearning: Five Essentials & Three Surprises
• Engaging the new eLearning
• Adobe's eLearning suite of tools

 

Harpeth Hall teams up to create online girls school -- from Nashville Business Journal

Top 100 Learning Game Resources -- from The Upside Learning Solutions Blog

Learning Networks -- from Long Tail Learners
PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection is a great example of the rise of social networks as professional learning communities. Social networking is not just about sharing your latest thoughts, it’s about developing a network of peers who help you learn faster and become better at what you do.

Academics as celebrities -- from LTC Blog by Agnes Bosanquet

“Professors are rock stars and they love it.”

 

 

 

A fun aside:
Tools for enhancing your curb appeal and garden -- from Webware.com by Don Reisinger

1. Lowe's Landscape and Garden Planner: It makes landscaping fun and efficient.
2. Deck Designer: Even a novice can design and build a deck with this tool.
3. Fetch-A-Sketch: With so many designs to choose from, everyone will be happy with at least one.

Resource from Steven Chevalia in the T&L Digital Studio

The Master List of Free Language Learning Resources -- from UniversitiesandColleges.org

Link from Open Culture
Looking to learn a new language this summer? Then give this list a good look. The folks at Universitiesandcolleges.org have created “The Master List of Free Language Learning Resources,” which pulls together materials found across a range of different media. Here, you’ll find podcasts, open courses, iphone apps, and more. And the list notably includes our ever-popular collection of Free Foreign Language Lesson Podcasts, which will teach you about 40 different languages. Just download the podcasts to your computer or mp3 player and you’ll be learning new languages on the go, at no cost.

6/23/09

Streaming Movies Online: The Future is Almost Now -- from Open Culture by Dan Colman
According to Netflix’s CEO, the DVD is done, and the future is all about streaming movies online. (Read the Wall Street Journal piece on that.) This segues nicely to a list published by Salon last week, which features a series of web sites where you’ll find quality movies streamed online. Some of the services are free; others are not (The Auteurs, IndiePix). And some sites (Snagfilms) have already appeared in our Intelligent Video Collection, while others (Babelgum) were entirely new to me. Worth giving a look.

Does technology really enhance the quality of teaching and learning? -- from Tony Bates

In support of the first point, universities in particular had an excellent teaching model for an elite system of higher education, when only a few students attended, and when the resources were more than adequate for teaching in the old way [emphasis DSC]. I’m old enough to belong to this model. When I did undergraduate honours psychology at Sheffield University in England in 1962, less than 8 per cent of high school students went to university in Britain. However, I had in my two final years an instructor-student ratio of 1:3: four tenured professors and 12 students. We had lectures, small-group seminars and occasionally one-on-one tutorials. I had an excellent personal tutor, who involved me in his research, during my last undergraduate year.

Now in the UK, 40 per cent of high school students go to university and in Canada the figure is over 50 per cent. The instructor-student ratio is around 1:20 in the research universities, and 1:30 in two year colleges. Some undergraduate courses in first and second year have over 1000 enrolments, and lectures, often given by foreign graduate students, are to classes of 250 or more. Many professors pine for the old days, but these have gone. I believe it was the right thing to do to expand access (another blog needed to do this topic justice for sure), but we have not changed the teaching model. We have just added technology to the old model. But what we need is a new model, that builds on the strengths and opportunities that technology provides, and, incidentally, builds on the tremendous research advances made since 1962 in understanding how students learn, and how best to teach.

Jan Herrington, Anthony Herrington, Jessica Mantei, Ian Olney and Brian Ferry (editors), New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile learning in higher education, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, 2009, 138p. ISBN: 978-1-74128-169-9 (online). Complete book available here.

Engaging with the new eLearning (PDF) -- by Allison Rossett and Antonia Chan; June 2008.

Some resources from Teaching & Learning's Digital Studio Staff

Odiogo.com -- William Overbeeke
"Odiogo's media-shifting technology expands the reach of your content: It transforms news sites and blog posts into high fidelity, near human quality audio files ready to download and play anywhere, anytime, on any device."

From Steven Chevalia

Multicolr -- Caleb Kuntz
A tool that lets you search Creative Commons licensed photos from Flickr by color.

Media Convert -- Caleb Kuntz
A very useful (if ad-cluttered) site that lets you convert almost any file into almost any other filetype.

Isaiah 40:31 -- from Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day
“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

From Educational Origami

Attention and distraction -- from George Siemens

"The battle for control of information and interaction has already been won by “the individual”. Organizations, governments, and universities that have not yet recognized this may continue to limp along for a while…but their current stance is not tenable."

AACE University Social Media Seminar Series: Social Media: Trends and Implications for Learning
When: Second Tuesday of each month, 2 pm, CST
Cost: No Fee
Faculty: George Siemens - Associate Director, Learning Technologies Centre, Univ. of Manitoba
David Cormier - Web Projects Lead, Univ. of Prince Edward Island, Canada

6/22/09

Online Course at the Wharton School Reaches More Than 50,000 Students and Alumni via Mediasite -- from SonicFoundry.com
Online course on Economic and Financial Crisis delivered to desktops around the world.

Download iTunes U programming directly to your iPhone -- from Apple.com
With iPhone OS 3.0 installed on your iPhone or iPod touch, you can now download any of the 150,000 free educational programs available on iTunes U over either cellular or Wi-Fi networks. Then, wherever you are, you can enjoy such programs as the “Asteroid Hunters,” “A Night in the Coral Reef,” “Piano Puzzler,” and others. To find out how easily you can learn on the go with iPhone and iTunes U, watch the short video primer on our Education site.

Google Translator Toolkit -- 47 languages

2009 Summer Conference Media -- from the New Media Consortium (NMC)
Here you will find audio and video archives recorded at the 2009 NMC Summer Conference held at Monterey, California (June 9-13).

Recent quotes from a friend currently in the hospital:

"As I make new friends, I am reminded that everyone has a story...and no story is devoid of suffering. What a lovely picture you all are of what it means to love your neighbor by entering into [my] suffering. For I am well aware that to come into close proximity with a person who suffers is to suffer yourself. Thank you for carrying this burden with me."

Galatians 6:2
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

"Free Technology for Teachers" blog

Change or Die? -- from InsideHigherEd.com

At meeting of scholarly presses, directors trade stories about layoffs, consider ways to better connect themselves to their universities and hear some dire warnings.

Quote: The challenge of changing economic conditions “continues to confront and sometimes confound presses,” said Kathleen Keane, director of the Johns Hopkins University Press and incoming president of the association. “The number of paying customers for many of our printed books and journals is declining,” she said. And the declines are taking place year after year, with no evidence of change in sight, she noted.

To Save Courses, College Will Name Them for Donors -- from InsideHigherEd.com
Like community colleges throughout California, City College of San Francisco is facing such deep budget cuts that it is planning to eliminate hundreds of courses and sections. So the college is offering donors the ability to save a course -- and have the course named for them -- for $6,000, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Currently, about 800 classes are slated to be canceled. There are so many classes being killed that the newspaper reported that potential donors have lots of options, including traditional introductory courses in fields such as biology and French, practical courses in fields such as accounting, and electives such as Psychology of Shyness and Self-Esteem and Advanced Kung Fu.

Apple sells more than a million iPhone 3GS models -- from Apple.com
In its first three days of availability, Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3GS models. The company also announced that six million customers downloaded iPhone OS 3.0 software in the five days since its release on June 17.

 

The Handheld Librarian 2009 Virtual Conference -- from Mobile Libraries

6/19/09

Expectations and goals for e-learning -- from Tony Bates
This is the first of several blogs that explore the question: is e-learning failing in higher education? (See an earlier blog, Is e-learning failing in higher education?, for the context for this question.) The first set of blogs will examine the rationale and expectations for e-learning. Other blogs will examine: * what systemic innovation might look like, * why there is little systemic innovation, and what needs to be done to change this.

Possible goals for e-learning

1. To increase access to learning opportunities/increase flexibility for students
2. To enhance the general quality of teaching/learning.
3. To develop the skills and competencies needed in the 21st century, and in particular to ensure that learners have the digital literacy skills required in their discipline, profession or career - or, put simply, to get work in the future
4. To meet the learning styles/needs of millenial students
5. Tto improve the cost-effectiveness of the post-secondary education system
6. To stay at the leading edge of educational technology developments/to digitalise all learning - or put another way, to respond to the technological imperative
7. To de-institutionalise learning/to enable self-managed learning.
8. To embark on a journey of mystery to see where it will take me.

Resources re: distance education -- from Shelton & Saltsman's (2005) An Administrator's Guide to Online Education

Intellectual Property Resources (p. 77)

• Carol Twigg— Who Owns Online Courses and Course Materials? Intellectual Property Policies for a New Learning Environment
• Stephen E Austin University—Policy example
• Indiana University— Policy example
• University of Maryland University College— Center for Intellectual Property

TEACH Act Resources (p. 79)

• Ball State University -- What is the TEACH Act?
• Georgia Harper -- The TEACH Act Finally Becomes Law" 2002
• Kenneth Crews -- New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act -- American Library Association, 2002
• Laura Gasaway -- TEACH Act Comparison Chart -- University of North Carolina
• Peggy Hoon -- The TEACH Tool Kit, An Online Resource for Understanding Copy¬right and Distance Education"—North Carolina State University
• The University of Maryland Copyright Policy Repository

Recommended reading for course developers (p. 76)

• Building Learning Community in Cyberspace, Palloff and Pratt
• Designing and Teaching an On-line Course, Schwiezer
• e-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning, Salmon
• Facilitating Online Learning, Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, and linker
• Faculty Guide for Moving Teaching and Learning to the Web, Boettcher and Conrad
• Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom, Palloff and Pratt
• Moving to Online: Making the Transition from Traditional Instruction and Communication Strategies, Brewer and Stout
• The Online Teaching Guide, White and Weight
• Teaching at a Distance: A Handbook for Instructors, Boaz et al.
• Teaching Online, Ko and Rossen
• You Can 'Mach Online, Moore, Winograd, and Lange
• The Virtual Student, Pillion' and Pratt

Learning Object Authoring (p. 130)

• Anystream: Apreso (http://www.anystream.com/)
• Design Science: WebEQ (http://www.dessci.com)
• Elluminate: Elluminate Live (http://www.elluminate.com/)
• Giunti Interactive Labs: learn exact (http://www.learnexact.com/)
• HorizonWimba: Live Classroom, EduVoice, and WebLab (http://www.horizonwimba.com)
• Impactica: Impactica for PowerPoint, Impatica OnCue (http:// www.impatica.com/)
• The Learning Edge: LCMS (http://www.thelearningedge.com.au)
• Link-Systems International: NetTutor (http://www.link-systems.com/)
• RealObjects: edit-on Pro (http://www.realobjects.com/)
• Tech Smith: Camtasia Studio (http://www.techsmith.com)
• Tegrity: WebLearner (http://www.tegrity.com/)
• Trivantis: Lectora (http://www.trivantis.com/)

Testing and Assessment (p. 130)

• Brownstone Research Group, Inc.: Diploma Campus EDU Campus (http://www.brownstone.net/)
• Questionmark: Questionmark Perception (http://www. questionmark.com)
• Respondus: Respondus (http://www.respondus.com/)
• Software Secure: Securexam (http://www.softwaresecure.com/)

Learning Object Repositories (p. 131):

• Adult Learning Activities (http://www.cdlponline.org)/
• Apple Learning Interchange (http://ali.apple.com/ali/)
• Campus Alberta Repository of Educational Objects (http:// careo.netera.ca)
• The Connexions Project at Rice University (http://cnx.rice.edu)
• EOE Foundation Java Applet Library (http://www.eoe.org/ eoe.html)
• Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) Project (http://www. thegateway.org/)
• Learning About Learning Objects: (http://www.learning-objects.net/modules.php?name=Web_Links)
• The Maricopa Learning eXchange (MLX) (http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/m1x/)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Open Course Ware Initia¬tive (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html)
• Mid-South Community College (http://learn.midsouthcc.edu/)
• Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teach¬ing (MERLOT) (http://www.merlot.org)
• SMETE (http://www.smete.org/smete/)
• Wisconsin Online Resource Center (http://www.wisc-online.com/ index.htm)
  

In Iran protest, online world is watching, acting -- from CNN.com by Doug Gross

Online-Only School for Girls to Open -- EdWeek.org | Digital Education
The Bethesda, Md.-based Holton-Arms School, a private college preparatory school for girls in grades 3-12, announced today that it is opening an all-girls online-only secondary school, starting pilot classes in the 2009-10 school year. Holton-Arms officials claim this is the first online-only school for girls in the United States, but Digital Education could not independently verify that claim.

Abilene Christian University -- from the New Media Consortium
...was recognized with a Center of Excellence Award at the 2009 NMC Summer Conference in Monterey, California. ACU was recognized for their leadership in the use of mobile technologies across the institution. ACU produced this video shown at the conference that demonstrates just some of the reasons they have earned this award.

Duke University Mobile -- from Mobile Libraries

From ilearntechnology.com:

• Lexipedia is an amazing site for learning about words and word relationships.
• Another fantastic visual dictionary, Visuwords shows a graphical representation of words and word relationships.

6/18/09

In this report, Cathy Davidson and David Theo Goldberg focus on the potential for shared and interactive learning made possible by the Internet. They argue that the single most important characteristic of the Internet is its capacity for world-wide community and the limitless exchange of ideas.

The Internet brings about a way of learning that is not new or revolutionary but is now the norm for today’s graduating high school and college classes. It is for this reason that Davidson and Goldberg call on us to examine potential new models of digital learning and rethink our virtually enabled and enhanced learning institutions.

"We contend that the future of learning institutions demands a deep, epistemological appreciation of the profundity of what the Internet offers
humanity as a model of a learning institution."

"We are at an early and fast-changing moment in the development of online collaborative forms."

"Most fundamental to such a change is the understanding that participatory learning is about a process and not always a final product. We are concerned here not just with a prognostication about future institutions for learning, but with considering, even with projecting, how learning happens today—not in some distant utopian or dystopian future."

Pillars of Institutional Pedagogy: Ten Principles for the Future of Learning

1. Self-Learning
2. Horizontal Structures
3. From Presumed Authority to Collective Credibility
4. A De-Centered Pedagogy
5. Networked Learning
6. Open Source Education
7. Learning as Connectivity and Interactivity
8. Lifelong Learning
9. Learning Institutions as Mobilizing Networks
10. Flexible Scalability and Simulation

An “Amazing” business model -- from The Auricle by Derek Morrison
While some are wondering if the digital zeitgeist will obliterate their ‘traditional’ business models others are looking at how the they can enhance theirs. One such new kid on the national UK digital radio/ internet radio block is called Amazing Radio which is broadcasting test transmissions at the time of writing from its base in Newcastle; a fact unique in itself (all other UK-wide stations broacast form London). So what else is unique? Simply the synergy between the partner web site and the radio station.

So what! you say, “it’s common nowadays for radio and television stations to have web sites”. The difference here is that the web site is the source of all the music played on the digital radio broadcast. There are several notable interactions here. First original unsigned artists upload their unique creations to the AmazingTunes web site. Second, said artists receive 70% of the download cost (currently 79p) with the other 30% going to the company. Third, music for the radio station playlist is selected by what’s proving popular on the web site. Even the DJ’s are selected by audience participation. Apparently ethical, a clever synthesis of older and new models, and, because its focus is on unsigned acts, it should provide a showcase for new emerging talent. Perhaps there’s something here for those interested in how learning technologies could be employed, or ideas and content/information disseminated, in Higher Education could learn from [emphasis DSC]?

Also see: Jamendo.

Best Online High Schools offers new service
Best Online High Schools is pleased to offer this news service for those interested in online schools at the K-12 level. Virtual School News aims to be the one-stop source for everything happening in the virtual education world. Stay tuned as the news begins rolling in.

Report from Educause Australasia 2009 -- from LTC Blog by Agnes Bosanquet

Technologies for 2 million students at IGNOU -- from Macquarie University by Agnes Bosanquet
Imagine serving a diverse student body of 2 million students across a vast geographical area when the level of internet use nationally is one percent! Indira Ghandi National Open University (IGNOU) makes use of a blend of technologies - including their own television and radio networks, face to face delivery and online technologies. They are also exploring if and how mobile phones can come into play, as mobile penetration is far greater than that of internet use.

When every child in the classroom has a laptop, a world of possibilities opens up. Students have instant access to information, opportunities to increase their technology skills, and computers available to them at all times.

Do you want to make 1-to-1 learning a reality at your school? Are you trying to ensure that your laptop program is a success? If so, you will want to take advantage of the practical planning advice and implementation resources in 1-to-1 Learning: Laptop Programs That Work, Second Edition. Learn about successful laptop programs through case studies. New to this edition are chapters on 1-to-1 leadership, tablet PCs, and the shift to learner-centric environments.

1-to-1 Learning will lead you through the development of a successful laptop program, from planning to implementation.

Duke Collections on your iPhone: A First! -- from HASTAC by Cathy Davidson; reblogged from Duke Today 
Durham, NC -- Scholars and students who once had to travel to museums or libraries to view collections of historic images can now do so by clicking on their mobile device instead.

The Evolution of Mobile Teaching and Learning
The Evolution of Mobile Teaching and Learning / Retta Guy, Editor / Informing Science, 2009 / pp. 306 / ISBN-10: 1932886141; ISBN-13: 978-1932886146

Student Guide: Introduction to ‘Blogs’ in Blackboard -- from elearning blog by David Hopkins; focuses on Blackboard Version 8 and Learning Objects ‘JournalLX’ module

A Solution to School District Budget Cuts -- from Harvard Business Review by Clayton Christensen and Michael Horn
"Offering online courses to students in physical locations--from school buildings to even shopping malls--can allow districts to reduce adult-to-student ratios in the buildings and spread costs over multiple districts, which will save money. It is classic disruption as the online learning will be way better than the alternative for everyone--nothing at all. Not only that, but since online learning results in as good if not better learning outcomes, offering online courses will also allow the state to do more with less."

Introducing Online Learning at a Small College through a Faculty Learning Community -- from ODJLA
As online learning in higher education continues to grow, the diversity of institutions offering such options also grows. However, small private institutions have been the slowest to adopt online learning (Allen & Seaman, 2006). The challenge for the smaller institution is often the lack of technological resources and support for faculty. The demand for online learning requires that smaller institutions find creative ways to successfully introduce online learning options. This paper examines the use of a Faculty Learning Community to introduce online learning at a small college and shares the outcomes of the process.

From DSC: Though I post this, I don't necessarily agree that putting more monkeys on the back of our faculty members is the answer. We need teams of people to create our courses -- no matter whether those courses be offered online or in a face-to-face environment. The bar has risen too high for one person to do it all anymore. No one person has all of the necessary abilities anymore -- and even if such a person existed, they wouldn't have the time to do it all.

Valuing the Institution: An Expanded List of Factors Influencing Faculty Adoption of Online Education -- from ODJLA

Hands On with iPhone 3.0's Best New Features -- from lifehacker.com by Adam Pash

100 Open Technology Courses You Should Have Taken in College -- from OnlineUniversities.com

Engineering 21st Century Skills -- from The Journal by Scott Aronowitz
At Savannah Christian Preparatory School in Savannah, GA, high school students aren't staring out the window thinking about the future. Thanks to an elective course the school introduced last fall, they're learning the rudiments of a field that, for many, may well be the future. Taking the concept of 21st century skills to a new level, SCPS offers a course to students in its senior high school as a way of introducing them to the building blocks of the technological world. The official course title is "Computer Aided Design," and, strictly speaking, that's what it is. But in requiring of its students the creativity and innovation inherent in developing new products and improving existing ones, the course is more accurately described by the unofficial name used around the school: digital manufacturing.

Collaborative Rapid Authoring Tools -- from Janet Clarey, Brandon-Hall.com

Campus Technology 2009 Innovators Award Winners Announced

• Carnegie Mellon University – Emergency Notification
• Fashion Institute of Technology – ePortfolios
• George Mason University – Portals
• Hofstra University – Social Networking
• Kent State University – ERP
• Media Grid Immersive Education Initiative – Immersive Learning
• Minnesota State University, Mankato – Curriculum Design
• Purdue University – High-Performance Computing
• Rochester Institute of Technology – Career Services
• University of Missouri – IT Funding
• Virginia Community College System – Online College Planning

Editors's Note
Teaching Generation Tech
Digital Directions attempts to address the gap between the widespread use of digital tools in society and the workplace and the general lack of such use in classrooms.

Characteristics of 'Highly Qualified' Online Teachers
What specific skills do online teachers need? That is a question being asked more and more in light of the continued growth of e-learning in school districts across the country.

The New Classroom Look
For some schools, the future is now, at least when it comes to incorporating some of the features of 21st-century classrooms.

Simulated vs. Hands-On Lab Experiments
Can simulated labs in some science courses take the place of real-world experiments? The College Board has been trying to determine the answer.

E-Learning Dollar Debate
Is e-learning really more cost-effective than traditional, brick-and-mortar schooling?

Ensure that the video conference experience goes smoothly: -- from WebConferencingCouncil.com
I will soon be leading a video conference. What can I do to ensure that the experience goes smoothly?

Announcement Archives:

2009

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Daniel S. Christian
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Daniel S. Christian

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Key areas to watch

• Building your global network
  
  
• Learning Agents
  
  
• 1:1 computing, PLE's, EPT's
  
  
• The all-encompassing communications & computing device
  
  
• Open/collaborative teaching & learning
  
  
• Rising student expectations & power
  
  
• Keeping students engaged & motivated
  
  
• Move towards using teams
  
  
• The move towards developing consortiums & pooling resources
  
  
• Mobile learning
  
  
• Global learning
  
  
• Lifelong learning
  
  
• Digital storytelling
  
  
• Cloud computing
  
  
• Nanotechnology
  
  
• Cross-disciplinary assignments & learning
  
  
• Convergence
  
  
• Multimedia
  
  
• Educational gaming
  
  
• Social networking/learning/Web 2.0-related items; including the growth of blogs, wikis, Twitter, other
  
  
• Virtual worlds / 3D
  
  
• The semantic web
  
  
• The developing WebOS
  
  
• Multi-touch interfaces
  
  
• The forthcoming Walmart of Education (online; 1/2 the price; students selects content that works best for them; might be the Federal Government. But most likely, it will be a new, for-profit player who operates like a corporation.)
  
  
• Legislation requiring students take at least one 100%-online class to graduate (first from high school, then from college)
  
  
• The move towards Voice-Over-IP (VOIP)-based applications & services, often bundled in with technologies such as instant messaging, presence, desktop sharing, whiteboarding, and audio/video conferencing
  
  
  

Christian-based items

• Biblegateway.com
• GospelCom.net
• Leadership Network
• Minds in the Making

Training resources

• Lynda.com
• Adobe's Video Workshop
• Atomic Learning