I’m in 7th heaven!

Meet the “7 Things You Should Know About Navigating the New Learning Ecosystem” page …amongst many others.  If you haven’t already checked it out, take a look! Although aimed at higher education, this 2 page summary argument about navigating the new learning ecosystem includes brief sections on a real-life scenerio, “what it is”, “how it works”, “who’s doing it”, “why its significant”, “what are the downsides”, “where it is going”, and “what are the implications for teaching and learning”.  If you have ever wondered, how does this educational technology work for real, don’t miss their scenario section which provides a contextual description of this emerging technology in real teaching learning situations.   Each section is clear, easy to read, and you don’t have to be a digital native to understand their meaning.

Just so you have a picture….When you first go to this site, it has a running list of the most recent technologies and practices that this non-profit organization’s advisory group deems emerging and promising for learning in higher education.  Upon clicking onto any of these links, you are directed to an abstract page consisting of a quick description of the brief and a link to the full summary in addition to links to relevant tag words that will take you to other related resources.  This enables viewers to quickly scan and decide if this is a technology they want to delve into deeper, or if they would prefer to skip onto another one. 

But wait, there is still more!  This Educause Learning Initiative is truly unique in that it also links to related articles, forums, presentations, seminars, videos, podcasts etc., on the emerging edge of the topic, dated, rated and reviewed by viewers like yourselves.  You can listen to a seminar or presentation on learning ecosystems from last month, read an article published last week, discuss a presentation with other members, and feel like you’re in touch with the most dynamic experts in the field.  It is an amazing and fun site and you may be awed like I was when watching a recorded classroom discussion with experts, instructors and administration utilizing collaborative cloud tools….which taped just a few weeks ago.  And if you are interested in other relevant technology, it is just a link away.  Don’t miss out on this site, it is a gem!

As to the potential benefits to the broader community of educators and venturers, one should note that the membership within this organization is expansive including more than 2200 colleges, 250 corporations and 17,000 individual members.   Their goal is to help inform how to use these emerging resources to the best advantage.  Whether you are a teacher, instructor, or venturer, this site will provide valuable information that will enable you to see multiple sides of an emerging technology.  Although this is not a site directed at business, the fact that 250 corporations are members suggests that the information offered on this site has venture value.  This venture value comes from having first hand insight into what educators are experiencing and feeling about different emerging technologies, what gaps or issues exist and where they think the technology should go.  Thank-you Educause for all that I have taught me so far and all you will teach me in the future.  Please go to this site and spend a little time, you won’t regret it.

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