David Vogt
Cloud Learning is about employing essentially limitless web-based storage and services (the “cloud”) to enhance the learning experience with unprecedented accessibility, continuity, extensibility and integration. Most analysts believe that humanity’s move from computers to the cloud will be more transformational than our recent move from paper to computers.
Continue reading Cloud Learning Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll Game-Based Learning seeks to apply the technologies and engagement factors of the hyper-successful electronic games sector, and of games more generally, to create effective learning experiences. This includes everything from the creation of original games with learning outcomes embedded in the gameplay (“serious games”) to the game-like animation (“gamification”) of more traditional learning approaches . Opportunity Statement […]
Continue reading Game Based Learning Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Not long ago most so-called educational games were better at selling software than at providing true learning experiences. No more. Well designed educational games can provide engaging and often very authenitic educational opportunities for students.
This is one topic that could be tied in with the Apps topic. Rather than having an online game one could develop an App that could be updated or upgraded once the user reaches various levels.
From where I sit I am convinced that the approach of traditional video gaming was never suited for mainstream education ie large budget, large development teams with no experience or qualification in education and long complicated game play that is aimed at entertainment.
What is needed are more simple yet enjoyable interactive experiences that challenges as it is played. Scoring, winning or loosing will play second fiddle too learning. Whats more is that you do even have to call these video games but the current students will prefer a simple interactive experience to reading a text book and yes they would mostly be authored by teachers.
Patason
I am interested in the virtual worlds that exist within games, for example, World of Warcraft is a game that has been used to create Machinima (films recorded in a game/virtual world). Games have existing landscapes and complex avatar physical capabilities, which can be recorded. If there was a way to enable educators to use existing games to teach Machinima, it could present very elaborate and interesting learning opportunities. The issue of copyright of games will come into play, and the focus would become negotiating educational agreements with game companies.
In general, video games are something kids do for fun, so using them as a medium for education could potentially ‘trick’ kids into learning while enjoying themselves.
We are a culture with a big focus on entertainment, so I believe that this area is one that will expand and become more important in education.
The net generation of learners thrives on technology. It is a part of every aspect of their life. Gaming is huge in these individuals lives because they have been exposed to it in some shape or form from a very young age. They respond to digital material in a different way. Since they are drawn to and respond to digital tools such as games it makes sense to use these tools as a means of sharing and building on knowledge.
As a secondary school teacher, I feel this form of motiviation could be very effective for engaging teenage learners, though like many of the technologies listed here, it will require computer based classrooms or BYOT to be implemented effectively,
From an instructional design perspective, gamification provides lot of opportunities for motivating learners, engaging them to learn and have ‘fun’ simultaneously and collaborate with like minded peers to form learning communities. I strongly feel that if done right, this can become one of the hottest learning technologies in future!
As a follow up to this topic, here is an interesting new venture, that is in now in beta testing, for teaching photography. I plan on checking it out for my own students.
A Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) is an emerging model for interactive online learning experiences designed to accommodate possibly unlimited numbers of learners who potentially arrive, attend, participate, and leave on their own terms. MOOCs can take advantage of existing social media and gaming environments as platforms to host both formal and informal learning experiences. Opportunity Statement MOOCs are primarily […]
Continue reading Massively Open Online Courses Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
Post secondary institutes spend too much money developing courses that already exist with other institutes and as MOOC’s. This is a way to reduce duplication and costs and be more efficient taxpayer dollars.
My concern would be how realistic is this? The people who have the ability to design the tools for such a venture are not necessarily the people who actually have the knowledge that needs to be learned. I read an article last semester that brought up this very point. There was no easy way to get the designers and the field experts to collaborate. It seems great in theory
MOOC is an excellent idea for eager students who want to learn and don’t care about receiving credits or diplomas. I like the idea that the students who enrolled at the institution and the “open” students who pay nothing and who will receive no credit can interact and of course that will add variety and different points of view to the class. However too much information (posts) and interaction can be overwhelming for everyone too , and not to mention the workload for the instructor.
I’m very interested to see how MOOCs will progress and what the future will be for these courses, especially now that some institutions are starting to offer credit for certain MOOCs as early as this fall (probably for a fee and some additional assignments so then does that still even qualify as a MOOC?)
MOOC’s are an excellent way to learn from some of the industry’s sought after brains and interested individual across the globe. I am currently taking a MOOC course in Gamification at Coursera and really like the learning experience…
I really like the idea of massively open online courses. Coming from working with underprivileged youths initially I thought this type of course is ideal especially as it can economise on the costs and can be delivered anywhere at anytime. However, now I realise in general in their current this type of course is not for people who do not already have a reasonable educational background and are very self motivated/organised. Furthermore, they need to also have access to the relevant hardware, software and network infrastructure to participate – something usually not available to the target audience whom I used to think this type of initiative would be most beneficial for. That said for the right audience I feel there is huge potential in this domain and the offering available in iTuneU, Khan Academy etc are just in their infancy.
As Doug mentioned I also believe there is room to economise (and improve quality at the same time) on course creation and delivery via this type of initiative.
Human interaction with information on the Internet, including consumption, creation and distribution, generates data with value that can be mined. Social media analytics, for example, is a red-hot market as organizations of all kinds seek to understand rapidly-emerging trends. Learning Analytics applies similar data-mining techniques to create value for learners, teachers, parents, and education systems. Opportunity […]
Continue reading Learning Analytics Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
I know this won’t be a popular topic – hard to embrace cold, hard, numbers & stats – but learning analytics will play an increasingly important role in data-driven decision making. Without question, my prefered personal direction for Ventures.
I think you are right, Peggy. This will be an important tool in helping decision makers. I am not sure this is the topic for me though. 🙂
Analytics can be very powerful if appropriate performance indicators and associated data is analyzed correctly. Very valuable educational technology for understanding learner behaviour and informing the teaching practices!
I think this goes hand with adaptive software to some extent. You can not really have effective adaptive software without lots of data to base decisions on.
Tablets and related devices have redefined publishing, including textbooks. No longer is textbook content necessarily closed, static and non-interactive. The growing expectation of both teachers and students is that Digital Textbooks must deliver a rich, engaging, responsive journey – a thrilling new kind of learning experience. Opportunity Statement Digital Textbooks offer a range of highly-creative and significantly disruptive […]
Continue reading Digital Textbooks Posted in: Emerging Markets Poll
The days of purchasing classroom sets of expensive textbooks that are expected to last for 5-10 years are long past; information changes too rapidly, and ebooks in various forms are becoming well entrenched to make ebooks a realistic alternative to hard copies.
E-textbooks are at the point now where customization is cost effective and a reality. Publishers can create e-textbooks with chapters from different books and even from different publishers along with the supplemental e-activities that come with each chapter.
Customizing digital textbooks could be very useful to teachers to provide sources from multiple places in one accessible location. On a side note, I just got an email from The Environment and it asked me to proxy vote for this one on its behalf.
That’s great Mike!
I really wanted to vote positive for this one for all sorts of reasons but I had used up my eight votes. Let’s put control in the development of relevant resources to the educators – not the publishers. I am still shocked at the audacity big publishing companies have to charge equivalent prices for their digital text copies. And the districts sign publisher specific agreements that curtail an educators ability to bring in the competitions product. It doesn’t compute in cash strapped districts.
PC
The digital textbook is definitely a future of our learning and teaching. I am looking forward to seeing the Digital textbook that is fully equipped with multimedia and interactive functions like hypertext and hyperlink where students can click from one page to another. I’m sure students will be very engaged with the content more than reading the traditional textbook. My nephew who is in his first year at a College in Kelowna just spent $550 on his 4 used textbooks which he will eventually sell back later. I wonder if we will be able to sell or return with the digital ones.
For the past two years I have been using websites linked to my textbook to beef up my Science instruction and it would be very helpful to have the entire textbooks (with up-to-date information) containing hyperlinks to useful websites all in one spot.
I have worked in higher-ed publishing for about 9 years, and we have offered digital textbooks that whole time however the demand for them has grown exponentially in the past 1.5-2 yrs. This is almost completely due to the increase of mobile devices and tablets and particularly the release of the iPad. Etexts allow the option to provide lower cost options that provide greater interactivity and integration of learning objects right into the textbook to provide a better learning experience for students. And I have to also agree with Mike – the environmental impact of the move to digital delivery is massively positive. Not just due to textbook printing but also in their physical delivery which always makes me cringe at this time of year especially.
While textbooks are not commonly used in my own classes, I had a chance to study this topic in depth for ETEC500 and I feel in particular that the content creation side of this technology has great venture potential.
My third Personal Opportunity Poll.
There are many countries like Mexico where textbooks are the main learning tool; however, constant changes in who is in power result in never ending educational reforms and new editions of textbooks costing thousands. As Dog rightly points out, digital textbooks would be much easier to customize, not to mention the many interactive, visual and aural elements they could have.
This is a great idea, and fits well with BYOT. Digital textbooks can be interactive, constantly updated and customized to suit the needs of the purchaser. The environmental savings are considerable as well!
I do believe this is very important in both todays and future educational contexts. Furthermore, I also believe in terms of software to support this there is lots of room for improvement on the current digital offerings. With the right combination of network infrastructure and software tools delivering up-to-date, relevant and multimedia content are all easily possible.
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avninder 10:14 am on September 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
From CDs to floppies to USBs, the cloud is the next big thing.
grzesko 9:36 pm on September 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Cloud learning provides a lot of benefits, as it allows greater control on the part of the company using it and in turn giving the user powerful features and flexibility that is accessible through any device.
Kent Jamieson 11:30 am on September 7, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I know in our school there is a lot of scepticism in terms of ‘where does the information go?’, or ‘who has access to a report card i write?’. Normally, i simply say…’who would want a random Grade 5’s report card anyway?. Cloud…good.
jenbarker 11:44 pm on September 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
If this type of cloud learning would be able to assist Canada educators wishing to use US based programs and platforms, I am all for it. Currently my school is having major challenges understanding what we can and cannot do based on FIOPPA. We are unable to use many outstanding resources because the information is housed in the USA.
adi 8:28 pm on September 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
My second Personal Opportunity Poll.
Cloud learning as I mentioned in another post could be a great for educational settings where there are less resources. For example, in countries where kids don’t have lap tops, they can use Internet Cafés and continue their work or course in the cloud.