The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative 7 Things You Should Know series is a collection of 100 two-page articles, each focused on a single topic related to the use of the latest technology in post secondary education (Educause, 2013).
Although they are primarily intended for the faculty and students of colleges and universities, their concise nature, combined with their simple style and language, makes them accessible to people in other levels of education as well as the general public.
Each article aims to answer the following seven questions related to its topic:
- What is it?
- How does it work?
- Who’s doing it?
- Why is it significant?
- What are the downsides?
- Where is it going?
- What are the implications for higher education?
This provides a useful framework for:
– introducing and evaluating new technology
– inspiring technological development
– keeping up-to-date with emerging technologies
I have already browsed through a number of issues and have managed to locate several articles related to our team market analysis topic. They may be able to provide us with a starting point from which to begin our investigation and some ideas about how to proceed from there.
I will definitely be revisiting this resource in the future, both to review articles I have already located and to find new ones. It is a very user-friendly source of technological information that I will recommend to several friends and colleagues who are interested in emerging technologies. Once you find an article of interest, you can use tags to find related resources within this library and the community and learn about new technologies for hours!
References
Educause. (2013, September 12). 7 Ways to use 7 things. Educause Learning Initiative, ELI7100. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-ways-use-7-things
The questions are clear and concise. They are questions that any teacher can ask themselves when looking into new technology/trends. I’m glad to have been given this resource!
These questions are concise, but when getting into an analysis of technology I still prefer the Bates and Poole model for technology integration. The SECTIONS model, provides a comprehensive look at all aspects.
However, in terms of researching current trends and potential products. I do enjoy this bite sized format. I can definitely get through more and sift through the less valuable ones using this model in less time and with less time wasted.
I also got lost in the library on this site for a while. Looking at all the interesting articles hidden away, you’re right, one could read for hours.