Group items tagged

A new proposal calls for a Consumer Reports-like rating body to evaluate new digital learning tools. Ed tech innovators like the idea in theory but they worry that it won't work in practice.

Funny, I was just talking with someone about this very idea the other day. We absolutely need something like this and my guess is that we will have a few competitors, at least early on, for the top ed tech review site. I think there is space for both an organization that specializes and for a yelp like site that essentially crowd sources the reviews. It will be tough to keep up, but think of how many products and areas Consumer Reports deals with- we can do this, and need to do this, for ed tech to get used wisely in our schools.

With regards to e-learning, I think inevitably some company or organization will provide ratings of the quality of online degree programs and learning tools. Whether this is Consumer Reports or US World & News Report or some new player (investment opportunity?), the need for objective assessments of digital learning tools is definitely needed. The Benchmarking e-learning wiki is interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchmarking_e-learning

"School of One uses technology to develop a unique learning path for each student and to provide a significant portion of the instruction that is both individualized and differentiated." I liked the definitions of individualized (pacing), differentiated (learning preferences/methods), and personalized (pacing, preferences, and content/objectives).

Here is a list of the top trends in Ed-TEch for 2011. Some of the highlights include Mobile Learning, BYOD, and text-messaging startups.

A survey of 25 ed tech directors conducted by Piper Jaffray that is making the rounds in the tech blogosphere. Seems to fall in line with what we're learning and today's trends: all surveyed IT directors are interested in the iPad, not Android, they like the flexibility tablets would offer over computers, it's going to take some time for schools to achieve one tablet per child. Cost is an obvious concern, but so is device management.

This startup, Clever, has a platform to enable the easy integration of other ed tech into the classroom--it stores student data in a single location. Maybe this will also help track student information as they move up grade levels and enable things like mastery-based learning instead of seat-based? They already have 2000 schools and a waiting list!

Newest Disney attraction called - Sum of All Thrills where kids get to design their own virtual roller coaster. It uses virtual-reality technology. "Disney hopes the interactive nature of the ride would also help kids learn that math and science can be fun."

While I would not consider this incredibly expensive ride a 'distruptive innovation' or even an emerging ed technology, what Epcot has done by bringing this DIY-VR concept to the masses (if you are one of the masses that can A- afford Disney and B-have the patience to wait in line for `5-6 hours) is very important to future ed tech innovation strategies. The progression/invention of such cost prohibitive entertainment tools will fall squarely on the high-end theme parks and consumer venues. The challenge has been set by Epcot and now others must either compete directly or develop a better or more accessible solution. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few cost saving innovations that might be developed in this 'race'- Artificial G-Force Engline: variable air pressure, smart-chairs, fans

An interesting read in light of what we read in Disrupting Class - looking to higher ed as guinea pig for technology implementation in K-12.

I've always wondered what drives VC investments in ed tech firms. Today, Union Square Ventures, a New York-based VC firm, began sharing its internal market research. Scroll down and click on "online education" to see what's caught their attention in the sector. It's very interesting to consider what is included--and excluded!

Brian Lukoff, a Technology & Education Postdoc Fellow working with Eric Mazur, just sent me this article which discusses their new ed tech startup Learning Catalytics.  It's the evolution of the Eric's clicker supported Peer Instruction.  I'm meeting with Brian and Eric on Tuesday to setup a TIE spring internship doing business development for Learning Catalytics.

"We need high-quality education for the fraction of the cost and to give anyone a chance to learn throughout their lifetime."

One of the fastest growing uses of tech is online learning...

webinars on ed tech

Good discussion on how distance education and other ed-tech are tools for educators, but don't really replace the in-person education experience.

Five trends to watch in 2012: E-textbooks, open resources, online learning. mobile devices and cloud computing.

"I think education is probably the largest, most important, and most screwed up part of the American society and economy,"

This article highlights movement towards learning by creating and outlines some platforms that are designed to facilitate that.

Review of edtech development

This is a truly dumb set of definitions that of course are being widely publicized by the media (sigh)

"Social Learning: Using social media as part of class. Who said that Twitter was just for Justin Bieber?"

I have revisited this over and over - but each time I realize that no, I'm not hallucinating. They do indeed endorse 1:1 laptop/iPad, as they are "way cooler than stickers." Obviously, they don't have access to the right stickers.

Opinion article from Reynol Junco at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society on why most educational technology startups aren't that great...they don't base their products on research, proven pedagogy, or work with educators.

It does seem like there is a shift going on right now- more educators on start up teams and more interest in developing innovations from the educators themselves. That being said, the market continues to get flooded. I think in the long run this will be very good for teaching and learning, but I would not want to be an investor in this space.

I think that is great that more educators are getting on the teams...but yeah, there are a lot of very fragmented / disperse initiatives that make it hard to tell what will succeed or catch on.

are you taking the designing a new learning environment online course?