Wearable Technology
Wearable technologies are relatively new to the education sector, and the industry is primed for a breakthrough in the coming years. When Google Glass first came on the scene in 2013, experts predicted a massive boom in the way that we interacted with technologies that were more or less a part of us; we attached them […]
Week 11: Microlearning OER Update
Image Source Consider our brave new world that moves at high speeds and requires fast reactions; our busy schedules and less free-time; our need and desire to learn new skills and acquire knowledge via concise information that is to the point, easy to digest, convenient and effective. Microlearning is a learning strategy that offers […]
AI and Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning are poised to make evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the education market. Computers as we know them are really good at storing, organizing, fetching, and processing information. AI takes computing a massive step further by having computer programs that are able to learn from data, make decisions, and even […]
Big Data & Learning Analytics
Big data refers to the massive amounts of data produced by our technologies that are often difficult to analyze using traditional tools and methods. The value of big data in education and other fields comes from finding hidden patterns and trends through data mining and data analytics. The growth and development of learning analytics stems […]
Game-based Learning
Game-Based Learning is an umbrella term that encompasses the use of serious games often also called educational games, commercially available games as well as constructionist gaming in education. It seeks to take full advantage of the high levels of engagement offered by digital games to facilitate active learning. Students are able to learn through trial and […]
Mobile Learning (K-7)
Mobile learning is quickly becoming a buzz word in the world of education. This excitement and growth is driven by opportunities it creates in education. It is appearing in all areas of education from the public system, to corporate training, to personal growth. As infrastructure and access to mobile technology improves around the world mobile […]
Success-Driven Learning
A Silicon Valley startup called Lambda School is pioneering a new business model for learning: everything is free, everything is very high quality, and you only begin to pay a tuition bill if/when you land a job in your chosen field with a salary above $50K/yr. This emerging market doesn’t have a name yet, but […]
Proximity-Based Learning
There are a variety of technologies, including Beacons, NFC, RFID, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN, QR codes, GPS, etc, that enable learners to access location-specific learning content and experiences via mobile devices based. For example, Beacons allow a mobile device to determine when it has entered or left an area, along with an estimation of proximity to a Beacon, […]
5G Networks
The first North American roll-outs of the next generation wireless networks, called “5G” are underway. They are already on trial or selectively available in a number of countries around the world. Vancouver was the first Canadian city activated, with a test site on the UBC campus in 2019. Opportunity Statement: Here are a few dimensions […]
AI & Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (aka “Deep Learning”) are actually quite different technologies, but they address roughly the same opportunity in learning. AI is the vision of creating a stand-alone processing capacity with dimensions of human intelligence, in science fiction approaching a “singularity” when a machine becomes more intelligent than any person. By contrast, Machine Learning refers to […]
Affective Computing
Affective Computing refers to the idea that humans can program machines to recognize, interpret, process, and simulate the range of human emotions. This concept revolves around the development of computers attaining humanlike understanding through activities such as implementing a video camera to capture facial cues and gestures that work in conjunction with an algorithm that detects and interprets these interactions. The ultimate goal […]
Apps
While tablet and smart phone manufacturers are churning forward at a breakneck pace, making a fortune on humanity’s device-lust, the compelling back-story is what these devices can do – the proliferation of Apps. And while addiction and burn-out on the distracting nature of most apps is already big news, there is also a rapid emergence […]
BYOT
In the corporate sector IT managers are trying to cope with the ‘impossible’ situation that workers are insisting on coming to work, and doing their work, with their own mobile and work devices and preferred software (Bring Your Own Device or Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), creating (for the managers, they say) a tsunami of technology management, […]
Experience Design
You’ve heard of product design, graphic design, fashion design, architecture, etc, but Experience Design is the invisible frontier of human engagement. As mobile technologies continue to get smaller and more capable, they are beginning to disappear from our physical awareness without letting go of our attention – in fact, they are cleverly meshing our physical and digital […]
Blockchains
You’ve all heard of “Bitcoin”, the disruptive digital currency. The technology behind Bitcoin is called “Blockchain“, a way to create a universal digital ‘ledger’ which apparently makes it impossible any party in a transaction to commit fraud. Blockchain is heralded as a new digital way to ensure trust, well beyond money, to real estate, property, […]
Chatbots
Conversational systems can range from simple informal, bidirectional text or voice conversations such as an answer to “What time is it?” to more complex interactions such as collecting oral testimony from crime witnesses to generate a sketch of a suspect. All forms of virtual assistants, including Siri, Alexa and all of their siblings also fit […]
3D Printing
3D Printing is the process of creating an object using a machine that putting down material layer by layer until the desired object is formed. Such printers use specifications generated by computer modeling applications or by3D scans of existing objects. This process of creating 3D models is much faster than many traditional methods of creating prototypes or replicas of existing […]
Digital Textbooks
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. Features of Digital Textbooks are evolving beyond student interaction, to teacher customization, auto-grading […]
Open Everything
A few years ago Open Source was a real buzz – the future of software well beyond education. While the movement is still very active, the breakthrough promise hasn’t been realized. Yet. There are many who believe that the critical mass of openness – including new dimensions such as Open Data, Open Licenses, Open Innovation, Open Educational […]
Game-Based Learning
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 […]
Teachback
Teachback derives from the simple, ages-old adage that, “you never really learn anything until you have to teach it”. A teacher instructs on a topic which the learner absorbs and then instructs back in their own authentic terms, with an arrived consensus becoming a learning moment for both parties. The strategy is being applied in the UK, for […]
Wearables
Wearable technologies can gather data—from the body of the wearer or from the environment—or provide information, or both. Wearables represent an evolution in our relationship with computing and hint at a future of ubiquitous connectivity where the furnishings of our everyday life are imbued with sensors, processors, and information displays. Inconspicuous wearable devices could change the […]
Self-Guided Learning
Most people prefer to tackle the majority of their continuing learning objectives independently or informally in professional groups, as Self-Guided Learning. Additionally, the availability and affordability of qualified teachers and accessible learning environments can’t nearly meet the global demand for higher and better educational opportunities. Opportunity Statement: Venture opportunities exist in a vibrant global marketplace to […]
Neuroscience
The last decade or so has seen Neuroscience take a more prominent seat at the education table than ever before. As neuroscience research compiles ever greater evidence of how the brain learns and processes information, some argue that their results should form the basis of educational reform. While a well-organized cooperation of neuroscientists and trained educators could […]
MOOCs
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 […]
Social Media in the Classroom
Social media is far more than Facebook. You don’t have to look deeper than Pinterest and Evernote to see valuable potential for the classroom environment. Every classroom is inherently a social space, so Social Media in the Classroom is an inevitable and substantial part of the future of education. Opportunity Statement The breadth & penetration of social […]
Intelligent Things
Self-driving cars, drones, robots, intelligent toys, and the entire Internet of Things (IoT) fit into the broad emerging frontier of Intelligent Things. It isn’t so much the intelligence that drives them (likely AI or Machine Learning) as it is the transformation of our engagement with the real world into a realm where learners can expect constructive interaction and […]
Infographics
Information visualization is the graphical representation of technical, often complex data, designed to be understood quickly and easily. Popularly called “infographics,” this type of media is highly valuable in the age of ubiquitous knowledge, and the people who create it are equally desired by organizations seeking to share messages that make an impact. Opportunity Statement: […]
Adaptive Software
As brilliant as most software and apps might seem, they are still severely awareness-disabled, meaning they don’t know and can’t respond to simple user contexts such as who I am, where I am, what grade I’m in, what class this is, what level I’ve achieved, what my learning style is, etc. The objective of Adaptive Software is […]
Personalized Learning
Personalized learning has been the clarion call of education reform advocates for many years, but until recently it has been difficult to scale beyond small, well-funded learning organizations. In order to implement personalized learning, assessment must be highly nuanced and detailed learner profiles and individual learning plans must be created for each student. These initiatives, […]
Immersive Experience
Immersive platforms are changing the way in which people interact with the digital world. Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) are changing the way in which people perceive the digital world. This combined shift in perception and interaction models leads to the future immersive user experience. Virtual Reality Virtual Reality technologies are still very new but as the […]
Big Data & Learning Analytics
Big Data refers to massive streams of data now transforming every sector of business globally, including education. Some people like to think of the entire Internet being about understanding and riding this “flow” of data. On a smaller and more local scale, every teacher has felt the flow of learning in their classrooms, and Learning Analytics are an […]
Mobile Learning
At first blush Mobile Learning might be thought of as any learning that can happen on a mobile device, but more deeply, the opportunity is to make learning as accessible and flexible as mobile technologies have transformed other dimensions of human experience. Just because something can be accomplished on a mobile device does not make it exemplary […]
Cloud Learning
Employing essentially limitless web-based storage and services (the “cloud”) to enhance the learning experience, Cloud Learning has the potential to provide 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. Opportunity Statement While it may seem that […]
Microlearning
Microlearning offers a change from traditional teaching and learning methods. It provides learners creative, engaging, and most importantly, short, opportunities to learn something new, whether one is on the go, or in educational and professional settings. By utilizing microlearning, information is easily accessed, gained, and shared to better serve society across any and all learning […]
Visually Intensive Learning
The Visually Intensive Learning (VIL) marketplace is very large and can be difficult to define. It can go as far as to remove text completely from learning, or make information more visually appealing. It is not a category limited to visual learners, but rather is useful all learners. From AR, VR, and MR to YouTube, to […]
Transhumanity
Transhumanity is a term to cover how technology-based human augmentation can be used to deliver cognitive and physical improvements as an integral part of the human experience. Opportunity Statement Physical augmentation enhances humans by changing their inherent physical capabilities by implanting a technology element on their bodies. Cognitive augmentation can occur through genetics, pharmaceuticals, and through […]