I just found this on the web at Nixlog … a graphic that illustrates the overall strategy Apple has utilized to go from a forgotten, also run computer company to being on the verge of taking a huge step in market share. Very nicely done.
I just finished reading an article over at Learning Circuits about growth in Rapid eLearning (REL) tools and methodologies … it is a good read and is worth the time. It has been clear to me for some time that the overall process for producing top quality eLearning materials is way too bloated and ends up costing everyone way too much. I have been a proponent of alternatives to the traditional instructional systems design philosophies as they relate to the creation of learning materials — especially in the technology-heavy landscape of eLearning. Back when I came to Penn State I honestly thought the days of working hand in hand with a SME to collect, design, and develop materials was over. I was building a toolset that I thought would allow SMEs (at that time faculty) to create their own materials much more quickly and much more easily.
Of course I was wrong — and a little right. You see, my team of designers/developers adopted several of my ideas and helped shape them into a solid, replicable model that allows us to do things much quicker, a little cheaper, and with much higher quality standards. But, we have never taken the next step, put our tools in the hands of our SMEs, and let them really build the learning experience. Our toolsets are easy, but the new bread of tools I am envisioning now will make design and development very transparent and simple.
That’s what REL is talking about — let’s streamline the process, give SMEs simple tools to work with, and reduce the long drawn out process of materials development and delivery. I have been looking into so many open source tools to take the place of the off-the-shelf products we all know about and I think there are some that will finally allow faculty or other SMEs the ability to design, develop, and deliver on their own. Everyone can argue that SMEs should focus on content, that quality will be undermined, or objectives won’t be met without the full on involvement of the instructional design team. I think, with a little training, some solid support, and the availablity of designers SMEs can create very solid instructional content that can be developed in the matter of days instead of weeks and months.
At any rate, just an interesting article that got me thinking that eLearning design really could stand to take some ques from rapid prototyping methodologies and get with the program … I think our community could really benefit from some new methodologies that put the SME/faculty back in the driver’s seat and allow them to take more ownership of the process. I think that day is coming and will get here very quickly if the toolsets to empower them become available. Just my two cents.
I am an avid Apple watcher and have been for years. I am one of those types of people who anxiously waits for the big announcements to hit, gets all wrapped up in speculation, and ultimately runs out and buys whatever Steve throws out to us. This year’s announcements are, in my opinion, the biggest set of deliverables I have seen out of Cupertino. I read the other day that we have seen the start of a new strategy from Apple — I beg to differ.
I see what happened the other day in San Fran as nothing more than the logical next step in the move into digital lifestyle devices. I was not surprised to see a $500.00 Mac — I know the rumor sites had been talking about it for days, but it just seemed to fit Apple’s emerging strategy of the last several years. When the original iPod was released several years ago I was a bit surprised, and even disappointed. I did get one though and came to find it to be an outstanding music player. I didn’t honestly think it would turn the portable music world on its ear though. I also really didn’t see it as the start to a larger, more complex Apple strategy. I do now however and the Mac mini is the next logical step. By the way, I’m on iPod number four!
I love going into the Apple Stores and looking around at all the great things … I have said from the get go that there needs to be more items people can actually afford. I’ve been lucky enough to visit the Apple Campus in Cupertino, CA and they have the Company Store there that sells so much cool stuff — hats, shirts, pens, notebooks, and all sorts of other things that are affordable to just buy on the spot. I’ve always thought Apple should put a few items like that in its stores — I think they just did. Imagine the impulse buying opportunity that exists now with the Mac mini. I walk in, buy an iPod, and right there is a Mac that does everything you need that is actually affordable. Good stuff … the market will tell us the truth.
The other stuff is great as well … killer software, killer devices, and killer affordability. Its good to be a Mac user at the moment.
I just came across this great entry over at the Contentious blog, Contentious Podcasting Grab Bag… just a real nice collection of podcasting links. Some of the resources linked to really are “must reads.” Enjoy!
I’m not sure how it came up, but I was asked by Apple to help make sure the sessions at the annual NLII meeting in New Orleans is covered via podcasts. I guess someone figured out I’ve been into that for some time now. It looks like it will be very cool as the University of Missouri School of Journalism is sending students and faculty to actually create the podcasts … the folks at Educause have even worked with us to create a nice blog system to allow the podcast team to create, publish, and serve the RSS feeds out to the masses right from the conference floor. Should be very cool. I’ll post links as it gets going!
By the way, if you are going to be in New Orleans for the NLII between 1/23 and 1/26, drop me a note (or leave a comment) and we’ll get together! I’ll be traveling alone and will be looking for some people to hang out with between sessions. Also, I am presenting some stuff from the Apple Digital Campus project with some other people engaged in the program … again, as I get things together, I’ll post some things.
Those of you who have been following my blog space for the last several weeks have noticed how much I have embraced (and been re-energized by) the open source software space. I have spent countless hours figuring out how to do some basic things in php and how to use myphpadmin to update mySQL databases … all to drive this new blog space, my From the Basement Podcast site, a new Mambo site I am working on for the Solutions Institute, and some Drupal research I have been doing. I have to say, that I am not a techie in the pure sense of the word … you see, I have become nothing more than a higher education administrator in the last several years and have stayed away from the real nuts and bolts of technology because of it. But, with my recent discovery of amazing tools (like this WordPress system) I have reinvented myself as a geek once again. I love it and I am psyched about technology again for the first time in years!
I work in higher education for a big time R1 University and the security of intellectual property is of the utmost of importance. I spent my first years at the U working in distance and web-based education … it was there that I learned just how tightly academics held onto their IP — no matter how valuable it really was to the real World. To them, that IP represented their perceived value — “if I don’t have my IP, then what do I bring to the table” was the underlying theme that none of them would really articulate … even though it was crystal clear to everyone else. In my current role, I have felt the whole IP argument take a little bit of a slide in the last 18-24 months — it just seems as though people are finally lightening up a bit. Faculty still work hard to protect it, but more and more I hear them say things like, “its cool if you want to use that.” That is a new attitude. Maybe its because there never really was a .edu craze like everyone thought there would be around eLearning … at least not yet. Or maybe it’s just that it’s too much work to protect it all.
Whatever, the good news is that everyone seems to be getting it lately. Creative Commons is a brilliant idea and it gives people the ability to create, share, and improve upon ideas that people want to maintain some ownership of, but also want to let the community enjoy. I just read some, IMHO, idiotic comments by Bill Gates related to the open source/creative commons movement in which he compares people who feel copyright and its associated protections should be reevaluated are commies. Unbelievable. Wired.com ran a great article in which author Katie Dean stated, “The comments show just how out-of-touch Gates is with a large and growing community of people who have embraced the ideas of open source and building on one another’s creative works, proponents of copyright reform say.” Again, amen!
I won’t bore you with more of it as you can read the whole interview yourself. But, the idea behind this post is that I am seeing more and more people embrace new methods of sharing content, software, images, thoughts, etc and this is a good thing. People in higher education in particular are moving away from the idea of holding onto their IP so tightly that it is beginning to open up new educational opportunities that can cross campus barriers like never before. Also, without the open source community (who Gates is terrified of) we wouldn’t have found a way to work together to create software that actually meets the needs of users and encourages developers to contribute to a community. I am thankful that in our way we are opening ourselves up to a larger community — that is something I just can’t see someone like Gates, or our government, ever embracing! For now, here’s to openness with regard to software, images, thoughts, and really whatever we feel is important to the community. As Adam Curry would say, here’s to users and developers partying together! Let’s keep the movement rolling!
Now that I have spent the better part of six weeks exploring different php/mySQL CMS packages, I have decided to write a short paper comparing them. I will attempt to pull in some interesting points to base my comparisons on and establish a set of model outcomes I used as a guide when I set out on this quest. I will look mainly at WordPress, Mambo, and Drupal … all of which are excellent tools in their own right. I have found, however, they all serve similar but different needs. I’ll be working on it the next couple of weks and will post it here when I am finished … look for updates along the way.
I would also like to collect some user feedback, so if any of you have experience with these three tools, please post a comment. I am hopeful that this paper will serve as a basic “jumping off” point for others looking to utilize these tools in the educational space.
Coming into the New Year, I have been thinking a lot about the fact that I tend to wait quite a while between posts so I can make them all “winners.” Now that I have my new setup running, I’ll be posting more short things, simple ideas, pointers to articles, and some other quicker hitting items. I guess what I am saying is that I am not going to be trying to make every post a magical occurrence — they simply all can’t be winners. I have a lot of things going through my head right now and want to get them out here … that’s the reason I started this space in the first place.
So, I’ll be posting a lot more in the coming days and weeks … please drop some comments, just realize they are moderated to help curb the tide of spam I get.