Don’t Get Too Comfortable – The Landscape of eLearning is Changing Lesley Blicker Director of IMS Learning and Next Generation Technology Academic Innovations

Wanted… Visionaries looking towards the future of eLearning delivery models Academics wanting to understand how interoperability, Web 2.0, and next generation technologies fit into the teaching and learning landscape People interested in the state of learning management systems

Topics - Trends What is Web 2.0 and Why Should We Care Next Generation Learning Management Systems Personal Learning Environments Virtual Worlds Mobile Learning

eLearning Time Line 1.Internet courses, first and second iterations of LMS  Home-grown course applications followed by vendor-developed “enterprise-level” LMSs (D2L, Vista, BB)  Open Source Entrants (Moodle, Sakai) Overarching web design? 1990s… 2004 Dot-com era

Primary Characteristics of Browser-based content, with client-server relationship (information pushed out one direction) Static pages Centered on e-Commerce Information organized through search engines and data bases Content from individual pc’s uploaded to web pages (e.g., photos)

Why All the Fuss? 2004… A definition: "Web 2.0 is a knowledge-oriented environment where human interactions generate content that is published, managed and used through network applications Coined by Tim O’Reilly in 2004 Source:

Hallmarks of Content is distributed, coming from everywhere And it is dynamic - world of bits that can go in all different directions at the same time Software applications run through browsers (Flickr, YouTube, Google Docs, Zentation) Architecture of participation - where users contribute content or write back Standard protocols (APIs)

More Characteristics of No longer need to know HTML (built-in Flash, Ajax) Collaboration (Google docs, Wikis)Google docs Folksonomies and tag clouds Mashups Connectivity (Facebook, Twitter)

Folksonomies, Social Bookmarking Also called Social Bookmarking or tagging– practice of collaboratively creating and managing tags to categorize content Tag clouds can represent:  Most popular tags applied to publicly shared images – Flickr, orFlickr  Quantity of content items in that category My blogMy blog Del.icio.us

M. Wesch video, Information R/evolution M. Wesch video, Information R/evolution Everything is Miscellaneous, by David Weinberger The New Organization of Information

Mashups Web applications that combine data from more than one source into a single integrated tool Eg: use of cartographic data from Google Maps to add location information to real- estate data from Craig’s List Still in beta: Microsoft PopflyPopfly

Summary Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 Web 1.0 = Linking to documents/static Web pages Web 2.0 = Linking people Socialization + Applications + Technology =

Using Web 2.0 in Teaching Ideas An assignment for students to create a mashup An assignment to create their own tag cloud What else?

Where are We Heading Next? Learning Management Systems In the 3 rd Phase of Add-Ons and Bundling  Adding more tools in general  Adding Web 2.0-like tools or proprietary mashupsWeb 2.0-like tools  Going some measure towards integration with other software or increasing interoperability via open APIs  But may still lack sufficient agility for early adopters who think the current IMS format is too limiting

Current IMS (CMS) – What’s the Beef? Unilateral publication formats Labeled as false start; replicated existing classrooms Assumes more passive consumer of information Monolithic and they don’t play well with others (API’s not truly open) – lack of interoperability

IMS (CMS) – Future Will be a part of a mix of systems for tracking learning experiences Will run side-by-side at institutions with other more flexible and interoperable approaches Primarily will handle administrative functions Will morph to an LMOS (Learning Management Operating System), backbone for layering

LMOS from The Nose, Blog by Al Essa The learning platform of the future will need a substrate that performs the mundane but essential bookkeeping functions such as authentication, authorization, and integration with back-end systems. The LMOS should look more like the linux kernel: a lean, mean traffic cop that sits below the application layer and mediates access to common services.

PLEs Virtual or immersive environments Mobile technologies as add-ons (field based measurements, competency tracking, assessment) The Offerings

Personal Learning Enviornments (PLEs) A space at which the learner is at the center and can select or add resources without moving from that point Carousel metaphor

Contrary View – Leigh Blackall Questioning the PLE: Why do we need a PLE when we already have the Internet? The Internet is my PLE, ePortfolio, VLE what ever. Thanks to blogger, bloglines, flickr, delicious, wikispaces, our media, creative commons, and what ever comes next in this new Internet age, I have a strong online ID and very extensive and personalised learning environment. Source: die-you-too-ple/

Virtual Worlds

Current Technologies in Higher Ed Present – couple years out*  2 nd phase learning management systems  Plagiarism or citation management software  Video streaming  Podcasting  Wikis, blogs, RSS feeds  Simple games and simulations, and early use of ILEs  Content authoring tools (lodeStar, Raptivity)  Early use of content management software  Web conferencing tools (WebEx, Elluminate)  3D imaging software (Autodesk) and spatial technologies (GIS)  Learning Objects/Repositories and Emergence of federated search capabilities  Web 2.0/Social technologies (MySpace, You Tube), social bookmarking, folksonomies, cloud tags * Length of time to maturity/mainstream adoption/saturation

Nascent Technologies in Higher Ed 2-4 years out * Length of time to maturity/mainstream adoption/saturation  Increasing number of (free) Web 2.0 tools (Zoho, Popfly, Meebo, Zentation)  Enterprise social networks  Add ons and bundling of Web 2.0 tools inside present CMSs and ePortfolios  Leap-frogging of 3D game engines, ILEs (Second Life, Sun’s MPK20, Croquet Consortium)  Open Source scaling to “enterprise” level (Moodle, Sakai)  More digital device software and advanced cell phone technologies (iPhone and clones). Appearance of learning management systems for the mobile device  Ever increasing number of mashups  Co-creation of learning content  Increase in sims (Web and lab-based) and in sim authoring tools for faculty  Use of other technologies inside immersive worlds (i.e., GIS in SL)

Next Generation Technologies in Higher Ed 5-10 years out  Ubiquity of always connected user expectations  Distinction between local and distance education very blurred; 95% of education predicted to be digitally enhanced by 2010  Technologies allowing users to build, tinker, learn, and share  Remixes and mashups for educational purposes  Morphs/expansion of “Notice me” self-publishing tools, public displays of identity (e.g., MySpace)  Extensions of digital social networks  Electronic textbooks, unbundled chapters  Digital libraries  Ubiquity of immersive learning environments (ILEs)  Predicted resurgence of MAC in higher ed

Richard Katz’ du du2020

Why are these Technologies Gaining Momentum in Academia? To nurture education in STEM fields Predicted to yield greatest potential for changing teaching and learning paradigms and capturing the attention of learners Provide opportunities for real-world applications that support research, design, analysis, and communication, rather than basic skills

Stephen Downes Network Theory and-impacts-of-elearning-20 (slides 20-28) and-impacts-of-elearning-20

Dr. Michael Wesch’s You Tube Videos The Machine is Us A Vision of Students Today The Information R/evolution

Immersive Learning Environments Ohio University Second Life Campus Sun Microsystems’ MPK20 ct2007.mov ct2007.mov

Mobile Learning Resources (videos) M iPhone ESL M dQ&feature=related Athabasca ESL dQ&feature=related w&feature=related MLearning Part 1 w&feature=related mw&feature=related MLearning Part 2 mw&feature=related A&feature=related MLearning Part 3 A&feature=related

Other Good Resources Emerging Technologies for Learning, Volume 2, merging_technologies07.pdf (UK) merging_technologies07.pdf Mashing Up the Once and Future CMS, Malcolm Brown, Educause, heOnceandF/ heOnceandF/40696 Microsoft Popfly

One Final Recommendation Video Piggy – to download videos from YouTube, Google video, and MetaCafe

Lesley Blicker Director of IMS Learning and Next Generation Technology Academic Innovations W: C: Website for Next Generation Technology in MnSCU Lesley’s Blog: