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April 2008

Features

E-Beaming to Interactivity

Insight

GETEX: SYNONYMOUS WITH

Feature EDUCATION

Perspective
ON THE HORIZON: 2008 EDUCATION
Moving Towards a Model For Open
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS Content Provision Through ccLearn

Case Study
Mash ups provide a huge amount of flexibility to both the instructor and the user to build new learning
situations. Bridging the Digital Divide for
Humanitarian Purposes
Earlier this year, the New Media Consortium and
Opinion
the Educase Learning Initiative released The
New Horizon Report, outlining which current
Reaching Out Through Mobile
and burgeoning technologies they feel will
Technology with the Humble SMS
“impact education over the next five years.”
Interview

The report includes several “mega trends” in

A Common Certification Bridging
educational technology, including user-
the IT Literacy Divide
generated video (or “grassroots” video),
mobile, collaborative web environments, as Letters
well as content Mash ups.
Call for letters

User-Generated Video & Content Mash ups

Mash ups provide a huge amount of flexibility to both the instructor and the user to build new learning situations.
A Mash up is “a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely
new service (Wikipedia, 2006).” They combine separate, stand-alone technologies into a new application.

Content sharing tools, or “Mash ups” are providing learners the opportunity to socialise around the context of the
content (text, video, images, audio), in terms of subject matter, production and commentary. This opportunity to
be engaged socially is generating new content in and of itself. These experiences have become integrated into

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Welcome to Didacticsworld.com -::- April 2008 - Feature

today’s use of everyday devices in the everyday lives of the students for whom we design.

Students can shoot video with either their mobile phone or camcorder, and then use free editing tools like
Jumpcut to easily remix their video. They can also “grab” video created and contributed by someone else in the
Jumpcut community that can be repurposed into new content and then posted on a blog,YouTube, or a myriad of
other video-hosting sites. The Horizon Report predicts that this type of remix and reuse of video content “will fuel
rapid growth among learning-focused organizations who want their content to be where the viewers are.”

Collaboration & Social Networks

Critics of e-learning often characterise online classrooms as neutral spaces devoid of human connection, emotion
or interaction with instructors or peers. However, effective use of social networking and media technologies
provides educators and students with the ability to interject emotion in the online space, thereby providing
opportunities for peers to make emotional connections with classmates, and create a community of practice just
as they do in the ‘real time’ world of the brick and mortar classroom. Social networks can also provide an outlet
for students who are socially isolated or shy in the traditional classroom, a way to connect, share ideas and
collaborate with their peers.

Online collaboration, whether in a formal education-centric VLE or social networking environment provide vital
avenues for students to build relationships with their peers, while simultaneously meeting the needs of their
digital learning styles. Mobile The use of mobile technologies continues to grow and represents the next great
frontier for learning. Increasingly we will continue to see academic and corporate research invest, design and
launch new mobile applications,many of which can be used in a learning context.

The convergence of mobile and social technologies, ondemand content delivery, and early adoption of portable
media devices by students provides academia with an opportunity to leverage these tools into learning
environments that seem authentic to the digital natives filling the 21st Century classroom. Clearly, the spread of
mobile technologies into both the cognitive and social spheres requires educators to reexamine and redefine our
teaching and learning methods. To create a better learning environments designed for the digital learning styles
of Generation Y, there is a need to use strategies and methods that support and foster motivation, collaboration
and interaction.

Mobile technology plays a vital role in facilitating these mega-trends. Students can use their phones to connect
with peers and make, edit and publish both photos and videos. The use of mobile devices is directly connected
with the personal experiences and authentic use of technology students bring to the classroom.

Conclusion

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing
task is to teach people how to learn.”– Peter Drucker In light of these socio-cultural changes, educators need to
find ways to infuse the curriculum with digital learning styles by designing curriculum which integrates
opportunities for student’s to use social media to collaborate and interact with their peers, as well as customise,
create, and publish their own content as a means to achieve both short and long term learning goals. Now more
than ever, instructors must keep abreast of change and learn how to integrate these (and future) technology
trends into their curriculum.

Related Resources

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Welcome to Didacticsworld.com -::- April 2008 - Feature

Download: 2008 Horizon Report (PDF) at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Horizon-Report.pdf

New Media Consortium at http://www.nmc.org/
Educause at http://www.educause.edu/
Educause Learning Initiative http://www.educause.edu/eli

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