The World is Open

Last year I attended the CAP (Commission for Accelerated Programs) Accelerated Online and Blended Learning Workshop in Denver, and was lucky enough to see Curt Bonk’s presentations and then share these with my Livescribe Pulse Pen (the complete details and links are on my blog). Little did I know that the experience would turn up in Curt’s next book… Curt kindly sent me a copy this past week. I appear on page 302. You can read the excerpt whilst listening to the recording. The book ("The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education") operates as a response to Thomas Friedman’s “The World Is Flat” - demonstrating how learning has been flattened in such a way that "anyone can now learn anything from anyone at anytime." This is both revolutionary and evolutionary. The concepts of traditional education are challenged, as is the role of the university. Curt positions his argument with ten openers (WE-ALL-LEARN): Web Searching in the World of e-Books E-Learning and Blended Learning Availability of Open Source and Free Software Leveraged Resources and OpenCourseWare Learning Object Repositories and Portals Learner Participation in Open Information Communities Electronic Collaboration Alternate Reality Learning Real-Time Mobility and Portability Networks of Personalized Learning There are two versions of the book: currently available is a dead tree version, available soon will be the ebook. The ebook will have same chapter sequence and same size, but different content (including a prequel and postscript). The ebook will be available from https://worldisopen.com in two months (or less). Here is what Curt has to say on the ebook: “With the firm belief of open education and open access, there will actually be a 2nd free e-book extension (same chapters, same size, different content) since I wrote too much as well as a prequel and postscript. https://worldisopen.com/. This will be out in 1-2 months.” I highly suggest you take a look at the book, ebook and blog.

CAP and Livescribe

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I attended the CAP (Commission for Accelerated Programs) Accelerated Online and Blended Learning Workshop in Denver. I used the opportunity to test a new gadget I had picked up – the Livescribe Pulse. The pulse is a ‘smart pen.” One of those devices that digitizes and stores what you write. The pulse also manages to record audio and link these recordings to what you have written or doodled on paper. Tapping text with your pen on paper plays back what was recorded at that specific time. The technology is pretty impressive. Unfortunately the Mac client for the Pulse is not out just yet but development seems to be taking place and there is the promise of rich third-party applications (OCR would be nice). Anyway, I used the Pulse to record everything. I have started to upload and share (with permission). Moving forward I think this will change how I make notes in meetings and presentations. Plenary Presentation From R2D2 to the Matrix: A Galaxy of Online Learning Style, Motivational, Blended Learning, and Learner-Centered Examples Curt Bonk Professor of Instructional Systems Technology in the School of Education & Adjunct in the School of Informatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN President of CourseShare and SurveyShareNOTE: Other/older presentations can be found here Concurrent Small Group Session Best Practices of Blended Learning: Situations, Solutions, and Several Surprises! Curt Bonk Faculty Training and Development for Online/Hybrid Courses and Programs Lisa M. Bunkowski Assistant Professor, Online Evaluator & Mentor, Park University Transitioning Ground-based Curriculum to Online/Hybrid Curriculum - Best Practices in Quality, Innovation, and Assessment Deborah O’Reilly Assistant Professor & Department Chair, National-Louis University Student Panel Student Expectations when Taking Online/Hybrid Courses   Plenary Presentation Active Learning with Technology: Myths, Magic, and Mucho Motivation Curt Bonk Concurrent Small Group Session Student Learning in Online/Hybrid Accelerated Courses and Programs - Data Sharing & Research Carrie E. Buri Center Director, School of Adult Education, Concordia University, Madison, WI Administrative and Technical Considerations, Recommendations, and Innovation when Implementing an Online/Hybrid Accelerated Course or Program Ellen Waterman Associate Dean, Distance Education, Regis University College for Professional Studies, Denver, CO Online/Hybrid Accelerated Courses: Examples that Work Marti Garlett Vice President for Academic Programs and Professional Licensure, Division of Institutional Oversight and Academic Integrity at the Laureate Higher Education Group, Los Angeles, CA Interactive Full Group Session Bridging the Skill Set Gap Among Online Start-Up Faculty: Perspectives from A Course Designer and Facilitator Adam Samhouri Associate Director for Partnership Services, Course Designer, New Ventures of Regis University, Denver, CO The manufacturer of the Pulse have indicated that they will allow users to print their own “smart paper” – this opens up the option of creating Pulse-enabled handouts for lectures. That would be pretty interesting…