It's About Learning

Largest iPad-Based eTextbook Initiative

Dwayne Harapnuik — August 31, 2011 — Leave a comment

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/8/prweb8754346.htm

Pearson and the Eminata Group Launch North America’s Largest iPad-Based eTextbooks Initiative for Postsecondary Institutions via kwout

This fall students at CDI College, Vancouver Career College and Reeves College will pilot iPad and Pearson textbooks in the Accounting and Payroll Administration program. This is the start of a program that will see 14,000 students at 38 campuses in 22 cities across Canada move to etextbooks within 3 years. While these types of pilot programs are new in Canada institutions like ACU, Seton Hill, Southern California and many others have been running pilots with iPads and etextbooks for the past year in the US.

Let’s all hope that Pearson has applied what it has learned in these early pilots and is offering an improved product and experience for the Canadian students who will be using these new tools for the first time this fall.

In iPad ebook, etext, etextbooks

Top 10 issues facing higher education institutions

Dwayne Harapnuik — August 29, 2011 — Leave a comment

http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_CA/ca/industries/education/059379bd1286f210VgnVCM1000001a56f00aRCRD.htm

Transforming higher education institutions to meet evolving educational needs | Deloitte Canada via kwout

The Making the grade 2011 study recently released by Dellotte points to the top 10 issues facing higher education institutions. This report not only identifies the challenges but offers essential strategies that must be considered. The top 10 challenges include:

Over budget and underfunded – As funding declines, cost management is key
The rivalry intensifies – Competition to attract the best students heats up
Setting priorities – The danger of making decisions in the dark
Moving at the speed of cyberspace – Technology upgrades are needed across the board
Rethinking infrastructure – A renewed focus on asset optimization
Linking programs to outcomes – Where training and market demand intersect
The best and the brightest – Attracting and retaining talented faculty
A sustainable future – Enhancing environmental performance
Education for all – Tackling diversity, accessibility and affordability
Regulations and reporting – New responsibilities require better disclosure

I don’t think anyone who has spent any time in higher education will be surprised by this list. While some may view this as an overwhelming challenge, I see this as an wonderful opportunity for progressive institutions to innovative and to really differentiate themselves.

The two areas that present the greatest opportunity are technology implementation and outcomes based learning. The institutions that can leverage technology to manage costs and improve their learning environments will have a distinct advantage over those who simply adopt traditional business IT models that force the user into systems approaches at the expense of the needs of the learner. Similarly institutions that are agile enough to move toward outcomes based curriculum and are also able to provide evidence that their learners can clearly demonstrate these abilities will be able to not only weather the upcoming storm in higher education but will be able to attract the best the brightest students and faculty. It is truly an exciting time to be in higher education–we will be living through some very significant changes.

Download the full report…

In Change Higher education, issues

Five Changes Every School Should Make

Dwayne Harapnuik — August 25, 2011 — 1 Comment

Five Changes Every School Should Make | MindShift via kwout

In her book Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn (Viking), Duke University professor Cathy Davidson argues that our education system must be overhauled. Duke posits that every school should make the following five changes:

End standardized end-of-grade tests
Make all learning real, relevant, tied to communities
Teach kids to think
Restore arts, music, shop, P.E., dance
Eliminate the “college prep” and AP distinctions

While these recommendations are intended for K-12 we can also learn from these insights in higher. The notion of making work meaningful and teaching learners to think is so commonsensical–so why aren’t we all doing this?

Read the full article…

In 21st century learning

Pirated E-Textbooks

Dwayne Harapnuik — August 24, 2011 — Leave a comment

Wired Campus – The Chronicle of Higher Education via kwout

For several years now I have been flippantly suggesting that we need the same level or type of pirating of e-texts as there was with music in order to have a significant change to the publishing industry. Many music labels and executives would disagree with me when I suggest that the pirating of music was one of the best things that happened to the music industry because it fundamentally changed the business and has given the consumer so many more options.

The textbook publishers should be concerned–very concerned about what will ultimately happen to their business. If you look at their current model, they along with journal publishers are unnecessary. The academics that are responsible for the content in these texts no longer need the organizational and distribution resources of the publishers–this can easily be done through the internet through Open Education Resources (OER) like Connexions or Open Textbook publishers like Flatworld Knowledge. Or better still professors can point to a wide assortment of free resources that redially available through other Open Access initiatives.

While I officially do not condone nor encourage pirating I have to admit that I silently applaud these brave individuals and groups who are willing to risk criminal prosecution to “free information” which we all know should be made available to everyone.

In ebook