62 things you can do with Dropbox

Dwayne Harapnuik —  September 5, 2011 — Leave a comment
http://www.macworld.com/article/161311/article.html

62 things you can do with Dropbox | Web | Macworld via kwout

I have been using Dropbox since is beta days and thought I was getting the most out of the service. This article is a really good reminder that there is often so much more you can do with software and services if you are willing to invest some time in learning. I particularly like the following tip:

28 Give meeting participants iPads, and sync all of those tablets to the same Dropbox folder. You can then distribute meeting agendas and background materials instantly to everyone at the same time.

Even though the article was written by a Mac user all of the recommendations can be used by Windows and even Linux users.

In mobile, Uncategorized ,
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Why we crave creativity but reject creative ideas

Dwayne Harapnuik —  September 5, 2011 — Leave a comment
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110903142411.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

Why we crave creativity but reject creative ideas via kwout

My first response to this article was “DUH – No kidding”. My second response was “HHHMMM??? how am I going to leverage this scientific evidence”. So we now have even more scientific evidence to confirm that while people may appear to crave creativity they still fear change and prefer what is known. So what can we do about this bias against creativity or more specifically fear of change. The researchers provide some insight into this with by recommending the following:

… The field of creativity may need to shift its current focus from identifying how to generate more creative ideas to identify how to help innovative institutions recognize and accept creativity.


Read the full article…

In 21st century learning
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Sundays Coming

Dwayne Harapnuik —  September 4, 2011 — Leave a comment

Interesting Perspective on how we do Church. Unfortunately this perspective can lead to Wrong Worship:

In Technology & Culture , ,
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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 , ,
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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:

  1. Over budget and underfunded – As funding declines, cost management is key
  2. The rivalry intensifies – Competition to attract the best students heats up
  3. Setting priorities – The danger of making decisions in the dark
  4. Moving at the speed of cyberspace – Technology upgrades are needed across the board
  5. Rethinking infrastructure – A renewed focus on asset optimization
  6. Linking programs to outcomes – Where training and market demand intersect
  7. The best and the brightest – Attracting and retaining talented faculty
  8. A sustainable future – Enhancing environmental performance
  9. Education for all – Tackling diversity, accessibility and affordability
  10. 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 ,
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