Things to watch (Derek Wenmoth, DEANZ 2010)

Image by hazelowendmc via Flickr

Derek Wenmoth kicked off the final day of the DEANZ 2010 conference with a discussion (that included the audience :-) around things to watch for:

Up to one year

• mobile internet devices
• private clouds

Two to three years

• open content
• virtual augmented and alternate realities

Four to five years

• location-based learning
• smart objects and devices

Audience feedback was various and interesting.

Open content - there was a question of ownership, in that when you create something you understand it, and feel connection with it that you don't get when you use someone else's resources.

Private clouds - the management perspective. Why do it? Do management know what they are doing?

Mobile Internet devices - two camps. Invasion of privacy was one issue mentioned, as was 'crowd control'. However, eReaders were seen as a useful way of sending content. Students using handheld devices in the field would be empowering as students would be able to send their findings dircetly back, and could be immediately accessible by teachers and peers. Management and IT support were seen as a barrier, especially around politics, support, training and budgeting.

Derek pulled the comments together and made the observation that the 'times are a'changing. Technological change is not additive it is ecological. Horseless carriage thinking is still prevalent in education, where the metaphorical car body still has the little leather pouch for the whip! The education in Z is suffering dreadfully at the moment from a system-level myopia that is not addressing the big issues of bandwidth, for example.

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