614 - Consumer LCD/Plasma Screens in Learning Spaces
March 30, 2010 Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - March 30, 2010.
#614 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
54,904 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host: Learning and Government - Special Forum in Washington, DC
Special Note: When Consumer LCD/Plasma Screens Become Affordable - Implications for Learning
We just bought two 55 to 58 inch High Definition LCD and Plasma screens for our classroom at The MASIE Center and only paid about $1,500 for each. The drop in price and growth in size and features of these display devices provides us with an interesting moment to think about re-formatting our learning spaces.
We built our building in 2001 and bought really fine 42” screens and high-powered projectors to give learners and trainers many options. But, 9 years later, the technology was feeling old. So, off we went to our local stores and electronic centers to shop for replacements.
It is fascinating to see what our new 55”-58” television sets offer as “affordances” for learning:
* We have hooked up a new High Definition Video Conference system that allows us to have real telepresence at speeds up to 5 gigs of bandwidth.
* At the other end of the video spectrum, we now display our CLO, Jonathan Kayes, coming from his office in Virginia, via Skype, but displayed in full size with “good enough” video - and an amazing sense of presence.
* Multiple computers (Windows and Mac) are hooked up to the televisions via HDMI cables as well as old fashioned VGA.
The size of the monitors has moved us from reliance on projectors and, at this price point, we can create a very immersive environment with many monitors capable of displaying different or similar images.
We even had my colleague Jonathan participate in a 3-day class via desktop video as a continual presence and occasional co-teacher from a large screen in the corner of our classroom/lab space.
I am bringing one of these new screens into my office later this month and will use it for regular staff interactions as well as moments when I want to do video conferencing from my desk but have a full size colleague displayed.
I am always on the lookout for price and technology changes in the consumer marketplace that will have potential impacts on the learning environments in our organizations. The shift in costs and size of these new screens seems to be one of those moments.
Yours in Learning,
Elliott Masie
email: emasie@masie.com
MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:
* Virtual Leadership: Skills for Leading Distributed Teams.
* Learning & Government Briefing.
* Video for Learning LAB & Seminar.
* Learning 2010 - Oct 24 to 27 - Orlando, Florida.
* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM
Info and Registration: http://www.masie.com