619 - Netflix Founder Invests in Online Learning, Volcano Results in Videoconferencing Surge
April 20, 2010 Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - April 20, 2010.
#619 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
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1. Netflix Founder Invests in Online Learning Venture.
2. Video Conferencing Surge after Volcanic Impacts.
3. Instructor Agility with Synchronous Delivery Blends.
1. Netflix Founder Invests in Online Learning Venture: I am intrigued by this clip from The New York Times: “Reed Hastings, the founder and chief executive of Netflix, used the Web to make it easier for us to rent movies. Now Mr. Hastings, who is also a former high school math teacher, is using the Web for a less entertaining, more educational cause — teaching math to kids. On Tuesday, Mr. Hastings will announce that he has financed the acquisition of DreamBox Learning, a start-up that uses online games to teach math, by Charter School Growth Fund, a non-profit investment fund for charter schools.
Mr. Hastings said that he thinks netbooks will be ubiquitous in schools in a few years, creating huge opportunities for online learning software. “I think we’re on the edge of a real inflection point where the hardware becomes so cheap that Web learning is really throughout the schools,” he said. “But what I noticed is there’s really not that many people working on the software.” DreamBox was started last year and creates personalized lesson plans, hidden in games, based on which concepts children understand or need to work on.”
The recognition of the role of online learning assets as viable investments by entrepreneurs like the Netflix founder are intriguing indicators of the growth and expansion of this part of the education marketplace.
2. Video Conferencing Surge after Volcano Impacts: There has been a marked spike in the use of high definition and Skype-level video conferencing in the past week, triggered by the Volcanic ash disruption of air travel from and to Europe. Several of our Learning CONSORTIUM members have reported dramatic increases in the use of and demand for video-based meetings, including video embedded in webinar systems. One group changed their IT policy to allow for Skype video calls (which had been blocked on the network) in order to allow for sales and service meetings to proceed after travel was restricted.
Just as SARS and 9/11 were inflection points for the growth of business video conferencing, this may be another key moment. We encourage TRENDS readers to investigate enterprise readiness to leverage a wide range of video presence and connection technologies across the organization. FYI - there are a few spaces open in our Video for Learning LAB & Seminar in May - http://www.masie.com
3. Instructor Agility with Synchronous Delivery Blends: Speaking of video, we are also tracking an increased use of blended modes of classroom instruction that include bringing subject matter experts into the room via video and also allowing several students to participate from a remote site. While this is a wonderful design challenge, it also requires instructors to dramatically increase their agility and manage both the technology and process. Some organizations are starting to use Teaching Assistants (TAs) in classes with these hybrid blends to support the trainers, remote experts and distributed students. It is also time to look at better trainer “cockpits” that allow wireless control of multiple resources and a back-channel for remote students.
Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie
email: emasie@masie.com
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