While looking for new and innovative ways to educate I happened to check out Second Life and saw they they were providing a platform to create virtual learning environments…
A student can work from anywhere in the world as part of a connected virtual classroom network which would open up collaboration in a marvelous way.
There is already a long list of Institutions and Organisations this second life platform and the list of learning groups ranges from Realty to Spanish (and almost everything in-between).
If anyone has used this platform we would love to hear about it and if you’ve had any successes with it.
Share This
As reported my Jeremiah Owyang:
The education system appears (at least in this case) appears to be completely withdrawn from the fact the real world is about collaboration, and it often happens online. This student, who lead group collaboration has charges brought against him, as he created a virtual study group. On the other hand, maybe this was an individual assignment, and he didn’t follow orders.
He was hit with 147 academic charges for his online study network… If he gets expelled, he could get a job with us anytime!
Share This
We’ve just launched a new Huddlemind Learning project, Huddlemind.net
It’s a network for people interested in collaborative learning, new teaching methodologies, and organizational development through Education.
Through it we hope to directly connect members with other leading thinkers and doers in business education.
It is also a space to explore questions and issues of importance around business education, teaching methodologies, and learning technologies.
I think this network and movement is important to anyone in leadership and management today who is experiencing challenges in communicating new concepts to overworked or distracted employees.
On it you can:
- Keep a learning blog
- Create learning groups for yourself and your learners
- Share and find useful software applications
- Participate in forums
- Meet other people who are active or interested in the field of business education
- Share media such as videos and photos
Please check it out and let us know your feedback!
Share This
Nomadic Marketing, the executive education course is being run by the UCT Graduate School of Business from the 16th to the 18th of April.
The course is designed to help you understand the value of new media tools such as social networks, blogs, wiki’s, etc. It will not only show you the concepts behind these but also show you the benefits you can gain from using these in your business. So those of you who are struggling to see how these tools can affect (and probably are already affecting) your business go and check it out.
The Lecturing faculty includes:
There will also be contributions from Adii, Eric Edelstein, Jon Cherry and Max Kaizen
For more information you can contact Junita Abrahams (021) 406-1323
Email: abrahams@gsb.uct.ac.za
Website: www.gsb.uct.ac.za/nomadic
Keep watching for updates and some interviews…
Share This
E-learning is soon going to be changing the face of education as we know it.
Old methods of face-to-face and traditional classroom training will eventually be surpassed by these new methods of training.
The development of the second generation of the internet (Web2.0) is going to speed up this process of change. The fact that the internet is moving towards interaction will serve to speed up the process of the education world adopting the web as the medium for the future of teaching.
Today’s businessman doesn’t really have the time to attend classes and make time for tutorials. They would far rather be able to log on whenever they have free time and learn when it suits them.
Online learning is also remarkably flexible. You can learn a variety of skills from flying aeroplanes to manufacturing your own electricity generator. The scope of learning is virtually endless.
Half a million American children are already taking classes online. There has been a similar increase in numbers of people in higher education online. Already more than two-thirds of all higher-education institutions have online offerings in some form and there are nearly 3.5 million students were taking online courses in 2006.
The NY Times recently posted an interesting article showing the trend of educators and how the situation is changing…
With this increase in numbers something to think about is where will it leave our educators? There is soon to be a huge demand for online educators and it could see a shift away from your traditional tweed-clad professor to a more technologically adroit educator.
Share This
When looking at innovation in education there is a lot of scope in what you focus on. Some recent developments posted on Open Culture about the collaboration between mobile connectivity and education have caught my attention.
Next Fall, Abilene Christian University (ACU) is issuing their freshmen with either an Iphone or an Itouch. These devices will then feature in the students learning and general campus life.
The students can use the Iphone (or Itouch) to perform essential functions around campus. To check balances, see courses, find classes and even answer quizzes.
By using converged mobile devices ACU will be one of the first institutions to embrace this new technology.
Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, ACU provost, said, “This is exciting to me, not only because we’re giving students new tools, but because we are transforming the learning environment. The extensive research that’s been done on campus in the past 10 months has prepared us to launch with freshmen this fall, and research will be ongoing as we expand the program in the future.”
The uses of this technology are almost endless as all students will have round-the-clock access to the internet. It could (and probably will) transform the learning environment at ACU into a far more collaborative experience.
Share This
With today’s fast moving society and ever changing world the field of education seems to be the next in line for a major paradigm shift. No longer is it a group of students sitting in a lecture hall listening and taking notes. Some amazing developments are happening in the field of education and with the acceptance of open source the possibilities could be endless…
It is far more a conversation now than people being talked to. Especially in the field of executive education when you are dealing with educated professionals who generally have time constraints and can’t afford to waste any resource.
Sites such as OEDb (Online Education Database) which shows reviews of 1,038 programs from 88 accredited online colleges and a local site Dendrite Studios started by Neels van der Westhuizen and Dirk Visser who’s vision is “To help anyone learn anything they desire 
for the benefit of humanity.” are helping people find education facilities that are more suited to their needs.
So here at Huddlemind we are going to strive to keep you up to date and informed as to what’s hot and new in the field of education.
Watch this space…
Share This
