My (soon to be) colleague Diana Brandes just shared an article about 10 Specific Examples Of Emerging Educational Technologies by Teach Thought.
The list provides some (heavily US-centric) examples about how some educational institutes are applying technology.
Cloud Computing, Mobile Learning, Tablet Computing and MOOCs are all listed in the "12 months or less" category, implying they are pretty much here already. From where I'm sitting (well, standing most of the time, but that's the topic for another post one day), which is thinking how technology can revolutionize learning in a developing context (think large scale application of agricultural research in developing countries) - this is still much more of a distant dream than reality.
Of all of these, the one I hold most hope for is mobile learning - but let's unpack it for a minute. The article gives examples of a school in Australia using tablets for math applications, another use of tablets, this time in Switzerland, to create music on ipads, and finally a US school creating an iOS app for digital storytelling. All very neat. And very far removed from the reality of the vast majority of mobile users at the BoP.
Despite a lot of promise for (entry level android) smartphones about to boom in many Asian and African countries - the reality in my host country of Kenya - considered a hub, perhaps even the epicenter - of mobile innovation is that most users are still not on smartphones, and if you want scale in rural areas, you better think of the old school (Nokia) entry level phones. None of the innovative applications mentioned in the article are mobile-compatible in this context. As far as timelines are concerned, I think we're certainly more than 12 months' away from any of these making a dent in mainstream applications of education, let alone in a development context.
The article's most exciting prospect for me personally is "Games and Gamification", slated at 2-3 Years away. I think there's so much potential for engaging adult learners with games that we're not tapping into - it would hopefully take "only" one or two killer applications to come out to turn the tide and focus the world's attention to gaming for development. Who knows, by then it might be a mobile app that does the trick?
The list provides some (heavily US-centric) examples about how some educational institutes are applying technology.
Cloud Computing, Mobile Learning, Tablet Computing and MOOCs are all listed in the "12 months or less" category, implying they are pretty much here already. From where I'm sitting (well, standing most of the time, but that's the topic for another post one day), which is thinking how technology can revolutionize learning in a developing context (think large scale application of agricultural research in developing countries) - this is still much more of a distant dream than reality.
Of all of these, the one I hold most hope for is mobile learning - but let's unpack it for a minute. The article gives examples of a school in Australia using tablets for math applications, another use of tablets, this time in Switzerland, to create music on ipads, and finally a US school creating an iOS app for digital storytelling. All very neat. And very far removed from the reality of the vast majority of mobile users at the BoP.
Despite a lot of promise for (entry level android) smartphones about to boom in many Asian and African countries - the reality in my host country of Kenya - considered a hub, perhaps even the epicenter - of mobile innovation is that most users are still not on smartphones, and if you want scale in rural areas, you better think of the old school (Nokia) entry level phones. None of the innovative applications mentioned in the article are mobile-compatible in this context. As far as timelines are concerned, I think we're certainly more than 12 months' away from any of these making a dent in mainstream applications of education, let alone in a development context.
The article's most exciting prospect for me personally is "Games and Gamification", slated at 2-3 Years away. I think there's so much potential for engaging adult learners with games that we're not tapping into - it would hopefully take "only" one or two killer applications to come out to turn the tide and focus the world's attention to gaming for development. Who knows, by then it might be a mobile app that does the trick?
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