iHigherEd: A new paradigm requires new language

The infographic below (produced by OnlineUniversities.com) contains some interesting data that lends considerable weight to the argument that we are now in the midst of a major paradigm shift in the higher education space.

I was also pleased to see that there is no reference to ‘lecturer’ or ‘instructor’ (or even ‘teacher!). This is a major gripe of mine as despite the increasingly technology-enabled, learner-centric environment we work in, many of us don’t seem to be able to let go of the old terms and labels. Is it appropriate to use words like these when they connote a very different type of pedagogy?

Also, why do we persist with the ‘e’-prefix? This might have been apt in the 1990s, but e-learning just seems so passé to me. Around the time the term arose, we also used to talk about e-banking, and nowadays people just talk about doing their banking. Maybe it’s time we also just talked about learning.

The reference to ‘e-books’ is also starting to grate on me, not least because they’re not really books. When the higher education student reaches for their iPad to access their e-books, they do so to access an interactive learning community in which they are a participant, and in the process they will be contributing in the capacity of both consumer and producer of content. Does this mean they are both reader and author of the ‘book’?

The iPad and other tablet PCs are tools with the capacity to completely revolutionise education to the extent that the lexicon of terms we have used to describe learning for generations (e.g. lecturer, book, classroom — and even LMS — no longer apply.

When, as educators, we internalise this then perhaps we will truly have experienced paradigm shift.

Source: mashable.com

Rekindling interest in textbooks

Image source: sfgate.com

A piece in eSchoolNews this week reports on the latest nail in the coffin of stodgy textbooks. As my 18-year old digital native daughter commented recently, she is slightly irritated when she wants to do a search in a textbook and has to rely on the index. With the launch of the Kindle DX this (northern hemisphere) summer, this shortcoming of the traditional textbook can be overcome, along with a host of others. The new Kindle has a larger screen, is slimmer than the original Kindle, and can store 3,500 books (2,000 more than its predecessor). There are more than 275,000 electronic books available in Amazon’s Kindle library, and readers can also access international newspapers and magazines and more than 1,500 blogs, all via a 3G wireless network.

If there is one problem, it’s the price. At US$489, it may only appeal to the early adopter market at the moment. Although, economically astute consumers may consider the amount they will save not having to buy the more expensive bound, paper versions of textbooks. A Kindle app for the iPhone/iPod Touch is also available which, using Whispersync, keeps the Kindle and iPhone in sync no matter where you are or what device you have with you (Kindle or iPhone), always maintaining your current position in your book.

Unfortunately for non-US iTunes account holders, the Kindle app for iPhone is not available in the iTunes store yet. In the meantime, I shall continue to make do with Stanza which is no great hardship.

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