The Horizon Report published by the New Media Consortium, the Educase Learning Initiative, and the Educase Program is a great source to see how technology is affecting teaching in higher education.
The 2010 report shows that mobile platforms such as smartphones and netbooks will see the most growth this year, but the examples of practical applications were not that clear to me. The report came out before Apple unveiled the iPad and before apps such as this Virtual Frog Dissection give us a better picture of things to come. Granted, this is not higher education, but it is not difficult to imagine how it could be applied to topics in that field.
Just a few months ago, I would have imagined that an popular hands-on lab project for middle school students would soon replaced by an app. In the process many frogs will be saved and stereotypical mental and cinematic images of disgust by girls and mischievous grins of boys will be nostalgic ephemera. This experience of dissecting the slimy frog is now safe; instead of a scalpel on needs only a finger; and the once stinky, creepy and slippery frog is now odorless, flat, and its body and organs have a comfortably cool glass-like texture.
After musing over these changes for just a few seconds my mind returns to the amazement I feel about such technology and —not to its potential to revolutionize education in general—because it is clear we are amid the dust raised by the many changes that are happening, and we don’t really see where we are headed, but to a more concrete vision of how our online courses could look very soon.
After seeing this app I cannot help but wonder if our online courses will be populated by a multitude of apps in an ecosystem composed of Absorb, Do, Connect activities to achieve course objectives. What do you think?
If you haven’t seen the Table of Elements for the iPad take a look at this amazing app. The video is long but take a look at a few seconds around the middle and don’t miss the great song in minute 9:15.
~Carol
Very, very interesting!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I'm seeing a money-saver for my college. We spend in incredible amount of $$ on all sorts of critters to be dissected. However, sometimes we still need those future nursing students to handle an actual critter in their biology courses. Of course, I know I would have appreciated this application when I was in my HS biology class - we had dull scalpels and lab was always right before lunch!
ReplyDeleteHolly DB