Though we’ll get more into new learning models and what is called Next Generation Learning in a subsequent module, some of the allegedly “new stuff” has really been happening for a decade or more – we’re just paying attention to it now in higher ed – partially because funding models are the brink of substantive change, and partially because the higher education system as it is isn’t working for a whole bunch of folks.

And then in walks Salman Khan. Only with the internet and YouTube could small tutorial videos created by one man to help his niece get through high school classes go viral.

Watch the below video to see what he has to say in his 2011 TED talk.

Chicken or Technology?

In conclusion… What came first?   The technology or the egg?   An important theme within the development of distance education through to eLearning was one of the technology driving the innovation.   The availability of the technology enabled learning to occur in new ways.   In this way, a new technology was developed for a different purpose – radio, TV, cable, multimedia – and those purposes were exploited for educational purposes.   While that model is still pervasive, the educational purpose is driving the creation of new technologies targeted at the needs of learners. Technology pushes innovation which enables learning (tablets are becoming ubiquitous in education), and learning pushes innovation in technology (e.g. the development of adaptive learning systems).

This is the end of this lesson.  Ready to move on to the next?  This link continues to Technology Adoption, Disruptive Innovation and…