Created by Knewton and Column Five Media
Friday, 19 August 2011
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
The New Next: 2011 Tech Influencers Predictions by TrendsSpotting
Tech Influencers predictions in 140 characters exploring emerging themes and patterns in technology, social media and mobile communications. The slides include ideas such as the 'the internet of cars'- we spend a long time in them - perhaps they should be connected, smart homes and screens everywhere - The internet of the bed - we spend a long time in bed - if we are lucky and maybe these should be connected, other areas covered - real time geo updates which are accurate and credible, the growth of app stores for our software, tablets replacing laptops, gamification -pervasive gaming - not just for games, price war on ebooks, adoption of social and context aware analyst tools, video ubiquity - 'every company is a media company', cloudy later - more clouds -outstripping institutional delivery, alternatively cloud bursts - the cloud slowing down -
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Libraries
We didn't answer the question 'The 21st Century Library: A Physical or Virtual Place?' at the University of Manchester on 5/5/11 Part of the HEDQF dialogue series on the Higher Education sector - its both by the way - just as it always has been.
But we did hear ideas from across the sector and beyond and from librarians, educators, architects and estate and facilities managers. I really enjoy these debates, I think its thrilling that we can fill a lecture theatre and talk about libraries - their function, their design, their symbolic importance, their continued relevance - or irrelevance - the idea of a library was important for everyone in the room. Libraries are very difficult to describe though aren't they? The moment you think you have captured the essence, or distilled it - it evaporates, it shifts and morphs into something else - this I believe is because libraries are about the art of the possible. Alberto Manguel describes libraries as 'pleasantly mad places' and I think this is as good a description as we can hope for. The whole ecosystem is changing, the recent trend for learning commons complements and reflects social media phenomena, new libraries are not built for administrative simplicity but to foster human to human interaction, communication and knowledge syndication. The new library is a social interface as much as Facebook, its a physical community space. I agree with Churchill who said that 'we shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us' that what libraries do and will continue to do.
Take a look at Fred Garnett's (@fredgarnett) slides from his encyclopedic romp'Putting Context into Knowledge; Future of Libraries as post-Enlightenment projects' http://slidesha.re/lyHwwJ it was great to see him as it always is and also to have the event chaired by the great, insightful & irrepressible John Dolan (@johnrdolan)
But we did hear ideas from across the sector and beyond and from librarians, educators, architects and estate and facilities managers. I really enjoy these debates, I think its thrilling that we can fill a lecture theatre and talk about libraries - their function, their design, their symbolic importance, their continued relevance - or irrelevance - the idea of a library was important for everyone in the room. Libraries are very difficult to describe though aren't they? The moment you think you have captured the essence, or distilled it - it evaporates, it shifts and morphs into something else - this I believe is because libraries are about the art of the possible. Alberto Manguel describes libraries as 'pleasantly mad places' and I think this is as good a description as we can hope for. The whole ecosystem is changing, the recent trend for learning commons complements and reflects social media phenomena, new libraries are not built for administrative simplicity but to foster human to human interaction, communication and knowledge syndication. The new library is a social interface as much as Facebook, its a physical community space. I agree with Churchill who said that 'we shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us' that what libraries do and will continue to do.
Take a look at Fred Garnett's (@fredgarnett) slides from his encyclopedic romp'Putting Context into Knowledge; Future of Libraries as post-Enlightenment projects' http://slidesha.re/lyHwwJ it was great to see him as it always is and also to have the event chaired by the great, insightful & irrepressible John Dolan (@johnrdolan)
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Digitally attending JISC and SXSW
Switching from JISC conference http://bit.ly/fnxPO1 to SXSW http://sxsw.com/ when the opportunity arises -
The JISC conference appears to be a sombre reflection of the times we are in - the financial futures and survival of HE in the UK - the SXWS is as ever a celebration of innovation - a festival of fizz about possibilities. Its quite grounding getting snatches of them both
The JISC conference appears to be a sombre reflection of the times we are in - the financial futures and survival of HE in the UK - the SXWS is as ever a celebration of innovation - a festival of fizz about possibilities. Its quite grounding getting snatches of them both
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Apps as business systems?
with the App store from Apple for desktops etc. And Jolicloud as an OS using apps could it be the beginning of the end for huge administrative business systems? As we move more and more to using the web for our computing needs; word processing, data, email, collaboration, media will we shift from over engineered proprietary software which require lots of computing power, frequent cumbersome updates, whole new versions, requiring teams of people to rebuild systems and roll out updates or can lightweight nimble web apps provide much of our IT needs?
I'm certain that for most users this is entirely a possible, desirable and likely solution.
I'm certain that for most users this is entirely a possible, desirable and likely solution.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Open-Source Lecture Capture - Inside Higher Ed
Open-Source Lecture Capture - Inside Higher Ed
Interesting development here for the potential to mainstream lecture capture. I've heard mixed reports about low uptake of use but having ubiquitous access to capture could help drive the cultural change required for widespread adoption, that and cuts in funding,
Interesting development here for the potential to mainstream lecture capture. I've heard mixed reports about low uptake of use but having ubiquitous access to capture could help drive the cultural change required for widespread adoption, that and cuts in funding,
Sunday, 9 May 2010
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