Kindle Singles

One of the highlights in last week's digital news was the announcement of Amazon's new "Kindle Singles." The idea is a short work limited to at most 30k words, but well-researched. One of the more interesting aspects is one of the first ever books published by TED -- the site and conference which has the inspiring and thought provoking videos and content.

The concept is an interesting one -- and moves Amazon into a unique content-production business that could be viewed as a first step into new forms of competition for publishers, and begins to change the author-publisher dynamic for certain types of work. I will admit, it is the first real content or development that has made me consider downloading the Kindle app to one of my devices.

To be fair, the concept is not entirely new, though. I see similarities to the "Nooners" and "Spicy Briefs" concepts pioneered more by publishers like Harlequin a couple years ago. That is -- recognizing that there is a niche for short works on a topic or by a favorite author, that can be delivered digitally on demand, and which might be used to drive demand for additional short works, or additional longer works by the same author. It will be interesting to watch where these pieces will go in the future.

Pressure to Use Classroom Tech May Yield Opposite Results

Students tend to learn many new technologies by just playing around with them on their own time. As it turns out, that may also be the best way for educators to become comfortable with technology and more willing to incorporate it into coursework and classroom instruction. At least that’s the view of Rushton Hurley, who leads the Next Vista for Learning project, a library of free online videos produced by teachers and their students.

In this interview with T.H.E. Journal, Hurley discusses how teachers—in an all-too-human reaction—are more likely to turn their noses up at new technologies when their use is mandated by school administration. Like students forced to complete an unpleasant assignment, teachers pressed to master new tech will do just the minimum to get by.

But when administrators back away and give instructors the freedom to monkey around with applications and hardware as they see fit, they’ll try a few things here and there. More importantly, Hurley notes, teachers will support and encourage each other if they have opportunities to share their technology experiences and learn from others’ trial and error.

Crowd Accelerated Innovation

There was an interesting piece by Chris Anderson not long ago in Wired on the concept of "Crowd Accelerated Innovation." He uses specific examples of how video can speed up innovation by "creating new global communities, granting their members both the means and the motivation to step up their skills and broaden their imaginations." He goes on to write how things like videos are

... unleasing an unprecedented wave of innovation in thousands of different disciplines: some trivial, some niche in the extreme, some central to solving humnanity's problems. In short, it is boosting the net sum of global talent. It is helping the world get smarter.

A tall order perhaps -- but the idea is intriguing, particularly as we look at the role of students today in creating new content. What impact will that have on the future of course materials and learning? Will today's students turn tomorrow's learning models (and the key players) on their heads by redefining what could be? Perhaps it is a trend to be dismissed, but remember, radical change typically comes from a quarter that no one expects, and we are still in the early stages of thinking about how video and other multimedia technologies can really change things. Maybe there is another reason to watch the growth of the video movement than just pure entertainment.

iPad pilots to replace textbooks

The iPad pilots at University of Notre Dame, where professor Corey Angst is experimenting with replacing printed books with the devices, continues to get press coverage. This week there are two items worth reading about the experiments:

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed

A Wall Street Journal blog posting

While a fair number of institutions are experimenting with the iPad and comparable technologies, Notre Dame continues to gather more attention. The WSJ posting had a link to a video from Corey's class:

Self-Paced E-Learning Expected to Boom

State budget cuts in education and other financial constraints prompted by the recession are pushing more preK-12 schools to replace classroom instruction with online and electronic courseware products and services that children can use at their own pace, according to a new study by Ambient Insight].

The U.S. Market for Self-Paced eLearning Products and Services: 2010-2015 Forecast and Analysis study examined both web-based products and services as well as tangible media, such as DVDs. The study predicted self-paced electronic instruction will rise 16.8% in the preK-12 market by 2015.

As schools cut teaching staff, more are turning to self-paced systems for such programs as summer school or remedial classes. Schools used to reserve self-paced learning for specialized courses or to accommodate students in remote locations, but an increasing number are now experimenting with self-paced learning in core subjects.

Self-paced e-learning is also expected to grow in higher education. The Ambient study noted the hi-ed market would probably ramp up to become the No. 2 consumer of self-paced e-learning products by 2015, right behind the corporate market. At present, however, hi-ed institutions are more interested in installing lecture capture systems.

Textbook rental programs proliferating on campus

Last fall, 2,200 college stores reported offering textbook rental programs, up from only 300 just a year earlier, according to OnCampus Research, a division of NACS.

Demand for lower textbook prices from both consumers and legislators has spurred college stores to explore new ways of doing business. By renting, students generally pay only 33%-55% of the full price of a textbook.

Based on the results of their initial forays, two-thirds of the stores participating in the OnCampus survey said they plan to expand their rental offerings. Of the responding stores that didn’t offer a rental program, 43% said they plan to launch one. In addition, another 200 chain-managed college stores will add rental programs for the spring semester.

"This means that almost 2,400 college stores are currently offering textbook rentals, and more than 3,000 should be offering textbook rental by next fall,” says Charles Schmidt, NACS director of public relations.

Washington State’s online-course effort faces hurdles

The Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges has launched the Open Course Library, a program of low-cost, online course materials intended to save money both for the almost half a million students using Washington State’s 34 two-year colleges and for the state legislature, which pays a large chunk of the textbook costs for those on state financial aid. The first lot of OCL course modules begins classroom testing this month.

But as this Chronicle of Higher Education article notes, some of the course designers encountered unexpected difficulties while sifting through the available open content, some of which is outdated and little of which is geared to learners at the community-college level. Not topping the mandated $30 price cap for course materials is also proving problematic in many cases, especially where primary sources or supplementary materials are necessary.

However, if Washington can make the Open Course Library work, other states will likely jump on it as a template for their own cost-saving efforts.