Weekly Research Index | June 17, 2011

Welcome to our Weekly Research Index, where we list links and summaries of the salient articles we have bookmarked this week. This list is culled and edited from our ongoing Delicious feed, which is also available via this blog. This Index is divided into broad categories based on our Education and Technology Trends for 2011.

Delivery –> Discovery

2010 top ten trends in academic libraries — “The ACRL Research, Planning and Review Committee, a component of the Research Coordinating Committee, is responsible for creating and updating a continuous and dynamic environmental scan for the association that encompasses trends in academic librarianship, higher education, and the broader environment. As a part of this effort, the committee develops a list of the top ten trends that are affecting academic libraries now and in the near future. This list was compiled based on an extensive review of current literature (see selected bibliography at the end of this article). The committee also developed an e-mail survey that was sent to 9,812 ACRL members in February 2010. Although the response rate was small (about five percent), it helped to clarify the trends. ”

Tablets make digital textbooks cool on campus | USATODAY.com — “Abilene Christian University paired with digital publisher Inkling and McGraw Hill to test-drive new interactive textbooks in a handful of classes this year, as part of the school’s three-year old mobile-learning initiative.

“I think there are some really interesting possibilities with digital books,” says Bill Rankin, ACU’s director of educational innovation. “Books that re-imagine what a books is; that integrate media; that integrate social networking.”"

Instructure Canvas & Institutional Learning Outcomes | Tran|Script — “What amazes me about Canvas is how much they get the “HAT FAIL” nature of Blackboard. What Blackboard sold was primarily a content publication system. What Canvas is selling, front and center, is a tool to manage the associated data and artifacts around learning — the content pieces are often shopped out to Google Docs, or other cloud providers — what Canvas provides is the web that pulls the associated data and annotation into a single place.

Outcomes are a great example of this. We have Bb right now, and then we have no less than *two* sidecar systems to deal with reporting on institutional outcomes. Given that most assignments are assigned via and collected by Bb, that makes no sense, but the modules that Bb sells to manage data and reporting cost much more than Bb itself; so we stumble forward with this stuff duck-taped together. Unlike Bb, Canvas gets that this data piece is not an add-on — these issues of institutional alignment and data collection have to be front and center to a truly enterprise learning system.”

Making the Big Shift | THE Journal – “There’s a lot of talk from schools about moving away from–or, at least, weaning themselves off of–textbooks as the primary content delivery platform. But that’s easier said than done if you live in a state that limits how you can spend your “textbook” money. And even if your state has liberalized its regulations around instructional materials spending, some districts are still caught in an all-textbook-all-the-time mindset.

Policymakers and educators who are struggling to bring about this shift might look to Indiana to see what districts can do once they are given freedom to spend their instructional materials dollars not to just deliver content, but to usher in profound educational change. ”

Providence Equity in Lead to Buy Blackboard, Bloomberg Says | The Chronicle of Higher Education — “Providence Equity is the leading candidate to buy Blackboard Inc., the dominant course-management software company in higher education, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source. Blackboard announced in April that it was considering takeover offers from unnamed bidders.

Providence Equity is the part owner of Education Management Corporation, a for-profit college company that runs Argosy University and the Art Institutes, and it owns Edline, which offers course-management software for elementary and secondary schools. Blackboard is also considering a bid from Hellman & Friedman LLC, the owner of Datatel, Bloomberg said.”

New open, sharable media sets | K12 Open Ed — “A little over a year ago, I had an idea to create pre-packaged sets of open-licensed photos, diagrams, maps, audio, video, etc., organized around themes that could be used by teachers or students in word-processed documents or presentations or used to create web sites or other multimedia presentations.

Now we have some new media sets available. Here’s the whole list:”

Is the iPad Ready To Replace the Printed Textbook? | Campus Technology — “After trying out the Apple iPad for a short period–about three weeks–three out of four college freshmen said they’d be willing to purchase an Apple iPad personally if at least half of the textbooks they used during their college career were available digitally, according to the results of a classroom poll at Abilene Christian University. According to Scott Perkins, coordinator of mobile learning research in the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning at the Texas university, a similar willingness to purchase the devices was borne out among participants in semester-long pilots, which included both graduate and undergraduate students.”

Too easy – with EasyBib — “With this App you can create accurate MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations in seconds by scanning a book bar code or by typing the name of a book. Once done, you can email your citations. You could also export your citations to EasyBib.com’s popular bibliography management service.

It’s also interesting to read that OCLC and ImagineEasy Solutions, LLC are collaboratingto create a customizable library version of the EasyBib.com service. The EasyBib Library Edition service has been rolled out with select OCLC member libraries. This is one to watch for schools too.”

Rising college costs price out middle class | Jun. 13, 2011 — “The crux of the problem: Tuition and fees at public universities, according to the College Board, have surged almost 130% over the last 20 years — while middle class incomes have stagnated.

Tuition: In 1988, the average tuition and fees for a four-year public university rang in at about $2,800, adjusted for inflation. By 2008, that number had climbed about 130% to roughly $6,500 a year — and that doesn’t include books or room and board.

Income: If incomes had kept up with surging college costs, the typical American would be earning $77,000 a year. But in reality, it’s nowhere near that.”

8 Great TED Talks About The Future Of Education And Teaching | Emerging Education Technology — “TED is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”, bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. If you’re not already a fan of TED, maybe these will open your eyes to this wonderful resource.

Education is only one of the vast array of topics covered in TED talks, so if you enjoy any of the videos below, you might want to click through the the site and check out some more of them.”

How Online Education Is Changing the Way We Learn [INFOGRAPHIC] — “Over the past decade or so, the Internet has become a huge source of information and education, especially for those who might be short on time, money or other resources.

And it’s not just crowdsourced data collections like Wikipedia or single-topic blogs that encourage individual learning; huge corporations and nonprofits are making online education and virtual classrooms a very formal affair these days.

From the first online classes (which were conducted by the University of Phoenix in 1989) to the present day, when online education is a $34 billion industry, more and more students are finding new life and career education opportunities online.”

Narrowcasting –> Nanocasting

Nielsen: Smartphone data usage soars 89 percent | Digital Media | CNET News — “The average smartphone owner is using 89 percent more data each month than a year ago, says a report out today from Nielsen.

Overall, the amount of data used each month rose to 435 megabytes in the first quarter of 2011, compared with 230MB during the same period last year. And those who’ve grabbed the largest amount of data in the past are grabbing even more now.”

Sony S1 and S2 dual-screen Honeycomb tablets get official (video) | Engadget — “The S1 features a Tegra 2 SoC and customized “Quick and Smooth” touch panel UI with “Swift” web browser. It can also be used as a remote control for Sony gear thanks to integrated infrared.

The second tablet is the dual-screen S2 clamshell with its pair of 5.5-inch 1,024 x 480 pixel displays, Tegra 2 SoC, and camera. While it sounds bulky, Kunimasa Suzuki just pulled the hinged tablet from his jacket pocket on stage. Sony takes advantage of the two screens with a custom book-style UI layout for its e-reader app, split keyboard and messaging displays for email, and split display and game controllers for PS One gaming. Both the S1 and S2 are PlayStation Certified, support DLNA, and are WiFi and 3G/4G “compatible” according to Sony. ”

India’s $35 Android Tablet Finally Ready Ship | Penn Olson — “India’s much-hyped $35 ‘Sakshat’ tablet appears all set to go on sale at the end of this month, after experiencing a delay earlier this year. Originally intended to be a $10 tablet, there are still very high hopes for this slightly more expensive iteration.

The only catch is that the revised $35 dollar price tag seems to have been revised again to $49 (Rs 2200). But with government subsidies, that could go back down to around $25 (Rs 1100). It’s all very confusing really… But what’s pretty clear is that an 7-inch Android tablet is a steal at either of those prices.”

Chromebook From Samsung Has Its Head in the Cloud | NYTimes.com — “But let’s give this shifted paradigm a chance. How well does Google’s newfangled concept hold up in the real world?

Unfortunately, not very well.

The first assumption is that you’re online everywhere you go. That’s rather critical, because when it’s not online, a Chromebook can’t do much of anything. You can’t peruse your e-mail, read documents or books or listen to music. With very few exceptions, when the Chromebook isn’t online, it’s a 3.3-pound paperweight. (Google says that an upgrade this summer will at least permit you to read your e-mail, calendar and Google Docs when you’re offline, and that over time, more apps will be written to be offline-usable.) ”

Beyond the Kindle, the rise of the tablet | FutureBook — “Is the dedicated e-reader dying out? This is one of the views posited by a whitepaper just published by YUDU Media.

I’ve heard this argument before, and though it seems odd coming in the midst of an e-book bubble fueled by the one-trick Kindle, and after the recent launches of new e-ink readers by Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, I think the argument has merit.

The whitepaper argues that evidence suggests that consumers are beginning to move away from dedicated e-reading devices to more multi-functional tablets such as the iPad.”

Kno now offering a free textbook in exchange for feedback | The Digital Reader — “I just got an email from Kno today and they’re launching a new Early Bird program. It looks like they’ve realized the app needs a lot of work, and they’re asking people to join the program and give Kno feedback on the app. You can sign up on Facebook, and if you participate in the review process Kno will refund the cost of your textbook.”

Content –> Services (business models)

Spotify Raises $100 Million from DST, Kleiner Perkins, Accel | AllThingsD — “More momentum for Spotify: The streaming music service has finalized a huge funding round that gives it a valuation of about $1 billion.

The European company has raised around $100 million from DST, Kleiner Perkins and Accel. Spotify has been working on the round for more than six months, but people familiar with the company tell me it didn’t actually close until this week.”

Netflix Leads Apple, Amazon For Paid Web Video | AllThingsD — “If you’re watching video on the Internet, the odds are very, very good that you’re doing it on YouTube. And failing that, on Facebook.

But if you’re paying to watch video on the Web, then the odds change: You’re very, very likely to be watching Netflix.

This news comes to us from Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney, who polled Web users last week and came up with this breakdown of Web video usage. ”

Richard Nash: Publishers Have Lost Their Way, Becoming Printers and Distributors Rather Than Matchmakers — “One person who doesn’t entirely buy that narrative is Richard Eoin Nash. Four years after selling the celebrated indy publishing house, Softskull Press to Counterpoint, Nash has launched Cursor, a startup which promises to “help power the next 50,000 independent publishers.”

In the video below (which is a must-watch for anyone involved in books and publishing) Nash reminds us that, as recently as 50 years ago, the publishing industry was at the forefront of innovation and disruption. Today, however, publishers have become mere printers and distributors and have, he argues, lost sight of their primary function: to help connect writers with readers. As he puts it, “Any major publisher that has launched a [disruptive, digital] subsidiary, has launched it under house arrest. They have not built anything to destroy their own business.””

Okay, Okay, Maybe Netflix Is a Problem for Cable After All | AllThingsD — “Netflix is booming, but the service’s success isn’t coming at the expense of the cable business. Just ask Netflix CEO Reed Hastings or the cable guys, all of whom will be happy to tell you.

Nonsense, says a new report: The Diffusion Group’s survey of Netflix users finds 32 percent of them planning on cutting at least part of their cable bill — either because they can’t afford it, or because they’ve got plenty of stuff to watch online. That’s up from 16 percent a year ago. (Thanks to VideoNuze for flagging).”

Pandora Is a Free Music Company Worth $2.6 Billion | AllThingsD — “Plenty of folks make a persuasive case that Pandora may be overvalued, but investors aren’t paying attention: The company sold 14.7 million shares at $16 apiece today, giving the Internet radio service a value of $2.6 billion. That’s up from the $10 to $12 range the company floated last week, which was above the $7 to $9 range it had floated a week before that. The general public gets to weigh in tomorrow, when shares start trading on the NYSE under the “P” symbol.”

Amazon Publishing to Publish 32 Nooks in late Summer and Early Fall — “Amazon.com today announced that Amazon Publishing will publish 32 books in late summer and early fall under its various imprints, including AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing and Thomas & Mercer. The Amazon Publishing editions of these titles will be available in print format at http://www.amazon.com/ and national and independent booksellers, and as wireless digital downloads in less than 60 seconds from the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore).”

What Amazon Should Do With Its Kindle iPad App | paidContent — “Now it’s time for Amazon to lead once again. While the FT’s new web app shines a guiding light on the path that other publishers should take to distribute content to iPads and other tablet devices, whatever Amazon does with its app will have even more far-reaching implications because it will teach other developers – whether publishers or not – how they can deal with Apple’s tendency toward ecosystem control.

I don’t claim to know that company’s plans, but I will claim to tell Amazon what it should do: ”

1) Release an updated, compliant App Store app, with a little attitude

2) Release an updated, compliant App Store app, with a little attitude

What does the journalism of the future look like? | Tech News and Analysis — “We’ve spent so long consuming the news in fairly predictable formats — the short story, the long feature, the four-part series designed to win awards, the TV documentary, and so on — that the new forms of journalism we’re seeing can be confusing. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is also some controversy over whether one form is replacing or usurping another form. Frederic Filloux revisits this debate in a Monday Note post, in which he takes issue with Jeff Jarvis’s stance on real-time journalism. But all of these new forms have the potential to broaden the field of journalism and media immensely, and that’s a good thing.”

Why Selling E-books at 99 Cents Destroys Minds | Publishing Perspectives — “So, you have an e-reader, you’re bored with TV and all your video games, ain’t feeling the Facebook, and want a book. Why pay $12.99 for “entertainment” when you could buy a John Locke thriller for $0.99? I have no answer to that question. Seriously. And this has always been my problem with e-books: they emphasize immediate entertainment — and gratification — over real “reading,” which takes more commitment, patience, attention and time.

Now, you pay what you would pay for an app and dump it after you’re done. And why not? Those “expensive” books are a lot of work.

As someone devoted to literary culture, this scares the crap out of me. Sure, John O’Brien and a few others will claim that this has “always been the case,” that there has always been only 10,000 “serious readers” in the U.S., and that’s the same today as it was 50 years ago, but I don’t know if these people are actually in touch with the world around us. It’s all $0.99 e-books and instant movies and Angry Birds.”

Spotify Signs Universal Music, May Really Get to U.S. After All – AllThingsD — “Spotify has signed an American distribution deal with Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music label. The pact means that the streaming music company now has U.S. deals in place with three of the four largest labels, making it likely that the European company will finally be able to move across the Atlantic this summer.

The service still doesn’t have a pact signed with Warner Music Group, but people familiar with discussions say the two sides are closer than they have been, and are optimistic a deal will get done.”

Pandora ups IPO price to $10 to $12 per share | The Digital Home – CNET News — “The streaming-music provider filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, indicating that it would be offering its shares for between $10 and $12 when they hit the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “P.” The company previously announced that it would offer its shares in the range of $7 to $9.

Pandora, expected to go public soon, will register nearly 16.9 million shares with the SEC, including over 2.2 million that underwriters can purchase to cover over-allotment after the stock goes on sale. All told, the company hopes to raise as much as $202.6 million in its IPO. Earlier this month, Pandora filed a document with the SEC indicating that it hoped to raise approximately $140 million in its IPO.”

Message –> User

TV or Web Video? Now, Finally, We’re Starting To Choose. | AllThingsD — “Eventually, we’ll run out of time and start picking one screen instead of another. And here’s some evidence that it’s starting to happen: New research from Nielsen that shows that the more Web video you watch, the less time you spend on traditional TV.

These two charts compare Web video streaming consumption versus TV consumption, and they map quite neatly — the time Web video watchers spend online seems to come directly out of their TV habit:”

Cloud –> Universe

Could Game Mechanics Turn Work Into Play? [INFOGRAPHIC] – “Game mechanics have made some really mundane tasks (farming virtual crops, killing virtual pigs, etc.) absolutely addictive to a huge population.

So why not apply some of the same incentives and psychological triggers to tasks that are actually productive in the real world?

This is a question posed by enterprise social software company Socialcast, which created this 8-bit inspired infographic of facts and figures about the gaming industry and the enterprise.

Lion, MacBook Air Refresh Will Spike Mac Sales | AllThingsD — “According to the latest sales data gathered by NPD, the Mac is indeed kicking ass, as Phil Schiller Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Product Marketing observed at the company’s annual World Wide Developers Conference earlier this month. And when it’s finally reported, Mac sales for Apple’s June quarter will likely clock in well ahead of those of PCs.”

It’s A Facebook World … Other Social Networks Just Live In It — “Twice a year (in June and in December), Vincenzo Cosenza creates a “world map of social networks”, showing the dominant social networks by country, based on traffic data gathered from Alexa and Google Trends for Websites.

In June 2009, Facebook was already quite big, and at the end of that year its accelerating growth became even more apparent. By December 2010, the map colored bluer than ever.

The trend shows no signs of stopping this year. How long until it turns all blue?”

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