The Xplanation

Here are the articles we have been reviewing most recently.

Rise of eReading: Are Books Going to Become an Endangered Species? | Schools.com 2012/09/20
"Nooks, Kindles, iPads…oh my! Whatever happened to paperback and hardbacks?! They're still here, but according to one source, people who own e-readers are reading more than they might otherwise, as reflected in rising e-book sales. As a result, e-reader sales continue to increase. According to one study conducted in early 2012, 13% of those surveyed said the would likely to purchase an e-reader in the next six months. And it seems as if people from all walks of life are getting in on the act. While new technology use can sometimes vary according to age group, this doesn't seem to be the case with e-reader use. Could e-books eventually make good old fashioned books obsolete? Probably not. One reason? For now, only 20% of e-reader owners say that the e-content want is always available. What's more, sometimes nothing beats the look and feel of a physical book, especially where kids are concerned. After all, you can't really "Pat the Bunny" if he's behind a touch screen. At least not yet. But the number of people using e-readers is growing. Learn more about the need to e-read. "

xED Book | a book about education stuff, moocs, etc. 2012/09/19
"Our thesis with xEducation is that the internet is happening to higher education and that successful universities of the future will be those that find ways to generate value for its many stakeholders that go beyond content provision and teaching. What exactly that value proposition is remains unclear. On the one hand, content and (recorded) lectures can easily be shared with limited costs. The internet scales content exceptionally well. The human, social, processes of learning don’t scale. Research doesn’t scale (yet). Regional and national economic value generation doesn’t scale. In these spaces where scalability does not work well, universities will likely find their new roles in society. Over the next six months, we’ll explore and test this thesis and place the discussion of higher education reform on a firmer foundation than the latest tool and popular hype."

Find Courses ~ MOOC 2012/09/19
"If you are looking for open online courses, please consult one of the sources below. If you are offering a MOOC (that is not from one of the sources listed) please send email to stephen@downes.ca and I will included it in the MOOC Course List."

Record Demand Sees IDC Raise 2012 Tablet Shipment Forecast 9% 2012/09/19
"In a sign that consumers worldwide are increasingly turning to tablet devices for their computing needs, high-profile analyst firm IDC has raised its forecast for tablet shipments this year by 9 percent, estimating that 117.1 million units will be shipped. The summer has been a busy one for the tablet industry, with Google’s Nexus 7 making a promising start to life, and that’s reflected in the significantly increased prediction. For comparison, the firm’s June figure of 107.4 million was itself a 1.2 percent increase on the previous quarter. Looking further ahead, IDC forecasts that total tablet shipments in 2013 will reach 165.9 million (up from June’s 142.8 million figure) and by 2016 it forecasts 261.4 million units, as opposed to 222.1 million."

10 Big (But Never Discussed) Problems With Mobile Learning | Edudemic 2012/09/13
"The mobile learning revolution is creating a lot of buzz in the education world, and the benefits undoubtedly stand out. But nothing exists as a purely positive entity. While the movement toward “m-learning” (as those totally in the know call it) marks a change in how education approaches technological developments, anyone considering the developing tools needs to research the downsides before making the leap."

Google Introduces Course Builder, an Open Source Project Targeted at MOOCs (but the Real Competitor Might Be Amazon) | e-Literatee-Literate 2012/09/13
"Google quietly made an educational technology announcement yesterday about the release of Course Builder, an “open source project” targeted at massive open online courses (MOOCs). This platform follows on the heels of Google’s own MOOC this summer. "

MOOC's Could Hurt Smaller and For-Profit Colleges, Moody's Report Says - Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education 2012/09/13
"The rise of massive open online courses, or MOOC’s, could improve the financial prospects of leading universities while posing financial challenges to lesser-known institutions and for-profit colleges, a new report from Moody’s Investors Service predicts. The report, released on Wednesday and available only to subscribers of the credit-rating agency, is called “Shifting Ground: Technology Begins to Alter Centuries-Old Business Model for Universities.” It says that offering free online courses will help well-known universities bring in new revenue, heighten brand recognition, and reduce operating costs. The report paints a much bleaker picture for smaller universities and for-profit colleges, however. Regional universities that chiefly attract students from surrounding areas could use MOOC’s to broaden their brand recognition and cut their costs, but they could lose market share to stronger universities over the long term, the report states."

84 Million iPads, 400 Million iOS Devices, Big Numbers From Apple - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD 2012/09/13
"Apple’s special events aren’t simply showcases for the company’s newest products, they’re state of the union addresses for the company, opportunities to tout its successes in public in a parade of big-number metrics. And the numbers bandied about at this morning’s iPhone 5 unveiling were large indeed."

Majority of U.S. Students Prefer Digital Textbooks | Digital Book World 2012/09/12
"Some 58% of U.S. students prefer digital textbooks to print because they’re easier to carry and they are believed to be cheaper than print textbooks, according to a new study from e-textbook publisher Bookboon.com. That said, many students don’t buy textbooks altogether, according to the study, because they are “too expensive” and many students are frustrated that only parts of textbooks are used in courses."

Apple's New iPhone 5: "A New Gold Standard in the Phone Marketplace" - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD 2012/09/12
"The iPhone 5 is just 7.6 millimeters thin, the thinnest iPhone yet. And at 112 grams, it’s also the lightest — 20 percent lighter than the 4S. Its four-inch screen boasts a 16:9 aspect ratio and 44 percent more color saturation. That additional screen space provides enough room for a fifth row of icons on the home screen. It’s also a world phone, featuring support for all kinds of 3G radios, as well as support for LTE, along with two faster flavors of HSPA . Another key feature: Faster Wi-Fi. Inside the iPhone 5 is a significantly faster A6 processor and a new battery that exceeds the battery life of iPhone 4S, with 8 hours of 3G talk time, 3G browsing and LTE browsing. Also onboard: A trio of improved mics, a better speaker, and an eight-megapixel camera with backside illumination, f/2.4 aperture, five-element lens, 1080p video, updated FaceTime HD, Hybrid IR filter, a sapphire crystal lens cover, and an awesome panorama mode."