The joys and perils of Ebooks, we thought it would be easier! - JIBS event

 Location
Chancellors Room, Hughes Parry H
November 26th 2013 10am- 4.15pm
http://www.jibs.ac.uk/workshops/ebooks/programme.htm

Event details 

Was designed to bring together colleagues in FE and HE, together with suppliers and other interested parties, to discuss just where ebooks are taking us in the 21st century institution.  Half the day was devoted to strands focused on FE or HE matters, which will allowed participants to share concerns and issues and network with colleagues from your sector. For me the day provided a really useful introduction to Patron Driven Acquisitions together with some excellent overview of the issues relating to purchase, delivery and promotion of eBooks.


Programme for the day:

Keynote Speaker: Caron Milloy, JISC Collections, will give an overview of the current marketplace, including the difficulties encountered within the FE sector: The ebooks marketplace: try and then try again!  http://www.slideshare.net/JIBSUK/caren-milloy-28993755 Caron's presentation provided a concise overview of the history of eBooks over the last 10 years and predictions for the future. It included research and projects.

Jill Taylor Roe, University of Newcastle: Trying to keep the customer satisfied – the role of PDA. http://www.slideshare.net/JIBSUK/jill-taylor-roe Jill presented on Newcastle's experience of implementing PDA. Including the rationale for introduction (student

Elaine Mulholland, St. Mary's University College, Belfast: “The Impact and Perceptions of e-books on Academic Staff in Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland.”
Elaine gave an overview of how she promoted eBook use in Further Education.

Ken Chad: Ebook ‘consumption’ the challenges issues and opportunities. Outputs from the Jisc ‘Challenges of ebooks’ project http://www.slideshare.net/kenchad/ebook-consumption-jibs-nov213 Ken presented a range of infographics on eBook usage together with the outputs of the JISC project. He stated that the eBook landscape was challenging because of models and formats and that HE and FE may still not be be a position to exploit their full potential.

 Elizabeth McHugh: Purchasing challenges in HE http://www.slideshare.net/JIBSUK/elizabeth-mchugh Elizabeth's presentation stated that the main considerations were location, platform, user models and downloading. On top of this there are decisions with respect to whether to rent or buy and access.

Phil Gee: 'The Plymouth eBook Project' http://www.slideshare.net/JIBSUK/phil-gee This project used School funds for purchasing core texts for level 1 students in psychology. The model has attracted students to the University and is now being extended to other courses.

Lectures - engaging students a view from the other side

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ms_cwang/296148795/sizes/m/

Recently I was asked to give a lecture overview on literature searching to 120 students. Not my preferred method of delivery for this type of activity, hands-on being in a lab my preferred option, not a cavernous theatre, but it was part of one of those modules that students on a range of cohorts do and the staff had chosen the lecture approach because it was logistically easier.

I spent quite a bit of time preparing for this as it was in a subject that I was still getting familiar with. So I prepared my slides put them in Blackboard in preparation. I, also, included an example activity to encourage students to think about creating concepts and identifying keywords in their area of research, that they could use for searching for resources on our online databases, the area I chose was a crime scene. I was going to suggest that the students get themselves informally into small groups and choose an aspect of a crime scene e.g. evidence collection and identify keywords and concepts in relation to this.

In reality the lecture was a bit of a disaster "darling" right from the start. The microphone did not work in the lecture theatre, which meant I had to bark so that the top row could hear me. I introduced the activity but the students did not appear to be engaging, so I did a sweep of the room to see if the instructions had been clear, only to find that most had already started their research project and wanted to focus on their own area of research, rather than participate in an activity that focused on a hypothetical  unrelated area. There was, also, a mix of science students and social science students to add an additional complication. I quickly cut the activity short and decided to focus on developing search strategies and the online databases, when the technology froze completely and I had to abandon the lecture.The student rep happened to be in the audience and came up to me afterwards and said I think this session would have been better hands-on, I agreed and he said he would report this back to the module lead.

I was due to take a part 2 lecture the following week but instead of subjecting the students and myself to the same ordeal I decided to take a blended approach. I set-up a discussion board in Blackboard where students could post questions with respect to their research, I also provided my contact details if they wanted to speak to me directly. I made it clear that the discussion would be open for two weeks. In addition, I cancelled the lecture and replaced this with an optional drop-in session. I had covered all bases and the lecturer appeared happy with this.

So what was the resulting engagement by students? Well the answer is zero, I got a high attendance at the lecture but despite the students being present they were obviously not engaged as many had already started their work and appeared to want something that was specific to them. For the online discussion and the drop-in it was equally zero engagement, but I did not feel quite as frustrated as when the students were present because at least they had the flexibility to use the time how they wanted and hopefully that was doing some self-directed research - I had also had no to time to provide an induction into the discussion forum, so lack of confidence or familiarity may have an impact on engagement.

After spending 10 years developing staff in the arts of effective elearning this was quite a learning experience. It is very rare that I am in an situation where I have little control over events and I cannot turn things around, in fact I think this is the first time I have had to abandon a lecture or presentation. It, also, taught me that there should be more dialogue between those that teach on modules and the module lead with respect to delivering learning activities. For example, somebody had presented an overview of referencing early on in the module and after my sessions there was a large posting in Blackboard on Web of Science which does not even have the best range of resources for this subject, and if they had looked in my area in content they would have seen I had already provided an overview of all the online resources which they could have linked to...rrr!      

Just Like Starting Over?

http://bit.ly/177OohM Sean Marshall Flickr

In June I moved back into librarianship management after being involved in eLearning management for 11 years and to celebrate I have done my own mini-relaunch with a new design in homage.

However, the world of information management has changed over the last 10 years and the provision of learning and teaching is more aligned with the support of teaching provided by eLearning and library services and likewise the relationships between those that support these services is much closer. This is reflected in the title of the team that I jointly manage which is called the Academic Skills and Knowledge team, where most of the members are called Academic Skills Tutors and provide, study skills, librarianship and information technology services. However, I am aware that we need to address the continued challenge of working collaboratively across all our services supporting learning and teaching, as we increasingly share services we also need to share practices.

Yesterday  the new Birmingham Central library opened to a mixture of praise and criticism. It is a mash-up of services and designs, and illustrates the way we need to start working together to provide seamless physical and virtual access to physical and virtual knowledge. The Dutch female architect (yes a woman architect!) Francine Houben , says, (quoted in the Guardian article by Rowan Moore) "libraries are the cathedrals of nowadays… the most public space in the knowledge economy...they will always be about learning, no matter what you do there". The same could also be said for Universities no matter how they morph.

During my first 2 months in my new role have had to get to grips with new systems at a new University, although there are a lot of similarities with my previous institution and I have maintained my optimism, despite some cultural knock backs (not unlike Birmigham's new library).  I have great hopes for the professional world I have returned to. The relationships I developed with librarianship colleagues, the skills I developed in research, learning design, project and change management from elearning in previous position, and my own librarianship skills which I have safely stored, have helped with my adjustment and the continuity from the old to the new. Increasingly the information professional elegantly reinvents itself to address the new challenges in the areas of resource discovery, academic skills and digital and information literacies, I am excited to be supporting and driving this with my new colleagues.

I have, also, had the opportunity to network with colleagues outside of my organisation. In July I attended the Information and Literacy and Summon at Manchester Met . Summon by ProQuest is a resource discovery service providing a one stop shop for searching most of a university's printed and electronic stock, in attempt to enhance the student searching experience. The day provided a range of presentations on the use of Summon, from using it as the searching start point for new undergraduates to using it to replace the library catalogue. The day gave delegates the opportunity to discuss some of the challenges such as publisher services that are not integrated and supporting advanced search skills within this simplified context.

Another event I attended in July was One Year PebblePad Celebration Symposium in Birmingham as this the tool my University uses for students to reflect on their graduate attributes and the main support is provided by my team. It was interesting to see the variety of support models for PebblePad mostly by learning technologists or elearning developers rather information skills or library teams. The use cases were mainly in disciplines where reflective practice is integral e.g. nursing.

So is it just like starting over? In some ways yes acquisitions and cataloguing has changed with respect to systems and processes but there are opportunities for librarians to work with library assistants to jointly delivers this service. Having just undertaken my first induction some of the resources are new but the approach to using these is not, as I continued to use library resources for conferences and research when I was not in this area of work. The back-end infrastructure is new to me but the skills I have developed in change management and implementing systems and tools is already helping me in this area...It's a little bit like starting over but in a good way.

Surviving Disruptive Technologies MOOC Term Project Answer - Demise of HMV

This was the term project question for the Surviving Disruptive Technologies Coursera MOOC written and run by Hank Lucas from the University of Maryland

Choose an industry or a firm in your country that:
1. Has recently encountered a technology disruption OR
2. Is currently undergoing a technological disruption OR
3. Is likely to face a disruptive technology in the near future.

Here is my answer:

This paper will focus on the demise of HMV "His Master's Voice" company in the UK as a result of the changes that have taken place in the music industry over the last 10 years, in particular the decrease in physical album sales as a result of the increase of online musci services (disruptive technology), such as, purchasing downloads e.g iTunes, streaming services e.g Deezer and Spotify and peer to peer file sharing e.g. Napster. This has been compounded by a new business model for musical production, where artists are autonomously now able to manage both musical recording, promotion and merchandising, without the support of large record companies because the process has been made easier by technology.


HMV had a prominent place on the UK’s high streets until 2012, selling a range of items but particularly focusing on music CDs, DVDs and to a certain extent games. Founded in 1921 at the height of its success in the 90s the company expanded into international markets and bough well-known book chains Dillons and Waterstones and was floated on the stockmarket in 2002. However, in January 2013 HMV called in administrators but hopes of a rescue were raised when Hilco bought HMV's £176m of debt for a reported £40m. It was announced in February 2013 that 66 of HMV's 220 shops would close over two months, at the cost of nearly 1,000 jobs. Another 37 store closures were announced later in February. HMV built its success on CD sales, high mark-up but cheap to produce and then they invested in DVDs and Games. However it failed to invest in its online services, choosing to further expand into electronics which was already on the high street and entertainment venues (Why Did HMV fail the Guardian Philip Beechinghttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/15/why-did-hmv-fail ) HMV underestimated the impact of online music, some of which is free on the internet with apps and YouTube, that can be downloaded as MP3s and can be streamed digitally via services such as Spotify. In 2011, digital music sales increased globally by 8% accounting for $5.2 billion legal downloads, with a decline in physical music purchases. (Say Goodbye to Record Stores and Physical Albums http://mashable.com/2012/07/24/music-sales-decline/)


The following provides is a history of HMV taken from HMV Collapse: History of A High Street Iconhttp://news.sky.com/story/1038339/hmv-collapse-history-of-a-high-street-icon Sky News

1921 The company's landmark store in Oxford Street, London, is opened by the composer and conductor Sir Edward Elgar. Its owners, the Gramophone Company (later EMI), developed its legendary "His Master's Voice" trademark.
1962 Brian Epstein visits the store's recording studio and cuts a demo for The Beatles. It led to the band meeting Parlophone's George Martin and they recorded their first single at Abbey Road studios four months later.
1976 HMV begins to expand and has around 25 stores across the UK.
1986 The group expands overseas, opening stores in Ireland and Canada. It opens a new Oxford Circus shop, which is the world's largest record store.
1990s HMV opens stores in Australia, the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany.
1997 The company launches its HMV UK website.
1998 EMI and venture capital firm Advent Investors create HMV Media Group, which then acquires HMV, Waterstones and Dillons - subsequently rebranded as Waterstones.
2002 HMV Media Group is renamed HMV Group and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
September 2006 Former managing director of Comet, Simon Fox, becomes chief executive of HMV Group.
2007 The chain acquires a number of Fopp and former Zavvi stores.
January 2009 HMV enters the live music market after buying venue owner MAMA Group for £46m.
January 2011 In an attempt to reduce its debt pile, the company begins to close 40 HMV stores and 20 Waterstones shops.
May 2011 Waterstones is sold to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut for £53m.
January 2012 HMV does a deal with Universal and other music suppliers to help bolster its finances. The company's banks agree to give it more time to repay its debt.
June 2012 The company winds down its live music business, selling the Hammersmith Apollo for £32m.
August 2012 Chief executive Simon Fox says he will leave the business, with former Jessops boss Trevor Moore to take over.
December 2012 HMV admits it could breach crucial banking agreements at the start of 2013 as a result of huge debts and falling sales.
January 2013 The company calls in administrators Deloitte to oversee efforts to rescue it, leaving 4,000 jobs at risk.

The story of the demise in HMV is not dissimilar to Kodak’s with the company's refusal to acknowledge the impact of technology until it was too late. The music industry has experienced a series of disruptions, sheet music to analogue, vinyl to cassette, analogue to digital CD. However, applying the survivor model, the most recent information technological disruption which has had a major impact on the music industry, in particular music retailers is the movement from physical format to online services. This disruption led to new products, services and business models. In particular the availability and sale of music downloads through services such as iTunes; streaming music via subscription and free services such as Spotify and Last-Fm which integrate sharing communities via the web site and/or via social networking integrations such as Facebook and semantic functionality, if you like this music you will like this too. Linked to this disruption is a different business model for musicians, with increased opportunities to share music on the web and the development of e-tools to enable easier production, musicians are relying less on music companies to promote their music and developing their own music production enterprises. Alongside these innovative developments has been the development of ecommerce and the ability to purchase online via companies such as Amazon and play.com, who provide a greater choice than the high street retailers and undercut on price.

In 2011, digital music sales surged 8% globally, accounting for $5.2 billion in legal downloads. More people may be listening to music, but physical album sales will continue to decline. By 2016, record stores sales are projected to drop another 77.4%, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is predicted that local music shops and large national chains will not do well. The music retailer's incumbents' dilemma is how much of a risk it takes to adapt to a disruptive environment caused by online services, what to cut or sell off to adapt, how to integrate and link existing services or to wait for the technological storm to pass before making a decision, however we now know that the last option has had negative serious consequences on HMV.

HMV invested in the wrong products and failed to see the impact of online music on the music retail market.

Looking at the Survival Model and the incumbents' dilemma the following are the factors which inhibited HMV’s response to the disruption of the availability of online music.

Denial: HMV failed to acknowledge the threats of online retailers, downloadable music and supermarkets as early as 2002. They saw the threat of supermarkets but thought they were not a threat to music, games and film retailing. They thought downloadable music was a fad and the customers would prefer the physical environment for purchasing rather than online shopping. There has been a suggestion that there could have been a confusion that the bursting of the dotcom bubble was an internet crisis which is not the case as online services have continued to grow.

History: The first shop was opened in 1921 in the UK by the turn of the 21st century was the major retailer of CDs and DVDs on the UK high street. Many individuals within the UK can nostalgically recall the influence of HMV on the development of their musical taste.

Resistance to Change: Although HMV had online services it failed to make any major investment and chose to diversify in the wrong products electronics and entertainment venues. The company was also risk aversed, despite being warned about the impact of the future consumer behaviour with respect to purchasing music. (See Denial Above).

Mind Set : The company focused on the physical not the digital. HMV’s success and the monopoly of retailing of CDs and DVDs on the high street edging out other retailers led to arrogance, they thought were safe. The company did not take advantage of the brand loyalty of its customers and did not appear to consult them with respect to their needs.

Brand: HMV like Kodak had a strong brand linked to its history and despite its demise it was recently voted one of the top 10 names people most wanted on their high street. HMV still had about 35% of the CD sale market in 2012.

Sunk costs: The company chose to invest in other products and companies rather than focusing on enhancing its core products the selling of music and film.

Profitability: very profitability was in the 90s into the early 21st century survived other well know shops such as Virgin in the UK. It was floated on the stock market in 2002.

Lack of Imagination: It thought that technology was a fad (see denial above), although it had online services it failed to invest in them, which was illustrated by a failed mail order venture. They chose to invest in books and electronics.

The outcome, influenced by the disruption of online music services and the incumbent's dilemma (outlined above) has been predominantly, the failure of HMV. After trying to expand its business into other areas such as electronics and entertainment and it being the last major CD and DVD retailer on the UK highstreet, after the demise of the Virgin, it called in the administrators in January 2013. In 2002 HMV floated on the stock market for a £1bn valuation and a share price of £1.92 (today it's a fraction above £0.3p and it is valued at £15m). It appeared to lose sight of its core business which was predominantly related to the music industry, selling music and more recently the film industry, selling films.

However, it appears it may not be the end of HMV as HILCO which acquired HMV's Canadian operations, bought HMV's £176m of debt for a reported £40m. It was announced in February 2013 that 66 of HMV's 220 shops would close over two months, at the cost of nearly 1,000 jobs, another 37 closures have also been announced. HILCO plans to take HMV back to its traditional musical roots and has stopped selling tablets within HMV shops it say that it wants to "reclaim the space for an enhanced music and visual range". It is report that major music labels and film studios, are keen that a major entertainment retailer remains on the high street, are understood to have agreed to new supply terms with HMV and approved the deal.

HMV should have done the following as result of disruptive technology in the past:

• Used their brand and associated musical heritage and focus on its access to content from film, game and music companies rather than diversifying in books, entertainment and electronics 
• Invested in the internet and social media, including the integration downloading including semantic and online community sharing features/integrations 
• Management should have listened to advice 2002 with respect to the threat of supermarket sales and downloadable music

What HMV should do now:

• Focus on developing quality of its core business within its high street shops selling and promoting a diverse range of music and films rather than moving into other business 
• Come to an arrangement with record companies to tap into the increase in vinyl sales and link this with free downloads, a lot of independent labels are doing this 
• Support and showcase music and musicians and directors streaming online and within retail outlets via personal appearances 
• Link up with local independent retailers to come up with a community strategy to engage in high street purchasing of music and film 
• Relaunch its brand within the context of its past musical legacy, the bad press with respect to Amazon's tax avoidance in the UK opens the door to launch it as a UK brand 
• Employ music specialists in all musical genres that can give advice the customer in the range of genres 
• Develop an app that links up to its musical services and can lead to online purchasing not everyone is using iTunes

References

Independent record store Rough Trade could benefit from HMV closures, says founder
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/independent-record-store-rough-trade-could-benefit-from-hmv-closures-says-founder-8462152.html

Why Did HMV fail the Guardian Philip Beeching http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/15/why-did-hmv-fail

The Guardian HMV Bring in the administrators - Simon Bowers and Josephine Mouldshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jan/15/hmv-administrators-4500-jobs-at-risk

Independent record store Rough Trade could benefit from HMV closures, says founder
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/independent-record-store-rough-trade-could-benefit-from-hmv-closures-says-founder-8462152.html

45 HMV shops rescued by restructuring exper HILCO
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/05/hmv-sold-hilco-saves-jobs-shops

MOOC2

So I Survived Disruptive Technologies MOOC, run by Hank Lucas and his able teaching assistant

Frankie the dog from the University of Maryland. I managed to submit both assessments and get my certificate of completion. In comparison to the University of Edinburgh's E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC it was for me more time consuming, I would say that the 3-4 hours were an underestimation, when you take into account the work required for the mid-term and final assessment, Edinburgh's time prediction for its MOOC, 5-7 hours was far more accurate and I think at least 5 hrs would have been more accurate for Hank's. As with the Digital Cultures MOOC I did not engage with the discussions, I think it is a challenge when there are so many people and you are time poor. I think this is something MOOC runners really need to look at, as discussions in my experience do not appear to work and I am an advocate of discussions for developing and consolidating knowledge in elearning, a technical solution for the automation of groups I think could help with this. With respect to the assessments both were peer assessed by 4 people, both required a high pass mark 8 out of 12 and 10 out 14 respectively and you had to pass both to get a certificate of completion. The peer assessment and the need to pass both did generate considerable discussion and criticism, in particular, with regards to the inconsistency of marking, the need to pass both to get a certificate of completion and the high pass marks. However, Hank, must be commended, he listened to the comments and decided to combine the scores on the midterm and term project so that a higher score on one made up for a lower score on the other and to account for any problems with peer grading, he reduced the point total needed for a certificate to 16 out of 26 or 61%.

The course was mainly delivered from a US perspective and I think there should have been a more critical analysis with respect to those companies who have successfully survived the disruptive practices, in particular the social cost, the conditions of the workers in these companies e.g. Amazon and the lack of unionisation to protect workers' rights. However, I did take away that organisations should face up to the disruptions of technology and should scenario plan around their potential impact. Organisations, also, have to understand the needs of their customers if they are to have any chance of being successful and the sometimes this requires taking risks. Furthermore, middle managers should think creatively and encourage creativity in the workplace. I, also, found the lecture on complicated electronic systems and their impact on the product design an eye opener - I did not know that there are more lines of code in a BMW than a fighter plane!  And I really liked the presentation of the video lectures despite being recorded the tutor presence was far more apparent than in Edinburgh's and this is really important and often overlooked aspect of eLearning to enhance student experience. 

Prioritising Priorities - MOOC vs Real World

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hockadilly/446538765/

I have just finished all my mid-term activities for Hank Lucas' University of Maryland Surviving Disruptive Technologies. As I have said in my previous post, I have really enjoyed this MOOC although as time has gone progressed, I think the amount of new know I have gained has lessened somewhat, but that can happen as MOOC authors are limited to what they can feasibly fit into the course over such a short period of time. 

Now that I can see other people's submissions as a peer reviewer I think my assignment may just about the miss the required 8 out of 12 for the mid term which will be a bit disappointing. I think if the assessment guidance had made it a bit clearer with respect to the correlation between the answers and the marks, in other words the rubric and I could have had a more strategic stab at it and be safer (or is that an excuse, I leave that up to you to mark me up or down on that!) To receive a certificate you need to get at least 8 out of 12 for your mid-term and 10 out of 14 for your final, which is a little bit disappointing because I think you should get a certificate of completion if you submit both assignments, (maybe I am expecting too much, again I leave it up to you to mark me up or down on that as well!). There has been quite a lot of work on this MOOC, with videos, articles and discussions, all good resources but I could not find how many hours we were expected to devote to this, in the MOOC literature. For me I think it has been between 3 - 5 hours week which I think might be on the lean side. 

Competing with my MOOOCing has been my last ditch attempt to finish my CMALT Accreditation before I go to my new job in June. This is an extensive activity that requires reflection and the collecting of evidence, which will be presented in an online portfolio. I think my involvement in my two MOOCs this year, my current one Surviving Disruptive Technologies and previous one E-learning and Digital Cultures has been the catalyst for me getting back to my CMALT portfolio again, which has been languishing in my digital draw for a while, as MOOCing has got me into the habit of reading and writing again, outside of a work. However, taking on both activities as well as working full time, singing in my choir, my piano lessons and making sure our house does not fall into an unkempt hovel, has led me to reflect on how serious I should take this MOOCing. It is obvious from the differences in the assignments I saw this weekend that some people are committing a lot of time to my current MOOC, possibly over committing, where other, like myself, are finding it more challenging to find time. I have found it very difficult to give anybody less than an 8 because I think they have done well to get as far as the mid-term and submitting something, especially as the drop out rate is so high and I feel that they should get an extra point for sticking the course. However, if I want to stay  true to the assessment approach and the criteria I do not have a choice. I am now wondering if somebody out there is also having the same dilemma over marking my work.   

When we are out together dancing MOOC to MOOC

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucianaruivo/3213137492/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Luiciana Ruiva

It was not until somebody said somewhat tongue in cheek yesterday that they liked my blog but that I did not update it regularly enough, I got that blogging guilt feeling. I was so good at blogging during February when I was part of the eLearning and Digital Cultures MOOC, although I did not do a final reflection as promised but I did complete the assessment and got my certificate. However, I have not blogged about the Disruptive Technologies MOOC also run by Coursera, my current MOOC outing. I suppose one of the reasons is because it was Easter and I started a bit late, but isn't that the beauty of MOOCs you can start whenever, well with some that is the case e.g. Saylor Foundation, however with Coursera you are bound by dates and times if you want to fully participate. I have been trying to play catch-up, I am almost there about half a week behind at the moment.

I think with eLearning and Digital Cultures, which was created using a curatorial approach, according to Jeremy Knox from EDCMOOC team, it had some excellent resources which I wanted to share, blogging for me seemed the best way to do this and I could integrate a bit of reflection at the same time. In addition, I was unable to contribute to the discussions as I normally would, as they were vast and too open, so I used my blog and Twitter to chrystallize my thoughts. I think, also, I found the concepts presented quite challenging, initially I think I did not have the patience for this, I wanted something more practical, possibly because when you are working full-time and have over 100 mile round commute it is difficult to muster the brain energy. In the end I did quite enjoy the theoretical challenge, it reminder me of my Sociology degree, although I was quite selective with respect to what I focused on. I was a bit disappointed about the lack of community despite valiant hard work attempts by participants, but unless there is some system that forces you into groups, I think Twitter is the only manageable back up. For those who would like to see the assessment outputs of this MOOC here is mine and a link to other participants.

• Feminism and Technology Site self created site that begins to look at technological determinism within a feminist framework and self created animation
• Artefacts Created by MOOCers on the course

The University of Maryland's MOOC run by the engaging Hank Lucas and his side kick dog Frankie...yes dog, is more practically focused. It looks at how well-known companies succeeded and failed in the context of disruptive technologies. I am on week 2 and so far there we have looked at the demise of Kodak, and the comparative rise and falls of Borders and Amazon, Netflix and Blockbusters. We have also been introduced to the Survivor Model

A company’s survival depends on an early move to either adopt an entirely new business model or morph the existing model to take advantage of the disruptive innovation. The latter option, said Lucas, is more feasible and has been the approach of the early survivors.

And the box score to analyse the industries which scores the incumbent's dilemma (Board of Directors, CEO and employees) out of ten (1 low 10 high) within the context of adopting new technologies on their:

• Denial with respect acknowledgement of new technology/innovation
• History with respect to using innovation and/or changing business model
• Resistance to change
• Mindset, openness with respect new innovation
• Brand, the strength
• Sunk Costs, the amount need to invest
• Profitability, how profitable previously 
• Lack of imagination

 I feel the Disruptive Technologies MOOC in comparison to Digital Cultures has been more thought provoking rather than thought challenging. For some this course may be a little bit dry but for me this has got me thinking about my own practice and professional approach as a middle manager, that currently manages a team of innovators within an inherited bureaucracy Higher Education, which also wants to push innovation. I, also, the like delivery, I felt distanced from those that delivered the Digital Cultures MOOC, there was a lack of tutor presence. However, Hank Lucas' (with Frankie) personable presentation, together with his video integrated slides and his scribbling on the slides as he talks, does replicate better the tutor presence, even though it is recorded, but it might not be to everyone's taste and you may want to change your MOOC partner and start another dance.  

Week 3 #EDCMOOC We were only being human

TechAdmin
http://www.flickr.com/photos/techadmiin05/2298049393/ 

The chorus of The Pet Shop Boy's song "Being Boring goes - "'Cause we were never being boring; We had too much time to find for ourselves; And we were never being boring; We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"; And we were never holding back or worried that Time would come to an end" I sometimes see our engagement in technology as a ceaseless attempt to make sure we are not being bored, we now have the answer to any question via the WWW, if we phrase it well, there is no sense of wonderment. However, I was contemplating on whether technology could bring about a sense a of wonderment, could it reinforce humanity? So I started to reflect on the intersection of humanity with technology and examples of such, in fact "Think it Big" actually awards prizes for this http://bigthink.com/humanizing-technology/2012-humanizing-technology-prize-nil-the-winners    . Here is my list I have applied a simplified typology

Protest

• 38 degrees
• Occupy Wall Street on Twitter 
• HM Epetitions

Philanthropy 

• Just Giving
• Hole in the Wall 
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• OER Africa

Inspirational

• TEDX
• PASSED Proudest Achievements Skills Education and Development 
• STEM Women at Science and Technology Facilities Council

Then I saw this article in the Observer Review this weekend "Digital Capitalism Produces few Winners" which reports on the poor wages Apple employees receive and refers to Sarah O'Connor's FT Article Amazon Unpacked and I quote

"She visited Amazon's vast distribution centre at Rugeley in Staffordshire and her account of what she found there makes sobering reading.She saw hundreds of people in orange vests pushing trolleys around a space the size of nine football pitches, glancing down at the screens of their handheld satnav computers for directions on where to walk next and what to pick up when they get there. They do not dawdle because "the devices in their hands are also measuring their productivity in real time". They walk between seven and 15 miles a day and everything they do is determined by Amazon's software. "You're sort of like a robot, but in human form," one manager told Ms O'Connor. "It's human automation, if you like

...where is the humanity here?

Here are what I think are the best resources from Week 3

Toyota GT86: the ‘real deal’ advert 

BT: heart to heart advert 

World builder

They’re made out of meat

 Steve Fuller’s TEDx Warwick talk 

Week 2; #EDCMOOC Ghost in the machine...or is it the cookie monster

Ghost in the Machine Doctor Popular
http://www.flickr.com/photos/docpopular/3901278186/

I'm a little bit late with this as we are at the end of week 3 for #EDCMOOC so I need to gain some momentum. In week 2 we moved form "Utopian/Dystopian" views of technology to "Looking into The Future", we were presented with a range of resources that presented images of technology, suggesting, leading, informing, profiling and tracking, as the course said these are evocative and disturbing. As with week 1 the choice of films were excellent, ranging from adverts presenting how technology can enhance our living in the future from Corning "Made from Glass" and Microsoft and "Productivity Future Vision" to technology ruling and intervening in everyday life as in Plurality (resources below). It got me thinking about Graphene developed in the University of Manchester - in fact  the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov for their work - and the talk about the potential of this in manufacturing technology devices, now and in future because it is exceptionally thin and strong as well as being an excellent conductor. In the world of nano technology we already have research where computers are made out of strands of DNA, at the Weizmann Institute of Science being led by Tom Ran,  as referred to in an article in the Guardian last year on the Future of Computers. Week 2's resources conveyed futuristic views of the power of technology acting on our behalf making suggestions on our behalf, almost implying that technology will eventually have mind of its own. We already can see the power of Cookies recommending related resources in relation to our web activity and the semantic web http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Main_Page, which enables people to share content beyond the boundaries of applications and web sites . However, there would be no data without interaction, it is our behaviour which enables data generation, the profiling and the cross-correlations, once we enter the WWW territory we have no choice in the matter,  it is too late to turn back.

Day Made of Glass

Productivity Future Vision

Film 5: Plurality 

Week 1 #EDCMOO eLearning & Digital Culture - Utopian or Dystopian Experience

Lock Up You Data http://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/1805590643/ Paul Downey

So I got through week one of the Coursera #EDCMOOC E-learning and Digital Cultures. Having completed a fully online MED a couple of years ago I was quite familiar with studying online and having that experience meant I had the skills to wade through the tremendous amount of digital traffic this course appears to be generating.Rather than focusing on the course theme of utopian and dystopia aspects of digital education and culture I thought I would reflect on the experiences of undertaking this course within this context. I think the Facebook exchanges reflect some the dystopian experiences of  engaging in online communication within the context of learning. Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter can streamline communication but with so many back channels the challenge, you have to decide what is meaningful, what is distracting - so a little direction and reassurance from the tutors would have been helpful. My experiences as an eLearner taught me to focus on the essentials and browse the rest so that is what I have been doing. I think the amount of people that are on this course makes it difficult to form any relationships especially with the time we have.  It is difficult to move beyond pure observation in the discussions because from my experience collaborative working online, it only works with a small group, with assigned roles, over longer period of time than 5 weeks. This is a pity because I found communicating and working with a diverse community very rewarding on my MED . In addition, I don't seem to have the patience for reading lots of text any more, unless I am using it for an article, report, qualification or my job but that's a personal thing. I think a word restriction on the discussions would be helpful and given the time I have I am going be quite pragmatic about how many articles I can read..

Finishing on a more Utopian note, it is really exciting to have a go at something I have not tried before. I think the resources that the course team has selected are excellent and the course is really well written and presented. Having a Sociology degree (although acquired over 20 years ago) has meant that I have visited some of the theoretical aspects before - so that helps. And it has made me realise with respect to eLearning and learning in general I think I want to focus in the future on developing my practical knowledge rather than my theoretical knowledge, so the Saylor Computure Science course looks really promising. The videos were engaging and thought provoking, illustrative of the issues and challenges associated with technology - here they are for your own pleasure

Bendiot Machine III (6.35); Inbox (8.37); Thursday (7.34)

New Year's Resolution...revisited

New Years Resolutions (1/52) 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrish_99/6632375445/ lucidtech

 

So how many of us have said I must blog more this year hands up! I suddenly can't see the wood for the hands. Motivation is always a challenge in January in fact I am very close to setting up an ePetition to change our calendar from 12 months to 11 months although this would be really unfair for those whose birthday is in January, which includes my niece, so that would be a particularly selfish idea. I think I just accept my sporadic blogging. What's on trend for this year well it seems to be MOOCs Massive Open Online Course   and weather we should believe the hype. For somebody who has been championing OERs for the last 3 years I am quelling my enthusiasm by participating in my first MOOC next week University of Edinburgh's eLearning and Digital Cultures