CURRENT AND

FUTURE TRENDS OF
MEDIA AND
INFORMATION
LESSON 9
Massive Open Online Content
■ A massive open online course (MOOC) is a free Web-based distance
learning program that is designed for the participation of large numbers of
geographically dispersed students.
■ The word MOOC was coined in 2008 by Dave Cormier, from the University of
Prince Edward Island for a course offered by the University of Manitoba,
"Connectivism and Connective Knowledge." There were 25 tuition-paying
students from university and 2,300 non-paying students from the general
public who took the course online. There were RSS feeds for material and
participation was facilitated through a variety of venues including Moodle
(a learning management system), blog posts, Second Life and real-time
online meetings.
■ http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/massively-open-online-course-MOOC
 Wearable
Technology
■ https://www.wareable.com/wearable-tech/what-is-wearable-tech-753

■ Wearable technology is clearly gadgets you wear, but there are

important distinctions. Wearable tech isn't a trendy pair of
headphones, for example, or a digital watch.
■ The new age of wearables tap into the connected self – they're laden
with smart sensors, and make use of a web connection, usually using
Bluetooth to connect wirelessly to your smartphone. They use these
sensors to connect to you as a person, and they help you to achieve
goals such as staying fit, active, losing weight or being more
organised.
How do you wear them?
■ Most wearables are wrist worn, but an increasing number can be
clipped to the body and hung around the neck. Wearables are quickly
blending with jewellery, and are worn in the same way.
■ Watches, rings, pendants – you name it, there's a wearable that does
it.
Kinds of Wearables
Smartwatches
Wrist-worn devices that connect to your mobile phone to act as mini-windows
onto your digital life. Telling the time is simply an after-thought of these wrist
watches; they'll tell you about the notifications of calls, messages and
usually email and social media as well.
Sports Watches
For those active types who love running, cycling, swimming and more a
dedicated sports watch should be at the top of your wearable wish list.
These devices should have GPS (don't be suckered into one that isn't, it
won't be accurate) and can provide another level of information about your
chosen sport, and take your training to the next level.
Head-mounted displays
If you want some kind of virtual information delivered right to your eyes, then
a head-mounted display (HMD) is what you'll need. Some are designed to
block out the rest of the world, like Oculus Rift, and present a computer-
generated virtual reality to fool your brain into thinking it's somewhere else
entirely.
Smart clothing
Smart clothing is a rather broad category which encompasses
both garments with electronics in that make them look more
interesting or fashionable, as well as clothing that essentially
appears normal but houses additional functionality.
Smart jewellery
Smart jewellery is mostly aimed at women right now, and the
most common usage is to discreetly notify the user of texts,
calls or emails when their phone is out of reach.
Implantables
Implantables are a group of wearables that you have no choice
but to carry with you wherever you go. These are devices
surgically attached somewhere under your skin.
They might be for medical reasons, like insulin pumps, or for
contraception or, on the other hand, you might just fancy
sticking some magnets in your fingertips. Yeah, that's a thing.
 3D
Environment
■ 3D Interactive environments are often referred to as virtual reality or
interactive 3D and have a figurative appearance. Much like our own
world, this type of world allows interaction with other (networked)
beings as well as manipulation of objects (Loeffler & Andersen 1994).
They are a kind of virtual habitat.
■ http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/3D_interactive_environment
 Ubiquitous
Learning
■ Ubiquitous learning is often simply defined as learning anywhere,
anytime and is therefore closely associated with mobile technologies.
The portability of computers and computing devices has blurred the
traditional lines between formal and informal learning. Ubiquitous
learning, according to the ubiquitous Learning Institute home page, is
also considered to be learning that is situated and immersive, and
thus could take place from the traditional classroom in a virtual
environment Whether the device is in hand or surrounding us, the idea
of ubiquity comes from the ease of computing brought about by
technological advances.
■ https://education-2025.wikispaces.com/Ubiquitous+Learning
 Aspects of Ubiquitous Learning
Nicholas C. Burbules (2009)
■ Spatial ubiquity - We have constant access to the Internet (and
conversely, others have constant access to you).

■ Mobile devices - From mobile phones to computers sewn into clothing,

learning is enabled by the mobility of computing devices. We are
headed toward a time when being constantly "connected' will be a way
of life.
■ Interconnectedness - With web 2.0 technology, we can be constantly
to connected not only to information on the Internet, but to other
people who have knowledge and skills that we don't. This creates a
web of knowledge that becomes a large part of how we learn - at all
times
■ Practical ubiquity - There is a blurring of traditional lines in an
either/or situation. Burbules (2009) notes that "work/play,
learning/entertainment, accessing/creating information,
public/private are distinctions that conceptually might never have
been as clear-cut as our usage suggested them to be; but for a host of
social and cultural reasons they are becoming increasingly untenable
as sharp distinctions today."
■ Temporal ubiquity - Instead of one's schedule being created around
the opportunities to learn, there is a shift and with mobile and
ubiquitous computing, learning can be scheduled around one's habits
and preferences. This also denotes a shift in perception of and
interaction with time. Rather than "lifelong learning" being something
that adults do after traditional school is over, lifelong learning is
continual learning - seemless between traditional an non-traditional
learning opportunities across time.
■ Globalized transnational networks - In the flattened world, there are
continual flows of people, information and ideas across traditional
physical and cultural barriers. We are in an age of fundamental
interconnectedness.