RPP #182: Yellowdig - Interview with Shaunak Roy

• Interview with Shaunak Roy, CEO, and Founder of Yellowdig. More than a discussion board, Yellowdig meets students where they are, making engagement effortless and natural throughout the entire student lifecycle. We discuss:

  

  Shaunak Roy, CEO

• Mr. Roy's background and company story
• The reinvention of the discussion board
• OER-based Peer-driven discussions
• Gamified discussions
• Immediate automated engagement scoring
• LMS agnostic LTI integration
• 300,000 Yellowdig daily users
• Why 'Yellowdig' name
  
• Podsafe music selection 
• Ipanema Daydream by Bird Creek

Duration: 29:43

RPP #176: The Future of Learning Platforms by Phil Hill

• This is a special audio and video podcast of Phil Hill's Keynote, entitled The Future of Learning Platforms. Phil Hill is Publisher of the PhilOnEdTech Blog and Partner at MindWires, LLC. As a market analyst, Phil has analyzed the growth of technology-enabled change for educational institutions. Phil gave this Keynote at the USciences eLearning 3.0 Conference on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Phil discusses:
• LMS market share

  

  Watch on Youtube

• LMS as a walled garden 
• The chasm between visionaries and pragmatists
• Transformation of MOOCs
• New platform designs
• Moving beyond the digitization of traditional classrooms
• Personalized learning
• Machine learning and student data
• Links
• PhilOnEdTech Blog
• MindWires, LLC
• Presentation Slides
• Podsafe Music Selection
• There's nothing impossible by Deus, a techno-classical musician from the Ivory Coast.

Duration: 50:52

RPP #170: The Horizon Report - Interview with Audrey Watters

• Interview with Audrey Watters, a self-described “education writer, an independent scholar, a serial dropout, a rabble-rouser, and ed-tech’s Cassandra.” We discuss the Horizon Report and The History of the Future of Education Technology, the special focus of her Hack Education Project. 

• Like previous Horizon reports, the 2018 edition identifies key trends, challenges and developments in ed tech that are likely to impact teaching and learning in the next five years.
• Since we don't delve into the details of the latest Horizon Report in this interview, here is a snapshot of the "important developments in technology." You can judge for yourself the real value of this report after listening to this interview. 

Ref:The 2018 Horizon Report Higher Education Edition

• Educause stepped in to continue the work of the Horizon project after the NMC unexpectedly declared bankruptcy and ceased operations at the end of 2017.

• Links
• Educause: 2018 NMC Horizon Report
• Watters: A Horizon Report History
• Watters: The Horizon Never Moves
• Watters: Historical Data from the Horizon Report (Higher Education)
• Inside Higher Ed: Educause Publishes Report on Tech Trends
• Inside Higher Ed: Educause Steps In to Save New Media Consortium
• RPP #140: Future Trends: Interview with Bryan Alexander (2016)
• RPP #138: Higher Education Horizon Report by Alex Freeman (2015)
• RPP #123: eLearning Tech: What's on the Horizon? (2014)
• Podsafe music selection 
• Don't Be Long: The Beatles v Elken, a mashup of George Harrison's Blue Jay Way by Elken, a 60's influenced band from Dublin, Ireland. 

Duration: 38:04

RPP #168: The Blackboard Ultra (Conversion) Experience

• Discussion with Rob McCunney, Blackboard Sysadmin and Instructional Designer, University of the Sciences. We discuss our conversion from Blackboard Learn managed hosting to SaaS and then to the Ultra Experience and Ultra Courses. 
• We discuss:
  

  

  Adoption of Blackboard Learn Ultra

• Moving from Managed Hosting to SaaS:
• What were some of the conversion issues?
• How much time/effort was expended?
• Were there any surprises?
• What advantages did you see?
• Turning on Ultra Experience:
• What were the conversion issues?
• What are the limitations?
• Turning on Ultra Course View:
• What are the limitations?
• How was Blackboard support?
• Links
• Blackboard Learn Ultra Experience
• RPP #157: Blackboard Roadmap - Interview with Jim Chalex
• Podsafe music selection from Music Alley
• Concerto No. 2 in G Minor (Summer) from the CD entitled "The Four Seasons by Vivaldi" by the American Baroque Orchestra. 

[Disclaimer: The University of the Sciences is a customer of Blackboard.]

Duration: 31:13

RPP #167: Alchemie - Interview with Julia Winter

• Interview with Julia Winter, CEO and Founder of Alchemie, which combines commercial game design with a deep understanding of how students learn. Alchemie’s digital learning tools provide an intuitive learning experience that encourages students to explore and experiment with concepts. We discuss:
  

  

  Julia Winter, CEO

• Julia's background
• History of Alchemie
• How Alchemie works
• The audience for Alchemie
• How students learn by manipulating bonds and electrons
• The Epiphany Platform
• Real-time Assessment
• Machine learning and data analytics
• AR/VR/XR
  
• Podsafe music selection
• "Summertime" by Brother Love

Duration: 27:07

RPP #166: FlatWorld - Interview with Alastair Adam

• Interview with Alastair Adam, Co-CEO of FlatWorld, a digital-first college textbook publisher building a niche between the high cost traditional publishers and open education resources (OER) publishers. We answer the questions:
  
• What is the background of FlatWorld?
• How many titles are available?
• How many faculty are using FlatWorld books?
• How are authors recruited?
• What formats are available? 
• How much does a typical textbook cost - electronic and print?
• Are electronic versions compatible with Kindle and iPad?
• How much do authors earn?
• Does FlatWorld support the LMS?
• What special features are available?
• What is "FlatWorld Unlimited"?
• Podsafe music selection
• Mine Again from Passion Leaves a Trace by Black Lab

Duration: 36:02

RPP #164: Future of Education Discussion with Bryan Alexander

• This special audio (and video) podcast is a broadcast of a Panel Discussion at the USciences eLearning 3.0 Conference held on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Rod kicked off the Panel discussion by showing a brief video on one possible future education scenario.
• Moderator: Dr. Bryan Alexander
• Panelists:
• Dr. Bobbe Baggio, Associate Provost, Cedar Crest College
• Dr. Ken Hartman, CEO Degree Quest & Former President, Drexel University Online
• Dr. Paul Katz, President, University of the Sciences
• Dr. Rodney Murray, Executive Director of Academic Technology, University of the Sciences
• We discuss the questions (with direct links to sections):
• How will students differ in 2030?
• How will faculty differ in 2030?
• Where do you see educational entrepreneurship having the greatest impact?
• Which educational trends keep you up at night?
• Impact of student and national debt
• and much more  
• Links
• Rod's Pulse Podcast Youtube Playlist
• Podsafe music selection 
• Utopian Prince by Rod Murray - AI Music from Jukedeck - create your own at https://jukedeck.com

Duration: 62:27

RPP #163: Academia Beyond Millennials with Bryan Alexander

• This special audio (and video) podcast is a broadcast of Dr. Bryan Alexander's Keynote, entitled Academia Beyond Millennials: The Next Generation of Higher Education. It was given at the USciences eLearning 3.0 Conference on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Bryan discusses:
• Globalization of higher education
• Demographic, macroeconomic and political changes
• Education trends
• Defunding of public universities
• Student loan debt
• Privacy in the post-Snowden world
• Trends in Accessing, Sharing, Cognifying and Filtering
• AI and automation
• VR + AR = Mixed Reality
• iOT
• Links
• Dr. Bryan Alexander's Biography
• Future Trends Forum
• Join the eLearning 3.0 Conference mailing list
• RPP #140: Future Trends: Interview with Bryan Alexander (March 2016)
• Podsafe Music Selection
• Utopian Prince by Rod Murray - AI Music from Jukedeck - create your own at https://jukedeck.com

Duration: 47:35

RPP #158: StudyTree - Interview with Ethan Keiser

• Interview with Ethan Keiser, CEO of StudyTree
• We discuss how StudyTree integrates academic support services with artificial intelligence to provide students with a mobile automated academic assistant. StudyTree analyzes students’ grades and behavioral patterns to construct customized recommendations to improve their academic performance. 

  

  Ethan Keiser, CEO
• We answer the questions:
• How does the StudyTree app work?
• How is AI used in the app?
• How does it work with STEM and Humanities?
• How do you form cooperative study groups?
• How does it compare to live coaching?
• How does it integrate with the LMS?
• Who is using it now?
• What is the ROI for the student/institution

• Podsafe Music Selection
• Autumn Day by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Duration: 34:23

RPP #157: Blackboard Roadmap - Interview with Jim Chalex

• Interview with Jim Chalex, Vice President of Product Management at Blackboard Inc. We discuss the Blackboard Learn product roadmap. What are the various "flavors" of Blackboard Learn and how will they evolve over the next couple of years? We discuss:
• Experiences / Course Views: Original, Ultra

  

  Jim Chalex, Blackboard VP
• Deployments: Self-Hosted, Managed Hosted, SaaS
• Mobility: Responsive web design vs new native apps
• We answer the questions:
• How many clients have deployed SaaS, both Original (9.1) and Ultra?
• What are some of the new features and when will they be available?
• Workflow improvements 
• Inline Grading Update 
• Responsive design optimization 
• Embedded analytics
• Integrated audio and video 
• Cloud storage integration 
• Attendance tracking
• Community (aka Portal) functions in Ultra  
• Blackboard Roadmap Slides based on Jim's BbWorld17 Presentation:

Blackboard Learn Roadmap Slides from Rodney B. Murray

• Links
• BbWorld 2017
• BbWorld Report: Blackboard May Be Turning Around by Michael Feldstein
• Podsafe music selection
• Achaidh Cheide - Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license 

Duration: 34:44

RPP #153: eLearning after 20 Years - Interview with Ken Hartman

• Interview with Dr. Ken Hartman, CEO of Degree Quest and the past president of Drexel University Online. Ken has a long distinguished history in education and especially online learning. This talk highlights changes to teaching and learning 20 years after Ken published his book, The Internet Guide for College Bound Students in 1996. We discuss:
• Rise in college tuition

  

  Dr. Ken Hartman

• Use of student "Big Data"
• Observations from the ASU GSV Summit
• Future of the LMS
• Flat online course enrollment
• Disruptive innovation in education
• Quality outcomes from online education
• Role of AI and VR in e-learning 
• Faculty development
• Importance of Data Analytics

• Links
• The Internet Guide for College Bound Students (1996)
• Prospective Students Seek Information, But Colleges Don't Always Provide
• Above the Noise: The Higher Education Highway 
• Acquisitions, Mergers and Reinvention (Not Closures) Will Characterize Higher Ed’s Future
• Back to School 2015 - Dr. Kenneth Hartman (video)
• Degree Quest
• ASU GSV Summit

• Podsafe music selection 
• New Age Piano: Lines Build Walls by Ehren Starks

Duration: 32:49

RPP #151: Algebra By Hand - Interview with Michael Eiseman

• Interview with Michael Eiseman, Founder of Learn By Hand, LLC. With a masters in Chemical Engineering, Michael was a research scientist for DuPont R&D for nearly 30 years. He has always had an interest in education and launched Algebra By Hand™, the first app that allows drag and drop solving of algebra problems. We discuss:
• Michael's background and his passion for teaching underprivileged students

  

  Michael Eiseman

• Learning how to code
• Building a web app
• How the app teaches algebra, especially procedural fluency 
• Equity in mathematics
• Business plan
• Links
• Algebra by Hand
• Video showing how ABH works for teachers (2min)
• FREE trial subscription for Algebra By Hand
• A Better Chance
• Learning Javascript on Khan Academy
• Learning Ruby on Rails on Lynda.com
• Digital Ocean for Web App Hosting
• The Next Big Blue Collar Job is Coding
• RPP #130: Learn to Code
  
  
• Podsafe Music Selection
• Blue Purpose by Rod Murray using Jukedeck - create your own at https://jukedeck.com.

Duration: 27:18

RPP #150: Memorang - Interview with Yermie Cohen

• Interview with Yermie Cohen, MD, Co-Founder & CEO of Memorang, Inc. Memorang is a free web and mobile study tool that helps students memorize any type of information through spaced repetition, multiple quizzing modes and games. Students can prepare for exams with thousands of free pre-made flashcards and quizzes. Memorang partners with leading publishers, institutions, professional organizations, and authors to develop trusted content. We discuss:
• History of this profitable startup company
• Flashcards for the USMLE, MCAT, Netter's Anatomy, NCLEX

  

  Yermie Cohen, MD
  Co-Founder & CEO Memorang

• Custom study playlists
• Flashcards / multiple choice question / games
• Knowledge architecture for self-testing
• Links
• Memorang App
• Reimagine Education Conference & Awards 2016
• Best Educational App - Silver Award: Memorang: Leveling the playing field in higher education
• Podsafe music selection
• "Ain't No Reason" by Brett Dennen - featured on several TV shows including "House", "Scrubs" and "Grey's Anatomy"

Duration: 31:41

RPP #149: Teaching in a Digital Age - Interview with Tony Bates

• Interview with Dr. Tony Bates, CEO of Tony Bates Associates Ltd and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University. Tony was the former Director of Distance Education and Technology at the University of British Columbia. We discuss the underlying principles that guide effective teaching in an age of technology: 
  
• New skills needed in our digital age
• Explicit skills, knowledge management, critical thinking, independent learning
• Preparing faculty for teaching
• Move toward team teaching
• Role of publishers
• Collaborative learning
• Communities of practice
• Agile design applied to teaching/learning
• Future of MOOCs after the hype
• Most important trends for education 5-10 years out
  
• Links
• Teaching in a Digital Age by A.W. (Tony) Bates
  
• Podsafe music selection
• The Christmas Season by Devo Spice, a comedy rapper from New Jersey who is one of the most popular artists on the nationally syndicated Dr. Demento Show.

Duration: 38:33

RPP #146: Autodesk Education - Interview with Randy Swearer

• Interview with Dr. Randy Swearer, VP of Education Experiences, Autodesk. We discuss Autodesk’s efforts to empower students for lifelong learning through problem-solving, collaboration and design thinking.
• Topics

  

  Dr. Randy Swearer

• Free Autodesk software for all faculty and students
• How "design thinking" applies to non-design careers
• Disruptions to traditional learning institutions
• Rise of microcredentaling & badging
• Preparing students for jobs of the future
• The classroom of the future
• Peer Learning
• Ted Nelson and the Autodesk connection to his Project Xanadu
• 3-D Printing
• Democratisation of learning
• Links
• Autodesk
• Autodesk - Free Software for Education
• Autodesk Design Academy
• Instructables
• OLO Smartphone 3D Printer
• ApprenNet by Practice XYZ
• The next manufacturing revolution is here
  
• Podsafe music selection
• New Age Piano: Lines Build Walls by Ehren Starks

Duration: 33:22

RPP #138: Higher Education Horizon Report by Alex Freeman

• The 2015 Higher Education Horizon Report presentation by Alex Freeman of the New Media Consortium



Alex Freeman

• Keynote presentation at the 2015 Pennsylvania / Delaware / New Jersey Distance Learning Association's (PADLA) Annual Conference & Expo
• Hear about the future of Higher Education:
• 6 Key Trends
• 6 Significant Challenges
• 6 Important Tech Developments
• Links
• Presentation Slides w/Audio
• PADLA.org
• NMC.org
• NMC Horizon Report Video Intro
• Horizon Report PDF
• RPP #123: 2014 Horizon Report
• Podsafe Music Selection 
•  "As The Wind Blows" by Kitaro

Click Image for Larger View

Duration: 31:49

RPP #137: ProctorU - Interview with Don Kassner

• Interview with Don Kassner, CEO & President, ProctorU Inc.

Don Kassner, CEO

• We answer these questions:
• Why do Universities need identity management and authentication and remote proctoring?
• How does ProctorU and UCard work?
• What kinds of biometrics do you use?
• How reliable are biometrics?
• Can clients use ProctorU for large scale simultaneous use in testing centers?

• Links
• ProctorU Inc.
• Utilizing webcam-based proctoring to deter misconduct in online exams
• Federal aid recipients illegally received millions in Federal Student Aid (PDF)

• Podsafe Music Selection
• Autumn Day by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Duration: 24:30

RPP #135: Disruptive Innovation in Education: Interview with Michelle Weise

• Interview with Michelle R. Weise, the Executive Director of Sandbox ColLABorative, the R&D arm of strategy and innovation at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), formerly Senior Research Fellow for Higher Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.

  

  Michelle R. Weise, PhD

• We discuss:
• Disruptive innovation with regard to education 
• Moving from institution/faculty-centered to student-centered education
• Online competency-based education aligned with workforce needs
• Performance-based assessments
• Business model moving way from Carnegie (seat time) Unit
• Grade inflation and credit transfer problem
• SNHU's success with online and other schools that are spinning off online units
• LMS vs CRM solutions
• What traditional universities and incumbent LMS vendors should do in the face of disruptive innovation
• Rod's Podcasts on Disruptive Technology in Education
• RPP #19 Disruptive Technology in Education
• RPP #20 Disruptive Technology in Education II
• Disruptive Technologies in Education (Youtube)
• Reading List
• Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution by Michelle R. Weise
  
• The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen
• The Undoing of Disruption by Evan Goldstein
• The University As Ed Tech Startup: UMUC, Global Campus, Texas, and SNHU Roll Their Own by Phil Hill

• Podsafe music selection from Music Alley
• Too Long by Yael Naim, acclaimed singer/songwriter from Israel. She gained fame when her song New Soul played during Apple's Macbook Air ad campaign

Duration: 39:33

RPP #134: Bb World 2015 Recap: SaaS vs Ultra

• Rod discusses his experience at Bb World 2015, especially what he learned about the new SaaS offerings and Ultra Experience. Listen to the audio podcast as usual or listen and watch accompanying slides via Youtube. 

• Thanks go to Jim Chalex, Sr. Director of Product Management, and Greg Ritter, Product Management Director at Blackboard Inc, for their BbWorld presentations on this topic. I hope I got it right!

View Rod's #bbworld15 Tweets

• SaaS vs Ultra
  
• Bb Learn 9.1 & Ultra Roadmaps
• Bb Collaborate Ultra Roadmap
• Bb Mobile Ultra Roadmap
• New Persona-based Apps
• Benefits of SaaS
• SaaS: Standard, Plus & Advantage
• Transition and Migration Options
• Ultra Tabs and Modules
• Blackboard up for sale!

• Links
• try.blackboard.com
• www.bbworldlive.com

• Podsafe music selection from Music Alley
• Don't Be Long: The Beatles v Elken, a mashup of George Harrison's Blue Jay Way by Elken, a 60's influenced band from Dublin, Ireland. 

Duration: 21:58

RPP #133: Blackboard Ultra: Interview with Mark Strassman

• Interview with Mark Strassman, Senior Vice President, Industry and Product Management, Blackboard Inc.
• Mark Strassman oversees the company's product and integrated
  
  portfolio strategy to ensure Blackboard continues to build solutions that serve institutions, administrators, educators and students. 
• We discuss the new Blackboard Ultra:
• What are Core, Essentials, Insight, Student Retention?
• What is the update roadmap for hosted systems?
• Versions of Ultra SaaS, multi-tenant, single-tenant
• New web REST API
• Is Ultra completely adaptive/responsive? 
• New Bb Student app
• Ultra workflows subset for Community
• Mobile compatibility; adaptive design
• Future of Mosaic
• "Persona Apps" 
• New Collaborate Ultra
• Links
• Blackboard Inc.
• Bb Student App
• What's the Ultra Experience for Bb Collaborate?
• EdTech Connection
• Podsafe Music Selection
• Concerto No. 2 in G Minor (Summer) by the American Baroque Orchestra. Purchase the full CD: The Four Seasons by Vivaldi 
• Duration: 35:26