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New paper: Examining the technological and pedagogical elements of select open courseware
Read more: New paper: Examining the technological and pedagogical elements of select open coursewareI’m pleased that my colleague Dr. Michael McNally (Ualberta SLIS) and I have published a new paper in First Monday titled “Examining the technological and pedagogical elements of select open courseware.” The paper is non-traditional in both its focus and method, but it’s a step toward answering some research questions Michael and I have. Specifically,…
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Voices from the Digital Classroom
Read more: Voices from the Digital ClassroomI’m thrilled that my colleague Kris Hans and I were featured in this new book about teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kris and I did an interview with the Teaching and Learning Online Network (TALON) about our experience with, and our vision for, remote instruction in 2020, and I’m grateful the fine people at…
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The Rogers Communications outage and the need for offline functionality
Read more: The Rogers Communications outage and the need for offline functionalityI recently published a piece about the lessons we should learn from the Rogers Communications outage. The way I see it, the outage underscored two facts We are incredibly dependent on the Internet. The importance of preserving offline functionality Offline functionality means having devices that are functional without an Internet connection. What I took away…
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Intel in the news
Read more: Intel in the newsIntel has been in the news thanks to the release of its new i9 desktop processor (dubbed the ‘fastest’ CPU in the world) and its new ARD discrete mobile GPUs. Intel’s i9 CPU is what we’re used to; more watts. What’s most interesting is that Intel is targeting gaming enthusiasts (and possibly esports professionals) in…
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A passwordless future
Read more: A passwordless futureThe FIDO Alliance recently published a white paper about its plan to replace passwords. Coverage about this paper from Wired and The Register is excellent, and the white paper itself provides some interesting solutions for eliminating the need for passwords. FIDO proposes using secondary Bluetooth enabled devices to transmit cryptographic keys locally, without data being…
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The Steam Deck
Read more: The Steam DeckEarlier this month, Valve opened pre-orders for its new Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC built on AMD’s Zen 2APU. This handheld PC runs a Linux-based operating system called Steam OS (v. 3.0). The Steam Deck allows users to play ‘many’ of their Steam game library portably. Tech Radardescribed the Steam Deck as “one of…
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Apple Peek Performance Event: M1 Ultra and Mac Studio biggest highlights
Read more: Apple Peek Performance Event: M1 Ultra and Mac Studio biggest highlightsApple’s Peek Performance event has come and gone. Other blogs will discuss the minutia of the event, so I won’t attempt that here. Instead, I’m going to focus on the highlights – mostly Apple Silicon. M1 Ultra As not to bury the lead, the star of the event was the new M1 Ultra chip. This…
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Presentation: Higher education trends that will outlast the pandemic – McGraw hill
Read more: Presentation: Higher education trends that will outlast the pandemic – McGraw hillMy colleague Kris Hans and I recently concluded an invited presentation for McGraw Hill publishing. We discussed higher education trends that will outlast the pandemic. We discuss hybrid learning, online teaching/learning exposure, lifelong learning and open education, higher education costs, micro-credentials, and the growth of the EdTech industry. A recording of the presentation can be…
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2021 MacBook Pro: Classic features with a new engine
Read more: 2021 MacBook Pro: Classic features with a new engineApple’s ‘Unleashed’ event happened on Oct 18th, and the company finally revealed their updated MacBook Pro laptops running on Apple Silicon. Today, The reviews are starting to trickle out. For a full breakdown of everything Apple announced (including updates to HomePod mini, Apple Music, and AirPods 3), I would encourage you to head over to…
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Op-Ed: Open educational resources would make post-secondary costs more affordable
Read more: Op-Ed: Open educational resources would make post-secondary costs more affordableThe following article was published in the Edmonton Journal by myself, Chaten Jessel (University of Calgary) and Michael McNally (University of Alberta) highlighting the benefits of provincial government funding for open educational resources in Alberta. OER are highlighted as a strategy for the Alberta 2030 post-secondary plan. We argue that the current conservative government could…
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Boostrapping an education technology podcast
Read more: Boostrapping an education technology podcastIn July, 2020 my colleague Kris Hans and I launched the EdTech Examined podcast. Almost one year and 25 episodes later, we’ve had some amazing conversations and we’ve have had the privilege to speak to educators and innovators in EdTech. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate the opportunity to interview people on our…
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The professional vs the amateur
Read more: The professional vs the amateurI get a lot of questions about productivity from my students and colleagues. I suppose by being relatively well read on the subject of productivity, and by being “perceived” as productive, I have brought this on myself. I could easily channel the advice of Cal Newport or David Allen, but I want to discuss a…
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Post-PC what?
Read more: Post-PC what?The ‘Post-PC’ era was supposed to signal a shift away from traditional computing (ie laptops and desktops). It was supposed to be the age of the smartphone and tablet. I discuss a recent Asymco post by Horace Dediu and provide my own thoughts on the Post-PC idea. Now here’s a term that I haven’t heard…
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Apple’s M1 chip: Making desktop computing cool again
Read more: Apple’s M1 chip: Making desktop computing cool againMy intention was not for this website to become the Apple blog, but the famous fruit company seems to be dominating much of the news cycle this year. This past summer, at the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple announced that it would be transitioning from Intel to its in-house Apple Silicon over the next…
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Conference presentation: ‘Toward Open Pragmatism’, OE Global 2020 Conference
Read more: Conference presentation: ‘Toward Open Pragmatism’, OE Global 2020 ConferenceAbstract Although open licensing is a necessary component of open educational resources, the overall openness of a resource is determined by several factors beyond licensing. This paper examines the applicability of the “Open Enough” framework (McNally & Christiansen, 2019) for examining the openness of existing Open CourseWare (OCW). This previously published conceptual framework proposed eight…
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Conference presentation: ‘How open is it?’, OpenEd 2020 Conference
Read more: Conference presentation: ‘How open is it?’, OpenEd 2020 ConferenceAbstract While open licensing is a foundational aspect of open educational resources, there are several “factors” that educators must use to achieve openness in their course design. This study builds on the previous work of the authors’ conceptual framework, titled “Open Enough?,” for evaluating the level of openness within Open CourseWare (OCW) (McNally & Christiansen,…
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EdTech Examined #13: Burnout
Read more: EdTech Examined #13: BurnoutIn this episode, Erik and Kris discuss the Descript video editing software, how universities continue to adopt new technologies, and the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also recommend their top apps for managing mental health and provide more organization strategies for managing the demands of online learning. CONTACT:Website: edtechexamined.comEmail: hey@edtechexamined.comTwitter: @EdTechExamined
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EdTech Examined #12: Teaching in Virtual Reality
Read more: EdTech Examined #12: Teaching in Virtual RealityIn this episode, Erik and Kris interview Dr. Anthony (Tony) Chaston, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Mount Royal University, in Calgary, Canada. Tony teaches Sensation & Perception and Research Methods at MRU. His research interests include visual perception and cognition and the use of virtual reality for reducing anxiety. Most recently,…
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EdTech Examined #11: Burner Phone
Read more: EdTech Examined #11: Burner PhoneIn this episode Kris and Erik discuss digital whiteboard software, burner phones and burner numbers, The September 15th Apple event (new iPads and Watches!), remote podcast recording, how to setup digital breakout rooms, broadcasting software, the cost of remote education, and Winter semester uncertainty. CONTACT:Website: edtechexamined.comEmail: hey@edtechexamined.comTwitter: @EdTechExamined
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Nvidia buying ARM opens a huge can of worms
Read more: Nvidia buying ARM opens a huge can of wormsThe stunning news that Nvidia was moving to acquire ARM Holdings for $40 billion has led many in the tech industry to consider the possible implications of this merger. The first thing that comes to my mind is the relationship between ARM and the many licensees that use technologies developed by ARM. Currently, Nvidia is…
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Erik Christiansen 