Institute for the Future I recently had the opportunity to hear Bob Johansen from the Institute for the Future present a vision of the future that is at once compelling and frightening: The term "consumer" will be replaced by "participant." Our perception of reality will be largely shaped by technology. More powerful, personalized filters will be required to block out data bombardment. A "generation"—an age group that shares a basic worldview and cultural experience—will continue to shrink such that parents and children may be three or four generations removed from understanding each other. The concept of mentoring will be flipped—youth will teach their elders (which reminds me of a funny bit by Craig Ferguson) To appear "trustworthy" will be held in suspicion. The art and science of "futuring" is not new. In 1901, H.G. Wells published a collection of provocative and predictive essays entitled Anticipations. Later, he prophesized a "world brain": The encyclopedia of the future may conceivably be prepared and kept by an endowed organization employing thousands of workers permanently, spending and recovering millions of pounds yearly, mediating between the original thinker, the scientific investigator, the statistician, the creative worker and the reporter of realities on the one hand and the general intelligence of the public on the other. But such an organization would outgrow in scale and influence alike any single university that exists, and it would inevitably tend to take the place of the loose-knit university system of the world in the concentration of research and thought and the direction of the general education of mankind. So I decided I would pick up a few recent threads and try my hand at imagining the future of online learning environments: 1. Creativity will finally get the respect it deserves in most areas of life. In learning material development, the relative nexus of power will shift from content experts and technology specialists to artists and communicators. As content continues to be more easily accessed, repurposed, and crowdsourced, content experts will be less involved in leading creation of educational materials and more focused on add to, refining, and validating the accuracy and context of information in a "knowledge commons." Technology specialists will have a relatively smaller role in determining the scope, function, and quality of learning materials as instructional technologies continue to be more widely available, more sophisticated, and more easily employed by those without technical specialization. The creative contribution will become the central leading force because the powerful, essential assets of imagination and creativity will always be illusive, human, and without substitution. The Web learning environment of the future is creative centered; the best small glimpse of this I could find today is this MoMA exhibit designed to provide rich, experiential engagement through art; if anyone has more or better examples, please post them. 2. As technology increases the availability of information, the ability to contextualize and understand the potential application of the information will become more and more important. Institutions that have traditionally played an "information gatekeeper" function, determining what material is and isn’t published, now find themselves in difficult times. In their place will rise a "curation" function to help users find the right information and use it in their own social context. See the Scholarly Kitchen and Publishing 2.0 for their take on Web curation from the information-provider perspective. Here is an example of a social curation. Harold Jarche talks cogently about the relationship of the individual and community in collaborative sense-making—what he calls "personal knowledge management." Instead of a world where full information flow is the default and filters are needed to remove distractions, I hope for a world where our senses are our primary inputs and assistive technologies help us decide when to "turn on" certain curated streams of information. 3. The historical social patterns of society will recreate themselves in social media. As the name suggests, social media are social. Early generations of social media were shaped by technology capabilities and the vision of the technology developers, but as social media mature and pervade, they will replicate age-old social structures and conventions to a greater degree. A diversity of familiar spaces will evolve—for those who want to discuss a professional interest in a private, well-maintained space; for those who will scream in the streets; and so on. Participation levels will increase as these separate virtual environments are increasingly distinguished. 4. Facebook will either change or give way to other things. The controlled, specific look of Facebook has served it well in attracting new users. At some point, Facebook will lose the enthusiasm of many users if it doesn’t allow greater flexibility and control to the user interface and options. In the future, users will expect to be able to function as "curators"—look, sound, feel—of their own spaces and experiences (with capabilities far beyond those in MySpace; a fusion of talent show and tool box). 5. GPS-powered social media will become the way people learn about and experience their real physical environments. The potential of accessing information and learning opportunities related to a specific location/situation is staggering. See Chris LaBelle’s post on augmented reality, for example.

I recently gave a talk to the green industry about using web-based video and photo assets to help meet instructional goals. I was reminded of the amazing potential visual story telling holds for industries that find their center of gravity outdoors. Visual pedagogy is a powerful tool that can be used to unlock this potential and more effectively share the stories and underlying knowledge in the context of real-world physical settings. As we’ve discussed in an earlier post, Augmented Reality is pushing this kind of "location-based learning" to new heights, but video will always be a major player in the reformulated media types that emerge in the years to come. As the sites and resources that house and deliver visual assets (think Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr) continue to evolve and integrate with map and location-based websites like Google Maps (and Panoramio), crowdsourcing and syndication models continue to become more important. Therefore, the core functional requirements around which web-based interactive sites are defined  require a much deeper understanding of visual literacy and how to convey information using visual assets (visual pedagogy). One of the leaders in this field is Michael Wesch at Kansas State University. His recent article on being "knowledge-able" is enlightening and a must read for anyone looking for insight on this topic. Core SME (subject matter expert) content, as essential as it is, will more frequently co-exist (but not necessarily comingle) with content contributed by the SMA (subject matter amateur). One of the best examples of this shift can be found on CNN’s recently redesigned website. CNN is the 59th most popular website in the world (Alexa.com) and its main audience is 25 to 44 years old and predominantly male. Sometime around November of 2009, CNN completely reformatted their site to include a very heavy focus on video content (see the prominent position, size and number of video thumbnails) and pushed their video navigation tab to the top position on the top bar (after the Home tab). They also integrated their iReport pages on the top navigation bar and included the following text when a user clicks on this tab: "Welcome to iReport, where people take part in the news with CNN. Your voice, together with other iReporters, helps shape how and what CNN covers everyday." We’ll definitely see more of this message across different industries, "your voice, together with other iReporters." The SMA, or subject matter amateur, has become a driving force now even in the news industry, and text is continuing to move into a supporting role for video content.  Howard Keen in his book, "The Cult of the Amateur," along with others, decries this strong push towards unregulated and unvetted content creation, but he concedes that examples like Wikipedia seem to suggest that accessibility continues to trump quality gatekeeping in many domains. As Keen reminds us, "It’s hard to beat free." Is the CCN website shift towards supporting video and "iCreateContent" a sign of things to come, i.e. "Our Stuff" + "Your Stuff"? Sure, interaction is always a plus, but will more once-trusted sources of information go the way of Wikipedia? Here are some interesting statistics about the increasing popularity of video on the Internet: "The age diversity of online video viewers is reflected in a July 2008 Nielsen study that showed a fairly even distribution by age among the US audience. Although a combined 39% of US viewers were under age 35, the single largest cluster of users was in the 45-to-54-year-old cohort. Older users were also well-represented, with a combined 22% ages 55 and older." Cisco Systems says that in 2012, Internet video traffic alone will be 400 times the traffic carried by the U.S. Internet backbone in 2000. Video-on-demand, IPTV, peer-to-peer video, and Internet video are forecast to account for nearly 90 percent of all consumer IP traffic in 2012. The SlideShare presentation referenced above has some links to companies (especially gardening or green industry related) who are tapping into this type of approach. Not all of the examples employ crowdsourcing or even user participation, but they definitely extend the reach of each organization and utilize video and photos in a way that is relevant and engaging. A key consideration in this type of undertaking is whether or not an organization’s deficiency in this area leaves room for the end-user (SMA) to define the visual assets that shape sites like Panoramio and Flickr. The repositories that hold our visual assets will become more relevant as they progressively proliferate content to more network endpoints and also leverage geotagging. Do you have any similar examples? Do you feel like most of the E-learning you’ve encountered takes into account user preference towards video and visual assets?

In private industry, successful use of new media technology is evaluated by the subsequent effect on revenue, with recognition, pay increases, and promotion the payoff. In contrast, Higher Education is slow—some say glacially slow- to adopt new media, and is ill equipped to reward individuals when they do incorporate new technologies in their research, education, and outreach strategies. Let’s take a quick look behind the glacier. In higher education, peer-review is the Holy Grail for gaining acceptance and receiving credit for scholarly work. This means that creative work is scrutinized by other experts in the field in an impartial manner for accuracy and quality of thought. This process is considered an essential part of academic life; with the traditional peer-reviewed print journal article the final result. Ironically, many University faculty—especially those with Extension responsibilities-are under increasing pressure to move away from focusing solely on print publications, and begin to use all available media sources, and incorporate a variety of educational strategies in their education and outreach efforts. In a presentation to a group of educators at a recent Extension national conference, Robert Hughes, Jr., Professor in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana outlined this radical shift in educational focus, including "from one-to-many" strategies of short messages broadcasted through Web sites, email newsletters, tweets, videos, and "many-to-many" strategies, including blogs, wikis, and social media. However, few if any of these strategies are represented in the peer review process, or in the evaluation of scholarly activity, otherwise known in the academic world as promotion and tenure (P&T). P&T drives innovation in the system, and Hughes challenged the audience with a proposal for developing guidelines to include new media technologies in that process. Otherwise we continue to be faced with a dilemma: How can the development of new media be encouraged if those products don’t even appear on the radar screen for evaluation of scholarly success? How can the wheels of peer-review navigate down new media roads if those who do the peer review are not familiar with this new terrain? How do promotion and tenure committees apply metrics that don’t exist in typical faculty P&T guidelines? In a preview of its 2010 Horizon Report, the New Media Consortium observed: "New scholarly forms of authoring, publishing, and researching continue to emerge but appropriate metrics for evaluating them increasingly lag behind or fail to appear. Citation-based metrics are no longer indicative of the relative importance of a given piece of scholarly work; new forms of peer review and approval, such as reader ratings, inclusion in and mention by influential blogs, tagging, incoming links, and retweeting, are arising from the natural actions of the glob community of educators. These forms of approval are not yet recognized as significant." Here at Oregon State University, we have been struggling with this issue of how to support and implement the scholarly acceptance of new media in a process traditionally dominated by print journal publications. To that end we have identified the need for two levels of peer-review: a review by the content experts (where the buck stopped before), and a simultaneous review by media/instructional design specialists, who can judge the choice of media and its design, and recognize the look and feel of a successful learning product. We have identified several pilot new media projects to shepherd through what we hope will become a model for scholarly peer review. We’ll be entering new territory and will face numerous challenges, including-as Professor Hughes pointed out-documenting impact, identifying metrics, and translating new media citations to a format that is compatible with traditional P&T citations. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be to get buy-in on a new model from administrators, and particularly those who hold the cards in the P&T process. We have to look at an evolution—or perhaps a revolution—in evaluation to endorse new media as scholarly activity, and really begin to meet the rapidly changing needs of our clients. You can view an Adobe Connect archive of Dr. Hughes presentation here.

Humor. Style. Attitude. Personality. Expressiveness. Cleverness. Charisma. Are these characteristics in "e-teaching" friend or foe to e-learning? A theme in both educational theory and communication theory calls for educators and communicators to know their learners/audiences and target their learning styles. This post is a reminder that teaching style is just as important as learning styles. And e-teaching style is just as important as e-learning styles. The e-learning world can learn a lesson from popular media—when given a choice of similar topic material, people will establish preference and loyalty to certain voices and personalities in large part because of their personal style, charisma, cleverness, creativity, … personality. Interestingly, the personal style of the educator is often devalued as the culture of learner focus has grown. As teachers are expected change shape to fit the learners’ needs, the nexus of education tends to shift away from the teacher’s personal experience and personality to the learners’ needs and experiences. Though a recent study has challenged the strongly advocated learner-style focus in education, attention to learning styles is not likely—nor should it—go away anytime soon. However, the personal style of the educator is an asset that should be encouraged and leveraged—in the classroom and in e-learning. This does not need to be an either/or world. Just because an educator asserts his or her style does not mean that the learners’ styles are disrespected. And just because the educator’s materials carry the educator’s personal style does not mean that the objectivity of the content itself is compromised. The theory of social learning that we often discuss in this blog supports not just the preferences of the learners but also the instructors as they interact in a learning environment. It is interesting to see how teacher personality has been viewed over the decades: More and more teachers and administrators are realizing the importance of the teacher’s personality in the learning-teaching situation." That was how the editor of the Journal of Educational Research introduced "A Study in Teacher Personality" by M.A. Tschechtelin in 1951. By 1977, the importance of teacher personality had been extended to instructional materials themselves: "Personality aids teaching, for communication takes place between the teacher and the learner—even in the absence of the spoken word (nonverbal communication)" (W.J.F. Lew, "Teaching and the Teacher’s Personality," Education Journal). Today, some sources of e-learning materials (for example, this from Penn State) embrace the importance of teacher personality in online course material design. Yet, overall, educator personality seems to be even less supported in e-learning contexts than in face-to-face classrooms. The personal style of the educator is often minimized or avoided when educational materials are developed for e-delivery. There are many reasons for this. For example, it is often thought that it is too difficult or dangerous to try to employ humor in instructional media. But blogger Geetha Krishnan defends the engagement value of humor in e-learning. And Cathy Moore offers some interesting tips on using humor in e-learning. But because humor is a contextual art, not a definitive science, clear do’s and don’ts can’t be universally defined. That’s where instructor judgment and … personality come into play.

Recording audio for E-learning contexts is a straightforward process when you use the right equipment and adhere to some basic steps to optimize your recording environment. When was the last time you heard a poorly recorded E-learning course, podcast or online presentation? You know of what I speak. Close your eyes and let the hissing, cracking, and muffled notes course through your auditory cortex. It’s unbearable and you long to hear a stereo-balanced, amplitude appropriate MP3 file. Let’s roll up our sleeves and talk shop in this post. I’ll discuss basic techniques for audio recording and highlight some equipment that will help ensure your message is communicated loud (but not too loud) and clear. 1. Microphone Use the best microphone your budget allows. Microphones come in many different shapes, sizes, and prices. If you are on a more conservative project budget, I suggest that you invest in a USB Plantronics headset with integrated microphone as I’ve generally had good luck with this brand. Using a USB microphone ensures that your recording is transferred to your computer digitally (analog microphones use your sound card and must convert an analog signal to digital—resulting in sound degradation). Here’s a good "starter" USB microphone from Plantronics that can be purchased for under $40. If you are willing to spend more than $100 and are looking for a higher-end USB microphone, the Samson C03U USB Condenser Microphone is popular for audio screencast recording. 2. Beware of the Buzz Buzzing, humming and other audio degradation can be caused by a number of issues, but electrical interference is the most common. Of the different forms of electrical interference, ground loop problems are perhaps the most noticeable and difficult to control. Ground loop is generally due to uneven levels of current being picked up on your power cables. You will want to be careful to pay attention to nearby TVs, overhead fluorescent lights, and anything else that emits an electrical current when using a microphone. This is just as important when using an external microphone attached to a video camera. Here’s a good example of why you need to be careful around electrical devices like TVs. 3. Ambient Noise Dampening In many offices or rooms ambient noise is very noticeable. Fans from heaters or computers are not uncommon in many work environments and what sounds like a very faint hum will oftentimes take on a strong and distracting static or hiss when recording using a microphone plugged into your computer. Do your best to dampen the ambient noise. Your main goal is to block or absorb this noise. There are some creative ways to do this. If you have a noticeable amount of ambient noise in your environment, surround your microphone with foam and ensure your computer’s fan and other computer peripherals are behind this dampening barrier. Here are some examples of how this might be accomplished. 4. Recording Basics Make sure that you keep the microphone on your headset right in front of your mouth and don’t change its location once you decide on the best placement. You will notice a very significant change in audio quality if you move your microphone during a recording session. S et your audio input and output level at about 3/4 of the maximum amplitude so that when you playback the audio using your speakers (test quality via both your speakers and USB device), your system more closely resembles that of the normal end-user. Double and triple check your initial recordings to ensure the audio sounds suitable for your context. Again, don’t forget to listen to your audio using your USB headset and then remove the headset and listen using only speakers. Be a discerning user and ask yourself if the audio is free of hissing, cracking, and other distractions. 5. Software There are a lot of choices, and in all honesty, this is one of the least important aspects of ending up with high-quality audio. Audacity is a solid freeware option and will be more than sufficient for most. If you have some money to spend, Sony’s Sound Forge is a sophisticated audio editing tool. Soundtrack Pro for the MAC is also very popular. I tend to use these more pricey software options when editing audio files that need buzz or hum reduction or more filters applied. I also enjoy Sound Forge’s ability to open video files and edit the soundtrack of that file using their audio editing tools. 6. Attitude Before you begin recording your audio, spend some time thinking about what type of tone or personality you want to project when narrating your content. You obviously want to sound energetic and excited about your content area. You also want to make sure that you sound clear and intelligible. Do your best to record audio files for a module in one sitting. Your voice changes as the day goes on and mornings are usually a difficult time to record for many as their voice is still raspy. Additionally, make sure you have some water nearby and take care of your throat as you log the hours required to complete your audio files. Do you have some other helpful tips?

The term "access" is used with great frequency and sense of purpose in education these days. We’ve got our accessibility standards, an open access movement, and just plain access. It is a good word. But it is insufficient. The basic definition of "access" is simply to gain entrance. There is nothing inherently educational about gaining entrance. An unlocked door, for example, gives us access to a building; a gate gives us access to a park. The door and the gate are essential—without them, we would not be able to enter the building or the park. But what happens in the building or park is the important thing. In addition to providing access, educators and e-learning developers need to provide a memorable experience (experiential learning) and stepping stones for life’s next steps (opportunity). Access Access is worth understanding. Accessibility is sometimes confused with availability. All sorts of scientific, medical, legal, and financial technical information is openly available on the Web, but that does not make it accessible. Turning availability into accessibility requires accommodation—that is, translating information into something usable to target audiences. Many factors contribute to whether e-learning materials are accessible. E-learning is accessible when … It fits with their existing knowledge, vocabulary, and proficiency. It is delivered in formats (text, images, audio, etc.) that match the learning styles of the learners. It accommodates users with disabilities (for example, is compliant with ADA Section 508). It is technically compatible with the learners’ equipment (computer, software, Internet connectivity, etc.) The cost to the students does not exceed what they are willing and able to pay. Clearly, access is a continuum. Nothing can be accessible to everyone. Experience Once learners have crossed the access threshold, e-learning materials should effectively engage them in a memorable, preferably interactive experience. The value of experiential learning has long been documented. John Dewey outlined a progressive education based on experience (for example, see his book Experience and Education, 1938). In Freedom to Learn (1969), Carl Rogers described his view of experiential, social learning. More recently, David A. Kolb has explored many facets of the topic over decades, most notably in Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (1984). New technologies, such as those frequently discussed here, now provide an abundance of tools for educators to engage learners online. Opportunity Someone I know at another institution of higher education got me thinking about the inadequacy of "access" in the first place. He recently performed an informal survey of students and found that the word "access" does not resonate with them. But they really like the word "opportunity." Educational opportunity conveys that the student and the educators will be active participants in an experience that will be useful to the student. "Opportunity" goes hand in hand with another educational term—learning outcome. But from the students’ perspective, they don’t seek learning experiences in order to receive an "outcome." They would prefer it be put in simpler, more learner-centric terms. When you buy a car, you assume it will come with keys—that is, you will have access into the car. So why do educators keep focusing on the access to learning. Instead, answer the learner’s question: "What will I get out of it?" Education should provide the experience that creates opportunity.

When Mike Derocher, the Experience Design Manager for HP in Corvallis, Oregon invited us to see a demonstration of their Halo telepresence system, I wondered how this might be relevant to our work in financially strapped higher education. But the demonstration convinced me that the technology of telepresence is on a vector to a whole new landscape of possibilities for collaboration and learning; and despite it’s current high price tag, it’s sending us an echo from the future. I’m sitting in front of the three large HD video flat screens and seeing my colleague Chris LaBelle broadcast through HP’s Halo telepresence system. My first impression is a slight feeling of disequilibrium mixed with mild shock at the realism of the experience. The Halo system—and others like it—are taking the debate of "no significant difference" of online experiences to an entirely new level. The system goes to great lengths to recreate the physical, verbal, nonverbal immediacy of a face-to-face encounter, despite what could be thousands of miles separation between participants. For years, those who design distance education facilities have struggled to create truly interactive environments, where the technology would become transparent to both near and far audiences. But the limitations of jerky, low resolution video, poor audio, and awkward room design made this extremely difficult to achieve. But through a combination of HD technology, interface design, and careful attention to room geometry, these telepresence systems are on the verge of erasing the physical and psychological distance between participants in online collaboration and learning. These kinds of solutions could take the discussion and inquiry into the variables of presence and immediacy in online learning and collaboration to a whole new level. And as designers of online educational experiences, we need to be aware of the possibilities. Listen to our podcast about telepresence.

Although it is true that much of our e-learning thinking these days revolves around money, our work is not only about the money. Through this troubled economic time, we must maintain some attention to our ultimate goals: effective teaching and learner success. For more than a decade, online and distance learning experts have been quoting studies from literally every educational corner of the world that identify the "no significance difference phenomena," meaning that study after study continually find no measurable differences between online students and face-to-face students in achieving learning objectives. In fact, researcher Thomas Ramage, wrote in 2002 that, "Interestingly (he) found no studies that exposed lower grades or test scores of online students compared to traditional students." Now, there is research that indicates what we’ve seen anecdotally for some time, it’s not just there is no significant difference, but online learners perform better than those taking the same course through face-to-face instruction. USDoE graphic A systematic review by the U.S. Department of Education of the research literature between 1996 and July 2008 brought us a meta-analysis called Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. Among the key findings: •    Students who took all or part of their course work online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course in a traditional face-to-face instructional setting. •    Either blended or purely online learning opportunities within a single class or instructional setting generally result in similar student learning outcomes. •    Elements such as video or online quizzes do not appear to influence the effectiveness of an online learning class. •    Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection. Digging deeper into the findings of the meta-analysis indicates possible reasons why online students outperformed their face-to-face counterparts.  Without over-simplifying too much, it appears to relate to time on task. Do online or blended courses enable asynchronous learning to occur, which allows online students to more conveniently schedule their learning activity with other work and family commitments?  Does this in turn give them more time on task as it relates to their learning activity, and therefore make them more successful in class? Online learning per se may not be the reason learners are more successful. It is probably more how the learners use the tools. The bottom-line outcome is that when the tools are made available and the curriculum is appropriately enhanced to engage the tools, the learners can be more successful. Among the types of individual studies that were reviewed in the meta-analysis, a couple of specific examples help provide greater detail, and together they indicate improvement can occur in both undergraduate and graduate programs. In her article Learning Style and Effectiveness of Online and Face-to-Face Instruction, Charlotte Neuhauser of the School of Business at Madonna University in Michigan, compared two sections of the same undergraduate business class. And then looking at graduate classes, Charles Karr, Barry Weck, Dennis Sunal, and Timothy Cook at the University of Alabama writing in Analysis of the Effectiveness of Online Learning in a Graduate Engineering Math Course, discuss the complications and successes of online high-level mathematics courses. Both studies are good examples of the type of research included in the meta-analysis by the US Department of Education study. And both studies reveal significant success for online learners. It is only slightly disingenuous for me to assert it is not about the money when it comes to online learning at OSU. In reality it is not only about the money.  Chris LaBelle, Oregon State University Educational Outreach instructional designer, points (and regular contributor to this blog) out. "…that 99% of the time, it’s ‘all’ about the money when it comes to elearning. For the students, distance education is usually about promotions or job advancement that comes with a new certification or degree, which equals money, and these students usually save money by being able to take online courses as opposed to leaving their job, home, etc." And, of course, many Continuing Education business models around the country return significant revenue directly to colleges and department, and that is not inconsequential. So, if it is, at least in part, about improving learning for our students and learners, what’s next? How do we continue to improve? A guest post by Dave King, Associate Provost of OSU Outreach and Engagement

While it was enlightening to see Steve Jobs demonstrate what the iPad can do, I found it more interesting to see what the iPad cannot do. Tablet-like in size only, the iPad’s conformity to the iPhone OS, features and ergonomics suggest that we’re seeing Apple promote a renewed focus on empowering crowdsourced content creation over significant platform enhancements—perhaps in a way we have not seen before. When looking at the evolution of smart phones over the last year, it’s fair to say that mobile content characteristics are progressively less defined by bandwidth and endpoint constraints and more influenced by app developer community innovation, user need, timeliness, and cost. Dev Patnaik at BusinessWeek recently discussed product innovation in this light and the relation to mobile content and e-reader growth is telling. In this environment of greatly improved platform and decentralized content development, the $500+ iPad brings renewed attention to the e-book phenomenon and adds some serious sizzle to mobile video viewing and Web surfing. However, whatever benefits it might bring to the table, my gut tells me its raison raison d’être is to strengthen Apple’s content delivery position around their iTunes content delivery model. In an insightful post about how the iPad is shifting power to the publisher, the Scholarly Kitchen blog suggests Apple’s main revenue is tied to device sales; however, my own view is that Apple’s iTunes revenue stream is more raging river than trickling tributary. Case in point: Apple has been generating iTunes profit upwards of several hundred million dollars for some time now; all the while selling many of their devices at a price just marginally above the cost of production. All this to say that there is some reason to be cautious about aligning oneself too exclusively with iTunes or any other proprietary content repository where gatekeeping is controlled offsite. Here at Oregon State University, as we’ve contemplated porting our text- and image-based publications into an e-book format, the complicating factors have not generally revolved around issues of user preference or medium maturity (we know our users would enjoy more video- and image-based content and that the majority of our users have adequate bandwidth and hardware), but rather gatekeeping and format. The former speaks to the fact that like many content distributors, we need to ensure we have ample control over posting, maintaining and disseminating content from our repository; the latter refers to the challenge we have in approximating the robust feature set found in the PDF format. We’re exciting with some of the emerging technologies that might allow us to address both of these obstacles in the months to come. Based on the iPad’s content delivery model, it is clear that Apple and other mobile device manufacturers are seeking to expand their role as content gatekeepers. Consequently, it is more important than ever to understand how a company like Apple prioritizes, monetizes, and categorizes content types and what this tells us about whether or not the role of the gatekeepers will be to secure the kingdom or assess excessive tariffs to participate in it. One of the more interesting windows into Apple’s recent iPad activity comes from Flurry, a mobile device analytics company. In late January, they posted the following on their blog: "Using Flurry Analytics, the company identified approximately 50 devices that match the characteristics of Apple’s rumored tablet device. Because Flurry could reliably "place" these devices geographically on Apple’s Cupertino campus, we have a fair level of confidence that we are observing a group of pre-release tablets in testing. What did their "stealth" analysis uncover? Essentially, prior to the release of the iPad, Flurry analytics showed that the tablet device would support mainly games, entertainment, news and books, music, and other lifestyle content. Strong on content consumption capability (browsing), short on content creation (computing). I’m also betting that Apple recognized the trend towards cloud based computing and "thin client" functionality implemented via HTML5 and web services and designed the iPad accordingly. See also Horizon’s 2010 report, which points to these trends.  As an e-learning developer, I also see the continued movement towards edutainment as deconstructing and redefining traditional e-learning containers and approaches for both professional workforce development and lifelong and informal learning contexts. Is it a game, an e-learning course, a marketing tool? In many instances, especially when conveyed via phone apps or mobile devices, the content simultaneously matches all three descriptors. Personally, I see this convergence of content form and device function opening up vast new domains of content creation potential; especially since phone apps are more increasingly used as free e-readers or content organizers that allow pushing and pulling of remote content in a pay to play (or read) model (see Amazon’s iPhone Kindle application). Augmented Reality and touch-sensitive science games are two of the best examples of educational game-like format—oftentimes incorporating integrated marketing. While there are some who feel e-reading on mobile devices is not ready for mass adoption, Kindle’s popularity has laid that discussion to rest. Timothy Egan, a writer for the NY Times blog, iCountry, sees the acceleration of e-book reader adoption as a step towards preserving "book culture" and believes that a key part of ensuring this movement is equitable is to hold the gatekeepers accountable. In relation to accountability, access becomes paramount—can those who lack financial means still find opportunities to read without having to pay? This is even more important as our traditional print-based gatekeepers such as local bookstores and libraries continue to close their doors or reduce their holdings. A nod to the oft-quoted phrase, "the future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed" is appropriate as mobile devices will always require significant equipment and subscription costs—not to mention the ancillary costs of content downloads. As a publically-funded organization whose mission is framed by a directive to seek public good over private gain, gatekeeping is very relevant to our group as it relates to how we monetize our publications and ensure equitable access to content. If we were to push more of our content to the Kindle platform, we would be forced to port our book or article content to HTML, import the content into Amazon’s store and then handle e-commerce using Amazon’s proprietary billing system. We have neither the toolset to efficiently format our longer books into a CSS/HTML format, nor do we have the stomach to fulfill the logistical steps required to run a departmental revenue stream through Amazon. What’s more, this virtual space would only be suitable for publications with ISBN numbers, which represent a fraction of our publications. iPhone and Android offer interesting opportunities since more and more of our users are using mobile device applications as a means to find information. We are currently working on an app for the iPhone and feel this will provide us with an opportunity to understand how we can best use this format to help promote larger print-based projects and also bring interactivity to those publications that are place-based, procedural and fit the metaphor of a field guide. However, this option requires fluency with object-oriented programming and the iPhone SDK and is the more time intensive option when it comes to development. In terms of format, we are particularly interested in the possibilities that seem to be emerging with the Epub format. Several different e-book readers and the iPad support the Epub format, which CS4 AdobeInDesign allows as an export type. InDesign allows more out-of-the-box formatting of graphical objects and is part of our group’s existing toolset. Add Adobe Air and CS5’s export to iPhone/iPad and you have some interesting options. What remains to be seen is whether the iPad will allow users to import Epub documents directly into their device from a non-iTunes repository, which would provide a much needed nod to more equitable access.

The personal interview is perhaps the most powerful tool for video storytelling both online and off. Here are some basic technical production tips for producing more effective and watchable video interviews. I’m aiming at those readers who may be beginners, or who may "know enough to get themselves in trouble." 1. Use a lavalier mic. Use the best microphone you can get your hands on. This should be a lavalier mic, either wireless, or wired with a sufficiently long audio cable. Be aware that inexpensive wireless mics can be noisy, and may pick up interference from other radio transmitters or noise generated by computers or machines. You may have to switch the frequency setting to get around the interference, or move your subject to a different location. Better wireless systems are diversity receivers, and automatically switch between frequencies to avoid interference. If you have a less expensive video camera that lacks an external mic input, you will have to use the on-camera mic. If that’s the case, be sure to find a quieter location to minimize background noise, and get close to your subject . 2. Monitor your sound. Monitor through headphones when you are interviewing (or have the videographer do so if you are lucky enough to have one!) Listen for problems with the mic, clothes rustling, wind, or other background noises. Ask your interviewee to repeat a thought if there was an audio problem during the recording, or they stumble on a word during a particularly useful quote. 3. Get proper audio levels. Use a manual setting on you audio levels if your camera has them, and set the levels such that the signal only occasionally peaks in the -12db (decibels) range on the audio meter, and doesn’t hover in the "red" zone above that. The goal is to record the audio as loud as possible, but without distortion. Viewers will put up with bad video (as YouTube proves), but are very impatient with bad audio. 4. Use a tripod. While we have become used to "shaky cam" over the years, it can be hugely distracting in interview situations. I tell my video students "Use a tripod even when you can’t." This may sound uncompromising, but I assume that beginners will still be tempted to handhold the camera more often than they should. For interviews, camera stability is critical: at least find way to prop yourself against something solid, and failing that, form a tripod with your elbows on a table. 5. Frame your subject effectively. Follow the "rule of thirds" when framing your video subjects to bring a more powerful and aesthetically pleasing composition to your interview. When looking at your subject in the viewfinder/LCD panel, visualize two sets of imaginary parallel lines dividing the image horizontally and vertically into six zones. The four locations where those lines intersect are "power" points. (See fig.1.) Composing your video image to put interesting objects on or near these points will can energize the image, increase viewer interest, and be more engaging to their eye. For example, instead of placing a person being interviewed in the exact center of the picture, pan the camera slightly to one side and put their eye line on a power point. Beware of giving your subject too much "headroom", and tilt the camera down to balance the image vertically. You might want to also occasionally reframe the picture to provide some variety when editing your interview. Fig. 1. Use the "Rule of Thirds" to energize your composition. 6. Get close. Video is a close-up medium. Frame the image of the interviewee to create a "chest shot", or move in even closer. How close can be a stylistic preference, but setting up the shot to see the whole person can be difficult to pull off, as people can look awkward, distant, and usually not have a clue of what to do with their arms! 7. Choose where the interviewee should direct their answers. Consider directing your interviewee to talk "off-axis" to the interviewer (which may be you as both camera operator and interviewer.) Have them talk to you as you stand beside the camera, or to an imaginary person just a few degrees off-center. The alternative is to have them speak directly to the lens. This creates a very different feel to the interview, and is not recommended for non-professional talent. Whichever way you choose, stick with it throughout the production. Better cameras have the ability to flip the LCD viewer 180 degrees and place it flat against the camera facing out. This way you can conduct the interview with the camera on your right, and quickly glance at the viewfinder to monitor your shot without distracting your subject. 8. Prep your interviewee. Give your interviewee some tips before starting the interview. Remind them that your questions will not be heard on the final edited program, so they should include some of your question in their answer to create a complete thought. Remind them that "electrons are cheap" and you can always stop and re-start if they aren’t happy with something they said or if they misspoke. Make them feel comfortable. It’s not easy being interviewed on camera. 9. Get their info on camera. Be sure to begin the interview by asking your subject to say and spell their name aloud, and identify their position/title. This helps immensely when you are editing and adding their names with on screen fonts—you might lose your notes, or may not be the one who edits the video. Misspelling a name in a production is a major faux pas you want to avoid! 10. Express gratitude. Be sure to thank your interviewee, and offer to get them a copy of the final program, or send them a URL to the video after it’s placed online.