This YouTube video is making the rounds through Twitter and I thought I’d share it with you. While it pokes fun at higher education and the use of technology thereof, I don’t think it’s too far off the mark. What I did like was that the professor was flexible enough to listen to his students and make some changes. After you watch the video, I’ll walk you through some tips that I would give to the professor on redesigning with technology in mind. More
Ever seen the very cool YouTube video “The Machine is Us/ing Us“? If you have, you’ve already experienced kinetic typography. In general, kinetic typography is a mix of motion and text and can include music or voice overs. I know that when I watch this type of video I am more inclined to pay attention to the information or what the author has to say than if it is just music, just motion, or just text. I’m not sure if you could do an entire course this way, but wouldn’t it be interesting to use kinetic typography as a central theme?
I could certainly see it used as a way to engage students and then offer them directions in which to explore the topic at hand. And, if using a social platform like an Elgg installation, the learning could be social as well.
The thing about this TED talk that interests me is the fact that Timothy Ferriss is an über-learner. He focuses on what he wants to learn to nearly the exclusion of all else … with extraordinary results.
I wonder what instructional design could be if the same concepts were applied to the design cycle? To the students’ interests and well-being? To the teacher’s enthusiasm and communication abilities?
I am not a “self help book” kind of person. I never have been. But after watching the above video I requested his book, “The Four Hour Work Week,” from the local library. I wanted to know how he could attain so much focused, informal learning (a bit of an oxymoron) into such small amounts of time.
I was surprised at what I found. Here was a self marketing guru who understood what it means to challenge the assumptions of, well, about everything. This intrigued me as I tend to question the assumptions of e-learning and design all the time. Why use an LMS? What can I get out of branded products vs. open source? Who benefits the least from e-learning? Does it matter how and when learning happens just as long as it happens? Can informal learning replace the classroom? Will the community as “producer” overtake formal education today or in the future?
Applying his formula for success (DEAL) to the instructional design process may be an interesting foray into leveraging “lifestyle design” for education.
Has anyone had any experience with Timothy Ferriss and his book as applied to education, in general, and e-learning, specifically? Let me know!
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