As the distance education field rapidly evolves, so do the uses for telecommunication. View the current trends in telecom for distance learning and learn how to prepare for future uses of this critical component.

1. The Future of
Telecom in eLearning
April 2008
David W. Nelson
Strategic-Partner
david.nelson@schooleymitchell.com
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2. What Is The Ultimate In
Distance Learning?
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3. Themes and Memes


When Are We?
The Death of
Jeopardy!

The Final Frontier?

Logan’s Laptop

Theory and Practice
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4. The Evolution of Economies
Economy
Business of…
Unit of
Change…
Agricultural
Survival
Horsepower
Industrial
Automation
Motor
Information
Knowledge
CPU/RAM
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5. …but for how much longer?



“This current
economy will come to
an end in the 2020s,
about seven decades
after it began” – Stan
Davis: 2020 Vision
Translation: We are
Senior Citizens in the
Information Age
“What’s next?” –
President Jed Bartlet
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6. The Evolution of Economies
Economy
Business of…
Unit of
Change…
Information
Knowledge
CPU
Experience
Quality/Wisdom
??
Transformation
Awareness
??
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7. What will these economies
look like?
So Oprah, how do we
educate ourselves for
these new
economies?
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8. Fundamental Meme #1
If a teaching methodology relies
on information discovery,
memorization or retention, it is
rapidly becoming obsolete.
(if it isn’t already)
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9. Redefining ‘Smart’?



“Think of a world where
storage is infinite and
bandwidth is free” –
George Gilder:
Telecosm
“The Internet will go to
the fastest learners” –
Dr. Eric Schmidt
Always-on data will
eventually eliminate
trivial conversations
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10. 10

11. Driving Technologies





High Quality
Mobile Browsers
WiMax/3G
UMA –
Unlicensed
Mobile Access
Exponential FO
Speeds @ ~$0
More bits &
more bits, with
no end in sight
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12. 12

13. Fundamental Meme #2
Institutions will have to rapidly
become much more adept at
recognizing, teaching and
evaluating the previously elusive
attributes of creativity,
inspiration, innovation, intuition,
and even ‘luck’.
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14. What Happens If We’ve All
Got the Same Data?




Application vs.
Retention
Can we measure
how we think?
Can you teach
telepathy?
“Intelligence is
essentially the
capacity to
remember and then
predict patterns in
the world.” – Trip
Hawkins
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15. Driving Technologies




Medical Imaging
Paired with Massive
Bandwidth
Genetics and
Nano-technology
Presence &
Preference
Q: Should Brain
Scans of
Presidential
Candidates be
Mandatory?
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16. Fundamental Meme #3
Computers, as we know them,
will disappear.
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17. Where Will They Go?
 Convergence/VoIP
 Virtualization
 Unified
Communications
 “Embodied
Virtuallity”
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18. 18

19. From This…
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20. ..To This
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21. Who Is Schooley Mitchell?
 Largest Independent
Telecom Consulting Firm
in North America
 Established in 1980
 Background in Corporate
IT, Major Carriers,
Accounting, Management
Consulting and Project
Management
 Professional,
Independent, Objective,
Expert
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22. What can we do now?




Embrace Web
2.0: Blogging,
Conferencing, etc
Investigate
Virtualization
Pursue
Voice/Data
Integration
Be Playful, Not
Paranoid
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