Join me for another @EdTechNY @Meetup at @Knewton! This time big data continues to take center stage... and apparently is in need of a bigger "boat?!" Excited to learn more.

Event Details:

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 7:00 PM
Knewton
FREE!
100 5th Avenue, New York, NY
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Education APIs: “We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat”

Join the EdLab outreach train, register for the event here & add your +1 below!

Learn more about today's seminar here and add your brilliant thoughts, questions and takeaways to the vialogue below!

Visiting from outside the EdLab? Learn how to set-up a vialogues account here!

Laura Scheiber and I completed the first session of this +Acumen online leadership course (original blog post from a few weeks ago that lays-out the details) and wanted to share our takeaways in relation to our work at EdLab and specifically, ideas to possibly integrate into future LaunchPad initiatives. Visit the +Acumen site here. We are excited to share our learning from this free opportunity from the world's largest social entrepreneurship-focused venture fund!

+Acumen Session 1:

What we liked:
-Not a MOOC

Fast Co. recently released their list of the world's top 10 "most innovative" educational technology companies. Do you agree? Why or why not? What company's should have made the list? Are these kinds of lists really very helpful? Hurtful?

Read more here.

(Image source)

As security and bots become even more of an issue for the world of online work, life and product development, I thought I would share this overview of 2-step password authentication. I wonder if this might be something to consider for our applications here at EdLab? Would this sacrifice users and became a "pain point" for educators already burdened with the sizable "lift" involved in setting-up their students with new technologies and applications?

Here are the main considerations that Edtech Magazine lays-out in a recent blog post (these are only the headings... the author provides all info to back these up):

Are you surprised by any of the findings made graphic in the design embedded below? If so, what? What can the role of educational technology play in lowering America's illiteracy rate? Can visual, gesture and image-based applications be harnessed to make a difference? Are there existent technologies that are inexpensive AND accessible?

Please include attribution to OnlineCollegeCourses.com with this graphic.

Continuing in the tradition started by this post...

Here is the third edition of this series of weekly "Vialogues Wins" curated by Vialogues PM Joann Agnitti and Outreach Liaison... me!

New users...

We are excited to report an additional 100+ users on the Vialogues.com platform.

Evidence of "Deeper engagement"...

Jo has begun to receive emails focused on more than just product feedback or bug issues and instead, messages from educators who to learn how use Vialogues in their classroom in more meaningful ways. We've even received messages from educators excited to share Vialogues with their colleagues.

Revisiting the ViaBlog!

We have begun to re-examine the role of our Pressible "Viablog" and its potential for Vialogues/New Learning Times cross-promotion. Please feel-free to visit the site via this link and explore our newest postings. The benefit of this exposure should serve to feed new interest to both Vialogues.com AND NewLearningTimes.com.

I couldn't resist sharing this infographic... it has both CATS and assertions that technology is eroding our language skills. Two favorite topics. I am personally, a fan of the "new grammar" - less redundant, shorter (my English teacher, my great grandmother, is throwing a red pen right about now) communication. This is why I am fascinated by encryption, the history of the telegraph, Twitter and programming languages. I read The Information: A History a Theory a Flood (thankfully electronically - it's a giant tome!) and it forever changed by view of information theory and communication. What do you think? Tech + Grammer = / What about in light of security concerns and grammatically correct passwords? Do we encourage, discourage or remain neutral re: grammar in the EdLab ecosystem?

Please include attribution to OnlineCollege.org with this graphic.

(Image: Inkling's pre-event rare books exhibit)

Event Details:
Last-night Laura Costello and I ventured down to an Inkling "Unbound" launch event hosted at Jazz @ Lincoln Center. From the first moment, the event was truly "edtech elegant" from the green-tied staff and card catalog drawers full of flowers to delicious hors de oevers hour paired with a rare book exhibit.

Once the cocktail hour was over, we were ushered into the beautiful glass-walled event space that overlooks Columbus Circle and Central Park; truly a breathtaking view. The tables were again covered in white linen and flowers and arranged along tiered mezzanines. The event definitely felt more like a wedding or dinner theater than a launch, but this was an overwhelmingly positive aspect. Too often at tech-focused events you are crowded in uncomfortable folding chairs and there is not really a great place to prop your devices and the tables, which served only a decorative and not gustative purpose, proved most helpful (see why this was a double-edged benefit in "Takeaways" listed below).

Noodle.org, the innovative college and course recommendation platform, who recently presented a seminar here at EdLab, featured their CEO, Joe Morgan's, "EdTech Take" on both the Noodle blog and Tumblr page. We created this series to help us to track and discover useful resources and tips for "edupreneurs" and hope that this vialogue from the growing #EdTechTake series will prove useful and interesting to ed-focused researchers and entrepreneurs near and far.

What edupreneurs and researchers would you like us to feature? What questions would you like us to ask? Your feedback is always welcome and greatly appreciated!

We are still working on a podcast-hosting solution... so stay-tuned!