The Next “Killer App” or… So you thought your administrative system was expensive!

1. The Next “Killer App”or…So you thought your administrative system was expensive! Carl Berger http://sitemaker.umich.edu/cberger

2. Predicting the future • Cost • Capability • Bureaucracy

3. What can we predict Detroit Iron Football Mainframes

4. What can’t we predict • The Big Three Microcomputers Penn State in the Big 10!

5. For the ”Killer App” • A ubiquitous system for students, faculty and support to carry out learning, instruction and research. • What can we predict? • What can’t we predict?

6. Predicting from what we use today! • Pieces today of the killer app and how • we use them • (Our Legacy Systems) • Research from what students and faculty need and want

7. Pieces of the app… now Portals…

8. Penn State…

9. On Wisconsin…

10. Teaching and Learning… Course Management Systems…UM CourseTools

11. Penn States Angel System

12. For research and collaboration… UM WorkTools:

13. Important pieces of the Killer App that are behind the scenes • MERLOT • IMS • LRN

14. Referatories…

15. Specifications…

16. Metadata…

17. Some integrating forces started

18. An early demo from Stanford

19. Some commercial extenders

20. Building web pages…

21. Are they really effective? • Pro • Can be a combo of off the shelf and home made • Can pick and choose • Con • Not integrated • Not automatic push/pull • Must design the integration of pieces

22. So if we want to build a killer app, how do we know what’s important? • Ask them… • Student Survey • 30,000 Students (Surveyed 3,000) • 1,583 responses • Faculty Survey • 3,600 faculty (surveyed 1,500) • 764 responses

23. How often do you use the web for:… Q19

24. What do you need or want to use the web for: Q36

26. Grouped into UM projects

27. Faculty survey on portals

28. 19. What features would you like to see in a faculty Web portal?

29. A little Multidimensional Scaling doesn’t hurt

30. Key features of the app… • Tabbed screens that put and get data, info, fun • WINWINI about classes, school, life and what is due (in my face!) • Access to courses…lists, groups, assign, roles, tests, grades • Enroll, pay bills, buy and sell (classifieds) • HomePage easily made…administered, personalized, skinned • Negotiated filters for friends, profs, family, school • Assignment progress and ‘Portfolios’ • One ID, pswd and single sign on

31. Key features of the lab/learn app… Single screen that… Uses data from how I learn to help select material that is comfortable and yet challenging Takes me to visualization when necessary Allows me to move from visual to literal to symbolic to case study to analysis Keeps track of my progress and allows me to refer or revisit old places and products Helps me build a portfolio of skills and knowledge that I can use in future learning (courses)

32. Real Processor (vision) • On a beautiful fall day, Maria Jones walked onto campus carrying her usual “stuff.” Stacked in with a book, a clipboard, and a magazine was Maria’s 7.5-by-9-inch “minibook” computer, buzzing merrily away.

33. Rather than buzzing as the result of a reminder that Maria had set earlier, her computer was buzzing because she had come into proximity of and triggered another computer about one hundred feet away, which then sent information about her courses for the day to her minibook.

34. Reaching into the stack, Maria took out the minibook and looked at the exposed flat screen. She noticed that one of her classmates had sent the charts for a class presentation later that day. “Whoops, something wrong here,” she thought, looking for a convenient bench nearby.

35. Maria sat down and cantilevered the screen upward to reveal a full keyboard underneath, which automatically slid open to full size. She tapped the “respond” icon on the screen, typed in a message, used her pen to circle the error on the graph, and tapped the send”icon.

36. A clear chime rang, not from the belltower of the quadrangle but from her minibook. She closed the mini, yelled at Ira to wait up, and started yet another normal day. Although Maria didn’t really care about or understand the technology involved, she was deep in the next ‘Killer App” for learning.

37. A single interface Grows as I grow in use and confidence Able to plug in slightly different modules to suit my needs Allows me to change groups and roles of students Syncs with student database and grading system Allows me to set up collaboration and research groups fluidly Allows me to do remote sensing and data gathering Allows me to archive, search and retrieve Let’s me know of changes, ideas, opportunities For professors Instruction: Research:

38. A single interface Allows me to provide a simple interface Able to find and integrate modules that link within the app Allows the administrative system to work with the app Allows me to trace students through their career and provide resources accordingly Provides students with a growing portfolio of work that is self selected A trusted advisor on learning resources and decisions For support

39. Why is it important? • Changing nature of educational process • Changing nature of technology • Everywhere-Everytime • Push-pull • WINWINI • Changing understanding of administrative support needed (Top level understanding that the integration of the tools would be expensive- can we all say PeopleSoft) • But most important… • The changing role of student, teacher and support

40. For students... • It used to be that they could regurgitate the knowledge from the teacher. • Then (in addition) they could explore, interact and discover the knowledge of the teacher. • It will be that (in addition) students create knowledge with the teacher. • Is it any wonder we need the Next Killer App?

41. For teachers… • It used to be that the sign of an educated man was that he knew the knowledge of his subject. • Then it was the sign of an educated woman that she added to the this.. where to find the knowledge of her subject. • It will be the sign of an educated teacher that we will add to the above.. We will know the veracity of the knowledge of our subject and how to teach with a variety of differing students. • Is it any wonder we need the Next Killer App?

42. For those who support technology in teaching and learning • It used to be that we would help faculty use technology for the most exciting. • Now (in addition) technology is used to support classroom management and tough problems. It will be that technology (in addition to the above) will be used to allow teachers and students to tailor individual learning processes and content and evaluate and change on the fly. • Is it any wonder we need the Next Killer App?

43. Conclusion… • We can build toward the next killer apps • We have the pieces, research and ideas • We have the talent, energy and ability • Hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride! • (has it ever been different?)

44. Welcome to the CARAT patch • This presentation available at the--- • Collaboratory for Advanced Research and Academic Technology at the University of Michigan • http://carat.umich.edu • Look on presentations on the left side: The Next Killer App