1

Kabir Bankole
DECT 630 9040
04/15/15

Technologies of the future

Introduction
Online learning has evolved.The arrival of Web 2.0 Internet has impacted online
learning. In education, the future of online learning points not only to collaboration
among students of the same online class but also outside of a classroom. In addition,
the miniaturization of computers has made the use of mobile devices part of online
learning. Also, colleges, corporations more often use virtual worlds as tools for online
learning. Amid all these considerations, learning management systems with world wide
content capability, mobile distance teaching, holograms, cloud computing, and virtual
worlds will be the online learning tools of the future
LMS of the future
Knowledge Cloud is a learning management system (LMS) being built by the
University of Stanford (U.S.A) in order to take full advantage of the interactivity that Web
2.0 provides. If it is true that Web 1.0 lacks interaction, the same does not apply to Web
2.0. Today, students have the ability to collaborate with other students out their learning
environment. Currently, the most used collaboration tools are the insertion of tools
which Siemens (2006) lists as wiki pages, Rich Site Summary (RSS), Facebook,
podcast, Twitter, email, voice over IP into Learning Management Systems (LMS). In new
LMS, social media sites are inserted as plug ins that may be activated or deactivated.
Docebo learning management system has features in which social media software such
as Facebook can be turned on or off. One technology that allows the full insertion of

social media tools is the Massive Online Course (MOOC) learning system where
classes are led by students themselves with no presence of an instructor. Other LMS
have fully integrated social media tools such as Saba Social, and Talent Gateway. The
danger, however, of bringing these social media sites is that they may disturb and even
take over the learning environment. The disturbance of social media in the LMS is well
shown in this quote from a co-worker who states that Do you really think I am going to
create a list of friends in LMS. Seriously? (Kerr, 2009, LMS & Social Learning). Kerr
thinks that vendors who insert social media into LMS are heading to the wrong direction
(Kerr, 2009). On the other side Mehta (as cited in Riddell, 2014) who is building
Knowledge Cloud thinks that it is time for LMS to take advantage of the full potentiality
of collaboration. The objective of Knowledge Cloud is to build a learning platform
labelled vision of multiversity where students can use content located all around the
World (Riddell, 2014). In other words, students will be able to learn anything they want
from any institution in the world. Mehta adds that 300 universities are part of the
program and there will be 30,000 modules of content (Riddell, 2014). Knowledge Cloud
resonates as a technology of the future which will open learning worldwide allowing the
experience of the many ways of teaching around the World. Practically, a student who is
taking a class in a university in the U.S.A can use content from a university in France or
in Mexico. What looks like futurism is really in building in Stanford University. This idea
of world wide content parallels the notion of personal learning environment (PLE) which
Van Harmelen (as cited in Simmens, 2006) defines as systems that help learners take
control and manage their own learning (Social Software and PLEs, para. 8). The
mention of the latter two countries, is not randomly done. They were selected because

of the language diversity that France and Mexico carry. Language will be an obstacle
that can be easily overcome with the adoption of English as a common language of the
platform.
Mobile distance teaching
Mobile devices, tools which integrate Web 2.0 and social media tools, have
already been used in education; many LMS are mobile friendly. Also, in fields such as
science, physics, and medicine, remote control devices are used in laboratories.
However, the use of a mobile device such as an Ipad to teach at distance, innovates.
Sauter, Uttal, Rapp, Downing, and Jona (2013) state that the use of remote tools in
remote laboratories improves student learning experiences. As for experience, the one
felt by the students In Norway in an story related by Clay Christensen in a keynote is
insolite. Clay Christensen (as cited in Riddell, 2014) states that the students still see
their teacher on a robot display despite the fact that the teacher has left the country.The
robot is remotely controlled with an Ipad a distance away in the county where the
teacher resides. Undoubtedly, common problems linked to the use of mobile devices will
raise. One of the problems is connectivity. In developing countries countries particularly,
where the lack of physical infrastructure does not allow permanent connectivity,
teaching with mobile devices at distance will have a little chance to be successful.
Hologram
Distance Education has been criticized for the physical absence of an instructor;
therefore, adding a presence even not totally physical improves Distance Educations
image. A hologram is more than imaginary; it is the real duplicate of the image of
someone with you in a room. The device to show the image may take the place of a

webcam device. The concept is less futuristic than reality since holograms have already
been used in the field of education and in other fields such as music. In the educational
field, McGraw-Hill Education (as cited in Riddell 2014) has launched an application that
prompts an interactive hologram of the professor on the students mobile phone. In the
field of music, Riddell (2014) points out that Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur have
been brought back to life for one more performance. To come to realization, the
concept will need huge investment. To make a video is costly, let alone a sophisticated
image that will consume bandwidth.
Virtual worlds
Virtual devices have been used in higher education, in corporate training, and in
gaming. Innovation here translates into improving the virtual environment. Virtuality
personifies the users into avatars using virtual environment replicate of a real world. For
example, the user who plugs into a virtual world class feels being in a real class. Smith
(2014) exposes the benefits of using the demo of Oculus Rift VR to tour future
prospects of colleges. Travel agencies, real estate agencies, hotels, to name some may
use You Visit, a virtual demo, to show their products to their customers. In the gaming
field Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, has invested $2 billion in Oculus Rift virtual
game (Riddell, 2014). The excitement is in waiting to find what new features the
imminent version will add to the old version
Cloud computing
Cloud storing is one technology that has already left its impact in the online
learning field. Predictably, cloud companies which will not innovate in meeting
customers needs will be out of business. If Cloud storing have already brought

innovation in switching data storage to the Cloud preventing the loss of data on hard
drives , CDROMs, and USB drives; data security is still at stake when one uses Cloud
storing. In Dropbox for example, the capability of sharing information in the Cloud allows
any user to be able to delete someones elses data. Richmond (2012) gives the
example of Jim Andersen, President of Foundation Management Associates who lost a
year of financial records because of an employees single keystroke. Jim Andersen was
using Dropbox that applies authorization controls at the folder level. The future of Cloud
storing will be toward ...true file level access controls and authorization, as well as,
portable data security (Hakhinian, 2014). Cloud computing companies such as
ShareFile on the contrary of Dropbox ...let bar clients from deleting files... (Richmond,
2012). The innovation trends in Cloud storing will direct to companies which will provide
services where data security is guaranteed.
Conclusion
To side with the advancement in technology, todays online learning institutions
must be ready to incorporate collaborative learning into their learning systems.
Collaborative tools such as Facebook, Twitter Youtube, wikispace pages, and more
others must be used to the benefit of the learning that the institutions want to
promulgate. Furthermore, the learning management systems need to be mobile friendly.
Nowadays, mobile learning is inevitable. Todays online learning must embody the
slogan Learning anywhere, everywhere. To combat its lonely image, it will be to the
benefit of online learning to welcome an instructor even in the form of hologram. Not to
forget among these tools, the virtual worlds applications which will gain popularity in
education and corporate training. It is obvious that all companies will use Cloud storing,

but these companies, in order to better safeguard their data will choose cloud
computing in which data are better protected in the Cloud.

Reference

7
Hakhinian, M. (2014, April 15). Why Dropbox is among the most blacklisted applications [Blog
post]. Retrieved from: http://blogs.intralinks.com/collaborista/2014/04/dropbox-amongblacklisted-applications/
Kerr, T. (2009, March 31). LMS and social learning [Blog post]. Retrieved from:
http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2009/03/lms-and-social-learning.htm
Richmond, E. (2012). How to share documents in the cloud, securely. Entrepreneur. Retrieved
from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223467
Riddell, R. (2014). Three emerging technologies reimagining higher ed in 2015 and beyond.
EducaseDive. Retrieved from: http://www.educationdive.com/news/3-emergingtechnologies-reimagining-higher-ed-in-2015-and-beyond/344103/
Sauter, M., Uttal, D.H., Rapp, D. N., Downing, M., & Jona.,K. (2013). Getting real: the
authenticity of remote labs, and simulations for science learning. Routledge, 34(1), p. 3747. Retrieved from:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=bff3c179c460-47ef-a550-dca5a5150133%40sessionmgr113&vid=49&hid=117
Siemens, G. (2006, October 6). Connectivism [Blog post]. Retrieved from:
http://www.connectivism.ca/?p=243
Smith, D. F. (2014). Virtual tours for college campuses. Edtech. Retrieved from:
http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2014/07/oculus-rift-vr-could-power-virtualtours-college-campuses