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

Carl Bergerhttp://sitemaker.umich.edu/cberger

Copyright Carl Berger, 2001. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written

permission from the author.

Predicting the future

CostCapabilityBureaucracy

What can we predict

Detroit Iron

Football

Mainframes

What can’t we predict

The Big ThreeMicrocomputersPenn State in the Big 10!

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?

Predicting from what we use today!

Pieces today of the killer app and how

we use them(Our Legacy Systems)

Used by Students

Used by Faculty

Pieces of the app… nowPortals…

Penn State…

On Wisconsin…

Teaching and Learning…Course Management Systems…UM CourseTools

Penn States Angel System

For research and collaboration…UM WorkTools:

Important pieces of the Killer App that are behind the scenes

MERLOTIMSLRN

Referatories…

Specifications…

Metadata…

Some integrating forces started

An early demo from Stanford

Some commercial extenders

Building web pages…

Are they really effective?

ProCan be a combo of off the shelf and home madeCan pick and choose

ConNot integratedNot automatic push/pullMust design the integration of pieces

So if we want to build a killer app, how do we know what’s important?

Ask them…Student Survey

3,000 Students (Surveyed 3,000)1,583 responses

Faculty Survey3,600 faculty (surveyed 1,500)764 responses

Used for what…

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Write codeTeach or take a

Create web pagesNewsGroups/chatsGive presentation

Manage dataPlay games

Buy/sell on webCreate presentation

CollaborateUM activitiesqOnline library

Web surfingE-mail faculty

Research on webWriting

Daily 1-2/week Sev/mo 1/month Sev/yr 1/yr Never

Web use…

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Perform comp/danceTake entire web course

Pay Tuition/FeesInterview employersJoin clubs/socializeOnline discussions

Auto UM newsDo simulations

CollaborateTake exams/papers

Facillitate Collaboration/WorldPresent work at U

Present work to worldFacillitate Collaboration/U

Access calendarAccess bookmarks anywhere

Buy/sellView interest areas

Retrieve and post filesCreate web pageArchive materials

AutoResearve materials

Find directions/mapsComm with U Offices

Share filesShedule health appt

Do researchCheck degree progress

Order TranscriptsAccess assignments

Access documentsAccess/update Records

Am doing now Would very much like to do Would somewhat like to do Not at all

Grouped into UM projects

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Perform composition/dance

Take entire course on the web

Interview employers

UM.SiteMaker

Wolverine Access

UM.CourseTools

My.umich

IFS (Institutional File Server)

Already use Very much wan't to use Somewhat wan't to use Don't want to use

Faculty survey on portals

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

0 100 200 300 400 500

buy/sell personal items (classifieds)

don't want/would not use

receive customized news

schedule appointments at U-M Health Services

access vacation/sick,retirement balances

review course and faculty evaluations

automatically receive info from my school or college

learn about/review campus events by area of interest

create my own, personal Web page

find directions and maps to campus locations

post/retrieve files from IFS file

Web-based email

purchase tickets for campus events

find and submit travel and expense rpts

personal calendar, course schedule, to-do, address book

"Portable" bookmarks

A little Multidimensional Scaling doesn’t hurt

Key features of the app…

•One ID, pswd and single sign on

•Tabbed screens that…put and get data, info, fun

•HomePage easily made…administered, personalized, skins

•Access to courses…lists, groups, assign, roles, tests, grades

•WINWINI about classes, school, life and what is due (in my face!)

•Negotiated filters for friends, profs, family, school

•Assignment progress and Portfolios

Key features of the lab app…

Single screen that…

Takes me to visualization when necessary

Uses data from how I learn to help select material that is comfortable and yet challenging

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For professors

A single interfaceGrows as I grow in use and confidenceAble to plug in slightly different modules to suit my needsAllows me to change groups and roles of studentsSyncs with student database and grading system

Allows me to set up collaboration and research groups fluidlyAllows me to do remote sensing and data gatheringAllows me to archive, search and retrieve Let’s me know of changes, ideas, opportunities

Instruction: Research:

For support

A single interfaceAllows me to provide a simple interfaceAble to find and integrate modules that link within the appAllows the administrative system to work with the app

Allows me to trace students through their career and provide resources accordinglyProvides students with a growing portfolio of work that is self selectedA trusted advisor on learning resources and decisions

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

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?

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?

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 taylor individual learning processes and content and evaluate and change "on the fly.”

Is it any wonder we need the Next Killer App?

Conclusion…

We can build toward the next killer apps!

We have the pieces

We have the talent, energy and ability

Hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride! (has it ever been different?)

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.eduLook on presentations on the left side:

The Next Killer App