Digital Scholar

Revolution not imminent, significant trends are as far as it goes.

(More than a Model T Ford getting a lick of green paint, more akin to flight making the shift to jet propulsion?)

Something of a revolution in other sectors, from external agencies or bottom up.

Digitisation of content. Perfectly distribution.

Social networks and the easy distribution of content.

• Newspapers
• Music Industry

WPP near 20% drop in traditional advertising in papers.

Craig’s list has double the traffic of the New York Times

Unbundling if newspaper advertising

Don’t confuse function with form, we don’t need newspapers, we need journalism. Shirky.

• John Naughton
• Think Ecologically
• Think long term

 Abandon voice in favour of large text, three to four words per line, like a TV autocue, the Kindle in my right hand typing with my left and skim reading rather faster.

See my scrapbook of images in Picasa Web, or put in Tumblr, or image favouring WordPress layout.

VS industries based in ownership.

So music returns to the live concert.

Blurring of boundaries between sectors.

What Apple has over Microsoft and many others, is a passion sand vigour when it comes to design both of hardware and software.

So what’s the equivalent for universities?

If they are the record company then they are redundant, let’s go for the author as artiste, even their free books to promote the live lecture?

Atoms, molecules and filters.

Google and an eBay for education?

• A community of learners
• Approved mentors
• Credits based on learning they can demonstrate

The OU Library

University Functions:

1.  Teaching
2.  Research
3. Dissemination
4. Outreach
5. Curration

Change can be quick

 

• No assumptions are unassailable
• Form and function are different
•  Boundaries are blurred.
• We can’t wrap libraries and such like in cotton wool if their time is over.
• Global networks, unpredictable environments, rapid response.

The life experience of the university campus and college.

Resistance