Author: John Ayers

Oh Oh. Now what do we do? #highered in the news. But WAIT! This might be a good thing.

/ John Ayers / Leave a comment

I have spoken, blogged and tweeted and posted the incredible pace at which digital disruption is occuring throughout various industries. 

Education and maybe more specifically – Higher ed may be the perfect storm for the next big shift. 

So many articles are being written, numerous start-ups are taking pokes into the space, various top-notch universities are jumping into the mix and the next generation of leaders are looking closely to determine how, where and when this will all shake out.

Once the dust settles, there is one thing for certain, people will continue to learn.

The questions now surround the how, who, when, where, why, what value, how often, what degree and many other issues. 

TIME has just launched a fairly thourough look at the subject. (image attached from article)

http://nation.time.com/2012/10/18/college-is-dead-long-live-college/2/

I strongly urge anyone interested in the issues surrounding MOOCs, digital disruption in education, to read the piece. Students, Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Board members, Educational leadership, and others will benefit from it. What is an interesting caveat, I am reading the article both in Print form in the Magazing and in digital form on an iPad. This comes at a point when Newsweek just announced they will no longer be publishing a print version.

and – so it goes.

The world is flattening because of technology, the economy is changing because of tech, society is evolving to meet the new demands and when education; be it K-12 or Higher Ed takes to the technology tools available, all those involved will have to shift to the new market demands.

But don’t fret, from this comes new industry, new occupations, new standards, and new processes. 

Screen_shot_2012-10-22_at_9

Step in, get involved and look around, or you will be left in the past.

 

 

 

What you need to know for QR Codes. Generating? Scanning? For marketing? #mobile #social #digital

/ John Ayers / Leave a comment

Generating a QR Code? Scanning a QR Code? Using QRs for marketing purposes?

Worlds-largest-qr-code

 

Many (including me) have been setting them to the side, – ” QRs are ugly” – “they’re a fad” – “I just throw it at the bottom of the page” –  but this perspective may be changing.  I recently have seen a shift toward greater interest and adoption of QRs and wanted to find out about some best practices. In the process, I have gathered a few resources that I thought I would share.

I will start out by saying that QR stands for Quick Response, and considering the global attention deficit disorder we all seem to be developing for content – QRs may make more sense than we are currently giving them credit.

PNG,  TIFF,  JPEG,  GIF,  XAML,  SVG,  EPS 
You can create a QR code in various formats, but that can be a good and a bad thing – considering scaling of pixel data can become an issue.  In fact, if there is one definitive science in QR codes it is readability – if your QR code reader can’t read your QR – well then – it ain’t workin’. Pretty simple! I suggest trying a few readers to verify accuracy and readability.  Personally, EPS is always nice to have (even if it is a backup) and/or in addition to a jpg, png or other. Vector = scalability.
When creating a QR code in a pixel based format (other than eps) be certain you have generated your QR code at the size you need.  Keep in mind, the concern here, is that if at any time (now) or in the future, your QR code is re-sized and re-used, quality degradation occurs, and readability could be compromised.
EPS is scalable without this issue.

QR code generators create a series of pixels based on the url. And the more complicated the URL, the more complex the QR graphic appears. Shortening the url with Bit.ly, TinyURL or similar will simplify the design.

Showing a QR code in a proper size is a must, too small just can’t be read… but also be certain there is ample clear/white space around the code, or it will be difficult, if not impossible to scan.

Creative QR codes were inevitable. Since their inception, QR codes look and feel like a bar code and with that designers were inspired to make them more interesting. Considerations are in the mix of this dialogue

If you don’t have time – and just want to know the basics – watch this.

I recently read an article about how we as users and consumers are becoming ever more demanding of the use of our time and with that in mind, QRs will need to deliver some added value to the experience. Simply directly the user to a static web site will not be enough. Be Qreative – sorry – had to.

And here is a link to some (unusual) QRs 

 

Universities and Social MediaMark Smithers | Mark Smithers

/ John Ayers / 1 Comment

See on Scoop.it – Higher Ed Social Media Marketing

My friend Inger Mewburn (@thesiswhisperer) recently wrote a thoughtful piece in The Conversation web site entitled Academics behaving badly? Universities and online reputations. For the record I think that the points she made were valid and true but I also think that there is an underlying issue that remains uncovered. Simply put, it is that fact that policies around the use of social media by the academy have, in many cases, been outsourced to individuals who are not members of the academy and do not understand the purpose of the academy. As a result they fundamentally miss the opportunities that social media offer universities in engaging with the wider community. This seems to me to be particularly true in Australia where rampant managerialism associated with the corporate university has led to situation in which ‘brand positioning’ and being ‘on message’ is seen to be more important than concepts of sharing, collaboration and collegiality in knowledge distribution and generation.

See on www.masmithers.com