Seen and Heard at #SXSWedu
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#SXSWedu
As usual, it was a busy week in the world of ed-tech, headlined by the annual SXSWedu event in Austin, Texas. We rounded up some of our favorite tweets from the week, and we recommend checking out Jake New’s post on eCampus News to learn about the week’s best and most interesting events.
10 Twitter Chats for Educators. #SXSWedu pic.twitter.com/0NMjGLA1pl
— Sean Junkins (@sjunkins) March 5, 2014
38% of 2-year-olds use mobile devices. Average age for first cell phone is 13. http://t.co/4YIhk5XIxd #sxswedu pic.twitter.com/mi0khe3OQC
— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) March 6, 2014
If the focus is on the learner then that must include their learning outside the school walls. "Learner centered policy" #SXSWedu @anildash
— Stephen diFilipo (@S_dF) March 6, 2014
The @SXSWedu community are an optimistic lot. #sxswedu pic.twitter.com/61tNUg5X8q
— Jesse Stommel (@Jessifer) March 3, 2014
SDP theory of change – right people, data, analysis that lead to right decisions #eddata #SXSWedu pic.twitter.com/HBXUGmuMlt
— Harvard CEPR (@HarvardCEPR) March 4, 2014
"Edtech innovation happens when teachers talk to each other" via anonymous guy in audience #edtech #sxswedu
— Stephen diFilipo (@S_dF) March 5, 2014
Student videos about why tech is changing their education http://t.co/FSKdGJuVoo #SXSWedu #LMSorNo
— Office of Ed Tech (@OfficeofEdTech) March 5, 2014
Broadband Is Poised for Massive Growth
Connectivity is spreading and getting faster, according to Campus Technology. Much of the predicted growth is international, potentially positioning MOOCs for explosive growth as well:
According to market research firm ABI Research, as of 2013, total LTE subscriptions had reached just 229.7 million worldwide. But that figure will grow at a compound rate of 43.6 percent each year through 2019, reaching about 2 billion total, driven in large part by the advent of LTE-Advanced. By 2019, more than one-third of those 2 billion subscribers — about 750 million — will have LTE-Advanced, which promises peak download speeds of 1 Gbps and typical download speeds of 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps and uploads of 10 Mbps to 70 Mbps. (Korea launched its first LTE-Advanced service last year and gained a total of 1 million subscribers.)
"Among the LTE subscription growth, Asia-Pacific contributes the most with a 49 percent market share. The second greatest contributor is North America with an 18 percent share," said Marina Lu, research associate at ABI Research, in a prepared statement. "The large population base in Asia combined with rapid LTE network deployment and cost-competitive smartphones has accelerated the remarkable subscriber adoption."
North America at present has about 43.1 million LTE subscribers, according to ABI's reckoning. But, if the current distribution holds steady, that could reach 360 million by 2019 — enough for perhaps two subscriptions per household. About 134 million of those could have LTE-Advanced.
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