Saturday, February 02, 2013

From Lead Learner-Changing Education from FM to Pandora

How times have changed- has yourlearning changed?
Growing up, we listened to our favorite songs on FM radio . We had our favorite DJs that built excitement about new songs, and he kept our attention with games and contests to be caller number 10. We also had to endure listening to songs that we really didn't care for, and when we repeatedly heard songs we didn't like, we would give up and change the channel or turn the radio off all together. Fast forward 25 years to today. We still have FM radio, and the DJ that pushes music that he believes his audience wants to hear. Listeners tolerate commercials every 3rd song, and everyone listens to the same thing at the same time if they choose to tune in. Does this meet the needs and preferences of every listener? In the last 10 years, we have seen the advent of satellite radio that is now Sirius XM. It has taken the FM concept, but gone a step further to offer listeners different genres of music, talk radio and news radio to its audience. The product is a definite improvement from the FM model, but it is little more than a programmatic change. Now comes Pandora. Looking at Pandora, the listener is the DJ. He can pick the artists that he wants to listen to, and Pandora programs all music based on the artist and other acts and music similar to the artist. The listener can personalize his station by giving his account feedback on each song. He can like the song so it will return more frequently and dislike a song to ensure that it never returns to his ears. Boy, how I wished I could have done that 25 years ago. Read the rest here.