New Horizon

The annual Horizon Report seeks to “identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within learning-focussed organisations”.

The 6 key emerging technologies (of which I am familiar with in a social context, as opposed to a formal teaching and learning context) identified in the 2008 Horizon Report are:

  • grassroots video and collaboration webs (first adoption horizon: likelihood of entry within the next year);
  • mobile broadband and data mashups (mid-term horizon: likelihood of entry within 2-3 years); and
  • collective intelligence and social operating system (far-term horizon: likelihood of entry within 4-5 years).

The 2008 Horizon Report also ranks key trends affecting the areas of teaching, learning, and creative expression, according to how significant an impact they are likely to have on education in the next 5 years. I have listed these trends below, and how they relate to my experiences of technology in learning contexts:

  • The growing use of Web 2.0 and social networking is gradually changing the practice of scholarship. This is evident in the use of Ning and Edublogs in EMT1 for instance, where students network, interact and self-publish in the community of practice.
  • The way we work, collaborate, and communicate is evolving as boundaries become more fluid and globalisation increases. I live in Sydney, and am a tutor with Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Northern Territory. My students are located all over Australia - from the major capital cities to the remote parts of Western Australia or the Northern Territory. I instruct, assist, and communicate with my students online without having to meet face-to-face.
  • Access to, and portability of, content is increasing as smaller, more powerful devices are introduced. All I need in order to participate in and complete my EMT1 study is in my 13″ laptop - I can access the subject outlines and readings from UTSOnline/the Web; I can network and interact with members of my community of practice through Ning, Edublogs, Facebook, Skype, etc.; and I can word-process my assignment and save it on my laptop before submitting in online or posting it in my blog.
  • The gap between students’ perception of technology and that of faculty continues to widen. As mentioned in my previous post (see Seely Brown 1999 vs. Seely Brown 2008), many teaching staff who are of the pre-Web 1.0 era are still reluctantly using the Web 1.0 tools in their teaching, and mainly for administrative purposes. I reckon it will take a generation before the gap can be narrowed. My view is that the faculty’s perception of technology will always be a few steps behind that of the students’.

The 2007 Horizon Report listed the following as emerging technologies:

  • user-created content and social networking (first adoption horizon);
  • mobile phones and virtual worlds (mid-term horizon); and
  • new scholarship and emerging forms of publication, and massively multiplayer educational gaming (far-term horizon).

It’s interesting to note that the first two are evidently in place (see the use of Ning and Edublogs in EMT1, as mentioned above). Mobile phones, though widely popular, are still largely barred from the classrooms, and not viewed as an educational tool. Virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life) have been introduced into teaching and learning, but remain controversial (e.g. what’s its merit if it merely mirrors the real life?). Due to unfamiliarity with the last two, I shall withold my review at this stage.

To view the full text of the two Horizon Reports, please click on the link below
http://horizon.nmc.org/wiki/Main_Page