Horizons Reaport 2011

The 2011 Horizons Report is out. Each year, the Horizon Report introduces six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use within the next five years.

It is 40 pages. Read and share the report -- or the 6-page summary-- with friends and discuss these technology trends.

• Electronic books, mobiles:  Time-to-Adoption: <1 year
• Augmented reality, game-based learning:  Time-to-Adoption: 2-3 years
• Gesture-based computing, learning analytics:  Time-to-Adoption: 4-5 years

The report is produced by the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE.

Slideshare presentation of Horizons Report:

http://www.slideshare.net/dreig/2011-horizonreport

Who to share with?  School leadership, library and technology teams, science teachers and students.  Share the link, but also print a few copies to hand to colleagues, students, board members, book and computer clubs. This report focuses on higher education trends, so consider developing your organization's own set of trends.

Social Media - A Force for Good (video)

Social Media - A Force for Good (video)

Teacher Librarian Tom Kaun (Marin, CA) recommends a panel discussion on "Social Media as a Force for Good" with Twitter and LinkedIn founders and UK author/activist Stephen Fry. (1.5 hours).

Stephen Fry realized the power and potential of Twitter about a year or so ago when he decided to use Twitter as "verbal post cards" for a trip to Africa to do a story on Rhinos. He suddenly got thousands of followers. He says that humans are emotional creatures and need to communicate. Writing -- even on Twitter -- is a literary form. Twitter is an instrument of free speech.

Biz Stone (CEO/Founder, Twitter) said early on he saw how Twitter was used for "Tweet-ups" (like "meet-ups") to organize events or meetings. People in a conference session would tweet that a different session was more interesting, and lots of people like a flock of birds would leave the first session to go to the better session. Similar use of "Tweet-ups" can be used for raising money for a charity, to do good. Biz said Twitter was created to do good.

Biz says Twitter was created with mobile devices in mind, and mobile devices are growing way faster than desktop computers. Re: Twitter as news media -- it is good for breaking news, but journalists are better for putting news in context.

LinkedIn's Reed Hoffman, in commenting about social media trends, said "you haven't seen anything yet." "Web 2.0 is power to the people, a '60's expression." Social networking sites are platforms upon which other sites are built ("platforms" rather than "features" on a site.)

2010 Horizon Report - Preview

The New Media Consortium released its list of six Horizon Topics for 2010 and the Horizon Report 2010 Preview. the Horizon Report is "must reading" each year. Read it. Share it. Discuss it. The reports were originally for a higher education audience but now has a huge following. They are the result of the rounds of discussions and voting by the advisory board members (academics). The final report will be officially released on January 20.

AASL blog addresses some of the critical challenges raised by the report. One such challenge is that digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key 21st century skill, but there is a widening training gap for faculty and teachers.

Did You Know 4.0

The latest version of this famous vid about current tech trends.

A Blog Worth Following: All Things Digital

All Things Digital
If you're not already following this blog you might give it a gander. Walt Mossberg is the guy who keeps Wall Street Journal readers up to date on technology issues.

Apple (iPhone and iPod Touch) Video

Today's papers are carrying an article about Apple's plans to take over the lead in video, leaving flip video in the dust. Soon, iPhone and especially iPod Touch will offer a superior video tool and allow for wireless downloading. What are the implications for schools? What's the word from CSLA members? Comments, please.

Also "heard on the street" and in the same newspapers is a rumor that China is busily manufacturing Apple netbooks or a similar device that will be offered this October. Anyone hear more on the subject?

2009 Horizon Report

Each year for the past six years, the Horizon Report has provided educators and a broader audience a look to educational technologies in the near, 2-3 year, and 4-6 year future. This is "must" reading for teacher librarians, ed tech folk, and and the full educational community. It will help all to look ahead and be more open to change.

Before sharing it, read and think about what is on the horizon. This is the kind of report that leaders of NECC, CUE, AASL and CSLA should consider developing or at least commenting on in a meaningful way.