Key Trends
From Horizon Project
[edit] Key Trends
What trends do you expect to have a significant impact on the ways in which learning-focused institutions approach our core missions of teaching, research, and service? See original list
[edit] Growing use of Web 2.0 and social networking tools is changing our ideas of scholarly contribution and community
The ways of thinking embodied by Web 2.0 and social networking tools are open and inclusive, and by nature can be at odds with traditional views of academic publication. Our mental model for developing educational resources tends to be that we create a fixed publication, like a textbook. The proliferation of tools that enable co-creation, mashups, remixes, and instant self-publication calls that model into question and has implications for tenure and merit systems. Social networking tools make existing social networks explicitly visible and help people find and connect with others with like interests; as these tools are increasingly adopted for educational use, existing scholarly communities will grow, and new ones may surface.
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[edit] Increasing globalization continues to affect the way we work, collaborate, and communicate
This trend, also noted last year, has not lessened over the past twelve months. Rather, with the increasing availability of tools to connect scholars all over the world—online collaborative workspaces, social networking tools, mobiles, and more—it is more and more common to see courses that include international students who meet online or incorporate connections between classrooms in different areas of the world.
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[edit] The notions of collective intelligence and mass amateurization are pushing the boundaries of scholarship
More and more researchers are beginning to tap into the collective intelligence that resides in data generated from Internet search patterns, declared social connections, and purchases on Amazon.com. Tools to record, discover, and manipulate the data thus collected are being developed that make it possible for anyone to delve into these datasets, allowing amateurs to juxtapose datasets and create sophisticated graphs and other visual representations. A year ago, this trend raised the question of how the wisdom of crowds could benefit the educational community; now, as this trend continues, we are beginning to understand its effect.
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[edit] As the amount and variety of content increases, it is becoming more difficult to filter the noise to find the signal
As access to technology and information increases, so does the danger of information overload. Not only do we have access to more media—we can also produce and distribute more. Systems and services that help us find the information we want and filter out what we don’t will be critical.
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[edit] Smaller, more powerful devices are offering increased access and portability
Electronic book readers like the Amazon Kindle and small, web-enabled devices like the Apple iPhone and the LG Electronics Voyager make it possible to carry vast amounts of information in a small package. Movies, books, email, and more are available on these lightweight, portable platforms. In a few short years, it will be common for students worldwide to carry tools like these. The impact of such portability on education will be significant.
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[edit] The gap between students’ perception of technology and that of faculty continues to grow
Students and faculty continue to view and experience technology very differently. Students have embraced technologies like Facebook much more quickly than many faculty. Other webware tools, which have such potential for education, are meeting the same reception: faculty are often either unaware of tools like Google Docs and Swivel, or have difficulty integrating them into educational processes. This gap must be addressed in order to fully grasp the learning opportunities presented by technologies and practices like webware, mashups, and social networking tools.
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[edit] The environment of higher education continues to change, with a growing trend toward open innovation
In the world of technology, the open source movement is indicative of the increasing value placed on collaborative work and sharable tools. A similar trend is occurring in academia that includes open innovation, where institutions collaborate in various ways to promote better research and teaching practice; and open content, where courses are made available online at no charge. These steps toward collaboration and sharing indicate a growing willingness to embrace the changing environment of higher education and find new ways to thrive within it.
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