Horizons Report 2011 - Higher Education Technology Trends

February 1, 2011 is a soft launch of the New Media Consortium's 2011 Horizon Report on Higher Ed Tech Trends. Consider following the news on twitter and alert your ed tech teams. This is always good reading and discussing.

Google DemoSlams

After spending a few hours at the Googleplex being interviewed about my search strategy (what a scary thought...), I was asked if I could have anything more to help me search, what would it be.  I said "voice", the abilty to state what I wanted rather than type it in.  Then I said that there must already be an app for that on mobile devices.  

As it turns out, Google Voice does just that on mobile phones.  See "Chubby Bunny", one of the best demos featuring Google Voice.  Better yet, spend your lunchtime with DemoSlam by Google.  If you have a large screen monitor, it would be fun for a bunch of teachers or students to watch and vote for their favorite demos.


Here's an idea: Challenge middle and high school students to create demos and submit them -- use the school library as a backdrop!  Learn how to submit a demo to Google.  Have a blast.

Virtual Classrooms

Mashable started the year with a reasoned article on The Case for The Virtual Classroom. The article is focused on higher education, but could easily apply to high schools in terms of preparing students.  Here are the six points in the case for online learning:

1. Online education "doesn't have to suck".  The U.S. Department of Education says that research shows that students who studied in online learning environments performed modestly better than peers who were receiving face-to-face instruction.
2. Universities have limited physical space.
3. Education can change the world.
4. Global understanding is more important than ever.
5. The Internet empowers self-motivated learners.
6. The virtual classroom can make the physical classroom more effective.

K-12 educators who get their feet wet with free, online tutorials such as Classroom Learning 2.0 or School Library Learning 2.0 will appreciate the power of learning online with peers across the globe or within a district. Those who introduce teens to the new media through online tutorials like Teen Learning 2.0 are doing a great service in preparing students for college and careers.