Thought Leaders Blog

I’m recently back from the ISTE ed-tech conference, which took place in Denver, Colorado (U.S.), this year. At the conference, CoSN released Part 2 of a Toolkit developed in partnership with the New Media Consortium (NMC) to complement NMC’s 2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition. The Report looks at technologies that are likely to have a significant impact on primary and secondary education in the U.S. over the next five years. Specifically, it details these emerging technologies and their corresponding time to adoption:

• Cloud computing (1 year or less)
• Collaborative environments (1 year or less)
• Game-based learning (2-3 years)
• Mobile learning (2-3 years)
• Augmented reality (4-5 years)
• Flexible displays (4-5 years)

Taking it a step further, the Horizon Report outlines key trends associated with technologies’ adoption …

• Technology is increasingly a means for empowering students, a method for communicating and socializing, and a ubiquitous, transparent part of students’ lives.

• Technology continues to profoundly affect the way we work, collaborate, communicate, and succeed.

• The perceived value of innovation and creativity is increasing.

• There is growing interest in just-in-time, alternate, or non-formal avenues of education, such as online learning, mentoring, and independent study.

• The way we think of learning environments is changing.

… as well as critical challenges …

• Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key skill in every discipline and profession.

• Students are different, and educational practice and the materials that support it are changing, albeit slowly.

• Many policy makers and educators believe that deep reform is needed, but, at the same time, there is little agreement as to what a new model of education might look like.

• A key challenge is the fundamental structure of the K-12 education establishment.

• Many activities related to learning and education take place outside the walls of the classroom, but these experiences often are undervalued or unacknowledged.

Given these trends and challenges, CoSN developed the 2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition Toolkit with three key objectives in mind, the first of which is giving educators the opportunity to think critically about how to create or refresh their institution’s strategic technology plan to ensure that they’re keeping pace with the possibilities. The second objective is to help educators gain local decision-maker support for investing in technologies that advance new ways of learning to address key institutional challenges. Finally, the Toolkit avoids a one-size-fits-all approach, instead aiming to “leave no school system behind” when it comes to powerful technologies for powerful learning.

Part 1 of the Toolkit includes a Discussion Facilitator’s Guide and a Presentation Template on the six technologies identified in the Horizon Report, while Part 2 contains Discussion Activities designed to stimulate collaborative thinking and to facilitate a dialogue among educators, policy makers, and other stakeholders on ways to approach institutional and educational challenges. With the release of Part 2, we hope to inspire forward-looking discussions among education decision makers on whether and how emerging technologies can be leveraged to tackle tough issues, help meet institutional needs, and achieve educational goals.

Re-imaging learning and confronting the host of challenges facing schools and school districts today requires innovative solutions and fresh ideas. In addition to providing the 2010 Horizon K-12 Toolkit, CoSN is home to many initiatives supporting education technology leaders in their strategic use of technology to improve teaching and learning. Coming soon, I will follow up this entry with a new blog post about our Mastering the Moment guide to technology leadership in times of economic crisis. In the meantime, we’d love to hear about your ideas and challenges around ed-tech. What emerging technologies do you see on the horizon in your classrooms? How do you imagine using those technologies to enhance teaching and learning? Where will your district be in five years?