Horizon Report > 2011 K–12 EditionNMC

The NMC Horizon Project identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the globe.

1

Executive Summary 3

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less> Cloud Computing 10> Mobiles 14

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years > Game-Based Learning 18> Open Content 22

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years> Learning Analytics 26> Personal Learning Environments 30

Methodology 34

The NMC Horizon Project: 2011 K-12 Advisory Board 36

Contents

NMC

The research behind The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition is a

collaborationbetweentheNewMediaConsortium(www.nmc.org),the

ConsortiumforSchoolNetworking(CoSN),andtheInternationalSociety

forTechnologyinEducation(ISTE).CoSNandISTE’scriticalparticipation

intheproductionofthisreportandtheirstrongsupportfortheNMC

HorizonProjectisgratefullyacknowledged.TolearnmoreaboutCoSN

visitwww.cosn.org;tolearnmoreaboutISTE,seewww.iste.org.

©2011,TheNewMediaConsortium.

ISBN978-0-9828290-9-7

PermissionisgrantedunderaCreativeCommonsAttributionLicenseto

replicate,copy,distribute,transmit,oradaptthisreportfreelyprovided

thatattributionisprovidedasillustratedinthecitationbelow.Toview

a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or

sendalettertoCreativeCommons,559NathanAbbottWay,Stanford,

California94305,USA.

Citation

Johnson,L.,Adams,S.,andHaywood,K.,(2011).TheNMC Horizon Report:

2011 K-12 Edition.Austin,Texas:TheNewMediaConsortium.

Cover Photograph

“MabulIslandChildren”byLadyExpatonFlickr(www.flickr.com/photos/

ladyexpat/2842175845/).CreativeCommons.

InsideFront Cover Photograph

Photodisc/GettyImages

InsideBack Cover Photograph

“Helping Children from India’s Slums” by Brian Glanz on Flickr (www.

flickr.com/photos/brianglanz/3303154926/).CreativeCommons.

Designbyemgusa.com

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition is made possible via a

grant from HP. HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a

meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society.

Theworld’slargesttechnologycompany,HPbringstogetheraportfolio

that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT

infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity,

creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected

world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.

hp.com. For more information about Global Social Innovation at HP

pleasevisitwww.hp.com/go/socialinnovation.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition isapublicationoftheNewMediaConsortium.

he NMC Horizon Report series is the mostvisibleoutcomeoftheNMCHorizonProject,anongoingresearcheffortestablishedin2002thatidentifiesanddescribesemergingtechnologieslikely to have a large impact on teaching,

learning, research, or creative expression withineducation around the globe. This volume, The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition examines emergingtechnologies for their potential impact on and use inteaching, learning,andcreativeexpressionwithin theenvironment of pre-college education. The hope isthat the report is useful to educators worldwide, andthe international composition of the advisory boardreflects the care with which a global perspective wasassembled.Whiletherearemanylocalfactorsaffectingthe practice of education, there are also issues thattranscend regional boundaries, questions we all faceinK-12education,and itwaswith these inmindthatthisreportwascreated.TheNMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition is the third in the K-12 series of reportsand is produced by the NMC in collaboration withthe Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), andthe International Society forTechnology in Education(ISTE), with the generous support of HP’s Office ofGlobalSocialInnovation.

Eacheditionof The NMC Horizon Report introducessixemerging technologies or practices that are likely toenter mainstream use in the educational communitywithin three adoption horizons over the next one tofive years. Each report also presents critical trendsand challenges that will affect teaching and learningover the same time frame.To identify these areas, theprojecthasdrawnonanongoingconversationamongknowledgeable persons in the fields of business,industry, and education; on published resources,currentresearch,andpractice;andontheexpertiseofboththeNMCcommunityandthecommunitiesofthe

members of the NMC Horizon Project’s K-12 advisoryboard, an international body of experts in education,technology,andotherfields.

The advisory board, chosen to broadly represent arange of perspectives in K-12 education, engaged in adiscussionaroundasetofresearchquestionsintendedtosurfacesignificanttrendsandchallengesandtoidentifya wide array of potential technologies for the report.

Overthecourseofafewweeks,theadvisoryboardcametoaconsensusaboutthesixtopicsthatwillappearhere.The examples and readings under each topic area aremeant toprovidepracticalmodelsaswellasaccess tomoredetailedinformation.Whereverpossible,aneffortwas made to highlight the innovative work going onamong elementary, middle, and high schools aroundtheworld.Thepreciseresearchmethodologyemployedin producing the report is detailed in a special sectionthatfollowsthebodyofthereport.

Thereport’sformatisconsistentfromyeartoyear,openingwithadiscussionofthetrendsandchallengesidentified

ExecutiveSummary

3

TThe NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in teaching, learning, and creative expression within the environment of pre-college education.

bytheadvisoryboardasthemostimportanttoconsideroverthenextfiveyears.Theformatof themainsectioncloselyreflectsthefocusoftheNMCHorizonProjectitself,centeringontheapplicationsofemergingtechnologiesto education and creativity. Each topic is introducedwith an overview that describes what it is, followed bya discussion of the particular relevance of the topic toteaching, learning, or creativity. Examples of how thetechnologyisbeing,orcouldbeappliedtothoseactivitiesaregiven.Finally,eachsectioncloseswithanannotatedlistof suggestedreadingsandadditionalexamples thatexpandonthediscussioninthereportandalinktotheproject and discipline examples collected during theresearchprocessbyprojectstaff,theadvisoryboard,andothersinthegrowingNMCHorizonProjectcommunity.

Key TrendsThe technologies featured in each edition of The NMCHorizon Report are embedded within a contemporarycontext that reflects the realities of the time, both inthe sphere of education and in the world at large. To

assurethisperspective,eachadvisoryboardresearches,identifies,andrankskeytrendsthatarecurrentlyaffectingthe practice of teaching, learning, and creativity, andusestheseasa lens for its laterwork.Thesetrendsaresurfacedthroughanextensivereviewofcurrentarticles,interviews, papers, and new research. Once identified,thelistoftrendsisrankedaccordingtohowsignificantanimpacttheyarelikelytohaveoneducationinthenextfiveyears.Thefollowingfivetrendshavebeenidentifiedaskeydriversoftechnologyadoptionsfortheperiodof2011through2016;theyarelistedhereintheordertheywererankedbytheadvisoryboard.

1 The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is increasingly

challenging us to revisit our roles as educators. Thismulti-yeartrendwasagainrankedveryhighly,indicating

its continued influence. Institutions must consider theuniquevaluethateachresourceaddstoaworldinwhichinformationiseverywhere.Insuchaworld,sense-makingandtheabilitytoassessthecredibilityofinformationareparamount. Mentoring and preparing students for theworldinwhichtheywillliveisagainattheforefront.

2 As IT support becomes more and more decentralized, the technologies we use are

increasingly based not on school servers, but in the cloud. The continuing acceptance and adoptionof cloud-based applications and services is changingnotonly thewaysweconfigureandusesoftwareandfile storage, but even how we conceptualize thosefunctions.Itdoesnotmatterwhereourworkisstored;what matters is that our information is accessible nomatterwhereweareorwhatdevicewechoosetouse.Globally,inhugenumbers,wearegrowingaccustomedto a model of browser-based software that is device-independent. While some challenges still remain,specifically with notions of privacy and control, thepromise of significant cost savings is an importantdriverinthesearchforsolutions.

3 Technology continues to profoundly affect the way we work, collaborate, communicate,

and succeed. Increasingly, technology skills are alsocritical to success in almost every arena, and thosewho are more facile with technology will advancewhilethosewithoutaccessorskillswillnot.Thedigitaldivide,onceseenasafactorofwealth, isnowseenasafactorofeducation:thosewhohavetheopportunityto learn technology skills are in a better position toobtain and make use of technology than those whodonot.Evolvingoccupations,multiplecareers,andanincreasinglymobileworkforcecontributetothistrend.

4 People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want to. This

highly ranked trend, also noted last year, continuesto permeate all aspects of daily living. Life in anincreasingly busy world where learners must balancedemandsfromhome,work,school,andfamilyposesahostoflogisticalchallengeswithwhichmobilestudentsmust cope. A faster approach is often perceived asa better approach, and as such people want easy

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition4

Sense-making and the ability to assess the credibility of information are paramount.

and timely access not only to the information on thenetwork,buttotheirsocialnetworksthatcanhelpthemtointerpretitandmaximizeitsvalue.Theimplicationsforinformallearningareprofound,asarethenotionsof“just-in-time”learningand“found”learning,bothwaysofmaximizingthe impactof learningbyensuring it istimelyandefficient.

5 The perceived value of innovation and creativity is increasing. Innovation is valued at the highest

levelsofbusinessandmustbeembraced inschools ifstudentsaretosucceedbeyondtheirformaleducation.Thewayswedesign learningexperiencesmust reflectthegrowingimportanceofinnovationandcreativityasprofessional skills. Innovation and creativity must notbe linked only to arts subjects, either; these skills areequallyimportantinscientificinquiry,entrepreneurship,andotherareasaswell.

Critical ChallengesAlong with current trends, the advisory board notescritical challenges that schools face, especially thosethat are likely to continue to affect education overthe five-year time period covered by this report. Likethe trends, these are drawn from a careful analysis ofcurrent events, papers, articles, and similar sources, aswell as from the personal experience of the advisoryboard members in their roles as leaders in educationand technology. Those challenges ranked as mostsignificant in terms of their impact on teaching,learning, and creative inquiry in the coming years arelistedhere,intheorderofimportanceassignedtothembytheadvisoryboard.

1 Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key skill in every discipline and

profession.Thechallengeisduetothefactthatdespitethewidespreadagreementonits importance,trainingindigitalliteracyskillsandtechniquesisrareinteachereducationandschooldistrictprofessionaldevelopmentprograms. As teachers begin to realize that they arelimitingtheirstudentsbynothelpingthemtodevelopandusedigitalmedialiteracyskillsacrossthecurriculum,the lack of formal training is being offset throughprofessionaldevelopmentorinformallearning,butwearefarfromseeingdigitalmedialiteracyasanorm.This

challengeisexacerbatedbythefactthatdigitalliteracyis less about tools and more about thinking, and thusskillsandstandardsbasedontoolsandplatformshaveproventobesomewhatephemeral.

2 Economic pressures and new models of education are presenting unprecedented competition

to traditional models of schools. Across the board,institutionsare lookingforwaystocontrolcostswhilestill providing a high quality of service. Schools arechallenged by the need to support a steady — orgrowing — number of students with fewer resourcesand staff than before. As a result, creative institutions

are developing new models to serve students, suchasprovidingopencontentoverthenetwork.Asthesepressures continue, other models may emerge thatdiverge from traditional ones. Simply capitalizing onnew technology, however, is not enough; the newmodels must use these tools and services to engagestudentsonadeeperlevel.

3 The demand for personalized learning is not adequately supported by current technology or

practices. Theincreasingdemandforeducationthatiscustomizedtoeachstudent’suniqueneedsisdrivingthedevelopment of new technologies that provide morelearnerchoiceandcontrolandallowfordifferentiatedinstruction. It has become clear that one-size-fits-allteachingmethodsareneithereffectivenoracceptablefortoday’sdiversestudents.Technologycanandshouldsupport individual choices about access to materialsandexpertise,amountandtypeofeducationalcontent,andmethodsofteaching.

4 A key challenge is the fundamental structure of the K-12 education establishment — aka “the

system.” As long as maintaining the basic elementsof the existing system remains the focus of effortsto support education, there will be resistance to anyprofoundchangeinpractice.Learnershave increasing

5ExecutiveSummary

Digital literacy is less about tools and more about thinking.

opportunities to take their education into their ownhands, and options like informal education, onlineeducation, and home-based learning are attractingstudents away from traditional educational settings.If the system is to remain relevant it must adapt, butmajorchangecomeshardineducation.

5 Many activities related to learning and education take place outside the walls of the classroom and

thus are not part of our learning metrics. Studentscantakeadvantageoflearningmaterialonline,throughgames and programs they may have on systems athome, and through their extensive — and constantlyavailable — social networks. The experiences thathappen in and around these venues are difficult totie back to the classroom, as they tend to happenserendipitouslyandinresponsetoanimmediateneedfor knowledge, rather than being related to topicscurrentlybeingstudiedinschool.These trends and challenges are having a profoundeffectonthewayweexperimentwith,adopt,anduseemergingtechnologies.Theseaspectsoftheworldthatsurroundandpermeateeducationserveasaframeworkforconsideringtheprobable impactsof theemergingtechnologieslistedinthesectionsthatfollow.

Technologies to WatchThesixtechnologiesfeaturedinThe NMCHorizon Reportareplacedalongthreeadoptionhorizonsthatindicatelikely time frames for their entrance into mainstreamuse for teaching, learning, or creative applications intheK-12environment.Thenear-termhorizonassumesthelikelihoodofentryintothemainstreamforschoolswithin thenext twelvemonths; themid-termhorizon,withintwotothreeyears;andthefar-term,withinfourtofiveyears. ItshouldbenotedthatTheNMC Horizon Report is not a predictive tool. It is meant, rather, tohighlight emerging technologies with considerablepotentialforourfocusareasofteaching,learning,andcreative expression. Each of them is already the focusofworkatanumberof innovativeschoolsaroundtheworld, and the work we showcase here reveals thepromiseofawiderimpact.

Near-term HorizonOn the near-term horizon — that is, within the next12months—arecloudcomputingandmobiles.BothappearedinTheNMC Horizon Report: 2010 K-12 Edition,and their reappearance here is not only an indicationof continued interest in these technologies but, moresignificantly, thatthetechnologiescontinuetoevolve.Thestronginterestincloudcomputinghasshiftedfromitspreviousfocusonfreeproductivitytoolstoawaytotrimthecostsof runningdistrictdatacenters, suchasdatastorage,backups,andinfrastructuremaintenance.Mobiles, on the other hand, have moved to the near-termhorizonthisyearasnew,always-connectedtabletssuch as the iPad have changed the debate aroundallowingpersonaldevicesoncampuses.

> Cloud computing has already transformed theway users of the Internet think about computingand communication, data storage and access, andcollaborative work. Cloud-based applications andservicesareavailabletomanyschoolstudentstoday,and more schools are employing cloud-based toolsall the time. Now schools are looking to outsourcesignificantpartsoftheirinfrastructure,suchasemailand backups, to cloud providers. Together, thesedevelopmentshavecontributedconsiderablytotheadoption of cloud computing approaches at K-12schoolsacrosstheglobe.

> Mobiles are a category that defies long-termdefinitions. With more than 1.2 billion new mobiledevices produced each year, the pace of innovationin the mobile markets is unprecedented. Mobiles,especiallysmartphonesandtablets,enableubiquitousaccess to information, social networks, tools forlearningandproductivity,andhundredsofthousandsofcustomapplications.Mobileswerelistedinpreviousyearsbecausetheycouldcapturemultimedia,accessthe Internet, or geolocate. Now they are effectivelyspecializedcomputersforthepalmofyourhand,withahugeandgrowingcollectionofsoftwaretoolsthatmakeuseoftheiraccelerometers,compasses,cameras,microphones,GPS,andothersensors.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition6

Second Adoption HorizonThesecondadoptionhorizonissettwotothreeyearsout,wherewewillbegintoseewidespreadadoptionsoftwotechnologieswithagrowingimportance:game-based learning and open content. Games are clearlypart of mainstream popular culture; consumer use ofopencontentisgrowing.Bothhavebeendemonstratedas effective tools for learning in a number of schoolsalready, and both are expected to see much broaderuse in pre-college education over the next two tothree years. Game-based learning also appeared onthemid-termhorizoninTheNMC Horizon Report: 2010 K-12 Edition.Whilecontinuingtodevelopinsomeveryinterestingways,thegrowthofgame-basedlearninghasbeenconstrainedduetothelackofqualityeducationalgamesandgameplatforms.OpencontentisnewtotheK-12reportthisyear,withinterestdrivenbyagrowingrangeofopensourcetextbooksandawiderrecognitionof the collaborative philosophy behind creating andsharingfreecontent.

> Game-based learning hasgrowninrecentyearsasresearch continues to demonstrate its effectivenessfor learning. Games for education span the rangefrom single-player or small-group card and boardgames all the way to massively multiplayer onlinegamesandalternaterealitygames.Thoseatthefirstend of the spectrum are easy to integrate into thecurriculum, and have long been an option in manyschools; but the greatest potential of games forlearningliesintheirabilitytofostercollaborationandengage students deeply in the process of learning.Once educational gaming providers can matchthe volume and quality of their consumer-drivencounterparts,gameswillgarnermoreattention.

> Open content is the current form of a movementthat began a decade ago, when universities suchas MIT began to make their course content freelyavailable.Tenyearslater,schoolshavealsobeguntoshareasignificantamountofcurricula,resources,andlearningmaterials.ThereisagrowingvarietyofopencontentfromK-12organizationsandschools,andinmanypartsoftheworld,opencontentrepresentsaprofoundshift in the way studentsstudy and learn.Farmorethanjustacollectionoffreeonlinecourse

materials,theopencontentmovementisincreasinglyaresponsetotherisingcostsofeducation,thedesireto provide access to learning in areas where suchaccessisdifficult,andanexpressionofstudentchoiceaboutwhenandhowtolearn.

Far-term HorizonOnthe far-termhorizon,setat four tofiveyearsawayfrom widespread adoption are learning analytics andpersonal learning environments. Neither of these two

technologies is commonly found in school settingstoday and both remain at the experimental andconceptuallevels.Nonetheless,thehighlevelofinterestandresearchineachoftheseareas—nottomentiontheir game-changing potential — indicates that theyareworthfollowingclosely.

> Learning analytics loosely joins a variety of data-gathering tools and analytic techniques to studystudent engagement, performance, and progressin practice, with the goal of using what is learnedto revise curricula, teaching, and assessment in realtime.BuildingonthekindsofinformationgeneratedbyGoogleAnalyticsandothersimilartools,learninganalyticsaimstomobilizethepowerofdata-miningtools in the service of learning and embrace thecomplexity,diversity,andabundanceofinformationthatdynamiclearningenvironmentscangenerate.

7ExecutiveSummary

The six technologies featured in The NMC Horizon Report are placed along three adoption horizons that indicate likely time frames for their entrance into mainstream use for teaching, learning, or creative applications in the K-12 environment.

> Personal learning environments (PLEs) referto student-designed learning approaches thatencompassdifferenttypesofcontent—videos,apps,games,socialmediatools,andmore—chosenbyastudent to match his or her personal learning styleandpace.Despitetheuseoftheword“environment”inthename,thenotionofacollectionoraphysicaloronlinespaceissomewhatirrelevanttoaPLE.Thegoalis for students to have more control over how theylearn,andforteacherstosetexpectationsthattheirstudentswillbemoreengagedinunderstandingandapplying their learning strategies. Personal learningenvironments are currently more of a theoreticalconstruct, as they have not been widely put intopractice. The notion is of intense interest to manyeducators who see PLEs as having considerablepotential to engage students in ways that best suittheirindividuallearningneeds.

Each of these technologies is described in detail inthe body of the report. These sections open with adiscussion of what the technology is and why it isrelevant to teaching, learning, and creative inquiry.

Examples of the technology in practice, especially inschools,arelistedtoillustratehowit isbeingadoptedat the current time. Our research indicates that allsix of these technologies, taken together, will have asignificant impact on learning-focused organizationswithinthenextfiveyears.

The NMC Horizon Project SinceMarch2002,underthebanneroftheNMCHorizonProject,theNewMediaConsortiumhasheldanongoingseries of conversations and dialogs with hundreds oftechnologyprofessionals,campustechnologists,facultyleadersfromcollegesanduniversities,teachersandother

school professionals, and representatives of leadingcorporations from more than two dozen countries. Inthe ensuing years, these conversations have resultedinthepublicationeachJanuaryofareport focusedonemerging technologies relevant to higher education.Atthecenteroftheprocessisaninternationaladvisoryboardwhoseroleisultimatelytoselectthetopicsinthereport,viaaconsensus-basedprocess.Astheywork,theadvisoryboardengagesinlivelydialogsaroundawiderange of articles, published and unpublished research,papers, scholarly blogs, and websites. The result ofthese dialogs is a list of the key technologies, trends,challenges, and issues that knowledgeable people intechnologyindustries,education,andlearning-focusedorganizationsarethinkingabout.

In2008,theNMCembarkedonanewseriesofregionaland sector-based companion editions of The NMC Horizon Report,withthedualgoalsofunderstandinghowtechnology isbeingabsorbedusingasmaller lens,andalsonotingthecontrastsbetweentechnologyuseinoneareacomparedtoanother.Thisreport,The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition,isthethirdintheseriesfocusingon pre-college education. The flagship NMC Horizon Report, focused on higher education, is translated intomultiple languages every year. Over all editions, thereadershipofthereportsisestimatedatover1,000,000worldwide,withreadersinmorethan75countries.

Like the university-focused effort from which itemerged, the K-12 project, referred to informally asHorizon.K12, uses qualitative research methods toidentify the technologies selected for inclusion in thereport, beginning with a survey of the work of otherorganizations,acloseexaminationoftopicspreviouslydetailedinThe NMC Horizon Reportseries,andareviewoftheliteraturewithaneyetowardspottinginterestingemerging technologies. When a new cycle is started,little is known, or even can be known, about theappropriateness or efficacy of many of the emergingtechnologies for these purposes, as the NMC HorizonProjectexpresslyfocusesontechnologiesnotcurrentlyinwidespreaduseinschools.

By engaging a wide community of interested parties,and diligently searching published research, the

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition8

At the center of the process is an international advisory board whose role is to select the topics in the report.

Internet, and other sources, enough information isgathered early in the process to allow the membersof the advisory board to form an understanding ofhow each of the discovered technologies might bein use in settings outside of education, to develop asense of the potential the technology may have foreducationalsettings,andtoenvisionapplicationsofthetechnology for teaching, learning, and creativity. Thefindings are discussed in a variety of settings — withteachers,industryexperts,technologists,andofcourse,the Horizon advisory board. Of particular interest tothe advisory board every year is finding educationalapplications for these technologies that may not beintuitiveorobvious.

The45membersofthisyear’sK-12advisoryboardwerepurposely chosen to represent a broad spectrum ofK-12education,aswellaskeywritersandthinkersfrombusinessandindustry.Theyengagedinacomprehensivereviewandanalysisof research,articles,papers,blogs,and interviews; discussed existing applications, andbrainstormed new ones; and ultimately ranked theitems on the list of candidate technologies for theirpotential relevance to teaching, learning, and creativeexpression.Thisworktookplaceentirelyonlineandmaybereviewedontheprojectwikiatk12.wiki.nmc.org.

Each NMC Horizon Report is produced over a periodof just a few months so that the information is timelyand relevant.This year, the effort to produce The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition began in February2011 and concluded when the report was released inJune2011,aperiodof justover threemonths.Thesixtechnologiesandapplicationsthatemergedatthetopofthefinalrankings—twoperadoptionhorizon—aredetailedinthesectionsthatfollow.

Each of those sections includes detailed descriptions,links to active demonstration projects, and a widearrayofadditionalresourcesrelatedtothesixprofiledtechnologies.Those profiles are the heart of The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition,andwillfueltheworkoftheNMCHorizonProjectthroughout2011-12.

AnimportantexampleofthatworkistheHorizon.K12Toolkit.Forthesecondyear,theConsortiumforSchool

Networking (CoSN), with the support of HP’s Officeof Global Social Innovation, is again preparing a K-12toolkit to accompany the report, aimed at school anddistrictleaders,boardmembers,policymakers,teachergroups,andothers.Thetoolkit,tobereleasedunderaCreative Commons license, will help these key groupsmaximizetheimpactofthereportintheirschoolsandhelptheirconstituenciesgainanunderstandingofnewapplications of technology to support teaching andlearningandsuccessfullyplanfortheirimplementation.

For those wanting to know more about the processesusedtogenerateThe NMC Horizon Report series,manyofwhichareongoingandextendtheworkinthereports,wereferyoutothereport’sfinalsectionontheresearchmethodology.

9ExecutiveSummary

he emergence of very large “data farms” — specialized data centers that host thousands of servers — has created a surplus of computing resources that has come to be called the cloud. Growing out of research in grid computing,

cloud computing transforms once-expensive resources like disk storage and processing cycles into a readily available, cheap commodity. Development platforms layered onto the cloud infrastructure enable thin-client, web-based applications for image editing, word processing, social networking, and media creation. Many of us use the cloud, or cloud-based applications, without even being aware of it. Applications including Flickr, Google, YouTube, and many others use the cloud as their platform, using storage space and computing resources from many available machines as needed.

Overview The “cloud” is a term used to describe the vastcollectionsofnetworkedcomputers,typicallyhousedinregionallydistributedandredundantdatacentersthatcomprisethetotalityoftheInternet.Cloudcomputingis a set of strategies that distribute data, applications,and computing cycles across the many machines insuchdatacenters,andevenacrossdatacenters.Cloudcomputing currently includes three broad areas ofdevelopment: cloud-based applications, which aredesigned for many different tasks and hosted in thecloud;developmentplatformsforcreatingcloud-basedapplications; and massive computing resources forstorageandprocessing.

In The NMC Horizon Report: 2010 K-12 Edition, cloudcomputing was positioned in the one-to-two yearhorizon because of the adoption of cloud-basedapplications; for example, YouTube and Google docsbeganmakingentrancesinschoolsandfellintoawidelyaccepted pattern of mainstream use. K-12 institutions

were motivated by easy ways to enable students andfacultytoshareideasandassignmentsonline.Thisyear,the enthusiasm has been directed towards the nextlevel of cloud computing: enterprise platforms anddatabackupandstorage.Schoolsaremovingresource-intensive applications, such as email, off site backup,andwebhostingintothecloud.GoogleApps(go.nmc.org/xpthl) is leading the effort to make that an easytransition,helpingcompaniestowritesoftwarethatwillrunwithintheGoogleAppsenvironment,allowingittoappearalongsidestudentemailandsharedocuments.As a result, learning management systems, such asLearnBoost, are integrating Google Apps into theirprograms(go.nmc.org/zketu).

One of the biggest attractions of cloud computingis that it is saving schools money and resources. Afteremail and other infrastructure applications have beenmoved to the cloud, they no longer require muchdevelopment intervention or extra expense. TheKentucky Department of Education recently selectedacloudsolutionthatprovidesitsschoolswithtoolsforcommunicationandcollaboration.Theestimatedstatesavingsismorethan$6millionoverthenextfouryears(go.nmc.org/bkuly). The interest in cloud computinghas created a resurgence of client-server applicationswhich, while not truly cloud-based solutions, offermanyofthesameaffordancesofcloudcomputing.OneexampleisHP’sSchoolCloud(go.nmc.org/tfwvo),whichprovides many cloud features through a thin-clientsolutionthatdoesnotrequireanInternetconnection.

Data storage is cheap in cloud-based environments— pennies per gigabyte — so cheap that it is oftenprovided in surprising quantities for free. There arecloud-based counterparts to many common softwaretoolsfromemailtowordprocessingandspreadsheets.Schoolsarebecomingbetterversedinthetechnology

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition10

CloudComputingTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

T

thefocus isonthe institution-levelefficiencyandcostsavingsthatcloudcomputingfacilitates.Insomecases,schoolsturntocommercialprovidersforsuchservices,but in others, schools are working together to createprivateclouds.Forexample,TheLearningCurve,anot-for-profiteducationalconsortiumof40Massachusettsschooldistricts,isworkingwithprivatesectorpartnersIMG Software and the EMC Corporation to provideaffordablecloudcomputingoptionsonsharedserversthatwillfullyintegratethevariousdistricts’proprietarydatamanagementtools(go.nmc.org/hfqlh).

Inadditiontoproductivityapplications,servicessuchasFlickr,YouTube, Blogger, and others, comprise a set ofincreasinglypowerfulcloud-basedtoolsforalmostanytaskausermightneedtodo.ApplicationslikeSplashup(go.nmc.org/llnqb)orJayCut(go.nmc.org/bwnel)makeiteasyforstudentstoexperimentwithphotoandvideoediting. With tools like SlideShare (go.nmc.org/xgsws)or SlideRocket (go.nmc.org/dmcln), they can publishpresentations and slide shows. Further, it is very easytosharecontentcreatedwiththesetools,bothintermsofcollaboratingon itscreationand indistributingthefinishedwork.

Browser-basedapplicationsareaccessibleforavarietyofcomputerandevenmobileplatforms,makingthesetoolsavailableanywheretheInternetcanbeaccessed.In

additiontotheinherentconveniencecloudcomputingoffers, the overall cost-effectiveness is a major appeal.Moving enterprise applications that have significantdatastoragedemandstothecloudgreatlyreducestheneedforschoolstosupport,maintain,andmanagetheunderlyinginfrastructure.

Becauseoftheubiquityoflowcostpersonalproductivityand collaboration tools, coupled with the growingnumber of low cost enterprise solutions, schools

11Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

and some are developing their own cloud-basedenvironments, utilizing solutions such as MobileMe(go.nmc.org/kdbpe). There is no single computer thatcanbepointedtoashousingtheseapplications.Totheenduser,thecloudisinvisible,andthetechnologythatsupports the applications does not matter — the factthattheapplicationsarealwaysavailableiskey.

While the many advantages of the cloud are easy todetail, there are cautions as well. Unlike traditionalsoftwarepackagesthatareinstalledonalocalcomputer,can be easily backed up, and are available as long asthe operating system supports them, cloud-basedapplicationsareonlineservicesandrequireapersistentInternet connection. Entrusting work and data to thecloudisacommitmentoftrustthattheserviceproviderwill continue to be there, even in the face of thechanging market and other conditions. Nonetheless,the economics of cloud computing are increasinglycompelling. For many institutions, cloud computingoffersacost-effectivesolutiontotheproblemofhowtoprovideservices,datastorage,andcomputingpowertoagrowingnumberof Internetuserswithout investingcapitalinphysicalmachinesthatneedtobemaintainedandsupported.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative Expression Schools are increasingly taking advantage of ready-madeapplicationshostedonadynamic,ever-expandingcloud that enables end users to perform tasks thathave traditionally required site licensing, installation,and maintenance of individual software packages.Email, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations,collaboration,mediaediting,andmorecanallbedoneinside a web browser, while the software and files arehoused in the cloud. More advanced documentationhas been created as an increasing amount of schoolsareusingthesetypesofresources.SkylineHighSchoolin Ann Arbor, Michigan, for example, compiled anextensivehow-toguideforotherschoolstoreproducetheir successful Curriculum & Portfolio Integrationproject(go.nmc.org/fmjmn).

Whereaslastyearmarkedatransitiontousingthecloudfor personal productivity and collaboration, this year

One of the biggest attractions of cloud computing is that it is saving schools money and resources.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition12

havenewresourcestoapplytoaone-to-one learningenvironment. These parallel developments, bothdrawing on resources within the cloud, are changingthe way we are thinking about personal computing,with profound applications for the classroom. VizZle(go.nmc.org/qmkhg), for example, features peer-reviewed libraries of interactive lessons, whiteboards,touchscreens,andmoreinanonlinepackagedesigned

tomaketheproductionanduseofvisuallyrichlessonseasy. The reason cloud computing is so relevant inthe near-term horizon is that it has opened doors formore flexibility, more space, more collaboration, andultimately,morecreativeusesofInternetresourcesforeducatorstoincorporateintheirclassrooms.

Asamplingofapplicationsofcloudcomputingacrossthecurriculumincludesthefollowing:

> English. Saline Area Schools, comprised of around5,500students insoutheastMichigan,areusingtheentire suite of Google Apps to replace their emailinfrastructure and share spreadsheets, videos, andmore,includingusingGoogleDocstoannotateandediteachother’sstories(go.nmc.org/bqwwr).

> History. ArcGISOnline,developedbyESRI, includesa suite of web-based mapping tools that are usedacross the curriculum. As one example, history

teachersusethetoolstoquicklycreatecustommapsofbattles,journeys,andothersignificantevents(go.nmc.org/bksvu).

> Science. Northwestern University has created iLabCentral,anauthentic,virtuallaboratorythatresidesinthecloudandisaccessibletohighschoolstudentsofall socio-economic backgrounds. Students can plugin variables and run experiments on professional labequipment that theymaynototherwisehaveaccesstointheirclassrooms(go.nmc.org/oanwi).

Cloud Computing in PracticeThe following links provide examples of how cloudcomputingisbeingusedinschools.

Kerpoofgo.nmc.org/qkcvbTargeted at elementary and middle school students,Kerpoof Studio is a cloud-based application thatenables children to make animated movies, artwork,andmore.Thesitealsocontainsdownloadable lessonplansforteachers.

LearnBoostgo.nmc.org/nkoanLearnBoost is a new classroom management platformrun through the cloud that enables K-12 teachers totrack student grades and progress, create standards-aligned lesson plans, generate analytics and reports,shareprogresswithstudentsandparents,andorganizetheirschedulesfromacentraldashboard,withGoogleAppintegration.

Murdock Middle School’s Multimedia Research Modelgo.nmc.org/ujjttMurdockMiddleSchoolisusingMobileMeasaplatformfor a multimedia research model for students in theirdistricttolearnbetterresearchskills.Theirsitecontainsdemos, resources, and tools to aid students as theydevelopresearchprojectsfromstarttofinish.

The reason cloud computing is so relevant in the near-term horizon is that it has opened doors for more flexibility, more space, more collaboration, and ultimately, more creative uses of Internet resources for educators to incorporate in their classrooms.

13Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

Partnership Focuses on App Solutions for K-12 Studentsgo.nmc.org/aqzctThrough the partnership of the New York Institute ofTechnologyandtheNewYorkStateTeacherCentersandassociatedBoardsofCooperativeEducationalServices,thestatehascommittedtoprovideGoogleAppsupportto 697 public schools across the state, as well as non-publicandcharterschools.

Primary Accessgo.nmc.org/zrzcpPrimaryAccessoffersstudentsandteachersfrictionlessaccesstoasuiteofonlinetools,includingdigitalmoviesand storyboards. With this cloud-based program,studentscancreatedigitalnarratives,withtext,audio,andfilmfootage,withoutinstallinganysoftware.

Teachers of the Futurego.nmc.org/wgmdiA sixth grade class at Yokohama International Schoolin Japan is using Google Apps to complete all oftheir assignments, including the creation of tutorialsdesignedinPresentationandsurveyscreatedinForms.Eachstudent’swork is thenpublishedtothewebandsharedthroughePortfolios.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about cloudcomputing.

Cloud Migrations Trigger Organizational Challengesgo.nmc.org/fuwzr(Vanessa Alvarez, InformationWeek.com, 9 February2010.)Thisarticlediscusseshowcloudcomputingcanworkiforganizationsarewellstructuredinadvancetotakeadvantageofitsaffordances.

Google Goes to the Cloud for New Idea in PC Systemgo.nmc.org/awciy(Walter S. Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal, 15December 2010.) Technology writer Walter Mossbergpresentshisthoughtsonthenewcloud-basedGoogleOS Chrome and how it will be used with Google’sexperimentallaptop,theCr-48.

Jolicloud Becomes Joli OS, Announces Cross-Platform Appsgo.nmc.org/zsxqg(Sarah Perez, ReadWriteWeb.com. 8 March 2011.) JoliOSisawebbasedoperatingsystemthatenablesslowermachinestohavefastaccesstofilesandservicesinthecloud.ThisOSallowsforolder,legacycomputerstotakeadvantageofmoderncloudcomputing.Thecompanyalso provides Jolicloud, an interface for accessingmanydifferentwebservicesthroughapersonalclouddesktopinterface.

Personal Cloud Will Replace Traditional Operating Systemsgo.nmc.org/cqwml(CliffSaran,ComputerWeekly.com,17May2010.)ThiswriterdiscussestheviewofForresterResearchanalystFrank Gillett who believes the traditional OS willeventuallydisappearandbereplacedbyanincreasinglysophisticatedpersonalcloud.

Strike Up the Band: Over 10 Million Have Gone Google with Apps for Educationgo.nmc.org/pheol(Miriam Schneider, Official Google Enterprise Blog, 14October 2010.) In the four years since Google Appsfor Education was launched, over 10 million studentsnow use the cloud-based productivity suite. Now,K-12 schools are incorporating the software into theircurriculumforstudentstouse.

Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing go.nmc.org/lxqur(SramanaMitraandSiddharthGarg,SramanaMitra.com,12April2011.)MarkEgan,CIOofVMware,exploresallthe components that must be considered in a cloudcomputing solution, including the infrastructure level,theapplications,andtheend-userlevel.

obiles as a category have proven more interesting and more capable with each passing year, and continue to surprise both researchers and consumers. According to a report from mobile manufacturer Ericsson,

studies show that soon 80% of people accessing the Internet will be doing so from a mobile device. At the 2011 Mobile World Congress, Google CEO Eric Schmidt reaffirmed the prediction by revealing that for every baby born, 30 Android phones are activated. It is no arbitrary decision that the statistical point of comparison is between new lives and mobiles; the next generation of students will inevitably be armed with smarter mobiles at younger ages. Perhaps even more important for education is that Gartner Research projects Internet-capable mobile devices will outnumber PCs by 2013. In Japan, over 75% of Internet users already use a mobile as their first choice for access. This shift in the means of connecting to the Internet is being enabled by the convergence of three trends: the growing number of Internet-capable mobile devices, increasingly flexible web content, and continued development of the networks that support connectivity.

Overview Mobiles are increasingly “always-connected” devices— and not just to text messages and phoneconversations, but also doorways to the content andsocial tapestriesof the Internet.Thedevicesavailabletoday are extremely multi-functional and robust, andgrowmoresowitheachpassingyear.The NMC Horizon Report: 2010 K-12 Edition placed mobiles on the mid-termhorizon,duetothegrowingroleofcellular-basedInternetservices.

Thisyear,mobileshavemovedtothenear-termhorizonbecause of the rise of a new class of devices, led by

the category-defining blockbuster that is the AppleiPad. Competing models, including the HP TouchPad— slated to launch in the summer of 2011 — andMotorola’s Xoom and Samsung’s GalaxyTab, have notyetenjoyedthesuccessoftheiPad,buttogether,thesecompanieshavesolidifiedtabletsasthenewfamilyofmobiles to watch. Immensely portable, tablets serveas e-readers, video repositories, and web-browsingdeviceswithinstantaccesstothousandsofapps—allinonepackagethateasilyfitsinabookbag,andevenreplacestheneedforthephysicalbookstherein.

In developed countries, it is quite common for youngpeople to carry their own personal mobile devices.In the upper grades, it is not at all unusual to findschools in which virtually every student carries amobile,eveniftheyarenotallowedtousethemduringclass. The unprecedented pace of evolution of thesedevicescontinuestogenerategreat interest,andtheirincreasing capabilities make them more useful witheachnewproductgeneration.Theabilitytorunthird-party applications represents a fundamental changein the way we regard mobiles and opens the door tomyriadusesforeducation,entertainment,productivity,andsocialinteraction.

The available choices for accessing the Internet andrunningapplicationsaremany—smartphones,laptopsandtabletPCs;thenewestclassofdevices,tabletssuchas the iPad, blends the functions of all of them. It hasbecomecommonpracticetodevelopwebcontentthatseamlessly adjusts for optimal display on whicheverof these devices is used to access it, increasing theproportion of Internet applications and informationthatisaccessibletomobileusers.ThereleaseofHTML5,for example, has generated excitement with thissort of device flexibility in mind. Mobile and wirelessdata networks continue to evolve, supporting faster

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition14

MobilesTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

M

connections and higher bandwidth throughput, asevidencedbytherapidadoptionof4Gdevices.

Asmorepeoplechoosetoreachforamobileratherthansitting at a desk to access the Internet, our views andbehaviors about that access are shifting. Specializedapplications allow seamless access to financialinformation,socialnetworkingsites,email,media,andmore.Tasksthatonceweregatheredintoasinglepieceofsoftware—thewebbrowser—arenowdistributedamongmanyapplicationsspecificallyoptimizedforthemobileenvironment.

Easy mobile access also means that the full range ofnetworkedinformationandapplicationsaccompanyuswherever we go.The Internet is no longer somethingthat is piped into homes and offices via a cableanchored to the wall; it is a pervasive, ever-presententity,accessiblefromanywherethereisacellsignal.

Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative Expression The age at which students in the developed worldacquiretheirfirstmobiledeviceisdropping,andaswenoted previously, by secondary school, nearly everystudent has one. With always-on Internet, mobilesembodytheconvergenceof several technologies thatlendthemselvestoeducationaluse,includingelectronicbookreaders,annotationtools,applicationsforcreationandcomposition,andsocialnetworkingtools.GPSandcompassesallowsophisticatedlocationandpositioning,accelerometers and motion sensors enable the deviceto be used for gesture-based computing, digitalcapture and editing bring rich tools for video, audio,and imaging — more and more, mobiles encompassit all, and innovation in mobile device developmentcontinuesatanunprecedentedpace.

The portability of mobile devices and their ability toconnecttothe Internetalmostanywheremakesthemideal as a store of reference materials and learningexperiences,aswellasgeneral-usetools forfieldwork,where they can be used to record observations viavoice,text,ormultimedia,andaccessreferencesourcesinrealtime.Despitepoliciesthatbanmobiledevicesinmost schools, the iPad is changing the conversations

oncampuses.K-12schoolsare increasinglyseeingthepotential of mobile devices — and noting that notonly are the devices themselves less expensive thanmost laptops, theyneed less infrastructure tosupportthem. All of these changes have moved mobiles to

the forefront of technology planning for many schooldistricts. The Burrell School District in Pennsylvania,for instance, now allows cell phones in classrooms— expressly for assignments related to instructionallessons.Otherinstitutionsaregraduallyfollowingsuit.

However, with the emergence of iPads and othertablets,schoolshavebeguntolookatthesedevicesasgoodcandidatesforaone-to-onesolution.Thereisaninherent difference in the way educators view tabletsvs. smartphones.While the idea of cell phones in theclassroomtoooftenconjuresupimagesofdisruption,tablets are a game-changer; they encompass many ofthetoolssmartphonesofferwhilepresentinganever-expandingcollectionoftoolsforlearning.

StudentsatScofieldMagnetMiddleSchoolinStamford,Connecticut,aspartoftheHPCatalystInitiative,areusingtabletsforaprojectwheretheytrackandanalyzedataontheimpactofwaterqualityonurbandevelopment.These devices afford students the flexibility to workoutside the classroom while encouraging studentcollaboration.

Inside the classroom, tablets are transformingtraditionallessons.TheiPadeditionofThe Elements(go.nmc.org/slgzt), forexample,depictstheperiodictablein an interactive, three-dimensional way that couldnotbereplicatedbyanyiterationofthephysicalbook.ElementssuchasBismuthcrystalsrotateonthescreensothatclassescanviewandcontrolthemateveryangle,as iftheywereholdingthecrystals.Theideaoftakingsomethingthatnormallyappearsflatandbringingitto

15Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

Mobiles as a category have proven more interesting and more capable with each passing year.

lifeinadeviceyoucanholdinyourhandcreatessomevery interestingopportunitiesfordeeperengagementamongstudents.

Anincreasinglycompellingfunctionofthenewmobilesis theabilitytostoreanddisplaydozensof full-lengthbooks. Literature, textbooks, children’s books, novels,articles, and journals all fit easily in a pocket or purse.Studentscanusevirtualbookmarkstomarkimportant

pages,highlightandannotatepassages,lookupwords,and perform other common study tasks right on themobiledevice.ItisalsoimportanttonotethateReadersalone are not making the transition into schools. It isthecollectionof features—applications, the Internet,mediacaptureandplayback—andbooks—thataremakingtabletsinterestingtoschools.

Newfeaturesarebeingaddedtowhatmobilescandoalmostcontinuously,andtheunprecedentedevolutionofthesedo-it-alldevicesitselfisdrawingagreatdealofinterest.Theirever-increasingcapabilitiesareenhancedbythecircumstancethatschoolsdonothavetobuyormaintainthem.Inthecomingmonths,thevastpotentialof these devices for learning will begin to outweighconcerns about misuse that currently dominate mostconversations about their use in school settings. Itis the sheer power of these devices that make theminteresting, and that power lies in their ubiquity, theirportability, thewiderangeofthingsthatcanbedonewiththem,andtheirabilitytoaccesstheInternetnearlyanywherethroughthegrowingcellularnetwork.

A sampling of applications of mobiles across thecurriculumincludesthefollowing:

> Art.FreshmenandjuniorsatMarymountSchoolinNewYorkareusingSketchbookProoniPadstoproduceself-portraitsalongwithsketchesataMetropolitanMuseumof Art exhibit. The artwork was assembled into anebook,turningthestudentsintopublishedartists.TheentirejourneyofintegratingiPadsintothecurriculumischronicledontheschool’ssite(go.nmc.org/wvdrf).

> Science. Using iPhones, fifth through twelfth gradestudents are gathering and tracking GPS-tagged birdsightingsaspartoftheWildLabprogram.Theresultsofstudents’ findings aid the Cornell Lab of Ornithology intheirscientificresearch(go.nmc.org/vatpv).

> Social Studies. InpartnershipwithReachtheWorld,classes at the Rafael Hernandez Dual LanguageSchool in New York City are completing digitalmappingexercisesontablets.Themapstheycreateusingthetechnologyonthedeviceshighlightglobalgeographicissues(go.nmc.org/myctp).

Mobiles in PracticeThe following links provide examples of how mobilesarebeingusedinschools.

City Experiencego.nmc.org/myhupStudents at MCL School in Sydney, Australia are usingmobilestoexplorevariousareasofthecityandproducecontent documenting their experiences, includingvideos,photos,andpresentations.

The Mobile Learning Experiencego.nmc.org/fizngThe Mobile Learning Experience is a yearly eventin Phoenix, Arizona where educators interested inincorporating mobiles into their classrooms cancongregate, share ideas, and learn about the latestmobileapplicationsandinitiatives.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition16

K-12 schools are increasingly seeing the potential of mobile devices — and noting that not only are the devices themselves less expensive than most laptops, they need less infrastructure to support them.

Mobile Mathsgo.nmc.org/bnucqNokiaisdeliveringinteractivestudypackagestostudents’phones inSouthAfrica.Thecontentpullsdirectlyfromthe school curriculum and includes tutoring, peer-to-peersupport,andotherhelpfulexercises.

OurPlaygroundgo.nmc.org/tkkgfIn development at the University of Chicago,OurPlayground is an online environment that allowsstudentsofallagestodesigntheirowndatacollectionprojects based on questions they create. The data iscollected through mobile devices and incorporatesinformationacquiredthroughsocialnetworks.

PollEverywherego.nmc.org/qnwchPollEverywhere is an online polling system that isused in conjunction with mobile phones. It is free foreducators and the ease of use has made it attractivefor classroom exercises. Millard North High School inOmaha,Nebraskaisoneexampleofaschoolusingthis.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreaboutmobiles.

Acceptable Use Policies in Web 2.0 & Mobile Erago.nmc.org/chbhj(Consortium for School Networks, www.cosn.org,accessed3March2011.)Thiswebsitegivesanoverviewoftheguidelinesandpolicesformobileuseinschoolsaround the United States. It addresses issues such ascyber-bullyingandInternetfiltering.

Information Security in Education/Security Policies for Mobile Devicesgo.nmc.org/jbdfw(WikiBooks,wikibooks.org,lastmodified30April2010.)Thiswikibookentrydetailsconsiderationsforcellphoneuse inK-12schools. Itoutlineswhattoconsiderwhenyou are writing a plan for a school and offers links tovariouspoliciesasexamples.Thesitealsodiscussestheprosandconsofallowingstudentstousetheircellularandsmartphonesinclass.

Learning in the 21st Century: Taking It Mobile!go.nmc.org/qoshl(Project Tomorrow, www.tomorrow.org, 29 October2010.) Project Tomorrow and Blackboard partneredonaseriesofreportsdocumentinghowK-12studentsuse mobile technology and blend it with traditionallearning.The reports provide a guide to educators ontrendsanddevelopmentsrelatedtomobiletechnologyintheclassroom.

M-Learning: Promises, Perils, and Challenges for K-12 Educationgo.nmc.org/zhwhb(PatriciaWallace,Ph.D.,JohnsHopkinsUniversitySchoolof Education New Horizons Learning Journal, Winter2011.) This article details issues and considerationswhenintegratingmobilesinK-12classrooms.

Mobile Subscriptions Hit 5 Billion Markgo.nmc.org.ejmsy(Ericsson, Ericsson.com, 9 July 2010). The mobileequipment and service provider released informationon global mobile adoption, citing that over fivebillion people now have mobile phone subscriptions,underscoringtheubiquitousglobalpenetrationofthistechnology.

17Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

In the coming months, the vast potential of these devices for learning will begin to outweigh concerns about misuse that currently dominate most conversations about their use in school settings.

ame-based learning has gained considerable traction since 2003, when James Gee began to describe the impact of game play on cognitive development. Since then, research and interest in the potential of gaming on

learning has exploded, as has the diversity of games themselves, with the emergence of serious games as a genre, the proliferation of gaming platforms, and the evolution of games on mobile devices. Developers and researchers are working in every area of game-based learning, including games that are goal-oriented; social game environments; non-digital games that are easy to construct and play; games developed expressly for education; and commercial games that lend themselves to refining team and group skills. Role-playing, collaborative problem solving, and other forms of simulated experiences are recognized for having broad applicability across a wide range of disciplines.

Overview The first digital games appeared with the first homecomputers in theearly1980s.Tenyears later, thewebwas born, and games began to be delivered over theInternet.In2003,thefirstfullInternetserviceformobilephones arrived in the US, bringing games to mobiledevices. The three most recent cohorts of children—thoseborn in theearly1980s, theearly1990s,andthe early 2000s — have grown up in a world wheredigital games have always been an important part oftheirlives.Thosebornsincetheearly1990shaveneverlived in a world without a global network. The mostrecentkidstoenterschools,thosebornsincetheearly2000s,haveneverknownaworldinwhichthatglobalnetworkwasnotaccessiblefromthepalmofyourhand.According to a recent study from the EntertainmentSoftwareAssociation,64%ofparentsbelievegamesarea positive force in their children’s lives.There are now

activegamers ineverygeneration; theaverageageofgamersintheUSis35yearsold,afigurenotfarofffromthemedianageof36.8forallUSresidents.

Beyond the generation-specific appreciation forgaming, advocates point to collaboration, problemsolving, and communication as the main benefitsof game-based learning. In the National EducationTechnology Plan, U.S. Secretary of Education AnneDuncannamedgamingasanidealmethodofassessingstudent knowledge comprehension, citing the abilityofgamestoprovideimmediateperformancefeedbackto the players. Students are engaged because theyare motivated to do better, get to the next level, andsucceed. Proponents also underscore the productiverole of play, which allows for experimentation, theexplorationofidentities,andevenfailure.

Earlystudiesofconsumergameshelpedtoidentifytheaspectsofgamesthatmakethemespeciallyengagingand appealing to players of various ages and of bothgenders: the feeling of working toward a goal; thepossibilityofattainingspectacularsuccesses;theabilitytoproblem-solve,collaboratewithothers,andsocialize;aninterestingstoryline;andothercharacteristics.Thesequalitiesarereplicableforeducationalcontent,thoughtheycanbedifficulttodesignwell.Thischallengeiswhygame-based learning continues to be placed on themid-termhorizon.

One way to engage students with educational gamingistogivethemahandindesigninggames.TheNationalSTEMVideoGameChallenge(go.nmc.org/zsyof)recentlyselectedwinnersfortheYouthPrize,announcedbytheUnitedStatesChiefTechnologyOfficer,AneeshChopra,which targeted middle school students to create theirowngamesplayableonopenorfreegamingplatforms.The idea behind the challenge was that it would build

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition18

Game-BasedLearningTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years

G

both critical-thinking and creative design skills. Thecontestshowedthatnotonlydostudentshaveaninterestindesigninggames; it revealedthat theacademy itselfhastakenmajorstrides inaccepting—andpromoting—gamingasanimportantlearningvehicle.

Anotherareaofgamingthatisincreasinglyinterestingtoschoolsissimulation-basedgames.Militariesworldwidehaveadoptedgamesandsimulationsacrosstheentirerange of skills training they provide, and the game-designinsightsfromthattremendousbodyofworkarebeginning to inform simulations designed for schoolchildren. A good example is EVOKE, an educationalgame with real-world applications, developed bythe World Bank Institute and the World Bank Groupand directed by game master Jane McGonigal. For anintenseten-weekperiod,playersages13andupwerefacedwithchallengestoinventandimplementcreativesolutions to pressing social issues, including foodsecurity,disasterrelief,andhumanrights.Whengamedesign is of sufficiently high quality, it is increasinglyclearthattheseapproachescandeeplyengagestudentsinlearning.

Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative Expression Digital educational games have been in common usefor a long time, both in classrooms and at home.Theearliest forms were single-player drill and practicegamessuchasReader RabbitorMath Blaster.Now,we’rebeginningtoseemoreexamples—andamuchmorededicated following — at the university level. Whilegamesandgame-basedlearningcontinuetogenerateinterest and relevancy in the K-12 sector, the scarcityof quality educational games is impeding more rapidadoption.Theproductionrequirementsseeninpopularconsumer games thus far have exceeded educationproviders’ abilities to build them. In The NMC Horizon Report: 2010 K-12 Editiongame-basedlearningwasalsopositionedonthemid-termhorizon,andthatremainsthe case today, although it does seem to be gainingacceptance.

Nonetheless, digital subject mastery games arecontinuing to gain momentum in K-12 classes. Agood example is Immune Attack (go.nmc.org/jgsgz),

developed by the Federation of American Scientists,whichintegrateskeybiologyconceptsaboutconnectivetissue and red and white blood cells into the plot. Onthesurface,whatmakesgameslikethismoreengagingtostudentsisthattheendgoaloflearningispackaged

in the form of an exciting, alternate reality, or, in thecase of Immune Attack, an alien world.These types ofgamesmakesuccessfullearningaidsbecausestudentsarewillingtoplaythemmorefrequentlyandforlongerperiods of time than they would otherwise study thematerialinquestion.

This year, there has also been a great deal of tractionsurrounding online games and game apps for mobiledevices. Schools are beginning the transition fromblocking web-based games to integrating them intotheir classrooms and curriculum. There are manyfree games designed for K-12 students, such as The Hexagon Story (go.nmc.org/aneal), an award-winningalternate reality game (ARG) in which students mustsolveamysterybyansweringinitiationquestionsacrossmultiple disciplines and following clues sent to themviaemail,textmessages,etc.fromfictitiouscharacters.Games in the form of apps have increased with theexplosion of smartphones and tablets. Mind Snacks isapopularappintheiTunesstorethatboostsstudents’foreignlanguageskillsandfluency.PopMath Basic Math isanotherwell-received iPadgameappthat turns thenotionofflashcardsintoatimedoruntimedgamefilledwithcolorfulbubblestosharpenarithmeticskills.

AdigitalcounterparttotheseactivitiesistheGlobalKidsGamingInitiative,whichusesonlinegamestopromotedigital literacyskills,globalawareness,andcitizenshipamongyoungpeople.UrbanyouthtakingpartinGlobalKids’ Playing 4 Keeps program create and play gamesaboutsocialissuesofglobalsignificance.Designinganddevelopinggamesisanotherwaytobringgamesinto

19Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:TwotoThreeYears

The productive role of play allows for experimentation, the exploration of identities, and even failure.

the curriculum. Good game design involves research,creativethinking,theabilitytoenvisionbothproblemsandsolutions,andmanyotherlearningskills.Thisyear,GlobalKidsembarkedintrainingfortheSeriousGamesLeadership Program; participating children designedgamesaroundrealworldissues,suchashydrationandpoverty, acquiring creative design and collaborationskills,aswellasabetterknowledgeofglobalproblems.

As gaming and the science of engagement becomebetter understood, we are likely to see significantinvestment in large-scale educational games. Thecompelling nature of Massively Multiplayer Online(MMO)gamesinparticularisattractingresearchersandeducators who appreciate the revolutionary power ofincluding games in the curriculum. World of Warcraftcontinuestobeapopulargamethat is integratedintoschools and a standard by which to measure otherMMO games.The role of these sorts of games in K-12education is to fostercollaborationanddigital literacy.Inplayingthem,studentsmustlearnhowtoreachagoaltogether where the obstacles are often other people.Theyprovidelessonsinbothacademicsandreallife.

Researchandexperiencearestartingtoshowthatgamescanclearlybeappliedveryeffectively inmanylearningcontexts.Gamescanengagelearnersinwaysothertoolsandapproachescannot,andtheirvalueforlearninghasbeenestablishedthroughresearch.Weknowmoreabouthowgamesworkandhowtoapplythemtoteachingandlearning than we ever have, and that understanding isincreasing.Educationingeneralisstillafewyearsawayfrom embracing games as mainstream practice, butgiven the exciting results coming from game-basedresearch,theyareclearlyaspacetowatch.

A sampling of applications of game-based learningacrossthecurriculumincludesthefollowing:

> Language Arts. In Florida, Palm Beach GardensHigh School is integrating young adult novels intoa language arts social network using Communityof Reading Engagement, a web-based game showformatmethodologybasedonhigherorderthinkingskills(go.nmc.org/ujriu).

> Mathematics. Studentsacrossthecountry,includingFoxRunElementarySchoolinSanAntonio,Texas,areusingtheBrainPopwebsiteandapp—abestsellerintheiTunesstore—towatchshort,animatedmovieson topics, such as price comparison. The studentsthen take interactive quizzes to demonstrate theknowledgetheyhavegained(go.nmc.org/hrllk).

> Media Literacy. The World of Warcraft (WoW) inSchool Project engages at-risk students at SuffernMiddle School in New York and Cape Fear MiddleSchool in North Carolina in an afterschool programthatteachesskillsincommunication,digitalliteracy,online safety, mathematics, and leadership throughgameplay(go.nmc.org/ldffz).

Game-Based Learning in PracticeThefollowinglinksprovideexamplesofhoweducationalgamesarebeingusedinschools.

A Crash Course in Saving the Worldgo.nmc.org/tjwmtEVOKE developed a free and open social networkinggame that simulates real global issues to empowerpeopletofindnewandinnovativesolutions.

Finding Identitygo.nmc.org/zjjigFinding Identity is a social science game that teachesK-12 students about history, culture, and life valuesusing a 21st century approach to storytelling andcollaborativepuzzlesolving.

Ghosts of a Chancego.nmc.org/rrbbwGhosts of a Chance allows visitors to the SmithsonianAmerican Art Museum a chance to decipher codes,followtreasuremaps,sendtextmessages,anduncoverhiddenobjectsinthismultimediascavengerhunt.

Quest Atlantisgo.nmc.org/hisxoDesigned for students, ages 9-16, Quest Atlantis is asimulated, 3D learning environment that combinesstrategies from commercial gaming with educationalresearchonwhatmotivateschildrentolearn.Students

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition20

participating in this game learn and apply skills inmultiple disciplines, including mathematics andenvironmentalsciences.

Quest to Learngo.nmc.org/gdaykQuest to Learn is an entire public school in NewYorkCity founded in 2009 devoted to teaching childrenthrough game play. Among other key features, theschool is focusedon rigorouscollege preparationandinquiry-basedlearning.

World Without Oilgo.nmc.org/shzdyWorld without Oil was a collaborative and socialimagining of the first 32 weeks of a global oil crisis.Thesimulationwasdesignedforparticipantstogainabetterunderstandingofdisasterresponse.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about game-basedlearning.

By 2015, More Than 50 Percent of Organizations That Manage Innovation Processes will Gamify those Processesgo.nmc.org/tvsop(Gartner Newsroom, Gartner.com, 12 April 2011.)Analysts at the 2011 Gartner Enterprise ArchitectureSummit are exploring the employment of gamemechanics across various sectors of the workplace,includingtraining,innovation,andmarketing.

Gaming Educationgo.nmc.org/levhm(Elizabeth Corcoran, O’Reilly Radar, 27 October 2010.)This insightful post discusses the three predominatetypesofgamingineducation:classicedu-techgames,build-your-owngames,andthegamificationapproachto teaching in general. The author looks at theseapproachesandhowtheyalldifferintheintegrationofgamingintotheK-12learningexperience.

How Social Gaming is Improving Schoolsgo.nmc.org/wypau(Greg Ferenstein, Mashable.com, 7 February 2010.)This article points to collaborative, digital gamesthat address real world problems as a means to makeeducationmoreexcitingtostudentsthanthestandardtextbookmethods.

How Video Games Are Infiltrating — and Improving — Every Part of Our Livesgo.nmc.org/vmnqz(Adam L. Penenberg, Fast Company, 13 December2010.) This article discusses how gaming culture isbecomingpartofeverydaycultureandwillonlygrowinimportanceinthefuture.CarnegieMellonprofessorJesseSchellandInstitutefortheFutureresearcherJaneMcGonigalareprofiledassomeoftheleadingthinkersinthisarea.

The New Games People Play: How Game Mechanics Have Changed In The Age Of Social Mediago.nmc.org/uhppm(Alexia Tsotsis, TechCrunch, 1 August 2010.) This postpresentshowgaminghaschangedintheageofsocialmediaandonlinecommunication. Issuesaroundwhatmakes games addictive and how they are integratedinto the real world are addressed in addition to howgame mechanics may change in the future as a resultofsocialmedia.

Reality is Broken, Game Designers Can Fix Itgo.nmc.org/egymq(JaneMcGonigal,InstitutefortheFuture,2010.)ThisTEDtalkadvocatesincorporatingprinciplesofgamedesignintotherealworldtoeffectsocialchange.Shepointstogamesaswaystolearnhowtocombathunger,poverty,andclimatechangeandattainthe“epicwin.”

21Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:TwotoThreeYears

he movement toward open content reflects a growing shift in the way academics in many parts of the world are conceptualizing education to a view that is more about the process of learning than the information conveyed in their

courses. Information is everywhere; the challenge is to make effective use of it. Open content embraces not only the sharing of information, but the sharing of instructional practice and experiences as well. Part of the appeal of open content is that it is also a response to both the rising costs of traditionally published resources and the lack of educational resources in some regions. It presents a cost-effective alternative to textbooks and other materials. As customizable educational content — and insights about how to teach and learn with it — is increasingly made available for free over the Internet, students are learning not only the material, but also skills related to finding, evaluating, interpreting, and repurposing the resources they are studying in partnership with their teachers.

Overview Opencontent,asdescribedhere,hasitsrootsinanumberof seminal efforts, including the Open Content Project,MIT’s Open Courseware Initiative (OCW), the OpenKnowledgeFoundation,andworkbytheWilliamandFloraHewlett Foundation and others. Many of these projectsfocused on creating collections of sharable resourcesand on devising licenses and metadata schemata. Thegroundswellofinterestinopencontentdescribedhereisdifferentiatedfromearlyworkbyitsprimaryfocusontheuseofopencontentanditsplaceinthecurriculum.Theroleofopencontentproducershasevolvedaswell,awayfromtheideaofauthoritativerepositoriesofcontentandtowards the broader notion of content being both freeand ubiquitous. While universities ultimately paved thewayforopencontentasaninstrumentalclassroomtool,

itsrecententranceintheK-12sectorispartlyrootedinthefinancialbenefits.Forexample,launchedinSouthAfrica,FreeHighSchoolScienceTextbooksservesdisadvantagedschools by providing royalty-free, open source bookswrittenbyvolunteerexperts.

This philosophy of open content and open educationacknowledges that information is not the only usefuland distributable commodity among educators.Understanding, insight, and experience can also becollectedandshared.Anoutgrowthofthatperspectiveis the emergence of open-content textbooks thatcan be “remixed” — that is, customized, modified, orcombinedwithothermaterials—andtheresultingnewcombinations shared in turn. A number of publishersare finding ways to support authors and consumersof such materials. The publishing company Flat WorldKnowledge provides access to textbooks authored foropenuse,makingitveryeasyforfacultytoindividuallytailor a text for use in their own class and then sharethatcustomtextwiththelargercommunity.FlatWorldKnowledge operates as any publisher does, reviewingbook submissions and using a traditional editingprocessbeforerelease;however,electroniccopiesofthetextbooksarefree.Studentsonlypayforprintcopiesifdesired,andauthorsreceiveroyaltiesforthesepurchaseswhetherthebookhasbeencustomizedornot.

Atthecenterofmanydiscussionsofopencontentarethechallengesofsharing,repurposing,andreusingscholarlyworks; related to those discussions are concerns aboutintellectual property, copyright, and student-to-studentcollaboration.GroupssuchasCreativeCommons,CreativeCommons Australia, the Academic Commons, ScienceCommons,andothershavedonesolidworkinthisareato address these concerns. Many believe that rewardstructures that support thesharingofwork inprogress,ongoing research, and highly collaborative projects,

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition22

OpenContentTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years

T

23Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:TwotoThreeYears

along with a broad view of what constitutes scholarlypublication,arekeychallengesthat institutionsneedtosolve. Additionally, more research and work need to bedevoted to reputation systems, peer review processes,andmodelsforcitationofthenewformsofcontentthatarelikelyoutgrowthsofopencontentinitiatives.

While a number of highly structured projects exist toprovide access to open content, in general, the opencontentcommunityisdiffusedanddistributed.Learningto find useful resources within a given discipline, toassessthequalityofcontentavailable,andtorepurposetheminsupportofalearningorresearchobjectivearevaluableskillsforanyemergingscholar.Manyadherentsofopencontentlistthataspectamongthereasonstheysupport the use of shareable materials. Nonetheless,broad use of open learning materials, specifically inK-12schools,remainsat leasttwoyearsaway,andthelarger promise of open content — in which teachingand learning experiences and insights are shared aseasilyasinformation—willtakeevenlongertorealize.Forthepresent,thecreationoflearningmaterialsisstillmore a process of design driven by individual tastesandopinionsthanacollaborativeprocessinvolvingthecontributionsandviewsofmany.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative ExpressionSharable materials reduce teacher workloads as theydonotneedtoberecreatedfromscratch.Thesamesetofmaterials,onceplacedonlineandmadesharableviatheappropriatelicensing,canalsoinformawidevarietyoflearningmodalities,nottheleastofwhichislearningfor the sheer joy of discovery. Additionally, the use ofopencontentpromotesasetofskillsthatarecriticalinmaintainingcurrencyinanyareaofstudy—theabilitytofind,evaluate,andputnewinformationtouse.Thesame cannot be said for many textbooks, which canbe cumbersome, unchanging, and particularly costlyfor K-12 schools. Not-for-profit providers Curriki andWikibooks are building ever-growing platforms filledwithfree,opensourcetextbooksthatareeasytofind.

As more faculty and administrators become aware ofandexperienceopencontent, itscomparativebenefitsand challenges vis-à-vis traditional learning resources

are becoming better understood. Open resources aregenerally,thoughnotalways,electronic.Theyareeasiertoupdatethanprintmaterials.Becausetheyaredigitalinnature,openlearningmaterialscanincorporateactivitiestosupportmultiplemodesofstudy—reading,listening,

interacting—thoughtheycanbechallengingtocreateasaresult.Asnewcoursesaredeveloped,facultyhavearesponsibilitytocarefullyconsiderthebestsupportingmaterials and activities to offer to students, and athorough understanding of what is available throughopenchannelswillassistwiththis.

Becauseopencontentismorewidespread,schoolsarebeginning to feel a social responsibility to create andshare their content. Utilizing and developing contentisno longeraboutbeingexperimental; ithasbecomethemarkofaworld-classinstitution.Takingthisnotioneven further, some universities, including UniversitatObertadeCatalunya,havebuilttheirentirecurriculumaroundopensourcematerials.AhandfulofK-12schoolsare beginning to follow suit. The Open High Schoolof Utah reflects the recent embracement of opencontentintheK-12space.Thisonlineschoolmanagesto conduct one-on-one tutoring with every studentacrossalldisciplineswithafocusonfosteringpersonalresponsibility — perhaps one of the most importantvaluesofopencontent.TheBeringStraitSchoolDistrictin Alaska launched an open content initiative thatincludesmathematicsandsocialstudiescurriculumasasupplementtotraditionalclasses.WhileK-12examplesof this caliber are rare, those that do exist are beingfollowedwithagreatdealofinterest.

The role of open content producers has evolved as well, away from the idea of authoritative repositories of content and towards the broader notion of content being both free and ubiquitous.

Open content continues to influence coursedevelopment and planning on several levels. Fewteachers will reuse material as-is; most will customizethe open content they find to suit their local context.Inmanycases,thebenefitsofadaptingopenmaterials

obviouslyoutweighthecostofcreatingnewones,butthisisnottheonlyfactorunderconsideration;thereisastrongimpulsetodesignfromscratchorrelyonfamiliarresources. The typical process of course developmentdoesnotalwayslenditselftotheuseofopencontent.

Asamplingofapplicationsforopencontentacrossthecurriculumincludesthefollowing:

> History.UsingthepresentationfeatureofneoK12,aresourceof freevideos,quizzes,andmore,studentsselect Creative Commons photos of the AmericanCivilWar from Flickr to build highly visual slides forclasspresentations.Thepresentationcanbecreated,edited, and saved in a web browser (go.nmc.org/wkfeu).

> Science.TheK-12wikiprojectCurriki isanexampleof extensive open content that has been providedthroughanetworkofeducationpartners forusebyeducators and students. Educators across the worldhave contributed K-12 science exercises, includingNational Geographic’s Water Footprint Calculator,which teaches students the importance of waterconservation(go.nmc.org/gmgvm).

> STEM Education. CK-12isanon-profitorganization,striving to provide a robust selection of textbooksat significantly lower costs. With CK-12 Flexbooks,students and teachers choose from a wide rangeof open content textbooks, specific to science,technology,engineering,andmathematics(go.nmc.org/lajit).

Open Content in PracticeThe following links provide examples of how opencontentisbeingusedinschools.

K12EdCom — An Educational Commonsgo.nmc.org/njtrxK12EdCom — An Educational Commons is a projectdesigned to promote and publish OpenCourseWarecontentforK-12schools.

Open High School, Utahgo.nmc.org/wesdnThe Open High School of Utah is an online charterhigh school that leverages next-generation learningtechnology and strategic one-on-one tutoring toprovide students with significantly better learningexperiences.

Open Resourcesgo.nmc.org/hezivInSouthAfrica,FreeHighSchoolScienceTextscreatedaprogramwheremathandsciencetextbooksareopenlylicensedandroyalty-free.

Thinkfinitygo.nmc.org/zdxchThinkfinityisaprojectbytheVerizonFoundationtoputmanyK-12educationresourcesonlineforfreeaccessbystudents and teachers. It is an aggregation of contentthatreflectsdiscplinesfromarttomathematics.

Wikibooksgo.nmc.org/abqyzTheseopencontentbookstaketextbookannotationstothenextlevel—studentscaneditthecontentandsharetheircontributionswitheachotherinreal-time.Thesiteoffersaplethoraoftextbooksacrossmostdisciplines.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition24

Schools are beginning to feel a social responsibility to create and share their content. Utilizing and developing content is no longer about being experimental; it has become the mark of a world-class institution.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreaboutopencontent.

Curriki’s Christine Mytko: Open Education and Policygo.nmc.org/xextv(Jane Park, CreativeCommons.org, 5 August 2010.)Cristine Mytko, lead science reviewer with the opensourcewikiprojectCurriki,discussestheroleofCurrikiandopencontentpolicyinK-12education.

How To Get Started with Open Source in K-12go.nmc.org/hvnpf(NatashaWanchek, thejournal.com, 15 July 2010.)Thisarticle explores how K-12 schools can integrate anduseopencontent.Anumberofexpertsintheareagiveexamples of ways that schools can embrace this formofcontent.

A K12 Educator’s Guide to Open Source Softwarego.nmc.org/nuntd(Máirín Duffy, Máirín Duffy Blog, 31 March 2010.) UserinterfacedesignerandresearcherforRedHatsystems,Máirín Duffy has compiled a good list of open sourceresources for K-12 educators. Her knowledge of theopen source community helps make this reference agoodoneforeducators.

Managing and Learning in Massive(ly) Open Online Coursesgo.nmc.org/lyhsy(GeorgeSiemens,eLearnspace,21October2010.)Thisslide deck from educator George Siemens provides agoodoverviewofhowopencontentcanbesuccessfullyusedandimplementedincoursework.Whilefocusedonhighereducation,thematerialhereisgoodbackgroundforK-12educators.

An Open Source Platform for Internet-based Assessmentgo.nmc.org/knqxz(GrunwaldAssociates,LLC.,2010.)Thisreportextensivelycovers the use of open source platforms as a cost-effectiveandefficientwaytoconductassessment.Thestudy also includes results from numerous interviewsandsamplingefforts.

25Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:TwotoThreeYears

Information is everywhere; the challenge is to make effective use of it.

earning analytics refers to the interpretation of a wide range of data produced by and gathered on behalf of students in order to assess academic progress, predict future performance, and spot potential issues. Data are collected from explicit

student actions, such as completing assignments and taking exams, and from tacit actions, including online social interactions, extracurricular activities, posts on discussion forums, and other activities that are not directly assessed as part of the student’s educational progress. The goal of learning analytics is to enable teachers and schools to tailor educational opportunities to each student’s level of need and ability. Learning analytics promises to harness the power of advances in data mining, interpretation, and modeling to improve understandings of teaching and learning, and to tailor education to individual students more effectively. Still in its early stages, learning analytics responds to calls for accountability on campuses across the country and leverages the vast amount of data produced by students in day-to-day academic activities.

Overview At its heart, learning analytics is about analyzing awealth of information about students in a way thatallowsschoolstorespondinrealtime.Thisinformationcan include student profiles within an institution’sdatabase,aswellastheinteractionsofstudentswithincourse management systems. A long absence from acourse’sonlineactivities,forexample,cantriggerfacultyintervention. At its best, however, learning analyticsgoes much further than this, marrying informationfromdisparatesourcestocreateafarmorerobustandnuanced profile of students, in turn offering facultymembersagreatdealmoreinsight.

While learning analytics is already being used inadmissions and fund-raising efforts on several

campuses, “academic analytics” is just beginning totake shape. Learning analytics need not simply focusonstudentperformance,butcanalsobeusedtoassesscurricula,programs,andinstitutions.Itcouldcontributeto existing assessment efforts on a campus, helpingprovideadeeperanalysis,oritmaybeusedtotransformpedagogy in a more radical manner. It could also beused by students themselves, creating opportunitiesfor holistic synthesis across both formal and informallearningactivities.

Learning analytics is distinct from high stakes testing,but is often misrepresented as such. In contrast tostandardized testing, learning analytics encompasseseach student’s learning goals, paces, and needs,extracting information from the flow of learningactivities. Teachers use that information to interveneand make pedagogical modifications in the moment,which make learning analytics specifically relevant totheK-12arena.Itisnotjuststudents’understandingofalessonthatisevaluated,butalsoteachers’approachesandstyles.Whatmakeslearninganalyticsa21stcenturymodelisthatdynamicdatamininghelpsbothlearnersandeducatorsimprovetheirbehaviorsandtechniquesinreal-time.

Far from the prescriptive approach of individuallearningplans,learninganalyticsoffersamoreorganic,diagnostic approach that does not assume thatstudents comprehend a concept. If a student lacksthe prerequisite knowledge necessary to fully absorba lesson, learning analytics present opportunities forstudentstolearnessentialbackgroundknowledge“justin time.”To accomplish this, the link to data mining isimperative; in order to identify what information astudent is lacking, learning patterns must be locatedacross large sets of data that on the surface may notrevealanythingobvious.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition26

LearningAnalyticsTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years

L

27Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:FourtoFiveYears

In 2011, the Gates Foundation’s Next GenerationLearning initiative (go.nmc.org/tqyfc) announced theawardof$20millioningrantstoinstitutionsadoptingtechnology-enabled solutions to learning challenges.One of the five key categories for development intheir first wave of funding is learning analytics. Whilethegrantrecipientswillbe fromthehighereducationsector, the learning analytic research that the schoolshave committed to, in many instances, is intended toeffectchangeattheK-12level.

In light of the recent attention it has been given,learning analytics still faces some challenges, whichis why it remains poised on the far-term horizon. Itrequirescombiningdatafromdisparatesources,oftenindifferent formats. It also carries with it concerns aboutstudentprivacyandprofiling,aswellasthesensethatstudentsarebeingreducedtoinformationandnumbers.Indeed, learninganalyticstodategenerally fallswithinthe purview of IT departments. For the informationanditsusetobemoreproductivewithincurriculaandpedagogy, faculty will need both to understand itstechnical potential, as well its pedagogical usefulness.Thesechallengeswillneedtobeaddressedastheworkmovesforward.Thepotentialforlearningisclear,butthetechnologytodeliverthatpotentialisstillveryyoung.

Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative Expression Currently,mostoftheresearchintolearninganalyticshastakenplaceinthehighereducationsector.Whileithascentered primarily on identifying at-risk students whocanthenreceiveattentiontoavoidfailureinaparticularcourse, it is increasingly being utilized to determinethemosteffectivepedagogicalapproachesforspecificlearningstyles,whichmakesthetopicveryinterestingto K-12 stakeholders.The growing interest in learninganalytics goes beyond the data mining technologyitself;thepotentialapplicationsoftheinformationtheanalytics provide are now being explored in differentcapacities, from the impact on vocabulary acquisitiontocareerreadiness.

The largest promise of learning analytics is that whencorrectly applied and interpreted, it will enable facultyto more precisely identify student-learning needs and

immediately tailor instruction appropriately in the K-12classroomsettingtobetterpreparestudentsforuniversityentry. This has implications not simply for individualstudentperformance,butalsoinhoweducatorsperceiveteaching,learning,andassessment.Suddenly,modelsofcurriculumaremorefluidandopentochange.

Currently in the midst of its first full year ofimplementation,theSchoolofOne(go.nmc.org/zzevx)is an exemplary illustration of learning analytics inpractice, and one that has already been incorporatedinto the mathematics curriculum of several New YorkCity public schools. The School of One’s learning

algorithm pairs teachers with students in ways thattake into account their individual learning styles andpaces. Learning analytic tools provide up-to-datedataonstudentstocreateauniquescheduleforeachstudenteverydaysothatstudentsmoveontothenextlesson only when they have mastered the previous.The Michigan Regional Data Initiatives, funded bythe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aim toprovideeducatorsacrossthestatewithreal-timeaccesstodataaboutstudentlearningcomprehensionandaidin professional development for faculties utilizing theassessments.

There are currently several kinds of tools for learninganalytics. Commercial applications include Mixpanelanalytics, which offers real-time data visualizationdocumenting how users are engaging with material

Learning analytics promises to harness the power of advances in data mining, interpretation, and modeling to improve understandings of teaching and learning, and to tailor education to individual students more effectively.

on a website. Similarly, Userfly, designed for usabilitytesting, provides the ability to record the behavior ofvisitors to websites, and then play it back for analysis.Gephiisafree,opensourceinteractivevisualizationandexploration platform described as“Photoshop but fordata”thatallowsresearcherstominedataforpatternsvisually.Whilethesesortsoftoolshaveapplicationsforlearninganalytics,theyarenotspecificallydesignedforthatpurpose.

Among the tools developed specifically for learninganalyticsisSocrato,anonlinelearninganalyticsservicethat generates diagnostic and performance reports.SNAPP(SocialNetworksAdaptingPedagogicalPractice),developedbytheUniversityofWollongonginAustralia,

isa tooldesignedtoexpandonthebasic informationgatheredwithinlearningmanagementsystems,whichoften tends to center on how often and for how longstudents interactwithpostedmaterial.SNAPP insteadvisualizeshowstudentsinteractwithdiscussionforumposts, giving significance to the socio-constructivistactivities of students. The Santa Ana Unified SchoolDistrict in California launched Arrow-Data Analytics inSupport of Graduation, College and Career Readinesstodevelopadatawarehousesystemthatstrategicallypredictsandimprovesstudentsuccessintermsofhighschoolgraduationandcollegereadiness.

The explosion of data and information presents achallengeforeducationalinstitutions.Learninganalyticsoffersonedirectionthroughthemorass,withconsiderablepotentialtoenhanceteaching,learning,andassessmentifusedwithsophisticationandintandemwithproductivetheoriesofcontemporarylearningpractices.

Asamplingofapplicationsof learninganalyticsacrossthecurriculumincludesthefollowing:

> Instructional Technology. Instructionaltechnologistscan use learning analytics to help educators designsystems and approaches to better measure studentoutcomesandfacultydevelopment.Theseapproachescanleadtonewwaysofthinkingandnewtechnologiestobettertrack,visualize,andminedataforapplicationinlearninganalytics.

> Math.Earlyalertsystemsaimedatstudentsstudyingessential early math concepts such as fractions canidentify which students might learn best via analternativestrategy,suchasmanipulatives,oravisualapproach.Teacherscanrespondtostudents’specificneeds in real-time by accessing up-to-date data.Across a district or several schools, such data couldbeusedtoinformchangesinthecorecurriculum.

> Writing. The Visualizing Collaboration KnowledgeWork project at Ball State University is designed tovisualize collaborative writing processes in order tosupportstrongerformativeevaluationandempowerstudent communities of practice. Using softwarethat accesses the history of the collaboration willprovidetheinsightsneededforimmediateclassroomintervention(go.nmc.org/umqcm).

Learning Analytics in PracticeThefollowinglinksprovideexamplesofcurrentprojectsthatdemonstratethepotentialoflearninganalytics.

Academic Early Alert and Retention Systemgo.nmc.org/bfunrNorthern Arizona University uses a guidance systemfor students aimed at improving student academicsuccess and retention. The system provides feedbacktostudentsinfourareas(attendance,grade,academics,and positive feedback). Depending on the feedbackgiven, students are given options and pointed toresourcestohelpthemimprove.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition28

In contrast to standardized testing, learning analytics encompasses each student’s learning goals, paces, and needs, extracting information from the flow of learning activities.

Arrow-Data Analytics in Support of Graduation, College and Career Readinessgo.nmc.org/zayvuSanta Ana Unified School District is building a datawarehouse system that promotes the acquisition,maintenance, and use of data to improve collegeand career readiness and to improve the high schoolgraduationrate.

Learning Analytics at the University of British Columbiago.nmc.org/hwnieTheUniversityofBritishColumbiahasimplementedananalytics reporting tool, eLIP (eLearning IntelligencePlatform), with assistance from AlmaLogic Solutions,Inc.(go.nmc.org/nrhrt)toallowthecollection,analysisanduseoflargevolumesofintelligentdataandlearner-produceddata.

Signals — Stoplights to Student Successgo.nmc.org/topfpThe Signals system at Purdue University providestools for facultyto identifyandhelpstudentsthroughanalytical data mining. The tools pinpoint at-riskstudentsinreal-timeandinterventionsbeginasearlyasthesecondweekofclass.

Teachscape Classroom Walkthroughgo.nmc.org/farloTeachscape’s Classroom Walkthrough program allowsteachers to collect data and analysis on studentknowledgecomprehensionviamobilessothattheycanquicklyadaptclassroompracticestobettersuitlearningneeds.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about learninganalytics.

7 Things You Should Know About Analyticsgo.nmc.org/pmxfl(Educause, April 2010.) This brief report explains howanalytics is used for teaching, learning and assessingstudentprogress.

The Case for Nudge Analyticsgo.nmc.org/zfhlq(Colleen Carmean and Philip Mizzi, Educause Quarterly Review, Volume 33, no.4, 2010.) Taking a cue fromobservationsofconsumerbehavior,theauthorssuggestthe nudge principle can be deployed in education tosubtly influence learnerbehaviorwithout takingawayfreedomofchoice.

Evolving a Learning Analytics Platformgo.nmc.org/emhlu(Ari Bader-Natal and Thomas Lotze, grockit.com, 27February 2011.) This paper was presented at the firstinternational annual Learning Analytics Conference,heldinBanff,Canada.Thepaperdiscusseshowlearninganalyticscanevolveintorobustdatacollectingsystemsthatultimatelybenefitbothstudentsandteachers.

Learning and Knowledge Analyticsgo.nmc.org/igyjh(George Siemens (TEKRI, Athabasca University), JonDrown (SCIS, Athabasca University), Dave Cormier(University of Prince Edward Island), Tanya Elias(Athabasa University), and Sylvia Currie (BCcampus),www.learninganalytics.net/,January2011.)Thisisanewblogbuiltasanopencourseforeducatorstolearnmoreabutlearninganalytics.ItwaslaunchedinJanuary2011by several prominent educators and researchers whoareexploringthisareainmoredepth.

What are Learning Analytics? go.nmc.org/nqxvg(George Siemens, eLearnspace, 25 August 2010.) Thisarticle presents an overview of learning analyticsand discusses how it might be applied in learninginstitutions.

29Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:FourtoFiveYears

ersonal learning environments (PLEs) are often described as systems for enabling self-directed and group-based learning, designed around each user’s goals, with great capacity for flexibility and customization. PLEs are

conceived as drawing on a variety of discrete tools, chosen by the learner, which can be connected or used in concert in a transparent way. While the concept of PLEs is still quite fluid, it does seem to be clear that a PLE is not simply a technology but an approach or process that is individualized by design, and thus different from person to person. It involves sociological and philosophical considerations and cannot be packaged, passed out, and handed around as a cell phone or tablet computer could. Widespread adoption of PLEs, once the tools and approaches are clearer, will almost certainly also require a shift in attitudes toward technology, teaching, and learning.

Overview PLEs serve a dual purpose: They enable students todetermine the style and pace at which they learnwhile exposing them to technologies that they maynot otherwise encounter in traditional classroom

settingsthatwillhelppreparethemforuniversityandtheworkforce.ThoughPLEsoftenemergeinthesameconversationsas learningmanagementsystems, thereis a distinct and sometimes overlooked difference

between the two. Learning management systems bynaturearemoreabouttheephemeraof learningthanthe actual learning itself; it is the gathering of coursecalendars, assignments, and all other relevant contentin a single place where both students and teacherscan access everything. On the other hand, PLEs aredescribedasmoreaboutpersonalizingtheenvironmentandexperiencesatanindividuallevel.

The underlying technologies needed to constructa personal learning environment are relativelystraightforward and readily available now. Using agrowingsetof freeandsimple toolsandapplications,it is already quite easy to create customized, personalweb-based environments, and craft them to explicitlysupport one’s social, professional, learning and otheractivities. Online material, once found, can be saved,tagged,categorized,monitoredviaRSS,andrepurposedwithoutdifficultyandwithoutanyspecialknowledgeofhowwebpagesareputtogether.

The promise of PLEs is that they would give studentssignificantcontrolovertheireducation.Theroleoftheteacher is seen primarily as a guide, helping studentsdevelop their learning plans and tools. A currentexample of how this might be done may be seenin Symbaloo (go.nmc.org/liqex), which has gainedtractionamongstinstructorsasareputableresourceforlinkstosubstantialcontentrelatedtoarangeofspecificdisciplinesandtopics,suchasalgebraorShakespeare.Diigo (go.nmc.org/ylhnd) is another tool quicklyrising in use amongst schools looking for easy-to-useways to collect, highlight, and store material for thedevelopmentofpersonallearningenvironments.

There have been discussions among some thoughtleaders that are merging PLEs with digital portfoliostoprovidearecordoftheir learningthatstudentscan

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition30

PersonalLearningEnvironmentsTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years

P

A PLE is not simply a technology but an approach or process that is individualized by design, and thus different from person to person.

31Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:FourtoFiveYears

carry with them as they move through the variousstages of their educational pursuits. This notion iscompletely compatible with the more strict visions ofPLEs,butaddsadistinctandnewelementtothetopicasgenerallyviewed.

Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative Expression In concept, personal learning environments wouldencourage students to approach learning in waysbest suited to their individual needs. Visual learners,for example, might be able to obtain material from adifferentsourcethanauditorylearners.StudentsusingPLEsmay furtherbenefit fromthepracticeofkeepingtrack of, and curating, their own resource collections.Personal learning environments are seen as a way toshift the control over learning — particularly its pace,style,anddirection—tothelearner.

Some writers have suggested that social networkingtoolssuchastagging,blogs,iTunes,wikis,Delicious.com,andothersshouldbepartofaPLE.Earlyexperimentsarepromising.HighschoolstudentsinCanton,Georgiahave learned to use Netvibes (go.nmc.org/nlrof ) asa tool to create personalized dashboards that reflectthecurriculum inways thatappeal toeach individual,even integrating the students’ personal social medianetworks.Thegoalistobalancepredeterminedlessonswith educational components chosen by the student,andreflectiveoftheirinterests.TheUniversityofFloridaCollegeofEducation’sPLEK12programisanexampleofacoursedesignedtoaideducatorswhoareexploringPLEswithintheirprofessionaldevelopment.

Despite the fact that there is a range of easy-to-usetoolsthatcouldbeusedtoconstructpersonallearningenvironments,theyhavenotyetgarneredwidespreadadoption.The reason why PLEs are poised on the far-termhorizonisbecausetheyarestillintheconceptualphase, lacking robust documentation or relevant casestudies.Oneofthepreconditionsforthemtotakeholdinthelongrunisforstudentstohaveperpetualaccessto their own Internet-enabled devices. Ultimately,however,widespreadadoptionwillhingeonashift inattitude about the role of technology in learning thatsimplyhasnotoccurredyet.

A sampling of applications of personal learningenvironments across the curriculum includes thefollowing:

> Digital Literacy. As part of a research projecton the student construction of personallearning environment, one 7th grade studentmodels how she built and organized her ownPLE in her Life Sciences class. In this personaltour, she demonstrates how she added hersocial media networks and blogs to enhance herlearningexperience(go.nmc.org/oltyt).

> English. Students and teachers can customize theirEnglish curriculum by using dashboards that haveaggregatedcuratedcontentthatcanbecustomizedto suit personal learning styles and interests. Forexample, if there is aWilliam Shakespeare segmentin the classroom, students can create environmentsthat include text from his plays, plot summaries,bibliographies,andmore.

> Math and Science.With theSAMIAMproject, shortfor Science and Math Initiative for AugmentingMemory, teachers created personal learningenvironments containing dynamic PowerPointlessons incorporating graphics, videos, audio andInternet simulations.Theparticipating teachersalsohelped students develop a learning portfolio byrequiringasingle-pagedocumentsummarizingeachunit(go.nmc.org/fpqkt).

Widespread adoption of PLEs, once the tools and approaches are clearer, will almost certainly also require a shift in attitudes toward technology, teaching, and learning.

Personal Learning Environments in PracticeThefollowinglinksprovideexamplesofcurrentprojectsthat demonstrate the potential of personal learningenvironments.

Capstone Projectgo.nmc.org/tbqbsColoradoLibrarieshasdevelopedaseriesoflessonsforinformation professionals, culminating in a capstoneprojecttocreateanindividualPLE.Thelessonsincludea list of vital questions that educators should answerbeforeintroducingPLEstotheirworkflows.

Cengage Learning’s MindTapgo.nmc.org/lndgrMindTapisanewsystemdesignedtoworkasPersonalLearning Experience, building on concepts used inPLEs.This system offers adaptable learning paths andactivities that instructors can choose from, based onstudentneeds.

Innovative Technologies for an Engaging Classroomgo.nmc.org/mjzzrThis pan-European project is committed to designingthefutureclassroom.Indoingso,itisbringingtogetherpolicy-makers, researchers, technology suppliers, andteacherstodevelopscalablelearningenvironmentsforstudents.

PLEK12go.nmc.org/yzjtfThe University of Florida College of Education offersa free, open course for anyone who wants to explorehow personal learning environments impact inquiry

in K-12 education. It offers a repository of resourceswhere teachers chronicle their classroom experiencesinimplementingPLEs.

Students Provide a Video Tour of Their Netvibes Learning Portalsgo.nmc.org/tnhjpTenth grade Students at Creekview High School inCanton, Georgia learned how to use Netvibes as partof a PLE, configuring the tool to their needs. Links tostudent’sNetvibesportalsareprovided.

Using Symbaloo as a Personal Learning Environment for Algebrago.nmc.org/rwmivSymbaloo is a PLE tool designed for education and isnowusedbyalargenumberofteachersandstudentsinK-12.ThislinkprovidesanexampleofhowSymbaloohas been configured for teaching high school algebrabyaggregatingrelevantsourcesintooneplacethatcanbefurthercustomizedforuse.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedfor those who wish to learn more about personallearningenvironments.

5 Ways to Build Your 1.0 and 2.0 Personal Learning Networkgo.nmc.org/mlllh(Lisa Nielsen, The Innovative Educator Blog, 1 August2010.) This post discusses how to build a personallearning network and how this has evolved as onlinecommunities and technologies have developed morerobust ways to share information and collaborate.The author offers ways to create a PLE through someexercisesandexamples.

7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environmentsgo.nmc.org/uqxzn(Educause, www.educause.edu/eli, May 2009.) Thissummary from Educause gives a quick overview ofPersonal Learning Environments, what they are, howtheyareusedandwhytheyarebecomingincreasinglyimportant.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition32

The underlying technologies needed to construct a personal learning environment are relatively straightforward and readily available now.

Envisioning the Post-LMS Era: The Open Learning Networkgo.nmc.org/vdxpd(JonathanMott,Educause Quarterly Review,Volume33,Number 1, 2010.) This article discusses the evolutionof online learning environments beyond LearningManagement Systems. The author looks at PLEsand compares them with an LMS. He also discusseshow PLE’s function together with Personal LearningNetworks(PLN).

The Learning Experience in a Personal Learning Environmentgo.nmc.org/ywgnu(Rita Kop, National Research Council Canada, March2010.) The National Research Council Canada has acurrent research project focused on PLEs. This paperby reseacher Rita Kop takes a look at two differentapproachestoPLEsandaddressestheuniquenatureofPLEsthatcanbeasuniqueaseachindividualuser.

The PLN Matures. The Progression of the 21st Century Personal Learning Networkgo.nmc.org/pskhi(LisaNielsen.The InnovativeEducatorBlog,18August2010.) Educator Lisa Nielsen discusses how PLEs haveprogressed into collaborative creation environmentsthataremoreinteractive.ShealsomentionshowPLEsare beginning to use social media such as Twitter tofurthergrowandenrichpersonallearningnetworks.

Xplana.com: Is This a PLE?go.nmc.org/jchsc(Michael Feldstein, e-Literate.com, 13 August 2010.)This detailed post examines the social learning anddistributionplatformXplanafromtheperspectiveofaPLE.Theauthor,aneducationtechnologistformerlyatOracleandnowatCengage,pointsouttheopen-endednatureofPLEsandhowthedefinitioncanbeelusivebuttheconceptcanbeeffective.

33Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:FourtoFiveYears

PLEs are poised on the far-term horizon because they are still in the conceptual phase, lacking robust documentation or relevant case studies.

heprocessusedtoresearchandcreateThe NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition is very muchrooted in the methods used throughout theNMC Horizon Project. All editions of The NMCHorizon Report are produced using a carefully

constructed process that is informed by both primaryand secondary research. Dozens of technologies,meaningfultrends,andcriticalchallengesareexaminedfor possible inclusion in the report for each edition.Every report draws on the considerable expertiseof an internationally renowned advisory board thatfirst considers a broad set of important emergingtechnologies, challenges, and trends, and thenexamines each of them in progressively more detail,reducing the set until the final listing of technologies,trends,andchallengesisselected.

Much of the process takes place online, where it iscapturedandplacedintheNMCHorizonProjectwiki.Thiswikiisintendedtobeacompletelytransparentwindowintotheworkoftheproject,andcontainstheentirerecordoftheresearchforeachofthevariouseditions.

Thesectionof thewikiusedfor the2011K-12Editioncanbefoundatk12.wiki.nmc.org.

The procedure for selecting the topics that will be inthe report incorporates a modified Delphi processnowrefinedoveryearsofproducing The NMC Horizon Report Series, and it begins with the assembly of theadvisory board. The board as a whole is intended torepresent a wide range of backgrounds, nationalities,and interests, yet each member brings a particularlyrelevantexpertise.Todate,hundredsofinternationallyrecognizedpractitionersandexpertshaveparticipatedin the NMC Horizon Project advisory boards; in anygivenyear,athirdofadvisoryboardmembersarenew,ensuringaflowoffreshperspectiveseachyear.

Once the advisory board for a particular edition isconstituted,theirworkbeginswithasystematicreviewof the literature — press clippings, reports, essays,and other materials — that pertains to emergingtechnology. Advisory board members are providedwithanextensivesetofbackgroundmaterialswhentheprojectbegins,andarethenaskedtocommentonthem,identifythosethatseemespeciallyworthwhile,andaddto the set. The group discusses existing applicationsofemergingtechnologyandbrainstormsnewones.Akeycriterionfortheinclusionofatopicisthepotentialrelevance of the topic to teaching, learning, research,or creative expression. A carefully selected set of RSSfeeds from dozens of relevant publications ensuresthat background resources stay current as the projectprogresses.Theyareusedtoinformthethinkingoftheparticipantsthroughouttheprocess.

Following the review of the literature, the advisoryboardengaged in thecentral focusof theresearch—theresearchquestionsthatareatthecoreoftheNMCHorizonProject.Thesequestionsweredesignedtoelicita comprehensive listing of interesting technologies,challenges,andtrendsfromtheadvisoryboard:

1 Which of the key technologies catalogued in the NMC Horizon Project listing will be most important

to teaching, learning, or creative expression in K-12 education within the next five years?

2 What key technologies are missing from our list? Considertheserelatedquestions:

> What would you list among the established technologies that some educational institutions are using today that arguably ALL institutions should be using broadly to support or enhance teaching, learning, or creative inquiry?

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition34

Methodology

T

35Methodology

> What technologies that have a solid user base in consumer, entertainment, or other industries should educational institutions be actively looking for ways to apply?

> What are the key emerging technologies you see developing to the point that learning-focused institutions should begin to take notice during the next four to five years?

3 What do you see as the key challenges related to teaching, learning, or creative expression that

educational institutions will face during the next five years?

4 What trends do you expect to have a significant impact on the ways in which educational

institutions approach our core missions of teaching, research, and service?

One of the advisory board’s most important tasks is toanswerthesequestionsassystematicallyandbroadlyaspossible,soastoensurethattherangeofrelevanttopicsisconsidered.Oncethisworkisdone,aprocessthatmovesquicklyoverthecourseofabouttendays, theadvisoryboard moves to a unique consensus-building processbasedonaniterativeDelphi-basedmethodology.

Inthefirststepof thisapproach, theresponsestotheresearchquestionsaresystematicallyrankedandplacedintoadoptionhorizonsbyeachadvisoryboardmemberusing a multi-vote system that allows members toweight their selections. Each member is asked to alsoidentify the timeframe during which they feel thetechnologywouldentermainstreamuse—definedforthepurposeoftheprojectasabout20%ofinstitutionsadopting itwithintheperioddiscussed. (Thisfigure isbasedontheresearchofGeoffreyA.Mooreandreferstothecriticalmassofadoptionsneededforatechnologytohaveachanceofenteringbroaduse.)Theserankingsare compiled into a collective set of responses, andinevitably, the ones around which there is the mostagreementarequicklyapparent.

Fromthecomprehensivelistoftechnologiesoriginallyconsidered for any report, the 12 that emerge at the

topofthe initial rankingprocess—fourperadoptionhorizon—arefurtherresearchedandexpanded.Oncethis “short list” is identified, the group, working withboth NMC staff and practitioners in the field, beginsto explore the ways in which these twelve important

technologies might be used for teaching, learning,research, and/or creative expression. A significantamountoftimeisspentresearchingrealandpotentialapplications for each of the areas that would be ofinteresttopractitioners.

Foreveryedition,whenthatworkisdone,eachofthesetwelve“shortlist”itemsiswrittenupintheformatofThe NMCHorizon Report.Withthebenefitofthefullpictureofhowthetopicwill lookinthereport,the“short list”is then ranked yet again, this time in reverse. The sixtechnologies and applications that emerge are thosedetailedinThe NMCHorizon Report.

Foradditionaldetailontheprojectmethodologyortoreviewtheactualinstrumentation,theranking,andtheinterim products behind the report, please visit k12.wiki.nmc.org.

Much of the process takes place online, where it is captured and placed in The NMC Horizon Project wiki. This wiki is a completely transparent window into the work of the project.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition36

TheNMCHorizonProject:2011K-12AdvisoryBoard

Larry Johnson Principal InvestigatorThe New Media ConsortiumUnitedStates

Leslie Conery Co-Principal InvestigatorISTEUnitedStates

Keith Krueger Co-Principal InvestigatorConsortium for School Networking UnitedStates

Rob AckermanBedford Public SchoolsUnitedStates

Virginie AimardUnited Nations UniversityGermany

Cristiana AssumpçãoColegio BandeirantesBrazil

Haif BannayanJordan Education Initiative CompanyJordan

Roger BlamireEuropean SchoolnetBelgium

Christopher BrownPearsonUnitedStates

Jeanne CenturyCenter for Elementary Mathematics & Science Education, University of ChicagoUnitedStates

Horn Mun CheahSingapore Ministry of EducationSingapore

Kim CofinoYokohama International SchoolJapan

Alec CourousUniversity of ReginaCanada

David DwyerUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUnitedStates

Gavin DykesEducation ImpactUnitedKingdom

Lucy GrayLeadership for Mobile Learning, CoSNUnitedStates

Claus GregersenHerning GymnasiumDenmarkSteve HargadonSteveHargadon.comUnitedStates

Marisa HartlingHouston Independent School DistrictUnitedStates

Don HendersonApple, Inc.UnitedStates

Pedro HeppTIDEChile

Renee HoareauVITTAAustralia

Julie HooRaffles Girls’ SchoolSingapore

Shafika IsaacseLearning AfricaSouthAfrica

Øystein JohannessenCerpus AS and Education ImpactNorway

Allanah KingAppleby SchoolNewZealand

Michael LambertConcordia International School of ShanghaiChina

Adrian LimApple AsiaSingapore

Adrian LimNgee Ann Secondary SchoolSingapore

Julie LindsayBeijing BISS International SchoolChina

Jan MorrisonWashoe County School DistrictUnitedStatesKathryn MoyleAITECAustralia

Lynn NolanISTEUnitedStates

Sheryl Nussbaum-BeachPowerful Learning PracticeUnitedStates

Judy O’ConnellCharles Sturt UniversityAustralia

Alice OwenIrving ISDUnitedStates

Roy PeaStanford UniversityUnitedStates

Garry PutlandPearson AustraliaAustralia

Brandt ReddBill & Melinda Gates FoundationUnitedStates

Will RichardsonWeblogg-EdUnitedStates

Tammy StephensNext Generation AssessmentsUnitedStates

Kari StubbsBrainPOPUnitedStates

Shelly TerrellParentellaGermany

Britt WatwoodVirginia Commonwealth UniversityUnitedStates

Guus WijngaardsINHolland UniversityTheNetherlands

The Internet is no longer something that is piped into homes and offices via a cable anchored to the wall; it is a pervasive, ever-present entity, accessible from anywhere there is a cell signal.

TransforMaTion

NMC

T 512-445-4200F 512-445-4205E communications@nmc.org

nmc.org

NewMediaConsortium6101WestCourtyardDriveBuildingOne,Suite100Austin,Texas78730ISBN978-0-9828290-9-7