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2013 NMC Horizon Report

 

Technology Experts Weigh in on Emerging Trends In Higher Education


Each year, the New Media Consortium (NMC) collaborates with experts from around the world to predict trends in global emerging technologies. This year, the NMC has teamed with EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) to release the 2013 NMC Horizon Report - Higher Education Edition.

 

The Report covers the emergence of trends in technology along the following three adoption timelines:

 

  • the near-term horizon (within the next year);
  • the mid-term (the next two to three years)
  • and the far-term (within the next four to five years).

These emerging trends are presented in the context of the current landscape of teaching, learning and creative inquiry in higher education. One of these current trends is openness:

 

"[C]oncepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions of transparency and easy access to data and information — is becoming a value."

On the mid-term horizon, the Report predicts that gamification and learning analytics will be adopted over the next two to three years and a Queen's collaboration is cited. A Collaborative Gaming Technology study, spearheaded by the Queen's School of Computing, is included under "Games and Gamification in Practice". The Report highlights "Exergames", which explores the elements of successful exercise video games.

 

In the short-term, the Report finds that mobility, particularly tablets, will of emerging importance:

 

Tablets have gained traction in education because users can seamlessly load sets of apps and content of their choosing, making the tablet itself a portable personalized learning environment.... It is increasingly clear that tablets are not a new kind of lightweight laptop, but rather a completely new technology."

In the long-term, the Report predicts that 3D printing and wearable technology will be adopted in the next five years.

 

A helpful list of articles for further reading is included in each section of the Report, resulting in a comprehensive resource in regards to emerging trends in higher education technology.


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