Maybe prognosticators figure if they say mobile devices will transform education enough times, it will be so. Or perhaps the 2011 Horizon Report lists it as a game-changer for education for the third straight year because the change will come as users continue to find more ways to utilize their smartphones and now tablets.
The report, from the New Media Consortium and Educause, does note that higher education continues to drag its feet in using mobile technology. It also suggests that use of electronic books will be the trend most likely to affect higher education in the coming year because the issues surrounding academic titles—availability, restrictive publishing models, and rights issues—are being resolved.
The new trends ready to become part of the conversation in the next five years are game-based learning and learning analytics, according to the report. Game-playing offers ways to develop decision-making and problem-solving, as well as using embedded educational content to enhance learning, while learning analytics will allow instructors to tailor courses for each student’s needs and gauge how well students are learning.
The New Media Consortium also designed a social media site to access the materials experts looked at in preparing the report.
