Future+Trends

=Future Trends=

toc

The way we work, collaborate, and communicate is evolving as boundaries become more fluid and globalization increases. This trend expands the learning and creative possibilities for our students as well as ourselves and it expands the tools available to connect learners and scholars all over the world.

A five-year qualitative research study called the Horizon Project, http://horizon.nmc.org/wiki/Main_Page, seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning and creative expression within all learning-focused areas. Below is a list of the identified trends from the Horizon Project - click on the link to **listen** to a podcast of each of the trends:
 * [|Grassroots Video]
 * [|Collaboration Webs]
 * [|Mobile Broadband]
 * [|Data Mashups]
 * [|Collective Intelligence]
 * [|Social Operating Systems]

or **view** more detail about each by clicking the links below:
 * [|Grassroots Video]
 * [|Collaboration Web]
 * [|Mobile Boradband]
 * [|Data Mashups]
 * [|Collective Intelligence]
 * [|Social Operating Systems]

Links to further information


 * Grassroots Video [|http://del.icio.us/tag/hz08+video]
 * Collaboration Webs [|http://del.icio.us/tag/hz08+virtualcollab]
 * Mobile Broadband [|http://del.icio.us/tag/hz08+mobile]
 * Data Mashups [|http://del.icio.us/tag/hz08 mashup]
 * Collective Intelligence [|http://del.icio.us/tag/hz08+collectiveintelligence]
 * Social Operating Systems http://del.icio.us/tag/hz08+socialos
 * Communication between humans and machines tags: http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+humanmachine
 * The collective sharing and generation of knowledge tags: http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+collectiveknowledge
 * Games as pedagogical platforms tags: http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+games
 * Computing in three dimensions tags: http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+3d
 * Connecting people via the network tags:[|http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+connectingpeople]
 * The shifting of content production to users tags: [|http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+user+content]
 * The evolution of a ubiquitous platform tags:[|http://del.icio.us/tag/hzmeta+ubiquitousplatform\]

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2. Building critical literacies
In 2008 Gail Casey's class became a sounding board class where students became peer reviewers of other Horizon Project classes around the world. The experience highlighted the need for teachers and educators to teach critical literacy; for students to work together with others around the world was a fantastic experience and one that will continue to occur more frequently but the students had very few skills when evaluating the work of others. Through evaluating the work of others, students' own work showed improvement and the understanding of the process of evaluation began to take shape.

The students sounding board feedback can be found at http://ghs2008.wikispaces.com/Mulimedia-HP and http://ghs2008.wikispaces.com/A+bit+more+IT-+HP.

Watch the video below to hear two other educators discussing the advantages of being a sounding board class.

media type="youtube" key="7g8rVNhewys&hl=en" height="355" width="425" A 2 min video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g8rVNhewys

Instructions for sounding board classrooms are provided at http://horizonproject2008.wikispaces.com/Peer+Reviewers

=Recommendations=

media type="custom" key="783961" (A few words from Gail Casey)

Engaging students as both informants and as researchers themselves in projects such as the Horizon Project, with teachers supporting and facilitating the process, can lead to significantly positive outcomes for students that empower them throughout the learning process and build a more open and trusting relationship (Leitch et al 2007). Globalisation has placed new demands on the kinds of literacies needed in the workplace and in everyday life and Johnson & Kress (2003) argue that “new screens” such as those on mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and computer screens are becoming a way of life and the most commonplace methods for personal communication. As the screen is now the culturally dominant medium in many parts of the world, the successful learner in today’s economies and today’s societies needs to be an autonomous and self-directed designer of their own learning experiences and they need to use multiple modes through which to represent meaning. Projects such as the Horizon Project are providing educators with a means to prepare students for the new demands that globalization and "new screens" bring and provide detailed information on the future trends and the educational benefits of collaborative learning environments, providing environments that stimulate reflection, critiques and collaboration as well as providing user generated content and publication.