New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Release 2009 Horizon Report on Key Emerging Technologies

The New Media Consortium (NMC) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) released the 2009 Horizon Report, the sixth edition of this annual joint publication, today at the ELI Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Each year, the Horizon Report describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education over the next one to five years. “Campus leaders and practitioners alike use the report as a springboard for discussion around emerging technology,” noted Larry Johnson, chief executive officer of the NMC. “Over the six years that the report has been published, the impact on technology planning and discussions on campuses has been substantial. Now with six years of data to consider, we continue to look back at the overarching trends over time. What we see is that there are several long-term, conceptual themes that have affected, and continue to affect, the practice of teaching and learning in profound ways.” Roughly 75,000 copies of the 2008 Horizon Report were distributed in print and electronically last year.

According to EDUCAUSE President Diana Oblinger, “Learning, discovery, and creative expression are fundamental to higher education. Technology can help in each of those areas. But our community wants to know which emerging technologies are best for what uses. And, what examples demonstrate their potential? The Horizon Report addresses those critical questions.”

In defining the six selected areas for 2009—mobile devices, cloud computing, geotagging, the personal web, semantic-aware applications, andsmart objects—the project tapped into an ongoing discussion among knowledgeable individuals in business, industry, and education, as well as published resources, current research and practice, and the expertise of the NMC and ELI communities. The 45 members of the advisory board engaged in a comprehensive review and analysis of research, articles, papers, and interviews; discussed existing applications and brainstormed new ones; and ultimately ranked the items on the list of more than 80 technologies identified for consideration in terms of their potential relevance to teaching, learning, and creative expression. This year’s advisory board included representatives from eight countries—Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Board members conducted most of their work online during the fall of 2008 using a variety of collaboration tools, including a special wiki dedicated to the project.

The 32-page 2009 Horizon Report is available at no charge and has been released with a Creative Commons license to facilitate its widespread use, easy duplication, and broad distribution. It can be accessed at www.nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report.pdf or connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/2009HorizonReport/48003.

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association and the foremost community of IT leaders and professionals committed to advancing higher education. EDUCAUSE programs and services are focused on analysis, advocacy, community building, professional development, and knowledge creation because IT can play a transformative role in higher education. EDUCAUSE supports those who lead, manage, and use information technology through a comprehensive range of resources and activities. For more information, visit www.educause.edu.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) helps institutions advance learning through IT innovation. ELI is a community that works together to stay on the leading edge of teaching and learning with technology through a focus on learners, interaction and engagement, and learning technologies. ELI brings value to members through exploration, awareness, and enablement. Learn more about ELI at www.educause.edu/eli.

About the New Media Consortium

The New Media Consortium (NMC) is an international 501(c)3 not-for-profit consortium of more than 250 learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. Through its many projects, its comprehensive website, and its series of international conferences, the NMC stimulates dialogue and understanding through the exploration of promising ideas, technologies, and applications. For more information on the NMC, see www.nmc.org.

The NMC's Emerging Technologies Initiative focuses on expanding the boundaries of teaching, learning, and creative expression by creatively applying new tools in new contexts. The centerpiece of this initiative, the Horizon Project, charts the landscape of emerging technologies and produces the NMC’s annual Horizon Report. For more information on the NMC's Emerging Technologies Initiative, see www.nmc.org/horizon.