The NMC Horizon Report: 2013 K-12 is a must read for educators working in the K-12 sector. Cloud computing and mobile learning are on the ‘near-horizon’ (within the next 12 months). As schools embrace the BYOD/BYOT approach, these two technologies will get a significant ‘kick-on’ in 2013, especially as government funding for 1:1 programs begin to dry up. Cloud based applications are available to many of our students and more schools are beginning to adopt this approach. Just think about the number of schools that are embracing Google Apps in Education. This tends to go hand in hand with the mobile learning.
The key trends in the report identify
- different models of learning emerging,
- the impact of social media,
- the openness of data and information (doesn’t necessarily mean “free”),
- the decreased costs of technology tools, and
- the abundance of resources available via the Internet.
Naturally, with the pace of technology and its adoption in the K-12 sector, there are always challenges:
- Access to relevant and timely professional learning,
- Resistance to change and ‘stuck’ attitudes,
- competition in educational content delivery,
- blending formal and informal learning (e.g. “flipped classroom” concept),
- customising education for personalised learning, and
- incorporation of digital media tools in formative assessment.