#3 - Horizon Report (Notes)

The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 K-12 Edition notes on integrating technology in the classroom are as follows:

Rethinking the Roles of Teachers & Shifting to Deeper Learning Approaches

• Teachers are required and/or expected to know a wide variety of technology based content, to collaborate with other teachers both in and out of school, to act as mentors and role models to their students.
• "Singapore offers a noteworthy model in which every teacher is entitled to 100 hours of training per year, and each school has a special fund allocated to supporting these learning opportunities."
• An independent charter school in Indiana is doing a great job with their flip. Students watch videos at home, then complete computer simulations during class. 
• "Project-based learning, problem- based learning, inquiry-based learning, challenge- based learning, and similar methods foster more active learning experiences, both inside and outside the classroom."
• Education leaders are working together to have more professional development opportunities for teachers so they can get deeper learning and more creative, hands on learning in the classroom.

Increasing Focus on Open Educational Resources & Increasing Use of Hybrid Learning Design

• Open educational resources are growing in number and quality, along with the use of the materials in classrooms. 
• Open does not mean "free of charge"
• Utah has been leading the front for OER since 2012, uses open textbooks in schools and universities throughout the state. 
• "Resolving intellectual property issues has been crucial to supporting the movement toward OER."
• "As teachers and students alike become more familiar with and adept at using the Internet, classroom-based learning increasingly includes online learning components, hybrid learning strategies, and an increased focus on collaboration within and outside the classroom."
• "Hybrid learning is seen as a way to level the playing field for rural schools by providing more access to a variety of high-quality courses."

Rapid Acceleration of Intuitive Technology & Rethinking How Schools Work

• "It is already common to interact with devices entirely by using natural movements and gestures. Smartphones and tablets, Xbox Kinect, Nintendo Wii, the new class of “smart TVs,” and a growing list of other devices built with natural user interfaces (NUIs) accept input in the form of taps, swipes, and other ways of touching; hand and arm motions; body movement; and increasingly, natural language."
• "A 2013 report from the American Institute of Research, Are Personalized Learning Environments the Next Wave of K–12 Education Reform?, examines the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top-District (RTT-D) grant program, in which personalized learning was a major focus. The initial 16 grantees — awarded a total of $383 million — include 11 school districts, three charter agencies, and two consortia."

Complex Thinking and Communication & Safety of Student Data

• Kids need to learn the difference between human and artificial intelligence as well as understand all the technology they have around them.
• Data Visualization, Imagery, Narratives and other communication techniques are more key skills needed to make complex ideas understandable.
•  "According to a 2013 Gallup poll, three out of four Americans polled believe that schools need to teach critical thinking and communication to children in K-12 education. This statistic aligns with what employers, educators, and students have expressed — young learners need skills to analyze information, communicate effectively, and collaborate in global environments to solve complex problems."
• "Schools around the world are adopting cloud computing to support adaptive learning, promote cost-savings, and encourage collaboration, but sometimes the safety of student data is threatened when third-party vendors provide low-cost software as a service in return for access to student data that they then profit from."
• Privacy is a big deal in the student technology area, but in order to keep them safe, both students and teachers need to be educated about how to pick technologies and systems that are secure.

Competition from New Models of Education & Keeping Formal Education Relevant

• "According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, there are more than 6,000 charter schools in the U.S. alone with more than 1.9 million students enrolled, compared to over 98,000 public schools where 49.4 million students are enrolled."
• "As new platforms emerge, there is a growing need to frankly evaluate models and determine how to best support collaboration, interaction, deep learning experiences, and assessment at scale."
• "As teachers’ roles become more multifaceted, their ability to manage social interactions in safe and productive ways is taking on more importance in the total school environment."

Important Developments in Technology for K-12 Education

• Seven technologies, tools and strategies for their use that the NMC monitors continuously"
• Consumer Technologies - tools for recreational purposes
• Digital Strategies - ways of using devices and software to enrich teaching and learning
• Enabling Technologies - potential to transform what we expect of our devices & tools
• Internet Technologies - techniques that make networks easier to use
• Learning Technologies - tools & resources developed expressly for the education sector
• Social Media Technologies - evolving at a rapid pace with new ideas, tools & developments
• Visualization Technologies - taps the brain's inherent ability to rapidly process visual information, identify patterns, and sense order in complex situations. 

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

• the practice of people bringing their own laptops, tablets, smartphones, or other mobile devices with them to the learning or work environment.
• Like what most college students do in class. 
• Since implementing BYOD the company has reported 5 million hours of annual productivity gains. 
• Over 95% of educators surveyed responded that they use their own device for work purposes.
• "BYOD has profound implications for primary and secondary education because it creates the conditions for student-centered learning to take place. 

Cloud Computing

• Refers to expandable, on-demand services and tools that are served to the user via the Internet from specialized data centers and consume almost no local processing or storage resources.
• "Cloud computing has become widely recognized as a means of improving productivity and expanding collaboration in education."

Games and Gamification

• "A 2013 study by the American Psychological Association highlights the cognitive, motivational, emotional, and social impact video games have on human behavior; this significant body of research underlines the overwhelming potential of games to teach new forms of thought and behavior."
• "Gamified learning environments in practice can motivate learners to engage with subjects in an emotionally stimulating way."

Learning Analytics

• "The goal is to build better pedagogies, empower students to take an active part in their learning, target at-risk student populations, and assess factors affecting completion and student success."
• "Students are beginning to experience the benefits of learning analytics as they engage with mobile and online platforms that track data to create responsive, personalized learning experiences."
• "MyDistrict360 provides a customizable portal for teachers and administrators to visualize student data and financial information, with the aim of enabling schools to more effectively provide personalized attention to students and forecast budgets.

The Internet of Things

• Network of connected objects that link the physical world with the world of information through the web. 
• Useful for:
• tracking objects that monitor sensitive equipment or materials
• point-of-sale purchases
• passport tracking
• inventory management
• identification
• similar applications
• "Embedded chips, sensors, or tiny processors attached to an object allow helpful information about the object, such as cost, age, temperature, color, pressure, or humidity to be transmitted over the Internet"

Wearable Technology

• refers to devices that can be worn by users, taking the form of an accessory such as jewelry, sunglasses, a backpack, or even actual items of clothing such as shoes or a jacket.
• benefit:
• conveniently integrate tools that track sleep, movement, location and social media.