The Horizon Report for 2012 K-12 Educational Technology Trends identifies six technological tendencies that will be emerging in the next 2-5yrs in the school realm. It is not hard to imagine that their predictions are accurate given that in the last five years that I've been teaching, I've witnessed a fast growth in technology.
The six technologies mentioned in this report are the following:
- mobile devices/apps
- tablet computing
- game-based learning
- personal learning environments
- augmented reality
- natural user interfaces
I haven't had any experience at school with these technologies yet. However, I am starting to see that mobile devices/apps will soon be part of the classroom environment. Students and teachers use such devices for personal use already that their inclusion in the classroom seems very natural. I am also interested in game-based learning. My students are already so engrossed in video games at home. I have to daily compete with such games! I would like to see students using video games for learning as well!
Today, I was talking to one of my teacher friend about what I read in the report and she said that even though these trends can become very common in some districts, our rural district will probably take longer to be up to date with technology. Unfortunately, some of the challenges we face is the financial support to incorporate the latest technology. Another challenge is teachers being willing to try new things. Some teachers might be intimidated by technology, especially when they haven't had much exposure to it. It is a challenge to stay up to date with all the fast growing technology!
