Horizon Report for Higher Education - McGill University

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1Contents> Click on a topic or page number to jump to that page.Executive Summary 3Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less> Mobile Apps 10> Tablet Computing 14Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years> Game-Based Learning 18> Learning Analytics 22Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years> Gesture-Based Computing 26> Internet of Things 30Methodology 34The NMC Horizon Project: 2012 Higher Education Advisory Board 36Interested in these emerging technology topics? Learn more about them and other edtech insights by “liking” us onFacebook at facebook.com/newmediaconsortium and following us on Twitter at twitter.com/nmcorg.

NMCThe NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition is a collaboration between theNew Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, an EDUCAUSE Program.The research behind the NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher EducationEdition is jointly conducted by the New Media Consortium (NMC) andthe EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), an EDUCAUSE Program. The ELI’scritical participation in the production of this report and their strongsupport for the NMC Horizon Project is gratefully acknowledged. Tolearn more about ELI, visit www.educause.edu/eli; to learn more aboutthe NMC, visit www.nmc.org.© 2012, The New Media Consortium.ISBN 978-0-9846601-3-1Permission is granted under a Creative Commons Attribution License toreplicate, copy, distribute, transmit, or adapt this report freely providedthat attribution is provided as illustrated in the citation below. To viewa copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ orsend a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford,California 94305, USA.CitationJohnson, L., Adams, S., and Cummins, M. (2012).The NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas:The New Media Consortium.The NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher EducationEdition is made possible via a grant from HP.HP creates innovative technology solutions that benefit individuals,businesses, governments and society. HP’s Office for Global SocialInnovation applies HP’s global reach, broad portfolio of products andservices, and the expertise of its employees to support initiatives ineducation, healthcare and communities around the world. As theworld’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfoliothat spans printing, personal computing, software, services, and ITinfrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HPis available at www.hp.com.Cover photographBy Kate Morgan, Director of University Relations at Penn State LehighValley. As part of the University’s Mobile Media pilot, two honors biologystudents at Penn State Lehigh Valley document, edit, and upload labprocedures for Bio 110 students to reference, using only iPod Touch 4Gs.http://mediacommons.psu.edu/mobilemedia.Inside Front Cover Photograph© Ohmega1982/ShutterstockInside Back Cover Photograph© Jordan Rose GrulkeDesign by emgusa.com

3Executive SummaryThe internationally recognized NMC HorizonReport series and regional NMC TechnologyOutlooks are part of the NMC Horizon Project,a comprehensive research venture establishedin 2002 that identifies and describes emergingtechnologies likely to have a large impact over thecoming five years in education around the globe. Thisvolume, the NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher EducationEdition, was again produced in a collaborative effortwith the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, an EDUCAUSEProgram, and examines emerging technologies for theirpotential impact on teaching, learning, and creativeinquiry within the higher education environment.To create the report, an international body of experts ineducation, technology, and other fields was convenedas an advisory board. The group engaged in discussionsaround a set of research questions intended to surfacesignificant trends and challenges and to identify a widearray of potential technologies for the report. This dialogwas enriched by a wide range of resources, currentresearch, and practice that drew on the expertise ofboth the NMC community and the communities ofthe members of the advisory board. These interactionsamong the advisory board are the focus of the NMCHorizon Report research, and this report details the areasin which these experts were in strong agreement.Each of the three global editions of the NMC HorizonReport — higher education, primary and secondaryeducation, and museum education — highlights sixemerging technologies or practices that are likely toenter mainstream use with their focus sectors withinthree adoption horizons over the next five years. Keytrends and challenges that will affect current practiceover the same period frame these discussions. Overthe course of just a few weeks in the late fall of 2011,the advisory board came to a consensus about the sixtopics that appear here in the NMC Horizon Report: 2012Higher Education Edition. The examples and readingsunder each topic area are meant to provide practicalmodels as well as access to more detailed information.The precise research methodology employed is detailedin the closing section of this report.The report’s format is consistent from year to year andedition to edition, and opens with a discussion of thetrends and challenges identified by the advisory boardThe technologies featured in eachedition of the NMC Horizon Report areembedded within a contemporarycontext that reflects the realities ofthe time, both in the sphere of highereducation and in the world at large.as most important for the next five years. The formatof the main section of this edition closely reflects thefocus of the NMC Horizon Project itself, centeringon the applications of emerging technologies — inthis case for higher education settings. Each sectionis introduced with an overview that describes whatthe topic is, followed by a discussion of the particularrelevance of the topic to teaching, learning, and creativeinquiry in higher education. Several concrete examplesof how the technology is being used are given. Finally,each section closes with an annotated list of suggestedreadings and additional examples that expand on thediscussion in the report. These resources, along withcountless other helpful projects and readings, can all

4NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editionbe found in the project’s open content database — theNMC Horizon Project Navigator (navigator.nmc.org) Allthe ephemera of the NMC Horizon Report: 2012 HigherEducation Edition, including the research data, theinterim results, the topic preview, and this publication,can be downloaded for free on iTunes U (go.nmc.org/itunes-u).Key TrendsThe technologies featured in each edition of the NMCHorizon Report are embedded within a contemporarycontext that reflects the realities of the time, both in thesphere of higher education and in the world at large. Toensure this context was well understood, the advisoryboard engaged in an extensive review of currentarticles, interviews, papers, and new research to identifyand rank trends that are currently affecting teaching,learning, and creative inquiry in higher education. Oncedetailed, the list of trends was then ranked accordingto how significant each was likely to be for highereducation in the next five years. The highest rankedof those trends had significant agreement among theadvisory board members, who considered them to bekey drivers of educational technology adoptions for theperiod 2012 through 2017. They are listed here in theorder in which the advisory board ranked them.1People expect to be able to work, learn, and studywhenever and wherever they want to. Life in anincreasingly busy world where learners must balancedemands from home, work, school, and family posesa host of logistical challenges with which today’s evermore mobile students must cope. Work and learningare often two sides of the same coin, and people wanteasy and timely access not only to the information onthe network, but also to tools, resources, and up-to-themomentanalysis and commentary. These needs, as wellas the increasingly essential access to social media andnetworks, have risen to the level of expectations. Theopportunities for informal learning in the modern worldare abundant and diverse, and greatly expand on earliernotions like “just-in-time” or “found” learning.2The technologies we use are increasinglycloud-based, and our notions of IT supportare decentralized. The continuing acceptance andadoption of cloud-based applications and servicesis changing not only the ways we configure and usesoftware and file storage, but also how we conceptualizethose functions. It does not matter where our work isstored; what matters is that our information is accessibleno matter where we are or what device we chooseto use. Globally, in huge numbers, we are growingaccustomed to a model of browser-based softwarethat is device independent. While some challengesstill remain, specifically with notions of privacy andsovereignty, the promise of significant cost savings is animportant driver in the search for solutions.3The world of work is increasingly collaborative,driving changes in the way student projects arestructured. Because employers value collaboration asa critical skill, silos both in the workplace and at schoolare being abandoned in favor of collective intelligence.To facilitate more teamwork and group communication,projects rely on tools such as wikis, Google Docs, Skype,and easily shared file-storage sites including Dropbox.Students are increasingly evaluated not just on theoverall outcome, but also on the success of the groupdynamic. In many cases, the way an online collaborationtool is used is an equally important outcome. Like thewiki used to create this report, such sites preserve theprocess and the multiple perspectives that lead to theend results.4The abundance of resources and relationshipsmade easily accessible via the Internet isincreasingly challenging us to revisit our roles aseducators. Institutions must consider the uniquevalue that each adds to a world in which informationis everywhere. In such a world, sense-making andthe ability to assess the credibility of information areparamount. Mentoring and preparing students forthe world in which they will live and work is again atthe forefront. Universities have always been seen asthe gold standard for educational credentialing, butemerging certification programs from other sources areeroding the value of that mission daily.5Education paradigms are shifting to includeonline learning, hybrid learning and collaborativemodels. Budget cuts have forced institutions to re-

6NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editioncorroboration are not yet well understood by mainstreamfaculty and academic decision-makers, creating a gapbetween what is possible and what is acceptable.3Digital media literacy continues its rise inimportance as a key skill in every disciplineand profession. Despite the widespread agreementon the importance of digital media literacy, training inthe supporting skills and techniques is rare in teachereducation and non-existent in the preparation of mostuniversity faculty. As lecturers and professors beginto realize that they are limiting their students by nothelping them to develop and use digital media literacyskills across the curriculum, the lack of formal trainingis being offset through professional development orinformal learning, but we are far from seeing digitalmedia literacy as an expected norm for academicprofessionals, nor as a key part of degree programs.4Institutional barriers present formidablechallenges to moving forward in a constructiveway with emerging technologies. Too often it iseducation’s own processes and practices that limitbroader uptake of new technologies. Much resistanceto change is simply comfort with the status quo, but inother cases, such as in promotion and tenure reviews,experimentation with or adoptions of clearly innovativeapplications of technologies is often seen as outside therole of researcher or scientist.5New modes of scholarship are presentingsignificant challenges for libraries and universitycollections, how scholarship is documented, and thebusiness models to support these activities. While theuniversity library has traditionally housed collections ofscholarly resources, social networks and new publishingparadigms, such as open content, are challenging thelibrary’s role as curator. Students and educators areincreasingly able to access important, historic researchin web browsers on devices of their choosing. As such,libraries are under tremendous pressure to evolve newways of supporting and curating scholarship.These trends and challenges are a reflection of theimpact of technology that is occurring in almost everyaspect of our lives. They are indicative of the changingnature of the way we communicate, access information,connect with peers and colleagues, learn, and evensocialize. Taken together, they provided the advisoryboard a frame through which to consider the potentialimpacts of nearly 50 emerging technologies and relatedpractices that were analyzed and discussed for possibleinclusion in this edition of the NMC Horizon Report series.Six of those were chosen through successive rounds ofranking; they are summarized below and detailed in themain body of the report.Technologies to WatchThe six technologies featured in the NMC HorizonReport: 2012 Higher Education Edition are placed alongthree adoption horizons that indicate likely timeframesfor their entrance into mainstream use for teaching,learning, and creative inquiry. The near-term horizonassumes the likelihood of entry into the mainstreamfor higher education institutions within the next twelvemonths; the mid-term horizon, within two to three years;and the far-term, within four to five years. It should benoted at the outset that the NMC Horizon Report is not apredictive tool. It is meant, rather, to highlight emergingtechnologies with considerable potential for our focusareas of education and interpretation. Each of the sixis already the target of work at a number of innovativeorganizations around the world, and the projects weshowcase here reveal the promise of a wider impact.Near-term HorizonOn the near-term horizon — that is, within the next12 months — are mobile apps and tablets. These twotopics have become pervasive in everyday life, at leastin the developed world, and students at universities andcolleges have ever-increasing expectations of beingable to learn on these devices whenever and whereverthey may be. This year tablets have been separated frommobiles as a distinct category, preserving mobiles as adescriptor used for typical hand-held devices designedto make calls.> Mobile apps are the fastest growing dimension ofthe mobile space in higher education right now, withimpacts on virtually every aspect of informal life,and increasingly, every discipline in the university.Always-connected Internet devices using 3G

Executive Summary7and similar cellular networks, imbedded sensors,cameras, and GPS have proved to be a feature setwith hundreds of thousands of applications. Appsthat take advantage of recent developments in thesetools, along with advances in electronic publishingand the convergence of search technology andlocation awareness, made this category of softwareenormously interesting in a higher education context.Higher education institutions are now designing appstailored to educational and research needs across thecurriculum.> Tablet computing presents new opportunities toenhance learning experiences in ways simply notpossible with other devices. High-resolution screensallow users of tablets, such as the iPad, to easily sharecontent with each other and pore over images andvideos on the screen. As people tend to use tablets tosupplement and not replace smartphones, they areviewed as less disruptive tools (no phone ringing andno incoming text messages), which makes them idealtools for learning opportunities. Because tablets areable to tap into all the advantages that mobile appsbring to smaller devices, but in a larger format, highereducation institutions are seeing them not just as anaffordable solution for one-to-one learning, but alsoas a feature-rich tool for field and lab work, oftentimes replacing far more expensive and cumbersomedevices and equipment.Mid-term HorizonThe second adoption horizon, two to three years out,is where we will begin to see widespread adoptionsof two technologies that are experiencing growinginterest within higher education: game-based learningand learning analytics. Educational gaming bringsan increasingly credible promise to make learningexperiences more engaging for students, while atthe same time improving important skills, such ascollaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Overthe past year, learning analytics has garnered a lot ofattention. The ability to synthesize data in real-timeis exciting because it changes the structure of thelearning dynamic — educators can use the data tomake adjustments to their teaching style that bettercaters to student needs.> Game-based learning has grown in recent years asresearch continues to demonstrate its effectivenessfor learning. Games for education span the rangefrom single-player or small-group card and boardgames all the way to massively multiplayer onlinegames and alternate reality games. Those at theThe NMC Horizon Report is not apredictive tool. It is meant, rather,to highlight emerging technologieswith considerable potential forour focus areas of education andinterpretation.first end of the spectrum are easy to integrate intothe curriculum, and have long been an option inmany higher education institutions; but the greatestpotential of games for learning lies in their ability tofoster collaboration and engage students deeply inthe process of learning. Once educational gamingproviders can match the volume and quality of theirconsumer-driven counterparts, games will garnermore attention.> Learning analytics loosely joins a variety of datagatheringtools and analytic techniques to studystudent engagement, performance, and progressin practice, with the goal of using what is learnedto revise curricula, teaching, and assessment in realtime. Building on the kinds of information generatedby Google Analytics and other similar tools, learninganalytics aims to mobilize the power of data-miningtools in the service of learning, and embrace thecomplexity, diversity, and abundance of informationthat dynamic learning environments can generate.Far-term HorizonOn the far-term horizon, set at four to five years away fromwidespread adoption, are gesture-based computingand the Internet of Things. Gesture-based technology

Executive Summary9series, which is dedicated to charting the landscapeof emerging technologies for teaching, learning, andcreative inquiry in higher education globally. In 2008,the NMC added to the three main NMC Horizon Reportsa new series of regional and sector-based studies, calledthe NMC Technology Outlooks, with the dual goals ofunderstanding how technology is being absorbedusing a smaller lens, and also noting the contrastsbetween technology use in one area compared toanother. To date, the NMC has conducted studies oftechnology uptake in Australia, New Zealand, the UK,and Iberoamerica, and has plans in place to expand thatresearch to Central Europe, India, Singapore, and Africa.This report, the flagship publication of the NMC HorizonProject, is translated into multiple languages everyyear. Over all editions, the readership of the reports isestimated at more than one million worldwide, withreaders in some 100 countries.The 47 members of this year’s advisory board werepurposely chosen to represent a broad spectrum ofthe higher education sector; key writers, thinkers,technologists, and futurists from education, business,and industry rounded out the group. They engagedin a comprehensive review and analysis of research,articles, papers, blogs, and interviews; discussedexisting applications, and brainstormed new ones; andultimately ranked the items on the list of candidatetechnologies for their potential relevance to teaching,learning, or creative inquiry. This work took placeentirely online and may be reviewed on the project wikiat horizon.wiki.nmc.org.fuel the work of the NMC Horizon Project throughout2012. For those wanting to know more about theprocesses used to generate the NMC Horizon Reportseries, many of which are ongoing and extend the workin the reports, we refer you to the report’s final sectionon the research methodology.The 47 members of this year’sadvisory board were purposelychosen to represent a broadspectrum of the higher educationsector; key writers, thinkers,technologists, and futurists fromeducation, business, and industryrounded out the group.The effort to produce the NMC Horizon Report: 2012Higher Education Edition began in November 2011, andconcluded when the report was released in February2012, a period of just over three months. The sixtechnologies and applications that emerged at the topof the final rankings — two per adoption horizon — aredetailed in the chapters that follow.Each of those chapters includes detailed descriptions,links to active demonstration projects, and a widearray of additional resources related to the six profiledtechnologies. Those profiles are the heart of the NMCHorizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition, and will

10NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionMobile AppsTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or LessThere is a revolution that is taking place insoftware development that parallels thechanges in recent years in the music, publishing,and retail industries. Mass market is givingway to niche market, and with it, the era ofhighly priced large suites of integrated software isgiving way to a new view of what software should be.Smartphones including the iPhone and Android haveredefined what we mean by mobile computing, and inthe past three to four years, the small, often simple,low cost software extensions to these devices — apps— have become a hotbed of development. New toolsare free or sell for as little as 99 cents, and anyonecan be a developer. A popular app can see millions ofdownloads in a short time, and that potential markethas spawned a flood of creativity that is instantlyapparent in the extensive collections available in theapp stores — themselves a new way of deliveringsoftware that reduces distribution and marketingcosts significantly. Apple’s app store opened in July2008; Google’s followed in October of that year. Sincethen, simple but useful apps have found their way intoalmost every form of human endeavor.OverviewWith the advent of mobile apps, the way we think aboutsoftware itself is changing, and whole industries areadjusting to a new world in which sophisticated butsimple tools routinely sell for 99 cents. In contrast withthe model for desktop applications that stack featureupon feature in a one-size-fits-all approach, mobileapps are small, simple, and elegant. They generallydo one thing, or a small list of tightly related things,extraordinarily well. They cost so little, trial versions areunnecessary, and it is simple to outfit a tablet or mobilephone with exactly the feature set you want for farless than you would pay for typical desktop software.Both Apple and Google have developed extensivecollections of apps, and adding to your set is as simpleas it is inexpensive.The app software model is clearly working: ABI researchshows that over 18 billion apps had been downloadedin the Apple marketplace by October 2011, and over tenbillion in the Android marketplace by December thesame year. Those numbers just scratch the surface ofthe anticipated growth of mobile apps. A recent studyby Distimo predicted that 44 billions apps will havebeen downloaded by 2016 — or, around seven apps perperson across the entire population of the earth.The assortment of available apps is wide-ranging, fromthose that extend the camera or sensors on the device(“Siesmometer”, “Hipstamatic,” and “360”); to new formsof newspapers and magazines (“McSweeny’s”); to gamesthat make use of gestures in clever ways (“Angry Birds”);to new forms of mapping tools (“StarWalk”); to appsthat make restaurant recommendations based on theuser’s location (“Urbanspoon”). What makes apps as acategory interesting are two key factors: the first is thatthere are so many to choose from — one can find anapp to support almost any interest or endeavor, and thepossibilities expand every day. The second is that theyare inexpensive — rare is an app on someone’s mobilethat costs more than $1.99. Taken together, the resultis that it is both easy and economical to completelycustomize a device to suit one’s own interests.The best apps are tightly integrated with the capabilitiesof the device itself, using location data, motiondetection, gestures, access to social networks, and websearch, to seamlessly create a full-featured experience.As just one example, users are now able to not onlyread an article foregrounded because of its relation tothe user’s location, but also to share it with their socialnetworks, make comments, swipe over an image to see

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less11more, and store specific content to read at a later date— all within a typical newspaper app.In the last year, new additions to mobile operatingsystems have made it easier for newspapers, periodicals,and other subscription-based publications to migrateto mobile devices. Print and online publications, suchas Time, Wired, or Mashable, provide users with newmaterial on a regular basis, sometimes sending theuser alerts when there is a new edition, breaking news,or a story that is relevant to the user’s interests. Mobileapps designed for tablets have given many traditionalprint-based publications a new life, and new tools, suchas iBook Author, are making it very easy for anyoneto create and publish media-rich interactive pieces.The newest version of iBook is optimized for viewinginteractive textbooks, and it seems that the e-readersfor the Kindle and Android platforms are heading thesame direction.The mobile app marketplace reflects an expandingworld of resources that fits into the palm of a hand.While the adoption of apps has been especiallyapparent in the consumer sector, there has also been agreat interest in apps that illustrate scientific and relatedconcepts via tools that also have practical application.Apps that support learning are commonplace. Fun,easy-to-use tools can be found for budding chefs,astronomers, physicists, artists, musicians, book lovers,and writers — and all of them are designed to go withyou anywhere and to be available with a tap on a screen.The higher education sector is beginning to capitalizeon this by integrating mobile apps into the curriculumand designing their own to encompass course materialsand campus maps.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, orCreative InquiryMobile apps embody the convergence of severaltechnologies that lend themselves to educational use,including annotation tools, applications for creationand composition, and social networking tools. GPSand compasses allow sophisticated location andpositioning, accelerometers and motion sensors enablethe apps to be designed and used in completely newways, digital capture and editing bring rich tools forvideo, audio, and imaging. Mobile apps encompassit all, and innovation in mobile device developmentcontinues at an unprecedented pace.The potential of mobile computing is already beingdemonstrated in hundreds of projects at highereducation institutions. Since 2009, Abilene ChristianUniversity has provided each student with an iPhoneor iPod Touch, in addition to offering professorsThe mobile app marketplace reflectsan expanding world of resources thatfits into the palm of a hand.mobile training and support. The institution has beendeveloping apps to extend learning outside of theclassroom and documenting the results along the wayin an annual mobile learning study. At the most basiclevel, many universities and colleges have developedmap and directory apps for current students to navigatecampuses and for prospective students to take virtualtours or to enhance physical tours.As institutions begin to understand the potential ofapps, they have built in features for students to checktheir grades, or to update them with sports scores orbreaking campus news. Ohio State University’s mobileapp includes a campus directory, plus library resourcesand personal information that is tied to each student’sID. Higher education institutions have also beendesigning apps that enhance the classroom learningexperience. The University of Warwick in the UK createdan app that quizzes medical students on the humananatomy and various laboratory scenarios using videoand audio clips.While institutions are rapidly developing their own apps,they are also making use of external ones. Popular appsinclude those that help students and educators stayorganized and exchange their findings and ideas withpeers. Many apps, when coupled with digital textbooks,ease the transition for students who are accustomedto print books. For example, “Good Reader” is an app

12NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editionthat enables users to highlight, annotate, sketch, andadd footnotes to e-books — just as they would in theprint version. “JotNot Pro” is another app that allowsprofessors to digitally distribute course documents andstudents to instantly scan printed documents and storethem on their device.As mobile apps become an important fixture in thebusiness world, many universities and colleges havedeployed special courses and programs to teachstudent entrepreneurs how to design, develop, andmarket them. Vanderbilt University founded theVanderbilt Mobile Application Team in 2009 to preparetheir students for high technology jobs. Since the groupwas founded, participating students have developedthree award-winning apps. All of their work is opensource, and can be used as a learning model at otherinstitutions. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, afaculty associate in the School of Journalism and MassCommunication has incorporated app developmentinto her magazine publishing class, recognizing thatmobile devices are taking on a prominent role in themagazine industry.The increasing availability of network access meansthat the growing capabilities of mobiles are available tomore students in more locations each year. Educationalinstitutions around the world are investing in theinfrastructure that supports mobile access, sponsoringprograms that provide devices to students who do notalready have them, and commissioning custom mobileapplications to serve their communities.A sampling of applications of mobile apps acrossdisciplines includes the following:> Multimedia Production. Students in theInstructional Systems program at Penn StateUniversity are developing a mobile video app forvideo ethnographers to record and annotate video inthe field. The app allows users to add, edit, and deletetext annotations displayed alongside the videofootage. go.nmc.org/waxviorganized outlines in addition to attaching notesto specific topics or automatically arranging thembased on common themes. The app has built in socialfeatures that allow students to share their projectplans with each other. go.nmc.org/qnquw> University Services. Professor Catheryn Cheal atOakland University, Michigan sends her students tofive specific campus locations with the “SCVNGR” appon their smartphones. They answer questions aboutvisual rhetorical space into their phone at each site.Once back in the classroom, they have the backgroundto write their essays in a learning management system.go.nmc.org/hochwMobile Apps in PracticeThe following links provide examples of mobile apps inuse in higher education settings:Berkeley Mobile International Collaborativego.nmc.org/pramkIn the Berkeley Mobile International Collaborative,student-created mobile apps will be judged based onbusiness model and utility, with ten finalist universityteams competing in Barcelona.The Cleveland Historical Appgo.nmc.org/aeeue“Cleveland Historical” is an interactive and GPS-enabledapp, providing historical information on specific siteswithin the city in the form of images, audio, and videoclips. “Cleveland Historical” is curated by the Centerfor Public History and Digital Humanities with storiescontributed from community members, teachers,professors, and students.iPrincetongo.nmc.org/oadcpPrinceton University’s free “iPrinceton” app enables usersto catch up on athletic and academic news, browse afull library catalog, and connect to the university’s socialmedia pages. The app also connects with Blackboard fordirect course support at any point.> Project Management. Using the mobile app“MindJet,” students can create mind maps and

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less13Stanford University’s iPhone and iPad Apps Coursego.nmc.org/tvlvsLectures and slides from Stanford’s iPhone and iPadapplication development course can now be freelyaccessed online through iTunes U. The appearanceof the course material made iTunes history with onemillion downloads by the seventh week.The University of Michigan’s Mobile Apps Centergo.nmc.org/nfhcpUniversity of Michigan’s Mobile Apps Center bringstogether instruction and app building resources toallow students and faculty to create and distributeuseful apps to the U-M community.University of Virginia iPhone and Android Appsgo.nmc.org/xaessThe University of Virginia has developed its campus appthrough WillowTree apps. Augmented reality featuresallow users to personalize their maps. The app has manycomponents useful for alumni too, allowing them tofollow sporting events live and easily connect with UVAclubs and contacts.For Further ReadingThe following articles and resources are recommendedfor those who wish to learn more about mobile apps:7 Things You Should Know about Mobile AppDevelopmentgo.nmc.org/velrd(EDUCAUSE, 19 April 2011.) This guide provideshigher education institutions with helpful informationto take into consideration when building an app,including accessibility standards and enterprise systemintegration opportunities.How to Build a University Mobile Application: BestPractice and Insightgo.nmc.org/qnbcv(Karen Eustice, The Guardian, 8 December 2011.) Thisarticle compares the different avenues universitiesare taking in creating and updating their mobile apps,showing the efficiency and reasoning behind eachoption from the developer’s perspective.Smartphones on Campus: the Search for ‘Killer’ Appsgo.nmc.org/wskke(Jeffrey R. Young, The Chronicle of Higher Education,8 May 2011.) There is no one size fits all app becausediversity in professors and courses leads to mobileapps being used in varying degrees and manners. Thisarticle explores different examples of apps benefitingprofessors and students, and how they are providinglinks from the classroom to the community.Taking Mobile Applications Into the Cloudgo.nmc.org/zzrut(Mary Grush, Campus Technology, 31 August 2011.)Because mobile devices are limited in their capabilities,researchers are looking to resource-rich cloud-basedservices that, when integrated with mobile apps, willexpand the depth of information mobile phones canaccess and the range of their function.University Leverages Mobile App to Keep StudentsConnectedgo.nmc.org/ehjiw(Jeff Goldman, Mobile Enterprise, 17 October 11.) Thisarticle on Indiana State University’s mobile app poweredby Pryxis Mobile describes the challenges and decisionsthat were a part of the app building process, as well asmarketing and monitoring the finished product.Can the iPhone Save Higher Education?go.nmc.org/abuoc(John Cox, NetworkWorld, 23 March 2010.) Exploring theeffect of digital devices for teaching and learning, AbileneChristian University has focused on mobile phones andhow they are changing the classroom. The lecturer tostudent model is becoming a more collaborative andinteractive model, now that instructors and studentshave ubiquitous and equal access to information.

14NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionTablet ComputingTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or LessIn the past year, advances in tablet computers havecaptured the imagination of educators around theworld. Led by the incredible success of the iPad,which in the fourth quarter of 2011 was sellingat the rate of more than 3 million units a month,other similar devices such as the Samsung Galaxy andSony’s Tablet S have also begun to enter this rapidlygrowing new market. In the process, tablets (a formthat is distinct from tablet PCs) have come to be viewedas not just a new category of mobile devices, butindeed a new technology in its own right — one thatblends features of laptops, smartphones, and earliertablet computers with always-connected Internet,and thousands of apps with which to personalizethe experience. As these new devices have becomemore used and understood, it is clear that they areindependent and distinct from other mobile devicessuch as smartphones, e-readers, or tablet PCs. Withsignificantly larger screens and richer gestured-basedinterfaces than their smartphone predecessors, theyare ideal tools for sharing content, videos, images,and presentations because they are easy for anyoneto use, visually compelling, and highly portable.OverviewLed by the category-defining phenomenon that is theApple iPad, tablets have earned their own listing in theNMC Horizon Report this year, completely distinct frommobiles. According to a recent study from comScore,the iPad now accounts for 97% of all tablet-basedweb traffic in the U.S. and 46.8% of all mobile webtraffic. Similar statistics show tablets are increasinglythe device of choice not just for web browsing, butalso social networking and reading news. Competingmodels, including Motorola’s Xoom and Samsung’sGalaxy Tab have not yet enjoyed the success of the iPad,but together, these companies have solidified tablets asthe new family of devices to watch.Immensely portable, tablets are already a significantdistribution element for magazines and e-books. iOS5 even includes a newsstand that allows quick andeasy access to newspapers and magazines and newsubscriptions — with a mere touch. Even withoutextending their functionality via the full range ofmobile apps, tablets serve as nicely sized video playerswith instant access to an enormous library of content;digital readers for books, magazines, and newspapers;real-time two-way video phones; easily sharable photoviewers and even cameras; fast, easy email and webbrowsers; and rich, full-featured game platforms —all in a slim, lightweight, portable package that fits ina purse or briefcase — but which significantly omitsa traditional keyboard. That design choice, and theimplications it brings for interacting with the device, is akey reason that tablets are not a new kind of lightweightlaptop, but rather a completely new computing device.When the iPad was introduced, it was described as a “leanback” experience as contrasted to the “lean forward”experience of typical computers. While second marketand wireless keyboards are available for tablets, the realinnovation in these devices is in how they are used. Aswipe, a tap, or a pinch allows the user to interact withthe device in completely new ways that are so intuitiveand simple they require no manuals or instructions. Thedevice itself encourages exploration of its capabilities,something easily demonstrated by simply placing thedevice in the hands of a small child. For times when akeyboard is needed, a custom-configured softwarekeyboard appears, but the best-designed apps makelittle or no use of it.Screen technology has advanced to the point thattablets are exceptionally effective at displaying visualcontent, such as photographs, books, and video; similaradvances in gesture-based computing have moved

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less15tablets far beyond the point and click capabilities oftouchscreens, and tablets are engaging and intuitivedevices to use. These combinations of features areespecially enticing to educational institutions at alllevels, and many K-12 institutions are consideringtablets as a cost-effective alternative to the netbookwhen planning a one-to-one deployment. In theseand other group settings, their large screens — andthe ease with which the image automatically adjustsits orientation to the viewer — make it easy to sharecontent.Perhaps the most interesting aspect of tablets is thatthey owe their heritage not to the desktop, but to themobile phone. Both iOS and Android-based tabletsare designed with the app model firmly in mind, andhundreds of thousands of specialized apps are availableto extend the functionality of tablets. Apps for tabletshave many features in common with mobile apps,such as seamless use of location awareness, networkconnections, and other built-in sensors, but the largerscreen real estate allows for more detailed interfacesor viewing area. Also similar to smartphone apps, appsfor tablets are inexpensive and very easy to add to thedevice, using the same tools and online stores.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, orCreative InquiryBecause of their portability, large display, andtouchscreen, tablets are ideal devices for one-to-onelearning, as well as fieldwork. Many institutions arebeginning to rely on them in place of cumbersomelaboratory equipment, video equipment, and variousother expensive tools that are not nearly as portable oras inexpensive to replace.For example, the iPad has become an integral instrumentin the cadaver laboratories at the University of California,Irvine. Images of body structures and radiographic filmscan be easily explored and manipulated on-screen, andapps such as “Epocrates Essentials” provide a mobiledrug and disease reference at students’ fingertips (go.nmc.org/epeif). Similarly, Duke University has beenexploring the use of the iPad as an efficient way tocollect global health research (go.nmc.org/fqxpm).More and more institutions are providing their studentswith iPad devices that come pre-loaded with coursematerials, digital textbooks, and other helpful resources.Under the Griffin Technology Advantage at Seton HillUniversity, for example, all full-time students receive aniPad 2. Similarly, the University of Southern Mississippiis piloting up to 1,000 Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices thatwill be issued to students, loaded with BlackboardMobile Learn. Students and professors, sharing thesame hardware and software, will experience and shareaudio, video, and other learning materials.Because these types of tablet programs are relativelynew, many universities and colleges are conductingin depth studies to measure their outcomes. Studiesincluding those at Abilene Christian University,Oberlin College, the Missouri University of Science andTechnology, and many others have generally foundBecause of their portability, largedisplay, and touchscreen, tabletsare ideal devices for one-to-onelearning, as well as fieldwork.that integrating tablets into the curriculum has led toincreased student engagement and has enhancedlearning experiences. However, higher educationinstitutions are just beginning to delve into moreresearch surrounding some of the many potential usesof tablets, including the replacement of print textbookswith e-books, the wide use of specialized apps, theexpanded use of the devices’ built-in sensors, GPS,gesture interface, cameras, video and audio tools, andmore.With their growing number of features, tablets givetraction to other educational technologies — fromfacilitating the real-time data mining needed to supportlearning analytics to offering a plethora of game-basedlearning apps. What makes tablets so powerful is thatstudents already use these or very similar devicesoutside the classroom to download apps, connect

16NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editionto their social networks, and immerse themselves ininformal learning experiences. As such, students arealready quite comfortable using them in both academicand social settings.A sampling of tablet computing applications acrossdisciplines includes the following:> Chemistry. In organic chemistry laboratories at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wallmountediPads are equipped with a kiosk app todeliver video reviews of the lab techniques mostneeded by the students. Students also use theiPads throughout the chemistry courses to clarifyexperiment set-up and answer other proceduralquestions. go.nmc.org/hjjvi> Lecture Capture. Tablet apps, such as McGraw Hill’s“Tegrity,” are used by the University of Colorado,Georgia Tech University, Fordham Law School, andmany others as a campus-wide solution for recordingand deploying class lectures. go.nmc.org/zmgnp> Mathematics. As a collaborative project betweenthe math support centers at three universities —Swinburne in Australia, Limerick in Ireland, andLoughborough in the UK — “MathsCasts” are videosof mathematical explanations recorded by writing ona tablet. They cover topics with which undergraduatestudents typically struggle. All “MathsCasts” carry aCreative Commons license and are available for freeon the Swinburne website and on iTunes U. go.nmc.org/igmlf> Writing. Designed and developed by the Universityof Queensland, UQMarkup is an iPad app developedto facilitate the integration of contextualized audioand written feedback in student writing assessments.The feedback from the app is personalized, and theresponses are provided in a short, fixed, and easilyunderstood format. go.nmc.org/hwzcuTablet Computing in PracticeThe following links provide examples of tabletcomputing in use in higher education settings:iPad Makes Wall Street Debutgo.nmc.org/swnbtDuring Drew University’s Wall Street Semester program,students will be equipped with an iPad and apps thataccess and interpret financial information. Conveniently,students can read course materials on their iPads insteadof carrying books, and digitally compose documents,spreadsheets, and presentations.The iPad Replaces University Textbooksgo.nmc.org/vblpbThe University of Adelaide will replace textbookswith Apple iPads for first year students in its Scienceprogram. The University sees this as a way to allow theevolution of student learning environments to augmentindividual student growth.Solar-Powered iPad Devicesgo.nmc.org/ctjzqIn partnership with Apple, the Zimbabwe government isbringing solar-powered iPad devices to rural institutionsacross Africa that have not had consistent — or any —computer access in the past due to lack of electricity.University of Dayton Undergraduate Viewbookgo.nmc.org/wdcwmThe free University of Dayton Viewbook app givespotential undergraduate students a virtual orientationto the school using video content, slideshows, andinteractive feeds to explore academic facilities,programs, opportunities, and student life.Valparaiso College of Engineering Releases iPad Appgo.nmc.org/yqqhwRecent Valparaiso University graduates have developeda new interactive digital magazine for the iPad thatincorporates videos and photo galleries into stories sothat students, faculty, alumni, and anyone interestedcan connect to news and happenings within the Collegeof Engineering.For Further ReadingThe following articles and resources are recommendedfor those who wish to learn more about tabletcomputing:

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less176 Reasons Tablets are Ready for the Classroomgo.nmc.org/lcrin(Vineet Madan, Mashable, 16 May 2011.) This articleexplores the applications of tablet computers in highereducation, based on reports from classrooms that haveparticipated in pilot studies, citing that iPads fit withstudents’ current lifestyles.The B-School Case Study Gets a Digital Makeovergo.nmc.org/delwj(Erin Zlomek, Bloomberg Business Week, 25 July 2011.)This article demonstrates how tablets allow students aconvenient way to access and interact with the manybusiness case studies that are a core part of businessschool curriculum.Campus Tour Now Comes with an iPadgo.nmc.org/hszrt(Jody S. Cohen, Chicago Tribune, 9 October 2011.)Bradley University is now distributing iPads duringcampus tours so that when prospective students areshown areas of the campus, they can also watch videosof events that have taken place there throughout theyear. Seeing laboratories and lecture halls in use givesstudents an understanding of what busy campuslife will be like, even when touring during holidays orsummer months.Educators Evaluate Learning Benefits of iPadgo.nmc.org/whlnr(Ian Quillen, Education Week, 15 June 2011.) This articlediscusses the use of iPad devices as learning tools, anddelves into the ongoing discourse about whether theyare more viable for one-to-one solutions or as part of agroup of shared devices.Kindle Fire: Changing the Game in Higher Education?go.nmc.org/hdoru(Vineet Madan, Geek Wire, 15 November 2011.) Thisarticle measures the new Kindle Fire to its competitor,the iPad, citing that the smaller screen of the Kindle Fireis the main shortcoming of the device for educationalpurposes, since students are looking to use the deviceto read and access multimedia, such as images andvideos.Tablets have come to be viewedas not just a new category ofmobile devices, but indeed a newtechnology in its own right — onethat blends features of laptops,smartphones, and earlier tabletcomputers with always-connectedInternet, and thousands of apps withwhich to personalize the experience.An iPad University: Giving It the Old College Trygo.nmc.org/zxqiy(Lena Groeger, Wired, 22 July 2011.) The University ofSouthern California has teamed up with TouchAppMediaand 2tor, Inc. to create an online distance learningexperience fully accessible with an iPad or mobiledevice, featuring social integrations like video chat withclassmates and sharing notes and ideas on course wallsand forums.

18NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionGame-Based LearningTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three YearsGame-based learning has gained considerabletraction since 2003, when James Gee began todescribe the impact of game play on cognitivedevelopment. Since then, research, and interestin, the potential of gaming on learning hasexploded, as has the diversity of games themselves,with the emergence of serious games as a genre, theproliferation of gaming platforms, and the evolution ofgames on mobile devices. Developers and researchersare working in every area of game-based learning,including games that are goal-oriented; social gameenvironments; non-digital games that are easy toconstruct and play; games developed expressly foreducation; and commercial games that lend themselvesto refining team and group skills. Role-playing,collaborative problem solving, and other forms ofsimulated experiences are recognized for having broadapplicability across a wide range of disciplines.OverviewAccording to Trip Wire Magazine, 61.9 million peopleparticipated in online social games in 2011, up nearly9 million people from 2010. Forty percent of thesegamers are between the ages of 20 and 34. The averageage of the American gamer is now 35-years-old, whichcorrelates with the early 1980s timeline in which the firstdigital games appeared with the first home computers.Ten years later, the web was born, and games began tobe delivered over the Internet. The three most recentcohorts of children — those born in the early 1980s,the early 1990s, and the early 2000s — have grown upin a world where digital games have always been animportant part of their lives, and entered or graduatedfrom higher education institutions with hundreds ofhours of gaming experience.Early studies of consumer games helped to identify theaspects of games that make them especially engagingand appealing to players of various ages and of bothgenders: the feeling of working toward a goal; thepossibility of attaining spectacular successes; the abilityto problem solve, collaborate with others, and socialize;an interesting story line; and other characteristics. Thesequalities are replicable for educational content, thoughthey can be difficult to design well. This challenge isone reason why game-based learning continues to beplaced on the mid-term horizon.In the most recent National Education Technology Plan,gaming was named as an ideal method of assessingstudent knowledge comprehension, citing the abilityof games to provide immediate performance feedbackto the players. Students are engaged because theyare motivated to do better, get to the next level, andsucceed. Proponents also underscore the productiverole of play, which allows for experimentation, theexploration of identities, and even failure.In recent years, the Serious Games movement hasfocused on uniting significant educational contentwith play. The games within this genre layer socialissues or problems with game play, helping playersgain a new perspective through active engagement.Research shows that players readily connect withlearning material when doing so will help them achievepersonally meaningful goals. Purdue University’sSerious Games Center is just one of the many programsdedicated to conducting research and finding newmeans of collaboration with Serious Games in virtualenvironments.Another area of gaming that is increasingly interestingfor higher education institutions is simulation-basedgames. Militaries worldwide have adopted games andsimulations across the entire range of skills trainingthey provide, and the game-design insights from that

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years19tremendous body of work are beginning to informsimulations designed for graduate students studyingand training in specific subjects including medicine.“Emergency Room: Code Red” is one such populargame.The 2011 edition of this report viewed massivelymultiplayer online (MMO) games as still a few yearsfurther out for learning, but increasingly interesting.This year, there has been more traction surrounding thisgenre of gaming. Online games including “Minecraft”and “World of Warcraft” have been integrated intocourse curriculum, with educators and educationaltechnology writers frequently documenting theirstories and outcomes. This type of game brings manyplayers together to work on activities that requirecollaborative problem solving. They are complex, andinclude solo and group content, as well as goals thattie to a storyline or theme. Their link to education existsin the highest levels of interaction in which game-playrequires teamwork, leadership, and discovery.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, orCreative InquiryGame-based learning reflects a number of importantskills higher education institutions strive for theirstudents to acquire: collaboration, problem solving,communication, critical thinking, and digital literacy.What makes educational gaming appealing today isthe plethora of genres and applications associated withit. From role-playing games to online social games toentire courses created around teaching better gamedesign, aspects of game mechanics are well integratedin higher education curriculum.Games related specifically to course content helpstudents gain a fresh perspective on material andcan potentially engage them in that content in morecomplex and nuanced ways. Alternate reality games(ARGs), in which players find clues and solve puzzlesin experiences that blur the boundary between thegame and real life, offer a clear example in which coursecontent and game play can overlap. Recent examplesof large-scale ARGs include Jane McGonigal’s “EVOKE,”a social networking game that simulates real globalissues to empower people to find new and innovativesolutions. The ideas players have proposed haveearned them opportunities to put their proposals intopractice through internships with social innovators andbusiness leaders around the world, and scholarshipsor funding for their own ventures. Stanford Universitycreated “Septris,” an HTML5 mobile simulation gamethat teaches practicing physicians and nurses aboutSepsis (blood poisoning) identification, triage, andmanagement. Learners play the part of a physicianProponents underscore theproductive role of play, which allowsfor experimentation, the explorationof identities, and even failure.managing patients as their health deteriorates. Learnersread history, order labs, and assign treatments tomultiple patients at a time.The browser-based game “Ikariam” simulates life inancient civilizations, and players learn about economicsand civic responsibility by building up the economy andcaring for the residents on virtual islands. Some highereducation institutions are taking the incorporationof socially aware games a step further and designingentire courses around them. St. Edward’s Universityrecently launched a pilot section of a required CulturalFoundations course with an emphasis on the use ofsocial media and experiential learning approaches.Their “Global Social Problems” course was designedusing “heroic gaming” strategies. All course activitieswere rooted in a common set of heroic values and wererepresented as “character traits” on each student’s profile.Open-ended, challenge-based, truly collaborativegames are an emerging category of games that seemsespecially appropriate for higher education. Games likethese, which occur in both online and non-digital forms,can draw on skills for research, writing, collaboration,problem solving, public speaking, leadership, digitalliteracy, and media-making. When embedded in thecurriculum, they offer a path into the material that allows

20NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editionthe student to learn how to learn along with masteringthe subject matter. These games lend themselves tocurricular content, requiring students to discover andconstruct knowledge in order to solve problems. Theyare challenging to design well, but the results can betransformative.The challenge that persists with educational games— a good indicator of why they still reside on the midtermhorizon — is embedding traditional educationalOpen-ended, challenge-based, trulycollaborative games are an emergingcategory of games that seemsespecially appropriate for highereducation.content so that it looks and feels like a natural part ofplaying the game. Faculty members may find it difficultto make pronounced connections between specificcourse content and the gaming objectives. What isknown, however, is that these games spark interest instudents to expand their learning outside of the game.Constance Steinkuehler, for example, founding fellowof the Games+Learning+Society Initiative, found thatthe average MMO gamer spends 10-15 hours per weekconducting online research related to the game. Digitaland communication literacy goes hand in hand withgame play, which is why it continues to be of greatinterest to educators.A sampling of applications of game-based learningacross disciplines includes the following:> Music. In McGill University’s “Open Orchestra”simulation game, a workstation uses high definitionpanoramic video and surround sound to providemusicians with the experience of playing in anorchestra or singing in an opera. A touchscreen in themusic stand displays an electronic version of the scoreand the system controls, as well as a visualization thatcompares the student’s performance to that of aprofessional musician. go.nmc.org/udrgw> Online Learning. Students in an Adult Educationundergraduate online course at the University ofBritish Columbia are participating in a role-playinggame, in which they are reporters who are writingarticles for an imaginary journal called Adult EducatorWeekly. They also post comments as “readers” andvote for the best article. The results showed that thestudents posted more in the journal than they usedto in LMS discussion forums. go.nmc.org/yvrzz> Science. “MicroExplorer3D,” developed by NorthCarolina State University, provides an avenue forstudents who do not have access to a microscopylab to learn the parts of a compound microscope.Students interact with the 3D model of a compoundmicroscope by clicking (web) or touching (mobile),zoom into detailed views of the parts, and openmenu items and descriptions with photograph andvideo examples. go.nmc.org/kwgmbGame-Based Learning in PracticeThe following links provide examples of game-basedlearning in use in higher education settings:3D GameLabgo.nmc.org/vedmbDeveloped by Boise State University, 3D GameLab isa unique quest-based learning platform that can turnany classroom into a living game. 3D GameLab helpsteachers tie innovative learning activities to standards,providing learners choice while they game their waythrough a competency-based curriculum.Cycles of Your Cognitive Learning, Expectations,and Schemago.nmc.org/gcogyA University at Albany research team is developing avideo game that will show people negative aspects oftheir own decision-making processes, specifically whenthey are confronted with incomplete information andoperating under time pressure.

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years21GAMeS Lab at Radford Universitygo.nmc.org/qlohzThe purpose of the Games, Animation, Modeling, andSimulation (GAMeS) Lab at Radford University is todesign interactive mobile games and study their impacton student engagement and learning. The GAMeS Labhas designed iPod Touch and iPad games for schools inrural, southwestern Virginia, and is collaborating withthe participating educators to determine how best tointegrate these games within the existing curricula.Meet the Earthwork Buildersgo.nmc.org/cyaowFunded by the National Endowment for the Humanities,a team of content specialists and game developers ismaking a video game prototype about the NewarkEarthworks, an ancient lunar observatory in Newark,Ohio. Through the game, players will learn about thelunar observatory and gain a more global understandingof different cultures.SciEthics Interactivego.nmc.org/khrebThis project, funded by HP and the National ScienceFoundation, is designed to create virtual simulations witha science and ethics focus. Upper level undergraduateand graduate students can experience real worldsituations in the safety of a virtual environment.simSchoolgo.nmc.org/dkbblA flight simulator for teachers, simSchool provideschallenging teaching scenarios that develop theknowledge and skills needed for classroom success.Research has indicated that training time on thesimulator makes a significant difference in a teacher’sself-efficacy and sense of the focus of control.For Further ReadingThe following articles and resources are recommendedfor those who wish to learn more about game-basedlearning:to successfully incorporate gaming into university andcollege curriculum, underscoring that game-basedlearning is not a solution for all subjects and that gamesare no quick fix, but take research and classroom testingby the educator to ascertain their success.Games and Learning: Teaching as Designinggo.nmc.org/cooat(James Gee, The Huffington Post, 21 April 2011.) JamesGee builds a case for games as catalysts for moreinteraction, creativity, and critical thinking in learning.He likens gamers to designers as they must understandthe “rule system” to be successful.Games in the Librarygo.nmc.org/fmtam(Anastasia Salter, The Chronicle of Higher Education,13 December 2011.) This article takes a logisticalperspective to game-based learning, focusing on thedifficulty of disseminating a gaming experience to alarge classroom of varying students, and proposing thata game library is a good option to provide access andinformation as well as to track inventory.A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video GameModel as a Learning Toolgo.nmc.org/rqvxp(Judy Willis, Edutopia, 14 April 2011.) The neurologistbehind this article equates the success of game-basedlearning with the release of dopamine, a physiologicalresponse to a prosperous choice or action, and outlinesthe phases of this natural learning process.What Does Game-Based Learning Offer HigherEducation?go.nmc.org/qcuno(Justin Marquis, OnlineUniversities.com, 14 October2011.) This article explores the benefits of gaming atthe university level by breaking down a hypothesisby game designer, Jane McGonigal, which recognizesspecific positive attributes of gamers that can translateto productivity in the classroom and beyond.5 Teaching Tips for Professors — From Video Gamesgo.nmc.org/lssnv(Jeffrey R. Young, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 24January 2010.) This article shares best practices on how

22NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionLearning AnalyticsTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three YearsLearning analytics refers to the interpretation ofa wide range of data produced by and gatheredon behalf of students in order to assess academicprogress, predict future performance, and spotpotential issues. Data are collected from explicitstudent actions, such as completing assignments andtaking exams, and from tacit actions, including onlinesocial interactions, extracurricular activities, posts ondiscussion forums, and other activities that are notdirectly assessed as part of the student’s educationalprogress. The goal of learning analytics is to enableteachers and schools to tailor educational opportunitiesto each student’s level of need and ability in close-torealtime. Learning analytics promises to harness thepower of advances in data mining, interpretation,and modeling to improve understandings of teachingand learning, and to tailor education to individualstudents more effectively. Still in its early stages,learning analytics responds to calls for accountabilityon campuses and aims to leverage the vast amount ofdata produced by students in academic activities.OverviewAt its heart, learning analytics is about analyzing thewealth of information about students in a way thatwould allow schools to make informed adjustmentsto a student’s learning experience, drawing on newways of observing patterns in complex data. Thissort of intervention is not new — school counselorsand student services professionals have long usedinformation such as student attendance records, grades,teacher observations, test scores, and the like to identifyat-risk students. Learning analytics builds on thisheritage, but aims to go much further than these triedand true strategies, merging information from disparatesources to create a far more robust and nuanced pictureof learning as it happens that can be used to improveboth teaching and learning environments.Learning analytics was featured in the NMC HorizonReport: 2011 Higher Education Edition on the far-termhorizon. This year, largely because of a major initiativefocused on its refinement, the topic has been movedto the mid-term horizon, and is poised to make thetransition from concept to practice. In 2010, EDUCAUSEannounced a major program in partnership with theGates Foundation under the Next Generation LearningInitiative that identified learning analytics as one offive key areas for development. That same year, the HPCatalyst Initiative established the Measuring LearningConsortium, led by Carnegie Mellon University, in whichseveral large-scale international learning analyticsprojects are working towards common solutions. Theseprojects, and others located at a number of highereducation institutions, are driving not only the sciencebehind learning analytics, but also interest. As thescience and technical aspects of learning analytics aresolved, one can expect to see significant developmentactivity as campuses begin to implement learninganalytics strategies.This interest has not escaped large publishers, such asMcGraw Hill (“Connect”) and Pearson (“MyLabs”), whohave begun to establish their own learning analyticssolutions and have hired dedicated employees whosejob is to provide learning analytics expertise as theemerging technology evolves. The initial focus ofthese efforts is on integration with existing learningmanagement systems (LMS). Several researchersfeel that this is a necessary part of a comprehensivesolution, but is insufficient. To move learning analyticsforward, many would argue that analytics must includemore than LMS data. Other factors, such as the impactof the learning environment (especially online, butalso physical environments), knowledge gained viainformal learning, and metrics on skills includingcreativity, leadership, and innovation are seen as

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years23equally important indicators of the overall quality ofstudent performance.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, orCreative InquiryUntil recently, research on learning in higher educationhas centered primarily on identifying students whomight be at risk of failure in a course or program, anddesigning interventions to address short-term issuesthat may be preventing them from succeeding in theircoursework. The Signals project at Purdue Universityis an exemplary instance of this use. Initiated in2007, Signals gathers information from SIS, coursemanagement systems, and course grade books togenerate a risk level for students, and those designatedas at-risk are targeted for outreach. Similarly, theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County supplementstheir Blackboard course management system with aself-service feedback tool for students and educatorscalled “Check My Activity.”The larger promise of learning analytics, however, isthat when correctly applied and interpreted, it willenable faculty to more precisely understand students’learning needs and to tailor instruction appropriatelyfar more accurately and far sooner than is possibletoday. This has implications not simply for individualstudent performance, but in how educators perceivethe processes of teaching, learning, and assessment. Byoffering information in real time, learning analytics cansupport immediate adjustments, suggesting a model ofcurriculum that is more fluid and open to change.Prospects for learning analytics tools include commercialapplications designed for other purposes that might beadapted to support a learning analytics use case, andthose developed specifically to accomplish learninganalytics tasks. It is still a bit early in the life cycle ofthis technology for specialized tools, but applicationssuch as Mixpanel analytics, which offers real-time datavisualization documenting how users are engagingwith material on a website, have obvious potential inhybrid and online courses. Similarly, Userfly, designedfor usability testing, allows the behavior of visitors ona website to be recorded, after which it can be replayedand analyzed.Broader sorts of analytics tools have a widerapplicability for learning analytics, and Gephi is a goodexample. This free, open source interactive visualizationand exploration platform allows not only easy visualexploration of complex data, but also provides tools likesocial network analysis, link relationships in scale-freenetworks, and much more.Among the tools developed specifically for learninganalytics is Socrato, an online learning analytics servicethat designs custom diagnostic and performancereports for tutoring or training centers and schools.SNAPP (Social Networks Adapting PedagogicalPractice), developed by the University of Wollongong inThe goal of learning analytics is toenable teachers and schools to tailoreducational opportunities to eachstudent’s level of need and ability inclose-to-real time.Australia, is designed to expand on the basic informationgathered within learning management systems; thisinformation set typically centers on how often and forhow long students interact with posted material. SNAPPuses visual analysis to show how students interactwith discussion forum posts. Teachscape’s ClassroomWalkthrough program allows teachers to collect dataand analysis on student knowledge comprehensionusing their mobile devices. Across the board, however, itis clear that a full-featured set of learning analytics toolsis still some time way.As higher education institutions continue to refine thetheory and practice of learning analytics — especiallyas they begin to design their own platforms — they willneed to preemptively tackle the issue of data privacyand determine what extent of information to share withstudents and other institutions.

24NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionA sampling of applications of learning analytics acrossdisciplines includes the following:> Business and Communications. Students at theUniversity of British Columbia are examining web andsocial analytics to decipher meaningful trends abouthuman behavior. go.nmc.org/ugtei> Medicine. Learning analytics was used at theGraduate School of Medicine at the University ofWollongong to help design a new curriculum witha strong clinical focus. The approach providedevidence of appropriate curriculum coverage,student engagement, and equity while studentswere on clinical placement. go.nmc.org/zgxnk> Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering(STEM). The University of Michigan uses a systemcalled ECoach in large introductory STEM courses.ECoach uses information about student background,motivations, and recent performance to providefeedback, encouragement, and advice that are tailoredto each student. go.nmc.org/vvoqpLearning Analytics in PracticeThe following links provide examples of learninganalytics in use in higher education settings:Collaborative Assessment Platform for PracticalSkills (video)go.nmc.org/rhymfAmrita University is reaching more students in ruralIndia via a multilingual collaborative platform that canbe used remotely to teach language, promote adaptivelearning, and run virtual experiments. The platform willinclude a framework for the assessment of reportingand procedural skills, so that students can betterconcentrate their efforts on the subject areas they needto master.CoreDogsgo.nmc.org/bypupCoreDogs is a platform for creating digital textbooksfor blended learning courses. While completing theexercises in the books, students receive formativefeedback and assessments on their knowledgecomprehension. The platform also provides educatorswith data on student behavior.Grade Discrepancy Projectgo.nmc.org/lfbnuThe University of Minnesota is using data from theircourse management systems to determine whether theuse of an online grade book can serve as a mitigatingfactor for helping lower achieving students estimatetheir final grades more accurately. The goal is toprovide students with better information to guidetheir preparation for end-of-term exams, papers, andprojects.Learning Catalyticsgo.nmc.org/mymtvDeveloped by the Mazur Group at Harvard University,Learning Catalytics supports peer-to-peer instruction,and provides real-time feedback during class. Facultycan engage students with questions about coursematerial with numerical, algebraic, textual, or graphicalresponses, and the platform helps group students forfollow-up discussions.SoLAR’s Open Online Learning Analytics Coursego.nmc.org/pntpbHosted by Athabasca University for the Society forLearning Analytics Research (SoLAR), this free onlinecourse is an introduction to learning analytics and therole the approach plays in knowledge development.Also included is an overview of learning analyticsplatforms and the optimal organization of informationflow.For Further ReadingThe following articles and resources are recommendedfor those who wish to learn more about learninganalytics:Data Mining and Online Learninggo.nmc.org/nyhsn(Jim Shimabukuro, Educational Technology & ChangeJournal, 7 August 2011.) In order to benefit from learninganalytics, educators must incorporate it into their dailyworkflow, which can be time consuming. The authorexplains his method of timely analysis and response.

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years25How Data and Analytics Can Improve Educationgo.nmc.org/btans(Audrey Watters, O’Reilly Radar, 25 July 2011.) Analyticsand data captured by digital platforms and programs canbe helpful for the learner to access as well as educators.This interview with education theorist George Siemensaddresses the importance and consequences of privacyissues within learning analytics.Learning Analytics: The Coming Third Wavego.nmc.org/mknvy(Malcolm Brown, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, April2011.) This article discusses the current position oflearning analytics in education, and how third partyapplications are beginning to make the tools morecost-effective. It also addresses the ethics involved indeploying learning analytics platforms.Monitoring the PACE of Student Learning: Analyticsat Rio Salado Collegego.nmc.org/apwgj(Mary Grush, Campus Technology, 14 December 2011.)Rio Salado’s PACE (Progress and Course Engagement)automated tracking system generates reports so thatinstructors can easily see who is at risk in a given course,on the eighth day of the course, when there is still plentyof time to address the situation.By offering information in real time,learning analytics can supportimmediate adjustments, suggestinga model of curriculum that is morefluid and open to change.Social Learning Analytics: Technical Reportgo.nmc.org/nvbjg(Simon Buckingham Shum and Rebecca Ferguson,Knowledge Media Institute, the Open University, UK,June 2011.) This paper studies the technological needsof implementing accurate learning analytics in an onlineacademic setting. Unprecedented amounts of digitaldata are now available from online social platforms, butthe goal is to narrow analytics to only pedagogicallyrelevant information.What are Learning Analytics?go.nmc.org/nqxvg(George Siemens, eLearnspace, 25 August 2010.) Thisarticle presents an overview of learning analyticsand discusses how it might be applied in learninginstitutions. A chart is included to depict the process oflearning analytics.

26NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionGesture-Based ComputingTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five YearsIt is already common to interact with a new classof devices entirely by using natural movementsand gestures. The Microsoft Surface, Apple’siOS devices (iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch), andother gesture-based systems accept input in theform of taps, swipes, and other ways of touching. TheNintendo Wii and Microsoft’s Kinect system extendthat to hand and arm motions, or body movement.These are the first in a growing array of alternativeinput devices that allow computers to recognizeand interpret natural physical gestures as a meansof control. Gesture-based computing allows usersto engage in virtual activities with motions andmovements similar to what they would use in the realworld, manipulating content intuitively. The idea thatsimple gestures and natural, comfortable motionscan be used to control computers is opening the wayto a host of input devices that look and feel verydifferent from the keyboard and mouse — and thatare increasingly enabling our devices to infer meaningfrom the movements and gestures we make.OverviewGesture-based devices are already commonplace.Tapping or swiping a finger across a screen is the waymillions of people interact with their mobile devicesevery day. The screens for the iPhone and iPad, andAndroid-based tablets and smartphones, for example,all react to pressure, motion, and even the number anddirection of fingers touching the devices. Some devicesreact to shaking, rotating, tilting, or moving the devicein space.Over the past few years, gaming systems have increasinglyincorporated new gesture-based technology. Xbox Kinectand Nintendo Wii, for example, continue to explore thepotential of human movement in gaming. The Wii functionsby combining a handheld, accelerometer-based controllerwith a stationary infrared sensor to determine position,acceleration, and direction. The Kinect system eliminatesthe hand-held controller and discerns commands andinput by analyzing the visual field. Development in this areacenters on creating a minimal interface, and in producingan experience of direct interaction such that, cognitively,the hand and body become input devices themselves.These systems recognize and interpret patterns in grossmotor movements, including body movements and facialexpressions. Players can jump, dance, point, and more andtheir actions catalyze the actions that take place on thescreen.In previous years, the NMC Horizon Report hasdocumented two major development paths for gesturebasedcomputing: marker-based and markerless. Whileboth pathways continue to see development, whatmakes gesture-based computing especially interestingthis year is two-fold. First is the increasingly high fidelityof systems that understand gestures and their nuances.This is allowing much more subtle hand and armgestures — and even facial gestures — to be used tocontrol devices.The second interesting development is the convergenceof gesture-sensing technology with voice recognition,allowing, just as it does in human conversation, forboth gesture and voice to communicate the user’sintentions to devices. Siri, the virtual assistant includedin the iPhone 4s, is a particularly successful exampleof this convergence, seamlessly juxtaposing the voiceinterface alongside the now routine taps and swipes.Another indication of this convergence is that both LGand Samsung recently announced “smart” televisionsequipped with both gesture and voice control.Gesture-based computing is changing the ways thatwe interact with computers, both physically and

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years27mechanically. As such, it is at once transformative anddisruptive. Researchers and developers are gaininga sense of the cognitive and cultural dimensions ofgesture-based communicating, and the full realizationof the potential of gesture-based computing withinhigher education will require intensive interdisciplinarycollaborations and innovative thinking about the verynature of teaching, learning, and communicating.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, orCreative InquiryIt is clear that gesture-based computing has found anatural home in gaming and in mobile devices, but itspotential uses are broader. Software that relies not onspecific languages, but on natural human movementscommon to all cultures has a compelling utility incountries such as India, which has 30 native languageswith more than a million speakers. A natural interfaceopens up a key barrier between the user and his or hermachine, and indeed all that is required to see this isto put a gesture-enabled device in the hands of a twoyear-old.Devices that encourage users to touch them, move, orotherwise use play as a means to explore are particularlyintriguing to schools. Such devices, which currently areprimarily illustrated by Android and Apple smartphonesand tablets, the Microsoft Surface and Promethean’sActivPanel, and the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinectsystems, open up a wide range of uses for learners.Gesture-enabled devices aid collaboration, sharing, andgroup interactions.Nonetheless, while gesture-based computing isgarnering a lot of excitement in the consumer space,an extensive review was unable to uncover manycurrent examples in higher education of gesture-basedsoftware or devices being applied to specific learningexamples. As an enabling or assistive technology,however, gesture-sensing techniques are alreadyhaving profound implications for special needs anddisabled individuals. For example, devices with gesturecontrol are already helping blind, dyslexic, or otherwisedisabled students, reducing their dependence onkeyboards. Researchers at McGill University aredeveloping a system that allows those with visualimpairments to get more feedback with fine degreesof touch. Gesture-based computing algorithms are alsobeing used to interpret body language and even signlanguage.As an experimental media, however, it is easy to findexamples of projects that are pushing the edges ofgesture-recognition, especially as it converges withGesture-based computing allowsusers to engage in virtual activitieswith motions and movementssimilar to what they would use inthe real world, manipulating contentintuitively.voice recognition in natural user interface applications.The idea of being able to have a completely naturalinteraction with your device is not new, but neither hasits full potential been realized. Recent advances acrossthe board in the underlying technologies, along withstrong interest in the consumer electronics segment,bode well for this category of technologies to continueto see new and compelling developments.A sampling of applications for gesture-based computingacross disciplines includes the following:> Art and Fashion Design. Created by students at BallState University, “Morp Holuminescence” uses bodygestures to adjust the light in a room for optimalviewing results. Designed for use in the fashionindustry, the system offers an integrated lighting andsensor system, much of it built using the open-sourceArduino prototyping platform. go.nmc.org/bnikw> Music. The EyeMusic project at the University ofOregon uses eye-tracking sensors to composemultimedia productions based on the movements

28NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editionof the user’s eye movement. The performer looksat a physical location to visually process it or tocreate a sound, and EyeMusic reconciles those twomotivations to achieve perceptual-motor harmony.go.nmc.org/hmhxq> Science and Medicine. Researchers at NorrkopingVisualization Centre and the Center for Medical ImageScience and Visualization in Sweden have created aGesture-based computing ischanging the ways that we interactwith computers, both physically andmechanically. As such, it is at oncetransformative and disruptive.virtual autopsy using a multi-touch table. Detailed CTscans are created from a living or dead person andtransferred to the table where they are manipulatedwith gestures, allowing forensic scientists to examinea body, make virtual cross-sections, and view layersincluding skin, muscle, blood vessels, and bone.go.nmc.org/edaicGesture-Based Computing in PracticeThe following links provide examples of gesture-basedcomputing in use in higher education settings:3Gear Systemsgo.nmc.org/tahtrA pair of MIT graduate students created a marker-basedgesture interaction system that would cost about oneUS dollar to produce, using off the shelf computercameras and a pair of Lycra gloves. This economicaladvancement in user interfaces will make humaninteraction with computers and digital devices morenatural.LZI Technologygo.nmc.org/ophomEuropean-based company Extreme Reality is creatingsoftware that will allow users to control computerprograms, games, and mobile devices with their handgestures and movements. The technology will workwith mechanisms already built into computers andmobile devices so no extra hardware will be required.Mogees: Gesture-Based Recognition with Contact-Microphonego.nmc.org/kepykUsing a contact microphone, two researchers connectedto a system that processes sound in real-time and turnsany surface into its own touchscreen. This system istransforming the vibrations transmitted from touch intowaveforms that a computer will recognize.MudPadgo.nmc.org/xjtekResearchers in the Media Computing Group at RWTHAachen University are developing a localized activehaptic feedback interface, called MudPad, for fluidtouch interfaces in order to offer more nuanced ways tointeract with screens through touch.Zero Touchgo.nmc.org/xpsgeResearchers at Texas A&M University have developeda multi-touch system from infrared sensors that allowsprecision free-air interaction. Users reach into a framelined with sensors, and can use their hands, elbows,arms, head, or any object, such as a pen, to createcompositions on their computer screens.For Further ReadingThe following articles and resources are recommendedfor those who wish to learn more about gesture-basedcomputing:7 Areas Beyond Gaming where Kinect Could Play aRolego.nmc.org/yskco(Alex Howard, O’Reilly Radar, 3 December 2010.) Thisarticle looks at how the gesture-based Kinect Systemfrom Microsoft can have broad use beyond its intended

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years29use as a gaming platform. Uses include applications inart, health, and education.Gesture Recognition Moves Beyond Gaminggo.nmc.org/auimq(Steve Sechrist, Software Quality Connection, 23 May2011.) In the context of the major developments ingesture recognition, the author discusses the potentialfor Kinect-style natural user interfaces.LG adds Google TVs, Smart TVs get Voice andGesture Controlgo.nmc.org/eilfc(James K. Willcox, Consumer Reports, 9 January 2011.)LG Electronics is releasing televisions that double ascomputer monitors so users can download apps fromthe Android Market to surf the web on their televisions.The SmartTV platform will also have voice and gesturecontrol, and built-in Wi-Fi to beam content like music,photos, and videos from a notebook to the televisionset.The idea of being able to have acompletely natural interaction withyour device is not new, but neitherhas its full potential been realized.SoftKinetic Previews Next-Gen Gesture Interfaces(Video)go.nmc.org/qhjle(SoftKinetic, youtube.com, 29 March 2011.) In thisvideo prepared by SoftKinetic for the 2011 ConsumerElectronics Show, the next generation of gestureinterfaces is illustrated. SoftKinetic is developing 3Dgesture control middleware for a wide range of devicesand platforms.To Win Over Users, Gadgets Have to Be Touchablego.nmc.org/lagrp(Claire Cain Miller, New York Times, 1 September 2010.)This article discusses how gesture-based computinghas become a prevalent way that we interact withour computers, especially mobile devices such assmartphones and tablets.

30NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionInternet of ThingsTime-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five YearsThe Internet of Things has become a sort ofshorthand for network-aware smart objectsthat connect the physical world with the worldof information. A smart object has four keyattributes: it is small, and thus easy to attachto almost anything; it has a unique identifier; it hasa small store of data or information; and it has away to communicate that information to an externaldevice on demand. The Internet of Things extendsthat concept by using TCP/IP as the means to conveythe information, thus making objects addressable(and findable) on the Internet. Objects that carryinformation with them have long been used for themonitoring of sensitive equipment or materials,point-of-sale purchases, passport tracking, inventorymanagement, identification, and similar applications.Smart objects are the next generation of thosetechnologies — they “know” about a certain kind ofinformation, such as cost, age, temperature, color,pressure, or humidity — and can pass that informationalong easily and instantly. They can be used to digitallymanage physical objects, monitor their status, trackthem throughout their lifespan, alert someone whenthey are in danger of being damaged or spoiled — oreven to annotate them with descriptions, instructions,warranties, tutorials, photographs, connectionsto other objects, and any other kind of contextualinformation imaginable. The Internet of Things wouldallow easy access to these data.OverviewThe Internet of Things, a concept advanced by IP cocreatorVint Cerf, is the next step in the evolution ofsmart objects — interconnected items in which the linebetween the physical object and digital informationabout it is blurred. The advent of IPv6 has extendedthe Internet address space significantly, thus providingan avenue for any object, like is done with today’s webcams or shared printers, to use the Internet to transmitand receive data and information from an object orpiece of equipment. Vint Cerf noted that already wehave Internet-enabled phones, appliances, pictureframes, and office equipment. It is not a large step toenvision Internet-enabled electric meters that use theSmart Grid to let your house know to raise the ambienttemperature a degree to help offset a peak load. Indeed,Cerf sees the Smart Grid as an accelerator for theInternet of things.While there are examples, such as the Smart Grid, ofwhat the Internet of Things might look like as it unfolds,it is still today more concept than reality. At the sametime, the underlying technologies that will make itpossible — smart sensors that can easily be attachedto everyday objects to monitor their environment orstatus; new forms of low-energy radio transmission thatcan enable the sensor to send its information wirelesslyor via electric lines to a network hub; and an expandedaddress space for the Internet — are all well understood,easily mass-produced, and inexpensive.Smart objects have appeared in several previouseditions of the NMC Horizon Report, and are describedin the opening paragraph as having the attributesof being easy to attach, often much like a sticker;uniquely identifiable; a small data store; and a wayto read and write to that store of data. Several radiobasedtechnologies are being explored as the firstpoint of transmission, from the simple and ubiquitousRFID approach broadly used for inventory controlto the proximity-based secure data exchange madepossible via Nokia’s near field communication (NFC)technology. NFC was designed to allow users to makesecure payments to kiosks, gas pumps, or dispensingmachines via smartphones, but it will also allow smartobjects to communicate securely over small distances.

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years31Today, NFC is optimized for payment data, and thusworks over distances of just a few inches, but whenthat is extended to a few feet, as RFID is today, securewireless communications between objects in a roomand a wireless hub will be possible.Relevance for Teaching, Learning, orCreative InquiryThe advantages of Smart Grid technologies in efficientlymanaging energy resources are an obvious benefit toany organization, and similar remote monitoring andcontrol via the Internet is already finding its way intolaboratories where such sharing of expensive resourceshas long been a part of how institutions collaborate.Smart objects will allow a similar approach to be appliedto all sorts of materials and delicate artifacts. The devicesrequired to do so are small, do not require batteries orexternal power, can communicate wirelessly, and areinexpensive. They can be attached to any object verydiscretely, and then used to track, monitor, maintain,and keep records about the object.Anthropology and history departments will have aninstant window into the condition of the objects,with the Internet being the mechanism for real-timemonitoring of current location, environment, andmovement of an object in their care or collections. Oncesuch information is accessible, it is easy to imagineit being attached to other sorts of information inways that will blur the line between the object itselfand content related to it. For example, every bonein an Allosaurus skeleton has a story — when it wasdiscovered, its position in the body, the temperature atwhich it is being stored, its provenance info, and more.An Internet of Things would make it simple to attach allthat information directly to the bones themselves via anIP-enabled smart object that adds a constant stream ofmonitoring information about the physical object.In the classroom, IP-addressable projectors can alreadystream the slides or videos professors are sharing sothat students who could not physically attend classcan view the presentations and lecture materials fromwherever they are. Similarly, small smart sensors placedin study rooms around campus buildings could providereal-time updates on the occupancy of the rooms viathe network. When placed inside loaner equipment,these sensors would allow campus managers to knowif a sensitive camera or piece of equipment had beendropped or otherwise put at risk while on loan. Infieldwork, when attached to scientific samples, IPenabledsensors could use the Internet to alert scientistsand researchers to conditions that might impair thequality or utility of the samples.The advent of IPv6 has extended theInternet address space significantly,thus providing an avenue for anyobject to use the Internet to transmitand receive data and informationfrom an object or piece of equipment.A sampling of applications of the Internet of Thingsacross disciplines includes the following:> Attendance. Northern Arizona University is usingstudent cards that are embedded with RFID tags totrack their class attendance. This is helping professorswho teach large classes by automating a once manualprocess. go.nmc.org/jvhzg> Marine Biology. Researchers are using an RFIDsystem to track marine animals’ behavior, even insaltwater, with a network of antennas set up in agiven area that read data from the tiny transpondersattached to the organisms as they pass by. go.nmc.org/cikkq> Resource Management. The El Paso Health SciencesCenter at Texas Tech University adopted a campuswideRFID system to track the location of science labequipment and resources. A built in reporting suiteupdates users on check-in and check-out information,and the system also enables users to make onlineresource transfers. The Center has reported that the

32NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Editiontime it takes to account for inventories has drasticallydecreased. go.nmc.org/qulqxInternet of Things in PracticeThe following links provide examples of the Internet ofThings in use in higher education settings:Amarinogo.nmc.org/uyllxAmarino, developed by MIT, is a toolkit that allows usersto control the lights in a room, and detect exposure levelsto radiation or other potentially harmful environmentalfactors through their smartphones.NYU’s Sensitive Buildings Classgo.nmc.org/nhqfjNew York University’s ITP program offers a course wherestudents create smart habitats for city dwellers. Studentslearned how sensor management systems work andcreated their own prototypes with Digi products.Otago Museum Radio Tracking Systemgo.nmc.org/pjouuIn an effort to increase security, Otago Museumlaunched a project that entails the installation of a radiotracking system to monitor all of its objects. Each artifactwill be tagged, and RFID readers will track the items asthey move around the museum space.Penn State Behrend’s RFID Center of Excellencego.nmc.org/kxwlhPenn State Behrend’s RFID Center conducts researchand outreach on RFID technology to better integrate itinto the business school curriculum, assist IT providersto attain RFID expertise, and provide prototype testingservices for customized applications.Smart Grid Developments in 2011 (pdf)go.nmc.org/zlszmThis annual report by energy management firm, KEMA,tracks the progress of smart grid development aroundthe globe. They consider three critical factors whenevaluating the progress of Smart Grid deployments:technology advancement, deployment track record,and policy and regulatory drivers.UVM Environmental Building Goes Greengo.nmc.org/leeueStudents and faculty in the Rubenstein School ofEnvironment and Natural Resources have “rehabbed”the Aiken building which now has temperature sensorsthat advise when to open or shut the windows, andcarbon dioxide sensors that trigger more fresh air into aclassroom when the CO2 level gets too high.For Further ReadingThe following articles and resources are recommendedfor those who wish to learn more about the Internet ofThings.How the “Internet of Things” Is Turning Cities IntoLiving Organismsgo.nmc.org/cxmqs(Christopher Mims, Scientific American, 6 December2011.) If city systems are able to react to informationstored in the cloud, a city could be “a virtual nervoussystem” that immediately responds to environmentalconditions like rainstorms.The Internet Gets Physicalgo.nmc.org/yirhc(Steve Lohr, The New York Times, 17 December 2011.)Smart devices are already a major link in humaninteraction, but they are further linking humans totheir environment in ways that will benefit energyconservation, transportation, health care, fooddistribution, and more.Internetting Every Thing, Everywhere, All the Timego.nmc.org/tgyqn(Cherise Fong, CNN, 2 November 2008.) Any object cando the same things as a web page and smart objectsare becoming more prevalent. This article outlines somecurrent examples of how smart technology is actualizing“The Internet of Things,” where objects, beings, and dataseamlessly interact.Launching Google Wallet on Sprintgo.nmc.org/hurhd(Google Mobile Blog, 19 September 2011.) Thisannouncement from Google explores Google Wallet— a new method of ecommerce that allows people

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years33to make purchases from their phones with near fieldcommunication as the secure mechanism for storingand transmitting user payment information.NFC Technology: 6 Ways it Could Change Our DailyLivesgo.nmc.org/lumcp(Sarah Kessler, Mashable, 6 May 2010). Contactlesspayment and infotags containing schedules andannouncements are both cited in this article as two ofthe most potentially transformative features of nearfield communication.Anthropology and historydepartments will have an instantwindow into the condition of theobjects, with the Internet being themechanism for real-time monitoringof current location, environment, andmovement of an object in their careor collections.

34NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionMethodologyThe process used to research and create the NMCHorizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition isvery much rooted in the methods used across allthe research conducted within the NMC HorizonProject. All editions of the NMC Horizon Reportare produced using a carefully constructed process thatis informed by both primary and secondary research.Dozens of technologies, meaningful trends, and criticalchallenges are examined for possible inclusion in thereport for each edition. Every report draws on theconsiderable expertise of an internationally renownedadvisory board that first considers a broad set ofimportant emerging technologies, challenges, andtrends, and then examines each of them in progressivelymore detail, reducing the set until the final listing oftechnologies, trends, and challenges is selected.This process takes place online, where it is capturedand placed in the NMC Horizon Project wiki. The wiki isintended to be a completely transparent window ontothe work of the project, and contains the entire recordof the research for each of the various editions.The section of the wiki used for the NMC Horizon Report:2012 Higher Education Edition can be found at horizon.wiki.nmc.org.The procedure for selecting the topics in the reportincluded a modified Delphi process now refined overyears of producing the NMC Horizon Report series,and began with the assembly of the advisory board.The board represents a wide range of backgrounds,nationalities, and interests, yet each member bringsa particularly relevant expertise. Over the decade ofthe NMC’s Horizon Project research, more than 450internationally recognized practitioners and expertshave participated on project advisory boards; inany given year, a third of advisory board membersare new, ensuring a flow of fresh perspectives eachyear. Nominations to serve on the advisory board areencouraged — see go.nmc.org/horizon-nominate.Once the advisory board for a particular edition isconstituted, their work begins with a systematic reviewof the literature — press clippings, reports, essays,and other materials — that pertains to emergingtechnology. Advisory board members are providedwith an extensive set of background materials when theproject begins, and are then asked to comment on them,identify those that seem especially worthwhile, and addto the set. The group discusses existing applications ofemerging technology and brainstorms new ones. A keycriterion for the inclusion of a topic in this edition is itspotential relevance to teaching, learning, and creativeinquiry in higher education. A carefully selected set ofRSS feeds from dozens of relevant publications ensuresthat background resources stay current as the projectprogresses. They are used to inform the thinking of theparticipants throughout the process.Following the review of the literature, the advisoryboard engages in the central focus of the research —the research questions that are at the core of the NMCHorizon Project. These questions were designed to elicita comprehensive listing of interesting technologies,challenges, and trends from the advisory board:1Which of the key technologies catalogued inthe NMC Horizon Project Listing will be mostimportant to teaching, learning, or creative inquirywithin the next five years?2What key technologies are missing from our list?Consider these related questions:

Methodology35> What would you list among the establishedtechnologies that some educational institutionsare using today that arguably all institutionsshould be using broadly to support or enhanceteaching, learning, or creative inquiry?> What technologies that have a solid user basein consumer, entertainment, or other industriesshould educational institutions be activelylooking for ways to apply?> What are the key emerging technologies you seedeveloping to the point that learning-focusedinstitutions should begin to take notice duringthe next four to five years?3What trends do you expect to have a significantimpact on the ways in which learning-focusedinstitutions approach our core missions of teaching,research, and service?4What do you see as the key challenge(s) relatedto teaching, learning, or creative inquiry thatlearning-focused institutions will face during thenext five years?One of the advisory board’s most important tasks is toanswer these questions as systematically and broadlyas possible, so as to ensure that the range of relevanttopics is considered. Once this work is done, a processthat moves quickly over just a few days, the advisoryboard moves to a unique consensus-building processbased on an iterative Delphi-based methodology.In the first step of this approach, the responses to theresearch questions are systematically ranked and placedinto adoption horizons by each advisory board memberusing a multi-vote system that allows members toweight their selections. Each member is asked to alsoidentify the timeframe during which they feel thetechnology would enter mainstream use — defined forthe purpose of the project as about 20% of institutionsadopting it within the period discussed. (This figure isbased on the research of Geoffrey A. Moore and refers tothe critical mass of adoptions needed for a technologyto have a chance of entering broad use.) These rankingsare compiled into a collective set of responses, andinevitably, the ones around which there is the mostagreement are quickly apparent.From the comprehensive list of technologies originallyconsidered for any report, the twelve that emerge at thetop of the initial ranking process — four per adoptionhorizon — are further researched and expanded. Oncethis “Short List” is identified, the group, working withA key criterion for the inclusion of atopic in this edition is its potentialrelevance to teaching, learning, andcreative inquiry in higher education.both NMC staff and practitioners in the field, beginsto explore the ways in which these twelve importanttechnologies might be used for teaching, learning,and creative inquiry in higher education. A significantamount of time is spent researching real and potentialapplications for each of the areas that would be ofinterest to practitioners.For every edition, when that work is done, each of thesetwelve “Short List” items is written up in the format ofthe NMC Horizon Report. With the benefit of the fullpicture of how the topic will look in the report, the“short list” is then ranked yet again, this time in reverse.The six technologies and applications that emerge arethose detailed in the NMC Horizon Report.For additional detail on the project methodology or toreview the actual instrumentation, the ranking, and theinterim products behind the report, please visit horizon.wiki.nmc.org.

36NMC Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education EditionThe NMC Horizon Project:2012 Higher Education Advisory BoardLarry JohnsonCo-Principal InvestigatorNew Media ConsortiumUnited StatesMalcolm BrownCo-Principal InvestigatorEDUCAUSE Learning InitiativeUnited StatesSamantha AdamsNew Media ConsortiumUnited StatesBryan AlexanderNational Institute for Technologyin Liberal Education (NITLE)United StatesKumiko AokiOpen University of JapanJapanNeil BaldwinThe Creative Research Center,Montclair State UniversityUnited StatesHelga BechmannMultimedia Kontor HamburgGermanyMichael BermanCSU Channel IslandsUnited StatesMelissa BurgessAmerican Public University SystemUnited StatesGardner CampbellVirginia TechUnited StatesDouglas DarbyConsultant, Guidhall at SMUUnited StatesEva de LeraUniversitat Oberta de CatalunyaSpainVeronica DiazEDUCAUSE Learning InitiativeUnited StatesKyle DicksonAbilene Christian UniversityUnited StatesBarbara DieuLycée Pasteur, Casa SantosDumontBrazilGavin DykesCellcove Ltd.United KingdomJulie EvansProject TomorrowUnited StatesAllan GyorkePennsylvania State UniversityUnited StatesTom HaymesHouston Community CollegeUnited StatesDeborah HealUniversity of OregonUnited StatesPaul HicksNew Media ConsortiumUnited StatesVijay KumarMassachusetts Institute ofTechnologyUnited StatesJoan LippincottCoalition for NetworkedInformationUnited StatesPhillip LongUniversity of QueenslandAustraliaJamie MaddenUniversity of QueenslandAustraliaDamian McDonaldUniversity of Leeds and Universityof YorkUnited KingdomGlenda MorganUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUnited StatesJavier NóUPSASpainNick NoakesHong Kong University of Scienceand TechnologyChinaOlubodun OlufemiUniversity of LagosNigeriaDavid ParkesStaffordshire UniversityUnited KingdomDolors ReigEl CaparazónUniversitat Oberta de CatalunyaSpainJochen RobesHQ Interaktive Mediensysteme/WeiterbildungsblogGermanyJason RosenblumSt. Edward’s UniversityUnited StatesRolf SchulmeisterUniversity of HamburgGermanyWendy ShapiroCase Western Reserve UniversityUnited StatesBill ShewbridgeUniversity of Maryland, BaltimoreCountyUnited StatesPaul SignorelliPaul Signorelli & AssociatesUnited StatesPaul TurnerUniversity of Notre DameUnited StatesJim VanidesHP, Inc.United StatesAlan WolfUniversity of Wisconsin – MadisonUnited StatesJohn CookLondon Metropolitan UniversityUnited KingdomCrista D. CoppLoyola Marymount UniversityUnited StatesPhil IceAmerican Public UniversitySystemUnited StatesHelen KeeganUniversity of SalfordUnited KingdomLauren PressleyWake Forest UniversityUnited StatesRuben PuenteduraHippasusUnited States

Every NMC Horizon Report draws on the considerable expertise of an internationally renowned advisoryboard that first considers a broad set of important emerging technologies, challenges, and trends, and thenexamines each of them in progressively more detail, reducing the set until the final listing of technologies,trends, and challenges is selected.

T 512-445-4200F 512-445-4205E communications@nmc.orgNMCISBN 978-0-9846601-3-1nmc.orgNew Media Consortium6101 West Courtyard DriveBuilding One, Suite 100Austin, Texas USA 78730The NMC Horizon Report.Now available weekly.HZIntroducing the NMC Horizon EdTech Weekly App for iPad and iPhone. Get weekly updates of the hottest newsin the EdTech world. Search our ever-expanding database of projects, reports, and news about innovations inteaching and learning. Download and share all NMC Horizon Reports. From anywhere. Find us in the Apple AppStore at go.nmc.org/app.