The NMC (New Media Consortium) Horizon Report 2016 Higher Education Edition is out and identifies six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in ed-tech that are relevant for higher education.

Now, it is important to recognize the sources here: this report is a collaboration between the NMC and EDUCAUSE which are both in-essence lobbying groups promoting the use of ed-tech in teaching and learning. (Related: would this pass the CRAP test?)

Still, these type of reports can be used as a framework to ask: which of these topics are we addressing or discussing @ Westfield State? Below is the table of contents from the report (via Laura Guertin @ GeoEd Trek):

Key Trends Accelerating Technology Adoption in Higher Education

Long-Term Impact Trends (5+ Years)
Advancing Cultures of Innovation
Rethinking How Institutions Work

Mid-Term Impact Trends (3-5 Years)
Redesigning Learning Spaces
Shift to Deeper Learning Approaches

Short-Term Impact Trends (1-2 Years)
Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
Increasing Use of Blended Learning Designs

Significant Challenges Impeding Technology Adoption in Higher Education

Solvable Challenges
Blending Formal and Informal Learning
Improving Digital Literacy

Difficult Challenges
Competing Models of Education
Personalizing Learning

Wicked Challenges
Balancing Our Connected and Unconnected Lives
Keeping Education Relevant

Important Developments in Educational Technology for Higher Education

Time-to-Adoption Horizon (1 Year or less)
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Learning Analytics and Adaptive Learning

Time-to-Adoption Horizon (2-3 Years)
Augmented and Virtual Reality
Makerspaces

Time-to-Adoption Horizon (4-5 Years)
Affective Computing
Robotics

http://hackeducation.com/2015/12/01/trends