UNIR contributes to the 2016 Horizon Report on Higher Education expert panel seeking for the future of education

 The expert panel has selected the key trends, challenges, and developments in educational technology that will have a decisive impact in the next years. Through the Vice-chancellorship for Research and Technology (UNIR Research, //research.unir.net), the UNESCO Chair on eLearning and the ICDE Chair in Open Educational Resources (//research.unir.net/unesco), Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR) has supported this report.   

 

14th January, Madrid. Along with the Horizon Report translation in to Spanish, carried out by UNIR Research (//research.unir.net), they have a role in the elaboration of the upcoming NMC Horizon Report 2016 Higher Education Edition through the expert panel. In an initial survey, a number of specialist worldwide has selected the six trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in educational technology. Prof. Dr. Daniel Burgos, from UNIR, has been the appointed contributor from Spain.

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According to NMC and EDUCAUSE, “NMC Horizon Report > 2016 Higher Education Edition, to be released at the ELI Annual Meeting in February. The project and resulting report is a collaboration with the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). These are the topic poised to have a major impact on teaching, learning, and creative inquiry in higher education across the globe”.

The results of this survey has been released recently by NMC and they are signaling this groups of trends:

     1. Key Trends Accelerating Higher Education Technology Adpotion

        1.1 Long-Term Impact Trends: Accelerating technology adoption in Higher Education for five or more years.

  • Advancing Cultures of Change and Innovation
  • Rethinking How Institutions Work

        1.2 Mid-Term Impact Trends: Accelerating technology adoption in Higher Education for the next three to five years

  • Redesigning Learning Spaces
  • Shift to Deep Learning Approaches

       1.3 Short-Term Impact Trends: Accelerating technology adoption in Higher Education for the next one to two years

  • Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
  • Increasing Use of Blended Learning Designs

    2. Significant Challenges Impeding Higher Education Technology Adoption

         2.1 Solvable Challenges: Those which we both understand and know how to solve

  • Blending Formal and Informal Learning
  • Improving Digital Literacy

        2.2 Difficult Challenges: Those we understand but for which solutions are elusive

  • Competing Models of Education
  • Personalizing Learning

       2.3 Wicked Challenges: Those that are complex to even define, much less address

  • Balancing Our Connected and Unconnected Lives
  • Keeping Education Relevant

    3. Important Developments in Technology for Higher Education

       3.1 Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

  • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
  • Learning Analytics & Adaptive Learning

       3.2 Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years

  • Augmented Reality
  • Makerspaces

      3.3 Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years

  • Affective Computing
  • Robotics

 

Author:

Carlos Fernández-Alameda

Science Journalist

UNIR Research UCC+i 

More info: research.ucc(at)unir.net