Horizon Report

The first trend that I read about was Cloud Computing which is basically when students engage in computing and communication, data storage and access, and collaborative work via cloud-based applications and services on the internet. I can see Cloud Computing becoming more implemented into K-12 classrooms even sooner than the full near-term horizon (within the next 12 months). Well into college, I am using Dropbox and Google Drive to save and access assignments. I even distinctly remember using these online programs in my High School Economics classroom. My Dropbox account currently has years and years worth of assignments and papers that I have done for many different subjects. 

Open Content refers to the current form of a movement that began a decade ago when universities such as MIT began to make their course content freely available. Open Content is projected to grow on a mid-form horizon (within 2 to 3 years) and expand more than it already has. The increase in the Open Content movement is due to the rising costs of education, the desire to provide access to learning in areas where such a access is difficult, and an expression of student choice about when and how to learn. I believe that Open Content learning is a great opportunity for so many people who don’t have the chance to get a good education. However, we must be careful of how much we integrate Open Content learning because we might put teachers out of work with the availability of learning anything through an online class. Although Open Content has and will positively influence many people’s knowledge, we have to be careful that we don’t go overboard.

3D printing has always sparked my interest. On the far-term horizon ( four to five years away), it has become much more affordable and accessible in the recent years. Schools, like my high school, are using 3D printers to illuminate the design process, build rapid prototypes, and create models that demonstrate concepts in the curriculum. I am very interested to see how 3D printers work and to have the opportunity to interact with one. Hopefully, I will get the chance to play around with one in the next few years.