XplanaZine

Trends to Watch

The past month has been an interesting one with regards to technology and education. And now that we’re on the verge of spring break mania and then just a stone’s throw from the end of the spring semester, it’s an excellent time to evaluate emerging trends and directions.

1. Learning Management Systems: As I’ve mentioned before, the open source LMS, Sakai, will begin garnering significant adoptions over the next year, particularly on larger campuses or by those that have well-established IT staff and support. Already, many universities are conducting pilot programs and we will begin seeing evaluation reports from those this summer. While many are waiting to weight the impact of Sakai, however, Desire2Learn is the LMS platform making the biggest commercial waves this spring. Desire2Learn is going head-to-head with BlackBoard and WebCT and winning major accounts. The platform, is lauded for its intuitive and flexible interface as well as for its SCORM conformance and robust communication features. Already, Desire2Learn has scored adoptions this spring from larger state universities such as Ohio State University and the University of Oklahoma. These adoptions, added to that of the University of Wisconsin, are significant because they illustrate the weaknesses of older LMS platforms when compared to newer evolutions such as Desire2Learn. Adding Angel to the mix, it is now apparent that content and technology providers of all kinds in Higher Education must reckon with at least five competitive platforms that are SCORM conformant to varying degrees.

2. ePortfolios: ePortfolios continue to evolve both in terms of use and their importance across the curriculum. Of particular importance this month is a new study announced by TaskStream to evaluate the efficacy of that company’s student ePortfolio system for K-12 schools. Called REFLECT, which stands for “Researching Electronic portFolios: Learning, Engagement, and Collaboration through Technology,” the massive endeavor is designed to examine the use of electronic portfolios in secondary education. Those interested in the use of ePortfolios in Higher Education will definitely want to look at the proceedings from ePortfolio Dialogue Day: Digital Stories of Deep Learning for Students and Faculty. Here is Alan Levine’s post on the day and links to information about the presentations that were designed to address the pedagogical benefits and the issues of motivation for both faculty and students.

3. Podcasting: And, it seems not a week can go by without increasing buzz about podcasting. The New York Times has run two articles on the subject recently, one discussing trends in podcasting and the other talking about a new start-up dedicated to making podcasting easier. The bottom line is that podcasting continues to mature as a technology and it is one that portends many immediate uses for education.

4. Educause Report: Educating the Net Generation: Finally, if you’re interested in today’s learner and how curriculum and teaching must adapt to meet the evolving needs/abilities of students, you should definitely check out this just-released e-book from Educause. The book’s premise is as follows: “The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised–one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up.”

It should also be noted that a recent Market Data Retrieval survey of IT officials “suggests a decline of 4 percent in IT spending this year compared to last year, itself a decline over the previous year. Analysts at the research firm said the decline is likely a result not only of tight budgets overall but also of increased performance of hardware, allowing lower costs for some investments.” This continued slide in IT budgets will affect both LMS licensing and support and faculty training and support. With a potential reduction in services provided by institutions, publishers and technology providers will have opportunities to make inroads by replacing or augmenting these losses.