Post 6: 2018 Horizon Report Article Reflection

 EDUCAUSE is a website created to help enhance the higher education experience through the use of information technology. In the 2018 Horizon Report published by Educause, the article Key Trends Accelerating Technology in Higher Education discusses short-term, mid-term, and long-term trends that researchers expect to persuade technological planning and decision-making in higher education over at least a five-year period. 

The short-term trends expected to be noticed within two years include a growing focus on measuring learning and redesigning learning spaces. Growing focus on measuring learning describes the shift of assessing individuals by what they have learned as well as what they can do as they prepare to enter the workforce. Assessment begins taking a "T-shaped" form which evaluates an individual's deep vertical knowledge (domain-specific) and broad horizontal knowledge (soft skills). Learning experiences would take a shift to include more soft-skill experiences so students will be better prepared to enter the workforce. In addition, the other short-term trend, redesigning learning spaces, also has a focus on preparing individuals for the workforce by developing learning spaces that mimic real-life scenarios. FLEXspace is a website educators can use to find support and examples of how to design effective learning spaces. 

Interdisciplinary Studies
Retrieved from: Interdisciplinary Studies (weebly.com)

The mid-term trends expected to be noticed between three and five years include the proliferation of open educational resources and the rise of new forms of interdisciplinary studies. The proliferation of open educational resources includes making learning and research materials free and available for everyone. Five years after the release of this publication it can be noticed that universities are making many of their course materials available as open educational resources. This is helpful because it can decrease textbook costs which can relieve some of the financial burdens of obtaining a higher education. The rise of new forms of interdisciplinary studies allows students to combine different areas of study from different fields into one degree. Combining studies will better prepare individuals for the workforce and help them develop as informed citizens because they will be provided with in-demand skills and diversity training. Interdisciplinary studies are expected to give students a variety of perspectives, knowledge bases, and ideas. 

The long-term trends expected to come to fruition in five years or more include advancing cultures of innovation and cross-institution and cross-sector collaboration. Advancing cultures of innovation involves creating new ways to learn. This has been achieved by changing learning experiences to online or hybrid courses and initiating smart technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality to name a few. The learning environments were expected to be more project-based which will give individuals more opportunities to gain professional experience, a known across many institutions as employability. Additionally, cross-institution and cross-sector collaboration also help to develop employability because technology helps to bridge the gap between innovation and collaboration. As technology develops institutions both foreign and domestic can improve learning by furthering research and sharing resources which can also reduce costs. 

Collaboration Image
Retrieved from Pixabay

Since this article was published in 2018 we can see how these trends have emerged in the world of technology. Assessments are focusing more on understanding the process of learning rather than the end result which helps evaluate important problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Also, educators are becoming more conscious of how they design comfortable learning spaces that encourage collaboration and active participation. Valuable materials and resources are becoming available to everyone for free. Additionally, institutions are offering interdisciplinary degrees which can provide individuals with additional skills needed to successfully enter the workforce. Finally, as educators introduce new ways to teach and learn, individuals are encouraged to interact and collaborate with peers worldwide to improve their learning. Although the rate at which technology changes can be frustrating, it is offering us new ways to achieve success in higher education.