NMC Releases Horizon Report: 2009 Australia-New Zealand Edition

The Horizon Report: 2009 Australia-New Zealand Edition was released today in a symposium held at Griffith University's Southbank campus in Brisbane. The report is the second in the series to focus on the impact of emerging technologies on postsecondary education in Australia and New Zealand. The Horizon Report series is a product of the New Media Consortium’s Horizon Project, an ongoing research project that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within higher education and other sectors.

In defining the six selected areas—Mobile Internet Devices; Private Clouds; Open Content; Virtual, Augmented, and Alternate Realities; Location-Based Learning; and Smart Objects and Devices—the project drew on an ongoing discussion among knowledgeable leaders and practitioners in business, industry, and education in Australia and New Zealand, as well as published resources, current research and practice, and the expertise of the educational community itself. The Horizon Project's Australia-New Zealand Advisory Board probed current trends and challenges in post compulsory education as they are uniquely expressed in Australia and New Zealand, explored possible topics for the report, and over several rounds of rankings and dialog, selected the final technologies.

Griffith University Media Release

Technology report released at Griffith Symposium

Technology such as mobile internet devices and virtual realities will have a profound impact on educational institutions over the next three years, according to a report released at a Griffith University symposium today (September 25).

The findings form part of the Horizon Report: 2009 Australia-New Zealand Edition, which identifies and describes emerging technologies that will be influential for teaching, learning, and creative expression in the near future.

The report was launched at a one-day symposium hosted by Griffith University’s Southbank campus. The symposium explored the educational possibilities of emerging technologies and the National Broadband Network.

Keynote speaker for the event was Dr Larry Johnson, chief executive officer of the New Media Consortium – the international body that publishes the Horizon reports.

“The Horizon Report identifies that the swift uptake of new mobile phone models with the capacity for educational applications, combined with wider availability of mobile broadband, has catapulted mobiles into the educational realm in Australia and New Zealand,” Dr Johnson said.

The report also recognises that “virtual, augmented, and alternate realities” will be more prominent tools for education in the next two to three years.

Griffith Pro Vice Chancellor (Information Services) Linda O’Brien, who was chair of the Horizon advisory board for this edition, said information and communication technologies had advanced to a point where educational transformation was possible across all sectors of education.

“The National Broadband Network provides the much needed infrastructure to realise these opportunities.” Ms O’Brien said. She said the Horizon Report would be available online and the outcomes of the symposium would also be freely available – providing a valuable set of ideas for government agencies, educational institutions and educators.

The Horizon Report: 2009 Australia-New Zealand Edition (1.3 MB, 32 pp) is available now. The report is free, and has been released with a Creative Commons license to facilitate its use, easy duplication, and broad distribution.