The latest edition of the Horizon Report came out yesterday. The Journal had a summary of what the report includes. Here is what The Journal said the report predicts for the near-term:

Near-Term Technologies

In the near term--one year or less--those technologies include cloud computing and mobile devices.

For education, the relevance of cloud computing this year--as opposed to last year, when cloud computing was focused more heavily on data systems--will be in allowing schools to expand the tools available for learning and teaching in ways that desktop software, with its restrictive licensing and often high costs, cannot.

"Schools are increasingly taking advantage of ready-made applications hosted on a dynamic, ever-expanding cloud that enables end users to perform tasks that have traditionally required site licensing, installation, and maintenance of individual software packages," according to the authors. "E-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, collaboration, media editing, and more can all be done inside a Web browser, while the software and files are housed in the cloud."

Mobile devices, of course, are already having an impact, but their potential, according to the report, has increased considerably with the launch of Apple's iPad, as well as the new and upcoming slate of Android- and webOS-based tablets that will help solidify the mobile/handheld device class as a well rounded and feature-rich technology category.

"With always-on Internet, mobiles embody the convergence of several technologies that lend themselves to educational use, including electronic book readers, annotation tools, applications for creation and composition, and social networking tools," the report said.

Mobile computing will continue to dominate the education landscape for the foreseeable future. Ubiquitous access, instant on features, and low price point will drive more adoption of these devices. I have seen a huge increase in adoption of the iPhone since it became available on Verizon in the school where I work.

The folks at Mobl21 recently posted an article titled "What makes mobile learning ubiquitous?" Listed below are the characteristics they feel are the key components to ubiquitous learning:

Features of Ubiquitous Learning
The main characteristics of ubiquitous learning are (Chen et al., 2002; Curtis et al., 2002):

Permanency: Learners can never lose their work unless it is purposefully deleted. In addition, all the learning processes are recorded continuously in everyday.

Accessibility: Learners have access to their documents, data, or videos from anywhere. That information is provided based on their requests. Therefore, the learning involved is self-directed.

Immediacy: Wherever learners are, they can get any information immediately. Therefore learners can solve problems quickly. Otherwise, the learner may record the questions and look for the answer later.

Interactivity: Learners can interact with experts, teachers, or peers in the form of synchronies or asynchronous communication. Hence, the experts are more reachable and the knowledge is more available.

Situating of instructional activities: The learning could be embedded in our daily life. The problems encountered as well as the knowledge required are all presented in the nature and authentic forms. It helps learners notice the features of problem situations that make particular actions relevant.

Adaptability: Learners can get the right information at the right place with the right way.

Needless to say those are impressive statistical gains made by the students at Escondido and Canby. Further on in the article it talks about the iPod making a painful process private:

Not only are the students excited by the iPods but so are the teachers. Below is what some of the teachers had to say:

Finally the article mentions that the iRead project at Escondido would not have been a success without the support of the school superintendent Jennifer Walters. In my experience as an educator for any school-wide project to be successful there needs to be buy-in from the entire group of stakeholders i.e. Administration, teachers, parents, and students. Follow the link above to read the entire article. It is well worth your time and there are a number of links provided for further research.

I have stated many times on this blog that I believe the iPod Touch is a very compelling device for schools (Click here to read my post -  Reach out and Touch Someone as I enumerate why I like the iPod Touch for schools). Of all devices currently on the market I believe the iPod Touch provides the best return-on-investment in terms of improving student learning.

Good Reads is social media center or reading club. Below is a snippet from the Good Reads website:

Have you ever wanted a better way to:

Get great book recommendations from people you know.

Keep track of what you've read and what you'd like to read.

Form a book club, answer book trivia, collect your favorite quotes.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop is offering prizes for innovation in children's learning. The website states the following:

One area of specific concentration for awards is breakthroughs in mobile learning. The initiative states:

Follow the link above for more details on the initiative. This is a great opportunity for any educator to pursue an idea they have for a mobile learning project.

Via Cell Phones in Learning Blog