JISC CETIS has released the "JISC CETIS 2011 Informal Horizon Scan."

Here's an excerpt:

This report outlines some technology trends and issues of interest and relevance to CETIS. It should be seen as a set of un-processed perceptions rather than the product of a formal process; a great deal of ground is not scanned in this paper and it should be understood that no formal prioritisation process was undertaken.

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The University of Melbourne's Trinity College has released Report on the Step Forward iPad Pilot Project.

Here's an excerpt:

KEY FINDINGS:

• Pilot project staff and August Entry students overwhelmingly recommend iPads for use by other TCFS staff and students: 76.2% of staff and 80% of students
• iPads are effective, durable, reliable and achieve their educational aims of going further, faster and with more fun
• iPads have advantages for TCFS over other technologies such as netbooks and laptops
• iPads are not a replacement for desktop/laptop computers or other educational technologies but are an enhancement
• High quality audio-visual equipment in the classroom (such as flat screen TV monitors and document cameras), along with timely IT support, are required to enable full integration and best use of the iPads. Such equipment and support are crucial if the educational aims of iPad use are to be realised rather than thwarted
• iPad use reduces printing and paper use

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Cisco has released Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2010-2015.

Here's an excerpt:

Global mobile data traffic will increase 26-fold between 2010 and 2015. . . .

There will be nearly one mobile device per capita by 2015. . . .

Mobile network connection speeds will increase 10-fold by 2015. . . .

Mobile-connected tablets will generate as much traffic in 2015 as the entire global mobile network in 2010.

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W3C has released "Standards for Web Applications on Mobile: February 2011 Current State and Roadmap" by Dominique Hazaël-Massieux.

Here's an excerpt:

This document summarizes the various technologies developed in W3C that increases the power of Web applications, and how they apply more specifically to the mobile context, as of February 2011. . . .

The features that these technologies add to the Web platform are organized under the following categories:

• Graphics
• Multimedia
• Forms
• User interactions
• Data storage
• Sensors and hardware integration
• Network
• Communication
• Packaging
• Performance & Optimization

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The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and the New Media Consortium have released the The Horizon Report: 2011 Edition. The report is under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The report identifies six technologies that are expected "to enter mainstream use in learning-focused organizations." Each of the six is assigned to one of three adoption horizons: one year or less, two to three years, and four to five years. For 2011, electronic books and mobiles are identified in the one-year horizon; augmented reality and game-based learning in the two- to three-year horizon; and gesture-based computing and learning analytics in the four- to five-year horizon.

The advisory board for the project identified these technologies through comprehensive review, analysis, and discussion of research, articles, papers, and interviews. It then drafted a roster of over 100 candidate technologies, which it gradually refined to the six key technologies appearing in the 2011 report. This year, the advisory board consisted of 43 experts from numerous fields and was more internationally diverse than it has ever been. It included representatives from 10 countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.

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EDUCAUSE has released streaming videos of sessions from the EDUCAUSE 2010 Annual Conference.

Here's a selection of sessions:

• Featured Session: Clouds: From Both Sides Now
• In the Hot Seat: Phasing Out Public Computing Labs
• Track Session: The Academic Library in 2025
• Track Session: Dealing with the Changing World of E-Textbooks
• Track Session: Owning a Data Center Is So Last Century!
• Track Session: Real-World Cloud Computing
• Track Session: A Survey of Video-Streaming Practice and Aspirations in Academic Libraries

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JISC has released Data Mash-Ups and the Future of Mapping.

Here's an excerpt:

The term 'mash-up' refers to websites that weave data from different sources into new Web services. The key to a successful Web service is to gather and use large datasets and harness the scale of the Internet through what is known as network effects. This means that data sources are just as important as the software that 'mashes' them, and one of the most profound pieces of data that a user has at any one time is his or her location. . . .

Since, as this report makes clear, data mash-ups that make use of geospatial data in some form or other are by far the most common mash-ups to date, then they are likely to provide useful lessons for other forms of data. In particular, the education community needs to understand the issues around how to open up data, how to allow data to be added to in ways that do not compromise accuracy and quality and how to deal with issues such as privacy and working with commercial and non-profit third parties—and the GeoWeb is a test ground for much of this. Thirdly, new location-based systems are likely to have educational uses by, for example, facilitating new forms of fieldwork. Understanding the technology behind such systems and the way it is developing is likely to be of benefit to teachers and lecturers who are thinking about new ways to engage with learners. And finally, there is a future watching aspect. Data mash-ups in education and research are part of an emerging, richer information environment with greater integration of mobile applications, sensor platforms, e-science, mixed reality, and semantic, machine-computable data. This report starts to speculate on forms that these might take, in the context of map-based data.

LITA has released a digital video of its Top Tech Trends session at ALA Annual.

The participants were:

• John Blyberg
• Lorcan Dempsey
• Jason Griffey
• Monique Sendze
• Cindi Trainor
• Joan Frye Williams

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project has released The Fate of the Semantic Web.

Here's an excerpt:

Some 895 experts responded to the invitation of the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center to predict the likely progress toward achieving the goals of the semantic web by the year 2020. Asked to think about the likelihood that Berners-Lee and his allies will realize their vision, often called Web 3.0, these technology experts and stakeholders were divided and often contentious.

Some 47% agreed with the statement:

"By 2020, the semantic web envisioned by Tim Berners-Lee will not be as fully effective as its creators hoped and average users will not have noticed much of a difference."

Some 41% agreed with the opposite statement, which posited:

"By 2020, the semantic web envisioned by Tim Berners-Lee and his allies will have been achieved to a significant degree and have clearly made a difference to average internet users."

Experts generally agreed that progress will continue to be made in making the web more useful and information retrieval and assessment more meaningful. They recognized the fact that there are already elements and programs of the semantic web in place that are helping people more easily navigate their lives. While many survey participants noted that current and emerging technologies are being leveraged toward positive web evolution in regard to linking data, there was no consensus on the technical mechanisms and human actions that might lead to the next wave of improvements—nor how extensive the changes might be.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and the New Media Consortium have released the Horizon Report: 2010 Edition.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Today, the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) and the New Media Consortium (NMC) released the 2010 Horizon Report, the seventh edition of this annual joint publication. Each year, the Horizon Report describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education and creative expression over the next one to five years.

The report identifies six technologies that are expected "to enter mainstream use in learning-focused organizations." Each of the six is assigned to one of three adoption horizons: one year or less, two to three years, and four to five years. For 2010, mobile computing and open content are identified in the one-year horizon; electronic books and simple augmented reality in the two- to three-year horizon; and gesture-based computing and visual data analysis in the four- to five-year horizon.

The advisory board for the project identified these technologies through comprehensive review, analysis, and discussion of research, articles, papers, and interviews. It then drafted a roster of over 110 candidate technologies, which it gradually refined to the six key technologies appearing in the 2010 report. This year, the advisory board consisted of 47 experts from numerous fields and was more internationally diverse than it has ever been. It included representatives from 10 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.