The Pivot to Digital Learning: 40 Predictions

Tom Vander Ark published this at EdNet Insight and again at EdReformer. Its too good to not pass on here. 

"The education sector has not historically been very dynamic, but this year things changed. Despite the recession, we have seen more start-ups and more cool applications than ever before. More investors have joined the space, and the big guys remain acquisitive. The pivot from print to digital learning, classes to students, seat time to competence is on. Here is how it will play out over one, five, and ten years from now.
One Year

2.	The Facebook-like ability to create groups, messages, and share content is fueling the rapid growth of social learning platforms, and 2011 will be the breakout year—hitting 5% market penetration—on a rapid growth curve.
4.	A state and a handful of urban districts will stop buying print textbooks in 2011 and will shift to customizable digital texts and open education resources.

Five Years

6.	The Common Core and Web 2.0 platforms will boost 2011-2012 venture and philanthropic investment in digital content, yielding innovative, engaging, and adaptive content libraries and related mobile apps.
8.	Widget-rich social interfaces will dominate personal digital learning platforms (what replaces LMS).
9.	The instant feedback from content-embedded assessment, especially learning games, simulations, virtual environments, and MMOs (massively multiplayer online games), will be widely used in formal and informal learning and will build persistence and time on task.
10.	Adaptive content will result in more time on task (in some cases, two times the productive learning time over the course of a year), and better targeted learning experiences will boost achievement, particularly among low-income and minority students.
12.	Most learning platforms will feature a smart recommendation engine, like iTunes Genius, that will build recommended learning playlists for students.
22.	All of these five-year advances will be made possible by a dramatic increase in learning venture investment,including foundations joining the ranks of impact investors. Learning will no longer be a cottage industry.
23.	Second-generation online learning will replace courseware with adaptive components in a digital content library (objects, lessons, units, and sequences).

Ten Years

26.	With nearly a decade of data, second-generation recommendation engines will drive tutoring applications more effective than one-on-one tutoring.
27.	Most high school students will do most of their learning online and will attend a blended school.
28.	More than one-third of all learning professionals will be in roles that do not exist today; more than 10% will be in organizations that do not exist today.
31.	The U.S. K-12 instructional materials and related technologies segment of the K-12 market will double in size despite slow top-line growth.
33.	Blended high-tech/high-touch school models in every urban area will leverage community resources, including museums, theaters, and parks.
35.	As online options expand, a three-year highschool experience including college credit will be common. Early college pathways to degrees/certifications in emerging industry clusters will be common.

The pivot to personal digital learning will change the world—and you have a chance to be part of it."