Horizon Report

2009 Horizon Report: The K12 Edition
Although the Horizon Report was quite long, it is useful as not only did it contain definitions and examples of technology, but also actual lesson plans that Teacher Librarians could search through and share with teachers.
While scimming through the site langwiches I found two lessons that I have shared with collegues: Using Skype to connect students and How to guide for Digital Storytelling. The teachers have just browsed through the lessons, but have agreed to get together to discuss what they plan to do with the information. I also suggested the site access my library: video conferencing to a third staff member, but have yet to hear back from him.
A second part of the report was a Time-to Adoption. Different definitions and forms of technology were discussed in this section. Happily, I recognized some of the technologies being discussed, Electronic Books, Simple Augmented Reality, Gesture- Based Computing and also agreed with some of the statements in this section. The Open Content area states that “ As a result, the role of the teacher is undergoing a slow but definite change, from the guardian and dispenser of knowledge to the guide and coach for learners faced with an overabundance of resources”. I find myself in this situation in the upcoming semester. I will be “teaching” a Communications 11/12 class. In reality, I am teaching the Communication 11 students, while the Communication 12 students take the course via Ebus, an online school.
Challenges were discussed in different parts of the report. In the Preview section of the report one can find Critical Challenges. As an educator, it was refreshing to see that some people acknowledge the challenges that Teacher Librarians face. The following were listed as the challenges:
The role of the academy- and the way we prepare students for their future lives- is changing.

New scholarly forms of authoring, publishing and researching continue to emerge but appropriate metrics for evaluating them increasingly lag behind or fail to appear.
Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key 21st century skill, but here is a widening training gap for faculty and teachers.

Institutions increasingly focus more narrowly on key goals, as a result of shrinking budgets in the present economic climate.

These challenges do exist in today’s school system. Some of them we can attempt to break and others are in the control of others. My goal is to train myself and then to provide some training in digital media literacy skills via my Literacy Coordinator position and hopefully to continue providing guidance as a Teacher Librarian.

The Horizon report also trends and challenges that reflect “
the impact of emerging technologies and practices on our lives.”
Basically the section discusses the impact of the six technologies in the report .
The first challenge states that “ Issues of assessment and integration of new literacies across the curriculum, and of teacher training, are complicated by the overarching need for a fuller understanding of what constitutes new literacy skills. “ The IRP’s need to be revised and reflect these issues of assessment.
The second challenge listed states “ Students are different, but educational practice and the material that supports it is changing only slowly. It is stated that teaching practice and resources must change in order to support such a change. This includes assessment practices that have not kept pace with the new modes. In B.C. grade 10 and 12 students must still write traditional provincial exams. Although it may not be right, many teachers focus their lessons on these exams. Can they prepare students for the exams using new technologies? OF course they can, however many are afraid to change what they are doing because their students perform well on the provincial tests and in the public’s eye excellent results means excellent teaching skills.
The third challenge involves incorporating real life experiences into classrooms. Real life experiences aid students to prepare for the real world. However, technology is not the only means of incorporating real life situations into the classroom. The report itself mentions items such as project based- learning and mentoring from community members.
The next challenge deals with adopting and using new technologies everyday in the classroom. This is difficult for many educators as we do not have the adequate training or preparation time to do this. Time and education are necessary for this shift to take place.
The last challenge mentioned is the structure of the education system. How true this is. I myself have run into teachers reluctant to make the change because of the focus of the current system. I have mentioned this several times before: The Ministry of Education has to catch up to the 21st Century. Once this happens, some teachers will be much more inclined to change their ways.