Predictions, Trends, and Forecasts

2007 Predictions

• Provocative Predictions for 2007
  ...in ComputerWorld, selection of predictions on the future of IT -- from skills to technologies
  "We asked some industry leaders and IT executives for their boldest predictions about the future of IT -- from skills to technologies. Here’s our collection of their most interesting thoughts."
  
• Seven Predictions for 2007
  ...in InfoWorld, by InfoWorld news staff
  "...the approach we’ve decided to take: bringing you five, bold, Babe Ruth-quality predictions of things we think will happen sometime in the next 12 months."
  
• 2006 in Review (And 2007 Preview)
  ...in PC Magazine, Lance Ulanoff offers a critique the 2006 predictions
  "But I will leave you with one more prediction for 2007: Like all the years before it, 2007 will manage to prove most of us wrong."
  
• Gartner Highlights Key Predictions for IT Organizations in 2007 and Beyond
  "These predictions are for general technology areas rather than specific to industries or roles within an organization. The predictions are intended to compel high-tech companies and IT professionals within enterprises to action and position themselves to take advantage of the coming changes, and not be damaged by them."
  
• Predictions for 2007
  ...in eLearn Magazine, by Editor-in-Chief Lisa Neal
  The author quotes from a series of interviews of experts and states "...far too many people are blinded by innovation and fail to stay focused on the importance of quality in educational materials and teaching."
  
• 2007 Predictions from more than 200 websites
  ...in Technology Watch blog, compiled by Desire Athow
  "There are more than 5000 predictions in all. You will find many known and unknown writers and some are uncannily precise."
  
• Mark Anderson's "Ten Predictions for 2007"
  Video or audio versions from Strategic News Service
  The Strategic News Service "is intended for strategic thinkers who depend upon business technology planning. The SNS charter is to provide managers with information that is not available in the press about critical computer and telecommunications issues, trends and events."
  
• TMT Trends: Media & Entertainment Predictions 2007
  Deloitte & Touche predictions include trends in Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT)
  "The media sector has had a vibrant year, and that vigor will continue. The growing popularity of digital music, blogs, ever-larger TVs and mobile phones are some factors that have changed the ways people consume media."
  
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Trends and Forecasts

• Are We There Yet?
  In this 2004 article from Campus Technology magazine, author Judith V. Boettcher revisits her 1999 predictions for distance education. Several of the original predictions are reviewed and re-analyzed to see how close (or far) they were.
• CNET's top 100 products
  Revised for 2007: "Every month, CNET editors take a moment to reflect on the products that have impressed them. From desktops to cell phones and more, don't go tech shopping until you've seen our 100 standout products."
• Future Technology
  From the PCWorld.com this section of articles debates and discusses future technology industry trends. Newest articles are listed first, with the option of moving back through time to articles published in past months and years. Review articles are specified.
• Futures' Features
  From Technology Futures, Inc., Futures' Features is a free e-letter available by subscription or in part via the Web with supplements and additional links to white papers, articles and other reports.
• Pew Internet and American Life Project - Latest Trends
  Data is collected and updated on several different standard reports, including "Who's Online" which identifies the demographics of Internet users, "Online Activities" which provides percentages on categories such as using email, getting news, buying a product, etc. and other reports.
• Predictions for e-Learning
  The Library section of the e-Learning Centre's Web site provides references to several papers and articles.
• Projections of Education Statistics to 2014
  From the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics): "This publication provides projections for key education statistics. It includes statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment, earned degrees conferred, and current-fund expenditures of degree-granting institutions." The data is not specific to distance education.
• The Strategic News Service
  "This service is intended for strategic thinkers who depend upon business technology planning. The SNS charter is to provide managers with information that is not available in the press about critical computer and telecommunications issues, trends and events."
• 2007 Digital Future Report: Surveying the Digital Future: A Longitudinal International Study of the Individual and Social Effects of PC/Internet Technology
  "The Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School is pleased to present the results of the sixth year of our project, "Surveying the Digital Future." The six years of longitudinal research comprise an absolutely unique data base that completely captures broadband at home, the wireless Internet, on-line media, user-generated content and, now, social networking."
• Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast
  This collection of research publications and reports is from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Also included are press releases which highlight industry trends and statistics and a newsletter. Publications are available for purchase only.
• 10 Trends to Watch in Campus Technology — Plus 8 Myths and 7 Key Skills for CIO's
  From The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription may be required), January 5, 2007. "The rapidly shifting landscape makes it tough to keep up with change and innovation, let alone stay ahead of the curve." See also the Serendipty35 blog which summaries the Chronicle's trends.
• Thirty-two Trends Affecting Distance Education: An Informed Foundation for Strategic Planning
  This article by Scott L. Howell, PhD, Peter B. Williams, M.S. and Nathan K. Lindsay, M.S. identifies 32 individual points, grouped by broad categories such as Student Trends, Faculty Trends, Academic Trends, Technology Trends, etc. For example, Trend #28 states: "More courses, degrees, and universities are becoming available through distance-education programs." and cites some interesting sources regarding the growth rate in distance education. In: The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration (OJDLA, Volume 6, Issue 3).
• What's Ahead for Distance Education Students?
  By Charlotte Thomas, Career and Education Editor, Peterson's. This article is one of many resources in the Distance Learning section of Peterson's Web site. The article discusses the fact that today's distance education student may find models changing as both educators and institutions continue to learn the best ways to provide distance education opportunities.
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Some Histories of Distance Education

• A Brief History of Distance Education
  This quick summary is available from the Distance Learning through Telematics Web site, produced by the School of Graduate Studies in Arts & Education at the University of Plymouth.
• Distance Education: A System's View
  by Michael G. Moore and Greg Kearsley's. Chapter Two discusses the history of distance education. A book review written by Fred Saba in 2004 is also available.
  
• From Chautauqua to the Virtual University: A Century of Distance Education in the United States [PDF]
  "A century of experience of teaching at a distance using earlier technologies can help educators take advantage of new technology. Michael Grahame Moore (Penn State University), founder of the American Journal of Distance Education, tries to adjust the widely lopsided view of the history of distance education in the United States in this paper." Paper available for purchase from the Center on Education and Training for Employment of Ohio State University.
• The History of Distance Education
  An article by Michael Jeffries in Research in Distance Education
• History of Distance Learning
  This document discusses the history of distance learning as it applies to adult basic education. It is designed for administrators, teachers, and resource persons seeking general or specific information on the history and state of the art. It appears on the California Distance Learning Project Web site.
• A history of video conferencing (VC) technology
  This brief history starts in 1956 noting the testing of the Picturephone, which was later to debute in 1964 at the World's Fair in New York. Including in the listings (which end at 2003) are notes and references to source materials. Also, a related article on the Picturephone gives some comment on the early reactions to video technologies.
• Internet Archive: The Wayback Machine
  If you have ever wondered what happened to some of those early web pages, then this site is for you. The Internet Archive was founded to build an 'Internet library,' with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. So if your favorite site disappeared off the Internet, there's a good chance you can once again look at it here.
• They Blazed The Trail for Distance Education
  This paper was originally written by James Gooch in 1998. It comments on the historical trends in delivery systems that made distance education possible and practical, particularly at the University of Wisconsin. The review begins with the introduction of correspondence study classes for off-campus students in 1891 and extends to computerized and satellite-delivered systems.