The New Media Consortium (NMC) is an international not-for-profit consortium of learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. Its hundreds of member institutions constitute an elite list of the most highly regarded colleges and universities in the world, as well as leading museums, key research centers, and some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies. (Description from http://www.nmc.org/about)

Two Excerpts from the Report:

Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key 21st century skill, but there is a widening training gap for faculty and teachers. Often not seen as a priority for faculty or teacher training, digital media literacy is nonetheless a critical skill not only for students but for those who work with them. Faculty and instructors are beginning to realize that they are limiting their students by not helping them to develop and use digital media literacy skills across the curriculum. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that it is not clear exactly how to codify the skills or set standards for their measurement.

Open content is a growing movement that focuses on sharing and re-usability and thrives on the ready availability of a wide range of educational content. Offering an potential alternative to traditionally published materials such as textbooks that is highly customizable and cost-effective, the open content movement depends on a community of contributors and users who are willing to create and release high-quality educational content in a variety of media at little to no cost.

Does this sound like education to you? Well, it is, and not too far in the future. The question is, what’s the next action that you are planning to make?

Download the preview of the 2010 Horizon Report here: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2010-Horizon-Report-Preview.pdf
or the whole report here: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2010-Horizon-Report.pdf