The 2012 Horizon Report will be released soon, at the Educause Learning Initiative conference sometime this month. Like last year, the report points to 6 emerging technologies to watch with the best potentials for teaching, learning and training.

• Short term: Mobile Apps & Tablet devices
• Mid-term: Game-Based Learning & Learning Analytics
• Long term: Gesture-Based Computing and “Internet of Things.”

Contrast this with last year’s report and you will see how technology have ‘move around’ or which technology underwent a lot of changes.

• Short term: e-Book & Mobile Devices
• Mid-term: Augmented Reality & Game-Based Learning
• Long term: Learning Analytics & Gesture-Based Computing

Get more information here and here.

The last time I taught 486A (fall 2010), I did iPAD compatible web design. The iPAD compatible was added because there were so many web design courses on campus that compete with 486A… to the point where I was ready to give up.

Then I went for sabbatical in fall 2011, and hence, did not have to teach it last year. For this Jan (2012), there are now a pent up interest for that course, because quite a number of students had to postpone it due to my semester-long absence. Having been back from sabbatical, I had to offer both 486A and B in the same time slot to meet the need of those who did not have a chance to do 486A last semester. Moreover, I was also forced to consider if I wanted to return to the iPAD compatibility, or offer something more.

I sort of decided on offering InDesign, knowing that the eBook market has taken off (finally after many years of false start, thanks to iPAD), and perhaps InDesign could help teachers create instructional resources for handheld devices. I still haven’t met the class yet, because last Monday was Martin Luther King Jr Day. Guess what?

Apple has decided to move to iBOOK 2, and on top of that, releasing the iBook Author. Is this uncanny, or what?