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Since March 2002, under the banner of the Horizon Project, the New Media Consortium has held an ongoing series of conversations and dialogs with hundreds of technology professionals, campus technologists, faculty leaders from colleges and universities, museum professionals, teachers and other school professionals, and representatives of leading corporations from more than two dozen countries. In the ensuing years, these conversations have been the impetus for a series of annual reports focused on emerging technologies relevant to higher education.
Since March 2002, under the banner of the Horizon Project, the New Media Consortium has held an ongoing series of conversations and dialogs with hundreds of technology professionals, campus technologists, faculty leaders from colleges and universities, museum professionals, teachers and other school professionals, and representatives of leading corporations from more than two dozen countries. In the ensuing years, these conversations have been the impetus for a series of annual reports focused on emerging technologies relevant to higher education. 2
In 2008, the NMC embarked on a new series of regional and sector-based companion editions of the Horizon Report, with the dual goals of understanding how technology is being absorbed using a smaller lens, and also noting the contrasts between technology use in one area compared to another. This report, the 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition, is the first in the series focusing on museum education and interpretation. To date, companion editions have been prepared that center on Australia and New Zealand, the region known as Iberoamerica, the K-12 sector, and small- to medium-sized businesses. The flagship Horizon Report, focused on higher education, is translated into multiple languages every year. Over all editions, the readership of the reports is estimated at over 500,000 worldwide, with readers in more than 70 countries.
In 2008, the NMC embarked on a new series of regional and sector-based companion editions of the Horizon Report, with the dual goals of understanding how technology is being absorbed using a smaller lens, and also noting the contrasts between technology use in one area compared to another. This report, the 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition, is the first in the series focusing on museum education and interpretation. To date, companion editions have been prepared that center on Australia and New Zealand, the region known as Iberoamerica, the K-12 sector, and small- to medium-sized businesses. The flagship Horizon Report, focused on higher education, is translated into multiple languages every year. Over all editions, the readership of the reports is estimated at over 500,000 worldwide, with readers in more than 70 countries.3
Like the university-focused effort from which it emerged, the museum project used qualitative research methods to identify the technologies selected for inclusion in the report. The process began with a survey of the work of other organizations, a close examination of topics previously detailed in the Horizon Report series, and a review of the literature with an eye toward spotting interesting emerging technologies.
Like the university-focused effort from which it emerged, the museum project used qualitative research methods to identify the technologies selected for inclusion in the report. The process began with a survey of the work of other organizations, a close examination of topics previously detailed in the Horizon Report series, and a review of the literature with an eye toward spotting interesting emerging technologies. 4
The 36 members of this year’s Museum Advisory Board were purposely chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the museum sector; key writers and thinkers from education, business and industry rounded out the group. They engaged in a comprehensive review and analysis of research, articles, papers, blogs, and interviews; discussed existing applications, and brainstormed new ones; and ultimately ranked the items on the list of candidate technologies for their potential relevance to museum education and interpretation. This work took place entirely online and may be reviewed on the project wiki at http://museum.wiki.nmc.org.
The 36 members of this year’s Museum Advisory Board were purposely chosen to represent a broad spectrum of the museum sector; key writers and thinkers from education, business and industry rounded out the group. They engaged in a comprehensive review and analysis of research, articles, papers, blogs, and interviews; discussed existing applications, and brainstormed new ones; and ultimately ranked the items on the list of candidate technologies for their potential relevance to museum education and interpretation. This work took place entirely online and may be reviewed on the project wiki at http://museum.wiki.nmc.org. 5
The effort to produce the museum report began in late spring 2010 and concluded when the report was released in September 2010, a period of just over four months. The six technologies and applications that emerged at the top of the final rankings — two per adoption horizon — are detailed in the chapters that follow.
The effort to produce the museum report began in late spring 2010 and concluded when the report was released in September 2010, a period of just over four months. The six technologies and applications that emerged at the top of the final rankings — two per adoption horizon — are detailed in the chapters that follow. 6
Each of those chapters includes detailed descriptions, links to active demonstration projects, and a wide array of additional resources related to the six profiled technologies. Those profiles are the heart of the 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition, and will fuel the work of the Horizon Project throughout 2010-11. For those wanting to know more about the processes used to generate the Horizon Reports, many of which are ongoing and extend the work in the reports, we refer you to the report’s final section on the research methodology.
Each of those chapters includes detailed descriptions, links to active demonstration projects, and a wide array of additional resources related to the six profiled technologies. Those profiles are the heart of the 2010 Horizon Report: Museum Edition, and will fuel the work of the Horizon Project throughout 2010-11. For those wanting to know more about the processes used to generate the Horizon Reports, many of which are ongoing and extend the work in the reports, we refer you to the report’s final section on the research methodology.