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I wouldn't have expected BusinessWeek to not be a cheerleader, but...

Media tablets, private cloud computing, and 3D flat-panel TVs and displays are some of the technologies that have moved into the Peak of Inflated Expectations, according to the 2010 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle by Gartner, Inc.

Interesting to see public virtual worlds in the "trough of disillusionment," poised for "enlightenment," while augmented reality is nearing the "peak of inflated expectations," heading for a crash.

Giving all students in a school district iPads could have some really positive results. Having all textbooks combined on a tablet has the potential not just to aid in convenience, but can also allow for students to access more up to date texts. I think that there is also a lot to be said for the potential of an iPad to help engage students in the classroom.

While in theory, the "allow for students to access more up to date texts" is a fantastic purpose for putting content on line and not burning it to a CD or printing the pages, it is the text book adoption laws in each state that publishers battle with every cycle, many of which won't allow for updates or changes to the one they purchase for the length of the adoption.

"Jochim and Siddell's books converge a traditional children's book format, a CD-ROM, a webcam and a computer to create "the same interactivity you could have on an iPad or (a Hewlett-Packard Co.) tablet, but with paper," said Jochim, president and founder of the Tempe-based Digital Tech Frontier."

Interesting topic! One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) founder Nicholas Negroponte plans to airdrop tablet computers in remote villages and then come back a year later to see how it worked. Remember the movie "The Gods Must be Crazy" or the story of "Hole in the wall" in India? Here is the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2_CjRbZ5EI)

Many students are interested in STEM (suprisingly high) and also use their mobile devices to complete homework, but unfortunately not nearly as many in school (6%). It also seems that mobile device usage in school strongly correlates with those who are also interested in STEM fields.

Quick BBC audio segment about the experiences of 2 Ethiopian villages with OLPC's new tablets

An Indian firm has created a mobile device platform that "empowers social enterprises (at the bottom of the pyramid) to capture, analyze and process information remotely through smartphones / tablets". I think this is interesting in it's bringing mobile collaboration to some of the most remote places, physically and economically.

The U.A.E. has gone completely digital at the university level! All first year students got an iPad this year (14,000), and they plan on doing this until every university student has one.

Amazon announced its Whispercast technology to provide centralized control over content distribution, social media, password protection, and document sharing.

Does this affect IT decision making in schools vis-a-vis tablets?

Notes the lighter weight, cheaper price and mathematical typesetting for Apple iBooks will provide an edge in K-12 Ed market

There's been a surge in the number of Infographics published this year that focus on instructional technologies and how they are evolving and being used.

First folding screen phones could come out this year, meaning lighter weight flexible size devices that could fold from phone to tablet easily.

The author has updated his list that he made a yr ago. Comparing to that, he has kept the below 4 from last year's list. (apple ipad&other tablet devices, gamification of education (although last year he used the phrase ''gradually taking hold'' for this), student response systems and other synchronous tools, open educational resources).  He seems to be  an advocate of 'flipped classroom' but as mentioned within the article 'Educators Evaluate ''Flipped Classrooms'' posted by Prof Dede on Aug 29th, whether all of these 10 are 'transformative' is a different question. They are 'emerging' though. Some of the new entrants for this year include those everyone else here has been sharing such as free online courses with potential for credentials, BYOD move within classroom and effective data usage in learning settings. To me it seems like he is closely paying attention to the emergence of the last category. 

The technologies that can have the best impact on education are evolving quickly from year to year, and the pace seems to be quickening.