The Horizon Report is an ongoing report of the NMC Horizon Project with the objective of identifying and describing those emerging technologies that may have a significant impact within higher education (teaching, learning, creative expression).

The four major trends that they identified are:
1) Dynamic knowledge creation and social computing tools and processes are becoming more widespread and accepted.
2) Mobile and personal technology is increasingly being viewed as a delivery platform for services of all kinds.
3) Consumers are increasingly expecting individualized services, tools, and experiences, and open access to media, knowledge, information and learning
4) Collaboration is increasingly seen as critical across the range of educational activities, including intra-, and inter-institutional activiites of any size or scope

In the Technologies to Watch section one of the six areas (Social Computing, Personal Broadcasting, The Phones in Their Pockets, Educational Gaming, Augmented Reality and Enhanced Visualization, Context-Aware Enviroments and Devices) that is expected to have a significant impact on college and university campuses within the next five years.

Social Computing. The application of computer technology to facilitate interaction and collaboration,
a practice known as social computing, is happening all around us. Replacing face-to-face meetings with virtual collaboration tools, working
on a daily basis with colleagues a thousand miles away, or attending a conference held entirely
online is no longer unusual. An interesting aspect of social computing is the development of shared taxonomies—folksonomies—that emerge organically from like-minded groups.

Thesis Relevance: How can students become more aware of the learning benefits of using tagged information spaces such as del.icio.us and citeulike for knowledge management and information sharing?

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