EDU Industry Predictions

Education Predictions for 2014

Released at Educause 2013

As an independent education consulting organization based in Washington, DC the Gilfus Education Group predicts the following top five trends in education innovation for 2013-2014:

• Accelerated degree attainment via wider acceptance of cross-institutional and competency-based programs.
• Adoption of adaptive learning content and platforms that can personalize each student’s online learning experience.
• Seamless interactive multimedia courses developed in responsive html5 that leverage capabilities of mobile devices.
• Advance of “consumerization of education” through open courses and course bundling through e-commerce.
• Re-Architecture, consolidation and re-introduction of platforms that manage the entire learning life-cycle, not just courses.

Education Predictions for 2013

Released at Educause 2013

Education Predictions for 2012

Released at Educause 2011
As an independent consulting organization based in Washington, DC, the Gilfus Education Group predicts the following top five trends in education innovation for 2012:

1. Unveiling of online experiences that are as unique as their on campus experiences, by prestigious institutions.
2. Introduction of student profile-matching and assessment technologies as lead generation tools.
3. Emergence of dynamic and flexible “Adaptive Learning Engines” as replacements to traditional “LMS” technologies.
4. Expansion of SCORM as a more significant content standard for the tracking and reporting of academic progress.
5. Upsurge of tablet devices as the dominant means of delivering e-learning content and courses.

Education Predictions for 2011

Released at Educause 2010
As an independent consulting organization based in Washington, DC, the Gilfus Education Group predicts the following top five trends in education innovation for 2011:

1. Rapid adoption of eTextbooks by faculty and students, along with eTextbook platforms by colleges.
2. Upsurge of mobile devices and applications that facilitate better learning experiences.
3. Major advancements in academic analytics capabilities that elevate eLearning intelligence.
4. Launch of administrative platforms focused on providing improved services to lifelong learners.
5. Rise of major media organizations providing digital education applications with high production values.

Education Predictions 2011 Industry Progress

In October 2010 the Gilfus Education Group predicted the:

Education Predictions for 2010

Released at Educause 2009
As an independent consulting organization, the Gilfus Education Group predicted the following top five trends in education innovation for 2010:

1. Emergence of robust “Enterprise” Open Source Learning Management Systems.
2. Combination of academic and administrative functionality into a more cohesive experience
3. Proliferation of “Software-as-a-Service” administrative and academic applications.
4. Growth of independent content object repositories to support teaching and learning.
5. Introduction of successful learning applications from other countries into North America.

Education Predictions 2010 Industry Progress

In October 2009 the Gilfus Education Group predicted the:

1. Emergence of robust “Enterprise” Open Source Learning Management Systems:

Several companies have embraced open source Learning Management System technologies at an enterprise technology to provide greater capabilities to today’s academic institutions. Those include Moodlerooms with: “Joule,” an enterprise learning management system built on Moodle, Remote Learner with “ELIS,” an acronym for Enterprise Learning Intelligence Suite also using Moodle, and rSmart with the enterprise supported (CLE) Collaboration and Learning Environment based on Sakai.

2. Combination of academic and administrative functionality into a more cohesive experience:

Since November of 2009, we have seen academic and administrative companies pick partners for the big dance. Several companies have partnered up relatively quickly including: Oracle and Sakai, Campus Management and Moodle, Datatel and Moodlerooms, Blackboard and SunGard. Others have chosen to go it solo and released their own internal versions of an LMS including Jenzabar’s relaunch of its e-Racer solution. rSmart is no exception by providing open source enterprise capabilities around Sakai and Kuali.

3. Proliferation of “Software-as-a-Service” administrative and academic applications:

Today, almost 45% of learning management system technology is hosted by the vendor that provides it, while most administrative systems are still locally installed. Companies like TopSchool and Campus Management are leading the way with hosted and SaaS based administrative systems. Expect more progress in this area as schools become more comfortable with the legalities around FERPA compliancy and the launch of secure cloud environments for education.

4. Growth of independent content object repositories to support teaching and learning:

Equella, an award-winning Digital Repository that incorporates Learning Objects, Learning Content Management, and integrated content authoring, developed by the Learning Edge International and the Fedora (Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture) Commons, an open source project originally developed by researchers at Cornell University, have made significant inroads in supporting statewide education initiatives for content repositories while partnering with several companies to provide capabilities as OEM products to larger solutions.

5. Introduction of successful learning applications from other countries into North America:

With Pearson’s acquisition of Norway-based Fronter incorporated into Pearson Learning Spaces and the introduction of SharePoint LMS to North America by Denmark-based ElearningForce, we expect to see new capabilities coming from all parts of the world this year.

In addition, the Gilfus Education Group continues to provide thought leadership to the Education Industry throughout the year providing insights into:

• Enterprise Education Platforms
• Social Learning
• Shared Services
• Promise of Community
• Analytics and Performance