On January 22, the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative released the 2007 Horizon Report.
The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the NMC's Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within higher education.
The project draws on an ongoing discussion among knowledgeable individuals in business, industry, and education, as well as published resources, current research and practice, and the expertise of the NMC community itself. The Horizon Project's Advisory Board probes current trends and challenges in higher education, explores possible topics for the "Report," and ultimately directs the selection of the final technologies.
This report identifies and describes 6 emerging technologies that are expected to have a significant influence on higher education over the next 1-5 years: "User-Created Content," "Social Networking," "Mobile Phones," "Virtual Worlds," "New Scholarship and Emerging Forms of Publication," and "Massively Multiplayer Educational Gaming". They break them down into likely timeframes for widespread adoption on university campuses.
The 32 page report is available as pdf, but there is also a 13 page shortlist.
With regards to Serious Games, the object of my affection, Virtual Worlds end up on the shortlist> as a real opportunity, to be “adopted in two to three years” whilst Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Educational Gaming, "within four to five years" shall be common place in a variety of disciplines. Cheers!