10 years, 20 countries, 100 thought leaders

For the next two days, I’m in Central Texas for New Media Consortium‘s The Future of Education: The Horizon Project Retreat.

Since 2002, NMC has brought hundreds of technologists, educators, college and university faculty, museum professionals and corporate representatives together to examine how emerging technologies impact informal and formal learning in the K-12, higher education and museum sectors.  The findings are discussed openly and then freely shared through the resulting reports.

I eagerly read the Horizon Report: 2010 Museum Edition and immediately shared it with my co-workers. It was exciting because the report provided scholarly substantiation for many of the technology-based initiatives the Education Department was trying to establish and served as validation for the forward-thinking programs already in progress.

When the call for Advisory Board members for the 2011 report went out, I gave it a shot. So much time passed between applying and notification that I assumed it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Needless to say, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to serve.

Contributing to the 2011 Museum Edition of the Horizon Report was an unforgettable experience and I’m honored to be part of the collaborative community that has arisen from ten years of helping educators “facilitate global collaboration and encourage smarter discovery and dissemination of emerging learning approaches.”

I’ll try to tweet as much as I’m able but you can follow the conversation on #NMChz. Britt Watwood provided a quick wrap-up of tonight’s opening session (I’m still in awe of how David Sibbet’s visual mapping brought our conversation to life.)