Good Things Are on the Horizon

With the publication of the 15th edition of the NMC Higher Education Horizon Report brought to you by EDUCAUSE,¹ we continue the important work of anticipating trends at the intersection of technology and teaching, learning, and creative inquiry. The 2018 report, I'm convinced, marks a significant new chapter for both the NMC and EDUCAUSE communities.

As I have shared previously, EDUCAUSE acquired the assets of the NMC earlier this year.² Our collaboration with NMC over these many years has been highly valued by our membership, especially NMC's distinctive dash of intellectual spice. Indeed, it's that flavor and future-focused thinking EDUCAUSE intends to build on in the years ahead—continuing the best traditions of the NMC and strengthening EDUCAUSE at the same time.

What does this mean for both of our communities? Simply that we strive for EDUCAUSE to be a place that NMC members will call home and where they can contribute their innovative ideas and inspirations. Like double-braided rope, we are stronger together, better able to support lifelong learning for higher education professionals working to advance technology innovation.

From special introductions at our upcoming EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in October to events at the ELI Annual Meeting in Anaheim in February 2019, we're looking forward to embracing the spirit of the NMC community and bringing that energy to the broader EDUCAUSE community. And we've already started work on the 2019 Horizon report, beginning to assemble a new expert panel of previous NMC panelists and to invite nominations from anyone else interested.

As the NMC organization closed its doors, EDUCAUSE talked about our "acquiring the assets" of the NMC, an unusual phrase in the higher education world, to be sure. In the end, the exciting "acquisition" was not found in the fine print of legal documents, nor was it found in a website, a brand, or a collection of documents. The real treasure is a remarkable community of colleagues who share our dedication and passion for making a difference—a community that will add a special ingredient to our present and future advocacy of technology innovation in higher education.

Notes

1. Samantha Adams Becker, Malcolm Brown, Eden Dahlstrom, Annie Davis, Kristi DePaul, Veronica Diaz, and Jeffrey Pomerantz, NMC Horizon Report: 2018 Higher Education Edition (Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE, 2018). The report and supporting materials can be found at the EDUCAUSE 2018 NMC Horizon Report website. ↩
2. John O'Brien, "NMC Update," EDUCAUSE Review, February 15, 2018. ↩

John O'Brien is President and CEO of EDUCAUSE.