1. I have discussed this before but there seems to be two competing trends in instructional design and development. One is on very fast, reusable object development and the other is on immersive game and simulation creation. These are not mutually exclusive and there are people trying to bridge the gap (e.g. use objects in games and simulations) but for folks currently working in the trenches, these are far apart. The distance is not just in method but also in infrastructure. Most LCMS vendors seem to be working toward the ability to store and reuse objects while games and simulations tend to have very specific platform requirements or they are delivered on CD/DVD ROMs. There are e-learning vendors working in the simulation space but most are using workarounds to try and get as much functionality of an LCMS as possible. These workarounds often mean quality of the game or simulation experience is sacrificed. Just as TV sets the expectation for video in a learner’s mind, PlayStation and Xbox set expectations for games and we have a long way to go to use these tools effectively.

2. We use to talk in terms of the ubiquity of computing. Now I believe it is the ubiquity of information itself. There is exponential growth in the amount of data that is being created in our environments and managing the flow is going to mean rethinking what we teach and how people learn. Does this mean information will be more embedded in the environment and what we should be teaching is how to process, rather than how to remember? In separate sessions, Tom Peters and Wayne Hodgins described how Wal-Mart currently manages 460 terabytes of data. When their RFID project is complete, they will generate 7 terabytes per day!

3. To move with the speed of change and information, Elliott recommends finding ways to cut subject matter experts out of the process. At first I did not think this was a realistic expectation. What ID has not dreamed of being able to cut those contentious SMEs out of their process? Experts are not training people and creating training materials is always a low priority but, as designers, we often don’t know enough about the topic to create the content ourselves. We have been banging our head against this problem for as long as ID has been around. I am of the mindset that if you have an immovable object, then don’t try to go through it headfirst, rethink the problem! I have some ideas simmering on this front and I’ll post more later. Hint: part of the problem is who we consider to be the "experts."

4. China was the mentioned in a number of sessions and also came up during informal conversations. I believe we are in the middle of a major shift in world economic power. This shift is largely unseen by most Americans but it is something to pay attention to. Tom Peters noted that 60,000 factories opened in china last year. That’s a new factory every 26 minutes! GEM is about to launch a new chain of for-profit universities in China and, if you think oil prices are high now, wait until next year as Chinese consumption rises by 30% and oil company production is maxed out.