A Publisher's View of eLearning Predictions

It's budget planning time for us again, which in our educational publishing environment means we get to try and make the case for incorporating new technologies into our product development and distribution plans.  And the time of year means that any survey of emerging technologies invariably surfaces the annual eLearning prediction lists.  These lists are frustrating.  As an educational technologist, the list of tools and technologies is exciting -- the options for exploring and assisting learning in new ways is evolving at an unbelievable pace.  But as a publisher I find myself using a much more practical lens -- partially due to the perspective of the part of the industry we occupy, but also due to understanding the real world constraints that cause me to temper some of the hype.  Here's a review of some of the prediction lists and some immediate reactions.