Just finishing the second week of a San Jose State University MOOC, entitled “The Emerging Future:  Technology Issues and Trends.”  So many resources to share — here are a few just to get started:

Organizations To Watch

• Institute for Ethics: Emerging Technologies (Links to an external site.)  “A nonprofit think tank which promotes ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies.” They believe that “technological progress can be a catalyst for positive human development so long as we ensure that technologies are safe and equitably distributed.”

• Institute for the Future (Links to an external site.): IFTF Palo Alto  “An independent, non-profit research organization [whose] core research staff and creative design studio work together to provide practical foresight for a world undergoing rapid change.” They provide tools, research and programs to work toward a global future.

People To Watch (my favorite:  Glen Hiemstra, Garry Golden, Thomas Frey)

• 10 of the World’s Most Groundbreaking Futurists (Links to an external site.) by Patrick J. Kiger for HowStuffWorks.com
• The Most Significant Futurists of the Past 50 Years (Links to an external site.) by George Dvorsky for i09
• Top Ten Global Futurists (Links to an external site.) by Jack Uldrich, from his site Jump the Curve

Trends To Follow

• Rand Corporation: Science and Technology http://www.rand.org/topics/science-and-technology.html
• IT Technology Review http://www.technologyreview.com/
• Inhabitat.com: http://inhabitat.com/
• Tech Crunch: http://techcrunch.com/
• Hudson Institute: http://www.hudson.org/

Lots of great information and this is only scratching the surface — One item I discovered today is “Liter of Light” — an amazingly simple green technology that brings light to individuals who may not otherwise have light in their homes.  And they are developing and bread board that added to the original light that stores light energy for use at night.  Check it out!  http://aliteroflight.org/index.php