Education has changed so much in the last decade or two alone. The way students engage in lessons and the way teachers teach is vastly different from what we used to see. If your parents entered a modern classroom, they’d be stunned by how advanced everything seems.
Of course, tech is at the heart of it all. The technological revolution has swept through the classroom and transformed the way education is provided. Numerous tech tools have been implemented over the years, but what are the most powerful ones? We’ve picked out four that are either changing the landscape of education or have already changed it.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is in the news all the time these days after massive developments in recent years. Things have sped up so quickly and AI has got so powerful that many experts are calling for a pause on its development.
Nevertheless, artificial intelligence has worked its way into educational institutions. Here, it’s being used in many ways to enhance the experience for learners and teachers. As shown here: https://txidigital.com/industries/education, AI technology is being used to customize education, provide detailed analytics for teachers, and help students get better help.
The last point is perhaps the most interesting as it relates to AI chatbots. Universities and schools are using chatbots where students can ask questions about assignments and receive quick feedback. Some schools are even using chatbots that help students pick out good college or university courses based on their preferences.
As this technology develops further, it’s interesting to ponder how students and teachers will use AI to further improve the educational experience.
eLearning
Since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, eLearning has skyrocketed. Reports from 2021 say the industry grew to over $315 billion. There’s been a growth in different eLearning apps since then, with schools and universities hosting entire courses online.
Outside of “traditional” education, eLearning has also allowed people to access educational resources in a new setting. People without the financial ability or grades to go to university can now take classes online and get pretty impressive qualifications. There’s been a rise in free eLearning courses too, with sites like HubSpot offering them frequently.
As well as this, eLearning has been powerful because it’s allowed learners and teachers new ways to approach education. Instead of typical lecture or classroom formats, teachers can hold lessons online. Could we see a future where the school week is shortened to 4 or 3 days in classes and 2 days of eLearning? It’s a possibility, and this could decrease the demand on some institutions when it comes to supporting students in school.
Virtual & Augmented Reality
As of yet, we haven’t seen the true power of virtual or augmented reality in the classroom. But, this technology is slowly coming.
There is a difference between VR and AR that makes them both equally powerful tech tools for education. Virtual reality completely takes away your surroundings and puts you in a different world. This can be useful in bringing more interactivity and engagement to lessons as it almost adds a gamification element to things. It could also be a useful way of teaching certain topics as you can virtually create settings or scenes for students to look at.
Augmented reality keeps people in the normal world but projects images for them to see. Apple has a whole document on Augmented Reality in Education that walks through all of its best use cases. It uses examples like overlaying animals on a desk in biology classes or showing shapes in the air for maths lessons.
The possibilities that VR and AR bring are potentially endless, making this one of the most exciting tech tools to look at in the coming years.
Social Apps
Social apps shouldn’t be confused with social media. Here, we’re mainly talking about applications like Discord. This is a free platform where people can create communities and invite people to engage in discussions. You can have multiple forums within communities, members can talk to one another via tex, video or voice chat, and it allows for amazing collaboration.
Universities and schools are adopting this idea and using it to improve the experience for students. People in the same year at school can join the school’s Discord server and talk to one another. It’s an easy way to get help from teachers or other students while also being an excellent way for schools to get messages across.
Built-in video calling means online lessons can also be provided this way. Closed-off social apps like Discord might be the least impressive tech tools in terms of advancements, but they’re arguably the most practical.
To sum things up, technology has taken over education and delivered a better all-around experience for teachers and students. We’re excited to see what the future holds and whether technology can lead to better education for all.
