Education Technology Trends
The education sector has been long overdue to adopt technology trends. The latest educational technology trends are a refreshing change. Since the pandemic transitioned learning from the classroom to homes, we have witnessed new ways of educating.
Innovative trends in educational technology provide opportunities to fulfill growing education needs. Solutions like online classes provide a way to keep classes going, and trends like augmented reality and immersive learning are fundamental to leverage growth and elevate the learning experience.
Since the pandemic made distance learning necessary, it presented a unique opportunity to adopt digital trends that can adapt and carry over to in-person instruction. The emerging trends in educational technology focus on connectivity, versatility and student-centered learning.
What Is Educational Technology?
We have seen several emerging trends in educational technology, including Internet of Things devices and artificial intelligence. This interactive technology has given students a more engaging way to learn, and it has even played a role in assisting teachers with tasks like grading.
In today’s schools, the internet and computers are as prevalent as textbooks and pencils. These devices, paired with ed tech, can enhance students’ performance. Technology can assist educators in determining every student’s needs and requirements and creating personalized solutions. Technology like auto-grading can lessen educators’ burden and provide a more engaging learning experience.
Technology is already part of many students’ daily lives, so there is an opportunity to use it to further their education. Modern learners don’t want to sit passively while a teacher lectures to them — they want to experience. Ed tech allows educators to connect with young minds and interactively educate them. Altogether, the current trends in educational technology help teachers keep up with their students’ interests.
Incorporation of Different Learning Styles
Student needs are diverse, and adjusting the learning plan accordingly can be challenging. Technology can help educators modify their lessons. Incorporating technology can allow students to learn with a medium that interests them. For example, kids who like to draw can create infographics and demonstrate their understanding of the content. Ed tech can help teachers determine and assess all students’ capabilities with a tailored experience.
Improved Collaboration
Technology also increases collaboration among students by encouraging them to work together even outside school. When teachers assign a group project, students are more likely to cooperate when they have access to tech. Small activities become much more engaging when students work together. Technology also helps teachers track who is contributing what and analyze the group’s collective effort.
Improved Student-Teacher Connection
Around 57% of teachers say the internet significantly impacts students’ ability to share ideas with their instructors. From assignments to online discussions, technology has made student-teacher connections more efficient.
Preparation for the Future
Many industries incorporate the latest technologies in their workflow, and being comfortable with technology can make it easy for students to settle in. If students are used to working with technology in school, they can apply that familiarity to work-oriented software like PowerPoint. In this way, incorporating technology in the classroom can prepare students for future job success.
An Engaging Environment
Technology can increase student participation in the classroom. The use of computers, tablets and other types of technology can make lessons more interactive. Students can experience the lectures with technology, and it can help them retain the information better. For example, interactive videos can enhance students’ interest and increase their engagement in the classroom.
What Is Educational Technology And Why Should It Matter?
Many people can recognize that EdTech is devoting technology to promote education. It’s true, but not sufficient. The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) has defined EdTech as “facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources.” On the other hand, educators who actually use EdTech have a much simpler definition of the term. They say that it is a concept of transforming traditional book teaching and learning to digital form. For them, the main difference lies in the way knowledge is delivered (thanks to technology innovation) to make teaching more effective.
Innovative Teaching Methods
Technology is an innovation of humans, so when an educator can apply technology to teaching, it is also innovative. EdTech allows teachers to provide multimedia to address diverse learning styles, such as animation, live video, etc. Besides, EdTech enables teachers to create online courses where students can learn in their own space and at their own pace.
Improve Collaborative Teaching
For example, eLearning is an educational tool that features collaboration by enabling students to share and discuss. Instead of being in a classroom and listening to teachers speak for 30 minutes, eLearning students can join an online group/platform and learn together by interacting with their peers. In this case, teachers are more accessible and act as mentors to help students develop themselves. This collaborative learning approach has bridged the gap between teachers and students and also helps students strengthen their interpersonal skills.
Teaching And Learning Process
Firstly, EdTech benefits how teachers teach, both online and offline. Not always having to go to a specific class at a specific time, students can learn whenever and wherever. Secondly, EdTech changes the way students approach learning. EdTech makes learning more fun and exciting for students. When we feel engaged in learning, we learn better, remember better, and also apply knowledge better to real life. Lastly, technology makes education smarter, more effective, thus, satisfying learners’ needs more. True educators bring valuable knowledge to learners, both in theory and in real life. But smart educators are those who can create teaching from what learners want to learn.
Multi-Media Learning
Multi-media learning is another area where educational technology is affecting learning. The term refers to the use of pictures and words in learning, according to The Center for Educational Innovation. When students use more than just one sense to learn something, the educational experience is deeper. Additionally, some students who have difficulties learning more complex curriculum such as mathematics can be helped through tactile or experiential EdTech. While teacher lectures are still the primary method for delivering course information, they can be coupled with other media.
This, however, demonstrates the challenge of educational technology. The addition of images to text doesn’t automatically enrich the educational experience. This is where the concept of using a foundational “old school” principle to present the additional images in an efficient way comes into play. The fundamental principle concerns the limited capacity of the memory and brain processing along with an understanding of how the brain functions. This foundation is used to develop material that doesn’t deliver a “cognitive overload” to the student. This is an important point because there is such a vast amount of data available that can be incorporated into educational programs.
Cuisinaire Rods
In the 1950s, for instance, teachers used slide presentations to augment their lectures. Before that, however, another interesting tool called a Cuisinaire Rod was used to help students understand addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. These are colored rods of differing lengths that students use to visualize concepts. As a matter of fact, they are still utilized today, as this short video demonstrates. They are certainly educational tools, but they fit neatly into our definition of the digital educational technology because students can access the rods virtually and manipulate them the way they would the traditional tools.
Resources:
https://powergistics.com/education-technology-trends/
https://elearningindustry.com/top-educational-technology-trends-2020-2021
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/edutech
https://www.bestcollegesonline.org/faq/what-is-educational-technology/