The past few months have seen dramatic changes in the field of education. From distance learning modules to video conference classes, technology is quickly transforming the nature of teaching and in-person learning to meet new demands. If you want to progress at the same rate as every other school, you need to stay on top of current educational technology trends. This list will help keep you up to speed on the trends you need to watch out for.
Gamified instruction
To accommodate the shorter attention spans and reliance on technology of digital natives, education has had to become more immersive and interesting. This explains the rise of gamified instruction, which includes everything from educational toys for 3-year olds to video games for high school students. The use of gaming concepts and technology has made it easier and more engaging for students to learn every topic under the sun as well as exercise their creativity and critical thinking skills.
Online collaborative learning
Collaborative learning involves groups of students coming together to work on a project or creatively solve a problem. Normally done within classrooms, this educational approach has now spread to e-learning platforms due to the proliferation of collaboration tools such as the Talkboard, Edmodo, Skype, and Google Drive. Students now use these kinds of software, together with wikis, blogs, chatbots, and more to accomplish group works and build on their collaborative skills.
Social media
More educators and educational institutions have allowed the use of social media as an educational tool. It’s been used as a means of communication between students and educators (and between students and other students), networking with various learning groups, and information dissemination for announcements, learning materials, projects, and opinions. In a sense, social media platforms also encourage online collaborative learning since students are encouraged to interact with either their teachers’ or their fellow student’s posts.
Video conferencing
Despite many schools choosing to open their doors to students once again in the middle of this global crisis, there are many institutions who are still relying on video conferencing platforms to connect students and educators. The most common platforms include Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, Slack, and Team Viewer. Video conferencing has also helped students with special needs and students who come from more urban, low-income, and rural areas. As the crisis continues, reliance on this technology will only increase as time goes on.
AR/VR education
Augmented reality (AR) projects digital elements to your field of vision, while virtual reality (VR) completely replaces your field of vision with a digital projection. Mixed reality (MR) combines both the digital word and the real word together, allowing you to immerse yourself in a virtual world while also granting you the ability to physically interact with a digital environment.
Many instructors have already begun implementing these technologies into their lesson plans, in the form of virtual exhibits, virtual reality tours, and virtual dissections. Tools like ClassVR, Oculus, Google Cardboard, and Adobe Aero are also becoming more common in schools.
The nature of education has changed, and it’s not likely to return to normal any time soon. In spite of the current global situation, you can still give your students the best possible learning experience by implementing any or all of these classroom technologies in their curriculum.
