Staff Reporter
TECHNOLOGY and education go hand in hand. After all, there’s only so much that we can learn by repeating lists from memory or staring at words on a blackboard. This is especially true in today’s day and age, when technology has established itself across every part of our daily lives.
The statistics highlight this, with the educational technology (edtech) industry set to reach a value of $252 billion by 2020. Even as far back as 2013, a whopping 86% of teachers believed that it was either “important” or “absolutely essential” to use technology in the classroom.
But how exactly will technology change education in the next ten years or so? You’re about to find out.
10 Incredible Ways Technology Will Change Education By 2028
1. Virtual field trips
One of the most exciting blends of technology and education comes to us via the use of virtual reality headsets to take students on virtual field trips. No longer constrained by the laws of time and space, they could visit anywhere in the world and at any time period in history.
2. Suites of apps
If you think that smartphone apps are useful now, you wait until you see what the future has to bring. As designers and developers get better and better and we come up with new ways to use technology in education, expect to see an explosion in the quality and quantity of apps that are available to us.
3. Smarter essay writing help
From robotic virtual assistants to AI and machine learning based essay writing help, future technology in education will change the way that students revise and complete assignments.
4. Personalised learning
We’re already used to receiving a personalized service from the social networking sites that we use and the services that we take advantage of. Marketing departments are already using personalization to increase the chances of us making a purchase, so why shouldn’t our schools be using it to increase the chances of us learning something?
5. Remote learning
Remote learning and distance learning programs have undergone a renaissance in recent years, and don’t be surprised if the trend continues into the future. Via remote learning, a single lecturer can address an audience of unlimited size, and we can also provide better learning opportunities for people in isolated and rural areas.
6. Gamification
Adding gamification features is a surefire way to increase engagement, so why not use them in education? It’s a little bit like traditional house point systems, like we’re familiar with from Harry Potter, but specifically designed for our digital society. Badges, points and leaderboards can incentivize students to be at their best.
7. Interactive multimedia
Gone are the days of old textbooks with pages that are falling apart and graffiti from some long-gone student all over the cover. Students are already used to using interactive multimedia, but the phenomenon will only continue as new devices and new technologies such as 3D video change the way that we interact with our learning materials.
8. New types of lessons
Don’t be surprised if we see programming languages being given the same weight as foreign languages in school curricula. At the same time, lessons will change from being about information retrieval (because anyone can do that with a Google search) and focus on understanding theories and being able to apply them in practical use cases.
9. Simulations
One way to give students these practical situations is to use simulations. For example, if discussing chemical reactions, it’s much safer to allow students to run computerized simulations than it is to unleash them on a science lab and to tell them to do their worst. Simulation software could even use machine learning to get to know each user and to provide tailored recommendations to help to boost their education.
10. Greater self-directed learning
Today’s kids are used to taking responsibility for entertaining themselves, and so giving them the responsibility for teaching themselves can help to encourage students to buy into their own education. It’ll need some monitoring, of course, but self-directed learning programs through school-approved technology could broaden the scope of what can be taught in schools whilst engaging pupils via subjects that they’re actively interested in.
Conclusion
Technology has already made a good start on revolutionizing every aspect of our lives, from the way that we relax to the way that we work. It’s also already firmly established in our classrooms, and at a level far beyond the traditional “computer room”.
At the same time, IT skills have gone from being a discipline of their own to being the new normal, with students required to navigate new technologies on a daily basis if they’re to make the most of their learning opportunities.
The good news is that instead of being a distraction, technology offers us a huge opportunity to make sure that every student reaches their full potential. The real question is whether we’ll be able to harness it.
Author Bio
Alyssa Johnson is a freelance writer. She specializes in writing about education and its intersection with the technology industry. She loves gadgets and spends more money than she should do on consumer electronics.
