UPCOMING FEATURES IN EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY!

 Technology is rapidly changing the way we live and interact. It is changing the face of every field and every sector in the best possible way. But the field of education is lagging behind in terms of technology adoption. Considering the fact that education is something that can change the world in a positive way, introduction of technology in education has become even more essential.

            Education technology can help to eliminate current barriers of providing quality education to all across the world. Education technology will provide a chance to widen the imagination of the students and help them to grasp better. The education sector and the entities such as students, teachers, management, parents, etc. will gain a lot from the latest and upcoming trends in education technology. For this reason, we have compiled some of the key trends and technologies that can define trends for the coming years.

           Here are top 5 upcoming trends in Education Technology:

1. LIFE LONG EDUCATION

Just as hospitals and banks have people around them, no matter if they are 16 or 60; colleges should also have that kind of engagement with the public. The pandemic has influenced many people to take up education once again as a way to pass time as well as learn something new with the help of the internet. There has been a 27% growth in the number of people returning to education.

Moreover, with an increased number of 54% of jobs requiring a solid educational background for any industry, it is high time for individuals seeking a job position in a company to be highly educated in versatile backgrounds and fields.

One of the many trends of online learning is that it is highly accessible and convenient to uphold in any circumstance. The amount of time needed to complete a course online is significantly lowered as compared to the rate it took in the previous few years.

2. ONLINE EDUCATION

Even when things like ticket booking, watching TV shows, ordering food is becoming online, education is still behind in terms of online education delivery. Due to the easy availability of internet, the number of internet users is increasing rapidly. The increasing number of smartphone users is providing a good opportunity to deliver education online.

Online education which includes online courses and online examinations are slowly and surely becoming popular due to the interest shown by the working professionals to learn new things and expand their knowledge about technology. More number of organizations like Byjus is emerging to target online education for students.

3. DIGITAL AND COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTS

            Evaluation of students is one of the key areas of academic curriculum. Success of education largely depends on type of evaluation done. Traditionally, the evaluation of the students has largely been focused on theory examinations. The students are analyzed based on their theoretical knowledge. The students usually write theory or descriptive answers in the exams and it is evaluated by one of the examiners. Their success or failure depends on their understanding of theory.

          4. PERSONALISED LEARNING

Traditional classroom based learning involves a standard theory based syllabus taught by teachers physically. The syllabus, classrooms and teachers are the same for all the students in spite of the differences in their interests and grasping capacity. As the traditional classroom based learning is not customized pertaining to the needs of every individual student, it is becoming an old and obsolete.

Let us consider examples of online or on demand streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. These platforms provide us with personalized and on demand television experience. They are removing location, device and timing constraints. Television shows, sports events are being streamed in the personalized manner with the help of these platforms.

Similarly, education delivery or learning process must be personalized. Traditional classroom based lecture process may not be helpful for each individual. Every individual has some strengths, weaknesses and pace of understanding a particular topic. Different students would also have liking or interest in different subjects. These things are different for each individual. Due to these reasons, different students excel in different subjects. Some students also lag behind as theoretical learning is not their strongest suit.

But traditional classroom based learning ignores these facts and assesses students based on the marks they receive in each and every subject. When students acquire fewer marks in a particular subject, they tend to compare themselves with the ones who have received good marks. This leads to unhealthy competition among them which might affect their self-confidence in the long run. These are a few drawbacks of the traditional classroom based education which need to be addressed soon.

Personalized learning using technology is the only way which would help to create syllabus or learn activities after considering every students’ strong and weak areas. Thus, this is one of the trends that would dominate in the coming years.

5. REVOLUTION IN EXAM MANAGEMENT WITH EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

Exams are still conducted in traditional manner which includes exam centers, manual exam invigilation, manual answer sheet evaluation etc. The traditional examination system is not only tedious but it is also risky due to a lot of manual work and human intervention.

But, introduction of AI in the examination management system can bring in a lot of transformative changes in current exam management. AI based proctoring or auto remote proctoring can enable institutions to conduct exam without any need of infrastructure or logistic.

            The recent COVID19 outbreak has badly impacted the education sector. Due to the strict measures being taken to prevent the spread of the virus, there is forceful adoption of technology with live classes, learning, proctored exams taking off in a big way. This has actually helped the education system to commence its journey towards digitization.

            Thus, the education sector is likely to change drastically in the coming years due to the large scale adoption of technology for schools, colleges, and universities. This would not just enhance the education standards but also increase the knowledge gained by the students which would brighten them up as well as the country’s future.

 Anushka-XI