Encyclopaedia Britannica
Introduction: Bracing for the 2018 rollercoaster ride
2018 is shaping up to be an exciting yet excruciating year for the education world. Exciting because the number of new technologies emerging and available that can enhance student learning in engaging ways is exploding. Excruciating because schools are grappling with how to take advantage of the new digital tools in a resource challenged environment and integrate those with traditional teaching models that can’t be easily tossed away. Sequencing the changes/adoption, cementing early wins and developing confidence are key to the success of the transformation efforts worldwide. Without active change management efforts, the potential to make a positive difference in the lives of every student across the globe will go unrealized despite the plethora of ground breaking learning technologies and solutions.
What do you think will be the main things we'll be seeing in ed tech in 2018?
Immersive and experiential learning options
Learning couldn’t be more exciting thanks to the experiences that can be shaped by technologies including virtual and augmented realties, digital voice assistants that can engage in learning conversations and maker labs that can quickly help one move from learning to building.
Mass Personalization
Understanding student learning styles, creating a successive series of challenging assignment, and providing immediate feedback are critical to engaging students particularly in an ADHD world. Thanks to technology, cost effective mass personalization is a reality and can be the silver bullet for teachers who are left with little option today but to teach to the low or middle (learning ability) of the class, which leaves a significant portion of the class disengaged.
Off-classroom digital learning solutions
With schools trailing in providing the infrastructure to deliver immersive and personalized learning experience, parents are likely to step in to bridge the gap between what is available in school and what the market offers by spending significant money on core and supplemental interactive content, learning experiences and tutors.
What do you think will be the main ed tech challenges in 2018?
Teacher training and development
The fast-paced growth in learning tools and models will widen the knowledge (what to do) and skills (how to do) gaps. Schools need to plan and spend significant amount of time and resources to help teachers learn and take advantage of new technologies in order to enhance student learning.
Interoperability of solutions
The limited number of robust and ubiquitous standards such as Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) are likely to make the integration of various technologies more complex and difficult to extract value.
Rich school poor school divide
A number of schools are grappling with declining budgets and increasing costs. Against this backdrop, it will be hard to drive consistent learning experiences across a region/country despite. The richer schools are more likely to experiment and bring in the right consultants to bring these new technologies to life and enhance learning. Out of the box solution such as public-private partnership will be needed to ensure universal access to enhanced learning options.
Conclusion
Given the personal and transformative nature of education, each of us can play a role in accelerating the transformation and shaping the future. Are you ready to join hands?
Perry Pearcey, Senior Marketing Executive.
Stand: E102