Top 10 Emerging Technology Trends for Education Industry

Technology adoptions have become an indispensable factor for any industry these days. There is hardly any enterprise that is untouched by technology. It is seamlessly changing the face of every industryanddigitally converting its complexities into simple ones.

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Taking things up a notch, the Education industry has witnessed a drastic transformation in a short time. With inventive approaches, technologies are taking this sector to the next level.Technology adoptionshave eliminated the need fortraditional education system and impelled the generation to become digital.

Considering the indispensable facts, Education industries have started utilizing eLearning platforms and applications developed by the best custom education software development company for easy training and learning purposes.

Here we have discussed some of the significant technology trends for the Education Sector.

Podcasts are a wonderful way to educate

“Podcasts are a wonderful way to educate and Wonder Media Network sees this trending with the state of our health crisis in 2021. Currently, they offer a variety of shows but one in particular that has caught attention is EncyclopediaWommanica. Each month has a theme and is five minute episodes, makes it a digestible way to learn.

For a detailed example of this, since National STEM Day was on November 8th. Wonder Media Network's EncyclopediaWommanica podcast is featuring STEMinists all month, Each day there is a new episode that narrates a woman in STEMs story. Women who broke barriers in male-dominaled fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Common threads throughout this month's lineup include how women support other women in STEM and how this is an integral piece of the success puzzle. These STEMinitsts' work and lived experiences undermine the idea that they are less helpful/supportive of each other professionally compared to men. Women get marginalized in their fields, with little recourse to assist other women or to advocate for their work, and yet so many still focus on issues of representation and keeping those doors open for other women like themselves.

Once that recognition can be achieved, women in STEM can and have become public intellectuals. A huge portion of women covered this month were thrust into the public eye specifically because they were women. Marie Curie and her colleagues, mentors, friends and students is one example of the ripples of imprints in STEM.”

-Shira Atkins, Wonder Media Network
 

Data-driven insights via Webinars

“Using data and analysis, institutions will be able to learn more about their students and personalize the learning experience to make it more engaging and valuable on an individual basis.

For instance, most webinars hosted through WebinarGeek feature surveys between lessons. This is an excellent source of qualitative data. It can be used to tailor the content to the needs of their students, ensuring greater satisfaction and usefulness.

We will see this trend expanding in 2021 with not only personalized on-demand classes but also live or automated open houses to advise the students in their next study.

The fact that no downloads are required for this webinar software helps accessibility. All you have to do is register. Through a unique watch link, the teacher can track statistics like viewing time, interaction results (think poll and quizzes), and more.”

- Sanne de Groot, Online Marketer at WebinarGeek
 

Predictive analytics will help higher ed boost enrolment

“Predictive analytics will help higher ed boost enrollment. With one in six high school seniors rethinking their decision to attend college this fall, administrators must get creative to maintain enrollment rates. More and more universities are turning to advanced analytics to do predictive modeling, machine learning and data mining to figure out not only which students are most likely to attend their institution, but also to retain enrollment figures.

Innovations in data science are making it easier to discover patterns in financial aid allocations, student enrollment management systems, and open-source census data. Leveraging the result, universities are able to better plan their marketing campaigns to target individuals who are most likely to enroll and what can be done to ensure student success upon enrollment. For example, Taylor University’s admissions department used predictive analytics to sort 50,000 prospective student applications to fill 500 enrollment spots. With such limited space, Taylor needs to select students who are most likely to attend and be successful in their field of study.

Data-informed decision-making personalizing student roadmaps. Predictive analytics can be used for more than enrollment efforts. Administrators can chart roadmaps to success for existing students while providing well-timed interventions to ensure student success and retention through a unified approach to student data integration and enhanced analytic management. These analytics can determine class schedules, academic programs, and even potential career options for the student.

Data and analytics mitigate the challenges of remote learning. With online classes likely to be part of higher ed for the foreseeable future, universities should use data and analytics to address the challenges that come with remote learning. Integrating Learning Management Systems (LMS) and providing automated real-time feedback to student questions and course progress will provide students the resources they need to succeed. Interactive dashboards can allow faculty, staff and administrators to determine how students are engaging with the material and if alternate methodologies need to be deployed. The end result: a highly interactive, repeatable, efficient learning experience that will keep students engaged and ensure success in their program of study.”

- Deep Uppal from ibi
 

Educational robots

“One of the biggest trends in EdTech is educational robots. While children are experiencing remote learning away from their friends, they can learn many skills through their interaction with parents and with friendly and interactive robot. Talking to people as well as a conversational robot is very beneficial for children's social skills; parents can facilitate conversations by using an AI-powered educational robot with variety of lessons to engage. These interactions can also create family bonding moments that gives a broader opportunity for children to on an active level.”

- ElnazSarraf, Founder & CEO of ROYBI
 

Sustainable EdTech budget

“It is clear that in the K-12 space, every student needs an internet connected device. Once a dream in some schools, this is now a necessity. At the same time, while 1:1 requires a significant financial investment, school districts are reluctant to repeatedly ask the school board for additional funding.

Covid has accelerated a solution

Schools are now selling back their Apple devices to buyback companies who collect, clean and resell them on the internet as refurbished iPads. Based on both the length of the lease and the value of the devices, most school find that the best time to sell them is after year three.

Sustainable edtech budget

Money from the sale of the devices is then used to reinvest in new equipment: every student then has the same current equipment and no one had to beg for more money from the board of ed.

At one time, these devices were sold for scrap, tossed in an equipment closet or passed off to faculty members. None of these strategies produced funding and allow schools to set up a sustainable edtech budget.”

- Paula Currie, VP of Procurement at Second Life Mac
 

A team collaboration tool

“1. We recommend a team collaboration tool: any platform or app that allows people to connect to the platform or app, add and edit content, communication with team members, and work either independently or collectively depending on the project needs.

2. Team collaboration tools in the education industry will be even more important in 2021 with many workers out of the office. In any year, team collaboration tools allow employees to work asynchronously and conserve time instead of aligning synchronous meetings. Collaboration tools provide great frameworks and templates for viewing content and people's contributions in new ways. For example, imagine how you might design a blueprint of a marketing strategy. Boxes, arrows, and text might flow from left to right as we move from conception to success. Now imagine someone else has both a different strategy and a different visual layout (from top to bottom instead of left to right). By putting these strategies online, we can see which ideas are shared, which ideas differ, and how we could arrange the flow in a shared flow. Beyond sharing content, employees can interact to leave comments, make edits, link to sources, upload documents, export content, and even start audio or video chat session.

3. Team collaboration tools should be secure especially if you are working with sensitive material or need to comply with company security protocols. Tools should cost some money to unlock all the features (all great tools will have tiered subscriptions) yet be affordable for the company to purchase (think 10-20 USD per month per user). Finally, tools need to be intuitive and easy to use. There will always be a learning curve with any new platform or tool, and the basics should be quick to pick up with more advanced features easy to learn and experiment with. If tools are cumbersome or intimidating, users will stay away.

4. We use a variety of collaboration tools including Slack and Google Drive, and our most popular among internal and external teams is Miro. Miro is a super-powered online whiteboard that allows teams to create content, upload content, build templates for workflows and strategies, use Miro's built-in templates, host files, embed links and iframes, vote, chat live, and export material. Best of all, each board's owner can set up different security settings to allow no outside access, allow viewing, allow commenting, or allow full collaboration and input. These permissions can be changed at anytime. Short-term team members don't even need a Miro account as they can comment and edit as an anonymous user if needed. We use this feature in a lot of our short-term workshops.

5. To get the most out of a collaboration tool, show your team members how easy it is to use. Show them how the end result and benefits of using the tool. Experiment with it together during an in-person or live virtual meeting and have fun playing around while learning the features. If needed, attend a workshop (Miro has many every month) or bring an outside facilitator to run custom tutorials for the team.”

- Robert Kienzle, Senior Consultant at Knowmium
 

Personalized learning is the present and the future

“Personalized learning is the present and the future as every student has strengths and weaknesses which affect the pace of learning and grasping the particular topic. For example, similar to the on-demand streaming services educational personalized learning is also dominating in the coming years. Artificial intelligence is not only the latest buzz in business technology but also proving beneficial for the digital education system. The reason is AI can help in providing a detailed analysis of student performance in the examinations. Feedback from teachers has some limitations in terms of the ability to comprehend student performance while taking into consideration their historical performance. And thus it is expected that Artificial Intelligence can bring a lot of changes in current exam management.

Another technology is block-chain, an emerging innovation that is also expected to use for maintaining the academic records of students. Currently, mark sheets and records of students are maintained manually which are time taking, with help of block-chain tech, issues of information collaboration will be eliminated. Blockchain technology can also help to store digital copies of the student certificates in a distributed and collaborated environment. Each university only will act as a validator where any authority can validate student documents by requesting verified information of the students.”

- Bilawal Gul, Content Head at Essay River
 

Screenless computing

“Mark Pavlyukovskyy invented Mochi to completely engage all kids’ senses, allowing them to begin a journey into programming and computer science skills. Mochi engages kids aged 3-9 how they learn best: with their hands through trial and error. Kids control a loveable bear named Mochi who rides around in his Lego-compatible robotic car - all without a screen.”

- Rita Tennyson from Orca Communications Unlimited, LLC
 

Teach kids by gamifying subjects

“One trend I'm seeing that's becoming more and more popular is the practice of teaching kids by gamifying subjects. The growing digital industry with all its apps and online curriculums is making it more and more possible to turn almost any subject matter into an engaging digital game. This is a great example of educators going to where their learners are rather than demanding learners to come meet educators in their own preferred space. Kids love videogames, and an educational game done right can be just as fun as a normal videogame. Virtual games' ability to engage learners and keep their attention for a long time can be especially helpful for the large population of kids with learning disabilities and attention deficit complications.”

- Ryan Cook from Smartcare
 

Various online digital learning ways

“In the wake of COVID-19, online digital learning has been a primary topic of discussion. While digital learning is remarkably different from traditional classroom learning, the reality is that - in a world defined by distancing measures and uncertainty - it is the way of the future.”

- Lauralee Sheehan, Founder of Digital 55
 

Get high quality education through cloud computing

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant change to how we live and operate, especially in education. Remote learning is now commonplace as we are faced with quarantines and social distancing for safety. But the demands for a quality education remain extremely high. Many institutions are better able to meet their objectives by migrating to the cloud and leveraging its technologies.

Following the pandemic, academic institutions found they can continue to provide high quality education through cloud computing. The cloud offers an environment that enables virtual collaboration and engagement that is safe and effective. It centralizes an institution's data in one accessible location, enabling enhanced productivity and interaction.

Cloud-based collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom foster engagement between students and staff. Teachers and administrators can take advantage of resource sharing and planning, and greater capabilities for designing, prepping and implementing cooperative programs or courses of study. Security is a significant concern in education, and cloud solutions offer enhanced security protections that on-premises systems are often unable to provide. The cloud makes it easier to run assessments and security audits, and offers features like single sign-on for enhanced control of sensitive data and materials.

While a cloud migration might seem daunting, cloud-based tools such as BitTitan'sMigrationWiz offer a pathway to accomplish the move without disruption or loss of data. MigrationWiz is 100% SaaS and can be leveraged anytime from anywhere, ensuring a migration that is swift, secure and seamless. Since 2017, BitTitan has migrated more than 175,000 users for 225 clients in the education industry.”

- Joe Livarchik from Communiqué PR
 

Allow students to access the remote learning they need

“The most pressing technology need for the education industry is technology that can increase access. During this period of remote learning, a major issue has been that not every student has had equal or adequate access to learning resources. Technology that can improve are more affordable tablets or laptops for internet access, wifi hotspots, or other simple yet crucial ways to allow students to access the remote learning they need.

Beyond the basics of access, there is also a need for technology that can make remote learning more dynamic and fun -- especially for younger students. This may mean interactive, gamified lessons, or educational toys or puzzles to supplement virtual lessons. Through the second half of 2021, as we hopefully move out of the pandemic, expect some educational technology (especially tech that allows for cheaper or more accessible higher education) to remain useful. We should also be prepared for much of the tech that made remote learning possible to be jettisoned as we transition back to in-person learning (and a renewed hunger for in-person interaction and group discussion).”

- ArashFayz, Co-Founder and Executive Director of LA Tutors 123
 

Online classes

“Consumer EdTech. As demand for online classes for both kids and young students has soared, EdTech’s future will include more B2C companies--and new ways to market them. The niche was already gaining investor favor, but with kids learning at home and public school’s districts and universities likely facing budget cuts in the next few years, parents will be shopping for education services in entirely new ways.”

- Candice Stokes, PR Coordinator at Venture PR
 

Automated software

“Educators want easy to use, comprehensive all in one software. The more integrations, the better. The less accounts and technical specifications they have to be bogged down by, the more likely they are to adopt these technologies. Automated software allows educators to focus on their job - teaching and not worrying about the technicalities behind each of their lessons. That's why I believe that technology developers should focus on integrations and partnerships. There are so many edtech tools available that it's overwhelming.

Just as with any industry, there are leading companies like Zoom that are past the technology adoption curve and no longer have to channel all of their efforts on educating consumers about their brand and benefits of their software. Everyone wants to partner with Zoom to get in on their customer database and success, while that may not be possible for a technology startup today, there are other integrations they can focus on to catch up with the competition.”

- Jessica Wein, Marketing Director at MaestroVision
 

Small groups with digital literacy is important for young students

“Small group, project-based learning is picking up steam as a method to help students retain information more effectively. As schools have struggled to reorganize classroom activities to the Zoom environment, digital-first coursework has reigned supreme and will continue to do so as online learning programs built for virtual learning have the leg-up on keeping kids engaged in practical, real-world applications to learning.

Digital literacy is becoming more important than ever for young students: *While the iPad used to be a last resort option for many parents to keep kids occupied while at home, the Zoom school era has confronted parents with a need to help shape young kids' perception towards technology as a *tool rather than as a toy* -- from a much younger age.

There's a lot that's not normal about growing up during a pandemic, and parents are looking for ways to explain the times to their kids. It might be challenging to describe concepts like why social distancing and masking can help flatten a virus' curve as a parent, but top instructors are meeting with students online to describe how data is being used to research the spread of COVID-19, or how artificial intelligence might be helping our world adapt to a socially distant world.”

- Cecilia Xia, Public Relations Manager for Create & Learn
 

Multiple trends will be on demand

“During next year there will be an explosive growth of e-learning platforms. The Coronavirus pandemic, when lots of countries faced total lockdowns, has changed the educational system in the whole world. And here is dominating trends in a development of e-learning platforms:

Creation online ecosystem of education

In the traditional offline educational system, we get used to an understandable ecosystem - these are classes, audiences, libraries, events for students, and so on. And in the online format, such an ecosystem has not yet been formed. We expect the online learning ecosystem to take shape, such as online events, a mentoring system for students.

Gamification

The medley of game technology and education is being used to engage the user and then interact with them. We think gamification will play an important role in changing the teaching methodology next year. Now the online learning system is mainly lectures and tests. But thanks to gamification, new forms will appear.

A.R & V.R. (Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality)

Augmented reality and Virtual reality are set to be one of the biggest trends in the educational mobile app development sector. The driver of this trend is the emergence of better devices and more productive hardware as new VR glasses or high-performance processors. More and more mobile phones are also adding features that support A.R. and V.R.

Voice Assistants

Voice Assistants are becoming more and more popular and better understand speech, and this is certainly a new interface of communications between the machine and the human. In e-learning systems, it is not yet fully applied, only in individual projects, for example, in the format of personal training. But we see that next year a trend will form that Voice Assistants will be integrated directly on platforms.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is a global trend for the last 5 years and it also will grow next year. In e-learning we can apply AI technologies in determining the most correct educational trajectory of each student, which will take into account his context, how he assimilates information, intermediate tests, etc. That’s why the more personalization e-learning systems, the more AI will work well.”

- Alex Dorokhin, CEO and Founder of HuskyJam
 

“Artificial Intelligence can find its application in the testing and grading process. Automatic algorithms check the completed work faster and more accurately than a person and save teachers’ time for other work activities. A striking example of AI-driven solutions are programs for checking for plagiarism and 'fill in the gaps' tasks type. Besides, AI-driven tools can provide useful feedback to both students on the studied material and teachers on students' performance.

IoT technology can replace such familiar material things of the educational process as chalk, blackboard, and pencils with pens. Only one smartphone with an Internet connection nowadays can help find `a lot of textbooks on the network and interact with the student/teacher, which became especially important during remote learning. But in the coming years, blackboards with chalk could be substituted by such IoT tools like interactive whiteboard 'Promethean' and 'Blackboard' learning environment.

Although blockchain is usually associated with finance and security areas, it can be applied in the education area for issuing diplomas. In addition to the significant time savings compared to the paper diplomas creation, digital ones cannot be faked. Thus, a former student can send a potential employer a link to a diploma without leaving his desk and guarantee its authenticity.”

- Maxim Ivanov, CEO & Co-Founder of Aimprosoft
 

Conclusion

Technologies have been instrumental in converting the traditional education practices into digital across the world. Because of the seamless and affordable internet connectivity, technologies have helped the education sectors to take a stormy turn in the market.These technology trends have reformed the insights of teaching and learning processeseffectively through LMS platforms, online classes, tutorials, documents, video streaming, live chats, etc., and intrigued learning curiosity among various individuals.In this blog, we have discussed the technology trends for Education Sector in detail. It will help you in knowledge acquisition and get a glimpse of the future education system.