Education Technology
Article | August 4, 2022
The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked protests across the world, bringing to the fore the numerous ways structural racial inequalities persist in Western countries. Testimonials and mounting data have shone a light on these inequalities across many aspects of life. The UK higher education sector is not immune to these inequalities. Significant and well documented racial disparities persist: Black students face a 26 per cent attainment gap when compared with their white counterparts; continuation and progression rates have similar gaps; there are very few Black professors or senior leaders (and few of them are women); and structures for reporting racial harassment are often underdeveloped.
Read More
Education Technology
Article | July 27, 2022
We spend between 24 and 25 years of our lives working, so it would be remiss to think that the learning stops when you step out of education.
On the contrary, at the rate of technology and change it’s clear that upskilling yourself is vital to adopt new skills. Growth, after all, is essential for your career progression, as well as personal growth.
But what is upskilling, how can it benefit you, and what’s the deal with digital learning? In this feature we’ll examine this and more.
Upskill meaning
Upskilling is an investment in yourself (or an employee) to advance their skills, education and learning. It can be undertaken by an individual, or a company, to better further their growth. It can also be important to ‘reskill’ or level-up your learning after a period of time off, as many parents do re-entering the workforce after paternity leave for instance.
Read More
Education Technology
Article | July 14, 2022
The combination of education and technology is a hot topic in 2021. Virtual classrooms and e-learning have become the new norm, and new technologies start to determine early education.
The discussion about trends in educational technology has never been more lively, and it's easy to lose sight of the big picture. It’s worth asking: what's driving today's education and technology integration in schools?
Let’s check which EdTech trends are evolving right now in the industry and how they will dictate the future of the entire sector.
Technological optimism in the teaching profession
The first trend occurs on the institutional level: More and more schools are looking to integrate technology into the curriculum. Worldwide, teachers and schools have been seeing the positive sides of integrating technology. As a result, they have started demanding new, technology-based methodologies to overcome the challenges of traditional education. This curiosity is stronger and louder than ever before.
At the same time, EdTech tools such as Google Classroom allow teachers to train themselves in technology-based teaching more quickly. Former three-day teacher conferences now happen periodically in many schools via distance discussions and practical peer review sessions. In those meetings, educators share their knowledge, tools, and ideas on matching technology with their curricula.
It is a good sign that technology is penetrating further into the professional development of educators. Teachers understand that students’ development depends on their own development and are finally keen to attend workshops and conferences that address technology-based learning.
The rising interest in technology-based education is also reflected among students. As the McGraw-Hill Education study points out, 53% of U.S. college students prefer classes that use and teach digital technology over traditional textbook lessons.
Virtual reality facilitates learning in schools
The second trend is how augmented reality and virtual robots change teaching and learning. One of the most exciting developments is the vast potential that simulations and virtual robotics offer to school education.
For some time, augmented reality and virtual simulations have been on everyone’s mind. However, only recently have we started recognizing the immense possibilities that virtual reality (VR) carries to improve learning experiences. Today, preschool children can explore insects in actual size and authenticity via the Google search engine.
Computer simulations, such as VR, can bring distant or abstract experiences into the classroom and make them technically accessible every day. And with simulations, students can examine “what-if” situations and learn how to test hypotheses and develop scientific rigor early on. In this way, students strengthen their practical skills and logical reasoning and develop their creativity. Some application examples are phenomena like the functioning of the solar system, explosive reactions between chemical substances, or progressions on how CO2 emissions will affect the ecosystem by 2050.
Even if it’s not as obvious, simulations are valuable for linguistics, history, architecture, and other educational fields. Let’s take drones as an example. Students can program a drone and use the simulation to explore the features of bridges and monuments worldwide by doing expeditions with drones.
Artificial intelligence drives personalized learning
You cannot miss the immense opportunities artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have brought to the EdTech sector. The principles of AI and IoT and their integration into students’ learning experiences continue to proliferate in school and at home. Tools such as voice assistants and AI tutors help diversify and personalize learning experiences and boost self-regulated learning.
Software like Duolingo teaches children new languages based on what they’ve learned before and what they still find challenging. Such software also integrates voice recognition and responds in real-time, allowing users to simulate a real-world language learning experience.
Moreover, AI-driven learning platforms collect student data and analyze where a student might need help, send a study reminder, or gather additional material on specific topics for the individual student. On those platforms, teachers can regularly review students’ learning data and take the proactive recommendations provided by AI into account.
The personalized learning experiences that AI creates are crucial to improve students’ motivation and learning success. The goal is to support students in the same personal learning stage and give teachers accurate information on the student’s progress in specific areas. Personalized training makes sure that not a single one is left behind or slowed down because of underwhelming materials.
The year 2021 as a window of opportunity
Not only did AI and simulations open up new learning opportunities, but 2021 also brought sweeping changes at the grassroots level of technology and education. Schools, parents, and teachers have now understood the importance of technology for successful personal development.
We are in the ideal moment to continue transforming teaching and learning through technology. Now, it is only a matter of creatively using the essential tools and integrating new devices–and marking a bright educational future for everyone.
Read More
Education Technology
Article | May 27, 2021
Many factors can influence academic success and your strategies won’t differ too much from face-to-face studies to online learning. But who wouldn’t want some tips to ensure that they are successful in their online learning studies? So, with that in mind, here are some factors that impact your online learning success.
Internal factors
These are the factors that come from your head and your heart, which you can control if you pay attention to them:
Active, timely participation in the course.
Lecturers were interviewed in a study and asked what was likely to predict a student’s successful completion of an online course. By far the most common answer was that “the most successful online students participate early, participate often, and allow enough time in their schedule to ensure effective completion of all aspects of the course.” (Mandernach, Donnelli and Dailey-hebert, 2006). This means you need to manage your time and get involved by asking lots of questions early on.
Personal initiative and motivation.
Although motivation is essential in all aspects of studying, online learning requires a lot more independent effort because of the physical distance between educators and peers. This means to study online you should examine your commitment to the course or programme and make sure you remember “why” you started.
Digital literacy.
The ability and confidence to navigate technology will mean that you have more time to spend on the actual course content, rather than spending all your time learning how to use the new tech. If you are not comfortable in this arena, spend some time doing a digital literacy course.
Reading, writing, and comprehension skills.
Being able to read and write with comprehension will set you up for success. The necessity to explain what you have learned is essential in all learning spaces, in the online space however, this extends to the discussion forums and emails to your lecturer. Being clear and succinct will mean you get the help you need quickly.
Read More