The education that people receive today is very different from the kind of education that their ancestors received during their time. As it should, considering that a lot of time has passed since then. Just like how the lessons and teachings are being adapted to the times, so are the methods of how they are delivered.
If there’s only one thing constant in the world, it’s change. Human civilization is ceaselessly progressing into the future, but they are not just following in the footsteps of those who came before them. Rather, they absorb everything they can learn and then create an entirely different outcome from them.
This is noticeable in the way the world works. Take, for instance, every time a certain smartphone brand releases its latest model and shows it to the world. Once that model hits the markets, the makers will start to improve the kinks in their technology and solve the issues that arose from their previous model to make a better smartphone. And the cycle continues.
The greatest minds alive today are constantly in the pursuit to prove that they are better than they were yesterday, which means they will stop at nothing to make that possible. And the same can be said for the people of the world learns. That’s why education is perpetually changing, even more so because of modern technology. In fact, here are three trends in education worth noting:
The Prevalence of eLearning
The world is currently in an ongoing battle with a global pandemic, which has caused hundreds upon hundreds of school closures in the process. With the presence of the lethal and highly contagious coronavirus looming over everyone’s heads, this made the traditional face-to-face instruction in schools a big health risk.
Fortunately, many schools were quick to adapt to the circumstances and have soon digitalized their educational system. More than a year into the global pandemic, students worldwide are still receiving their education electronically, even if the health restrictions have eased up in other countries.
It’s safe to say that from this moment forward, eLearning will become a major player in education even without the pandemic. That’s because educators have grown used to the changes and are learning how to use this multi-modal approach to education by using different platforms to teach their students.
Besides that, eLearning allows the use of visuals and sounds for learning, especially because it’s no longer limited to the pictures and blocks of text usually found in traditional textbooks. With online learning platforms, teachers can use animations, videos, podcasts, and interactive media to engage their students better.
The Introduction of Virtual Reality
One of the biggest downsides of distance learning is that students can no longer just meet up and collaborate in the same room. While it’s possible to do that through video-sharing platforms, it’s not the same experience that students before got in the traditional classroom setup.
Luckily, technology has found a way to solve this flaw in eLearning—through virtual reality (VR). Students can now get an immersive learning experience with VR even if they are inside each of their homes. It may not be completely the same, but it can offer an interactive experience that comes close to the actual feel of traditional schools.
VR is more prevalent in higher education, particularly in medical schools. This is because educators can use VR to teach and allow students to experience real-life surgeries in a lower-risk environment. Medical students can also use VR for surgical simulations as an alternative to the usual cadavers.
The Growth of Artificial Intelligence
Of course, artificial intelligence (AI) has also managed to find its way into the world of education, just like how it seeped through all the economic industries. Many educators have begun using it in preparation for the coming of Generation AI, or the children of millennials who have grown up surrounded by AI as part of their daily lives.
However, unlike eLearning and VR, AI is more popularly used by educational institutions. Individual students have yet to discover how AI can help them with their education, but educators and administrators are already using the technology to make their jobs easier.
An example of this would be using automation to make grading a breeze because teachers can use AI to grade multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions on tests. The technology can also be used to manage student information systems and libraries and even to provide support for the disabled.
AI systems can also be used to track a student’s progress and provide data-based feedback, which they can use to help them improve where they’re still lacking. The system can also be used to alert teachers if there are potential issues with a student’s performance, just like a virtual assistant of some sort.
Modern technology is changing the way people get and receive their education. There may be some similarities in the curricula, and it can even be the same algebraic equations or grammar rules. But the biggest difference lies in how it’s being delivered, and it will only keep changing from this point onward.
