The EdTech revolution is gaining momentum: as of today, both traditional academia and the corporate sector are leveraging technologies to streamline the way we teach and learn. Educators are also willing to spend more on digital transformation: by 2025, as research reveals, the global EdTech market will reach $341 billion. Obviously, educators are hoping to capitalize on these investments and believe in EdTech’s powerful potential.
In this article, we will explore how educational technologies are transforming an education system, and discuss the challenges that still stand in the way of their adoption. Read on to learn more!
Hottest Trends in EdTech
So which are the hottest trends in educational technologies and how do they apply in the corporate sector and academia? Below we are demystifying the much-hyped buzzwords on the emerging tech scene and assess their impact on education.
AR/VR
Traditionally associated with gaming, immersive technologies are finding wider application in workforce training. Due to their ability to simulate just about any process and environment, they help employees acquire necessary skills faster and with less effort. In manufacturing, for example, immersive technologies are used to project real-time instructions onto a tablet or AR glasses assisting assembly line workers on the go and helping them learn as they work. Employers can now teach their staff how to operate complex machinery or carry out warehouse inventorization without having to spend months on lengthy training.
Furthermore, applying reality technologies in manufacturing helps business owners optimize their staff, since more work can now be trusted to less experienced members of their team guided by virtual instructions. Highly skilled workers may, instead, oversee more complicated processes, requiring supervision and human intervention.
AI
AI is an umbrella term for a wide range of technologies, including Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Data Analytics and Natural Language Processing. Applied in EdTech, AI helps educators satisfy the increasing customer demand for personalized education. By identifying knowledge gaps, AI helps educators create learning plans tailored exactly to the needs of a particular person.
Another application of AI is college chatbots and virtual assistants. Most of today’s students would rather look for information online than directly contact a professor or university administration. With that in mind, Staffordshire University in the UK has created an assistant called Beacon aimed to help students relieve the anxiety of first college years by answering their most pressing questions about every aspect of their university life. The assistant checks on their mood, suggests interesting activities and, if it indicates that the student might be having problems, reports to a staff member who can assist him.
Cloud
The advent of cloud has revolutionized nearly every industry. In EdTech, cloud technologies provide an affordable means of scaling storage, compute and network capacities needed to power end-to-end student information systems (SIS) like Aspen.
Created by Follet Corporation, Aspen is an enterprise Student Information System designed to satisfy the needs of large school districts (hundreds of thousands of students) as well as smaller ones (hundreds). It provides functionality for students, teachers, parents, and administrators: from storing and processing student information to advanced school management features. Since Aspen is used by K12 educational establishments across the US and Canada, it has to run on top of a powerful infrastructure capable of seamlessly scaling on-demand to meet the seasonal needs of school districts. Initially hosted on premises, the system has recently migrated to Microsoft Azure enterprise cloud, which has all it takes to support its diverse features. A long-term Follet tech-partner, VARTEQ is helping transition Aspen to the cloud.
Admittedly, Aspen is not the only learning management system out there. School districts needed to integrate it with other systems (e.g. Google Classroom, Microsoft School Data Sync, various gradebook and LMS software). We have successfully carried out Aspen integration by using industry-standard API’s such as IMS OneRoster, LTI, and OAuth.
Mobile
While some schools forbid students to use mobile devices in the classroom, other educators are leveraging mobile technologies to create better learning experiences. Since learning management systems run on cloud infrastructure, students can access them from anywhere, which accounts for the rise of distance learning. Students can now learn from home or from virtually any location as long as they have their smartphones at hand.
The spread of mobile devices has also led to the increased use of electronic textbooks, and the acceleration of the learning process. No longer do we need to wait for printed textbooks to be updated with the new information: the electronic format allows for instant changes, so that the learning program is always up to date. Moreover, today’s e-textbooks are often combined with other web-based content (articles, videos, etc.)
On top of that, the use of mobile devices also contributes to the rise of gamification. Today’s students want to learn in a fun and engaging way, and modern mobile devices with their advanced functional help educators meet this demand.
Challenges On The Way To EdTech Adoption
The EdTech revolution is underway, but the changes in the way we learn are taking place much longer than we expected. As educators strive to adopt emerging technologies, they often end up facing a number of obstacles, namely:
1) Legacy infrastructures and processes
Outdated infrastructure and hardware, info stored in disparate databases, employee resistance to change or lack of buy in from academic personnel unwilling to adapt to new ways of working – the digital transformation in education often requires time, investment and a communication strategy to help educators to adopt new approaches.
2) The need for individual approach
In some cases, out-of-the-box solutions and systems don’t apply, since they fail to meet the goals of a specific enterprise or educational establishment. Finding a reliable tech partner to help you build custom-made solutions, or to customize and integrate existing ones can also be quite challenging. You have to look for a reputable company with a proven track record of successful EdTech projects, ideally, one with headquarters in the US or EU and complying with your local standards and regulations.
3) Talent and skills shortage
Once the solution is implemented, you have to train your employees so that they would learn to operate it. Some jobs would probably become obsolete, and your staff will have to adapt to new job roles. Admittedly, adopting EdTech solutions will take a lot of effort.
At VARTEQ we build custom EdTech solutions driven by AI and the leading edge tech. Talk to us now for a free consultation on how you can use EdTech to your benefit!