Did you know that most of the children getting into elementary school today will end up working in occupations and careers that do not even currently exist? In fact, as far as education is concerned, a general trend is that soft skills are being taught more than hard skills and are overtaking hard skills in importance. The reason why is that things are changing so fast that the single greatest skill you can possibly have is adaptability.
IT is a particularly interesting area. Most organizations have a shortage of the necessary IT skills, while most students and educators feel that they do not have the full ability to meet the requirements of the IT field. There is a shortage in the workplace and a lack of confidence in the labor force. To fill in this gap, the very education system itself needs to adapt to keep pace with the quickly evolving IT space.
So how will technology aid education in its growth in the future? Here are some of the ways that have already started happening now:
The Integration of Social Media into Education
The growth of social media will certainly have its bearing on education. In the future, learners and educators will likely post their comments and thoughts directly on social media in a more interactive learning environment. Students will also follow influencers just so they can learn more from them.
Increased Simulation and Modeling
There are often many processes and concepts that teachers find difficult to explain. It might be because they are too abstract or perhaps the processes are on a very small or very large scale or maybe they just happen so quickly or so slowly that it’s impossible to practically demonstrate them in a lab setup.
This is where the simulations and models come in. With digital devices, interactive simulations will make it easier to learn about these concepts and processes to be understood by students. Moreover, interacting directly with the simulations and models allows them to better understand the effects of changing different variables in these concepts and processes.
Globalized Education
Education is becoming truly globalized with the help of education, and this can only be expected to continue in the future. With education, students will be able to directly learn languages from natives using social media tools like Skype. They will also be able to learn the culture and perspectives associated with the language in real time. The same goes for the proliferation of podcasts, which enable people to learn anything at any time, simply by listening to a podcast prepared by experts in the field.
Assessment will be more efficient
With digital tools, teachers can keep real-time track of their students and collect assessment data all the time. They can get data like the amount of progress made by a student, the amount of time spent on individual problems, and the correctness of the answers. That way, the teacher gets to discover a struggling student early enough and give them the necessary attention to bring them up to par with the rest of the students.
The Proliferation of E-Books
With the proliferation of e-books, students will not need to carry around large and heavy textbooks anymore. All they will carry are their smart devices, such as iPads and laptops, on which they can store practically countless books.
Knowledge and Skill Games
Games that put players in specialist positions, such as engineer, journalist, mayor, and so on and get them to solve real-life problems will also proliferate. Whether the students are being asked to solve a famous historical diplomatic dispute as negotiators or come up with a new form of mathematical art as graphic designers, these games are certainly innovative and different from the traditional format of learning. These games are about more than just knowing the right answers; they are also about engaging creative thinking to come up with solutions to novel problems.
These games will also teach students skills they can use in the real world as well as impart professional values and standards in them at a young age. These so-called epistemic games will become much more commonplace, thanks to technology.
Interactive Case Studies and Textbooks
Imagine being able to interact directly with your textbook. This is a revolutionary way to look at textbooks. They are no longer just a bunch of text and images, but rather a mix of games, animations, assessments, videos, and so much more. All of these different media are there to help students learn new things in their own way. Whatever questions they might have about the topic they have just learned, they can now have them answered interactively in the very textbook.
Classroom Communities
Classes don’t have to end in classrooms anymore. With the help of technology, online classroom communities will be pretty common in the future, where students and their educators can go to discuss the subject matter they have learned, the assignments they have, interact socially and work together on various projects.
Increased Flexibility
One of the hallmarks of the integration of technology into education is that students will be able to learn at their own pace without having to conform to rigid timelines. People will be able to learn from just about anywhere in the world and move at a pace that is comfortable for them, depending on their ability and the amount of time and effort they are willing to invest.
Learning will be more Fun
With technology, many different types of media will be used to deliver educational content to students. They can learn via pictures, videos, animations, interactive games, and digital projects that all make the learning process much more fun.
There are also lots of available tools that make it easier to get through assignments, especially when students have tight schedules and a lot of responsibilities to meet. By visiting edubirdie.com a student can engage an excellent essay service to handle their homework while they work on other projects that enhance their learning experience.
Learning for Life
Because of technology, lifelong learning will finally become a thing. Online learning means that anyone of any age, occupation, and learning ability will be able to learn anything they want at their own pace. As a result, people will be able to continue to learn new things well into old age.
Wrapping Things Up
We have come a long way from the time when the teacher was the primary source of information while the students passively absorb that information. Now students are gaining more and more independence in their own learning process. IN the future, teachers will play the role of mentors, guiding them along the way as they take charge of their own future in a world that changes quickly every day.
