Technology is rapidly changing every aspect of our lives, and education is no exception. In the wake of the world pandemic, the implementation of digital learning platforms in the educational processes became a necessity. Since it remains unclear how long students will have to continue learning remotely, many companies all over the world are coming up with innovations meant to improve the flow of online learning.
Here are a few ways of how technology will change online education in 2021.
Primary learning
While older students have embraced technology as a part of their daily lives, younger students might have much more trouble with digital learning. At least, that’s how many parents think about it. However, modern technology possesses many benefits that can make education more fun for younger kids. By making digital technology and social media a part of the learning process, teachers and educators can make sure that kids use it in ways that would do them more good than harm. Technology can also provide underprivileged students with opportunities they wouldn’t get access to otherwise. That way, technology in primary education can ensure that from the very beginning of their education journey every child gets equal opportunities and chances to succeed.
Learning analytics
In a time when real-life assessment and feedback is not possible, technology provides teachers with crucial information regarding the students’ performance. With no real-life interactions between students and teachers, learning analytics are the only way to determine how the students are dealing with the workload. By analyzing how the students interact with the content, programs can give the teachers an idea about how to make the content more engaging and interactive for the students. In other cases, it can help the teachers with grading simple multiple choice tasks and give the students immediate feedback.
Augmented reality and virtual reality
The augmented reality industry is becoming bigger and bigger each year with more and more educational institutions implementing it in their curricula. Although it might take some time and money to implement it properly, it can make a huge difference in the learning process. Geography, history and biology classes can hugely benefit from virtual trips enabled by augmented reality. Instead of reading about other continents and cultures or just looking at pictures, students can immerse themselves in far away places and feel like a part of them. In biology and history, students have to deal with concepts and creatures that don’t even exist anymore, so augmented reality is the only way to bring them to life again.
The benefits of augmented reality can not be underestimated in professional training too. For example, it can give medical students an opportunity to practice their skills in a way that wouldn’t put the patients’ lives in danger. Augmented reality provides medical students with an opportunity to practice anywhere in the world as much as they need to, which improves their chances to excel in their careers. The military is another area that can benefit from augmented reality training. However, it’s important to mention that augmented reality remains quite expensive, so hopefully, it will become more accessible in 2021.
5G in education
5G is one of the most anticipated technological innovations that are expected to happen in 2021. It will make communication between classmates and coworkers even faster and more efficient than it is now. Immersive classes with the help of augmented or virtual reality will become possible for even more students. They will also be able to download their lectures in just fractions of seconds. Besides, 5G will enable students to get immediate feedback and assistance. For example, if they look up Paperhelp reviews, they can get thousands of useful links that would help them choose the best source of academic assistance in a blink of an eye.
Social media
Although some schools still adhere to the “no-phone” policy, many educators have come to embrace social media as an inherent part of their students’ lives. Every year, more and more educational institutions start using social media as a way to communicate with students and their parents. Although private communication with the students outside the classroom might still be unusual, social media give teachers a chance to reach out to their students in a fast and organic manner.
Moreover, social networks are go-to communication channels for students when it comes to organizing and managing group projects. By creating special communities, group chats, or hashtags, students can connect with their like-minded peers, exchange information, and learn new things in their free time. Many educational platforms include a chat feature in their interface. Since it mimics the familiar tools that students use on social media, it encourages them to collaborate with each other in their creative endeavors and motivates them to share their ideas with each other.
3D modeling
3D modeling is one of the technological innovations that have been around for a while but still haven’t become very common in education. However, in 2021, it might change. The benefits of using 3D modeling in education are numerous. Overall, 3D modeling is a term used to describe the process of creating a three-dimensional representation of a surface or an object. Learning 3D modeling at a young age can significantly improve a child’s spatial thinking, which in turn can lead to more success in STEAM learning. Besides, it is a great creative tool that can help children think outside the box and express themselves in a creative manner. In fact, it goes beyond just encouraging students to come up with new ideas — it also gives them a chance to make their ideas come true and test them in real life. As a hands-on learning method, 3D modeling is a powerful tool that engages students much more than lectures and textbooks.
