You are well aware of, and curious about how your school may benefit by evolving from an analog to a digital delivery model. And the students you are recruiting today have grown up in the FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) generation. Like it or not, these companies have raised the bar in terms of expectations for real-time, high-quality engagement and experiences. Students today know it is possible to have the information, connections, and technology they want and need right now. Is your school prepared to meet their expectations?
Trends in Education
There are numerous trends to have on your radar if your institution wants to innovate while invoking best practices when serving your students. Want to stay ahead of the curve? Check out the insight below:
1. Customized Learning Experiences
Forbes points out the fact that children have different ways of learning, such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic, which poses a problem when it comes to undergoing standardized testing. Fortunately, new digital evolution trends in technology will use techniques such as interactive games, modeling tools, and video production to allow kids to learn in ways that are most appropriate to them. Gartner adds that an individualized experience in education will be furthered through the use of predictive analytics, which use historical data to recognize patterns and assess likely outcomes using statistical or machine learning techniques. Gartner points out that predictive analytics can assist with numerous tasks like calculating student demand for a specific course or identifying students who are at risk of failing, dropping out or transferring.
2. Artificial Intelligence Conversational Interface
Gartner defines this concept as a subset of conversational user interfaces where user and machine interactions occur in the user’s spoken or written natural language. Instead of requiring the user to learn the software, CUIs depend on the machine interface to learn what the user wants. This results in increased student satisfaction, saves the user time and is available 24/7. Stefanini has its own AI cognitive platform, Sophie. Sophie is empowering students to improve their learning and handle the administration of, and access to, their information for a better student experience.
3. Accessibility
Thanks to technology, information and knowledge are even more accessible. Students with dyslexia and other learning issues are greatly assisted by voice-to-text and text-to-voice transcription technologies. Forbes also notes that there is even more information available in video and audio formats, which makes it so learning is no longer limited by the ability to read. Further, accessibility is allowing for students to reach education opportunities that span across geographies. Now, students in rural areas can video conference into schools and other systems that offer the specialized support they need.
4. Internet of Things
Forbes notes that IoT holds a lot of potential when it comes to building smarter, more connected schools. For one thing, IoT can save costs, as noted by eLearning Industry. The EPA estimates that the average commercial facility wastes 30% of its energy. Smart buildings provide the data and insights you need to reduce energy costs while improving use of your physical plant. For instance, intelligent thermostats can balance the temperature inside the building by adapting to the outside and inside environment, saving money for schools and creating a more comfortable learning environment. By installing smart informational kiosks, future campuses can become mini smart cities that track vehicle and foot traffic to optimize load and use smart electricity grids. Finally, IoT-based security solutions include remote monitoring and biometric-based authentication that can be implemented.
5. Security
Kids spend a lot of time online. Therefore, parents will want to ensure that they can monitor the content their kids are browsing. In that same token, higher education institutions are now tasked with implementing new tools that strengthen cybersecurity. eLearning Industry cites new tools like user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA), which detects suspicious activities in typical user behavior.
6. AR/VR
Augmented and virtual reality are both emerging in the technological sphere of education. Currently, these technologies are used in classrooms to create lessons that are more informative. Of the two, AR has proven to be more widely used as it only requires mobile phone access, as opposed to the fact that VR has blockers in terms of costs and content. AR can be used for a broad range of uses, from supporting orientation for refreshments to complementing knowledge in the medical, engineering and science disciplines.
7. The Cloud
Cloud enables access, speed, and scalability. Access to information, in real-time, from anywhere is what everyone expects today and having all of your content in the cloud enables this reality. As cloud technology has evolved, it has become cheaper and more secure than on-premises infrastructure. According to EdSurge, the cloud has the capability to keep student data safe by staying compliant with common privacy and security frameworks. It can also be used to identify students that need help by using predictive analytics, thus allowing teachers to intervene earlier. By creating access to new lesson planning resources, better identifying which interventions are working best and even grading papers, the cloud is making it possible to save teachers’ hours every week.
Technology is always changing and in order to best service its students, the education industry needs to be sure it is keeping up. By getting a handle on the aforementioned trends while staying alert for new ones, institutes of higher learning will continue to be beacons for innovation and education.
Work with Stefanini
At Stefanini, we have a process by which we look at the digital evolution of education: EXPLORE > INNOVATE > DISRUPT
Let us know if you’d like Stefanini to help you accomplish what we’ve been able to do for others and brainstorm even more forward thinking ideas.
