Tech evangelists have been saying for years that computers could transform education. The future of learning, they said, involved apps and digital learning tools that would adjust to students’ needs and abilities faster than teachers could. The pandemic provided the much-needed catalyst for this to happen.
Over the past couple of years of disruption, the shift to digital learning has emerged as one of the few silver linings for the future. The spread of laptops and learning apps in schools has enabled continuity of education for millions of students and families, as well as teachers worldwide.
Whether it is language apps, video conferencing tools, or online learning platforms, a huge increase in usage has been seen since 2020. This can be proved by the fact that in the 2021 back-to-school season, digital learning tools replaced traditional school supplies in students’ shopping lists, driving tech sales up 37% YoY.
In 2021, EdTech funding was 3 times the pre-pandemic levels around the world, with over $20 billion in funding. In the US alone, 63% of high school students are now using digital learning tools daily. The global EdTech market is forecasted to grow by $112.39 billion between 2021 and 2025. However, this crisis has also exposed huge disparities for many children facing challenges at home. Going forward what trends do we expect for the education sector?
A Focus on Hybrid Learning
As countries are in different stages of their COVID-19 battle and uncertainty looms, one thing is clear, educators must rethink education and adopt hybrid learning modes. This includes combining classroom experience and physical learning materials alternatively with digital learning tools like videos, quizzes, games, audios, and more.
The call for blended learning will need a more enterprise-wide and methodical approach for the deployment of classroom collaboration technologies. Schools and teachers should be able to readily shift between the physical and virtual world seamlessly. The classroom experience takes precedence here, and technology companies will need to offer enhanced solutions to share information online.
For instance, MagicBox ™ introduced a new calendar feature through which school admin, district admin, and teachers can schedule and set video conferencing, and set up virtual classes when needed. Long lessons will be replaced with more frequent and bite-size modules that enable quicker and better retention. Targeted assessments will be used to test knowledge through the learning process.
Growth of Adaptive Learning Platforms
Another trend that has accelerated through the pandemic is the surge of adaptive learning platforms. Only seen so far in extracurricular support, such tools will become standard teaching aids soon. According to the latest figures, the global adaptive learning market reached $1.86 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach a size of $9.11 billion by 2028.
The benefits of adaptive learning pathways are endless.
- They enable personalized learning, which promotes engagement and positive outcomes.
- AI-driven predictive analytics is one of the huge assets here. Tapping into huge volumes of students data, AI-based learning platforms can collect information like device usage hours, time spent on completing each task, preferred content type, etc. This will play a huge role in mitigating the negative consequences of the pandemic like learning loss, not only in K-12 but higher education as well.
Role of Data Analytics in Higher Education
Studies now prove that data analytics can help identify institutional barriers that promote absenteeism, high college dropouts, and shed light on what steps can be taken towards student success. A 2021 meta-analysis that included 17 de-identified and diverse US colleges revealed major themes that data can help educators solve, such as:
- Drop-in material efficacy post-pandemic
- Social support interventions
- Student advising
- Reducing education inequity
Removing Education Inequity
Removing barriers to access will be another major theme for education technology going forward. The pandemic revealed a grave inequity not only in terms of the digital divide but also in the knowledge of using these tools. For instance, when a school in England started uploading daily work on a popular learning app early in the pandemic, non-English speaking parents couldn’t follow the lessons at all. The pandemic exacerbated historical inequities in Black and Hispanic families in the US. Only 34% of students had access to computers to do their schoolwork in Indonesia, compared to 95% in Switzerland, Norway, and Austria.
Platforms that can support offline learning and multilingual content will be key to removing these barriers. Reliable internet access through state-level funding will also be important.
The Need for an Integration Platform Rather Than Multiple Apps
Digital learning platforms promise multiple benefits if used properly. However, with the proliferation of learning apps and tools, students and teachers can find it difficult to shift between platforms for accessing content, creating and deploying assessments, rostering, course authoring, and subscription management. Integration of apps into a single platform can resolve this problem.
MagicSync, for instance, is the all-in-one integration and education compliance solution that can help teachers and schools effortlessly integrate their LMS and tools on one platform. It enables one-click sign-in for all stakeholders, leading to better adoption rates, more security and compliance, easy course structuring, and much more.
MagicBox™ enables publishers and educational institutions to take education into the future of learning. Contact us to learn more about our award-winning digital learning platform and its success stories.
