Disruption is the norm
“Teaching is just not the same…” said any teacher who has been in the ‘game’ for more than 7 years.
Things change all the time. Education is not immune. Great ideas on how to deliver educational outcomes more effectively come up continually, and teachers are inspired or forced to change their pedagogy. Some disappear just as quick, and the education leaders move on to the next big idea. Teachers adapt to ever changing situations, and acknowledging that change happens is a huge step in becoming a modern and awesome teacher.
With these changes are different perspectives in society, as well as scientific/technological developments. For instance, 50 years ago, the terms “Black Lives Matter”, “Gender Pay Gap” or “Social Media Addiction” weren’t seen as issues. Today, they are huge discussion points and guides to educational matters.
The Biggest Impacts to Education in the last 50 Years
Here we’ve listed some of the biggest impacts to education that have happened in the last 50 years. Scroll down to see our prediction on what is coming in the next 10 years.
- Computers and the Internet: Over the past 50 years, teaching has significantly changed as a result of the widespread use of computers and the internet. Technology has made it possible for educators to broaden the ways in which they may teach and reach students, from the use of computers in the classroom to online education and remote learning. Where would we be during Covid 19 lockdowns without the internet. It assists teachers in planning, sharing resources and communicating.
- Smartboards: Usually referred to as interactive whiteboards, Smartboards have become commonplace in schools all around the world. They enable educators to annotate and alter documents in real time, as well as display multimedia content like movies and photographs. They also enable students to share their work with the class and participate in real time.
- LMS: Better known as ‘learning management systems’, LMSs are online platforms that let teachers manage digital course materials, monitor student progress, and interact with both students and parents. Since they make it simple to develop and share resources and to keep track of students’ progress in real time, they have grown to be an indispensable tool for many educators. The implementation of LMS in various schools has been a huge disruptor of regular methods of lesson delivery, communication and reporting. It has the potential to unburden teacher’s workload if used efficiently.
- Mobile Devices: The growing use of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, has had a big impact on education. These gadgets enable teachers to produce and distribute interactive learning resources, and they enable students to access educational content and resources whenever and wherever they want. At no stage in the history of the world has more information been available at the tip of our fingers than this current age. The requirement to memorize swabs of information and content has been made redundant in the period of 15 years.
- VR/AR: Virtual and augmented reality technologies have the potential to change education. These technologies can be used to create virtual field trips, simulations, and other immersible learning experiences that can help students better understand and retain information.
The Biggest Impacts to Education in the NEXT 10 Years
- Artificial intelligence: Since the release of Chat GPT in late 2022, the potential for the usage of AI in educational settings has gone through the roof. The interesting part is that AI is only in the early stages of development. AI will be used more frequently in education to assist teachers with tasks such as grading, providing personalized feedback, and creating adaptive learning paths. This will allow educators to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks, leading to better student outcomes. However, students will have the capability to use AI as well, which will cloud the effectiveness of certain assessment tools like a research project or essay assignment. Schools face the ultimate challenge – fight AI’s integration into the classroom (and likely fail) or embrace the next step in humanity and prepare students for the future.
- Blended and Distance learning: The usage of a combination of online and offline learning will become more common in the next decade – quite possibly the norm. This will provide flexible and adaptive learning methodologies, as well as increasing the breadth of access to resources for students. The pandemic in 2020-2021 accelerated the use of distance learning and online education, where schools were forced to adopt online learning through digital portals like Zoom, Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams. After evolving so quickly, educators and administrators overcame the first hurdle – fear of using the technology, particularly video conferencing. They also acknowledged that current technology like bandwidth is capable of carrying the load. Online learning allows for more flexibility and accessibility for students and educators, as well as the ability to reach a larger audience. This very method could shake up the definition of a school – does an educational facility actually need physical classrooms or can it exist in the digital realm only?
- VR/AR: Virtual and augmented reality technologies have the potential to change education. These technologies can be used to create virtual field trips, simulations, and other immersible learning experiences that can help students better understand and retain information.
- VR/AR: Virtual and augmented reality technologies have the potential to change education. These technologies can be used to create virtual field trips, simulations, and other immersible learning experiences that can help students better understand and retain information.
- VR/AR: Virtual and augmented reality technologies have the potential to change education. These technologies can be used to create virtual field trips, simulations, and other immersible learning experiences that can help students better understand and retain information.