Imagine ten years from now you had a chance to travel back in time and talk to your younger self. Which emerging trends would you tell your younger self to exploit so as to succeed in all of your academic goals? Since we don’t have a time machine, let’s make an informed guess as to which trends in ict hold the most promise for students and scholars at any level.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Advances in virtual reality and augmented reality, since their inception, set out to disrupt numerous fields. Perhaps one of the biggest benefactors of virtual reality and augmented reality is education. game. Pokemon Go, a mobile game, is one of the best examples of how virtual content can be layered on everyday life as well as the increased affordability of deploying VR and AR technologies.
As one of the upcoming ict trends, AR and VR have infiltrated the pedagogy space to redefine and disrupt how people learn. Today, students and instructors leverage affordable VR accessories to layer virtual content in learning. You can expect the technology to persist in the next few decades as developers and instructors add to the repertoire of virtual education technology. As a matter of fact, Gartner predicted that more than half of higher education establishments in the United States will use virtual reality in the classroom by 2021. From then, the number is bound to exponentially increase.
Collaborative Learning Software
Most students are already familiar with the rise of collaborating software bundled into their classroom setting. The rise of these software packages has redesigned classroom arrangements. Today, desks are no longer arranged in rows, pointing to the front of the class.
Rather, desks are arranged in collaborating hubs where students can make use of software installed in SMARTdesks that make learning a group experience. Software installed on the SMARTdesks allow learners to take virtual trips into numerous topics instead of relying on text found in typical textbooks. As one of the emerging trends in ict, collaboration software also allows instructors to streamline assignments by using cloud-based technologies. These cloud-based technologies similarly allow students to upload their assignments from any location with an internet location and collaborate with other students on group assignments.
The Blockchain
Most people are familiar with the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. What most people don’t know is that the technology, referred to as the blockchain, is capable of much more than facilitating the development of secure digital currencies.
The sheer number of applications blockchain technology made possible makes it a worthy contender in any investigation of what are the trends in ict to help learners. As a distributed public ledger, blockchain technology will effectively change how transcripts are issued and verified by academic institutions reducing the need for paper documentation as well as cases of fraud. A more student-centric use of blockchain technology is identity management. Through blockchain technologies, students can carry their identification around the internet making it easy to transact with applications that require identity verification. Such applications include massive online learning platforms and even online learning platforms pertinent to a student’s course.
Integration of Artificial Intelligence
The rise of smart software will reshape education in the next decade. Big data and automation will obscure routine tasks such that students can concentrate on aspects of their discipline that require intuition. Through machine learning and artificial intelligence, various aspects of a course can be automated including grading, communication with instructors, and even research.
Right now, machine learning algorithms can check essay samples for purposes of quality management. The rise of intelligent education software will lead to students and their instructors getting more time to engage in their studies instead of administrative tasks. Moreover, artificial intelligence will play a central role in the decision-making process concerned with learning pathways.
Mobility Software
With the proliferation of mobile devices, education is bound to become more flexible and accessible in the future. Entire industries are looking to develop software that frees learners from brick and mortar classrooms allowing them to learn from anywhere on the planet. Trends in ict have already made it possible for students and teachers to engage in immersive learning experiences even when they are physically separated by large physical boundaries.
