EDU629: Blog 1

How Technology Has Leveled Up the Education Industry

As the use of technology increases, digital education has changed the way people learn and think about education.

---

As an elementary student in the 1970s, my mother had to drive me to our local brick-and-mortar library, hoping that no one had checked out the letter “B” encyclopedia I needed for my fourth-grade report on Belgium. A 21st-century child today can instead watch a video on YouTube, take an online course, read an e-book, or even step into a virtual reality tour, thanks to the advanced technology of digital learning.

You may have heard several terms used interchangeably to describe learning outside a traditional classroom: online learning, e-Learning (electronic), virtual learning (v-learning), distance learning (d-learning), mobile learning (m-learning), and maybe even some others. Each has its differentiating nuances, but they share a commonality: to deliver education using some form of digital technology.

Digital education is generating new learning opportunities (Top Hat, 2021), and its effects affect many: K-12 and college students, educators, corporate learning and development (L&D) teams, employers, content curators, and individuals seeking knowledge for personal growth or to improve their resume.

Whether using a pedagogy (teaching children) or andragogy (adult self-directed learners) method, there is no doubt that digital education has changed how people learn and how they think about education.

---

MODERN DIGITAL LEARNING TOOLS

Sit with this for a minute: No other generation of educators across all of history has been afforded the incredible ability to use technology to create, adapt, and personalize learning experiences for students. It was unimaginable to anyone until recent times to select and customize content or delivery methods based on what was best for the learners.

In just two decades, digital technologies "have advanced more rapidly than any innovation in our history," reaching about 50% of the developing world's population (United Nations, n.d.). From student classrooms to corporate settings, digital learning tools have earned a head seat at the education table.

As the many exciting learning tools available continue to grow, it’s changing the role of the teacher. For example, the old approach centered on a teacher standing in front of a classroom delivering a lesson plan using textbooks and a chalkboard.

Teachers' roles have since evolved into the role of a facilitator, tasked with finding the best way to teach students based on their individual learning styles and needs (Semenescu, Antonescu, & Cosmin, 2020). In other words, the design has transferred from a teacher-centered model to a student-centered one.

This context-specific approach allows instructors to ask themselves, "What learning do I want my learner to achieve?" (Lederman, 2020) and to find the best digital tool to create a stimulating learning environment based on the student. Classroom technology positions teachers to be thought of as 'a guide to the side' versus a 'sage on the stage' (Top Hat, 2021).

DIGITAL LEARNER STYLES

Considering that people have different learning styles, behaviors, and preferences, digital learning technology offers excellent benefits. I remember feeling such frustration and utter boredom memorizing latitudes and longitudes in grade school to learn about a country. Now, kids are being mentally stimulated with virtual reality (VR) and learning personal management skills inconceivable to many of us not too long ago.

Today, online learning offers open-book exams and focuses on the technique rather than the answer (Top Hat, 2021). In other words, instead of focusing on memorization and retention, e-learning can concentrate on promoting critical thinking, mastering literacy, and the overall holistic development of the learner as a whole.

Some could argue that students can hide behind the technology using avatars, emojis, discussion boards, and digital collaboration tools. However, if this is the problem, it allows the opportunity for educators to look for a solution by selecting more engaging and appropriate tools for learning audiences. It can also prompt learning designers to create more personalized learning paths. For example, allowing students to choose their courses based on interests and personality is just one idea to overcome these challenges.

Digital education tools offer students autonomy, encourage collaboration, and facilitate communication between instructors and learners (Chauhan, 2021). Some might say that online learning provokes distraction and causes isolation if their attention is more on a screen than talking with others in a classroom.

However, take me, for example. Any distraction I might feel would come from the need to travel to classroom lectures and listen to others talk while trying to think. As a full-time corporate worker and online graduate student, creating a schedule to balance my life allows me the flexibility, convenience, and portability that I need to succeed both career-wise and academically.

Another fact to examine is how long a learner will stay interested and engaged.

A child's attention span is about two to three times their age (British Council, n.d.), so a five-year-old would stay interested for about 10 or 15 minutes. The maximum attention span for an adult is 20 minutes (Babani, 2021). Yet, according to a 2015 Microsoft research study, the average human attention span dropped to 8 seconds (from 12 seconds in 2000). This means that humans potentially have a shorter attention span than a goldfish, about 9 seconds (Stephens, n.d.).

Therefore, designing shorter, more interactive, and engaging courses will benefit learners. Last summer at my job, when creating videos for a corporate kickoff event, we used a micro-learning approach (splitting long content into smaller, bite-size pieces) by making sure speakers didn't talk beyond 8 minutes. We also included fun slides and designed it so that two people were having a conversation side-by-side on the screen (versus just one person) to make it feel lively, conversational, and personable. Lastly, we used a feature in Microsoft Teams to launch an on-screen employee poll during the event to keep things entertaining and people from getting distracted.

DIGITAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

Technology in our world today is an essential life skill. Being digitally literate in the 21st century is necessary. This new revolution means that since online learning is accessible to people of all ages, from young children to senior citizens, these users of digital technology should demonstrate ongoing competency and sensibility using digital learning tools. It’s assumed that learners will keep up with digital knowledge, remain good digital citizens, study up on their digital literacy, and be "effective and collaborative creators of digital media" (Top Hat, 2021). And there are many ways to do so.

"Corporate companies have now started using digital learning tools extensively to train their employees, help them upgrade their skills, and provide seamless sessions for knowledge transfer." (Marks, 2021).

Digital tools and resources can support teaching and empower learning in various ways. Below are some to consider.

OER

Open educational resources (OER) are learning resources that live in the public domain, are distributed across the internet, and are free for anyone to use. Some benefits of OER learning include giving people expanded access to education, cost savings for students (many resources are free or low cost), and better use of the teacher time in classrooms. OER Commons, The Open Education Consortium, Coursera, and Khan Academy are just a few examples of the myriad of OER to select from, including all types of media, courses, textbooks, and other supplementary materials.

COLLABORATION

Whether the student is in a classroom or virtual, K-12, collegiate, corporate, or adult learner, collaboration significantly benefits digital learning. Many digital tools, applications, and mobile apps make communicating, brainstorming, studying, planning, and working together so much better. This type of social engagement enables a "higher level of group learning" (Marks, 2021) and is one of the most significant advantages of digital learning.

For example, the use of video in learning is increasing exponentially (EIDesign, 2019). At my workplace, we record communication events like our weekly tech talks, monthly town halls, and annual kickoff. The videos are then saved in a SharePoint document sharing library where employees can access them for future reference or training purposes.

Cloud technology has made education, collaboration, and productivity more advanced than ever. For example, as a student, I communicate daily asynchronously with my classmates using Blackboard's discussion boards and recently created a team Wiki using Google Sites. As an employee, digital tools help my role as a communications manager in many ways. I use OneNote to develop technical how-to training guides that can later be shared with employees right through the application. Microsoft Forms allows me to publish employee surveys and polls. Microsoft Tasks helps with project management planning within a team. With Microsoft Teams, I can host communication events, post real-time announcements in our private group channel, and collaborate daily with my colleagues via video meetings, IM chats, and real-time document editing.

Who remembers classroom pen pal projects? It was a big deal as a kid to receive an individual or class letter from another state or even country. Now, students can use online digital learning tools to collaborate with peers worldwide, creating one big, diverse classroom. They can share materials, converse, and cooperate on similar interests and shared goals using tools like Zoom and Skype (live stream video and text chat), Google Drive (simultaneous document editing), and scribblar (virtual whiteboards), to name a few of the many available.

MOBILE LEARNING

As of January 2021, 4.66 billion people worldwide (59.5% of the global population) actively used the Internet (Statista, 2021), and of this number, 4.32 billion accessed the internet using a mobile device. The demand for mobile learning, also known as m-learning, is on "a steady increase, and it is clearly transitioning from an option to a must-have” (EIDesign, 2019).

Mobile learning allows people to access courses "anytime, anywhere, via their mobile devices," even "from their home, while commuting, or during breaks” (Brown, 2021). People love that it’s accessible and flexible. Mobile apps make learning fun and easy, self-paced, untethered, and encouraging. There are many educational apps to choose from, depending on your need.

For example, mobile apps can help with subject-specific topics, studying for competitive exams, and learning languages. In a classroom environment, digital apps like Kahoot can turn a boring lesson into a game with its Q&A format. With Seesaw, students can create a portfolio, and teachers can share activities with their classes and feedback to parents. TED offers hundreds of inspiring talks that can be conversation starters for classroom discussion, debate, or inspire future lesson plans (Dove & Revilla, 2020).

Integrating traditional classroom training with e-learning is called blended learning. This benefits not only classrooms but a corporate environment, too. Mobile apps are a terrific alternative to delivering instructor-led training (ILT) and training initiatives, upgrading skills and encouraging personal development courses, and offering on-the-job training or job aids. Alongside free OER, paid learning apps like Udemy offers many valuable non-academic courses that boost work-related skills, technical know-how, and personal development qualities. Employees love that they can manage their time with online, self-directed courses available at any time. One idea to foster learning in the workplace is to raffle off or gift credits to employees to select an online class of their liking.

CLASSROOM EFFICIENCY

According to the Pew Research Center, 92% of teachers said that the internet significantly impacts their ability to access content, resources, and materials (Walden University, 2019). Learning management systems (LMS), audiobooks, electronic grades, online student portfolios, and real-time feedback from instructors are possible because of digital technology. Virtual and simulated learning games (gamification) help teachers explain complex ideas, especially science, engineering, and math concepts, which are challenging to understand without visual aids (Koksal, 2019).

There is an endless number of possibilities for the future regarding digital education. We've determined that digital learning tools make delivering and receiving education more accessible and better for everyone than any other time in history. It allows us to collaborate and communicate in new, quicker ways and engage with each other like never before while performing parallel tasks.

Using most digital tools requires an analytic mind, and both teachers and students will benefit from these acquired digital technology skills moving forward. And this is just the beginning! It will be amazing to watch what this generation and 21st-century learners accomplish.

---

References

Babani, V. (2021, March 20). Keeping focused. Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/education/does-the-decrease-of-average-human-attention-span-have-an-impact-on-education/article34116513.ece

British Council. (n.d.). How to Increase Your Child’s Attention Span. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.my/english/courses-children/resources/attention-span#:~:text=The%20first%20thing%20to%20know,well%2Drested%20and%20not%20hungry

Brown, D. (2021, October 20). Importance of Mobile Learning. Retrieved from https://www.edapp.com/blog/importance-of-mobile-learning

Chauhan, A. (2021, May 12). 11 Digital Education Tools For Teachers And Students. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/digital-education-tools-teachers-students

Dove, J., & Revilla, A. (2020, November 29). The best apps for teachers and educators. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-apps-for-teachers-education

EIDesign. (2019, August 21). Top 10 Mobile Learning Trends For 2019 [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NG7DIhfXOo&t=2s

Koksal, I. (2019, July 8). 8 Ways That Educational Technology Makes Learning Easier. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilkerkoksal/2019/07/08/8-ways-that-educational-technology-makes-learning-easier/?sh=722e0c8b3bbd

Marks, M. (2021, May 12). The Future Of Effective Digital Learning And Its Role In The Education System. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/the-future-of-effective-digital-learning-and-its-role-in-the-education-system

Semenescu, A., Antonescu, V., & Cosmin, I. (2020, April 23). Why Digital Technologies Boost Creativity. Retrieved from https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.postu.idm.oclc.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=90c4564a-ab6f-4170-af94-03527c1d0c52%40redis

Statista. (2021, January 27). Internet Users in the World 2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide

Stephens, M. (n.d.). Learning in the age of the goldfish. Retrieved from https://insights.ehotelier.com/announcements/2020/11/30/learning-in-the-age-of-the-goldfish

Top Hat. (2021, May 13). 20 Pros and Cons of Technology in the Classroom in 2021. Retrieved from https://tophat.com/blog/technology-in-the-classroom-pros-and-cons

United Nations. (n.d.). The Impact of Digital Technologies. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/un75/impact-digital-technologies

Walden University. (2019, December 6). Top 5 Benefits of Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/education/resource/top-five-benefits-of-technology-in-the-classroom

#PostUniversity