The Covid-19 pandemic altered the way people learn, teach, comprehend, work, and interact with each other. Likewise, the significant rise in edTech platforms offering online learning services has transformed the education sector.
Since EdTech has offered new techniques for learning and delivering lessons, skills, and communication, it is predicted to reach a more extensive user base. Also, almost every educational institution has integrated it in one way or another.
Therefore, EdTech is the future of education, with institutions developing innovative technologies to educate students in creative, significant, and promising ways.
What is EdTech?
EdTech, or education technology, introduces information and communication technology tools in classrooms to make the learning process more engaging, inclusive, and individualized.
With tech-infused tablets, interactive online courses, and robots taking notes and recording lectures for absent students, classrooms have moved beyond clunky PCs that were once a standard in education.
EdTech encompasses numerous areas of education. The primary concept is creating a combined learning environment in which teachers collaborate to educate, present, and teach students worldwide.
How EdTech Helps Learners and Teachers?
Here’s how EdTech is helping teachers and students:
EdTech Advantages for Learners
The influx of technology has opened new avenues for students of all ages. It is also promoting inclusivity and collaboration in virtual classrooms. Here are the significant ways in which EdTech is influencing the way students learn.
Flipped Classrooms
Education technology is flipping the conventional notions of education and classrooms. Traditionally, learners listen to lectures or read in class and then work on projects and assignments at home. However, with video conferencing, online courses, and various learning apps, learners can now study at their own pace, using the classroom to collaborate on projects. As a result, EdTech fosters self-learning, creativity, and collaboration among learners.
Enhanced Collaboration
Different ed-tech tools and cloud-enabled tablets promote collaboration in classrooms. Smartphones and tablets loaded with online lessons and games provide students with the tools to solve problems together. Moreover, digital apps allow learners to upload their homework and converse with one another about what they are thinking and any help they may require.
Unlimited Access to Learning
Different online platforms are making it possible for students to access classrooms in digital environments from their schools, homes, or any other place they are connected from to complete work at their speed and schedules. As a result, they want to eliminate the restrictions brought on by the need for students to be physically present in classrooms.
Additionally, such tools enable students to stay in touch with their teachers if they have questions or need help in emergencies.
Personalized Learning Experience
EdTech empowers educators to create personalized learning plans for their students. This method customizes learning based on learners’ skills, strengths, and interests.
Video content tools help learners in studying whenever they want to. For example, they can pause or rewind lectures to better understand and grasp concepts. Also, the analytics will assist teachers in seeing where students are lacking in certain areas so that they can offer their help in the subject.
Rather than focusing on stress-inducing testing to measure student success, teachers are now moving towards apps that measure the overall aptitude of learners. The EdTech apps display the learning trends of students constantly to assist instructors in crafting specialized learning plans based on each learner’s strengths and weaknesses or provide vital interventions to thwart negative trends proactively.
Impactful Lessons
Remember sitting in class, half-listening, half-dreaming? Now, with infinite gadgets and tools vying for learners’ attention, creating educational and gripping lesson plans is essential. Proponents of ed-tech believe technology is the way forward.
Some creative examples of learners using technology to boost their learning and participation include interacting with students and instructors worldwide through video conferencing, submitting assignments and projects as podcasts, videos, or even gamified problem-solving.
EdTech Advantages for Instructors
Students are not the only ones benefiting from EdTech features; instructors are using educational technology to develop efficient teaching methods and save classroom time. Here are the ways EdTech is assisting educators in teaching students effectively.
Effective Classroom Management Tools
Getting a large group of kids to do anything takes a lot of work. Edtech has the potential to make things easier for teachers. For example, some apps help them send reminders to parents and learners about pending assignments and projects and enable learners to self-monitor noise levels in the classroom. Implementing management tools in classrooms fosters a less-chaotic and more collaborative environment.
Guesswork Elimination
Instructors spend endless hours assessing their students’ skills and areas that need improvement. EdTech can change it for the better. Currently, there are numerous tools, apps, and data platforms to assess learners’ needs and skills, helping teachers to work efficiently.
Sometimes, it takes months for teachers to identify harmful learning trends. In contrast, EdTech tools use real-time data to help instructors uncover students’ strengths, weaknesses, and areas of learning disabilities to set in motion a proactive plan to help.
Automated Grading
EdTech tools use artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to make grading easier. Such apps grade students based on assignment specifications. Utilizing such tools for objective assignments like true/false or MCQs saves teachers time. Hence, instructors can use that extra time to provide one-on-one assistance to students who are struggling or need special attention.
Paper-Free Classrooms
Thanks to EdTech, printing budgets, time spent at the copy machine, and wasting paper is no longer a headache. Today, many classrooms have gone paperless and digital to provide an easier way to grade assignments and lessen the burden on teachers and the environment to promote greener classroom policies.
Disadvantages of EdTech
The limitations of EdTech are almost non-existent. With many advantages on offer, it has only a few disadvantages.
- EdTech apps often face technical issues because of bugs in software programming.
- Only students and teachers accustomed to using smartphones or PCs can operate online learning applications.
- Users can find the applications difficult to use if the software has extensive modules and features.
- Without a stable WiFi connection, users cannot access applications.
- There is also a risk of data mishandling, but all these disadvantages can be evaded using proper, cost-effective, and best application software that fits the needs of educational institutions.
EdTech Applications
The most important types of EdTech applications are as follows;
mLearning
mLearning is also called mobile learning. It is a unique method of learning where learners access study material online using mobile devices. The most significant advantage of mobile learning is that students can study at their own pace on their devices.
Adaptive Learning (Learning Experience Platform LXP)
Learning Experience Platform (LXP) or alternatively called adaptive learning, offers self-paced e-learning solutions for institutions where the platform assesses students’ past behaviors, performances, and reports. Hence, such applications (e.g., SimpliTaught) tailor learning to the individual needs of learners through artificial intelligence.
Learning Management System (LMS)
Corporate trainers and learners can use these apps to deliver and manage content. LMS creates a rich environment for executing result-oriented and hassle-free training for students. Moreover, using advanced automation tools can help enterprises compile groups of learners efficiently.
Personalized Learning App
A personalized learning app comprises learning experiences, educational programs, instructional methods, and various procedures mapped out to handle individual learners’ particular learning needs.
Most Popular EdTech Platforms
With the growing competitiveness and the rapid pace at which investors are investing in ed-tech development, the technology’s functionality and capabilities will continue to improve. Here are the most popular edTech platforms transforming the online education world.
Coursera
Coursera is one of the biggest MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) on the ed-tech market today. The platform partners with large universities to help market the best and most wanted lectures and courses and deliver them to students worldwide for free. In addition, learners get these courses on an on-demand timeline so they can complete them on their desired schedules.
Chegg
Chegg is an American EdTech company founded in 2005. It provides physical textbook rentals, online tutoring, textbooks, subject matter experts, and other online learning services.
edX
edX, established in 2012, is a non-profit online learning platform. Harvard University founded it and now provides 3000+ courses. The platform has an around 40 million user base. Learners can access the courses on edX for free, but they have to pay charges to avail of the exams and verified certification services.
Google Classroom
The Google Classroom app assists teachers, tutors, and teaching assistants. This tool allows instructors to quickly create and organize projects, assignments, lesson plans, and homework sheets. Educators can instantly distribute assignments, send feedback, make daily lesson plans, and keep all their documents in one place.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers learners endless opportunities through its extensive video skills and tutorial library. In addition, once the users subscribe, it provides them with LinkedIn Premium Career features to help them grow their careers.
SimpliTaught
SimpliTaught is an ed-tech platform that offers curated content around crucial learning topics. They use artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to tailor learning resources to individual students’ preferences.
Final Thoughts
The ed-tech industry is booming, and there is fierce competition. However, this competition is resulting in highly advanced online learning platforms that have revolutionized conventional forms of education.
Today, more and more students, teachers, and institutions are accessing ed-tech tools to deliver knowledge and collaborate to create something beyond the ordinary. One thing that we know of is that ed-tech will stay here for a while as it is positively shaping the lives of everyone involved.
