2015 education tech trends require classroom management software

2015 education tech trends require classroom management software

Posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2015 by Suzannah Hastings

       Technology has been the cause of major changes in a variety of industries over the last few years, but no sector has experienced quite the rapid transition into the modern world as education. A variety of technological advances have recently provided teachers and students with dramatic benefits and there are a lot of changes o ccurring in educational institutions at the moment. Below are five of the biggest classroom tech trends in 2015:

 

Big data 

Whether the devices are provided by the schools or not, an increasing number of students are utilizing computers, smartphones and tablets to complete their assignments and study for tests. The majority of that work is being done online and each child is creating a massive amount of data that so far hasn’t been able to be effectively leveraged by teachers and schools.

However, with the advent of big data analytics, statistics on important matrixes like completion time and rates and average GPA can easily be tracked and used to make a positive impact. Teachers can also see how often students are accessing certain kinds of material and increase the use of popular mediums and discontinue those that aren’t connecting with the kids.

 

Personalization

        The enormous impact big data has had on education in the short amount of time it has been used is perhaps most deeply felt in the ability to create personalized learning strategies for each student. With the specifics of each child’s strengths and weaknesses recorded and analyzed, teachers can slightly tweak their curriculum for each pupil in order to give them the tools that best suit their learning styles.

Some students respond better to ebooks, while others appreciate traditional paperbacks. Some may find more success with a game that teaches the basics of algebra while others need to look at diagrams online. All of these styles can be accommodated with new technological tools that can help a greater number of students be successful in the classroom. Feedback can be provided to teachers in real time, letting them see instantly how well a child has understood the lesson and know which students need more individual attention without publicly singling them out or holding up the rest of the class.

 

Mobile learning

       This may be the trend that has gained traction in educational institutions the fastest. While not as popular in elementary schools, high schools and universities have found great success in offering applications and Web portals for students to use on their mobile devices. Not only can users access important educational information anywhere with Wi-Fi access, but things like GPS and QR codes can provide greater context when students are on field trips or working outside the classroom. Mobile learning also encourages teachers to break information up into smaller, more easily digested bits so material is more easily absorbed, resulting in improved comprehension.

 

Massive open online courses

       While these types of classes have been used by adults for continuing education for some years now, they are starting to become more popular in universities and schools in remote areas where it can be difficult for students to get to class everyday. According to Forbes contributor Nick Morrison, MOOCs will see more widespread attendance over the next 12 months, with students utilizing both traditional online courses and the more ad hoc ‘help-out’ classes that provide additional support on a topic.

 

Cloud learning management systems

      LMSs allow teachers to access courses and training programs in a software application, and cloud-based programs make these accessible from a mobile device both in the classroom and remotely. The use of cloud-based LMS by teachers grew last year and industry experts believe that trend will continue in 2015. This is due in most part to the fact that cloud-based platforms had the highest increase in use over the last two years as any other system.

 

Making the most of classroom tech

      For academic institutions interested in implementing the latest technology trends into their classrooms but concerned about managing all of the new machines and systems, Faronics’Insight Classroom Management software can help. Insight allows teachers to manage educational programs remotely to provide students with increased support and keep assignments and projects up to date. Web surfing can also be restricted to reduce distractions in the classroom and sharing features enables teachers and students to have one-on-one conversations without disrupting the rest of the class.

source: http://www.faronics.com/news/blog/2015-education-tech-trends-require-classroom-management-software/

3 Top Educational Technology Trends for 2015

by Tutors on Call | Jun 5, 2015

      Remember the days when our schools used chalkboards, basic visual aids and had one desktop computer for each classroom?  Now, we see more tablets  and smart  whiteboards being used in most schools.  Less hard-bound books are visible and there are more options at our fingertips today for learning – e-books, educational apps, software, and educational websites etc… The field of education is evidently keeping up with changes in technology.

 

      Despite the mounting pressure (for and against) increasing education budgets, educational technology trends continue to grow. According to a report by CB Insights, a venture capital database, ventures from ed tech companies soared up to nearly $1.87 billion last year (2014), up 55 percent from the year before. This is a clear indication that ed tech businesses are gearing up to invest in innovative ideas to improve education standards around the globe.

 

      It’s an exciting, fortunate time to be a teacher or a student.  Although we can expect much more new and innovative learning tools in the near future, here are the top examples of educational technology trends that are currently taking education to new heights.

Mobile Learning and Cloud Technology

      The majority of students now own a mobile phone, and everyone has internet access. Furthermore, tablets and phablets (kind of a cross between a phone and a tablet) are also becoming much more affordable, making it accessible to kids as young as 2 years. In 2015,  we anticipate more mobile learning apps and platforms to become available on iOS and Android, as our expectations around enhancing the learning process amplifies.

      At its best, mobile learning technology engages different types of individual learners and various groups of interconnected learners through cooperative and participative learning systems. With this integration, schools have placed their resources into the cloud to access classroom information anytime anywhere. Cloud computing and storage makes that possible.

Digital Textbooks

       Digital textbooks have become more popular again, together with the gush of mobile technology within the classroom. They are cheaper, more environmentally friendly, more convenient and portable than the traditional hefty print textbook. digital or e-textbooks are also more up-to-date and interactive.  Consequently, this makes it the most accessible educational technology trends these days.

       Google Canada launched Google Play Books App late last year to provide digital textbooks that are for sale or for rent. Once books have been rented or purchased, they are stored in the cloud and synced to your devices, giving you instant access to your textbooks on your Android, iOS device or the web. Additionally, digital books are readily available in other sources.

3D Printing

     3D printing is an emerging technology that has gained a lot of buzz since 2013, with Canada being at the forefront of the revolution. This incredible printer can make 3 dimensional solid objects that will make effective learning tools, allowing educators and students to create whatever they imagine. Unquestionably, this innovation soars to the top of educational technology trends this year.

      According to an article by CNet, printing company MakerBot wants to put a 3D printer in every school in the United States, and they are drumming up support from the industry and general public to make it happen. Thus, it won’t be long ‘til Canada follows suit.

     There’s no doubt, classrooms have come a long way from traditional ways. As a result, more people are keeping up with the latest trends and becoming better at adapting to  all the changes. The introduction of new educational technology trends is most exciting because it has increased creativity and participation among students. The future promises dynamic and thrilling learning experiences for students and teachers alike.

source: http://www.tutors-on-call.com/3-top-educational-technology-trends-for-2015/

5 Education Tech Trends For 2015

     Education is being flipped on its head by technology. Teachers see the promise -- and the pitfalls. J

      This is an exciting time to be in education technology. The global spend on edtech in classrooms is on the rise, fueling a market that is projected to reach $19 billion by 2018, according to a market study released by Futuresource Consulting earlier this year. As blended learning environments evolve, administrators and teachers continue to celebrate the promise of digital learning and experience the pitfalls of underwhelming edtech tools. Below are five edtech trends and opportunities for developers of these tools to consider.

Technology for flipped-learning

     The rationale behind the flipped class -- a form of blended learning in which students learn content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and homework is done in class with teachers and students discussing and solving questions -- is to engage learners in and out of the classroom. The dynamic nature of this approach enables teachers to create effective and fun asynchronous and synchronous learning experiences.

     Experts agree that passive learning with video doesn't boost student achievement. As flipped learning becomes more prevalent, the distribution tools and video streaming that are central to this approach must be optimized for interactivity. The stakes are higher than ever, with next-generation, cloud-based solutions displacing older learning management systems (LMS). Features such as powerful analytics that measure student responses and mobile learning capabilities will become the hallmarks of the best flipped classrooms.

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[Check out 8 STEM Websites To Excite Kids About Tech.]

Device agnostic learning

     While videos and websites are basically ubiquitous across all devices, many apps are native, even exclusive, to one device or mobile operating system. The pain points caused by multiple standards, multiple screen sizes, and multiple operating systems are not sustainable.

     Teachers and students shouldn't bear the burden of device management. Their priorities should be centered on learning. The most innovative edtech creators realize that the future is to develop device agnostic services. As more and more teachers integrate mobile learning, this flexibility will be a requirement.

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(Source: Wesley Fryer)

Assistive technologies in the classroom

    Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for designers of software systems and technology products is to deliver a uniform experience to a large and diverse human population. Creators of edtech stand to benefit from ensuring that their products and services are designed to allow differently-abled students the same access to learning.

     US federal accessibility standards pertaining to information technology, known as Section 508, should be a core design and development requirement, rather than an afterthought. A burgeoning industry continues to go beyond these baseline compliance standards, leading development of assistive technologies.

    Earlier this month, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking made headlines with his commentary about the role of assistive technologies that support him. The same Fortune article cited a Gartner report issued in late 2013, estimating that approximately 15% of the world's population could benefit directly from assistive technologies -- and the rest of us will also feel a positive impact from the innovation behind them. It's clear that assistive technologies, ranging from simple to complex, are playing an increasingly vital role in reducing barriers to learning for students with a variety of special needs and challenges.

Mobile learning

     Mobile learning apps were everywhere in 2014. This next year, we expect more mobile learning platforms and apps to be available on iOS and Android, along with heightened expectations related to enhanced learning experiences and outcomes. At its best, mobile learning technology can drive collaboration and engage different types of individual learners and various groups of interconnected learners.

     My company, WizIQ, is heavily focused on how such technologies enable sturdier scaffolding for student learning and broaden the virtual classroom experience. Features such as live participation, location-aware notification delivery, and ubiquitous access are paving the way for context-aware adaptive and personalized mobile learning systems -- functionality that has the potential to fuel lifelong learning in an unprecedented way.

Personalized blended learning

    Customization is king and the array of edtech tools that can meet the needs of students in a personalized, meaningful, and timely manner based on best practices stand to rule. But first, a word of advice to all creators of edtech tools: Technology isn't the driver. Your strong belief in your innovation is secondary to the needs of students, teachers, and administrators.

     Recognize that teachers are tasked with implementing, and often times, identifying, the best mix of digital learning tools for each student. Different approaches to learning, such as project-based learning, maker education, game-based learning, and more, will continue to be explored as part of personalized blended learning models. Accordingly, such innovations will push edtech vendors to deliver more than technology or content -- but will require them to demonstrate how their product or service improves learning outcomes.

source: http://www.informationweek.com/government/open-government/5-education-tech-trends-for-2015/a/d-id/1318396

2015’s Top Education Technology Trends

By Kristen Hicks on May 13, 2015@atxcopywriter

Image via Flickr by Alan Levine

       Each year, the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE release the NMC Horizon Report, which looks at the technology most likely to shape education in the next five years. The 2015 report highlights a number of key changes that educators, those at the higher education level in particular, should be aware of.

6 Important Trends in Education Technology

       A number of experts weighed in on the six technology trends that are making the biggest impact on education. If you read the report itself, you’ll see not only a description of what the trend is (which we’ve summarized below), but also a few examples of institutions or organizations that have already embraced it.

1.    The Need to Develop Cultures of Innovation

       The world is changing and higher education must change with it. Many schools have recognized this fact and are working to change how things are done in order to better accommodate new tech and to encourage innovation. Some universities are borrowing ideas from the business world, and are adopting processes that resemble an agile startup model, which makes incorporating change as you go easier.

       Likewise, a number of universities have already embraced the idea that technology itself can and should be treated as a catalyst for improving how learning works. A fairly widespread example is the growing adoption of BYOD programs. Why not turn the tools everyone is already using into a means for making your courses better?

      A culture of innovation not only embraces the new technology and ideas re-shaping education, but also adapts to the changing ideas about what’s most valuable in the world outside of higher education. Policies that emphasize the high-level skills increasingly valued in the business world – creativity, risk-taking, collaboration, entrepreneurship – help make higher education both more meaningful to students in the moment, and more valuable to them in the future.

2.    Increasing Collaboration Between Institutions

     The number and importance of educational consortia is growing. Technology is one of the catalysts of this on two very different levels:

a.     Tech is expensive, but also increasingly important.

       Schools can’t just opt out of using technology, but with budgetary concerns and complaints about tuition already a huge issue for educators at all levels, purchasing the tech needed is a challenge. This is especially so considering that “the tech needed” has a frustrating tendency to change within a couple of years (or less).

     Consortia make it possible for colleges to band together and demand more affordable and sustainable tech solutions. One university alone has limited power, but many universities negotiating as one can make a difference in how tech deals work.

b.    Schools can share data and content.

     Technology makes it possible for a college to make a large number of lesson plans available to anyone who might benefit from them. It allows colleges to cull the large amounts of data they’ve each collected to gain greater insights from it all. We’ll address this one further in #4, but the takeaway here is that tech makes collaboration and sharing between institutions and their students possible on a large scale that benefits everyone.

3.    Possibilities of Assessment and Measurement

     Tech brings with it an increased access to data. Colleges can now collect extensive and detailed data on how students are learning, what teaching methods work the best, and which kinds of education and career paths lead to the greatest success. Basically, from day one of a student’s educational experience through their life after graduation, they’re producing a huge quantity of data that can be put toward improving the individual experience of students, as well as how higher education works as a whole.

      Data is playing a key role in adaptive learning, which empowers students to better understand their progress and take more control over their learning. Additionally, adaptive learning gives teachers insights into how students are doing and what they need most.  It can also help drive more informed curriculum decisions designed to help students perform better. Data-driven learning and assessment is becoming a big and influential field in the higher education space.

4.    Proliferation of Open Educational Resources

As mentioned earlier, technology makes it easier than ever for colleges or professors to make resources freely available to anyone they may benefit. Many educators are happy to jump on the bandwagon. The number of open educational resources (OER) available to anyone willing to do some digging to find them is growing.

OER can refer to any type of digital content, including:

• Courses

• Course materials

• Textbooks

• Research articles

• Presentations

• Videos

• Tests

• Software

     The movement to make more information free goes beyond just insisting that there be no cost to students. It extends to encouraging that the resources be free from any ownership and usage rights.

     While the cost of higher education remains one of the most consistently debated topics in the industry, making use of creative commons resources and open textbooks could be the key to bringing costs down in at least one area of higher ed. OER repositories and search tools already exist, but they could still use some work and are likely to improve if the trend continues in years to come.

5.    Increase in Blended Learning

     Online learning is growing at a rapid pace. As the report points out, one in ten students were taking courses exclusively online already by 2012, and even more were taking at least some of their classes online. The shift to online learning has been heavily aided by tech improvements in fields like learning analytics, adaptive learning, and asynchronous and synchronous tools.

      But blended learning may be the even bigger innovation to come of the shift to online learning, as it combine the benefits of the technology of online learning with the accessibility of working with teachers face-to-face. Access to more online resources in whatever format students learn from best, accessible wherever and whenever they want, enables better learning outside of the classroom. Add to that a greater availability of teachers once in the classroom and you have a powerful tool that provides students with the best of both worlds.

     The best practices for blended learning are still being developed, but as more colleges experiment with it and track what works best, it can only get better.

6.    Redesigning Learning Spaces

      If we’re bringing more tech into the classroom, the classroom must change to accommodate. The traditional model of a lecturer standing at the front of a classroom, talking to a room full of students seated in rows, ignores the possibilities of what tech can add to the equation.

    Some colleges are experimenting with re-designing the classroom space to encourage the integration of technology and more collaboration between students. A common example of this is a classroom in which the lecture’s podium is moved to the center and surrounded by round tables for students that integrate a key piece of technology like an interactive whiteboard or a computer.

    Other colleges are working to expand the idea to other spaces. Many libraries are being re-designed to enable more access to technology and comfortable learning spaces within them. Schools are adding more power outlets and comfortable seating to hallways and atriums so students can do their studying there.

    Learning can happen anywhere, just as long as students have access to the right tools. A few tweaks to what the common spaces on college campuses look like can help take that idea further.

     Still, while NMC report seeks to predict the tech trends that will influence education the most in the next five years, five years is a very long time in the tech world. These trends are all poised to change how the educational landscape looks, but may be taken over by newer technologies and the trends and issues they produce. We’re living in an exciting time for ed tech. The possibilities of new opportunities for schools and educators will only grow.

source: http://www.edudemic.com/education-trends-keep-tech-front-center/