How Tech Will Change Education In The Next Decade

Technology is changing so fast that it seems like as soon as you learn about the latest breakthrough, it’s already become obsolete, or at least improved upon – case in point – the iPhone – and that can make it pretty difficult to get to grips with. This is particularly evident in the world of educational tech.

Technology is truly transforming the way that everyone from the youngest child to the most elderly amongst us learn, and you know what? It’s brilliant. Gadgets and gizmos might get a bad rap from some people who believe that they distract us from living and learning as we should, but they’re sure to change their tune in the next decade when the following changes to education really take hold:

Bigger, Better MOOCs

In the next decade, it’s fair to say that we’re going to see a big improvement in MOOCs and other online learning platforms, which will make it easier than ever to learn how to draw or get your MBA in organizational management. How? By increasing the number of courses that are accredited and using more immersive software to boost the learning experience. Not to mention the fact that it will be more affordable and convenient to learn online, opening up education to more people across the globe than ever before.

Learning Simulations Will Be Widely Used

We already have learning simulations for pilots and a few other professions, but most of them aren’t even as sophisticated as the latest Call of Duty, and they aren’t exactly widely available else year. That is going to change rapidly in the coming years as the technology becomes cheaper and more sophisticated, and as more educators realize the benefits of having individuals actually get ‘hands-on’ experience in their field before they’re unleashed on the world.

Custom Courses Will Be The Norm

Thanks to multimedia platforms like YouTube and ItunesU, we are going to see a whole lot more customized courses that are perfectly tailored to the needs and interests of the student. Not only will this ensure that people only learn what is most important and most necessary to them, but it will also make it easier for educators to put together programs that meet every individual’s level of expertise, which means less time wasted explaining things over and over again to students who already know what they are doing and a better experience for those who are struggling with certain areas of their education, too.

Smartphones Will Analyze Text Complexity

Right now, professors and other educators have to go through a lot of trouble to analyze the complexity of a particular text that has been submitted to them, either doing the work manually or using clunky computer programs to do so. Not for much longer. In the next decade, we are going to see an increase in the use of smartphone cameras and simple apps to do the job in a fraction of the time.

Education Will Be Free

Obviously, you’re not going to get an Ivy league education without having to pay heavily for it (although you can already take some courses for free online), but thanks to MOOCs, podcasts, and YouTube videos, people who are short on cash, and especially those who live in poorer developing countries are going to be able to access valuable knowledge that will make their lives better, for free. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, eventually, all education was free, but that’s going to be much more than ten years further down the line.

Academia Will Be Less Adored

As education becomes more freely available, traditional academia is likely to become less prized as educators come to realize that it is a person’s ability to learn in a self-directed way that helps them to learn, not their ability to gain entry to a crusty old academic institute!

Collaboration Will Become More Common

Right now, there is very little collaboration between students in the same class, let a long in the same district or even across the world, but as online platforms become the norm, rather than the exception, students’ lives will be enriched by their ability to discuss ideas and work alongside more of their peers than ever before.

These are just a handful of the most likely ways that tech will change education in the next decade, but as you can see, digital media and increasingly sophisticated devices are truly going to revolutionized the sector once and for all, and with it, all of our lives, and our children’s’ lives for years to come.