Trends and Technologies

While reading this week's required texts I was able to discover different trends and their impacts on the future of education. The trends are separated into five main categories and all include examples of each. The categories are social, technological, economic, environmental, and political. 

A huge social trend is the increase in remote work/learning. This is something that came about as a result of COVID-19 and is continuing to be popular. Remote work and learning lead to the need for the development of new skills and technologies to support both workers and learners in isolated and independent environments. Educators will need to discover different ways to support students not only technologically but also socially and emotionally which can be difficult with no face-to-face interaction. 

Increased use of Learning technologies is a technological trend that is being seen. This impacts education as there is more blended or hybrid learning and educators need to increase the use of different learning technology tools to keep up with the demand. As the increase in online learning continues companies are going to have to continue making new technologies to support learners and teachers. 

Uncertainty in Economic Models is an issue that impacts both local and national economies. This uncertainty is leading to an increase in the unemployment rate around the world as a result of the pandemic. This impacts the future of education as institutions have had to stop hiring to lay their workers off to accommodate the uncertainty in the economy. 

Climate change is an environmental trend that is becoming worse on a global aspect. The worsening of climate change is leading to severe weather events that are impacting institutions. However, this issue of climate change is bringing many new research and educational opportunities for future learners. 

Public Funding for Higher Education is another trend that is impacting the future of education. As different institutions depend on state or federal funding to support themselves. As we embark on a year where there will be changes in political power, this could impact publically funded institutions and the impact on economic and community growth. 

There are 6 key technologies and practices that will have a significant impact on the future of education. These technologies are; 

• Artificial Intelligence -  AI brings about a whole new world in teaching and learning. AI opens up opportunities for addressing challenges in teaching, learning, and success in education. There are both positives and negatives to the new technology; students have easy access to information which may lead to laziness or cheating. While there are positives AI can provide several services for educators including; "proctoring, grading/assessment, student information systems, office productivity, library services, admissions, disability support and mobile apps.." 
• Blended and Hybrid Course Models- As a result of the pandemic the education world was forced more into the adoption of blended or hybrid courses. The reading highlights the importance of learners' voices and learner development within these types of courses. Educators will be forced to look at the impact of these hybrid courses and if they are as effective as traditional face-to-face learning. This will be explored as we begin to regain normalcy, especially in our k-12 education systems. 
• Learning Analytics- This is a process that has emerged more and more within recent years due to progressions in technology. This is a positive thing that has resulted in many different ways to help all different kinds of learners. Educators can use different learner analytics to better help individuals. There are concerns with the expansion of data as well as we look at things like reliability and consent to name a few. In the future, learning analytics could have many impacts on both staff and students in higher education settings. 
• Micro-credentialing - These are programs of study that, "verify, validate, and attest that specific skills and/or competencies have been achieved". For institutions, this may bring about more infrastructure and workflow for both educators and learners. 
• Open Educational Resources. - There has been an increase in "free" resources for students to have access to any device. This impacts the amount of money students have to spend on resources for school and this leads to an increase in social equity for students. 
• Quality Online Learning - As a result of the pandemic students and teachers were forced to quickly adapt to the world of online learning. This led to a realization that it took a lot to make the learning as "quality" as it would be for the same lesson in person. This is leading to more purposeful and effectively designed online learning as we progress. 

Overall, all of the different trends and technologies seem to have differing impacts on the future of learning and the education system. The world of technology has opened up so many new opportunities and resources for students and we must stay relevant to the ever-changing world to continue to support our students successfully.