The upcoming trends that will shape the smart online education of tomorrow

A famous quote from John Dewey fits perfectly in this context “If we teach like we taught yesterday, we are depriving our children of tomorrow”. This quote rightly describes the current context of the educational ecosystem that prevails globally. The pandemic has moved learning to a virtual classroom. This has ultimately led to a trend towards extended learning which translates into even deeper virtual learning using new products that are quickly introduced to the market. The result of this new age learning is to make the lessons more interesting and interactive.

The most important trends that will dominate the education industry to come will be personalization and real-time personalization for students as well as teachers. Through this, an online course system called “Class of One” was conceptualized by a series of education experts with collective experience of 220 years. Elaborating on the same, Divya Jain, Director and Founder of The Class of One said, “Our creation of ‘The Class of One’ is based on the ideology of preparing children for the future with our online courses. We aim to bring and set new trends in the transmission of smart online education. The pandemic has ushered in a new era, which includes trends such as experiential learning, specialized tools for students with mental and physical abilities, learning more focused on developing and improving skills. The most striking trend observed was that teaching methods were revised and made more flexible and diverse, as not only students but teachers were also given the opportunity to deliver lessons beyond their traditional classroom and reach several geographic areas. A drastic transition is expected in primary school education, as the little ones will now be directly exposed to a mixture of apparatus and verbal learning, which will force them to use their cognitive abilities at a significantly higher level than before. “.

IT tools penetrating the education ecosystem

Schools across India have not only adapted but simply evolved with the support of highly immersive technological tools such as augmented reality, virtual reality labs and penetrating deep into the education system. Online learning tools and interactive platforms like Nearpod, Padlet, Mentimeter, Jamboard, Quizlet, Vooks, Turtle Diary, Kahoot, Phet are introduced and used according to the needs, accessibility and interest of the subjects concerned. Teachers and staff at MRG School are aligned on an interval basis throughout the year for a training and assessment program that helps them communicate effectively with students and nurture a culture of discourse and conversation-based learning.

Adding to the prevailing trends in teaching and learning methods, Anshu Mittal, Director of the MRG School, Rohini, said: “Online learning tools help to develop personalized learning paths for children. according to their abilities. Personalized learning involves the use of technology to give students more control over their educational experience. Children can choose the time, place, path and pace of their learning. With “smart device-based learning,” children are often curious about devices and show a greater interest in learning tech skills using gadgets. Using advanced learning devices helps them learn better and check their progress in real time by testing their learning outcomes.

Interactive whiteboards are also being introduced to schools as they prepare to return to physical classrooms after Covid, to move students from virtual classes to physical classes, it is high time that educators consider introducing the technological setup that will help students through a 3D projection. In upper secondary classrooms, interactive whiteboards are going to be adopted much faster because they offer better and targeted visual learning options. There is also an increased adoption of a performance analysis system that includes sports that will help students understand individual areas to improve and perform better.

Nidhi Bansal, Assistant Vice President, Pacific World School, Noida said, “We at Pacific World School support the idea: Transformation is not a future event, it is an activity of today. Therefore, the upcoming trends that would shape the smart online education of tomorrow revolve around the idea of ​​a hybrid education model; ensure active and blended learning for a variety of learners. Demonstrating thought leadership in building a school-wide vision as the starting point for a holistic digital transformation will play a key role here. The emphasis on computational thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication must act as a catapult to impart effective and experiential learning. The in-depth sharing of knowledge and best practices within the educator community will not only boost professional sense, but also launch a new phase of education.

Impact of the introduction of NEP

Delhi Public School, with a large network of leading schools in India, has also been at the forefront of the rapid adoption of online tools. Sangeeta Hajela, Director, DPS Indirapuram, endorsing the forward-looking nature of education, said: “Tomorrow means change, while today means preparation for it! Education by nature is forward-looking and therefore new trends can be observed vis-à-vis school education. Two game changers can be expected to play a major role in setting new trends; the first being exposure to online education mode; and the second, NEP-2020! It is a universally recognized truth that online courses started in a hurry, have finally come to stay. It is established that classrooms can be brought to the learner, in case the learner is not able to reach the classrooms. Moreover, this virtual classroom experience showed how important it is to be friendly for teachers and learners. The “trend” thus launched would be to have workstations equipped with technology, both for students and teachers in their homes. These home workspaces will now be more of a norm than an exception. Teachers and learners would certainly need to improve their technical knowledge. Like, teachers and adaptive schools would be the ultimate forerunners in all major areas of education!

Another foreseeable trend is linked to the introduction of the national education policy which focuses on experiential learning and skill building. Thus, learning by doing and the incorporation of new teaching practices that bring active learning experiences, both with and without technology, will be found in all teaching methods. Interest in AI is also expected to grow as we move forward. This will not only be awesome terminology to use, but an aid to the active and solution-focused educational experience.

New learners and educators to be more flexible

Toddlers entering the world of learning, reading and writing have no choice but to be introduced to the devices early in their education. It is indeed difficult but exciting for them to experience the glow of smartphones and laptops, but the duty of a responsible teacher will be to balance screen exposure time and understand the basic concepts that will become the foundation of their education.

Sumedha Goel, Director, The Shri Ram Wonder Years, Rohini, a pre-primary institute in Delhi, said: some of the inclusions in our institute as part of the upgrading and training of mentors, thus opening up a myriad of opportunities for our little ones. Currently, we are at the dawn of an evolution in education but what we often forget to recognize is that the adoption for the youngest must be coherent. Their minds are in a delicate phase and exposure to the devices must be balanced by a smooth penetration of thoughts and concepts.