EdTech Trends for 2020-2021

The Edtech industry is one that is constantly evolving and innovating. The biggest trend in the last year is no secret: eLearning. Although eLearning has its apparent challenges, it allows learners to soak up knowledge in new ways. Many eLearning courses include animation, podcasts and videos that create a multimodal and practical learning experience.

With elearning as the #1 trend, the question remains, what are the other big trends for 2020-2021? Here we pick the 4 latest developments in educational technology that we need to know as we dive into this industry.

1. Social Media Learning

Did you ever think that social media would be a part of the learning process? When students spend so much time on social media, why not make it a powerful tool to help improve learning? Social media is a big part of our everyday life and now it’s being used as a tool to build a culture of collaboration, leading to an improved learning experience.

Finding a way to share amongst students is how the idea of using social media for teaching came about. Many educational institutions have begun to use social media as a communication tool in which students can easily interact with others. Students can share study materials, discuss with others in a group, or comment easily on someone else's post. TedEd is a typical example of the trend. This organization creates lessons worth sharing and posts them to YouTube, where people can easily access, find and share educational videos with their friends.

2. Gamification

If you're looking for a way to turn education into a more fun and engaging process, gamification is the most fitting educational technology trend. There is no reason for students not to be highly engaged in classroom games. Students can learn and "play" at the same time while joining in exciting game activities. Gaming elements help create a fun and productive learning experience for all students

Within the K-12 educational space, the implementation of gamification is most popular in this field because kids are quickly engaged in gaming videos or tend to display higher scores in a game-like format. 

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

People have projected that by 2021, AI will become the primary trend and rise by more than 45%. AI and its subsets, such as machine learning and deep learning, can solve existing problems in education, such as grading, student retention, and teacher shortages. It is now possible for teachers to automate multiple-choice grading and fill-in-blank questions, so automated student writing grading may not be far away.

AI can also leverage adaptive learning technology to predict performance as they progress through their school work, and can tailor material to their knowledge levels and learning styles. When teaching virtually, it’s not as easy for teachers to keep up with all of their students so systems are now able to build a scalable AI to evaluate student engagement and performance. This could be used for a student who stops logging in or showing up to a class in their learning management system will be marked as requiring assistance.

4. Video-Assisted Learning

In a classroom setting, video-assisted learning has become increasingly popular in recent years and especially this year. The' video day' is no longer a television being wheeled into a class on a trolley, but an everyday experience for some students. Videos, in particular animated videos, are extremely useful for enhancing lessons and making material easily understood. It also increases student performance and reduces the workload of teachers. This trend is also expanding in distance learning environments where students learn from computer screens. 

5. Big Data Will Get Bigger

To cater to learners’ needs, the learning experience needs to be personalized. And with COVID-19 and online learning booming, we now have more data than ever before. Instructional designers will have relevant information about learners’ experiences to customize and present the course in an appropriate format. Some information you should look for is the course’s topic, learner enrollment, learner performance, and learner feedback.

Conclusion

In the end, we know that there is a lot to absorb as we talk about developments in education technology. Bear in mind, however, that technology has plunged into education and revived the entire teaching and learning process. In particular, eLearning is an educational platform that not only improves the accessibility and comfort of education, but also shifts learning habits and learners' preferences for learning.