As we enter the second year of the pandemic, teachers, staff, and students are all reacting differently to this new digital mode of education. While some feel a desire to snap back to pre-pandemic life on campus, others are excited to rethink the learning and teaching experience with emerging technologies.
Many of us desperately want to walk away from video conferencing and online classes, but this appears unlikely, with newer variants evolving every few months.
Thus, one can safely assume that the IT department will have a significant role to play in the Higher Ed sector in the days to come.
In today’s blog, we will discuss the top 5 emerging trends in the higher ed sector due to the pandemic.
Rise in adoption of Learning Analytics and Adaptive Learning
Adaptive learning refers to an education platform that modifies class material based on individual learners’ needs. The data for this platform is gathered using learning analytics.
One of the most significant setbacks of the pandemic in the higher ed sector has been the fall in enrollment rates in colleges and in universities.
So, to encourage students to come back, colleges and universities have now started using adaptive learning. It will help them revisit earlier courses to fill knowledge gaps as well as offer personalized education journeys for adult learners looking to build their degrees.
Growth of Mobile Learning in Higher Ed
According to a report published by EDUCAUSE, one of the most common ways students accessed adaptive learning platforms was through mobile applications. The report showed that 57 percent of students at Colorado Technical University(https://bit.ly/3vMANQ8) used their phones to access adaptive learning tools.
Another poll conducted by EDUCAUSE found that 56% of the students rely on their cell phones to access learning material.
Smarter Artificial Intelligence–Powered Tutors
There’s no doubt that the sudden shift from offline to online classes has been a drastic shift for both students and teachers. While students, mostly young and more open to change, several teachers, especially the senior ones, have suffered from this shift.
To help teachers in this sudden shift, organizations like Google Cloud and Walden University in Minnesota have recently developed a new AI tutoring platform that uses machine learning. It also offers instructor competency assessments to help create personalized quizzes, assignments, and course recommendations.
Short-Form, Video-Based Learning
With the recent rise in popularity of short videos on several platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, as well as YouTube, universities are now adapting by adding short-form videos to help improve the engagement of Gen Z learners.
For instance, Arizona State University has a Study Hall playlist on YouTube that posts 2- to 3-minute-long supplemental education videos to help students understand complex concepts in their courses.
Advancements in VR and Immersive Learning Technologies
As Microsoft, Cisco, and Facebook jump into the metaverse business, mixed reality collaboration tools will soon become a universal thing.
Now Microsoft Teams users will be able to use Microsoft Mesh. Online students can communicate with instructors on this mixed reality platform through 3D avatars. Cisco is also piloting an augmented reality meeting space called Webex Hologram.
The Arizona State has also partnered with VR company, Dreamscape to help its online learners feel an emotional connection with class materials.
In conclusion
All these emerging trends in higher ed trends and the active participation of big players like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc., indicate that the virtual is the reality of tomorrow’s world.
Choose Sanguine Informatics today to prepare your campus, staff, and students for tomorrow with the latest technologies.
About Sanguine Informatics
Sanguine Informatics is one of the fastest emerging IT and cloud services providers, helping higher-ed institutions and businesses across industries. They combine strategy, expertise, and creativity to help clients accelerate operational, digital, and cultural transformation, enabling the change they need to own their future.
They have expertise in Private & Public cloud, including AWS, AZURE, Alibaba & Google Cloud. Their team of highly skilled professionals has delivered secure, scalable, high-performance services & solutions on the cloud to more than 50 clients in the last year.
