At any given time, there will be a range of new technologies whose proponents claim them to be transformational. In the early 2000s this included open educational resources, learning environments and virtual worlds such as Second Life. During the pandemic, the focus was mainly on those technologies that allowed us to deliver education at a distance, such as virtual and hyflex classrooms. We are now witnessing the emergence of new trends, including virtual, augmented and mixed reality, blockchain, NFTs, AI, datafication and analytics.

Not all these emerging technologies will be transformative, and many will only impact certain niches of the curriculum, if at all. But one thing is clear, simply embracing new edtech trends – such as investing in VR headsets – cannot be a strategy in and of itself, and so a critical task for decision-makers within higher education is to identify which technologies have the potential to make a significant and long-lasting impact. And one set of emerging technologies with strong potential for disruptive change is data analytics and AI.

 “As a final comment, it is worth noting that we have faced a similar scenario in the past when the media predicted MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) would replace traditional learning. One of the fears was that we would end up with a relatively small number of elite universities delivering high-touch, high-quality education to those who could afford it and low-cost, low-support MOOC-style courses delivered to the masses. This didn’t come to fruition. Today, MOOCs are more widely recognized for offering lifelong learning rather than degrees, and student engagement levels and course completion rates are abysmal. We can draw the same parallel with low-cost automated support here.”1

Read more here.

References

  1. Universities must think smarter when devising edtech strategies for the future. (2023, March 16). THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/universities-must-think-smarter-when-devising-edtech-strategies-future

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  • The material in these reviews is from various public open-access sources, meant for educational and informational purposes only
  • Any personal opinions expressed are those of only the author(s) and are not intended to represent the position of any organization(s)
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