Gamification, personalised learning and AI – key trends in education today
#Edtech is exploding, there is no doubt about it!
According to the report from ResearchAndMarkets.com, EdTech Market: Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Market Size and Forecasts up to 2027, the global EdTech market, which was valued at USD 85 Billion in 2021, is expected to reach some USD 218 billion in 2027, showing growth of around 17% over the period 2021 to 2027. This growth is something that the world needs to take note of.
While the sector as a whole is expected to expand, there are three key trends which appear to be driving growth, keeping EdTech in the spotlight for the next ten years:
1. Personalised learning
While marketers may have loved the ability to connect directly with people worldwide, for educators it is far more than that – current technology is a dream come true with the opportunities on offer thanks to faster download speeds and cloud-based products! The COVID -19 pandemic has impacted students around the globe, and has led to the introduction of tech to assist in home learning, but it is proving to be not just a practical solution to a temporary problem but the opening up of a wealth of resources and opportunities for learning that have led to innovative and engaging lessons on a scale not expected.
Teachers are now able to tailor lesson plans to individual students without the intensive labour that would have been involved in the past. Access to real-time data showing how each student is working and whether they are achieving their objectives also allows the teacher to pinpoint precisely who is in need of intervention, whether to reinforce the learning or to build in additional challenge.
2. Gamification
With the best will in the world teachers will, on occasion, struggle to keep students engaged but today many are adopting the approach of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. Children are living in a world with a constant steam of media-based distractions so, adopting gaming into the classroom is growing in popularity. Turning lessons into games is nothing new for teachers but the incorporation of gaming takes that to an entirely new level. And the appeal of gaming is so widespread that it is equally applicable in secondary or further education settings as it is in primary.
By adapting the games that students are choosing to play in their own time, such as Minecraft Education, alongside the ability to code and build simple apps on platforms such as Roblox, teachers are offering their students the exact games that they would choose to play in their free time – the ideal way to disguise learning as fun.
Gamification can be harnessed to inspire and motivate students and its power shouldn’t be underestimated. Whether learning times tables or languages, games can be employed to improve the learning experience. Whereas in the past games were on the periphery of learning, today gamification is moving to the heart of education.
3. AI-driven Teaching Programmes
We have all seen the transformation of business and industry through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) but it is only recently that we have begun to explore its use in the classroom. Although automatic marking systems may have been around for a while, the advances in the development of AI mean that it can give answers to basic, and sometimes quite complex questions, which allows teachers to support those students who need higher levels of interaction. In fact, it is entirely possible that AI can be developed to grade a student and present them with the next level of work without the teachers input.
COVID-19 has certainly caused the growth in Edtech to accelerate and has forced educators to embrace EdTech for the duration of the pandemic, but it is becoming increasingly clear that growth will continue exponentially as a result of the enormous benefits it brings to both student and teacher. While the young would appear to be most likely to adapt to the use of technology in the classroom, the fact is that learners of any age are growing their skills with EdTech platforms.
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