While many people view teaching as an occupation, it’s often forgotten that proper education is legitimately an art form as well. In the same way an artist paints a masterpiece, a teacher also uses their class as a canvas to create something beautiful – another generation of intelligent human beings. With each passing generation, we become smarter as a species. Thus, teaching is one of the most essential and imperative art forms practiced by mankind, and it is central to the continuation of all cultures and art forms. After all, there are only two ways to learn something – you either learn it yourself (self-taught) or someone else teaches you (educated).

Teaching is the primary act that separates humans from all other animals because it gives us the superpower of being able to hand information down through time and make advancements built upon foundations that are laid decades or even centuries prior. For example, the computer was built upon the foundation of electricity. How did we get electricity? People studied and taught each other the underlying science until discoveries were made by highly-educated individuals like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison.

Thus, one could make the obvious yet overlooked argument that education created electricity, which led to computers, which led to mobile devices, and now full-circle to this amazing world of hardware, software, and applications that drive the current technological teaching revolution of the 21^stcentury. More specifically, here are 12 ways technology is revolutionizing the education industry and the art of teaching in general. Before we get into it, education in itself has also shifted to a more digital field, and for that be sure to check DegreevsDegree.

1. Classroom Management Apps are Breaking Down Barriers

It’s never been easier for teachers to manage all their students on a personalized level. Learning management tools like Otus (from this company) simplifies the process of differentiating students and managing large classrooms. These apps help educators create custom lessons with various teaching styles that can be catered to match each student’s learning needs.

Teachers can even segment their classrooms into groups to provide a set of personalized approaches that address the most common issues and shortcomings within each topic. With classroom & learning management apps taking most of the hard work out of the logistics, educators can focus on adding value as better one-on-one tutors, mentors, and teachers.

2. Independent Device-Based Learning is Encouraged

There was a time when the thought of letting a child learn what they wanted to learn would make most teachers cringe. However, in the past decade, there has been a lot of talk about educational reform and people are rethinking the way children are taught. Studies show that both kids and adults are more likely to retain and readily recall information that is learned through inquisition rather than forced learning.

When you’re learning because you want to, it feels more like a discovery than a mandatory chore. In other words, when you learn something because you were genuinely curious about it, you’re more likely to remember and apply that information later on.

3. Advanced Analytics is Re-Shaping Curriculum

Big data is changing everything, including education. Educational scientists and curriculum designers can work with data analysts to assess current academic shortcomings and track progress when implementing a new curriculum. For example, if a weakness in long division is noticed within the average scores of multiple math classrooms that all use the same curriculum, a change could be implemented to try a different approach to teaching long division.

Then, analysts can compare the student test results to those facilitated by the previous curriculum to see if the adjustment worked. Such results-based adjustments contribute to a continually improving system that relies on numbers instead of academic opinions or biased schools of thought.

4. Improved Teacher-Student Relationships

Learning management platforms are also making it easier for teachers to efficiently communicate with students in personal and group settings. The forum format makes it easy for students to share ideas and ask questions that can be answered by the teacher and other students.

Since on-screen text can’t be interrupted like speech, oftentimes, the threaded format of a forum is more edifying than an open in-class discourse because everybody has time to say what they want. Plus, discussions and topic explorations can go on for days or weeks in a forum, whereas an in-class conversation will often end with the class.

5. Project Management Platforms Help University and High School Students

Project management platforms are commonly used in the world of business to facilitate collaborations and the completion of advanced projects. However, educators and students are also using these platforms to manage class projects.

Although some elementary and middle school teachers do use similar platforms to manage projects, high school and university students stand to benefit the most from using project management systems due to the increased complexity of their school work.

6. Remote Tutoring Brings Teaching Everywhere

Gone are the days of being anchored to a specific school or classroom. Both educators and students now have the option to learn or teach from anywhere there’s an internet connection. Likewise, time constraints are a thing of the past, as you can study and work towards a degree in your spare time, whether that’s in the middle of the night or the middle of the day.

The ability to access teaching services online from anywhere in the world is also helping to advance developing nations, where access to physical educational institutions is often limited.

7. Anyone Can Become a Teacher By Publishing an Informational Course

If you’re trying to become a full-time professor or teacher at a school or university, you’ll probably need some credentials to get the job. However, anyone with a set of skills or knowledge in a particular field can now become a teacher almost instantly just by publishing their own informational course on a major online platform like YouTube or Udemy.

In fact, many course providers also upsell their coaching, mentoring, tutoring, and teaching services within their courses. On the flip side, the openness of teaching and learning in today’s world also serves as a benefit for students because they can easily learn from many different sources instead of a single teacher or professor.

8. Freelancing Sites Let Teachers Take a Self-Employed Approach

Many teachers are moving away from the on-campus, full-time approach to work for themselves online. Any teacher with a decent set of credentials can attempt to market their own tutoring services on freelancing sites like Fiverr and Upwork.

While work may be slow and less stable in the beginning, good teachers can find themselves earning even more as a private tutor on their own terms than as an employee of a conventional school.

9. Job Search Sites Simplify Relocation and Career Improvement

It’s never been easier for an educator to move from one area to another. In fact, a teacher with decent experience can get a job from across the world, without ever leaving their home. This is another technological factor that is helping to drive education forward in developing nations.

Job search sites also make it easier for educators to advance their career paths and find higher-paying jobs without risking their current job. Instead of settling for the best teaching job in the area, educators can open up the geographical boundaries of their career path.

10. Education is Being Gamified

Studies have proven that kids learn better when information is presented in the form of a game. Obviously, children are more likely to pay attention when they’re being asked to play a game as opposed to being forced to complete a school lesson.

Educational games have come a long way from the board games of the past, with thousands of apps available to teach you everything from spelling to a whole new language in game form.

11. Computers are Increasingly Replacing Textbooks

Some people have posed the question of whether computers will eventually replace textbooks. From an environmental standpoint, it seems to make sense that textbooks should be rendered obsolete for the sake of neutralizing an unnecessary carbon footprint.

While most schools will continue to give out textbooks for the next 10-30 years, beyond the halfway point of the 21^stcentury there’s no guarantee that textbooks will even still be published. We’re already seeing a continual decline in the number of textbooks being printed as the curriculum is being converted into the digital realm.

12. Performance-Tracking Apps Improve Responsive Training

Performance-tracking apps are another example of a technology that is benefiting both the corporate and academic sectors. Just as employers can track employee performance and provide responsive training to correct workflow deficiencies, teachers can also use educational performance monitoring software to design personalized training responses for students.

Imagine the Future of Learning

By the time we reach 2050, there’s no telling how different the interiors of schools and classrooms will look and function. While there will be many school districts that are slow to adopt new learning principles and technologies, within the next 30 years, we’ll see the vast majority of educational institutions dramatically revamp their teaching practices, curriculum, and infrastructure to accommodate the continued advancements in technology and the educational sciences.

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April 29, 2019