6 Trends in Higher Education Technology – EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12
1 . The Growth of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Ed
With AI research and development increasing at a rapid pace during the pandemic, fears of another “ AI winter ” seem unfounded at this point. Stanford University’s “Artificial Cleverness Index Report 2021” shows that natural language processing research has leapfrogged so fast that “technical advances have started to outpace the benchmarks to test for them. ”
AI is appearing seemingly everywhere in higher education — such as management systems, proctoring, grading, student information systems, library services and disability support.
AI matters for advanced schooling business continuity because the particular next generation associated with students (the children of millennials) will be accustomed to experiencing AI technologies within almost every facet of their lives. This may require universities plus colleges to rethink curriculums in a way that will supports this particular cohort, also known as “ Generation AI . ”
DIVE DEEPER: Take a look at higher ed’s increasingly nuanced, AI-powered chatbots.
The University of British Columbia is already using an AI-enabled avatar that delivers natural responses to students. The program is a part of a language learning application called Language Chatsim , where students practice speaking with a good avatar in a virtual environment.
Meanwhile, The Pennsylvania State College uses natural learning processes to analyze transcripts associated with classes. This way, educators can use data points to find patterns that can inform their teaching.
2. Actualizing the Potential of Data Analytics to Improve Education
Universities and colleges are collecting troves of data. However , not many educators know how in order to interpret this data to improve studying outcomes.
To address the problem at its root, the University or college of Wisconsin – Madison is offering a Master of Science in Educational Psychology: Learning Analytics program for college students who will impact understanding and policy. The program teaches graduate learners how to navigate the educational data mining landscape.
At the same time, Colorado State University has created the Center for the Analytics of Studying and Teaching (C-ALT), a research center with regard to testing and advancing the use of analytics to improve teaching plus learning practices.
In one recent project, C-ALT used data visualization to help students optimize their own study habits and patterns.
MORE ON EDTECH: Universities are using analytics and artificial intelligence to curb enrollment drops.
3. A Permanent Place for Blended plus Hybrid Course Models
Northeastern University spent millions outfitting 200 classrooms regarding hybrid learning — money that institutional leaders allocated because they believe the hybrid model will remain popular long after the particular pandemic ends.
GET THE WHITE PAPER: Learn how to build blended learning environments for increased ed.
The particular University associated with British Columbia found a creative way in order to adopt the hybrid design for theater. In April, the theatre and film department staged a play where remote actors merged with one an additional in a virtual environment — while college students in Tokyo and San Francisco operated lighting and sound.
RELATED: Along with hybrid studying on the particular rise, higher ed sees a Zoom Room boom.
4. The Expansion of Open Academic Resources
Open Educational Resources are learning plus research materials that are usually free intended for students to access.
The particular University associated with British Columbia’s Emerging Media Lab, for example , developed an open-source 3D data creation of the metabolic network. This OER can potentially be used for not only high school courses, but also courses within medical schools.
In addition to making education more affordable, OERs can also make it easier to get students in order to learn complex information.
“The objective of this project is to provide the novel way to visualize the info contained in a metabolic system to make it easier to consume and understand, ” the particular university’s website states. “By incorporating interaction into the network and making the particular visualization in 3 dimensions, we are creating a tool that will certainly make this easier to view details that would, within the past, need several different models to display. ”