COVID19, despite the devastation it has caused globally, has taught edtech companies lessons for life. The most compelling lesson learned by educators and edtech companies, which have taken the initiative to embrace technology and online learning, is that it is not about technology but about the students and how their lives will be affected, long after the pandemic takes a backseat.
- Scientific approach:
Taking a scientific approach guides the heart of education on how to best assist students to learn. Using the findings of neuroscience, cognitive and developmental psychology, sociology and computer sciences, innovative teaching-learning pedagogues will emerge that will focus on updating pre-existing knowledge of learning sciences and help students understand how they learn best, using individual, active intelligences.
- Adopting the global viewpoint:
Though the word global learning has been heard in progressive schools and curriculum for a while now, the importance of it has just struck home. If educators across the globe will adopt this ideology, and understand the value of learning in the context of the global viewpoint, will be the game changer as students across the globe increasingly collaborate with one another to address worldwide challenges of food scarcity, climate change, refugee crisis, pandemics, child labour and many others now and going forward.
- Practical and interactive learning:
Professional Development is now considered to be outdated as Professional Learning has become the new “mantra”. Professional Learning must be differentiated, personalized and workplace-friendly for busy educators. The focus will be on providing ongoing opportunities for growth using practical, active methods. There will also be a growing need for learning from instructional technology coaches to guide teachers on how to integrate interactive technology in the classroom.
- Surpassing rote learning:
To make learning effective, it will become increasingly important to provide a “Student Standards Framework”, which empowers students with their learning. A shift from quantitative to qualitative assessment will assist students with doing much more than rote learning and, thereby, becoming knowledge constructors, innovative designers, computational thinkers, creative communicators and global collaborators.
Students and teachers are making this paradigm shift and embracing their new roles, moving from adoption of judgemental learner profiles to successful self-evaluation and implementation of self-driven change.
- Netizenship:
This concept is being redefined to make it relevant and positive. The focus is moving away from warning citizens of online risks and curtailing online activities towards helping them to leverage the power of digital media to work and bring about creation, social justice and equity.
The redefined digital citizenship curricula show students possibilities over problems, opportunity over risk and community success over personal gain. They also help the students learn how to stay civil, moral, responsible and safe on the Internet.
- Thinking technically:
This no longer remains a concept discussed in computer science or coding classes. It is today a cross-disciplinary skill and is just as relevant in language, art, science or math. Teachers will need to sharpen their skills of incorporating Computational thinking components, like segregation, generalizing, algorithmic thinking, evaluation and abstraction in all subjects. This will move students to solve problems with reasoning, creativity and expression while providing a new way of demonstrating content knowledge.
With so many possibilities, the transition in educational trends has begun and how much the students, their guardians, traditional educational institutions and edtech platforms can benefit from these changes is solely dependent on their adaptability. The time is here where educators that learn, unlearn and relearn will be the ones that pioneer the new era of education.
