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Future of Technology in Education

Last updated on Jul 14, 2022 10 min read

Table of Contents

Looking into the future of education and technology is a challenging, yet presents opportunities.

The two recent technology innovations that exist or have potential impacts on learning and instruction are adaptive learning platforms and XR or Cross Reality. These technologies can have successful implementations within the instructional design process with the applied use of learning design or learning experience design (LXD). These two selections were explicitly made in response to their potential future prevalence within the educational environment, as described within the 2020 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition (EDUCAUSE, 2020). The report and recent prevalence within the literature highlight that these technologies are gaining popularity due to the lower cost for training and teaching after the initial cost.

The first selection of adaptive learning platforms is gaining popularity within the higher education environment due to the affordability of implementation and for the learners. Implementation of adaptive learning platforms within a learning management system (LMS) is made possible by using learning tools interoperability (LTI) integrations within the LMS to link adaptive assessments into the grade book of the course seamlessly, link out or embed homework, textbook, and quiz content within the module structure of the course. Adaptive learning is “one technique for providing personalized learning, which aims to provide efficient, effective, and customized learning paths to engage each student. Adaptive learning systems use a data-driven – and, in some cases, nonlinear – approach to instruction and remediation” (Moskal, Carter, & Johnson, 2017). The types of adaptive learning platforms vary in their strengths and weaknesses. However, all of them provide the non-linear approach to establish a baseline knowledge of concepts and then branch to simpler or more advanced questions and practice activities that scaffold the learner to the unit’s mastery objective. These platforms also provide instructors with data dashboards showing student mastery progress, students in need of possible intervention, and instructors' very granular data of student progress.

Recently the Virtual Florida Adaptive Learning Summit (2020) brought in faculty utilizing adaptive learning platforms within their online or in-person courses. The Summit also had vendors speaking about their adaptive learning platforms and which subject areas were applicable. The most notable features are using big data and artificial intelligence to transfer students to the individualized learning paths and generate questions about the content and the student’s level. The most unique of the solutions was acrobatiq , a system provided through VitalSource. This platform takes textbook content offered through VitalSource publishers, and it creates a smartbook through artificial intelligence, more specifically natural language processing, broken by chapter section, creates formative assessment questions, and identify learning objectives for course alignment. The acrobatiq system, along with the other five other vendors' platforms, allow for custom content created by instructors and control over the content offered to students. This flexibility enables instructors and instructional designers to pin-point content, assessments, activities, supplemental lesson materials, and other learning content to align with learning outcomes and goals. Thus, with these systems performing most work, instructional designers can then work with instructors to focus on learning design considering the audience and how best to present the instruction. Learners also receive personalized communication and tailored support on the content.

The second selection is XR, commonly referred to as Cross Reality or eXtended Reality that is a term for “[a]ll immersive technologies [that] extend the reality we experience by either blending the virtual and ‘real’ worlds or by creating a fully immersive experience” (Marr, 2019). Georgieva, Craig, Pfaff, Neville, & Burchett (2017) explain the potential technology to “create a psychological sense of immersive presence in an environment that feels real enough to be viewed, experienced, explored, and manipulated.” XR is the use of technology such as 3D technologies (printing, scanning, and display), virtual reality (VR), mixed or merged reality (MX), augmented reality (AR), cinematic reality (CR), wearable devices, and other technologies. Most commonly, XR has uses within courses or curricula that utilize simulations of real-life situations or environments or where the core learning is rooted in experiential and competency-based education. Pomerantz (2019) notes the use of simulations within nursing education programs and even language learning courses. XR’s use to support nursing can be through a simulation of working with a patient for various procedures much in the same way with manikins or paid actors.

Besides competency-based educational programs like allied health sciences, chemistry, and language learning, XR, because it is a broad category of technological use and devices, can have applications in the visualization of cell biology, anatomy, and physiology making abstract concepts more concrete or tangible. While anatomy and physiology are not as abstract due to most structures being apart of gross anatomy, XR can replace the need for cadaver dissection as a demonstration to provide the visualization of organs and their body placement. It can also present a means of offering these courses in a virtual learning environment because realia are technology-based on the physical models. Through XR, although the initial cost of equipment may be expensive, the overall cost saving from paying actors, acquiring dissection subjects, purchasing various chemicals, purchasing expensive realia, and dedicating space within multiple institution locations for learners to use these resources. There is a potential reduction in liability using the virtual version. There is no real consequence for being exposed to blood, caustic chemicals, and PPE failure; this is critical for learners new within a particular field of study. However, more advanced simulations can take into account such exposures.

Along a similar vein of the simulation without costly VR/AR equipment, it is possible to create interactive video pathways through various online video creation tools such as Kaltura. These interactive pathways are predetermined videos in a series that branch based upon user selections. It may be possible to use 360-degree videos in the future with such technology to create a more immersive simulation.

Before moving into the next section, it is vital to discuss learning experience design or design thinking to utilize adaptive learning platforms or XR within the education environment. Korkmaz (2018) quotes Floor (2018) with the definition as “Learning experience design […] is the process of creating learning experiences that enable the learner to achieve the desired learning outcome in a human-centered and goal-oriented way.” Using learning experience design and these emerging technologies can help with the problem solving and iterative design process to provide the materials to the learner in an empathetic, goal-oriented, and human-centered way. Learning experience design as a problem-solving process has the following steps Discover, Define, Curate, Develop, Learn, and Evolve. This type of learning design is best suited for the online environment. However, it may also be useful within the blended learning context. Regardless of the learning modality, the instructional method, and the placement and use of technology must be intentional and relate to instruction delivery.

Within my organizational environment, my selection is the use of adaptive learning platforms. Many of our instructors are adjunct and placed into a course days before they need to begin teaching a class full of learners. Utilizing a mixture of the adaptive learning platform in the new course development of a master shell has many distinct benefits. A full-time faculty member establishes the curriculum, and the Dean approves the course map for the particular school. Many of the adaptive learning platforms are cost-effective for students and have the textbook integrated. Before adoption, each platform needs to pass checks for privacy data security, accessibility, and technical feasibility and integration. Because we are an open-access public institution, we have a diverse student population from dual enrollment programs, GED, English Language Learners, just out of high school learners, and non-traditional students. Due to these factors, not every student is at the same level in their base knowledge of a subject. Also, because we are open-access, past required remediation courses may be optional for students. Having the adaptive platform individualizing the questions and pathways for students' mastery can help our instructors spend more time with struggling students and communicating with the course rather than adjusting assignments on-the-fly. Designing the course with the adaptive platform would also ease faculty developers' process to select each module’s learning outcomes and the materials to support them. The questions already built on the platform also allow our instructional design team to review the items, concentrate on learner needs, and improve the materials and instruction.

For a better understanding of adaptive learning platforms and XR or eXtended Reality, please consult the list below broken by the type of technology:

Adaptive Learning Platforms Resources:

XR Resources:

Affiliation and financial disclosure:

The author has not received any payment for the information provided within the text of this article, nor is the author affiliated or in an active relationship with any of the companies mentioned within the text of this document. The author provides no endorsement for any specific company, and any information is available for educational purposes only.

References

EDUCAUSE. (2020, March 2). 2020 EDUCAUSE horizon report (Teaching and Learning Edition ed.). Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE.

Georgieva, M., Craig, E., Pfaff, D., Neville, D., & Burchett, B. (2017, October 7). 7 things you should know about AR/VR/MR. EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI).

Korkmaz, C. (2018). “ID 2 LXD” from instructional design to learning experience design: The rise of design thinking. In A-P. Correia (Ed.), Driving educational change: Innovations in action (Chapter 3). The Ohio State University PressBooks.

Marr, B. (2019, August 12). What is extended reality technology? A simple explanation for anyone. Forbes.

Moskal, P., Carterm D., & Johnson, D. (2017, January 4). 7 things you should know about adaptive learning. EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI).

Pomerantz, J. (2019, October 10). XR for teaching and learning. EDUCAUSE Research.

University of Central Florida Pegasus Innovation Lab. (2020). Virtual Florida adaptive learning summit.

Reflection
Steven Kolberg
Steven Kolberg
Senior Coordinator of Accessibility and LMS Administration

My research interests include instructional design, web accessibility, computer programming, and education.

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