Digital Transformation Trends & Use Cases In Education In 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in education as nearly 1.5 billion students across the world became distanced from their classrooms. However, online education is not the only way digital technologies transform the teaching and learning experience. We explore how digital transformation affects education with key technologies and trends.

What does digital transformation mean for education?

Digital transformation in education means digitizing the processes and products to improve the teaching and learning experience for everyone involved.
Digital transformation in education focuses on:

Accessibility: Digital technologies enable learners (e.g. students, employees) to access learning resources more easily and less expensively than traditional education. People across the world, from all ages, with different socioeconomic statuses have access to classes and resources through the internet. Technologies such as text-to-speech remove the barriers for students with disabilities.
Increased engagement:o Interactive learning: Micro lessons, videos, interactive tests, games etc. are all different learning formats which are transforming education. For example, interactive language teaching apps like Duolingo claim to reach more US learners interested in foreign languages than the school system.
o Customized learning: Computer technology and AI enable educational methods such as adaptive learning where each learner is allowed to learn in a way appropriate to them.

Why Is Digital Transformation In Education Important Now?

Colleges shutdowns and distance education are one of the most profound effects of COVID-19 which has demonstrated the importance and urgency of incorporating digital technologies into education. Even before the pandemic, the education industry was in the process of digital transformation. The effect of the pandemic is also staggering as the investments more than doubled in 2020.

What Are The Key Technologies And Trends Enabling Digital Transformation In Education?

1.Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence applications can undertake simple but time-consuming tasks in education to ease the workload of educators or school staff. They can also be used to deliver an improved and custom learning experience to students. The applications include:

2.Improving Student Performance

Voice-to-text technologies transforming classes to notes are helpful to students with hearing impairment
Text-to-voice technologies help students with dyslexia listed instead of read so they can learn effectively.
Personalized learning can involve a diverse set of technologies including AI to elicit how a student learns best and tailor the education accordingly. Blended and adaptive learning are example methods that combine face-to-face instruction with digital learning tools that encourage students to learn by discovery.

3.Increasing Effectiveness Of Staff

Intelligent FAQ chatbots to answer questions about class, homework, campus, etc. Chatbots can act as virtual advisors for college students which can free up professors’ time.
Domain specific chatbots: College admission is a complex and stressful process for high school students. College counsellors have limited time to support hundreds of students. Chatbots focused on the admission process can support students in this challenging and important process
Educational businesses also have back office functions like finance. Technologies like process mining can help identify inefficiencies.
Individual automation technologies like RPA or combining multiple automation technologies (also called hyperautomation) can help save time of support staff

4- Analytics

Digital technologies enable schools to collect and analyze a wealth of data about their students to monitor and enhance their performance. Using advanced analytics, they can determine where students struggle and succeed, develop new methods, and test whether these methods yield expected results.

5- Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality

AR/VR technologies can create interactive and virtual environments for students and help them better engage with the subject. These technologies can enable virtual field trips to historical locations or facilitate learning-by-doing for applied sciences and medicine. The distance learning experience can also be improved with AR/VR technologies.

6- Internet Of Things (IoT)

The increasing use of smartphones and other edge devices improves the connectivity between students and their education institution by enabling real-time communication and data transfer. IoT devices can also be used to track young children’s absence or presence in class and alert teachers and parents for their security.

7- Online Learning

Distance learning through Zoom or Skype was an emergency response from schools and colleges to the pandemic. Educational institutions can also build their own online class systems and integrate them into their websites or platforms. This will allow them to customize the online learning experience according to the needs of learners or the subject of the course.

8- Smart Classes

Digital technologies have also improved face-to-face learning. Smart classes equipped with smart boards, computers, internet connection, projectors, etc. unlock the ways of delivering learning resources to students that were impossible with a blackboard and chalks.\