Education constantly faces a range of challenges and opportunities – now more than ever.

With changing travel restrictions, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 and the rise of hybrid learning, the education industry has changed much in the last few years, and it’s expected to change even more in the future.

Since the first mention of the pandemic, educators have transformed the learning landscape by adopting a host of new educational technologies that have allowed for better, more reliable education, even in times of uncertainty.

But the innovations in education don’t stop there. Here are some more of the biggest education trends you should be aware of this year to create a smart classroom.

1. Hybrid Learning

Hybrid learning is something that many of us had heard of before the days of COVID-19, but it has now become a huge part of education and professional life.

Under hybrid-learning, students have a mixed approach to their learning which combines in-person learning and online classes.

Not only does this approach boost flexibility, but it can also save time and give students more control over what they learn.

Education is a passive task, but with the introduction of hybrid learning, students can choose what and where they want to learn – from anywhere in the world.

It can also help teachers create more enriching learning environments for their students, by coming up with new methods of learning and adopting a selection of tools that can get the most out of their students.

2. Artificial Intelligence

Technology is disrupting many different industries – in particular the education industry.

Education technology is finding great use in the classroom as it’s able to create new, innovative experiences for students around the world. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an extremely valuable tool that, when used to its full potential, can make learning an exciting and dynamic experience for students which will help them to exceed and hit their academic goals.

It can also be used by teachers to enhance classes through automated data entry, trend analysis, and gaining insights from student data.

All of this can be used to improve learning for both teachers giving lessons and students trying to learn.

3. Social-Emotional Health

Over the pandemic, more people felt the effects of things like depression and anxiety–especially considering the length of time we had to spend at home.

This caused a change in the general approach to mental and social health for many people; making it into a topic that we are all much more open to talking about and taking action on.

Addressing mental health in schools is another trend that is going to be here to stay. It’s important for education institutions to address the mental health of their students and offer a range of support services.

For example, investing in school counsellors and therapists that students are encouraged to visit if they are having problems.

Not only does it mean investing in these support services, but also means educating teachers on how to manage the mental health of their students.

For example, encouraging students to make teachers aware when they feel they have too much work on or are feeling burnt out.

It should also be up to teachers to recognise when students are falling behind, getting distracted in lessons or failing to meet their potential, in case any of these things can be related to declining mental health.

4. Gamification

Students spend a great deal of their time on gadgets, like phone and tablets, outside school, so it only makes sense to bring some of these tools into the classroom to aid with learning.

Lessons don’t have to consist of teachers reading out of a textbook or flipping through presentation slides. It can be engaging and exciting for students through the introduction of gamification.

Gamification is all about bringing the thrill of a video game into the classroom, so students get the feeling of playing a fun game – with the added benefit of learning while they do so.

In educational games, students can complete a range of tasks or activities to advance to the next level to provide educational stimulation without feeling bored or demotivated.

Some easy examples of how teachers can bring the idea of gamification into their classroom include:
•    Awarding points to students every time they meet an objective or goal
•    Creating competition in the class
•    Using a range of desirable rewards that will act as an incentive for students
•    Using levels, checkpoints and other ‘progression’ methods
•    Handing out learning badges when students achieve certain milestones
•    Creating playful barriers and challenges within a lesson for students to work through

These examples can also be complemented by online games, group activities and other technological tools that encourage students to learn in more exciting and innovative ways.

5. Digital Citizenship

The final trend that we will be discussing in this article is digital citizenship, which essentially means fluency in digital media.

This is something that younger students are getting better and better at, largely through their daily interactions with a variety of mixed media sources.

However, just because today’s students know what the internet is and are able to use a range of technological tools, it doesn’t mean that they know how to interact with these things in a healthy manner – which is where educators should step in.

Digital citizenship in the classroom can look like the following:
•    Deprioritising social media in the everyday lives of students
•    Learning what information to trust online, knowing how to spot ‘fake news’
•    Encouraging students to set boundaries online to protect themselves and their mental health

Final thoughts

In this article, we’ve taken you through some of the biggest educational technology trends that are being used across the globe to facilitate learning, create exceptional learning experiences, and help more students to hit their educational goals.

With the introduction of these new trends, learning institutions can become more efficient, nimble and flexible when it comes to creating a space that is beneficial to all students using future education technology.

Innovations in education are no longer limited to classroom, with more EduTech startups with agile workspace and enterprise grade IT infrastructure providing a resilient environment for educators to deliver seamless learning experience.