The sudden outbreak of COVID 19 that has affected the world’s economies has also stifled the education industry. Around 90% of students, that means approx. 1.5 billion students of the world’s primary and secondary schools cannot physically attend school. To help students keep learning, many schools turned to technology to help them bridge the gap. Digital transformation in the education Sector, however, is not limited to post-Covid-19 online learning and education.
Some educational institutes and schools have been using technology for past years; the advent of the coronavirus pandemic has boosted the process of digital transformation in the education Sector, leaving administrators, teachers, and students to adopt more digital methods to cope with lockdowns. Read on to explore digital transformation challenges facing education sector and current trends in the digital transformation of education.
What is the effect of Digital Transformation in Education Sector?
Digital transformation involves improving the core business process of a company to fulfill customers’ requirements through leveraging technology and data effectively. Students, teachers, faculty, and graduates can be target consumers in the education sector, and both students and teachers can benefit from digital transformation. It enables students to utilize mobile learning and provides a wide range of choices for online learning.
Digital transformation in the education industry helps provide flexibility to continue teaching and learning from a remote location. Also, it helps to offer a flexible course structure and allows students to learn anytime and anywhere. Moreover, it enhances the overall teacher and student learning experience.
Digital transformation challenges in the Education Industry
Lack of clear strategy
A lack of strategy with adopting new technology can be a challenge. When a large school faces obstacles to completing tasks with the help of the latest technology, it can be challenging to learn and achieve a goal. Making robust strategies can help schools accomplish significant points and focus on achieving their objective.
Technology Infrastructure
Digital transformation in the education industry needs new equipment and technology infrastructure for learners, direct instructors, and educational institutes. Choosing the platform that provides easy access, course creation, seamless integration is another obstacle educational institutes face. Therefore, Digital transformation requires technology infrastructure to develop an engaging learning culture.
Management and thinking
To operate such systems, instructors need the management and thinking ability of school administrators to change. They must find a way to analyze what is possible in virtual space and effectively exploit technology for this purpose. Educational institutes need to grasp knowledge and digital thinking to understand the limits and master technology.
Skills in utilizing technology
Digital transformation cannot succeed unless instructors do not have the skills to utilize the technology. Therefore, instructors should be updated with skills to guide and watch students during learning. Also, they need the support of technical staff and experts in the process to ensure that teaching goes smoothly. At the same time, students also need to be continuously upskilled to keep up with the changing technology.
Inequality in education
The unlimited access to technology without concerning space and time will bring digital equity. But this could also deepen the inequality in access to learning between geographies and students with socio-economic conditions. For example, students located in rural or mountainous areas will face difficulty accessing high-quality education and have limited resources available for study.
Current Trends in the digital transformation of education sector
Before COVID in 2018, around 35.3% of US college students took online education as part of their degree. The sudden coronavirus outbreak in 2020 accelerated online education as the social distancing and lockdowns made online learning the only option. Online learning has been the only way that digital technology and advancement have impacted students and trends. Therefore, digital trends have heavily influenced the education industry. Let’s explore the current trends in the digital transformation of education sector.
Universal Accessibility
One of the most encouraging digital transformation trends visible in education is improved accessibility. Technological advancement continues to improve access from different geographies. Online learning opportunities allow students to access schools and degree programs that may not be local to them. Students no longer have to be limited by their immediate geographical area.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools provide an engaging learning experience for students. The usage of text-to-voice technology can guide students with Dyslexia or other reading impairments. Chatbots like FAQs can answer common student questions, which helps students stay focused in their learning process. Moreover, it makes classes interesting as students can dig deeper into the courses of their interests.
Customization
Personalized learning approaches have also been an essential component of digital transformation in the education industry. Many educational institutes and schools have understood the value of providing adaptable solutions for students based on their weaknesses and strengths. Customizing courses according to learning needs offers benefits for students and education institutions.
When students are allowed to learn at their convenience, it helps them grasp and retain more knowledge. Moreover, personalization empowers them to take steps ahead in their learning process. As a result, students become encouraged to earn their degrees and qualify for educational and job opportunities.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality has become an essential aspect among all industry. In the education sector, virtual reality allows students to experience the material they learn before they experience it in real-world applications. For example, medical students need to perform most surgeries and operations; with the help of virtual reality, they can undergo the procedure and learn them practically before practicing in real.
Gamification
Gamification is fun; gamified learning approaches allow students to learn the best way and enable them to have fun. Gamification involves game-based elements such as badges, points, certificates, rewards, and more. It can be applied to based-school but is also widely utilized in self-teaching apps and courses that make the learning process more engaging.
The Bottom Line
The shift from traditional to online learning has changed the way of education. Digital transformation in education industry has helped the learners and teachers to a greater extent. However, there is a need to improve accessibility to all to make the learning content methodologies more engaging and effective. Therefore, digital transformation in the education sector has changed the future way of learning.
The LMS industry has played a significant role and contributed majorly in transforming to online education. Paradiso LMS has served millions of users and helped them transform to online learning methods swiftly, providing them complete support. The eLearning solutions have an easy-to-use interface and are easy to learn, enhancing its adaptability worldwide. So, grab the benefits of online learning and be ahead of your competitors in adopting digital transformation in Education sector.
