Future Trends in Educational Technology
Future trends in educational technology are directly connected with improvements in technological equipment and with creating new IT devices. Furthermore, it is also possible to speak about the progress in using the Internet. Also, it is important to note that specific changes in the area are associated with the distribution of time for online activities in the teaching-learning process and with determining the nature of proposed assignments.
It is expected that the main focus will be on self-directed and student-oriented learning. The domination of online and hybrid courses over the traditional ones is also one of the main future trends. Online learning will be improved with references to the use of immediate feedback and digital-based tests (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012, p. 112). The improvement of technologies will lead to more intensive use of interactive technologies and video games for individual learning as well as social media and virtual communities for collaboration and group learning. Much attention will be paid to using social media for monitoring and assessment in forms of blogs and online journals.
Educators are focused on using more technologies to motivate students and make their learning experiences more interesting. As a result, the nature of assignments will change. More attention will be paid to using technologies for creating or producing something. Thus, future trends are associated with using IT for publishing, creating more portfolios, videos, and interactive resources (Tugui, 2011, p. 65). It is also expected that students will play a significant role in creating and developing online libraries while collecting sources and organizing databases. Therefore, the progress of technologies leads to developing instructors’ and students’ technological or digital skills (Botha, 2013, p. 26). Moreover, the changes in instructions make students utilize their own wireless devices with the Internet connection to access and use the information at any time.
A range of new technologies will also transform teaching and learning because improvements in the sphere of creating voice software and widely available devices to represent the tactile characteristics are expected (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012, p. 114). These technologies will allow students to become oriented to experience and practice-centered learning.
Review of the Video Thomas Suarez: A 12-Year-Old App Developer
Thomas Suarez created his first apps and his own company at the age of 11. Suarez’s talk on his experience in creating apps is important to demonstrate what aspects of technological development can be interesting for students and what technologies are important to choose to stimulate the students’ development (Thomas Suarez: A 12-year-old app developer, 2011). If a student likes technologies or computers and wants to try programming, he or she should receive the opportunity to develop skills in this area because today, students are limited in their opportunities to find all the necessary information about creating apps and to receive the sponsor assistance to make first tries in this area.
School clubs similar to that one discussed by Suarez can be considered as good initiatives to stimulate students’ development and to motivate them to develop personal potential. In the school club, Suarez has the opportunity to share his knowledge and experience in the field of creating apps. Thus, such clubs are important to promote students’ cooperation and the development of technological skills. Moreover, teachers can motivate students to create apps that are also effective to promote teaching and learning.
References
Botha, J. (2013). Current and future trends in educational computing: Implications for training language teachers. Per Linguam: A Journal of Language Learning, 5(2), 24-32.
Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (2012). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. New York, NY: Pearson.
Thomas Suarez: A 12-year-old app developer. (2011). Web.
Tugui, A. (2011). Calm technologies: A new trend for educational technologies. World Future Review, 3(1), 64-73.