Education
TEACHING THE FUTURE
Teachers are tasked every day with correcting spelling tests, entering grades, writing
lesson plans, and now with integrating technology along the way. They would be doing
their students a disservice if they choose to ignore the fact that technology has become
woven into our daily lives, but they are taking cautious steps to ensure that they are
using and teaching technology in a beneficial way. Doing so
provides students with a fundamental approach to utilizing
technology to increase productivity, access resources and to
lay the groundwork for use in their future careers. Teachers
continue to learn and grow through continuing education
courses that allow them to integrate new methods
for incorporating technology in the classroom to
ultimately guide our students to a successful future.
Providing students with access to technology in a
structured setting provides them with the freedom to
individually learn and discover solutions to real-world
problems and prepare them for the future. Students have a
paved path to achieve success with the help of cooperative,
communal workspaces, online portals that encourage cross-
collaboration, and support from their teachers, peers and parents.
PERSONALIZED LEARNING FOR
HIGH SCHOOL
Personalized learning adapts a structured educational environment into a
malleable approach to learning and teaching. Each learning style is different, and there is
not one approach to teaching that fits them all. Personalized learning provides students
with attainable success in the classroom by allowing teachers to understand the strengths
and weaknesses of each individual student and adapt lesson plans to allow students to
work at their own pace.
Building Student Profiles: Personalized learning pulls from the strengths and
weaknesses of individual students and tailors lessons to improve learning outcomes.
Teachers are able to utilize these pathways to learning to guide their students to success.
Digital Approach to Personalized Learning: Utilizing data from digital coursework
provides an even stronger approach to personalized learning through analytics. These
analytics monitor a student’s perf ormance and can predict future patterns for learning,
giving teachers the tools necessary to prepare an appropriate curriculum for their
students.
Teacher Adaptation: Teachers develop a new approach to
instructing their students when adopting personalized learning. In
a typical classroom, there are students who are ahead of the curve
and students behind the curve, with very few considered to be
on the curve. A teacher typically aims to teach on the curve,
with students on either end falling short of their learning
capabilities. Personalized learning gives faculty the ability
to spend more time tailoring their approach on an individual
level.
Use Case: A high school in San Diego is currently implementing
the personalized learning approach in classrooms after receiving
a $10 million grant aimed at making high schools more personal.
The effort launched two years ago with a small group of students. After
seeing firsthand the academic success of these students, the school decided to take
the approach school-wide by introducing one grade level every year, starting with the
freshmen of 2017.
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5 ONLINE
EDUCATION TRENDS
FOR COLLEGE
Online education allows
non-traditional students the
opportunity to earn a degree
without leaving the comfort of
their own home. This educational approach
has opened doors for individuals with
circumstances prohibiting them from
participating in on-campus education.
Whether they are working full time,
raising families, or they live in a
different state, online education
provides the opportunity to earn a
degree remotely. According to U.S. News
and World Report, the number of online
students is continuing to grow and experts
are predicting a number of trends within the
next year for online learning.
1. Adoption of “Microcredentials” –
As non-traditional students are on the
rise, universities are developing multiple
program levels since not everyone is
looking to complete a four-year degree.
Microcredentials offer certificate programs,
digital “badges” of completion, and other
types of credentials to prove successful
completion of continued education
coursework.
2. Tailored Curriculums from Data
Insights – Since students complete all of
their work online, universities are receiving
data that is not typically available in a
traditional classroom setting. Analytics
teams are using this data to predict student
success, and in turn, teachers are enhancing
their curriculum to meet the needs of their
students.
3. Artificial Intelligence – Universities are
investing in artificial intelligence, such as
virtual assistants, to provide an additional
layer of support on top of that which
students receive from their professors.
4. Nonprofit Programs – Experts are
continuing to see a drop in for-profit
programs as more nonprofits are ramping up
their online education offerings. Nonprofit
institutions are working to keep up with the
demand for more online programs.
5. Ranging Disciplines – As online
programs continue to grow, they are offering
an increasing number of focus areas that may
not have been thought of until recent years.
Some students who already have degrees
are looking for specialized programs to learn
new technology in their field and to increase
their knowledge and credibility.
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