According to ReportLinker, the global edtech and smart classrooms market, with key players like 2U Inc., Apple, Google, and Microsoft, witnessed remarkable growth from $140.24 billion in 2022 to $162.89 billion in 2023, driven by a 16.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The market is poised to expand further, projected to reach $304.63 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 16.9%. This growth is propelled by increasing investments in eLearning and edtech, as the pandemic highlighted the need for virtual education solutions.

Education Tools and Technologies

From personalized learning experiences to data-driven insights, edtech trends are revolutionizing education and paving the way for a more engaging, effective, and interconnected experience. A diverse array of edtech trends are shaping the educational landscape, providing educators, students, and parents with a glimpse into the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.

Immersive Learning

Software solutions are equipping schools and faculties with dynamic learning management systems (LMS) that yield robust analytics, reports, and visuals, elevating the quality of educational materials and presentations. Immersive learning involves surrounding people with interactive, multisensory experiences, making it easier to understand and remember. Extended Reality (XR) is a broad concept that blends computer-made worlds with the real world or makes immersive virtual experiences. It combines Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) to offer many exciting possibilities in both real and virtual places.

Another technological phenomenon that has captured the interest of educators is 360° video. It gives the experience of a world where you’re not just a passive observer but an active participant, surrounded by a breathtaking panorama that stretches in every direction. 360° video content is presented in an omnidirectional format, which can originate from computer-generated sources or real-world recordings. This format allows users to observe everything within the camera’s scope, culminating in experiences that are profoundly interactive, immersive, engaging, and notably true to life. The utilization of 360° video, augmented reality, and virtual reality has gained substantial popularity and widespread adoption in 2023 in the creation of interactive and immersive educational environments and experiences.

School Management Systems

An increasing number of schools are utilizing cloud-based school management systems to simplify various aspects of school administration and operations. By harnessing the power of cloud technology in edtech services, these systems streamline tasks such as student enrolment, attendance tracking, grade management, and communication between educators, students, and parents. They can also enable seamless collaboration among teachers, staff, and external stakeholders on a unified platform.

Cloud-based school management systems offer easy attendance recording and review, generating teacher-friendly reports. Students benefit from organized online materials, including assignments and notes, with the platform supporting e-learning and simultaneous usage. Effective communication is promoted among parents, students, teachers, and administrators through SMS, email, and notifications. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud-based deployments curtails expenses and the need for extensive IT support, fostering growth in the education sector.

Gamification

Gamification offers a range of benefits that extend beyond traditional teaching methods. Incorporating gamification into education tools has proven to be a powerful way to boost students’ learning capabilities. This innovative approach leverages game elements and mechanics to create an engaging and interactive learning environment. By integrating game-based concepts, educators can effectively capture the attention of students and foster deeper involvement in the learning process. It promotes active participation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, enabling students to grasp complex concepts more effectively. Through interactive challenges and rewards, students are motivated to explore and engage with the subject matter, leading to a deeper understanding and retention of information. Incorporating technology and digital platforms, gamification offers real-time feedback and progress tracking. This feature enables educators to monitor the performance of the students and tailor their teaching strategies accordingly. By using the principles of game design, educators can empower students to become active participants in their learning journey.

AI-Enabled Learning

Artificial Intelligence is exerting a transformative influence on the eLearning landscape of higher education. A captivating application of AI technology within this context is predictive analytics aimed at enhancing student achievement. Predictive analysis with AI in education refers to the application of artificial intelligence and data analysis techniques to predict student performance, behaviour, and outcomes. This approach aims to provide educators, administrators, and policymakers with insights to make informed decisions and interventions to improve the overall learning experience. Google’s Socratic AI is a learning tool that makes education easier and more personalized. Whether you’re stuck on a tough concept or want to explore a subject in-depth, Socratic AI uses AI technology to find the best online resources just for you. You can use your voice or webcam, and Socratic AI will quickly guide you to study guides, videos, and explanations that match your needs. AI-driven tutoring systems can provide real-time assistance to students, answering questions and providing explanations. These systems can also analyze their emotional cues to evaluate their engagement and adapt the learning experience accordingly.

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning relies on technology and data-driven algorithms to adjust the learning experience for each student in real time. It involves the use of sophisticated software and AI to analyze their performance and interactions with the learning materials. Based on this analysis, the system adapts the content, difficulty level, and pace of learning activities to match their needs and abilities. The focus of adaptive learning is on automatic adjustments and personalized recommendations, often in the form of quizzes, assessments, and targeted content delivery. Thus, adaptive learning is a specific subset of personalized learning. Educators can leverage adaptive learning tools like Knewton, DreamBox, ALEKS, and Smart Sparrow, along with platforms such as McGraw-Hill Connect, Cerego, Pearson MyLab & Mastering, Duolingo, Squirrel AI, and ALEX, to create personalized and engaging learning experiences for students.

Conclusion

The future of product development in edtech is starting to witness a transformative era of personalized, inclusive, and immersive learning experiences. As technological advancements continue to accelerate, edtech will leverage artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and data analytics to tailor education to individual needs, learning styles, and paces. This shift will foster deeper engagement, better retention, and enhanced skill acquisition among learners of all ages and backgrounds.

Furthermore, the future of edtech will prioritize accessibility, breaking down barriers to education through adaptive technologies and language translation tools, and ensuring that learning is truly borderless. Collaborative platforms and global networking will facilitate knowledge-sharing and cross-cultural interactions, enriching the educational landscape.

However, ethical considerations, data privacy, and the digital divide must be carefully navigated to ensure equitable access and responsible use. As the edtech landscape evolves, a balance between innovation and mindful implementation will be pivotal in shaping a future where technology empowers educators and learners to collectively thrive in an ever-changing world.

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The Flexibility and Personalization of Phygital Learning: Combining Traditional and Digital Education 

The combination of physical and digital learning is referred to as “Phygital learning” or “blended learning.” Through the use of both traditional classroom instruction and online learning, this method enables students to study in a variety of ways and to benefit from the particular advantages of each type of learning environment. 

The ability to learn at one’s own pace is one of the key advantages of Phygital learning. For instance, students can review content they have already learned in class or go deeper into brand-new subjects by using online resources. For students who require extra help or who are having difficulty understanding a certain idea, this can be extremely helpful. 

The ability for students to study in a variety of environments is another advantage of phygital learning. For instance, students can attend traditional classroom instruction when they are present with the teacher or take online courses while they are on the go. Students with busy schedules or who reside in remote places may find this to be extremely helpful. 

Additionally, phygital learning enables more individualized education. Students can personalize their learning experiences by using technology, such as adaptive learning software. Students with various learning styles or talents may benefit from this.

Elevating Education through Phygital Learning: Real-World Examples and Proven Analysis 

Data shows that blended learning can improve student achievement. In a meta-analysis of 225 studies on blended learning, students in blended learning environments scored better on tests than students in fully online or fully in-person environments, on average. Another study showed that students in blended learning environments had higher levels of student engagement and motivation compared to students in traditional learning environments. 

Khan Academy is one example of phygical learning in action. On the web, there are thousands of videos and interactive exercises available at Khan Academy on a variety of topics. To help teachers use the platform in the classroom, Khan Academy also collaborates with academic institutions and educators to offer on-site professional development. 

The usage of learning management systems (LMS) in educational institutions is another example. These programmes offer a virtual space for students to access course materials, turn in assignments, and interact with instructors and fellow students. The LMS, however, is a part of traditional instruction in the classroom and does not take the place of it.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, Phygital learning is an effective approach to education that combines the best of both physical and digital forms of learning. It allows students to learn at their own pace, in a variety of settings, and with personalized instruction, which leads to improved student achievement, engagement and motivation. With the rapid rise of edtech services, phygital learning is becoming an increasingly popular way for students to learn and grow. 

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In a pandemic-struck world where e-learning is the new normal and students no longer have physical schools to retain their attention, gamification is fast becoming a trend that has education providers jumping on board to ensure students stay interested and motivated in education.   

What is gamification?   

While the idea of dangling a reward in front of learners to encourage progress isn’t new, the term “gamification” wasn’t popular until 2010, and it took another year for it to become a viable trend. The term gamification has been defined in several ways, such as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts,” “the phenomenon of creating gameful experiences,” or “the process of making activities more game-like.”  

Gamification in Edutech  

If there could be a singular significant predictor of academic achievement in students, it would be motivation. A student’s motivation level directly affects the amount of effort and time they are willing to stay engaged in learning. Gamification in Edutech targets precisely this.  

Gamification in EduTech essentially involves creating your learning content around principles of gaming design. It aims to pique human beings’ natural curiosity and competitiveness to drive improved and continuous user engagement – which translates to capturing a learner’s interest and then sustaining it to ensure they stay focused on completing the learning path. Gamification has been adopted to support learning in several different contexts and subjects. It also addresses learning-related behaviors such as participatory approaches, collaboration, self-guided study, completion of assignments, integration of exploratory approaches to learning, and strengthening student creativity and retention.  

Gamification in EduTech uses the same principles that make games addictive to keep learners hooked to their coursework. A combination of the proper increments, strategically placed rewards, and leaderboards are used to push all the right psychological buttons, ensuring that the students repeatedly return in search of that shot of the reward hormone dopamine.   

The psychology behind the success of gamification  

Dopamine – the “feel-good” hormone, is highly addictive. It’s what gives you that rush every time you complete a level in a particularly competitive game or when your parents rewarded you for good behavior as a child.  

Gamification utilizes this reward-wanting, dopamine-seeking behavior to turn the learning process into an active one, rather than the passive one it traditionally is. Learning becomes an activity where the student controls how and when information is delivered, rather than being passive responders to spoon-fed information. Once students understand that they and they alone are responsible for unlocking achievements and rewards, they begin to want to learn more, relying less on the fear of failure or disappointment and more on the promises of rewards (in this case, continued progress in the game.)   

It is imperative to understand how to harness this natural attraction to rewards for course creators to design their learning paths around it and make gamification work for education. Learner Motivation is the most complex variable to control in an e-learning scenario, so tactics to increase motivation are crucial to its success. The more goals students achieve, the more dopamine is released, and the higher their motivation to progress on their learning paths and attain more rewards.   

This dopamine-induced motivation keeps the student hooked onto progressing in their learning path – they want to complete what they started, and they want to retain the knowledge they are gaining.   

The need for human-focused design   

Brian Burke gained a great deal of knowledge on the Gamification world during his stint at Gartner. Inc and even wrote a book about it – Gamify: How gamification motivates people to do extraordinary things. In the book, Burke talks about three main elements of motivation that drive gamification’s success – Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.   

The ability to make one’s own choices, the positive feedback that urges learners to try harder, and the emotional engagement of being rewarded with things of intrinsic value – like social standing or ranking amongst their peers – makes gamification attractive and engaging to students across subjects and age groups.   

You Kai Chou, a leading expert on gamification principles, developed the “Octalysis Framework” – a human-centric gamification design framework that explains the eight core motivations for human beings. His principles highlight the need for design to be structured around the users’ feelings, motivations, and challenges – the things that make them human – to motivate them to complete tasks.  

How gamification acted as a game-changer for an Experion client   

blackrock worked with a leading Edutech services provider in the Middle East to build the first e-learning platform in the Arab world. The platform included the utilization of gamification modules. The platform allowed students to learn their lessons while gaining points for each module covered. The tangible reward of a point system acted as a motivation for students to complete their modules. In addition, the application gave tokens for achievements like silver, gold, and platinum badges to the students for the level of excellence they completed their learning modules. The client noted that the students’ social recognition in their peer groups based on their badges inspired them to better their performance and earn more praise.  

We integrated APIs from Gamify, one of the most popular gamification marketing providers in our application. It influenced the learning behavior of the learner and helped the learning platform improve user engagement and retention.  

After the implementation of the gamification modules, the client witnessed substantial improvement in the engagement rate of students. Students showed a lot of interest in discussing their achievement badges in the e-learning platform & it was evident that it motivated them to keep going. A significant positive result was that students with lesser learning capabilities showed considerable improvement in understanding concepts while using the e-learning platform enriched with the gamification module.   

If you have an idea for utilizing gamification to enhance students’ learning experience worldwide, get in touch with us at sales@blackrockdxb.com.

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RPA – Robotic Process Automation – is a software-based technology that enables computer systems to be configured to replace iterative human actions in a business process

Process Automation robots use the UI of an existing system to capture data and make changes to applications just like humans would. They can interpret this data, trigger responses from the system, and communicate with other systems to perform a wide variety of repetitive tasks. Unlike humans, Process Automation robots never sleep and never make a mistake, making the potential for error-free efficiency infinite.

This technology plays a crucial role in automating repetitive tasks at workplaces in all industries. It is estimated that up to 60% of work in an organization such as high volume processes, repetitive tasks, digital processes, activities with minimal human interaction are ideal candidates for automation. 

Use Cases in Education:

Automation would take highly repetitive, monotonous work out of the way for teachers, faculty, and other academic staff alike, allowing them to focus their energies more on the things that truly matter while ensuring that the routine administrative tasks are performed error-free. Automation in education can remove several hurdles that educators are faced with that steal away precious time – tasks such as keeping track of a student’s progress, grading and attendance management can easily be taken over by automation bots. 

Here are some academic use cases that robotic process automation can revolutionize in education:

Tracking course progress – Set empirical goals for faculty and students and track their progress automatically with KPIs. Send alerts and warnings for missed targets.

RPA enables Universities to track course progress based on the original lesson plan designed by faculty. Empirical goals can be set by the University for faculty and by University and faculty for students. RPA enables the institution to track deliverables and deadlines for students, as well as course progress. It can provide early reminders for upcoming tasks in addition to alerts and warnings for missed targets. 

Student activity monitoring – Analyze the time students devote to individual subjects/ topics and help them optimize their study-schedule.

Student progress and performance can be tracked with RPA. Students who are found to be weak or poor performing in certain courses or modules can be identified. The system can reach out to those students and enquire if they need assistance. It could also provide suggestions for self-improvement in addition to alerting faculty in cases where external assistance is needed such as identifying and engaging tutors for specific modules.

On-screen evaluation – Auto-scan answer sheets, calculate scores, generate results, and send out scanned copies of evaluated answer sheets.

Exams, both screen-based and paper-based can be evaluated using RPA, based on inputs provided by faculty. Paper-based exams are scanned and graded by the system with minimal external assistance. RPA can calculate and generate scores which could then be updated in the database as well as student portals. The process can free up faculty time as well as generate results much faster.

Several other tasks could be taken over by RPA: enrollment process, monitoring student/teacher performance, regulatory compliance, library management, timetable updates, exam hall seating arrangement, player/team selection in sports, etc.

Tangible benefits of RPA:

• RPA is more accurate

RPA systems can be implemented for routine, mundane tasks such as student enrollment, attendance management, and tuition fee collection – there will be no hassles around missing payslips or data that has been entered wrong, as RPAs can handle these processes seamlessly and in an error-free manner.

• RPA sticks to regulations. 

With systems that are empowered with RPA,  it is easy to ensure compliance – they execute their tasks reliably and reduce compliance risk. As long as they are programmed to operate according to existing regulations and standards, they will never step out of line. This makes using RPA one of the easiest ways to certify that the school or university complies with all existing standards for quality assessments, improving the chances of going up on the scoreboards for best institutions in a given region.

• RPA saves money

 RPA can reduce processing costs by up to 80%. They will exhibit a positive return on investment in no time and can result in further accumulative cost reductions of up to 20%, over time. The initial investment is therefore completely justified, and the savings garnered can be invested elsewhere such as towards improving infrastructure, or improving compensation for employees while reducing the workload. 

• RPA is super scalable.

Unlike humans, RPA-empowered software systems are excellent at multitasking – they perform massive amounts of operations parallelly, in both desktop and cloud environments. So no matter how large the project or the institution, or the rate at which it grows, the RPA is capable of scaling alongside it and providing the same level of efficiency consistently. 

• RPA increases productivity.

Relieved of the burden of monotonous, no-value add tasks, employees are freed of the pressure of repetitive tasks and can engage more meaningfully at the workplace, increasing productivity and boosting morale. Educators can focus on bettering their methods or can engage their students more, instead of wasting precious time stuck in front of systems, forced to work on routine admin tasks. 

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E-learning platforms have been around for many decades, but haven’t been able to create the kind of  ‘transformational’ impact that has long been promised. With the Coronavirus ‘black swan’ event, all of these remote learning platforms have gotten a sudden push into the mainstream, even in places where people could not envision such options earlier due to poor infrastructure and other socio-economic issues. 

The size of the E-learning market had already been pegged to cross USD 240 Billion by 2023, and now this projection is going to go up further. It is no wonder then, that in the coming days we will see newer companies entering the remote learning race utilizing emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing & Augmented and Virtual Reality to compete with established market leaders.  

Emerging technologies that are set to take e-learning solutions to the next level

Artificial Intelligence

According to Forbes, “Artificial intelligence can act as a virtual tutor and answer questions on the fly”.

Artificial Intelligence-powered E-learning platforms will be equipped to identify and assess learners’ levels of understanding and suggest customized paths of learning. Content analytics powered by AI makes personalized and learner-centered approaches possible – these would be based on the learner’s intellectual level, from kindergarten through higher education to even corporate training. Developing these solutions is no longer a daunting task with the advent of AIaaS or “AI as a Service” – now these solutions are easy to implement and come with enticing benefits. 

Augmented Reality (AR)

AR solutions bring more engagement, excitement, and innovation to e-learning platforms making content more consumable, enjoyable, and valuable. Augmented Reality techniques will be widely utilized to increase engagement for learners through activities, rather than the traditional read and write learning methodology. Augmented reality can also be used to offer customized learning options to suit differently-abled students with special needs to learn better, as AR includes gesture, voice recognition, and image rendering experiences.

Virtual and Remote Laboratories

Laboratories are some of the best places to learn – they allow students to acquire knowledge, experiment with different methods of arriving at answers, and experience real equipment, inculcating active learning and the development of skills based on solving challenges. Simulating labs virtually makes it possible for the users to stay connected through the internet to a remote physical system, and conduct web-based technical experiments. Students can extend their depth of knowledge in areas of control systems, programming, database, various other web-based applications, tools, and technologies. 

Virtual labs are also extremely beneficial to run experiments that are normally too expensive, unsafe to run, or unavailable.  They also allow students to repeat an experiment multiple times,  giving them the opportunity to see how changed parameters and settings affect the outcome without wasting resources.

The Internet of Things

The number of devices that will be a part of the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2025 will be around 75 billion in number. The rise in IoT is going to further improve the e-learning experience. Already we see how mobile learning allows learners to access E-learning courses with absolute freedom of time and place. In the future, we are going to see more content in the form of images and videos.  24X7 access to the internet across a number of wearables will make teachers redesign assessment from “remembering and writing down”, to “evaluate and elucidate concepts on the go”.

If you’re thinking of using these technologies to your advantage to build or improve your E-learning systems and solutions, reach out to the expert technology consultants at Black Rock IT Solutions. blackrock has built spectacular EduTech platforms for organizations across the globe – with our years of experience and know-how in the latest technologies such as AI and AR/VR, blackrock is certain to deliver the best solution with minimum time investment.

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