4 Of The Fastest Growing Trends In Education Technology

4 of the Fastest Growing Trends in Education Technology

Anna Francesca's article (linked above) lists 4 growing trends in Ed. Tech.  They are:

• Learning Analytics
• 3D Printing
• Mobile Apps
• Game-based Learning

Let's first discuss leaning analytics.  Data is one of the most important tools we have as educators.  We're constantly gathering and acting on the data we acquire.  However, something we do very little of is using that data to predict what our students will do in the future.  We use the data to see where our students are and what their current deficiencies or strengths are, but we rarely use that data to predict future behavior and performance.  Why not?  If Target can figure out that a teen girl was pregnant before her own father knew that she was, why can't educators use data to figure out the a student (or even a group of students) who is struggling with a particular objective use that knowledge to predict that that same student will likely struggle with correlated objectives later and proactively prevent it rather than remediating it after the fact?




I have not been fortunate enough to get my hands on any sort of 3D printer.  The closest thing to 3D printing I've utilized are good old fashioned LEGOs.  However, research about thier uses in education is growing exponentially.  Stratsys is 3D printer manufacturer that houses a bevy of research related to utilization of 3D printing.  Articles there range from how fifth graders use 3D printing in their STEM coursework, to teens testing their 3D printed inventions in zero-gravity environments.  To dip your toe into 3D printing with your students you can go to https://www.madewithcode.com/projects.  There you and your students can create their own custom 3D printed bracelet that will be mailed to them about a month later.

The 3D printed bracelet I made at www.madewithcode.com

The penultimate and ultimate trends (Mobile Apps & Game-based Learning) go together like peanut butter and chocolate -- awesome by themselves and even better when they're combined (source).  Mobile apps can perform a multitude of tasks from textbook and reference book replacement, to virtual flashcards, to educational games.  Game-based learning not only teaches objectives, game-based learning also teaches soft skills like critical thinking and problem solving depending on the game.  When used in conjunction, these two things enable engaged, student-directed, meaningful learning.  Imagine a student created QR code scavenger hunt, wherein students scan QR codes that send them to videos or games or other media.

Have you used any of these in your classrooms with success?  Failure?  Leave a comment below and tell me all about it.