Guest post by David Webb

Modern technology has reshaped every industry, as well as how those industries operate. Technology continues to evolve and affect every sector. Education is no exception to being affected by technological advancements. It may seem that Education sector hasn’t changed for some time. However, if you look closely, you can see that technology has made a significant impact on education.

Most of the time, the effects of technology can be disruptive when implemented and integrated into systems that haven’t been changed in a while. As far as education goes, technology’s affect seems to complement the way things were conducted so far. In other words, technology seems to be boosting the efficiency of the education system. Today, students have access to technology that helps them learn, and that helps their tutors educate them more effectively. That being said, here are a few ways which show how technological changes affect education today.

More access to education

The Internet has connected almost everyone in the world. Nowadays, people from around the globe have access to both basic and advanced education thanks to technology. Online courses have become increasingly popular in the last few years. It’s easy to forget that access to online education wasn’t possible two decades ago. Back then, the Internet hasn’t existed yet and people only had access to formal education made available in their country.

Today, many schools and universities offer their education in form of online courses and seminars. What’s more, some universities go as far as making their entire classes available online. That means that anyone, anywhere, can attend a desired course and get any level of formal education they wish. In other words, technology improved access to education to everyone in the world. Also, it doesn’t matter how old someone is, because technology allows them to gain any education they’ve might have missed out on for some reason.

Simplified education

The flow of curriculum is one of the major difficulties education system faces, even today. Some students have no problems following the lecture, while others are unable to catch up. An even bigger issue is that teachers cannot devote enough time and resources to help every student follow the lecture equally. Technology, once again, provides a solution. Students who have difficulties following the lecture and even difficulties in taking essential notes can record the entire lecture instead.

Technology has provided trustworthy academic transcription services that helps transcribe the lecture and make sense of it all. That way, students can easily extract valuable and relevant information from the lecture, while also having spare time to focus on other important tasks. Simply put, technology helps simplify the learning process and takes a lot of pressure of the backs of numerous students.

Personalized education

The biggest challenge for the education system was that not every student can follow lectures at equal capacity. This led to many students falling behind on their studies, which can negatively affect their learning process and their grades. Fortunately, technology has a solution for that problem. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can assist individual students with their learning process by leveraging data and by adapting content to suit individual needs.

As a matter of fact, Content Technologies, Inc (CTI), a research and development company from California, USA focusing on AI, is developing an AI powered service that will generate custom content for students. The way it works is that AI will use its machine and deep learning capabilities to analyze lecture material and generate personalized content, such as textbooks, tests and other resources that are better suited to individual student’s needs. In other words, technology will help students comprehend lectures better by personalizing their study material.

Improved student-teacher interactions

Nowadays, student- teacher interaction has a whole new meaning thanks to technology. Not so long ago, teachers had to rely on personal meetings with students, where they could offer counsel or additional tutoring. Too many students meant that it simply wasn’t possible for teachers to devote enough time to meet with everyone in person. Today, teachers no longer have to schedule personal meetings in order to help out their students.

As a matter of fact, online communication tools, such as messaging apps, email and even social media has improved both the communication and collaboration between students and teachers. It’s not uncommon for students to have their teachers among their social media friends these days. Through online interactions, teachers can offer valuable advice to students anywhere and at any time. In addition, online services such as file sharing, allow teachers to hand out additional learning material to students, should the need arise.

Technology always leaves an impact on the industry it affects. Education sector is experiencing beneficial changes due to technological advancements and innovations. Nowadays, both students and teachers can effectively leverage the use of technology to help themselves and each other out immensely.