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Top 7 Higher Education Trends for 2020

Educational Trends 2020

#1 AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the Classroom

Use of AI in the classroom will continue to increase as AI becomes more advanced and its implementation in the classroom becomes easier and more effective. I wrote an informative article about AI in the classroom (available here) but the evidence for this comes from researching the field, talking to instructors/professors, and the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector 2018-2022 report that states “analysts forecast the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector to grow at a CAGR [Compound Annual Growth Rate] of 47.77% during the period 2018-2022” (Research and Markets, 2018, para. 2). Use of AI will not eliminate the need for teachers but will instead allow for more personalized learning (chatbots, tutors) and more advanced scaffolding.

#2 VR (Virtual Reality)

Although many have claimed in previous years to be the breakout year for VR, I am going on record as saying 2020 will finally be the real breakout year for VR. The key components for VR are finally in place for widespread adoption, ease-of-use, and low cost. The all-in-one (no PC or external cables needed) Oculus Quest VR headset can be purchased for under $400 with hundreds of free and paid games already available (www.oculus.com/quest). Having researched VR and the Oculus specifically, I can say it is very engaging and fun, with tons of educational uses. As evidence for growing popularity, the new Oculus Quest VR headset completely sold out this holiday season and is now backordered until February 2020 (https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/12/24/oculus-quest-headsets-sold-out-into-february/2742443001/).  

#3 AR (Augmented Reality)

AR has quickly gained use and popularity in multiple areas such as engineering and health care, but with recent major investments from Apple, it is expected to greatly increase in use, especially in education. Markets and Markets research firm states “The augmented reality market was valued at USD 4.21 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 60.55 billion by 2023” (2019, para. 1). They also specifically address the education market by stating “The demand for AR applications in education and e-retailing sectors is very high owing to the benefits of easy learning and attractive promotions” (Markets and Markets, 2019, para. 35). Augmented reality presents so many opportunities for educational projects as well as for its specific use to enhance education in general that it will continue to grow in popularity.

#4 Critical Thinking

Critical thinking continues to be an important concept with many instructors and educational institutions working to ensure it is fully addressed. Forbes recently released an article entitled “The Skills You Need To Succeed In 2020,” which listed critical thinking as a must-have skill according to the World Economic Forum (Beckford, 2019). The ever-popular Horizon Report also talks about the ongoing importance of critical thinking in education (Alexander, Ashford-Rowe, Barajas-Murph, Dobbin, Knott, McCormack, Pomerantz, Seilhamer, & Weber, 2019). Additionally, evolving technology is offering us new and enhanced ways to instruct critical thinking (Marczak, 2019).   

#5 Experiential/Active Learning

The value of experiential learning can not be expressed enough, and it will continue to garner a greater momentum in 2020 (Bernstein, 2019); this applies both to traditional face-to-face learning and online experiential learning (Steele, 2018). Tom Vander Ark, education reporter for Forbes, has also listed “Active Learning” as a “mega-trend” citing growing research showing its effectiveness and how more and more schools are employing experiential/active learning techniques (2019). The importance and need for more experience/active learning were also listed by multiple education/training experts when asked about important aspects shaping the future of education (Mire, 2019). A recent survey of 40,000 students across 118 US educational institutions also showed that students want more active learning (Gierdowski, 2019), this is important in an ever competative educational market. This increased need for experiential learning is present in academia, business, and the military (Anders, 2019).  

#6 Instructional Presence

The Chronicle of Higher Education in referencing a Moody’s report expresses that online education is continuing to be a very competitive market and as a result, more and more universities are trying to distinguish themselves through higher quality education (Nguyen, 2019). This is where improving the aspect of instructional presence comes in. Instructional presence deals with “the ability of a teacher to make a student feel like a real learning member of an instructional community and not “just a number,” that is not simply an unknown student just going through the motions of taking the class,” (Anders, 2017, p. 6). As more universities see the importance of instructional presence this will become a greater and more popular trend/component to improve online instruction.

#7 Use of Video

This quote from the Kaltura State of Video in Education 2019 kind of says it all “What do the students themselves expect, in terms of how video will play a part in their education? Unsurprisingly for a generation raised on YouTube, they expect a lot. 82% of respondents viewed students’ expectations for how much video should be part of their learning experience as increasing” (p. 5). Similarly, in an article from TeachThough where they address 50 alternatives to lecturing, they include the use of videos in different ways (Staff, 2019) to address students’ increasing needs.

What are your thoughts/predictions and why?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Reference

Anders, B. (2017). How to enhance instructional presence: Research & experience based techniques to improve both online & face-to-face instruction. Manhattan, KS: Sovorel Publishing.

Anders, B. (2019). The Army Learning Concept, Army Learning Model:A guide to understanding and implementation. Emporia, KS: Sovorel Publishing.

Alexander, B., Ashford-Rowe, K., Barajas-Murph, N., Dobbin, G., Knott, J., McCormack, M., Pomerantz, J., Seilhamer, R., & Weber, N. (2019). Horizon report: 2019 higher education edition. Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2019/4/2019horizonreport.pdf?

Ark, T. (2019, July). Four mega trends reshaping global learning Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanderark/2019/07/30/four-mega-trends-reshaping-global-learning/#69e8bb451edf

Beckford, A. (2019, August). The skills you need to succeed In 2020. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2018/08/06/the-skills-you-need-to-succeed-in-2020/#7f28d741288a

Bernstein, S. (2019). The future of experiential learning. Experience Institute. Retrieved from https://expinstitute.com/future-of-experiential-learning/

Gierdowski, D. (2019, October). 2019 study of undergraduate students and information technology. Louisville, CO: Educause. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2019/10/studentstudy2019.pdf?la=en&hash=25FBB396AE482FAC3B765862BA6B197DBC98B42C

Kultura. (2019). Sixth annual state of video in education 2019: Insights and trends. New York, NY: Kultura. Retrieved from https://corp.kaltura.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The_State_of_Video_in_Education_2019-1.pdf

Markets and Markets. (2019). Augmented reality market by offering (hardware (sensor, displays & projectors, cameras), and software), device type (head-mounted, head-up, handheld), application (enterprise, consumer, commercial, automotive) and geography – global forecast to 2023. Markets and Markets Research Private Ltd. Retrieved from https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/augmented-reality-market-82758548.html

Marczak, L. (2019, January). Using technology to teach critical thinking skills. Digital Learning Collaborative. Retrieved from https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/blog/2019/1/16/using-technology-to-teach-critical-thinking-skills

Mire, S. (2019, June). What trends are shaping education in 2019? 19 experts share their insights. Disruptor. Retrieved from https://www.disruptordaily.com/education-trends/

Nguyen, T. (2019, April). Revenue from online ed is on the rise. So is the competition, Moody’s says. The Chronical of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Revenue-From-Online-Ed-Is-On/246088

Research and Markets. (2018, August). Artificial intelligence market in the US education sector 2018-2022. London, United Kingdom: TechNavio. Retrieved from https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/4613290/artificial-intelligence-market-in-the-us

Staff, T. (2019, October). 50 alternatives to lecturing. TeachThought. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/50-alternatives-to-lecturing/.

Steele, J. (2018, October). Experiential Learning: Not just for residential undergraduates. The Evolution, A Destiny Solutions Illumination. Retrieved from https://evolllution.com/programming/applied-and-experiential-learning/experiential-learning-not-just-for-residential-undergraduates/

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