Over the past few years, the speed of digitalization in the educational sector has grown exponentially. The COVID-19 epidemic has accelerated the growth and use of EdTech, which had its first significant boom in 2015. Due to the pandemic, the global education systems entirely relied on technological advancements to keep the world advancing. The global EdTech sector, valued at 106.46 billion in 2021, is expected to increase at a CAGR of over 16% from 2020 to 2030. 

Technology is now bound to take off in Higher Education with increased internet usage and the increasing use of smart gadgets for learning. Classrooms are now growing smarter as Learning Management Systems (LMS) gain increasing acceptance in the educational sector. Below are several technological developments that will impact higher education in the years to come, ranging from interactive learning to AI-driven instructors. 

Using Technology for Students’ Mental Health Awareness 

The rate of indications of sadness, anxiety, disordered eating, and other psychological issues among students has increased recently. The need for counseling services has also been steadily rising at the same time. Several individuals have described these patterns as a crisis in mental health. This is why Dell Medical Center is teaming up with Austin Community College District to start a pilot program for increasing mental health awareness. The program focuses on offering mental health services to over 200 students. 

Protecting student mental health requires taking appropriate action before the situation escalates. The use of innovative treatment options and lowering obstacles to mental health services are both a priority. It is possible to achieve this through tech-enabled mental health programs, particularly those provided online and smart applications.

Related Article: How Universities Can Safeguard Learners Mental Health

Teletherapy is one such technological development that’s become the norm for those needing mental health treatments. This trend of getting online therapy is highly effective for students who cannot commute to a therapy office. It is also effective for those having symptoms or sentiments that are difficult to communicate with a counselor in a face-to-face session. 

While teletherapy is useful, there must be a much more proactive approach. Having essential data that can help analyze students’ mental health conditions can help in such a situation. Colleges and universities must adopt a Learner Information Management System (LIMS) to help centralize all such data. 

They can leverage Cocolevio’s LIMS system to gather and analyze valuable data. The LIMS system can store various information, such as the student’s compliance, academic performance, MSPE letter, etc. It also has a built-in AI tool to analyze all this data from a centralized dashboard to get insights into each student’s mental state. Using this data, professors and staff can help offer mental health services to students. 

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

The rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence in research and development has made it particularly useful in the higher education sector. It comprises Artificial Intelligence employed in various administrative tools & assessment and evaluation procedures. It includes student data management, library facilities, assistance for people with disabilities, etc. 

AI-based software solutions are also increasingly used to give teachers simple and trustworthy solutions to make learning more enjoyable, adaptive, and personalized. Thus, Artificial Intelligence is one of the key developments in the educational sector. It is a trend that will persist and gain more traction in the upcoming years. 

AI has several benefits. Hence, every business needs to have an AI strategy. However, creating an AI strategy and implementing it is not that simple. Most new AI-based projects fail due to a lack of expertise. Hence, it is best to seek help from an AI consulting firm. Such AI software companies can help you better understand use cases where AI can be a potential solution. They can also help you develop the right tools for successful AI implementation. 

The Potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) 

The education industry is gradually adopting the Internet of Things (IoT). The market of IoT use in the education sector was valued at $6.05 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach a whopping $20.86 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 20.06%. It is a new technological framework that links numerous elements in our environment via software programming and electronics. It is designed to exchange and gather information without human involvement. 

In the educational sector, it is utilized for facial recognition software, vehicular tracking for students, distress alarms, etc. By using smart gadgets that connect to campus WiFi networks to receive and provide instructions, institutions now choose a satisfactory quality of individualized learning for their students.

Institutional administration has become more streamlined, technologically based, and reliable thanks to such technology trends. 

Cost-effectiveness in the Internet of Things has also become a reality. IoT is also used to monitor students’ whereabouts in real-time, trace school buses, keep a keen eye on power usage, manage attendance electronically, etc. An average school invests roughly $200,000 on print and paper each year, which amounts to almost 10% of its budget. Institutions can now eliminate this expense through IoT as everything can be easily accessed online. 

Technologies for Immersive Learning and Virtual Reality Laboratories 

Virtual reality (VR) offers the most realistic and exciting learning environment. Advanced science experiments can be carried out by students in the virtual reality science labs, all through their Personal computers. With the help of the VR labs, students can interact directly with objects and learn the science underlying them. It is more effective than merely reading about such objects in their textbooks. 

Through VR, students can participate in previously too expensive, risky, or complex experiments to be conducted in a standard laboratory setting. Putting on a Virtual Reality headset is all it takes to take students to a new realm of education. Through Virtual Reality, they can learn about anything they want, whether they want to learn about the workings of the human mind, the pyramids of Egypt, or a straightforward chemistry experiment. Many such VR-based education solutions are already available for colleges and universities. 

The benefits of VR in education raise the bar even further by providing a unique educational experience to students while also making learning engaging and fun. It will improve the standard of higher education across a wide range of subject areas. It includes designing, software, technology, innovation, chemistry, physics, and even applied sciences. 

Wellness Tracking

All colleges and universities face the need to promote wellness in a meaningful way that is easily accessible to their students. and they use learner information management software to manage students wellness tracking and data.

Features of such software are:

• Learners can contribute information about their sleep and exercise, weight, etc.
• Learners can integrate their fitness and wellness information in one place.
• Learners can self-report current state of mind and attitude via LIMS application which pings them for status updates on progress. Mindset survey results will be imported as an assessment

Wellness tracking software for school provides a way for you to track the health of your students – but more than that, it can give you valuable insights into how the educational environment is affecting their overall well-being. A health and wellness tracking system can help you identify areas where your students are struggling in a way that isn’t just through numbers and charts, but through direct feedback from them.

Conclusion

The higher education sector will benefit increasingly by embracing emerging technological developments. The technological trends will help the institutions develop their brand value and awareness.

It will also guarantee that students have a better educational experience. Therefore, the still uncertain year 2022 is expected to see a growth in the number of educational institutions employing the aforementioned technological trends. 

If you are looking to implement a technology solution for your educational institution, it is advised to seek help from a technology consulting company before moving forward. Since technology can be complicated, it requires years of experience to ensure your solution is successful. You can connect with Cocolevio’s expert for consultation and build a custom solution. 

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