In the landscape of education on a global scale, it is more than fair to say that there has been a steady and rapidly ongoing influx of technological advancements and digitalisations. In fact, the entire world has been going through a digitally-driven evolution in recent years. It is an evolution that is currently showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, and it is one that has fundamentally changed the way of the modern world. In the case of education, technological innovation and ongoing advancement have manifested in the most positive of ways, signalling the beginning of what is likely to be a very promising future for education.
Introducing personalised learning methods to students
The introduction and ongoing development and further advancements in EdTech (education technology) has not come without its controversy, but the one constant throughout it all has been the unyielding respect that comes with learning to understand an innovation that has the power to, quite literally, change the world, and the lives of students everywhere. Arguably the most important innovation that EdTech has brought to the table yet is personalised learning methods and models.
Personalised learning is a concept that, intentionally or not, traditional education has failed to ever bring to the table at a mass level (if at all). The nature of traditional education demands that students all adhere to a sole set curriculum and pace. This is obviously unhealthy, as every student is different from one another, and thus learns differently as well. EdTech, however, has come in and changed all this, introducing set personalised learning approaches so that every student can harness their full potential, at a more comfortable pace. This works its magic by allowing them to reach their peak in their own time, while still learning the same information as the rest of the students.
Furthering technological understanding to teach it to others
These days, teachers have yet another hat to add to their seemingly constantly growing collection. Today, teachers are often also a community of tech experts, due to the necessity to be familiar with technological processes and other advancements to teach those ideals to their students. In the beginning, this posed something of a problem, because while students were growing up immersed in technological prowess, the same teachers who have mastered the traditional approach to education were still working. This meant that they had to acquire a keen sense of embracement, allowing them to learn and embrace technological innovations so that they could teach them to their students.
Having more convenient and efficient systems and processes
One of the most prominent advancements in education technology up until this point has been, without a doubt, automation. While traditional education was not necessarily broken, it was definitively fractured, in that it was holding onto many processes and systems that were time-consuming, tedious, and outright boring, but undeniably necessary. Now, thanks to EdTech, these processes and systems have been automated, allowing for educators and students alike to spend more time on the more demanding aspects of education, resting assured that the processes and systems that were once such a bother, are taken care of adequately and in due time.
Director of Accounting for Private Educational Institutions at Jefferson+Partners (Sydney) from 2007-2015. Founded and led Lebrau & Partners Pty. Ltd. from 2015 until now - a boutique accounting firm serving educational institutions across the Asia Pacific (both public and private, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions).